Glorious!

From Amie's Desk

I lie dozing in bed and listen to the dong, dong, dong of the grandfather clock at the top of the stairs. Dogs are quiet, Mom and Dad are quiet, house is quiet. All is quiet when I feel the certain prompting to pray for a certain person at the corner of my everyday life. I don't know why the prompting has come at this particular time, but God does, and I don't spend a lot of time questioning Him. 

Father, 

It wasn't a dream which awakened me this time, but I am trusting I just heard You speak. Thank You for all the many ways Your reveal Your nearness and concern for the people You love. I pray for Lana* at this moment because You know her specific need. I pray that she may know Your presence above all else. Comfort her and help her see You working on her behalf. 

Father, thanks for hearing me no matter where I am. Thank You for the nudges of Your Spirit which prompt people to respond in prudent and timely ways. Forgive me when I fail to answer in  a manner which pleases You. You know every nudge and every failure. Thank You for Your patience and pardon. I need Thee every hour, stay Thou near by. Temptations lose their power, when Thou art nigh.

Lord, even as I pray for Lana*, I am thankful for all those who have prayed morning prayers for me. The sum of the their prayers is unimaginable and unknown to me, but I am confident many prayers are yet being unfolded and answered in my circumstances today. Thank You for Your faithfulness in my life and for the faithful people who pray for me even when the sun is between set and rise. I don't need to know their names because You know them; I thank You for giving me to them just as surely as you've given Lana* now to me. Enable each of Your servants to be faithful in answering Your call.

As Your summons is answered, people are empowered, and Your witness goes forth.

Your promise will not return to You having accomplished nothing. It will be realized as You desire and fulfilled as You intend. (Isaiah 55:11)

Thank You for Your ability to reach us during any and every time of the day. You are amazing and we look forward to knowing You more as Your plan for each of us is revealed and culminated. It is and will be...glorious!

  

Straight Talk

 

From Amie's Desk

The new electric toothbrush I got for Christmas takes some getting used to. I take a damp cloth from the container this morning and I swipe at the toothpaste smudges on the mirror. A question comes into my head: God, what is Your will for me today?  I pause as I wonder if I'm making the situation with the mirror better or worse. The answer comes back clear: Amie, My will for you today, is right under your nose. Don't make things complicated when they don't have to be. 

I need you to love the people I put in your life-path. Speak kindly to Mom, Dad, and Lance today. Keep learning to appreciate them where they are for who they are. Lance will only be little for so long, and you should not take your parents for granted. This life is short and I designed it to be a training ground for the next one. Relationships are important so do your best to put them first, right after Me. 

I need you to diligently pursue the projects I assign to You as a means of loving Me and loving others. 

Use the gifts I have given You to glorify Me and make Me look great through You. Plan and prioritize well, so that My name may be praised, My grace may be plain, and My love may be revealed again. I am a great and mighty God and I can do great and marvelous things through a yielded and willing life. Don't waste your time coveting other people's lives while you should be living your own. No one else has the gifts you have; no one else has your unique calling and circumstances. You are adequate in Me, and by grace, I can make You excellent. Even the smallest tasks can magnify Me as you focus on Me rather than pitying yourself or pleasing someone else. 

I give you people, I give you projects, I give you peace. I need you to love Me right here, right now, with right what you have. Be not greedy or covetous; instead, strive to be wise and content. Go about your day, each day, and know with certainty, you are enabled to love others because I loved you first. You are enabled to live before others because I live in you and enable My life to be known through you. I give you gumption, I give you grace, please employ your mouth and your moments to seek My kingdom, in My power, for My eternal honor and My forever glory. I know you better than you know yourself; I see you beyond the bathroom mirror.

"Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee."

Shadows and Someday...

From Amie's Desk

The dream ends. I awaken quite suddenly to the semi-dark. My eyes are away from clock. The glow from the night-light sets a shadow on the ceiling.

It's okay.
Take a deep breath
Take another deep breath.
Again.
Talk to God.
Do it aloud if it helps.

Father, 

I don't mean to be scared, but I know I have fears. I know some of them are re-occurring ones. 

I don't do hurry very well. And "to the dot" makes me nervous. I'm thankful that when I get to heaven I won't feel pressured by time. I don't understand eternity, but I am grateful for something beyond time.I'm grateful for something beyond stress. I won't feel the inner pressure of  "come on...come on....come on...we've got to go..." I won't be thinking about the three more things which must be done before I can walk out the door and feel good about myself. I will be in Your presence. I will be free to be me and all will be well. Forever. Without fear, and with liberty.

I am thankful that when I get to heaven I won't have the anxiety of fitting in and keeping up. I won't have to worry about being left behind or left out.  I won't have to talk about inclusion because I've been included. I won't have to try and prove myself because I've already been approved. I will have made it, crossed the finish line. Finalmente.

Thank You, God, for the gift of Your Son. Thank You for redemption. Thank You for hearing me. Thank You for bearing with me. Thank You for being there. You hold my dreams. You discern my thoughts from afar...the good, the bad, and the ugly. In  You, I can be secure. 

You know the dark. 
You know the semi-dark. 
You know the shadows.
You know the light.

You are the Light of Life who shines on in the darkness and the darkness can never overcome You. (John 1:5)   

Thank You.

Making it real...

The fleeting and the not so...
"I go on in the hope that I may come to the knowledge of that for which I was made the servant of Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 3:12)

I was at Bible Study yesterday morning when one of the ladies put forth an observation which really made me think, question, ponder, and hopefully grow. I love insights which get down the grit, marrow, and reality of where I am because they challenge me. They remind me I am not yet where long to be; there's still space left to grow, there's still learning to be sought after in my personal walk. There's ideas to grapple with, and practicalities: What does this mean? What does this mean for me? What does this look like in real-life? What does this look like in my real-life? Does it have true impact? What will true impact look like? How does impact relate to calling? How do I get from surface to deep? From passive to active? From cursory and duty to contemplative and delight?

I don't want to just brush over the surface and be content with shoulds, mights, and maybe next years. Long I have lived seeking someday and presently I am faced with: starting now, starting here, starting with me. It's tough to acknowledge my own ignorance and where that ignorance has brought me, or left me, as the case may be. I come up against things I have not done, things I have left undone, things I have neglected or overlooked due to tunnel-vision. Or agenda. or poor planning. or selfishness...or, or, or.

I  awake to confession, to contrition, to renewed consideration, to perhaps more and different contribution. I don't wish to over-analyze, but I wish to pause and reflect enough.  I want to reflect upon Him and with Him, so that I may keep learning from Him and become more like Him. 

I want to take the revelation He is giving me and grow in it, so that I can accurately portray Him to others when they encounter me. I praise Him for His goodness which brings to re-think and and perhaps re-align my priorities. How have I known Him for so long and yet missed Him in so much?

There is much to be said for continued growth in continued grace...If He is really the ever-living, self-revealing, King of the universe He merits the respect and attention that is due Him.