Secrets!

Mark 4:14 - The sower soweth the Word.

Mark 4:22 - [Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known.

Praise The Lord for the opportunity to get in His presence AND to be able to get into the presence of the Word. What good stuff!

In having my quiet time this morning, sitting with my husband like we usually do, Tyler and I got into a good conversation. Early in our marriage while we were visiting Charleston, SC, he got a revelation. As we laid on the grass looking up at the trees, he realized that the big water oaks were growing in that very moment. Effortlessly. With the right amount of water and sunlight, the trees grew big and beautiful. Tyler read this morning, "with the right amount of water and SON-light, we also grow!" With the right amount of LIVING water from the WORD of GOD, being in the presense of Jesus, WE as believers also can grow effortlessly.

Are you a sower?
It's ESSENTIAL to be a sower! If you are a believer and want to experience FRUIT and VICTORY in your life, it is ESSENTIAL to be a sower! When you sow the WORD of God continually into yourself, you can begin to see growth and victory in your life. Effortless. Victory. Every area of life.

More? As you spend time time in the presence of God, growing in the SON-light, those "SECRET REVELATIONS" are no longer a secret FROM you, but FOR you! As you dive into HIS presence, EVERYTHING is made clear. You begin to see with eyes that reveal answers. Mark 4:22 reminds us how to get answers! Secrets are hidden TO BE REVEALED by YOU the believer! Your answers are there, in the SECRET PLACE. As you sit in the presence of the Holy Spirit, seeking out answers, get your pad of paper ready for the answers to flow! The answers are not hidden FROM you, but FOR you to find when you get into HIS presence.

Need an ANSWER?

Mark 4:20, 22 - And those sown on the good (well-adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit—some thirty times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some [even] a hundred times as much. [Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known.

Do you have questions? Need answers? The answer you are seeking is not hidden FROM you, it is hidden FOR YOU! The revelation that you desire for your situation is not designed to be kept hidden, it is designed for you to FIND it. God is not One to just dangle something in front of you (in this case, a question) with no means for you to find the answer to it. Answers are there, and you are MEANT to find them. Let's take a look at a few situations in the Bible.

Noah. Let's look at Noah. In Genesis 6:9, it said that Noah walked in habitual fellowship with God. God had a man that He knew would listen to His instructions, and when the time came, Noah was mandated to build a boat, a big boat. God gave him very specific instructions, a detailed plan with measurements, the type of material, everything Noah needed in order to build this boat to God's specifications. It needed to withstand the weight of ALL the animals that would be on the boat. It needed to withstand the storms and weather. Noah listened, and God answered. God gave Noah a plan.

Moses. After 40 years of personal exile due to killing a man, Moses was called back to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses was called by God to go before Pharaoh to make the request, as we know, "Let My people go!" It was a request from God Himself. God wanted to Israelites to be set free from captivity. You remember, the 10 plagues... God told Moses exactly what to do in order for the Israelites to be set free. Sure, it took 10 major plagues before Pharaoh would listen, but in the end, the people were set free. Moses listened, and God answered. God gave Moses a plan.

Solomon. Solomon was directed to build the Lord's house (1 Kings 6). From the cedar to the dimensions, from the inner sanctuary to overlaying the floors with gold; God gave Solomon very specific instructions on how to build the temple and with the exact materials. It was a specific project. Solomon listened, and God answered. God gave Solomon a plan.

Friend, YOU are no different. Remember the verse that says God is the same yesterday, today & tomorrow. You serve the SAME God that Noah, Moses & Solomon served. Although, YOU and I have something even better! As Christians, when we got saved, the Holy Spirit Himself came to live inside of us.

Are you feeling like your schedule is crazy? How can you possibly get everything done? YOUR answer is not hidden FROM you, it is hidden FOR YOU! Ask. Seek. Just like God laid out dimensions for the completion of the temple, He will lay out specifically what kind of schedule for your day. Just ask.

Is it marital? How to keep your laundry caught up? How to grow your business? How to spend more time with your family? How to increase your income. There is no problem that sustained thought (prayer) can't answer!

