Don't ignore the fishy smell coming from that beautiful red apple.

If you want God to change your life read the Bible, if you want to change your own life read a "how to" book that tells you that you alone can change your life.  Just beware the fishy smell coming from those luscious apples in the pages of some of those self help books or speakers.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't read good inspirational books.  I'm saying that if you don't read THE Good Book you won't have a strong filter to sift out the stuff that looks good but has a suspicious odor.

I'm seeing far too many Christians "liking" authors that skew the truth and make it sound good--even siting a "creator" or "higher power". I believe that they are trying to make themselves sound good to Christians so that they can support their philosophy of "it's all about you and what you want in life--you just have to believe good things about yourself."

 Genesis 2 God spoke to Adam and Eve these words:

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. ¹⁶ The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Adam and Eve could have had any other fruit from any other tree in the Garden. But then Satan came to Eve and said in Genesis 3 

 "“Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 

Way back in the Garden of Eden we see the first clever way that Satan questioned and skewed the Words of God to convince Eve to believe that God really wasn't serious about His command to her.

Did Eve forget God's strong words to them? Or did the desire of her heart overcome the truth of God? 

Eve saw the "beautiful fruit" hanging from that forbidden tree but apparently she didn't smell the fishy odor coming from it and chose to eat that luscious looking fruit.

Many self help speakers and writers want to "empower you" to have unlimited  happiness when they are really asking you "did God really say that"? Does God really care what you do as long as you follow your own heart and are happy? Does he care what you do as long as you love Him and have good intentions? (of course pulling the definition of love out of your own dictionary).

Many writers (even Christian ones) tell us that we have the power to change our own lives when the scriptures clearly say that lasting change comes from surrendering ourselves to God and allowing Him and His Word to change us.  Surrendering our heart's desire to His--making them one.

Christians beware. Use the Bible as your first source and know it so well that you recognize the fishy smell that comes from some of those juicy red apples in other books.

Let's be good "apple pickers" by knowing what a good apple looks like AND smells like".

Romans 12 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may  prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Want to know what or who triggered this blog? Just ask :)

***In Christian Life Coaching we believe that asking powerful questions help the client "get out of the box" through the power of the Holy Spirit within them, allowing the Holy Spirit to to change their way of thinking.
 

Moms, the devil is scared of you!

Just last night the Lord showed me a wonderful picture of a promise He gave me for one of my kids 20 years ago.  I heard His glorious words to me--"Now".  I have been praying and trusting God for over 20 years for this promise to come to pass.  I am ecstatic that He is going to bring it to pass.  I know His promises are true.

Moms, your prayers are indeed powerful for your children.  Never doubt that God hears every word.  You are the glue that is holding God's promises for your children.  Stick to it! Never doubt it! Trust that God will bring his promises for your children to pass.  Never weary in well doing and trusting God or when you do fall on your face before a loving God who you can trust and ask for more faith to believe.

Happy Mother's Day! May it be the day that mothers realize the great power they have in Christ Jesus.

I Go to the Rock

 I should have been ready for this.  I should have known that the enemy of my soul would not sit still when God is moving mightily in His anointed ones. I should have seen it coming.  

Why? So many wonderful things happening through the Holy Spirit.  The body of Christ around us is experiencing amazing times with God.   The Tiara Ladies retreat was drenched in God's love with the Holy Spirit bringing new freedom to the ladies there.  My marriage has been renewed and refreshed. 
 And most recently, God has given me a clear purpose statement "to cast hope for a purposeful future". I am thrilled that God uses who He created me to be to touch lives.

To top it off our pastor even preached a sermon that told us that with anointing comes attack. I should have been ready.

 I should have been ready.

But today I woke with a sense of dread instead of hope.  My first inclinations were indeed to seek God, but my heart lacked hope and my mind was being wooed into a dark place. But  I went to the Word--it wasn't easy--I wanted to zone out, run to a mind numbing activity--I wanted to hide--not "abide in the shadow of the Almighty". I knew that truth was what I needed and thank God the Holy Spirit drew me--not an emotional yahoo kind of way--but a gentle calling--faint but there.  I didn't leap into God's arms as I love to do, but dragging my feet I landed in Psalm 18.


Here's what I found in Psalm 18

David is surrounded by His enemies, his hope was shaken but what does he do?  He declares that God is worthy to be praised and has already rescued him.

I love You, O Lord, my strength.”

² The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³ I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

David declares that he is already saved from his enemies!!!!! that seems a bit weird when reading the next verses

The cords of death encompassed me,

And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.

⁵ The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

Wow!  He is in the midst of a hopeless situation and yet he has already declared God's rescue.

But here is the key to his rescue.  He knew Who to call on, he knew that God had already rescued him--he knew he just needed to call out to Him.  God was there waiting for the call.

 

⁶ In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

And what happened?  God came not in a gentle way to rescue but like a super hero (but way, way better).

Then the earth shook and quaked;

And the foundations of the mountains were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

⁸ Smoke went up out of His nostrils,

And fire from His mouth devoured;

Coals were kindled by it.

