Choices...

This was a great prophetic word that was so on-time! This word came on Monday and I already have seen it coming to pass is HUGE ways.

Small Straws In A Soft Wind by Marsha Burns -- September 22, 2008:
Rejoice in the opportunities that I will present for you to come face to face with your attitudes and motives, says the Lord, for you will be able to deliberately choose your responses rather than react instinctively. You will be able to experience the expressed difference between walking in the Spirit and yielding to the lusts of the flesh.

I am reminded of the nursery rhyme:
There was a little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good she was very, very good, but when she was bad she was horrid!

Your choices will take on exaggerated significance as you deal with issues that require righteousness, particularly in the areas of relationships and finances. The results of your decisions will either be spectacular or disastrous. There will be no middle ground.

If you will listen to My voice and obey My leading, says the Lord, and not harden your heart in rebellion, I will take you through the maze of every trial to gain the victory over the enemy of your soul. But, if you insist on going your own way, you will have to pay the piper; you will suffer the unpleasant consequences of your choices and actions.

In the beginning of your awareness of My Spirit, says the Lord, you lacked the maturity and understanding in the manifestation of spiritual gifts. And, as children do, you played and entertained yourself with your calling and gifting. According to 1 Corinthians 13:11 -- when you were a child, you spoke as a child, you understood as a child, you thought as a child; but you are becoming an adult spiritually, and you will put away childish things. The gifts of the Holy Spirit will no longer be play things, but will now become your tools for ministry as I lead you forth into the fullness of your calling.

For those who have trusted Me and have heard My voice, I say that I will honor your obedience and will bless and establish you in your going out and your coming in; in your rising up and your sitting down. For, I am bringing you to a higher octave in your gifting and calling that will resonate in the spirit realm with greater power and effectiveness than you could have imagined, says the Lord.

Psalms 121:8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
Number 6:24-26 "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."

AMEN!

Dreams and Lessons

Last night I dreamt that I was running around/setting up at work somewhere or volunteering at a event. I was walking around with a lady with a thick accent. Almost like she would be from Yugoslavia or Russia. All day she kept talking about a pain in her right side. On our way back to our post we were walking past a huge receptionist desk, like one you would see at a hospital, a huge curved desk/counter. We were halfway past the desk when she stopped dead in her tracks grabbing her side. She was in so much pain she couldn't even speak. I yelled for one of the receptionists behind the desk to call 911. The receptionist hesitated, glanced at me almost suspiciously, and I told her again to call 911. The second time she actually picked up the phone. My attention went back to the lady in pain who was now saying, “Today is not today.” I got the impression she was trying to say today was not a good day for this to be happening since we had so many thing to tend to. However, in her broken English and heavy accent it came out, “Today is not today.” –end of dream

For some reason that sentence REALLY stuck with me even after I woke up. I knew it was significant! As I was ironing my clothes I realized I had picked out a red top with stars and stripes all over. It's the kind of shirt I might wear on the 4th of July or Memorial Day. I thought how appropriate it was that I was wearing it on 9/11! Then it hit me, today is 9/11 … "Today is not today" spoken by a lady with a Russian accent. I really feel it has something to do with the September 11 attacks or future attacks. Lord please bring wisdom and understanding.

Lesson from the Lord: I was running around this morning looking for a particular head band. When I couldn't find it I spotted another one and I grabbed it to use it instead. As I headed to the bathroom to put it on I looked on the floor near my night stand and saw the one I was originally looking for! However it wasn’t an “Oh there it is moment!” I felt like the Lord was REALLY highlighting this moment. Like He was speaking, “Don’t settle for second best. Push until you find what you are looking for.” Pretty cool. I love little life lessons from the Lord.

Freedom!!!!!

Oh what freedom I have in Christ, my Bridegroom! All the lies are crumbling away, lol!! :) In its place is JOY overflowing and abundant love for my Savior. My situation in life hasn't changed much but my perspective and mindset is now so far above what is happening around me. I am finally walking out the truth that my mood doesn't have to be determined by my circumstances. YAY!

The lyrics to How He loves Us keep coming back to me.

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.


I received such amazing inner healing this week already. It's crazy how you think you're free until Jesus takes you to a higher level of freedom in Him. You move forward, look back with your mouth open thinking, "Wow. This is alot different, alot better. What in the world was I doing back there!?"

I'm falling more and more in love with Jesus everyday! That fact alone over shadows everything else going on around me. I am wanted. I am loved. I am valuable. I am special and better yet...I AM ENGAGED!!!

Not going back! I'm moving ahead..

I was singing the above mentioned song by Free Chapel just now. In the midst of singing I felt the Lord say, "Well no you haven't; not really" which really caught me off guard. As I pondered what He was referring to, He reminded me of what I was presently working on, a project I had partnered with someone on. We felt like God called us into this partnership, we prayed, we prepared, I even expressed some apprehension about not wanting the load to completely fall on me as I had enough on my plate. I mean we really evaluated this thing from every angle. Well I should speak for myself; I know I did. When we launched the project, I shot out of the starting blocks and it took a few months before I realized I was the only one running. I looked back and tried to encourage my partner to get moving. I tried to revisit our pre-stated commitments once they were established, that didn't work. Today I was pondering handling all my own responsibilities as well as those that were supposed to be handled by them, a partner who promised to alleviate some of my work load. Once again, in this IHOP internship, we are all (my fellow interns and I are) finding that Abba is whittling away at our flesh.

Every now and then I'd find myself getting mildly irritated that I'm carrying the ALL of the load. The bible speaks about partnerships and my favorite verse concerning this concept is Ecclesiastes 4:9-10:

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

Every person goes into a partnership with this mindset. If I stumble, fall or need help, someone has got my back or is encouraging me to push forward. Again, I was singing these lyrics:

I'm not going back, I'm moving ahead
I’m here to declare to you my past is over
In you all things are made new
Surrender my life to Christ
Moving, moving forward

I felt the Lord was saying, in correcting me, that if I was truly moving forward I wouldn't be looking back. Regardless of what any partner promises one cannot move forward while looking backwards and maintain success. We've all heard the saying about driving while looking in the rear-view mirror. That's what I've been doing. Put disappointment aside, entitlement aside, and fairness aside. At the end of the day the Lord is my Defender and I just need to focus on the last thing He told me concerning this project. He told me to do it and He said He would bless it. Although the “do it” part is harder that I projected due to the lack of man power and communication, my instructions from God still have not changed.

There was such peace in that for me, today. And the rest of the song further propels me to where I need to go:

You make all things new
Yes, You make all things new
You make all things new
And I will follow you forward

Keep me focused on what is before me, Lord. After all, You fill every void in our lives. What better partner to have on ANY project than Abba Himself!

(Side Note: And right after I wrote this I read the word for the day which is so fitting!!!

Small Straws In A Soft Wind by Marsha Burns -- September 1, 2008:
Beloved, you must exercise your will to push through your circumstances and gain the victory. You cannot move through this time of challenges and tests as long as you allow self-pity and fear to paralyze you. Recognize that this is an attack from the devil to keep you from enjoying My provision and blessings. Shake yourself awake and rise up in faith to believe My word and will for all of My people, and let that be your foundation for success, says the Lord.
3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.)