So today.... whatever the question or problem.... commit some time to seeking the Lord! Just like Noah, Moses & Solomon, if you listen, you may be very surprised at the depth of detail you get back! It's there for you to find, YOUR answer is not hidden FROM you, it is hidden FOR YOU!

 

Persistence That Pays Off

Luke 18:1-8 - Also [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up) ² He said, In a certain city there was a judge who neither reverenced and feared God nor respected or considered man. ³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Protect and defend and give me justice against my adversary. ⁴ And for a time he would not; but later he said to himself, Though I have neither reverence or fear for God nor respect or consideration for man, ⁵ Yet because this widow continues to bother me, I will defend and protect and avenge her, lest she give me intolerable annoyance and wear me out by her continual coming .... ⁶ Then the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says! ⁷ And will not [our just] God defend and protect and avenge His elect (His chosen ones), who cry to Him day and night? Will He defer them and delay help on their behalf? ⁸ I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [persistence in] faith on the earth?

This was me in 1998. I had met this man on July 7th. We were in England and a week later, on July 13th, I had a vision that he was the man I was going to marry.  Upon returning home from England, I woke up praying, I prayed during the day, I prayed during the night, I prayed while I got ready, I prayed while I drove. I prayed. I pleaded. I begged. And then, I prayed some more. Lord, pleeeeeeease let him know that he is going to marry me. Pleeeeeeeease! 

We were separated by 14 hours and about 4 states. Day in and day out, I prayed. For 18 months I prayed non-stop. It seemed like an impossible feat. I knew that I could not pursue him, and the I had to let him pursue me. How could I convince him he was to marry me if I couldn't even call him? And to him, I was merely the girl who lived in Indiana, a far cry from his future wife.

Nonetheless, I prayed.

I was like the widow. The judge granted her what she asked of him because she annoyed him with her constant pleas. That was me.

Today, I know a bit more about prayer than I did back then, but the reminder of persistence is another wake-up call for me.

Lets say, as a child, your dad told you he was going to buy you a bike for your birthday. A few weeks before your birthday came, you went and "test drove" bikes. You tried them out. You picked out your favorite color. You got the tassels for the handle bars. You got the little horn that you honk. You even decided to get a basket you could add onto the front. You found the perfect bike. Purple and pink, your favorite colors. Your dad, stood back as you finalized your decision. And it's made. He stands back just smiling. Then, the bike goes on order to be delivered on your birthday.

Over the next 3 weeks... let's check out 2 scenarios.

(1) Your dad told you he was going to get you a bike, and you already picked it out, but daily you continue to ask your dad for a bike. "Daddy will you buy me a bike? Can I pleeeeeeease have a bike. Daddy can I have a bike? Daddy, I really want a bike. Can I have a bike Dad? Dad, Dad, DAD!!! Can I have a bike? Will you get me a bike?" Your dad has already ordered the bike for you, why all the begging? "It's coming," your dad would respond at each request. 

(2) You know your bike is on order. Over the next few weeks you crawl up into your dad's lap, "Daddy, I just wanted to say thank you for getting me that bike! Thank you for the tassels that you let them add. And the purple and pink! I'm sooooo excited about riding it Dad! Thank you SOOOOO much! I love you sooooo much dad! You are the best dad ever!" And conversations like this happen a few times a day. Every time you see your dad, you tell him how great and wonderful he is. You tell him how thankful you are that he bought you that bike, each time you hug him, each time you thank him, his shoulders straighten, he wells up with pride that he has made his daughter happy. He is just as excited about the bike to be delivered as you are, just to see the joy on your face. With every compliment of how wonderful he is, he is far from annoyed with you, but each compliment of appreciation makes him want to bless you even more. 

