June 16

Since I took a little time off from blogging here for a while, I'm not going to start off with Jonah. I've got something else perking around in my brain. Let's pray God helps me explain it because what's in my brain is a big tangled mess. Hopefully, the connection gets straightened out between my brain and the keyboard.

First, I've let many of you know that I've been dealing with a family crisis. It's so common these days I almost surprise myself calling it a crisis. A person very, very close me had her husband walk out on her. Competely without warning. Of course there were symptoms- he was not growing spiritually (at all), he was extremely selfish. But he was always the greateset dad and I always thought that in the end he would never hurt the kids for anything (age 5 and 8) and that would bring him around. I mention this not only for prayer but it seems to me that Satan is is working overtime in this area. Don't take your marriage or your spouse for granted. Don't take lightly the dozens of weddings you have probably been to where you promise to hold them in prayer (and if you are like me it falls by the wayside). Pray for marriages!!!! And if you are single don't even consider marriage until you are 100% at peace that it is God's best for you. The old saying that "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" is a lie. Better to have a fullfilled life with God at the center of you joy than to settle for anything less than God's perfect will and a world of hurt. In the case of the person I'm talking about, she had 13 happy years, but now this event is going to taint all those memories forever.

Back to Bible study stuff........I'm reading another book called "You were born for this". It is by the author of the Prayer of Jabez and Secrets of the Vine, Bruce Wilkinson. The premise of the book is that God is always looking for people who are anxious to be part of every day miracles. Bruce now teaches a class in how to be sensitive to God's leading in the area. (I promise this eventually comes around to something we just read). He gives the example of a burly construction worker who sketically 'volunteered' himself during a class to be open to any such assignment God would have for him. He saw someone on the job site who said his marriage was falling apart. He felt a 'nudge' from heaven that he could help him. Having no idea what to do or say, he stalled for time and told the guy to go get paper and pen, he was going to tell him what to do to save his marriage. The guy came back with the paper and the construction worker still had no earthly idea what he was going to say. He opened his mouth and he said, "Go home and make your bed". The man nearly passed out and asked him how in the world he knew that was what they had been fighting about for years!! He was going to run right home and make the bed.

As part of set up for being sensative to the leading of the Holy Spirit and how to part of these every day miracles, the author challenged the reader to change some assumptions about God and heaven. He described himself begging God for something one day and stopped himself short and examined the belief behind what he was doing. He came to realize that he seemed to believe that God was very reluctant to act and it was his job to convince Him to change His mind. He also reevaluated his ideas about heaven. When most people think of heaven they think of worship......angels.....a beautiful place completely disconnected from earth. But the author points out using a passage we just read that God constantly in the process of having 'meetings' (if you will) in heaven about things going on in the earth and looking for ways (and people) to meet those needs. Now obviously He doesn't NEED anyone, or their ideas or anything else to accomplish His purpose, but like many other mysteries in the Bible, He does USE all those things. The passage that the author used is one that we read recently on June 5 in 1 Kings 22. Reread it to check out how God was looking for ideas and volonteers to carry out His plan and purpose on the earth. And if it peaks you curiosity and you wonder how you can be part of every day miracles then check out the book. I'm in the middle of it and it's going to be a pretty steep learning curve, but I'm 'volonteering' and seeking the opportunities. I'll keep ya posted.