Day 15 - Loyalty & Friendship

Psalm 37

(lot's to say about today, I need more time before the clock strikes Midnight - stay tuned!)

Day 14 - Reassurance

Remember day 10? That day of resistance where everything seem to be going wrong? 

Well, I wrote my blog before the day was over and later on God spoke a verse to me.  He also spoke this verse to me on Day 13 as someone in church read from the passage and today, on Day 14th.  Remember what I said about repetition and God making sure we get the message?

The verse says this:

"Do not be afraid, Abram [Dea-Dee]. I am your shield, your great reward." Genesis 15:1b

That is reassuring!

Day 13 - A Hope-Filled Excursion

Today I spent the afternoon at the beach.  It was like living in a fantasy world with no thoughts about the real world and only hopes (nay, promises) on the horizon.  A day of transporting the mind to "what ifs" and "someday..."

Also, I was able to share with a lone traveler the encouragement that no man goes through this life alone.  That it is possible for us to live going everywhere with God by our side, and us by His.  I gave him my copy of "Practicing His Presence" as a companion guide for his travels, so that he too can have everyday conversations with God.

God spoke, I relayed the message!

Day 12 - Breath of Life

“The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life." Job 33:4

Lord, I thank you that the Life of Willie McGinnis is in your hands and the Life of Marcy's mom is in your hands too.

You are the one who breathes life into man, who gives life to our spirits, our bodies, our minds...to see you, know you and be known by you.

I thank you because no one can escape your love!

Tonight, I am praying for these two people to experience your goodness in a supernatural and powerful way - nothing is impossible for you!

Thank you for allowing me to be part of their journeys Lord! Keep me in your hand - always.

Day 11 - Hunger

Hunger for God, that's what today was all about. Today was the day, since the beginning of the year, that I had the opportunity to feed a hungry soul.

There was such a hunger and a surprise as to the messenger.

God, please continue to use me to bless others, for your glory.

Thank you for speaking through me today!

Day 10 - Resistance

Today was one of those days where I was just trying to do the right thing all around.  Every attempt fumbled and the opposite effects resulted.

Am I just out of touch? Was it a series of tests that I completely failed? or Was part of the unseen war between good and evil?  It all came to a head when I ended up yelling at a fellow human being...was I yelling at them or at something deeper?

"If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." John 15:19

Sometimes I just feel that I am on the wrong planet.  I am tired of trying to do the right things and have even more challenging things happen.  I feel I am not being backed up at every turn.  God, are you there? Where are the hosts of angels helping me? Why are things turned around to always be my fault?  I take full responsibility for my part, but what about theirs? Where is the justice?

If God decided to take me home today, it would not be too soon.  I am tired.  I am trying to find the strength, but I am tired of always being the on self-correcting.  This continuing call for repentance, which is often met with resistance, is exhausting.

Days 7, 8 & 9 - Choices, Excuses & Cluelessness

Choices

Day 7th*, I decided to go out after work instead of going home to do more work.

This turned out into slipping into my bed at 1:30am.  Alabama win or not, that was a poor choice.

I had promised my mother I would not come home late, and I did exactly that.  What did God have to say about it? I didn't care, I made my choice regardless.  Choice or rebellion? Perhaps, not rebellion outright, but no consistency of character.  Definitely consequences: less prepared for the next day, less rested and definitely no conversation with God; which left my spiritual tank empty. Oh, and the bible reading not done.

*I've heard that one can break a healthy new habit one is trying to form in 7 days if one is not disciplined.  This happens with most people and their New Year's resolution. Ooh, I hate making statistics true!  I don't want to be ordinary, I want to be extraordinary!

Excuses

Day 8th, I was justifying my choices with excuses.

Hey, I have a schedule working from 12:00pm to 10:00pm!  I am too busy, I don't have time, I am tired. Again, no value to commitment.  Yes, these things were true, but I could have pushed through.  Despite it all, God showed himself faithful.  I made bad choices the day before, and He still showed up.  How? Well, remember the part where I chose to not prepare as thoroughly the day before? Well, he really helped me in the late night class.  The students and I enjoyed a great, dynamic class.  They are freshmen, have never had me before and we were able to have candid conversation and a time to get to know each other in a relaxed environment.  It was truly a present from God.  Did God give me excuses? Did he not honor his commitment? His faithfulness? Not once, not ever and never will.