Faith is now. When we pray the FIRST time and ask in FAITH, we can be sure that God has heard our prayers. Since faith is now, when we pray, we believe we have received what we have prayed for and then we can do like the girl did in the second example. EVERY time we come back to the throne of grace, we can come to our Father and THANK HIM for that desired outcome. Thank Him for what we had prayed for, in faith. And... we can still apply the same persistence. We can still thank Him several times a day. We can pray, sing, shout in THANKSGIVING!!!! "THANK YOU GOD FOR BRINGING THIS TO PASS!!! You are such an awesome Father! You are so good to me! Thank you Father! Thank you for answering my prayer! Thank you for loving me!! Thank you for your faithfulness!! THANK YOU FOR THIS____________. What a loving and gracious God you are! Thank you Lord!!" As we shower Him with love and gratitude, just like our natural father, I can only imagine that our heavenly Father would swell with pride and love for us too. Even during some times of prayer and thankfulness, maybe we would be crying to the Father out of our gratitude and thankful heart. With such sincere gratitude, I just see our heavenly Father wanting to love us and so happy to be appreciated and loved by his daughter. Smiling, just as our earthly father would as we "climbed up on his lap" at the throne of grace.

Our God is different than the unjust judge that it talked about in Luke 18. Our God wants to give us the desires of my heart (Ps 37:4)! Now... when the Son of Man comes, will He find [persistence in] faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8). To answer Luke 18:8, will we be those who continued in FAITH and in PERSISTENCE? 

July 13th 1998, I had a vision that I was going to marry Tyler. July 13, 2000, exactly two years later he asked me, "Would you be willing to be #2 in my life for the rest of your life? Will you marry me?" I said yes. Six months later on January 6th, we were married.

Persistence pays off. Don't lose heart or grow weary. Dig in and be persistent. For those who cry out to God day and night, will God defer YOU and delay help on your behalf?  I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge YOU speedily.  (Luke 18:7-8)

Do you want some answers speedily? Take the advice of Luke 18:7 - PRAY, CRY OUT, THANK GOD, COME, DAY AND NIGHT! What are you longing for God to do in your life? Well friend, let's THANK GOD day and night! Let's be persistent and watch Him show off how much He loves you!

Getting YOUR Prayers Answered!

Psalms 37:4 - Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.

Isaiah 43:26, 62:6 - Put Me in remembrance [remind Me of your merits]; let us plead and argue together. Set forth your case, that you may be justified (proved right)... you who [are His servants and by your prayers] put the Lord in remembrance [of His promises], keep not silence...

Isaiah 55:11 - So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 

As I sat this morning as I began my Quiet Time with the Lord, I just wanted to hear what was on "His" mind. I don't do this all the time.... but have you ever thought, "Lord, what are you thinking this morning? What's going on with you?" :) Not like He doesn't have the WHOLE world praying to Him... and it's "awake-time" somewhere in the world all the time! Well... this morning was one of those mornings where I was curious. :)

In the still, quiet moments, sitting on my couch with my coffee, Pandora worship music streaming from our 'smart TV' in the background... I just sat & listened.

... I am here to accomplish My Word! ... Most do not pray My Word so these promises are not working for them.  

I took a few moments and decided to look up the word petition. Petition. According to the dictionary, it calls petition a formally drawn request , a request made for something desired, especially a respectful or humble request, as to a superior or one in authority. Petitions are most often known for being made in a court of law. A formal, drawn up petition/request. If you take a moment to think about a "petition" in a court of law, if you are like me, you would maybe think of something like this: 

• Something that has been researched & drawn up.
• Something bulleted or numbered off so that I can prove my point accurately and thoroughly. 
• Something that I can include examples or stories with in order to further bring home my point. 

If I were petitioning for something in a court of law, I would MOST DEFINITELY have my ducks in a row so that the judge would see that I am serious. If I really wanted to win, I would walk in there with my stuff together, if you know what I mean, right? Wouldn't you? 

So, why don't we do the same thing with God...when it comes to our life? Our dreams? Our goals? The desires of our hearts? 

Isaiah 55:11 reminds us to put GOD in remembrance of HIS Word! To remind Him WHAT He has said, WHAT His promises are in His Word. He said Himself that the Word was put in place to ACCOMPLISH that which it was made to accomplish. So, with your dreams & goals, your wants & desires.... DO SOME HOMEWORK! 

If you were going to PETITION in a Court of Law, you wouldn't walk in there with NOTHING! Right?! You would have your stuff together, you would probably be in your nicest, most professional business suit. You would have your legal pad. You would have your evidence. You would have the facts. You would have it all! And, it should be the same when you come to God in prayer to petition a request. God has placed His Word here for us to USE IT to get what we want. Let me give you a few examples. 

