18 December 2014 Twelve Days

Twelve Days

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There comes a time after listening and learning, when “doing” becomes all-important. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I need is another page of notes. If we don’t put anything to the test, how will we know if what we’ve learned is real? So for this last post of the year, I’m challenging you to take action.

One thing—each day—for twelve days.

Day 1 – Do something surprisingly generous. It doesn’t have to be monetary. It could be the gift of listening or sharing food. My friend Greg once went out of his way to deliver a box of donuts to a state government office—a place where the overworked staff were a little cranky. His simple gesture, so unexpected, changed the atmosphere!

Man on stormy beachDay 2 – Take a solitary walk and tell God your innermost thoughts. It helps if you can talk out loud. Tell Him your darkest, most hopeless, or cynical feelings. Tell Him what you’re afraid of—the future? Finances? Sickness? Death? Confess to Him your secret failures, your loneliness. Get it out in words and lay it all before Him. He can handle it. Then listen.

Hands in skyDay 3 – Take an hour to worship God. Not meaning church on Sunday. Pick a place where you can recline—a favorite chair, a hammock, a couch, a bed or even a floor. My granddaughter likes to lay under the Christmas tree. If you’re like me, let go of your driven holiday mindset. Pick your style of worship music and if you’re not alone, use earphones. I’m currently swept away by Ola Gjello’s Sunrise Mass. Though sung in Latin, the music is moving and sends me to heavenly places.

Day 4 – Ask God for a single word or phrase regarding your life at present. I remember feeling upset when my husband had to be away in Africa for two months. I asked God for a word of encouragement. The word “respite” came to mind. At first I thought, “re-SPITE”? Was it even a word? But the term, “RES-pite,” is in the dictionary and means an interval of rest. God reframed our time apart as a season to recharge, write, and enjoy some solitude. Any introvert would understand. Still it meant something to hear God’s take on it.Continue reading

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6 November 2014 From Foxhole to Sanctuary

From Foxhole to Sanctuary

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pebbled textureI don’t know if you’re like me, but I pick up things to worry about as if collecting rocks. The load gets heavier and heavier, until the weight reaches critical mass. HeadacheAnd before you know it, I’m wide awake in bed at night—worried sick.

A toxic pattern, to be sure.

I tell God I’m sorry and lay each rock of concern at His feet. He usually says,

“Dear Susan…Remember Who I am.”

For several years now, I keep seeing the number 722 in countless ways. I saw it on my coffee pot clock not 10 minutes ago. See previous post about it. I believe it’s a reference to Daniel’s vision in 7:21-22.

 21 “I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them 22 until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.”

Don’t you love the word—until?

It signals a great shift. The mystery is—did it happen already with the death and resurrection of Christ? Or could we be in the throes of it at present? Or maybe it’s still future? I wonder. At the moment, many of God’s people are severely embattled and even targeted. I’m no authority on Scripture. But I see this number every few days. God has my attention.

Businessman looking at arrows pointed in different directionsWith that in mind, I found myself gathering stones again…Israel under attack, beheadings, a commercial airline shot down, race riots in Missouri, health issues, rising national debt, addictions, deaths, divorces, suicides—need I go on? Despair is everywhere.

Lord, when will the “time arrive”? Is this just the beginning of the days of sorrow? Will the tribulation be much worse?

My thoughts easily spiral.

So one day when I was swept into the vortex of worry, I saw eights and nines in different combinations: 8899 and 889. I searched it out in Scripture. Was it random, or precisely what I needed to hear?Continue reading

Filed Under: 2014, Biblical Foundations, Hearing God's Voice Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
30 October 2014 Showing Process

Showing Process

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She was young...

She was young…

Joan of Arc “experienced her first vision around 1424 at the age of 12, in her ‘father’s garden.’ (She) saw visions of figures she identified as Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret, who told her to drive out the English and bring the Dauphin (the rightful king) to Reims for his coronation. She cried when they left, as they were so beautiful.”[i]

brother-lawrence1

He was old…

Brother Lawrence, a Carmelite monk in the 1600s, enjoyed the presence of God while doing ordinary tasks in the monastery kitchen. He said, “I have abandoned all particular forms of devotion, all prayer techniques. My only prayer practice is attention. I carry on a habitual, secret, silent conversation with God that fills me with joy overwhelming.”[ii]

Christian author John Piper tells about a certain morning—March 19, 2007—in a remote area of Northern Minnesota, when God spoke to him in phrases that entered his mind one at a time. He noted: “There is no doubt that it was God. I heard the words in my head just as clearly as when a memory of a conversation passes across your consciousness. The words wereContinue reading

Filed Under: 2014, Biblical Foundations, Hearing God's Voice Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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