FRESH

I like fresh herbs. I'd like to cook with them more.
I made vegetarian Chilli last night from scratch, and I remember that I like cooking for people. I'd like to cook more for people. I like following recipes sometimes. I hope I am a good wife and mother, if those are in the plans of the Creator for me.
Looking at previous blogs puts some things in retrospect. I think I like Blogs. You can really get to know someone. It's a bit more private than FACEBOOK NOTES. I like it.
Travel. Photography. Dresses. Hairdresser. Clothing Store. People. Love. Food.
I like those things and more.
Till later.

Pretty Random I know.

Sorry, I moved to FACEBOOK.
I'm back visiting, and perhaps will own these two houses. We will see how long I can maintain cleaning up both houses.
Sweet, till later.

Session 12

the Messiah complex
we all have one...at some point you have thought...i have to save the world...haven't you?

we shall imitate him not by being big, wielding power, being served or bullying
but by being small, becoming weak, being a servant, loving and showing kindness, giving water to the thirsty and clothes to the naked

I've often had these pictures where my whole body shrunk so small but my hands and feet were huge. I believe that when I get these, this is who I am when I move for Jesus. Have you had anything like that? A picture or a feeling, when you know you are truly humble and glorifying God alone, not yourself.

hero or martyr - 4 J.C.
do you want to be carried on the crowds shoulders or wear the winners wreath?
do you want to be trampled beneath the mob's feet or wear the thorny crown?

Our aim shouldn't be service, necessarily, but to have the Christ-like attitude of servant hood.
secret service acts, with no applause or thank you, not seeking or avoiding persecution, whether we feel like it or not, despite inconvenience...umm...can you do that? can I do that?

Play second fiddle, then you'll have a harmony.

Service tells us Jesus loves us. Service is the best way to love Christ and to love LIKE Christ.

does security eliminate self promotion and self protection?

Session 11

Speed is killing us. Slow down and live.

Consumption is killing us. Go fast and live.
Jesus began His ministry with a 40 day fast. He stood against the enemy with the word of God and an empty stomach. He was surrounded by rocks and scorpions. Adam and Eve fell in fullness. They had a full stomach and was surrounded by all the food in the world.
Fasting begins with a hunger for more of God's presence and direction.
Gluttony is an appetite suppressant for the things of God - Cornelius Plantinga.
The 'M' arch and Coca-Cola are more accepted that the cross.
We overemphasize the pleasure of eating and down play the nutritional value. I challenge you to eat only for nutritional value for a while. I am trying it now and it is hard but I know my body will benefit in the long run. For me, I am trying no processed food (hot dogs, cheese slices, etc.) or frozen dinners. No coffee, ice caps, candy, chocolate, and little sugar. It is hard and sometimes I give in. Eat what is natural: fruits, veggies, pasta's and meat.

Fasting is for blessing the Lord, to lay hands on others to send out, to draw close to God in danger, to get a great anointing and to be more sensitive to the Spirit. Withholding food or whatever you are sacrificing will not do you much good if you're not going to spend more time praying and waiting on God. Live a fasted life: never eat all you want. Don't let your appetite dominate you. Do you ever find yourself eating when you are not even hungry? Let's ask God why.

Fasting purposes are that it humbles us, test us, and teaches us.

Humbles us by showing us our limits, frailty, and utter dependency.

Mat 6:16...When you fast...not if.

We get cranky, depressed and weary when we haven't eaten for 12 hours. Jesus, not only calls us to not look somber, but to not act irregular either.

Tests us by showing us what is really in our hearts: anger, resentment, irritation, fear, depression, obedience, strength, faith, etc.

Teaches us that we don't eat on bread alone, but on every word from God. Jesus is the bread of Life. Scripture is the only thing big enough, tough enough, and true enough to speak to the flesh, world or the devil. Many of us today are food gluttons but biblical anorexics. We take in scripture as though it is drive through fast food.