Tyler & I, for our last two vehicles were believing God for them. Our first one was in 2009, we had believed for a Nissan Murano, and the 2nd one was earlier this year, we were believing for a Honda Odyssey. We found exactly what we wanted, we SOWED a financial seed for them, and we DAILY thanked God for them. We also put God in REMEMBRANCE of His Word. 

"Thank you Lord that according to Deuteronomy 6:11, you tell us we are to RIDE PROSPEROUSLY. We thank you Lord for our Honda Odyssey. We thank you for our swagger wagon, leather seats, a built in DVD player & Navigation would be really nice, but I could do without it."

Well... guess what we got? God outdid Himself! We got BETTER than what we were believing for! We got a 2012 Honda Odyssey Touring ELITE. Fully loaded. Heated seats. Tinted windows all the way around. A 16 INCH DVD player. 8 passenger. A built in COOL BOX to keep drinks cold. Several other extras ...and it DID have Navigation! :) I waffled on what color I wanted.... and was not specific on that. I kinda wanted dark grey, but never got real specific. We got a white one that Tyler drove right off the show room floor! :) Which... I never knew this, but driving a vehicle off the show room floor was always a secret petition he had. 

But the point.... we did our homework. We test drove it. We got pictures of it. We sowed financial seed for it. We found scripture, GOD'S WORD, to back up what we were believing for... then we put GOD in remembrance of HIS Word. And do you know what, His Word works every time! If you don't believe me, check out what HE says about it!! "My word (THE BIBLE/SCRIPTURE) be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Do your homework. Send forth God's Word. Make your petition known to God, but have your homework to back it. Have "proof for your case." Pictures, Scripture, Seed sown towards your dream, goal or need. Present it to God and then STAND YOUR GROUND! Continue to THANK HIM for the desired result you are waiting on. You get serious about your dreams and goals, and God will help them come to pass! :) 

And friend.... Do not grow weary in well doing, because in due season you WILL reap if you faint not. Stand your ground until your petition comes to pass. We have proof sitting in our driveway. It does work.... and if it worked for us, it will work for you!

#219 - Feel Confident with Your Decision!

Proverbs 16:33 - The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly of the Lord [even the events that seem accidental are really ordered by Him].

Proverbs 31:16a - She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]...

Have you ever had an important decision to make, a decision that is a pretty big deal, that will affect the next several years of your life? Maybe the rest of your life? It's important, you really want to make sure you make the right decision. It's going to affect everything.


As you begin your decision making process, you begin to weigh the options. Maybe you are a list person, so you write out all the pro's & con's on a piece of paper. You may fold your paper in 3 sections, use a ruler to make a straight line and begin to neatly bullet things out. Or, maybe you're the type that just gets out a sticky note, and scribbles a few things down. You may be the thinker. The person who sits on it for awhile, days, thinks it over and over. Quietly & to yourself, but you just think. Then, there are those of you who are talkers. You just have to talk to enough people, hear yourself think outloud, hear the ideas come out, get the opinions of others to help narrow down your decision.


Whichever type of person you are when you make decisions, hopefully you do pray or take a minute to just bounce it off the Holy Spirit.


Whenever I read Proverbs 16, I think of it as a "Power Chapter" when it comes to making plans & deciding things. Verse after verse it talks about "plans." Something that I found comforting this morning was the very last verse, "The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly of the Lord [even the events that seem accidental are really ordered by Him]." Since the term "lot" isn't something that we commonly use today, I decided to get a bit more clarity and check how the original Hebrew defined "lot." The definition that made the most sense to me was this: a systematic way for making decisions. 


So here you are.... the big decision on the table. Maybe it's a job, moving to a different city, getting married, buying a house, changing churches, starting a business, closing a business, beginning to have kids... whatever the "big decision," it's on the table. Whatever your "lot," your "systematic way for making decisions," you begin the process. What I like, as a Christian, is the latter part of the verse. Though we plan, we systematically sketch out our thoughts, pro's and con's, at the end of the day, the Lord is going to ultimately direct us. Especially when we are seeking Him, acknowledging Him, considering Him, we are going to be led the right way. We are going to choose the "right spouse," the "right house," the "right city to move to." God is not in the business of leading us awry, but leading us down the path of life, godliness & favor. 