Yet, still not talking to him really (although I thanked Him, because I knew he had done it and not me) or doing my bible reading....falling more behind.

Cluelessness

By Day 9th, I was boat without a rudder.

Not talking to God, or worse yet, not listening to Him really gets you off track.  Once you stop being mindful of God's intervention or opinion, you become careless, clueless as to your purpose and ultimately disappointed.

Wow, lots of catch up to do and lots of conversation I am missing out on.  Shape up or ship out! - ok, had to bring it back full circle with the nautical reference (or at least a play on words).

Let's get back on track!

Day 6 - Not Just For November

Today has been a day of thanks.  Thankfulness for friends who have made my life great, for friends who have been there and for those who understand me.

I want to thank you for your support and thoughtful comments about my blog and how you are following my candid words on this page.

Thankfulness also goes to God today for speaking, as I knew He would.  Today He not only spoke through you my friends, he spoke through this morning's message in church service.

The message was about Growing Up!  It confirmed this desire I have to move onto new heights this year as a person and as a follower of Christ.  That is, to allow myself to be guided more by my Father in heaven, to let him groom me into the person he wants me to be in this world.  I know many of you have expressed how thankful you have been for our friendship, and I want to do more!

I am thankful for his guidance and correction, for his promises yet to come - but not forgotten, and for his support in helping me share these intimate conversations with you.

God has spoken in my life in many powerful ways through the years, and my prayer is that as you continue to read and I continue to be vulnerable, that I will have new extraordinary experiences of God speaking in truly miraculous and unexplainable ways to post here for your reading.

Thank you.

Day 5 - Distraction

Distraction.  This has been pretty much the theme of my day. 

Although, I functioned, I wasn't altogether present.  Have you had that kind of day where things seems to be happening around you, people's voices seem far away even though they are in the same room, and driving a familiar route seems strangely longer than usual?

Consistent with the theme, I was also distracted about my focus on God today.  I didn't try to hear or talk to him.  I was just absent.

Then, within TV watching and my Bible lesson plan section - I am confronted with the sanctity of life.  Not just the value of it, but the value you yourself can allow or disallow to define it.  God gave it the utmost value to it, by creating us in his image.  Are we acting, functioning accordingly?

For God "not speaking" I sure am hearing something pretty strong today.  Sometimes I need a kick in the butt, especially when I am wanting to get lazy in my search for God in the day.  You see, I was considering "resting" and not going to church tomorrow; which guarantees that the message tomorrow is going to be awesome!  As this is usually my attitude on those days where God is planning to reach me in a deep way.

Looking forward to the awesomeness that a new day bring - that's tomorrow!

Day 4 - The Next Step

When you mention trust, I guarantee that waiting is not too far away.  Waiting is one of the hardest things to do, especially if things don't seem to be going the way you think they should.

So, I asked God, when will things change? Why are things not as they should be? He responded with words that more than cover the issue:

"For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.  Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and not delay." Habakkuk 2:3

Isn't that amazing? I mean, how wonderful that it does not stop at waiting - that there is promise attached to it! God is faithful even within our impatience or disheartening.

How did I hear this?  I will tell you.  I did not hear this entire verse in my head.  In fact, all I heard was "wait" and the idea that He "will do more than what is expected" and for some reason the book of Habakkuk popped in my head as a place that talks about those themes (mostly because of chapter 1 verse 5, but I came accross chapter 2 and this JUMPED out of the page instantly - and rightly so!). I am so thankful that He seeks to encourage me anytime I have a question - especially those seemingly unanswerable ones.  Men doesn't have the answers, but God seems to have more than enough - even before we are able to complete our question.

This was my conversation with God today.  Does this encourage you? Is he speaking to you today?

Day 3 - One Word

Trust.

Day 2 - Eyes and Ears

So, here we are on Day 2...

Yesterday, we left off where I hadn't really heard much and was about to hit the sack.  To be honest, you can't very well have a conversation with someone if you don't put yourself in a position to listen.