B-I-B-L-E (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)

We usually don't search (whether by book or the net) about kayaking technique simply to ponder the idea. We read search it to learn how to do it.

All scripture is God breathed. It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training so that we will be equipped for the work He calls us to do.

Some tools to use while reading and studying the Bible are a concordance, a Bible dictionary, a Bible handbook, and a commentary. It is also important to recognize the author, who it is written to, the style of writing and the CONTEXT. Observe, Interpret, Apply. Look at the food, look again, dissect it, eat it, experience how it energizes your body and changes your activity that day. Do you see a parallel between the two nutritional foods? Physical and Spiritual?

Session 10

Leave yourself alone.
When we are bored, do we call it dead space? Perhaps the dead space is the living spaces, the breathing room.
Solitude, silence and secrecy, stills us, humbles us and makes us watchful.
Do we want to be approved, applauded, sought after, and highly regarded? YES! We want to exalt ourselves at the same time of avoiding ourselves. Solitude, silence, and secrecy help us break our addiction to self absorption and self avoidance. Do we run or stay too long from either one?
Jesus was usually not in a hurry; He did not complain, that we know of, that He had too much to do. The times when I slow down, I realize I enjoy the abundant life tremendously more.
Solitude = a space for listening, a cure for loneliness. Correct? In quietness, can we find the cure for loneliness? How? Maybe it is best to speak when tempted for selfish reasons to be silent. When we are tempted to justify, explain, excuse, exalt, gossip, or scold, we should be quiet. Maybe it is best to keep silent when tempted for selfish reasons to speak. When we are tempted to lay low, let things sort themselves out, rock the boat, say anything that might cause trouble, we should speak. What about when we are scared, misunderstood, or hurt? Both are costly and should be self giving. Does love allow people to continue rather to change for the better?
Silence = listening to God and others. When nothing is on (radio, TV, etc), do you tend to listen for the voice of God? Do we need to train ourselves that way? There was once a man who left 15 minutes early for lunch not to eat, but to stand with eyes closed and ears open in the middle of machinery. He was listening for brokenness. Do we leave for 5 minutes to listen for resolutions to our brokenness? WE SHOULD. Prayer can deteriorate into White House chatter (ppl not really listening but instead nodding, smiling and saying regular things: nice, God bless, Praise God).
Secrecy = hiding something out of humility; acting on the belief that the reward of God matters more than the reward of man. It is not hiding behind fig leaves, because of humiliation and selfishness, nor is it bragging of the wisdom we received from biting into the fruit in disobedience. How can we find a balance between when to tell and when to keep God's secret to ourselves?
Learn the mute language. Be interested in what God wants to say. Consciencely make the mouth close. In prayer, asking God what He wants and thinks needs humility and brokenness, opposites of regular human things. In Matthew 7 at the Transfiguration, Christ was on glory and God says: "Listen to Him". Instead of wasting 1/2 hour worrying about what to get done first on our 'to do' list - ask God - He will prioritize and things will flow seemingly. Give up control. Stop running things and God will. The word is like a glove. God can put His hand inside it and touch us. We don't drink every week, we drink daily. We are portable sanctuaries.
Be still and know that I am God. Be not do, still not movement, know is just believing, that HE IS.

Session 9

Pride is broken through brokenness.
Wounds can cure us or shackle us to borderland.
Are they wounds of a madman, or a sterile surgeons?
If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; If a foe we raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But if it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. Psalm 55:12-14. The enemy, we might understand, but a friend...is like a madman's gouge.
Where does your brokenness come from? Jesus WAS there.
What are the wounds of the Church?
We have wounds that are half-scabbed, hastily bandaged, that keep bleeding, waking us, hounding us with the ache while we try to go on (job, children, watching movies).
By his wounds we are healed.
Wounds can mean intimacy. We hurt, look at the cross - that is hurting. We've put it on him and he does a supernatural exchange. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him...Philippians 3:10.
Wounds are God's wooing, God's kiss - to restore and not to betray. Can we have intimacy with God without wounds, without times of hurting where we need to depend on him?
How can we receive comfort from the wounds of Jesus Christ that we have given him?
Wounds have had a role in our lives - shaping us into who we are today. They have made some slower to judge, more discerning, forgiving and trusting. Perhaps, we should wear our wounds as medals of honour, Christ does.