Our Proverbs 31 woman, follows the same process as we do. She "considers." The Hebrew breaks the word "consider" down as this: to fix thoughts upon, devise, plan, consider, to purpose. In the case of Proverbs 31:16, she is considering buying a field, basically jumping into a new business venture. She takes time to fix her thoughts, her undivided attention upon weighing her options. Is this a wise business decision for her?  


Friend, take comfort. God will not lead you astray. If you need one last "check" in finalizing your decision, a rule of thumb I always use is this: Let PEACE be your umpire.  In the natural, if I am not sure which way to go, I follow peace. With which decision do I have the most peace? The Holy Spirit is peace. I allow peace to direct me. I also heard Tyler say this recently, which is extremely helpful, "The Holy Spirit always pulls, the enemy, Satan always pushes. There is pressure with the enemy." If I feel pressure, I typically stray away from that decision.


As you acknowledge the Lord, take peace. Whatever the decision you make, it is not accidental. Take confidence in knowing, since you acknowledged the Lord, He will not lead you astray!

#196 - Draw It Out!

Good morning! :) We're going to get right into the Word this morning.....

Proverbs 20:5 - Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out.

Proverbs 31:18 - ....her lamp goes not out.... 

"Lamp" in the Bible often refers to as several things; Wisdom from God, direction, the Holy Spirit living inside of us, Jesus (ie: "I am the light of the World, no one comes to the Father but through Me.") To me, "lamp" means, having the ability to receive answers, HAVING the answers. I know I have said this before, but I recently heard the saying that, "There is NO problem that can not be solved without sustained thought." The ability to HAVE the answers! As it directs in Proverbs 20:5, COUNSEL is like a deep well, but a man of understanding DRAWS IT OUT! Counsel, direction, Wisdom from God, the RIGHT Counsel, Counsel directly from the Holy Spirit! As believers, we have the ability to DRAW OUT the answers. BUT, like a deep well, it WILL take a little bit of work!

A deep well... think about it. In the Bible, when someone was going to get water out of a well, they would have to not only first have the well dug, but dug down deep enough to hit water. Once that was in place, they would have to lower a bucket down low enough to draw up the water. Then, with their muscles, most likely some sweat and grunting, lug the full, heavy bucket up to the top of the well. It was not a sweat-less process. It took some effort.

The same is true with us as believers. As it states in Proverbs 20:5, COUNSEL (aka: answers from the Holy Spirit!!!) are in the heart of man! Last time I checked, we are "man." Sure, I'm a woman, but the point is that this verse is talking about US! Equally, a MAN (or woman) can DRAW OUT THE COUNSEL. Read it for yourself! Isn't that what Proverbs 20:5 says? IF we CHOOSE to be a person of understanding, we can DRAW out the answers that are already within us! Again, if we are saved, we have the Holy Spirit living in us, right? So, since we have the Holy Spirit ALREADY living in us, we have ALL the answers to EVERY question ALREADY within us! Our job is to just DIG. Our job is to DRAW out the answers. That may take some praying. That may take some time. That may take getting in a quiet place with no distractions. That may take SUSTAINED thought. It may take some work! Just like Proverbs 20:5 says, counsel in the heart of man CAN BE drawn out. "Drawn Out" is a verb. It requires ACTION. In whatever your situation is, to draw out the answer will most likely take some work, meditating on the Word, prayer, etc.

Our answers are already here. It's our job to DRAW THEM OUT! If you notice, the Proverbs 31 woman has caught on to this concept as it says that HER LAMP does not go out! She is constantly seeking and in tune with the Holy Spirit. She is constantly drawing out the answers. She succeeds because she DRAWS OUT what the Holy Spirit would have for her in regards to business, family, servants/employees, etc. She draws out the answers and she SUCCEEDS!

