God Can Fix It

Ya know, I overheard something that, although it may sound crass, would speak volumes about God to someone livin' in the trenches with no energy for beating around the bush, this statement you are about to read was expressed by someone, who like many of us, is simply knee deep in the world's crapola and recognizes God working in the midst of it. Ready? Here it is:

"God just took His big can of 'Unf--k' and sprayed it all over!"

God is good. He is able to unf--k stuff.

Surrender

God specializes in creating something out of nothing where we are willing to surrender everything.

The Wrestle

I have wrestled with God,
and do you know how He wrestled me down?
With love.

Two Kingdoms

This morning during my drive to drop off my youngest at playschool I had some very interesting thoughts going on. I'm not sure how it got started, but I began to think about how humans are hosts to spiritual beings, spiritual beings who want authority in the earth, but can only get it through an alliance and agreement with a human being. Truth is stranger than fiction. Why can't these beings just take what they want? Because the earth was given to mankind by God.

We abdicate our authority when we make agreements with the deceiver, Jesus Christ got it back for us, but we have to believe the keys exhist before we can use them. What we believe makes a world of difference. When I asked Jesus to come into my life and be my Lord and Saviour, I became His human host. This is why the Bible refers to the Church as the Body of Christ. When Jesus came into my heart and life He began to clean up any resident darkness, and so over the years, as I've surrendered to His process, I've become lighter as He cleanses this spiritual house that is me. The opposite happens when we let darkness in through agreements we make with the things of the kingdom of darkness.

During Jesus' ministry on earth He delivered some people by casting out the dark spiritual beings they were hosting. In one such story they begged Jesus to let them go into pigs, since they had to come out of the man at Christ's order. I gather that a pig host is better than no host, but the pigs rushed into the water as a result, and drowned. Eventually, the kingdom of darkness leads to death, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. Since God loves the world, He sent His son to deliver it from the kingdom of darkness. All who invite Him into themselves and submit to His transforming power, will prove it in increasing measure, by coming out of agreement with the kingdom of darkness and destroying the spiritual work, and thus the physical destruction, caused by that dark kingdom. We are to do this by loving people.

God is love. Satan cannot love. Not real love. If we cause factions and strife, if we make judgements and condemn people based on judgements, we have missed our true calling. If we need to be right, we've missed it there too. Wrong exists. It touches everyone, it hurts, it's painful, it's frusterating, especially if someone you love is being hurt. We are to protect the innocent. We are to set the captives free, to release the prisoners of darkness. We do that by shining the light of love and truth. The truth is Jesus, not a philosophy you smack people with. Jesus shed His blood for us. That is truth. When we invite Him in, we invite the dominant spiritual power of light to overtake the darkness, from the inside out.

Let There Be Light

I love the freshness and lightness of November, the wind sweeping away the old in preparation for the most beautiful time of the year, when we celebrate the Light of the world stepping down into darkness...

True or False [Hope]?

I wrote this on some notepaper almost a week ago, but didn't have time to blog it until now.

I love my husband.

I love our children.

I love the home and life we've made together, that God has blessed us with.

Moments of panic or despair seize me when I see or feel that I've done nothing else with my life, or with my gifts and talents, or with my passions, because of defeat through my own flaws, or defeat through exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed by my responsibilities and then a lack of sufficient time.

What good are my gifts and talents and passions then?

Most mammals can procreate, feed their young, the population has homes to keep. What gifts/talents/passions are needed for that?

Why am I the way I am, if I was not intended to use what I've been given? Better to have been born ordinary than to suffer my gifts to an ordinary (though nice and noble) life.

So I try to carve out a niche, I keep hoping, I try to protect the flame.

The other option, that I can see, is to snuff the flame and see if I can survive as a “Stepford”. I actually tried that for a couple weeks, but God did not bless it.

So the struggle continues and my hope is in God's grace being sufficient for my weakness and for my passion.

My hope is in His goodness. In His plan. And when I am weak, I rage, and the enemy prowls around like a lion, watching for his opportunity to bring me down.