⁹ He bowed the heavens also, and came down

With thick darkness under His feet.

¹⁰ He rode upon a cherub and flew;

And He sped upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹ He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,

Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

¹² From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³ The Lord also thundered in the heavens,

And the Most High uttered His voice,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴ He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,

And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.

¹⁵ Then the channels of water appeared,

And the foundations of the world were laid bare

At Your rebuke, O Lord,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

Wowzer!!!!!!  Is that amazing or what?  The great God of the universe heard and flew out of the temple to rescue his beloved. 

Our God is waiting to rescue us, to defeat my enemy of hopelessness.  He is waiting to rescue you too!

He sent from on high, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy,

And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

But the Lord was my stay.

¹⁹ He brought me forth also into a broad place;

He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

He brought me out of the waters that were drowning me because He delighted in me.  He was delighted that I called out to Him for rescue.  He was waiting for that trust--the trust that I knew He would and had already done it!

20 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me

 The next few verses talk about being rescued because of his (David's) righteousness.  The good news is that as a believer we are made righteous and holy through the blood of Christ.

^{2 Corinthians 5:2} He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 I am made righteous, I am delivered, I am rescued because God delights in me.  You are too! 

There He is--there's my Rock. He was there all along.

 

Kisses from God

So many things were revealed to us at the Crown of Beauty: Delightful Treasure Retreat this past weekend.  So many Jesus "intersections" among the ladies.  Intersections pre-arranged by God to encourage, lift up and bless those precious daughters of the King. So many kisses from Jesus.  So many Jesus "sightings" throughout the weekend.

I'm allowing God to bring them back to memory and I will post them as He sees fit. Today it was one of the sweetest of pictures that he gave me.

 As I lay in my bunk worshipping along with Jesus Culture "You Won't Relent" I thought of the prospect of my grandchildren coming up to the cabin the next day and the Lord gave me a startling picture of my Dad watching his great grandchildren playing in front of the cabin he built with his own hands.  He was laughing and clapping his hands with that twinkle in his eyes.  My eyes teared up and I thanked God for that picture.  I wasn't sure what it meant. Perhaps he could see from heaven? That God allowed him to be there watching them for a moment in time?  Anything is possible but didn't seem quite what God wanted me to see.

The next morning during a teaching time and a comment about our mansions in heaven, God revealed that was a picture of Dad's mansion in heaven (I always hoped it would look like the cabin) and saw his joy as children played in front of him.  A glimpse of heaven is what I saw that night--a blessed glimpse of heaven--seeing my Dad where He is alive now doing what He loves to do.

Get out of your box!!

A month or so ago I was up at the family cabin enjoying some time with family and God.  Such a cool, wonderful, quiet time to enjoy peace and rest.

As I awoke early one morning I felt the sweet lull of the Holy Spirit.  I was drawn into the throne room of God and felt His deep love.  Within minutes I heard God speaking to me.  He said "people say that they have God in a box but the truth is that they are in the box".  They are trapped by who they think they are, their own misconceptions of God's grace, their own emotions, etc.

I knew what the Lord was saying.  He was saying that we each have difficulty looking at our own lives in an objective way.  We can't seem to push beyond our small world.  It's as if we are in the box and have written all over the walls who we believe we are.  We need help to peek out of the box.

If we would just step out of our boxes, the sides would open up and we would allow the light of God's truth to shine on our now flattened out boxes--to form a picture of who we were truly created to be and what message we are meant to live.  And yes, that's what I mean.  We are meant to live our life's message--to be the message to ourselves and others.

We are unique, one of a kind, like no other creature or human in the world.  Our God is so creative, he never makes the same person twice.  Our physical DNA, our personality, or experiences, our way of relating to the world and to God are all different.  Do you hear that?  How much does God love us?  How much does he want individuals that are reflections of himself and yet unique, beautiful and created as one-of-a-kinds????

Get out of that box!  

Let God flatten out the sides of that tiny cubicle you think is your life with no possibility of change!  God's world is open to you--to experience the light of His love and live a life of fulfillment and peace to bring glory to a God that is so awesome we cannot fathom all His amazing attributes.

Get out of that box!

My theme song lately is Super Chick's song Rock what you Got!

So I keep telling my life purpose clients.

Get out of the box, see who you are created to be, and then Rock what you Got!

Here are they lyrics:

This one's for the beaten downThe ones who lost their rock and rollRise up you lost ones, claim your crownYou were born to rock inside your soul
Welcome misfits, orphans, allThe ones who feel they don't belongYou were made to rock, so stand up tallGo rock the world and prove them wrong
Rock what you gotRock what you gotDon't ever let them make you stop
Rock what you gotLight up the lotNo one can rock the way you rock
This one's for originalsWho strike out towards the great unknownFear not the missteps, take the fallsThe rock you find will be your own
This one's for the beaten downWho gave up on their rock and rollLift your eyes from what drags you downYou were born to rock inside your soul

Another Fresh Start

So, the first half of the year I determined to grow closer to God and in essence get into better spiritual shape. I studied the Word with an appetite to learn more about the amazing Creator and Lord God. I leaned in close to His heart so that I could gradually begin to hear my heart beat with His. I sought opportunities to join Him in loving others. He blessed me beyond measure despite my ups and downs, my starts and restarts. He is still leading me in those paths and I know I will eternally be seeking Him more each day.

