Repent...

                Set Boundaries...

                                             Forgive...           

A long, long time ago, I home schooled our children.  When I quit my career of medical transcription, I set a foundation for 'my school.'  I had three rules that we followed.  They were our guideposts in the goals we were to aim for, because you must have goal posts.  

The first rule was:  If you cheat yourself now, you will cheat yourself later.  This meant that if you took a shortcut and cheated to achieve (fill in the blank...) you were only hurting yourself because somewhere down the line you are going to have to come back and learn whatever (fill in the blank) you cheated to get out of doing.  

Rule #2:  If you don't get it the first time, it's okay.  Because you can try again and we will try again until you do get it.  But, I gave them a caveat of - With the world you are going to have to get it the VERY FIRST TIME!  Because in most cases, the world will not give you a second chance.  If I made an error in guiding rules, it would be this one.  I already felt I was too hard on my children and thought I was being kind an generous to give them multiple chances to get it right.  

Rule #3, well, basically, I had two rules, that's it...two rules that  you read above.  But I did have an analogy of "The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever."  I do not know who wrote this anology otherwise, I would credit them.  The story goes:  A chef is telling his students they are getting ready to make the best cookies ever.  They assemble the ingredients and began to prepare the cookies.  As they get to the last part of the cookie ingredients being stirred in to the batter, the chef says," Wait a minute!  I've forgotten something.  Here, here is some dog poo!  It's what makes the cookies so great."  The students were like, "Ewww!!!! No Way!!! Are you crazy?" The chef patiently waited, listening to their responses.  Finally one student said, "It's wrong!  It will ruin the recipe."  The chef exclaimed, "Finally, someone gets it!  Yes, it's wrong.  It doesn't matter how much or how little, if there is just the slightest bit of dog poo in there, it has corrupted the batter."  

So this is how I came apply a search for the very elusive truth we are all searching for and seeking.  Somethings appear very good, but they added something.  The something they added is the equivalent of dog poo.  I have said, and said, and said "Read your Bible."  The Bible is truth.  

And I will admit I'm the first to run and seek an answer from a 'how to' book looking for those so valuable coping skills that somehow I never learned all in  trying to heal myself.  I do feel like Holy Spirit led me to "Boundaries and Confronting the Jezebel Spirit" books.  But, while these books are very good on seeing the problem, they really are not good at teaching coping skills.  The reason why is because they go against scripture or do they?  There in lies the question...This is why I'm stressing that truth is paramount.  If something goes against scripture, I'm sorry my friend, you are wrong.  If someone is telling you to do something that is not in scripture such as drag up all the details of your past, that is not scriptural.  You have to have the whole counsel of God not part of it.  God told me when I got saved, "You are a new creature in Christ.  All the old things are passed away.  You are no longer that person."  

Now for anyone learning boundaries, it is an incredibly difficult process.  First you do have to shake off the chains of religion.  You know, you 'll hear that voice that says "You haven't forgiven them."  And yet, here you are remembering asking God to forgive you and them.  Yet, this red flag keeps slapping you in the face.  Someone accusing you of doing something that you are not doing.  Be honest with yourself.  If you have done it, admit it.  But trust me, if someone is telling you they are not and they are trying to tell you their story but you are not listening, they are just going to get louder and louder because keeping quiet is what they used to do. Keeping quiet never changed anything except God has a way.  Sometimes it just doesn't happen fast enough.  That's another issue patience.  But sometimes, it is important that someone points out the issue because just take a look at what's going in our world right now.  

So my path and dilemna which I would like to hear others' voices on is:  Where did the dog poo come in?  Have we taken on too much of the world's way of dealing with problems rather than dealing with them God's way.  And it doesn't make it truth if you are outcasted from a community of believers and the only thing you did was stand for scriptural integrity.  I'm a new creature in Christ not a people pleaser.  I used to be a people pleaser until Christ told me I could not be that anymore.  Quench not the Holy Spirit.  Forbid not the speaking in tongues.  Repent.  I'm a new creature in Christ.  I don't have to drag up all my past sins and recount them.  I'm healed.  I'm delivered.  I'm a new creation.  Christ has taken my sin and thrown it as far from the east to the west.  Don't ask me to do what you are not willing to do.  And then you see it, you see the tactic and it's too late because they set you off.  Yet, they say you are the one that's wrong.  

