Sad, sad day........

My heart is breaking right now. My sweet, wonderful, talkative, wonderful cat of 13 years, Toby, had a horrible seizure today and died.

I'm in shock...heartbroken...last night he and I were playing hide and go seek, and today he was perfectly normal, eating, running around, and then suddenly, he began to shake and moan. I held him in a towel as he wailed and my housemate, Whitney called the vet...but suddenly, he simply went limp in my arms.

Loss is really hard.

Shakings

The Lord has said in His Word that He will shake everything that can be shaken. World events in the past few weeks are evidence of the shakings that are just starting, and will most likely increase over the next year and years. Even a quick read through of any of the Gospels will show that all of this (and more) shaking is no surprise to God.

However, it appears to surprise some people, and one of the prevailing reactions is fear. This is especially evidenced amongst those of us living in the western world whose main brushes with shakings in the last 25 years have included such events as 9/11 and hurricane Katrina, both of which elicited tremendous fear-based reactions on the parts of quite a number of people.

Some are crying out doomsday messages, warnings, "run for the hills" types of messages, or hunker down, load up, and ride it out, hoping that disaster won't come to their doorstep.

Here's a thought for all of us to consider: Your view of God will determine your view of world events and even personal events.

How true this is. Even in circles of Jesus followers, views of God run the gamut, especially when chaos in personal lives or world events unfold. Who IS this God we followers of Jesus claim to believe in? What is His name? What faces does He have? What are His characteristics? What are His promises? The only way to know this is to be in personal relationship with Him, face to face discussion, daily, meditating on His Word, dialoging with Him, asking Him questions and waiting in that quiet place to hear His responses, just as Jesus did when He was walking our planet in the flesh.

Last night at a Champions of Hope gathering, a young man named Jed Hartley shared a revelation he'd received as he meditated on the Word of God. One of the first rebukes that Jesus gives His disciples recorded in the Scripture comes when Jesus is asleep, peacefully, on the boat on the sea in the storm and His disciples are freaking out, wake Jesus up and ask Him in their fear and panic, "Don't you care that we could die?!" Jesus rebukes them: Why are you so afraid? The final rebuke of the disciples recorded is when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His betrayal, beating and eventual crucifixion, and He is clearly sorrowful and experiencing anxiety. Where are His disciples? Sleeping! Jesus rebukes them, "Can't you just stay awake with me a little while?" (my translation).

Jed shared this profound insight...I have added my own tidbits here too: there are times when everything is raging around us and based on circumstances, it feels like we are going to be completely bowled over and may even die, and the Lord is not disturbed at all and even rebukes us for not having faith in Him in the midst of the circumstances. Then there are times when, from the Lord's perspective, things are raging in the atmosphere and shakings are taking place or about to take place, and the Lord "catches" us sleeping, but wants us to be awake, praying, interceding, standing WITH Him in the midst of the storm and preparing our hearts to stand in the coming storms. So how do we know when we're supposed to rest in the storm and when we're supposed to be alert and intercede with Him in the storm? The only way to know is if you know HIM, if you know HIS HEART, if you are listening to HIS voice, if you are intimately acquainted with the heartbeat of the Father, through the Son, Jesus, in the power and leading of the Holy Spirit.

My prayer for all of us is that first, we know our heavenly Father and KNOW who He is, his characteristics, His names, and we spend time adoring Him just for who He is as revealed through His Word, the Bible. Just doing this completely transforms and renews one's thoughts and heart and will open up the lively discussion and dialogue that our Daddy in heaven is longing to have with each of His children, even moreso now during these perilous times that He told us would be coming, just as He continually told His disciples throughout the Gospels about His impending punishment, crucifixion, death and resurrection.

Let us know our Father, hear His voice, and understand if He is calling us to 'rest' or to 'war' in the Spirt. His ways are higher than our ways, and so we need to take time to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who, for the JOY set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the Father. (Hebrews). Let us be raised up with Him, to see things from His perspective; otherwise, that old familiar friend, fear, who lurks in the depths and slithers on the ground as he always has, will grip our ankles, paralyze us and prohibit us from moving forward into the grace, mercy and love of God for Him and for others. Amen and amen!

The+Final+Strategy+of+Satan

Have a look at this blog below. Excellent food for thought.

The+Final+Strategy+of+Satan

Adoration....a transformation.....

ADORATION

What is the first thought that comes to mind when you hear the word above?

What about in connection with God? Have you ever taken the time to adore God just for who He is? In the Scriptures, He's got a lot of names:

Redeemer, Savior, Lord, Alpha, Omega, Giver of life, the Truth, etc.

He's got a plethora of characteristics:

Forgiving, loving, kind, gentle, just, caring, steadfast, friend, lover, comforter, etc.

Adoring the Lord is just taking time to declare to Him who He is: I adore you Lord as the forgiving God, the one who sees everything about me and still loves and forgives me. You forgave the woman caught in adultery, You forgave the thief on the cross, You are so forgiving and I adore you for that!

I promise you that if you begin to take time and just ADORE the Lord, your entire life of faith with be transformed!

Prayer works!

Some of you know that part of my ministry now in the body of Christ is intercessory prayer. Two years ago, I didn't have a grid for what it means to be an intercessor, except that Scripture teaches us that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father, always interceding for us. Well, if Jesus is the great intercessor, then it follows that His children would also serve through intercession.

One of the heart-beats of the Lord is stopping human trafficking. Along with many others, I have a burden for this horrific crime, which is simply modern day slavery and is rampant across the planet. Every Wednesday, I lead a "side-room" prayer hour focusing on ending human trafficking in eastern Europe. It's hard work, yet as the Lord gives His burden to us each week, we press in and pray His heart regarding human trafficking.

In the past few months, the Lord continually brought me/us back to Hungary...I thought it was because I'd spent 11 years there as a missionary and teacher, but apparently, God knows and wants to see human trafficking into, through, and out of Hungary stopped. A couple of days ago, I received an email from a friend of mine in Hungary in which was written the following:


"Another trafficking ring has been busted says the Hungarian news - French, Hungarian, plus others trafficking Vietnamese."

I cannot begin to put into words how my faith has been encouraged and lifted up by this news! If any of you struggle with prayer, wondering if you are hearing God's heart about something, trust Him, know that He is speaking and leading you into His heart for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven!

Join us from wherever you are in the world on Wednesdays as we pray for the ENDING of human trafficking in eastern Europe! Clearly, this IS God's heart!

Blizzard of 2011

It was getting kinda tough to toss the snow that high!

Love the wind-blown drifts on the back patio!

Always clear a path for the postman!

Thankfully, the white stuff was fluffy!

Yes, we got HIT with a blizzard this week, and these are the pictures to prove it. However, I am VERY impressed with Kansas City's ability to clear streets quickly!