Friday, June 27, 2008

Focus

My husband was just expressing to me that he misses me and that we need to go out alone again soon. I agreed, but then later I felt compelled to make the point that we could have more quality time at home even with the kids there. I was saying that as long as we were in tune and focused on each other, we could enjoy our everyday life as a family even more than we already do. (Ok, maybe I didn't put it quite that nicely, and maybe I was complaining that he was saying he missed me and yet was ignoring me as I was struggling to get the kids to bed, but we ended on a positive note so it's all good!)

But now I feel YHWH saying the same thing to me about focus. I whine that I can't seem to find enough alone time with Him, and worse, I'm constantly feeling guilty about it, so I end up spending even less quality time with Him. And He's saying all He wants is for me to keep my eyes and my attention on Him, whatever I'm doing. If I'll just bask in His presence as often as possible I'll be able to love others so much more effectively, and fulfill my calling so much more easily. The point is not to spend an hour of quality time with Him, then run around the rest of the day "accomplishing" things. The point is to include Him in every moment and every thought, whether I feel I'm being productive or just changing my 9th poopy diaper of the day. It's all about Him. He's the center of it all.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Must... Blog... Now...

Aaaahhh! I have been fiending to blog for days and days now, but life and work have just been so busy it hasn't been possible. Even now I don't have time, I just wanted to throw this up as a matter of principle. I'm breaking the seal... I will not be denied my creative writing outlet! :-)

Monday, June 9, 2008

No Pain, No Gain

Pain, as unpleasant as it may be, always serves a useful purpose. When you experience pain in your natural body, your immune system knows to send help and healing to that pain. The nerves are vital for serving this purpose. Emotional pain works much the same way. Tears should never be avoided, nor should they be used to exploit or manipulate. Likewise, anger, depression, fear, when they exist, should not be hidden or ignored, nor should they be surrendered to unequivocally. We all know the expression, "I think I hit a nerve", meaning I think I just discovered a sensitive area in another person -- and for most of us, our subsequent reaction is to steer clear of it. God forbid we deal with it. But we need to hit the nerves. If we don't, the help will never know to come, and the wounds will never be healed.

As a child I knew a little boy who was a hemophiliac. He died very, very young. When a person has hemophilia, their blood fails to clot when they are injured, and they can easily bleed to death. Knowing how often kids bump and scrape themselves, you can imagine the terror his parents lived with every day. Few hemophiliacs ever make it to adulthood. People of the Blood (of Christ) should take a valuable lesson from this. We are often referred to as children in the Scriptures. We are constantly bumping and bruising ourselves. Our Body is bleeding continuously, but this is actually by design and should not be a problem unless we just ignore it and let it bleed. Instead we are supposed to acknowledge the bleeding, spread the word to those close enough to help, and bind together to stop it. And we must be systematic about it; not emotional or judgmental. This is simply part of our daily functioning and maintenance on the earth, not a character flaw.

Can you imagine stepping on a nail and then feeling embarrassed or ashamed of yourself? Would you just put a shoe on and try to pretend that nothing had happened? Would you expect someone else to do so, or criticize them for their pain? Or on the other end of the spectrum, would you start screaming hysterically and saying your goodbyes to your friends and family members? We inherently understand that all of these reactions are completely inappropriate in the natural/physical realm. So why should we think they are appropriate in the spiritual realm?

The Word says that what is hidden shall be revealed. The world would have us believe that what happens in Vegas can stay in Vegas, but sorry folks, this is a spiritual and natural impossibility. Eventually the light will shine so bright that absolutely everything will be exposed by it. Wouldn't it be better then, to deal with it now, voluntarily and with the right attitude, than to have it sneak up on us at the worst possible moment?

It's time for us to grow up. It's time to stop masking our symptoms (and sins) with unhealthy medications, allowing problems to worsen and spread to other areas. It's time to let the Body function as it was designed to function. It's time to start eating the food that was created for us, not the chemical-laden, disease-causing, mood altering counterfeit stuff that's constantly paraded before us.

Only when pain is revealed can the solution to that pain be unleashed. Healing always comes. It's the Master's design. It's just a matter of how long we want to suffer before giving in to it.

