The Burning Bush

I listen to a lot of music, and right now the song that's playing reminds me a little of some of my days: "Rain, rain, on my face hasn't stopped raining for days my world is a flood.  Lift me up, lift me up when I'm falling, I need you to hold me, keep me from drowning....down pour on my soul, I'm loosing control, dark sky all around, I can't feel the ground, lift me up, lift me up, when I'm falling. I need you to hold me and keep me from drowning again.  Come storms that drench my eyes....if I can't swim lift me up, lift me up, lift up when I'm falling. I need you to hold me and keep me from drowning."
I'm still thinking about the Firewall that God led me to yesterday and I prayed about that this morning. Having His Firewall around my soul is the exact thing I need on days like this song. As I continued my discussion with Him this morning about the Firewall He sent me to Exodus 3, and there I read about God in the Burning bush, more Fire! And, God speaking to Moses through the bush and saying to Moses "I AM WHO I AM!"
He wants me to see that He is fire, that He is passion inside of me, consuming all of me, lifting me, holding me, taking me to His places and His truths. I know this, yet the journey, on some days I find treacherous.
I was with a friend last night and she said that I prayed dangerous prayers. The kinds of prayers that are soul-wrenching, deep, and full of fire. The kind that require Firewalls and burning bushes. The kind that bring glory into my midst, and the Great I AM into my heart. I will admit, that sometimes it feels like I am drowning from the down pour on my soul, yet He lifts me up.
Say That Again, lift me up when I am falling and hold me!

The Fire Wall

As I've posted before, I have a wall that protects me. I've talked about how I sometimes hide behind my wall when I feel afraid, or vulnerable. It's a place to run. And, how I've been praying to God, asking Him to allow me to pull out the bricks that are in my wall so I can see what's on the other side. I've asked Him to allow me to visit the other side of the wall, and asked Him to help me understand what my wall is all about.

This morning, as God and I were talking, He led me to Zechariah 2: 5 and this is what I read: " For I, declares the Lord, will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst."

Just now, several hours later, I picked up my Bible again and read the verse again. It's lovely. And, it got me thinking about my own brick wall that I've so carefully constructed around my heart. The one for protection. And, I'm wondering what it would be like to ask God to just completely remove my brick wall and place His wall of fire there instead, around my heart and my soul. And, make it known to me that because His wall of fire is around me, His glory is in my midst. I like the image of that. 

A heart of stone removed, this is His promise, and turned into a heart just like HIS. Hot with His passion, aglow with His glory, on fire with revival!

I've had a lot on my plate lately , and it's time for me to cut back a little. Time to give God a chance to fire up His wall, and demolish mine. Give up the fight, throw in the towel, turn it all over to God!!

Say That Again, God, you will build a wall of fire around me and you will be glory in my midst!

The Crowned Flip Flop

Cute, huh? I'm praying for HOT weather, cuz my feet are usually cold and I really want to wear these crowned flip flops. They were in the back of my closet next to the yellow flower flip flops that I wore all of last summer. This summer, it's all about crowns!
I painted my toe nails thinking that maybe I could encourage the weather along, but then I heard the forecast for the week and it's suppose to rain. At least I have rain boots. Initially, when my husband read the forecast he said that it was going to be warm and sunny all week, then he realized he was reading the weather for a different state--bummer.
Clearly, we have no control. flip flops, painting nails, reading the forecast, and wishing, if the rain is going to come; it's going to come. It is what it is, right? It's okay, God keeps telling me that He is in control, He has the day, He has me, and He knows the plan. I just need to listen and obey. I've been blessed with intimate conversation with God because I'm His child. And, because I'm His child, I'm an heir with complete access to the inheritance and to a very lovely crown!
Say That Again, Holy Jesus, I am an heir to the inheritance and there's a crown waiting for me!

