Breathe it in... Drink it in...

The Glory of God. It is fluid, like the air around us....

I had a conversation with a very dear and longtime friend of mine today. She is struggling with some pretty difficult circumstances in her life. She feels extremely alone.
I feel so sad for her. I encouraged her as best I could. The fundamental difference is, she isn't a Believer. She feels alone right now, because she is alone. She hasn't realized that her worth doesn't come from her children, her husband, or her work. It comes straight from her Lord. We were raised in church together. But my faith is now very different from the church we grew up in. My faith is my joy and my salvation. I hear her say that church for her is a behavior modification approach for her children. This saddens me. I want the joy I have, for her. I want her to know how amazing she is. I am praying so much for her to be led by the Holy Spirit. He does miracles every day. He is more powerful than any circumstances that could be in her life or any of our lives.

Looking back on my last post, I know that I have been under attack lately. Stress, exhaustion, and busyness has definitely given the enemy opportunities to get to me in more ways than usual. I am trying to just focus on being in God's presence. Thankful for all the gifts I receive every day. Thankful for my husband's strong arms around me. Thankful for my flannel nightgown my Mama gave me that gives me a hug every night, thankful for my beautiful sister, Red who is the household math guru, thankful for my daughter Jayde who was accepted to the Art Institute of Fort Worth today, thankful for my daughter Ashley who encouraged me to try skiing just once, thankful for my son Spencer who shared his vehicular adventures with me, thankful for my son Liam who is working his tail off to pass all of his classes this 6 weeks, thankful to my son Seth for being taller than me but still giving me his little boy, sleepy hug first thing in the morning....

My Father knows my heart, He has my heart, and I want every day to revel in His majesty, and be the daughter he wants me to be.

If you are struggling with deciding if He is real, if this God thing is all it is cracked up to be, jump in. With both feet. He is real. He is near. Beloved, YOUR name is tatooed on the inside of His hand.

I have a word for you. Soak it, Breate it, Drink it in...

Psalm 139. It was written for us.

O Lord, you have examined Allison's heart and you know everything about her.

You know when Mary sits down or stands up.

You know Barbara's thoughts even when she is far away.

You see Kay when she travels and when she rests at home.

You know what Joanne is going to say even before she says it Lord. (ha. inside joke)

You go before Vonda and follow her. You place your hand of blessing on her head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for Kasie to understand. (Ha ha. it keeps getting better.)

Pilar can never escape from Your spirit! She can never get away from Your presence!

If Ashley goes up to heaven, You are there; If she goes down to hell, You are there.

If Jayde rides the wings of the morning, if she dwells by the farthest oceans, even Your hand will be there to guide her and Your strength will support her.

Ashley could ask the darkness to hide her, and the light around her to become night, but even in darkness, she could not hide from You.

To You, the night shines bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to You.

You have made all of the delicate inner parts of Pilar and knit her together in in her mother's womb.

Thank you for making Kasie so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous-How well Vonda knows it!

You watched as Joanne was being formed in utter seclusion, as she was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw Kay before she was even born, Every day of her life was recorded in Your book.

Every moment of Barbara's life was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are Your thoughts about my Mama, O Lord. They cannot even be numbered!

We can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when Mary wakes up, You are still with her!

O God if only You would destroy the wicked! Get out of our lives, you murderers! They blaspheme You; Your enemies misuse Your name. O Lord, we all hate those who hate You. We despise those who despise You!

Yes, we hate them with a total hatred, for your enemies are our enemies.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts; test us and know our anxious thoughts.

Point out anything in us that offends You and lead us along the path of everlasting life.

Amen.

Lord, is this a yes or a no?

Good morning friends. I am here, in my house with 4 of my stir crazed babies, yes, glad it is a snow day, but wishing there were something more fun to do... The power keeps going in and out, so we are kind of doing what we can while we can do it, laundry, housecleaning, etc.

This is not a post that is going to tell you the magic formula to hearing God. I have not aleays had the best luck with that. What I do know is that sometimes, we have to take our emotions out of the equation. It is not always an issue of how we feel about something. Take for example, my wonderful son. He is 14, full of pent up energy and competition, and he desperately wants a dog. I desperately want for him whatever he wants for himself, unless it includes x box. So, the agreement about a year ago was that if he could keep his grades up, he could get a puppy. Unfortunately, he is distracted, so oftentimes turning work in is just not on the top of his list.

Much like his mom is with turning in lesson plans... But, I digress.

So, he is not passing all of his classes, instead, only about 3. Now this boy is responsible when it comes to dogs. His hermit crabs in his room, of which he only has 2, kind of fall by the wayside because they are very low maintenance, and very boring. (He claims. No offense to hc lovers out there...) But, we have a dog that I brought home about 6 months ago, and he is extremely helpful in taking care of her. In fact, he is really part owner of our beautiful Sarah, truth be told. She has definitely bonded with him significantly, she sleeps on his bed, he takes her on walks and plays with her. He loves her and takes good care of her often. One might even think that was his dog. So, I know that he could take care of his own dog, but the fact remains, he is not passing all of his classes. He doesn't have any money saved for supplies or anything, and he is not passing all of his classes. Did I mention he has to pass all of his classes?

Now even though he asked us last night, my husband and I discussed it at length, still determined that the answer was decidedly negative, Ghost Rider, he texted me last night begging. Then he came into the living room with me this morning, begging. This time, I had to look him in the eye and tell him that he knew the answer was no, and he was torturing all of us with forcing me to say no again and again... This is when the Holy Spirit reminded me of what no means.

I explained to my precious offspring, that the no for right now, doesn't mean no forever. Take heart dear one, if this applies to you also. The thing about it is, God's timing is always perfect. For our canine companion situation, this is not perfect. Resources are needed to medically take care of the dog, grades are needed to earn the reward, and all the things are not lining up to perfect. I told my son that there was a dog in his future. A God planned dog. One that would be perfect for him. One that would be even better than he could have thought this particular 4 footed friend was. I reminded him that sometimes what we think might be a no, is just a not now.

So, if you are seeking an answer, and things are looking at no, remember that God has power that is abundantly above and beyond everything we could think or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)
Take heart. He is the God who sees you (Genesis 6:13), and He will make a way.

All in Love,
Allison