Matt. 20:30-34

30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?
33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Just a Vessel

(alternate titles considered for this blog post: Incoming!; The Sound of My Spirit Exhaling After Holding My Breath A Bit Too Long; I Don't Care, I Don't Care [inside joke]; This is Not Written to Spite Anyone, I Promise!)

My heart is so full of love for my pastors this day. Dan and Ann Stratton obeyed the call of Yahweh on their lives and started a church called Faith Exchange Fellowship 11 years ago this month. I have been a member of Faith Exchange (FEF) for 8 of those years. They've been the best 8 years of my life, by far, not because they've been easy or struggle-free but because of the continual revelation of the Truth I've experienced throughout. The Truth is not an elusive or intangible concept; it is in fact, a person, and His Name is Yahshua (Jesus).

I think it was Mahatma Gandhi who once said that everyone would be a Christian if it weren't for the Christians. I've felt the same way many times during my lifetime. I also know many people who have been attracted to the Scriptures, and some who still inherently embrace most of the truth found therein, yet ultimately reject Christianity because of the way some of its followers twist and mangle that truth. These misguided Christians defile the character of Christ and use His words to divide rather than to reconcile. (We've all been guilty of this at one time or another, whether we were aware of it or not.) We, the Body of Christ, for we are still One Body in spite of all our disjointed and diseased parts (which will soon be perfected), have shattered and scattered the truth like the potter's vessel, allowing the world over time to steal key pieces from us so that all we're left with is a useless pile of fragments that can contain no living water. Hard to swallow, yes, and no pun intended ;-). We have reduced Christianity to a mere religion and thus have made the Word of Yah of no effect. Lord have mercy!

Here's where Pastor Dan comes in...

He is one of the bold and audacious few (although certainly not the first nor the last) who are working diligently to rebuild that broken vessel. Only those who believe that the Word is absolute and perfect truth, and that Yahshua was, is, and will always be the embodiment of that truth can repair said vessel. Only those who relentlessly pursue the Truth and are willing to travel to the ends of the earth, searching high and low, leaving no stone unturned (whether it's been re-labeled Islam, Kabbalah, Buddhism, Hinduism, New Age, or what have you) to recover the stolen and hidden pieces and bring them back to the One -- not the alpha and the omega, but the Alef and the Tov, the first and the last -- only they will find it. And when they do find it, because of all they've learned in their pursuit, they will passionately and selflessly share it with all who will accept it. And if they do not find it... (perish the thought) WOE are we!

Thankfully, the vessel is quickly being reassembled in our day. It still has a few leaks, but it is steadily becoming a vessel of greater and greater honor.

We must encourage our leaders, especially those who will go where no man has gone before. We must not put them, or Yahweh, in a box. Do we REALLY think we know it all already? Could we really be so utterly blind and clueless as to think that Yahweh isn't desperately trying to do a NEW and ASTONISHINGLY LIBERATING thing among us today and every day??? Yes, Jesus, Yahshua is the same yesterday, today and forever. But let us not forget that He is also new every morning. The Word of Yahweh is the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth. He and His Word are One. He is timeless and infinite. We will never exhaust the beauty, the majesty, the perfection, the glory, the joy, the wholeness, the peace, the good, the love/ahava, the truth that He is. Selah!

Thank you Pastor Dan -- and Pastor Annie, his first mentor in the faith -- for despising the shame and choosing ahava each and every day.


Is. 30:8-26

8 Now go, write it before them on a tablet,
And note it on a scroll,
That it may be for time to come,
Forever and ever:
9 That this is a rebellious people,
Lying children,
Children who will not hear the law of the LORD;
10 Who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things;
Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.
11 Get out of the way,
Turn aside from the path,
Cause the Holy One of Israel
To cease from before us.”

12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:

“Because you despise this word,
And trust in oppression and perversity,
And rely on them,
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you
Like a breach ready to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant.
14 And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel,
Which is broken in pieces;
He shall not spare.
So there shall not be found among its fragments
A shard to take fire from the hearth,
Or to take water from the cistern.”

15 For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel:

“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
But you would not,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”—
Therefore you shall flee!
And, “We will ride on swift horses”—
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!
17 One thousand shall flee at the threat of one,
At the threat of five you shall flee,
Till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain
And as a banner on a hill.

