Gathering II

My day has been so full, I will only write a bit. A house full of gracious people introduced themselves to me one at a time over the course of our gathering this morning. Just before we left, the pastor/prophet told one twenty-two year old that God said she is on the Internet so much, she is endangering her soul by putting Him aside again and again for her blog and her facebook account. The preacher suggested she fast the Internet for three days or a week and see how much more time she has for God. She gasped when she first heard the prophetic utterance. My husband said, “That prophecy was right on.”

She lives at our home for now.

More later, I promise, God willing. 🙂

Gathering

My youngest daughter goes to gatherings with friends. They eat good food, pray together, talk, laugh, occasionally hear from someone with a prophetic gifting. I’ve told her, “I want to go.” She finally got an opportunity to invite me. Tomorrow is the day. I’m expecting God to show up. After all, He says in the Word, “If two or more gather in My name, I’ll be there in the midst of them.”

Welcome, amazing God.

Out of Town

Oftentimes sorrow gets alleviated some with a touch of joy. My husband and I drove to Maine. He’s a pastor. Our dear friend lost her thirty-six year old daughter to cancer on January 19, 2012. The family asked him to do the funeral service. So we drove to Maine from Upstate New York.

The tears flowed and the testimonies poured forth. She confessed Jesus as her Lord and Savior during her life time. She possessed inward and outward beauty. She left two pre-teen children behind and a loving family, and a husband of less than a year. We talked of her compassion, spunk, determination, integrity, creativity, and high standard of excellence. My husband talked of Jesus taking her sins upon Himself so when she stands before a holy, just Judge, her penalty will be paid by God the Son. Jesus gifted her with payment for her fine.

Victory in Jesus removed some of the pain of  her death. Then I got a chance to visit with a close friend from high school. I haven’t seen her and her husband for eleven years. What a treat! We talked and laughed until we were too weary to stay up any longer. God gave joy in the midst of sorrow. How great is our God!

Dinner with Friends

Have you ever been overwhelmed with life? Sometimes I get down because of hearing of trials others are going through, along with my own stresses. Some months ago my husband committed to attending a dinner function with friends of ours one night per month. I balked. One requirement was to bring a dish to pass, sometimes the main entree, and I felt exhausted from all that I do already. He told me fine, I could stay home and he would go.

He knows me well. I am an extrovert. There’s no way I am going to want to miss out on a gathering of friends and time with him in a fun atmosphere. Besides that he told me he needed it and he thought it would be good for me, too. So I reluctantly agreed. After we got there, they asked me to start bringing my guitar. Oh brother, another responsibility. I found it hard to say no.

The last two months, I’ve felt stretched almost to the breaking point. After composing myself at home and praying like crazy, I’ve gone. Once there, we pray for dinner and eat good food. We talk and laugh. A couple of the men kid around with such good natured fun, I can’t help but join in with the jokes and the story telling. Then another guy and I play guitar so everybody can sing to the Lord. We then have a devotional from one of the attendees. It is amazing how much better I feel emotionally and spiritually after these few hours of camaraderie. Plus I’m learning new songs and to play guitar better since he’s at a higher level of proficiency.

After one of the evenings, I told my husband what a blessing it is to attend these dinners. “I knew it would be good for you.”

He’s right so many times when we have disagreements. Whenever he reminds me that he was right, there’s always a twinkle of play and love in his eyes. All I know is that I thank God that He directs my paths, and sometimes it’s with a little push from my husband.

Living Life With Integrity

I read a book a little while ago entitled Good to Great in God’s Eyes by Chip Ingram, copyright 2007, published by Baker Books. He said a colleague wrote things on 3 x 5 cards and then he did, like, “I want to be a person of integrity to bring glory to God,” “I want to show love to my wife in tangible ways every day that will mean something to her,” “I want to pray more often every day and develop an attitude of gratitude.”

He read them every morning and night for a period of time in the beginning,  and then regularly after that but not as often. So I made some for me, shamelessly stealing some of his wording. It is impacting my life because it clearly states things I want to do. Some days I say, “I haven’t started that yet, but I will.”

If it sounds good to you, I’m sure Chip Ingram would be thrilled to have you use his idea. He longs for believers to live a Christian life as a man or woman of integrity. I heard him say it at a seminar a few years back in Upstate New York. The book is worth reading, and making wholesome changes brings zest to life.

Daily Time

I took some time yesterday to get into the Word of God. I’ve been reading John 14, 15, 16 and maybe 17 the last two days. So much to take in, like the fact that if we love Jesus the Father loves us! How cool is that? Yesterday I felt as though the Lord wanted me to read a bit of a Christian book. So I rummaged through the bookcase and found one entitled, It All Comes Out in the Wash, by Judi Braddy, copyright 2006, Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City.

I heard her at a pastor’s wives conference a couple of years ago. I bought her book and put it on a shelf. Now that I’ve started it, I’m enjoying her style of writing. She speaks about the tyranny of the urgent getting in the way of our time sitting at Jesus’ feet.

I felt as though the Lord wanted me to sit with Him three days ago, and I put it off just to do a load of laundry and then to answer the phone and then to just grab a quick bite to eat. The timer went off; it was time for me to leave the house.  I wondered later if He might have suggested I stay home had I spent time with Him. I know He would have given me some nuggets of truth to ponder while traveling and mingling with others.

Proverbs 6 reminded me today to get up and around after my devotional time. The chair felt cozy and I was snuggled in a blanket. My paraphrase of verses 9-11, “Too much sleep results in poverty.”  Later in Proverbs 6 it admonished men not to be lured by an adulteress, or an application for women, not to be an adulteress, in verses 24-29 and 32-35. Satan is subtle. I need those reminders to follow Jesus’ commands and not allow our culture to influence my thoughts. All sin starts with our thought life.

In Biblegateway.com, in Second Corinthians 10 it says: ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

We can change our thoughts and our actions with Jesus’ help. Hallelujah! Time for God and His Word pays dividends we’re not always aware of. In this life and the next we get to cash them in. Yay!