That was a good Word! In what area to you need to draw out answers? Pencil it in your calendar. Take the time to seek, to dig, to get quiet and get YOUR answers!

Praise the Lord for making things known to us!!!!
Have a blessed day!

#96 - Why Go it Alone?

Good morning! *Big sigh* The Holy Spirit had a lot to say this morning. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you. :) And... is it almost my Day of Rest?!? :-) I'm ready for it!!! It looks like Friday is going to be the day. I promise, if you had a Day of Rest, you would LOVE it! You would look forward to it every week. A Sabbath. A day to rest. A day to spend with the Lord, relax, not work! A WHOLE day! Doesn't it just sound refreshing?!? No laundry. No dusting. No dishes. Taking a nap with no guilt. Watching a movie. Maybe even getting a massage. An opportunity to "gas up." An opportunity to freshen up. Rejuvenate. Try it for a month! Once you do, I doubt you would go back. Sure... we did get side-tracked from our DOR for a few years, but then when we really "reflected" on it after missing it for about 3-4 years we realized we had not gotten any further in life. We realized that we were further down the road, but with less direction, less energy & less passion for life. Our DOR has got us back on track to receiving divine direction from the Lord on WHAT to do & HOW to do it. Counsel from a mentor is great, and the Bible even advises it.... but NO ONE can counsel better than the Lord. Combine the two and you are a force to be reckoned with. It's like how sleep at night helps the body to recover and repair. I think a Day of Rest once a week helps the spirit plan & prepare. A full day of rest, and the ability to lay out the direction for the next week, or next year. Focused time just to do whatever the Holy Spirit directs. Faith. Absolutely. It took a lot of faith for us to take a day of rest, especially Tyler (with a job). It does take planning. 


Anyways. Let me get off my soapbox... even though, just the intro was worth coming for! ;-) 

Psalm 33:18-22 - Behold, the Lord's eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness, To deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. Our inner selves wait [earnestly] for the Lord; He is our Help and our Shield. For in Him does our heart rejoice, because we have trusted (relied on and been confident) in His holy name. Let Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You.

Psalm 63:1 - O GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is. 

Well... the Holy Spirit had a lot to say this morning on this topic. I'll share a few of the things He shared with me.

My children ask the questions but lack the confidence to know My Voice, to differentiate between their own voice, My Voice & the voice of the enemy. Amy confidence in hearing the Voice, hearing MY Voice does not come to only specific people. Amy like a sheet & shepherd, they know the voice easily because they have spend countless hours with him. The sheep have CONFIDENCE in who he is & in his consistency. Consistency in his love, consistency in his sternness, his direction, his ability to care for them, to guide & protect them. They know he is there for THEM. 

Listening to one's inner self is a great start. My children have been made in MY IMAGE. But there is something even better, listening to the VOICE of ME. 

Tell my children to just ask. Please children, slow down. You are running so ragged. My child, I have the answers. Will you go on a date with ME? Let me tell you about it. Let me paint the picture of your future. I will show you the good plans I have. 

He also told me that He is like a chameleon. That He is what we need Him to be. Comforter. Friend. Confidant. Today, He was my Business Partner. I had some business decisions to make. I thought about advise I had gotten from a business associate. I thought of the advise from Tyler. Then I thought about all the things and ideas going on in MY head, ME. As I was trying to filter through everything... I felt a little bit of stress having to "figure out" what I was going to do. And then, I heard that still small Voice say, 'I can be your Business Partner. I already know what to do." The Holy Spirit already knew the answer to my question. He already knew how I was suppose to BEST handle the situation and what He told me was an AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME idea! I told Tyler about it and it even took him back a little bit because it was such a GREAT idea. :) I take pleasure when something I say can take my husband off guard a little bit. It's exciting when something impresses him. He was impressed with the idea from the Holy Spirit. Needless to say, I was glad that I didn't try to just filter through all the thoughts and ideas... but that I asked the HS. He actually took the idea of my business associate, Tyler & me and combined all of those things to ONE great idea. 


HE wants you to take that inner self, the inner voice and let IT sit in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our "inner self" already longs to be in the presence of God. It already thirsts for Him, hungers to be around and with Him. 