Well, I'm here to say that yes, some boundaries are apparently helpful and will protect you.  But the scriptural chocolate chip cookie has been corrupted because God gives unconditional love and true love in Christ would not behave that way - accusing, talking about someone, trying to set up scenarios that makes them appear a certain way, etc., etc.  God has already warned me of what is coming and has told me I'm protected.  I will stand with God.  I don't giving a flying flip fartleberry what you say, think or feel because I know what scripture says.  I believe my Bible more than what I can see, touch, taste, hear or feel in this physical world.  So outcast me, I'm not alone.  Talk about me, go ahead, I don't care anymore.  I'm gonna side with God and His Word because my Bible tells me so.  If  I'm burnt up and we will all stand before Him and our works will be thrown in to the fire, what remains is what we get to give Jesus.  I want everything I did to count for Christ.  Let's clean up the batter shall we?    

Expectation!!! 

So I woke up with my rambling thoughts this morning, and hearing "what do you expect?"  Then the Lord started speaking to me about our (the church's) expection of Him, the Holy Spirit and why do we find it so "weird" when God shows up and show off.  I was struck with the amazement of 'that's absolutely right!"  We the body of Christ should show up and expect God to be there and do something at every service.  But somehow, we always revert back to the 'normal' stance of "that's weird, God doesn't do that, and yada yada yada."  I've heard teachings on this before and those who know, know.  They know the real.  They know the fake.  Why?  Because they have encountered the Holy Spirit before and they know when something hinky is up.  Actually every believer in Christ should have the 'hinky' meter, but we don't.  We miss it.  Either too much in our flesh or too much pizza the night before, (still flesh) or GASP!!! - DOUBT AND UNBELIEF!  

So I guess the one thought I'm trying to put in to words is:  Believe!  Believe God will show up!  We ask Him too.  He wants to and we should want Him to, and He desires to bless us.  There are so many things that can affect and factor in to Him manifesting His presence though.  People can override the Holy Spirit just by being rude and discounting Him. Yes, you can disrrupt the Holy Spirit by your cell phone going off.  By speaking to a friend just as someone gets enough courage to start letting Holy Spirit use them and giving prophecy.  By not making space or time for Him..by singing the song that you practiced and practiced for, yet another song keeps coming up and you're like...what....This is driving me crazy I can't get it out of my head, or for refusing to give up their plan/agenda and allowing God to take the service a different way than they had planned.  "Why God, what I have to say is more important than you..."  and sadly, they are very mistaken because when you give over to Holy Spirit, He can do more in 1 minute than we could in 50 minutes.  Or, OR THE VERY WORST, God you can only 20 minutes, then that's it.  Service over.  We need to allow God the time and space to do what He wants to do, when He wants to do it and how He wants to do it, and He doesn't always tell you how He's going to show Himself.  

And, AND no one, NO ONE, who is authentic in their walk with Christ wants fake.  But there are some who will fake it til you make it.  Well, let me tell you friend, You don't have to fake it!  God is true.  He is who He says He is, and He will be there.  It may just not be the way you think it should be.  We have so much offense going on in the church body and now the prophets are fighting.  Chaos and confusion are the enemy's playground.  Let me say to you, friend, to guard against fake.  Read your Bible.  You will know them by the Word.  If it goes against God's Word, there is your first clue - IT'S NOT GOD!  We must go back to foundation.  God's Word is truth over everything else.  As my friend, Pastor Jon Friedt said, "Jesus put His name under the authority of His Word."  Christ is not going to go back and against His Word.  The whole counsel of His Word, not just a verse here and there, nor a word here and there, but the whole Bible.  

