11/11/11

11 Days of Worship Complete

It has been an amazing 11 days. Not because I was so very faithful at my worship time.  I have to admit, this was hard!  It wasn't that I didn't want to spend time with the Lord- it was just tough to do.  The more I wanted to schedule time in, the more crazy my schedule became.  It was as if everything was against me doing this.  Hmmm!  I wonder!!!

The precious thing was that when I asked the Lord for help to even spend time with Him, he did help!  He wants to be close to me, so He will do His part to help me do that.  I just have to be aware of those moments He opens up for me! 

Yesterday, it was in my car driving to meet a friend for lunch.  As I drove, I acknowledged who He is , and He helped me to see how the GREAT I AM is intimately involved with so many areas of my life.  By the time I got to lunch, I still had some residue of concern for certain areas- but many of the emotions I was experiencing had found 'peace'.  

The day before it was after a telephone conversation with a friend.  Knowing that God had brought that precious woman into my life a just the right time to keep my own eyes focused  on what was most important.

Today, it was in a moment of panic!  Different than the day that Ren's mom was put in the hospital (she's home and doing great by the way).  Today it was feeling like all the variables in life took a shift at the same time and I was left desperately trying to find my footing again.  Once again, I fell to my knees and asked the Lord to help me see Him.  Life still felt uneven, but I found myself  standing on a firm foundation.

Why?  Because I found answers.  No, but I took my eyes off the circumstances and place them on the ONE who knows them all.  I used the alphabet to remember some of the attributes of God!  I challenge you to try this.

Start with A- Almighty, you are the Alpha, the All-Knowing, the Always present.

You are Bold, Beautiful, benevolent.

You are the Creator, Caring, …

You get the idea!  It's a powerful way to keep your focus on Him, not on you!

So how have you done the last few days?  I don't know about you , but I'm going to keep trying.  It's so much better than the alternative.   Will you join me?  How about we make it longer than 11 days.  How about 11 months?  That takes us to next October 2012. 

I'm in- how about you?

Day 6 of the 11 Day Worship Challenge

Ok- so I know I haven't written for 3 days- but this time, it does not mean that I haven't been in worship.  It does mean that my time in worship has been 'transformational', let's say! And that sometimes takes a while to process. I'll share about that part soon.

Today my worship was 'urgent'. This morn, Ren's mom was taken to the hospital for chest pains- we were told she would be life-flighted to an Amarillo hospital.  That's really all we knew for a while. Our imaginations were left to do what they tend to do.  I fell to my knees by my sofa and cried out to our God,
       the Great Physician, who alone knew what was really going on in her body.
       the Healer, who had the power to heal in an of Himself,
               but also to guide those caring for her to see and diagnose and provide healing options for her.
       the Provider, who knows not only what she needs, but also what Daddy Ray needs right now as he
               watches this one he loves struggle.
       the Comforter- who cares deeply for those emotional needs and comforts them in this journey.
       the Strength- for Barb,  & Ray, but also for Ren's brother, Devin and his wife Becki, who live close and
                are the ones who carry much of the concerns like this up close.  And also for Ren, who feels as if the miles have quadrupled between him and his parents in just a few minutes. And for the two grandsons and the two granddaughters who love this Grandy dearly.

I wish I could say that as I knelt there in worship the knot in my stomach went away.  It didn't!  I know FULL WELL that my prayers are not always answered as I would wish. But I also know FULL WELL that He is the Only One who knows all, sees all, heals all- and that's where I place my dear second mother!  This woman who drew me right in long before I was dating her son.  This woman who taught me in high school, and then in marriage and in life.   I trust her to HIM! The Great I AM!

Who are you concerned about today?  What do you learn of God in your worship that helps you to lift that person to Him?  I challenge you to kneel before Him today!

(note: due to storms, Barb was driven by ambulance (2 1/2 hour drive) to Amarillo.  Still no word on what is the cause.)

11/1/11 Eleven Days of Worship Challenge

A week ago, I was asked the question, "Where do I struggle to be obedient to God's promptings?"

My reply was that I struggle to be certain that I am hearing God's voice- and not some internal whim, or the sometimes 'beautiful' voice of the deceiver. I've spent so much of my life learning to be discerning that even when God clearly speaks to me, I hesitate- as if to judge whether He said it right or if this is scriptural.  Now don't get me wrong, those things are SO very important to do- but not as an excuse of not being obedient to what He's calling me too.  It's usually a change of some sort; a behavior, an attitude, a direction.  Change isn't easy, so I use the excuse that I must be sure GOD IS SPEAKING TO ME!

Well, my challenge this week was to just spend time in worship- listening for His voice, learning to recognize it when He speaks to me. (Yes,friends- this is the 20 minute worship challenge again.)  I won't lie! It's been hard. I've sensed a freedom in my corporate worship in the last few months.  But my time spent in private worship has been the most difficult for me since Leisha ran off to heaven.  For a while, it was because I was angry that He allowed her death.  Then it was just hard because it was such an intimate time and I felt too vulnerable in His presence.  I've come to Him, but it's been with thick layers of protection surrounding me.  I'm sure it was as much so that He couldn't see me or my anger (as if that could happen), as my fear of Him.

You know what happens when you put up barriers between you and the one you love- whether that's your husband, or child, or friend, or even the Most High God?  Intimacy is blocked!  Isn't that the one thing we all really crave?  To be fully known and still be loved deeply.  To be heard, but also to be able to hear the voice of our Beloved.  Intimacy means into me see!

Are you seeing your Beloved?  Do you recognize his voice?

Isaiah saw the Lord (Isaiah 6). He was undone!  He was a man who "understood much about God...but he had never been introduced to the presence of the Holy One."

"Looking UPWARD, he encountered the holiness of the Almighty, and this trembling prophet fell to his knees.  Whenever we see the holiness of God, we are forced to look at our own lace of holiness.  Looking INWARD, Isaiah was over come by his own sinfulness.  Graciously, God cleansed Isaiah's heart, and then he was able to look OUTWARD and respond to God's call to 'go'!  (Linda Dillow, Satisfy My Thirsty Soul) 

Isaiah was changed.  I want to be changed!  I want to know my God and  to recognize his voice.

I think we are back to my original question last week.
Where are you struggling to be obedient to God's promptings?
Are you able to hear the voice of God, and recognize it as His voice?
Are you spending time in His presence every day, to develop intimacy in your relationship with Him?

Today is the 1st day of the 11th month of the 11th year of  this decade, or even century. (1/11/11)  What a great day to begin to spend time with Him if you aren't already.

So here's the challenge for you!  Spend the next 11 days in His presence.  I don't know what that looks like for you.  You might use Isaiah 6 or I Chronicles 29:10-14 as a guide.  If you are interested, I could send you an article written by Becky Harling for Discipleship Journal several years ago. (Just send me a note requesting it.) But the focus is to see God and know His voice!

I'm accepting the challenge!  Join me, won't you?  Take the Eleven Days of Worship Challenge.  Let me know that you too are seeking his face! I'd love to hear what He is saying to you when you are with Him! Let's worship Him together!

Psalm 63:1-3 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dry and weary land.  I have seen you in your sanctuary and beheld your power and glory. Because your love is better than live, my lips will glorify you!