18 Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem;
You shall weep no more.
He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;
When He hears it, He will answer you.
20 And though the Lord gives you
The bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,
But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

“ This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
22 You will also defile the covering of your images of silver,
And the ornament of your molded images of gold.
You will throw them away as an unclean thing;
You will say to them, “Get away!”
23 Then He will give the rain for your seed
With which you sow the ground,
And bread of the increase of the earth;
It will be fat and plentiful.
In that day your cattle will feed
In large pastures.
24 Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground
Will eat cured fodder,
Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.
25 There will be on every high mountain
And on every high hill
Rivers and streams of waters,
In the day of the great slaughter,
When the towers fall.
26 Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun,
And the light of the sun will be sevenfold,
As the light of seven days,
In the day that the LORD binds up the bruise of His people
And heals the stroke of their wound.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

As for me and my house...

I've always loved that Scripture to the core of my being, "As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh!" It's been a sort of mantra for me since I gave my life back to Yah; I've used it to "build my house" before I knew my husband or had any children, and it's been playing out in such beautiful and unexpected ways.

Now this may sound trivial to some, but we recently decided to put a chunk of funds toward beautifying our apartment. We figured that although we're believing for a house and saving and paying off debt, we should also use our current space better to honor Yahweh. In other words, it should be orderly and we should invite people over regularly, which means actually putting some effort into it and buying a couple things instead of just inheriting other people's hand-me-downs. I've always envisioned our home being one where lots of people congregated and felt comfortable, but I realized I hadn't taken any steps to make that happen, thinking it would come later w/the new house. But you have to be faithful with what you've got first...

So I say all of that to say we've been buying new rugs, a loveseat, shelves, accessories, etc. to make our home more livable for ourselves and others. I know that this is important to Yahweh, and He has shown His endorsement by ordering our steps and giving us amazing deals on the stuff we're buying. We just got two beautiful rugs in the exact colors, styles and sizes we wanted for only $235, less than half of what I budgeted. He showed us a way to make the space feel larger (there are 4 of us in a 1 BR), and we've been in total agreement about everything -- no fights or tiffs! I even had enough wiggle room to get a Vita-Mix 4500 TurboBlend, which was also on sale for only $315! (It's over $400 most places... it's so much more than a blender.) Guess I can take that off my vision board now. :-)

I know some may have a difficult time relating to what floats my boat, but the point is I'm having a blast watching Yahweh bless me as I make my requests known and then listen and obey His voice.

Now off to make some delicious green smoothies!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Prayer Changes Things

I rarely ever watch the news or read the newspaper because it's usually so negative, but this morning as I was getting on the train I saw the headline that Obama is the Democratic nominee. Now it has me thinking... I've been hearing all this conspiracy stuff lately, which sounds totally believable to me, and someone recently told me that it makes absolutely no difference who we vote for in this country, because one way or another those who are truly in control will get their puppet into office. (That may be true, but I'm still going to vote.) And they said this year that puppet will be Hillary Clinton.

I also noticed that she has yet to concede, which means there's still a chance that she could be President. But then Scriptures started coming up in my spirit. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth MUCH. And then I thought, it doesn't even say righteous men, it says one man. Then I heard, Whenever TWO or more of you agree as touching ANYTHING, it shall be done for you; and nothing shall be impossible to you if you believe. Yahweh, I believe. Help my unbelief...

For nearly a year my church has been hosting prayer calls in which people from around the country come into agreement to intercede for individuals and nations. I know we are having a major impact. Yet hearing about this massive and seemingly all-powerful conspiracy that's been going on for over a century had me feeling a bit defeated. I still had hope that we could conquer it, but I can't say I had much faith. Which means many of my prayers along those lines went unheard. This is why it's so dangerous to take your eyes off the Word and His promises, and let other messages influence you. We walk by faith and not by sight.

So Hillary may or may not be a puppet, and she may or may not be elected President this year, but regardless I'm going to continue to pray over the elections and each candidate in FAITH, by myself and along with my fellow believers on the prayer calls, because we have awesome power and therefore an awesome responsibility to bring change. Not campaign slogan change, but true and lasting change which establishes the Kingdom of Elohim on the earth. Yes, we can.