He who hopes, lives; he who's hope is lost, is lost.

As the Church we have a hope. But even then, it is not church, but our relationship with Jesus, our knowing of, and knowing we are known by God, that gives true hope.

False hopes abound and are dashed every day, hearts and lives are lost.

I can only point in the direction of true hope as I find it myself, live it myself.

It is a huge battle to enter into the place where true hope lives, because of the one who knows his defeat is imminent, his power weakened, his authority taken away, when the children of God awaken to who they are in Him.

The nucleus of holiness that contains true hope will burn off us anything of no eternal value. The closer I get, the more I burn, the more I see how much I carry has no eternal value. His love for me is the only thing that keeps me moving forward. Period.

Later this past week I was desperate to hear what God would say, I even woke up at 3am and then got up at 3:30am to spend some alone time with Him, but even at that hour, my toddler decided to have loud conversation, so I went back to bed. Later that morning, as I stumbled toward the coffee-maker for that life giving elixer, He spoke: “Psalm 23:3”. Not being sure of what it said, I looked it up. In 30 seconds He is able to do so much with one. Little. Word.

“He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness,

For His name's sake.”

He cares about me. He restores my soul. He guides me. And He does it for me for the sake of His Name.

That pretty much clinches it.

I'm good for another, well... oh week, at least. :-)

No, in all seriousness, these things go deep and do their work. I was also blessed that same day from a meeting with one of my pastors. God is good. Period.

Love,

M

Restoration Hardwired

I was very pleasantly surprised this morning by a hefty package on my doorstep from Restoration Hardware. It contained gorgeous catalogues of their various collections, almost 3 inches thick. I began to salivate. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. I waited to open them at a more opportune time, when I could truly savour the delight.

I finally opened the cover of the 1 inch thick “RH Interiors Spring 2013” catalogue this afternoon, coffee in hand, and read the opening letter from Gary Friedman, Chairman Emeritus, Creator and Curator. As I read his words of heart and passion, my heart began to thump, and I felt I would begin to weep. What he was writing about is authenticity. Passion. Hope. Dreaming. Being who you are with gusto, and in so living your life, being a contagious catalyst for the inspiration of others to be so propelled and glorious as well. When you shine, you give others permission to shine too, I heard this saying somewhere and have adopted it. But what made me want to weep is that this has been God's dream for the Church. Yet. We are not, as a collective, universal, Body of Christ, as passionate about God and Jesus as Gary and Co. are about their furniture. About their dream. Why not?

Why not?

My theory? Because the majority of those who call themselves the Church and Christian, don't know God. And so I wanted to weep. Because I feel God's heart for His Church, His Bride, His Body on earth. She has wandered. She has stuffed Him into her head, separated Him from her heart, and now wanders the desert like a zombie freak wondering why so many run from her.

But what if.

What if each zombie Christian and Church gave the Holy Spirit permission to do what He wills in His people, (those who profess His Name)? What if Christians let Jesus be Lord of their lives, instead of just paying lip service. What if Christians admitted their need for the power of God to restore their brokenness. What if they experienced the unconditional love and the gracious gift of healing in their hearts, minds and bodies that Christ offers?

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But we don't just need saving from satan and his kingdom of darkness, we need saving from ourselves too. From the falseness we create as a security blanket, we don't know ourselves as beautiful, because we don't know God as beautiful, in who's image we are created. At one time or another, each of us experience a wound and a lie. It goes deep, and is indiscernable, at times, from our DNA, it grows up with us and becomes a part of who we, and others, think we are. But. God had a failsafe installed. We are restoration hardwired. Each one. But we don't run on batteries.

I love God, because He loved me first. I believe, because I have experienced. I have found, because I chose to seek. I got answers, because I asked. Him. And those He put in my path. I am grateful. He is the power source that restores what is broken. I am grateful. I am part of a Church that has chosen to plug in. I am grateful.