Again, I'm going to state - You cannot buy or sell the Holy Spirit.  You cannot produce Him to manifest on a whim.  In other words, you cannot 'divinate or use divinating ways.'  If you do, I would say you are operating in the power of a familiar spirit and NOT the Holy Spirit.  People who minister to others with this kind of gift in a legitimate capacity of having the Holy Spirit use them in this manner have paid a price in their lives.  They have sacrificed the time and walk totally in manner worthy of that calling.  They stay in the Word (The Holy Bible), they meditate on it minute by minute, they laid down what they wanted to do and picked up what God wanted them to pick up and do.  They have died to themselves, their wants and desires and now desire and want to do what God would have them to for Him.  There is also one other thing that goes with this, they always tell the truth no matter the cost to them.  They have integrity that even if it is going to hurt them, they will still tell the truth.  

So I ask you to read your Bible with eyes that see how God shows up, when He shows up, and let us start letting Him show up and 'have the church service.'  We, the body (the church) will be far better off if we allow this versus the same plan, the same ole same old.  Remember, God can have someone down on the ground on their hands and knees, eating grass.  He did it to Nebuchenezzar (sp?) He can do it to you...Don't say, "God can't do that or won't do that."  He most certainly can.  But, BUT if it gets that bad, there is a very good reason why God would do that to someone.  

  

 

 Blessings in the Mundane....

I was thinking back on some favorite photographs that I have taken and shared through the years.  Suddenly, I am hearing my Savior, Jesus, speak to me how He blesses even through the mundane tasks of life.  After all, who wants to wash dishes, right???  Yet, in those quiet times where we start to feel most down, after all who wants to scrub the toilets, right?  In those quiet moments, the Lord can make us feel like the most regal person in the universe.  There is no doubt that those two tasks are very necessary and life will get really nasty quick if you do not deal with the dirty dishes and dirty toilets.  I really find it amazing how many times I have been on my way to a sinkful of dirty dishes and look out the window and life changes to - let me go get my camera or where's my phone? I need to take a picture of this - it's beautiful.  Or, a thought flits through my chaotic brain and the Lord reminds me, He's got it all under His control.  

The thought for this blog posting came yesterday, and life has just been so busy that we put off the most important one.  When we take the time and just sit down with the Lord, He blesses our socks off.  I hope you will enjoy some time with the Lord, today, right now in this moment, and that He blesses your socks off.  There is truly no one like him.  Another new song given to me as I took the time to just sit with Him in our secret place.  

Let me give you a peak in to the journey of a special place where I spend time with my Savior Jesus Christ.  No one paints like Father God and no one creates like Father God.  Thank you for the sacrifice of your son, Jesus, to save a wretch like me.  Sharing a few of my favorite pictures through the years.  

 

 

Howdy Neighbor!!!

                                               Perspective and Perseverance...

So I decided to make myself a hat....The first attempt is the one to the left in the above picture.  I followed the instructions.  I did everything the pattern said to do with the exception of  having the size of hook that the pattern stated to use and maybe the yarn was of larger size but not so large as to make the above size hat.  I actually used a smaller size hook.  I knew about halfway through that there was a problem.  This hat was going to be huge and the predator from the movie "Alien" could wear this hat and it would fit them.  My husband encouraged me to finish the project.  I was going to stop and try to put elastic in it to make it work.  So out of fun, I finished the project.  Hubby modeled it, and no I cannot share the picture LOL...but it looked like a hat for a King.  You know, one of those really big ceremonial hats that the big Kahuna wears.  If you remember Johnny Carson and the big turban style hat he would wear at times...This hat looks similar.  

I decided to try again with modifications made.  The second attempt is the hat pictured on the right side in the above picture.  When taking the above picture for size perspective to share the results with my children, the Lord started speaking to me about how you can follow the plans to perfection. You can do everything correctly and it still not turn out.  Just because you do it all correct and right, it can turn out all wrong.  But when I  redid the hat, I listened to that quiet voice that said, "Stop here, crochet more here, put this here..." etcetera, and I got a really nice hat.  Perspective and perseverance.  Don't give up, but listen to the Lord.  And by listening to Jesus, it's going to turn out and it will be better than you ever thought it could be.   Following what the Holy Spirit says to do, and it's all going to work out! 

I love the hat and I'm not a hat person.  They usually bother me, irritate me and it's so bad that I usually do not wear them.  I wore this hat all last night and even slept in it because my head had been hurting and I felt like I was just cold which was causing the pain.  The hat fits so well, and for me a no hat person, it looks better than most hats that I buy at the store.