There is SOOO much we can get out of all of this! We didn't even get into the "in proportion to".


MyGym is calling. The boy and I need to get going. Take some time.... take your "inner self" and bring your "inner self" into the presence of the Holy Spirit. He really wants to give you the answers to the questions YOU have. Will you take the time to hear & know His Voice? Why go it alone when you have the Almighty Answer's at your fingertips, all you need to do is seek & ask. 

#93 - How To Get Answers from the Lord

Good morning! It is so still out this morning. It's like the air is just still. Almost a strange quiet. No wind. No rain. Just very still and quiet. A bit like my feelings of things I need to do I suppose. If you've joined us the last 2 days....hum.... well, let's just say that it's been Holy Spirit convicting time. Have you had times in your life where the Holy Spirit is just getting on you about change? I guess maybe it's a good thing. I have a close enough relationship with the Holy Spirit, with my Lord that He is able to talk to me about areas in my life that need change. I'll tell ya, it's really not always easy to hear. Sometimes it seems like such a big job! I'm still majorly in the process of "De-Cluttering".... that is definitely not an overnight process. But... I know what to do, so that is probably the biggest part of it. (GTD - Getting Things Done by David Allen - Get the book on CD if you don't have time to read it.) Tyler has implemented GTD really well and for probably over a year has wanted me to just DIVE in. I've pretty much blown that idea off in the past. I wasn't really ready for it. But... evidently the Holy Spirit says I need to be ready now! I agree! De-cluttering will be good. Things need to have their place and that will most definitely free up my mind! What did Tyler do that was SOOOO good in it all?? He frequently does this..... he casts me on the Lord. He realizes that HE can't fix me or change me, but the Lord can. So... he continues to cast me on the Lord.  That's a good place for me to be. The "Old Amy" would want to rear up and totally buck the system if someone tried to make me change. Especially if I wasn't ready. I'm not saying that's right, it's just true. As a child, my parents always prayed that the "stubborn Amy Jo" would one day steer the stubbornness to serve the Lord with a fervor. Well... let's just say, I'm glad Tyler has learned to cast me on the Lord. That's the best place for me to be. The Holy Spirit has a way of speaking the truth to me in a way no one else can, and at a time when I am ready and willing to listen. Well... with quite a long intro... let's get started. 

Proverbs 28:19 - He who cultivates his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless people and pursuits will have poverty enough.

Psalm 118:6a, 7a - The Lord is on my side.... The Lord is on my side.....

Psalm 118:8 - It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man. 

This morning I was talking to Tyler.... he is really a wealth of knowledge. I'm glad I married him. He is always learning. He reads all the time! He listens to awesome men of God and business leaders, and really is quite an inspiration to me. He makes me think all the time! It is so true what it talks about in Proverbs 27:17 - Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. - That is my husband. A definite iron sharpener! 


So, in our conversation he reminded me something I had heard a long time ago. The best way to get an answer to a problem. George Washington Carver, inventor of over 300 uses for the peanut, including yummy peanut butter! And how did he come of with these inventions? He said, "God gave them to me." It has been noted, when Carver wanted to solve a problem or was seeking an answer to a question, he didn't seek out men, he didn't seek out education and books, but he sought God. He took his Bible and a notebook went to a quiet room, closed the door and sought the Lord. It was not "try, fail & adjust", but it was, "Lord, you give me the answer. I'm going to seek you until I have it."


Wow! What an awesome example to learn from! Is there really anything else to say? The Lord will answer, and as it says in Psalm 118, The LORD is ON YOUR SIDE! He's on your side! He wants you to be a success! He wants you to win! He wants the RIGHTEOUS to flourish! 


What are you following? Who are you following? What are your pursuits? Are they worthless? Are they of value? If they are, and things are not going how you would like them to go, do like Carver did, seek the Lord. Get a notebook, get your Bible, leave your laptop and cell phone in a different room (and turn your phone off or on silent) and SEEK the Lord. With Him, it is not "try, fail & adjust," He just gives you the actual exact thing to do IF you tune in to Him and listen. 


Short and sweet. But a definite Word!