Confession is stripping down all the extra weight before running. In Walt Disney's 'Invincible' Vince Papale runs into the locker room at a football try out. His angry self is getting trampled on the field by all the regular players. He takes off his top gear and exchanges it for lighter gear. He doesn't give up, he does an exchange, and then venture out again. He strips down, runs again and makes it on the team.
Confession is cleaning out all the black sludge and dead leaves in the eaves' troughs so the rain water can wash them clean.
Confession is presenting our real self to God. We must be honest with our self and honest to one other person, not on Oprah to a zillion people-that's stripping.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. Psalm 32:3. Love can't cover the sins we cover up. 1 Peter 4:8 - Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Proverbs 28:13 - He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confess and renounces them finds mercy. Walking in truth requires admitting sin. The light exposes and heals (1 John 1:6-8).
Confession is the portal out of borderland.
Is there anything that you need to strip off, clean out and be real with? Who should you tell? With whom do you need to apologize and make amends?
No confession makes the fellowship of the Church a country club instead. A masquerade, a game of hide and seek, no life, no depth.
No confession = hinders spiritual growth, rots the bones, withers our insides, hardens us...
'If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;' Psalm 66:18
What have you noticed that hidden (un-confessed) sin does to you?
Some paint fruit on hoping no one will notice there are no roots. Some plant seeds of sin or boast or confess rather about what others are doing or saying, then what they are personally responsible for. Own your stuff, share, don't play the blame game. That is not how the bride of Christ is supposed to live.

Session 8

Holy habits feel awkward. When someone lies or starts smoking, it usually doesn't feel awkward. Why is it then that Holy habits feel more awkward than sinful actions? We are born human and so to form holy habits, we must die to our selfish desires and long after Christ-likeness.
Imagine what would happen to our lives if we added a spiritual habit to daily life. We wake up, brush our teeth, shower, get dressed... What if we through in some worship, prayer and Bible reading. Imagine what our lives would be like if our spiritual routines fit right along, were our daily routines. We could fit worship in the shower, prayer when we get dressed and while brushing our teeth, read or even listen to a chapter of the Bible, perhaps even when we are slowly eating breakfast.
Jesus had a routine of being with the Father. He stayed connect and that is why he could heal a boy and his disciples could not. Because he always prayed, he could stand and deliver.
Grace and earning are opposites. Grace and effort are allies. Make an effort to keep peace, keep unity, to be holy, to be found spotless, to enter rest. Receiving grace has been used as an excuse to laziness. Effort has gone over the edge and become 'workaholic'ish. Both are needed for a balance, both are needed to cancel out laziness and business.
Why should we do anything? LOVE. I challenge you to look at some things in your life and see if the bottom motivator is love. It should be. If it isn't, pray and see if you should continue in it.
God spoke to me a while ago, where are you? right when I was asking Him where he was. He doesn't need to be evoked. I do. God came to me. No, I came to be with God. Psalm 139, he knows my thoughts and he is everywhere.
Just before Christmas, I entered winter... in a spiritual sense. I am still there and I know God is doing a deep work and spring will come. I desperately want him near. I read, pray and worship, but still there is an unbreakable wall between heaven and earth. I've practiced, rehearsed, repeated and reworked my knowledge. He is here and real and at work...even though I don't feel it.
If we walk with continual expectancy, will each moment brim with the possibility of encounter and discovery?
Do it all for God. Work, school, leisure... For love for God. There is the sacred and the profane. The profane is the sacred abused, unkept, trampled on, trivialized... What do we need to do to live sacred holy lives? Can we not live, use, say and do only the sacred? Out of love, not duty?