Now, it's time to get this physical body in shape for what the future holds. 2012 is only 5 months away and God has called me to get in shape so that I can indeed run this race and keep up with Him.

So, this week I got up every morning and walked along the canal near our home. Ears plugged into music and arms swinging along to the music with some huffing and puffing as I started up that hill to better health.

What I didn't expect was some amazing insight from God as I walked. Thought I'd share what He showed me today.

My path takes me past the home where my Dad spent his last few months and then past the park where he loved to walk, count the ducks and chat with my mom and anyone else who came in his path. Today as I started to cut across through the park, the tears began to flow and he felt so close, my love for him so deep, my loss so great. At that moment a Michael W. Smith song began playing on my Iphone. "Deep in Love With You" quickly brought me to sobs.

Sitting at Your feet is where I want to be
I'm home when I am here with You
Ruined by Your grace, enamored by Your gaze
I can't resist the tenderness in You

I'm deep in love with You, Abba Father
I'm deep in love with You, Lord
My heart, it beats for You, precious Jesus
I'm deep in love with You, Lord

I remembered sitting alone at my father's bedside the night before he passed into the arms of God. (with the angels applauding according to his pastor). I found a DVD left at the home by one of Dad's wonderful caregivers and put in in the CD player. I sang to my dad those sweet words of worship. So precious was that time, a gift from God to me alone. Sweet, sweet gift from God. I am so grateful.

Walking on through the cool damp park grass I clearly heard my Lord say to me in His sweet loving voice, "that's what I want you to feel for Me, that's how I want you to adore and seek me". I wept more with gratitude that the Lord would show me what it felt like to love him as my Abba Father.

Romans 8:15
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

I rejoice that I can experience that Abba Father love here as my dad experiences this love at the very feet of our Abba Father. I yearn for the day when we can both be there in God's eternal glowing love.

Craving God alone

Do you remember when you first fell in love? How you wanted to spend every minute of the day just talking to your new love. As you got to know him more and more you began to crave a closer relationship. Back in the old days we knew that intimate physical love had to wait so the desires grew and grew. That’s what is missing in relationships today. There is no “wait” or build up.

Back on track. I remember writing things like I can’t wait to feel you pressed up against me—wanting to meld into my love.

Craving a completeness of our intimacy. Press so hard that we become one.
Craving each touch of his hand and sweet intimacy of a kiss.
When I was upset that’s who I wanted to talk to, be held by. The comfort and peace and came with the security of that love. The fresh blush of love and the security of knowing it was returned.
We must crave our God first. We can crave Him first and foremost.
We can wake up each day whispering His name and hearing His voice.
Craving God means wanting to follow Him everywhere He goes. It’s joyously falling into step as He goes about His day. It’s waiting for each moment to serve Him, to please Him.
Craving God is so powerful that we can’t not talk about Him. In new fresh love we drive everyone crazy—because every topic of conversation leads back to him and how wonderful He is and our relationship is. We can’t not talk about Him.
Craving God is knowing that each move of His hand, a word form His heart is miraculous.
Craving God is knowing that He can do no wrong—that His intention is out of love.

A day of craving God should look like this

I awake with a smile, feeling His presence, hearing His voice—southing and loving—speaking my name. Communing to the depths of my soul—pressing deeply and completely into Him—feeling His communion with me.

Then I arise. Needing to know more of Him. To search his Word because IT IS HIS WORD. He wrote it in miraculous ways just as He writes it on my heart. Amazing! Astounding!
Then He heads out the door, me close on His trail. Waiting in anticipation of where He will go and who He will touch. Watching and joining when he bids me to come closer to see and speak.

The day goes on as we go down the road. He pauses constantly in his work to draw me closer and whisper in my ear of his pleasure that I am learning to love more and more. His arms (his pinions) surround me as my heart sores as I commune in worship of Him—pressing closer and closer.

I watch as he touches each soul and my heart grows at his grace and mercy. I watch as He weeps when He must correct when those He loves refuse to hear—he weeps knowing that their path is heading away from Him and towards destruction and despair—he weeps when they go through trials and can’t hear His voice of comfort and assurance. I learn to weep with Him, to love them as He loves them. Feeling his tenderness and His grief, I learn to grieve, I learn to pray, I learn to speak. It hurts to feel their pain, but it’s pain that brings understanding of God’s heart.

As I watch, as I follow closely behind Him, I stop sometimes knowing that I am so flawed, so far behind Him I lag, I get distracted or forget to follow. He stops and He waits for me to catch up or he retraces His steps to put out His hand to me and guides me back in place.

We move on. The road gets rougher—He holds my hand.

The day is over and I lay down, He lays down and wraps His arms around me. There is peace in my spirit and I sigh in His embrace.


Deuteronomy 6:5
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.