It is a journey, to shine. Restoration is painful. Think of a house that has had poorly planned additions and shoddy work done to it, or neglect. Sometimes a gutting is in order. But we are each a masterpiece of the world's premier Architect. We have good bones. We are made for beauty and pleasure, to have Divine relationship. We are made for love of the purest form. We are made to live out of that place.

Imagine. Dream. Hope. Be inspired. Shine!

The Faithfulness Of The Paperboy

So I asked the Lord this morning how He wanted to speak to me. I then poured another cup of Starbucks, dark roast, into my thus branded mug as the words, “faithfulness of the paperboy”, crossed my mind. Nothing else was coming, so I was, like, really? And began to think about sitting outside on the front step, on this gorgeous morning, with my Bible. Then thoughts of, “rain or shine, the news gets delivered” and an image of my Macbook gets implanted in my mind. I imagined sitting in front of it, one sentence typed: The Faithfulness of the Paperboy. Period. Ugh.

Then a question pops in, “Do you have faith that I will give you the words?” Yes. Yes I do. But the subject sounds boring, to be honest, so I'm thinking (hoping) it's not You. Then I hear, “Obedience. Faithfulness. The paperboy delivers the newspaper rain or shine, because people need to read the newspaper”. Ahh... There is a flicker coming on in my lightbulb now, just a little bit. I go to my Macbook and start typing what I just typed and then it starts coming in.

It goes like this...

Do you know that every time the paper is to be delivered, it is, whether sun or rain or cold or heat? It may be delivered in a different style to adjust for weather and for the paperboy himself, but it gets delivered because people need to get the newspaper. Some people read the whole thing through, some only read the sections they enjoy, some don't read it at all because they assume they won't enjoy it or need anything from it. Regardless of what gets done with the paper once it's delivered, the paper gets delivered.

Do you think the paperboy enjoys his job? Perhaps on days when the temperature and weather co-operate and on the days he gets paid the fruits of his labour and when he is commended or awarded by his boss for a job well done. But many days it is tiring, cold, wet, and the only things that keep him going are the hope of a promise fulfilled. Even more than his commitment. It's the promise that keeps him going. The promise that comes from his boss. The promise that this will be a good thing for his resume, a stepping stone to something bigger... (be faithful with little and I will put you over much, rings in my brain). What keeps him going does not originate with him, nor does it affect him alone. It relies on others and it impacts others.

Promise and hope. If that can be crushed in your enemy, you have won the war. Who is your enemy? And where is he crushing your hope and trying to destroy your promise? Where is your hope and what is the promise? Who gave you the promise and what does it whisper about your destiny that you have invested hope into. Where are you under attack? It is deeper than your soul. It is your spiritual DNA and your soul and body are designed in harmony with that spiritual DNA.

You have a destiny to tread upon the enemy of your promise and hope, not just for your sake, but for all the ones you are called to deliver to. Persevere. Draw on the support systems that you need to see that the mission of why you are here, does not miss you.

You are significant. Any voice that says otherwise is lying.

Do what it takes to be the fulfillment of the promise that is stamped into your spiritual DNA. Life is short, life is also full of second and third and fourth chances. Get over yourself. Humility is a huge weapon in your arsenal, that is too often underused. Stop blaming others, that cripples you, and hinders others. Reach out for what you need to find out what your promise is, how to get back on track. There are people waiting for what you will deliver.

How many have passed up a [paper route] because it was boring, tedious, beneath them, didn't pay enough or uncomfortable? How many leaders, and movers and shakers today, had paper routes when they were young? Don't despise the day of small beginnings, because the character it builds is a foundation on which a greater structure can be built. That greater structure is your promise. There is no fast track. But there is hope. Do what it takes to get back on track.

Your promise is waiting.

Hope

Unfurling leaf and fragrant bud;

Oh how I miss you!

Hum of bee and clapping leaves;

Green for sight and warm soil touch.

Icy fingers hold you back;

my heart is looking forward.

Patience is trying;

A heart so eager,

To feel color, sound, and heat.

Thankfulness is blessed;

Passion and joy feel best.

What was,

Was.

What is,

Is.

But what can be,

Moves me.