But, to be true to my post, I tried to do just that and go ahead with my bedtime read.  Being the first of the new year, I searched my room for the Bible reading plan they gave out 2 weeks ago at my new church in an attempt to start the year on track.  Nevermind the fact that I was putting aside the started effort to try and finish up the Psalms before the close of 2012.  I've been leisurely working on them for a few months now, no agenda, just at my own pace alternating between them and the life of David in 1 & 2 Samuel.

Anywho, I looked at the plan, and of course it started with Genesis - the first book in the Bible.  Ok, this will be easy, only Chapters 1 & 2.  Easy.....here I go verses 1, 2, 3...10.  Wait, what did verse 3 say again?  This will happen a lot when you read the Bible. 

It wasn't that I wasn't necessarily understanding, but seeking to go deeper, and something about that 1st day of creation, something, someone was telling me to go back!

"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light 'day,' and the darkness he called 'night.' And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day."

Ok, fine.  Interesting, there's something about that first line there.  I wonder what God is trying to say? Hmm...let me read some more and see.  I finished through the end of Chapter 2 and nothing -yet. I knew God was trying to tell me something!

Ok, so what now?  I said, I may as well try and read a few more of the Psalms, I am so close with only 13 chapters more to go.  I started reading chapter 138 - nice. Then 139 verse 10, next 11"If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,' even the darkness will not be light to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." Whoa! What? Wait! Stop right there! This is it! 

There it was, what God wanted to show me.  Coincidence? No way! I am telling you, there had been no conscious order or methodology to the pace of my reading of those Psalms or even of Samuel.  I mean, what are the odds that my reading one more chapter today inadvertently or 2 less the day before or whatever the number would completely add up to reading these separate portions on the same night?

You see, this is how I know it's from God.  He knew when I would read those and He set it up so that I would read them together.  What do you think He's trying to tell me about the light and the darkness? If you read the entirety of Chapter 139 you can see that he is speaking about knowing the author, the reader, you, me...very intimately and that nothing is hidden from Him, because well, He created the light and the darkness, and you, and me. 

Can you see how even that syncronicity is evident even in the fact that He orchestrated the material for my reading? What about reading about the "first things" created on the "first day", posted on the "first day" of my blog on the "first" day of the year? Ok, I could go on and on...but you get the idea.

God speaks in repetition, pause, and across time....He also speaks in themes.  I will be on the alert for the next few days with my eyes and ears wide open for the light and the darkness! Will you?

Btw, He also answered a small request this morning when I asked him to find me Christian station with sermons from Pastors I often listened to in Boston....after a 10 minute scan of the radio (twice of the AM - nothing) then once on the FM - boom the voice of Ravi Zacharias came over the radio waves!

Day 1 - Obedience, Bravery and a Start

This may be the 3^rd year in a row that I have wanted to start writing and sharing with the World that I, in fact, hear God speak to me every day.

Although, it has not yet been audible - i.e. someone speaking into my ear, it has certainly been unmistakable.  Unlike previous years, this year I didn’t have the strong yearning to start the blog.  However, maybe I am because it is not emotionally motivated, but am inspired by a sincere desire to create new habits and new patterns, to have a better lifestyle that seeks to remove the unnecessary and wasteful in my life.  And much of that is what occupies my mind and my time.

So far, the start has been a bit of a flop.  Resolution disillusion anyone?  As a single person, living in a new place with no friends, I fell into old patterns today.  I watched some favorite TV shows and wore my pj’s most of the day while I lay in bed.  No hangover mind you, just a need for relaxation, but certainly nothing to show “I accomplished something great today or I learned something new.”

No "Good Morning, Jesus" and definitely haven’t gotten to any prayers or Bible reading for today.  Although, I am reminding myself there’s still 1 hour and several minutes left to the day - and God can do a lot in much less time than that!  No need to worry though, I usually do my Bible reading in lieu of a bedtime story most days - Perhaps there is still a conversation to come? I'll let you know tomorrow :)

Yet, the failure is not total, for I am finally writing and posting – instead of thinking of writing or posting.

I heard no earth shattering message for today; except, START! And I think that's a God place to be right now.

Do you have something you’ve been meaning to start too?