The Parts

So, I've decided that my Land Rover has many parts. The smelly, stinky part, the noisy part, the flasher part, the messy part, the broken down part, the off road part, the expensive part, the I can do anything part, the comfy part, and then the parts I have not yet discovered.
Right now, the part I am experiencing the most, is the stinky smelly part. Yes, there's still something in my heater fan that is causing a rotten odor, even when the heater is off. My truck that once smelled like my stinky dog and rambunctious children now smells like a dead creature. My husband started to disassemble my dashboard so he could discover what might be creating this stinky smell, he hasn't found the culprit yet. But, once again, my truck has been ushered to the garage, until further notice. While waiting there, the flashers randomly went on, seemingly in protest and my husband had to disconnect the battery to get the flashers to stop! I worked on cleaning out my truck in hopes of feeling a little better about the stinky part of it, but it didn't really help. Nothing is going to help until the problem is solved and the stink is gone. I think my flashers would be randomly flashing too if I smelled so bad that no one would sit next to me! Warning, warning, there's a problem here!
I was telling God about all of this, of course. And, also, expressing to Him my own need for His light in my life, my need for Him to see each part of me, and to cover me, walk with me, heal me each day. I clearly heard Him say back to me that His Word was within me and He is speaking through me alive and active. He is always working within the lives of His children! I then turned to Romans 10 and smiled when I read this:  "it's the Word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us" and "The Word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart."
My flashers come on pretty often, and God sees them. He welcomes them and He goes to work to set things right for me. His Word is in my mouth and heart, I speak it daily and live it through faith. The Word is flesh, Jesus, deeply rooted within my heart.
Say That Again, Jesus, You see every part of me, and You say "Welcome, Child."

The Treasures

The timeless moments, the treasures in my life. Richness, beauty, and joy. The gifts. Say That Again, the gifts and the treasures in my life!

The Source of Life

I've been thinking about life and death the last few days because my stinky dog has not been well and she is approaching the end of her life. This is a very painful and troubling thought for me. She has been in my life for close to seven years, and she has been a very faithful dog. Her body is in pain right now, and she is tired. She doesn't want to eat or run or play with our family anymore. She prefers to sleep, all day long, and all night. I feel sad for her.
As I talked to God about her this morning and the emotion that stirred within me, He reminded me about Who He is. The Source of all Life. Colossians 2 came to mind and I turned to that chapter. I've read it many times, and each time it means something new to me. This time, my eyes fell right to these words "source of life, Christ,  who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as He nourishes us."
I know that with each day, I am nourished by God. He feeds me His strength, wisdom, courage, boldness, love, hope, all through His Spirit. There are times I am feeling overcome with emotion and it is bigger than I want, not always knowing what to do with it. But, God is the source of that too, and He will provide avenues of relief. So, as I give to Him my Stinky Dog and know that even with her He is the source of life, I am working to trust in His sovereign ways.  His ways, not mine.
Say That Again, Jesus, You are my Source of Life today and you put me together one piece at a time each day. Thank you for Your breath!

The Stinky Car

My Land Rover is back in my possession, the shop gave it a good look over and put in a couple bolts and declared it good. They then said that it had a "new issue" and thought that maybe it would  "fix itself." As I drove away, I noticed that the loud noise was still there, rumbling away under my hood, and as the day wore on, the noise only increased. Then, along with this irritating noise, a strong smell started, stronger and stronger as the evening came on. A rotting smell, very gross. I drove with the sun roof open and the window cracked, because the smell was a little too intense for my nose to handle.
I arrived home late last night and when I drove up our hill, the smell seemed to get worse, as did the noise. I decided I would leave all the windows down over night and hope for the best. This morning, as the kids and I went out to the garage to get in to my Land Rover, we were blasted with an unpleasant oder. But, when I turned on the truck, it was really bad. My kids pulled up their shirts and moaned loudly. The noise and the smell was enough to make them want to walk to school! I ran in the house and grabbed the lemon air freshner, hoping it would give us a little relief. It didn't really help.
I pulled out of the garage, down the driveway and onto the street, and just sat in the street for a moment. The smell was sicking. I noticed the heater was on full blast so I pushed it off and suddenly the noise was gone! The smell began to decrease. My kids faces popped out of their shirts. Ta-da! So, I sent a text to my husband and he decided the problem must be a dead mouse in the heater. Ick.
I hope the sun stays out and it doesn't get cold. I'm not turning my heater back on. My kids will find this to be fascinating, I find this to be gross. The noise?  Well, I can't go there....
And so on with another day and it's challenges, and my Land Rover. God driving, of course. No heater, but He has me wrapped up in His arms so it's okay. His Robe is around me, I'm warm in Him. Say That Again, Jesus, You are driving, You are keeping me warm today.