The church...for too long has followed Caspar, the Friendly Ghost, instead of seeking the fire of the Holy Spirit. We have turned limp at the thought of our own cross; we faint when we think of suffering or sacrifice. Beloved, it is time to embrace the fire of God's Presence. ~ Frances FrangipaneWe have had some bitterly cold nights again but the mornings are something else ~ particularly once the morning sun hits the deck. Even Marlow, who spooks at the tiniest breeze ruffling the leaves, has been lured outside to lounge in one of the deck chairs toastily.
It has been such a year of changes, some good, some not so good ~ & the year's barely half done! One of the harder ones has been Liddy moving out. Now I know she needed to go & it was God's plan for her & all the rest of it but the pure & simple truth is we miss her. Star misses her, I miss her, her dad misses her. The cats are psychotic every time she leaves. Planted close together for so many years we have lots of entwined tendrils & separating can't been done without some damage.
There are bigger separations ahead. I am excited for Liddy about what the Lord has shown me of what He has in store for her & as so often happens with the Lord's people our spiritual journey touches at multiple points & prayer connects us despite distances. For so long I have watched Liddy struggle to work out God's will for her in her life & now I am finally seeing the butterfly struggle free of the cocoon & spread wings in anticipation of flight. It awes me.
It awes me because I can see so clearly the Lord working in her life, more clearly than she does at times. I know the propulsion of the Holy Spirit to do what the Lord has put on your heart, & the peace that comes from obedience. I also sense a great shifting of the Spirit in different ways in different people & different countries.
We have had a spiritual oasis, very calm, with neither great highs nor terrible lows but that is about to change. We are being warned to gird our loins, put on our armour, take up our swords & prepare for battle. I'm not so good at the battle stuff. My first instinct is to find the nearest dug~out, dig in, cover my head & wait for the shouting & the tumult to die. No, not the warrior sort. *sigh* And it is so difficult to fight an enemy you can't actually see!
And you know, I know that when it comes to the sticking point the Holy Spirit will give me the backbone I need so I'm not a complete jellyfish! It's only later I'll wonder what on earth possessed me, what was I thinking? & how I ever managed. So how is God dealing with you just now?
15 comments:
Liddy must be so excited! I know you are, too... wish you didn't have to be so vague but I'll be patient. :)
I sense revival, restoration, renewing!
That pic, O man, it's picture perfect. :) Seeing that bought me so many different memories, good memories. Mummy you must be missing me, it's been awhile since you've blogged about me! ;)
I was reading through Acts, well the begining, yesterday. The part that has stuck with me is Stephen's stoning! ~ Acts 7:54-60
It brought me to tears. What more assurance do we need then the example of Stephen? (after Christ's death) Press into God more and more, that is the call I feel. Whatever trauma, whatever battle, even upon death I know that my Lord is there beside me.
I can't remember what name you've given to my companion but upon comming home yester I dropped in to let her know, completely forgot that I had my bible in my hand. I ended up leaving the bible in her house overnight. She picked it up and gave it a read... God is strengthening her personal relationship with him, I am sure of that!
I should have written an e-mail, think I may actually and add a few more things to it!!! Be home before you know it!
~ Lots of Love, Lid
Please let my father know that he has def won my heart over to Ziz Zag wattles and thank him dearly for the one we have! It is a scent I will always be fond of and I associate it with pleasent memories of home :)
Mrs C I should write on my own blog, just haven't had the energy lately hahaha and I just don't know where to begin.
Mum your blog still doesn't let me post propperly, argh, it's a good thing I'm learning to umm copy all I write before trying to post.... :P
MrsC: I'll try & remember to e~mail you. Unfortunately some stuff just can't go out in the *public domain* ~ for all sorts of reasons.
Lid: Good grief, girl, go blog on your own blog! ☺ lol You're getting as bad as Seeking & I. Sounds like we have lots to share spiritually when I next see you. God keeps dumping me in Isaih, just so you know ~ all about preserving a remnant, judgement, love. lol
If you were signed into your own blog it would probably let you post as Lobstar.
The pic was amazing. One of those mornings you know. ☺ & the wattle is flowering...
Hey, don't bring me into this one. She is her mother's daughter! And taking the good advice, I think I will just go blog on my own blog, too.
Seeking, Seeking, Seeking. You know you never take my good advice...;P
And you know I don't really mind. ☺ Lid keeps dropping out where she is. Makes it hard to have a proper conversation.
You'll be so proud of me!!! Hahaha...
*sigh* Don't make me say, "I told you so...". ☺ All on your own too! And I'm the technologically illiterate one...!
Ganeida, I love the quote at the beginning of this post. So powerful and true!
I was blessed to read what your beautiful daughter wrote. Move over Mummy! LOL I truly got touched, by the way one still young, loves the Lord. What a blessing and it must warm your heart enormously. It would mine. I wanna go away and cry now (sniff, sniff). I am happy for you sweet friend...really, I am lol.
Amanda: Amanda: Liddy has been taking an interesting journey on her way to the mission field. Her call is sooo different to mine it's a wonder we can communicate at all! She is a very nice person so long as she stays of her high horse. lol
I am useless at outreach but my call has always been for the building up, encouragement & strengthening of God's people. Liddy's is to missions. She evangalizes everywhere she goes. I rant at my target audience. lol
Better, Lid?
oh what did I miss with those removed comments LOL???
Well, together you would make a wonderful team me thinks!
Thank you for the sharing of yourself and family. You are blessed to share so deeply spiritually as a family and it was touching to be nosey and read your daughters comments! Wow, one fortunate mama.
I understand vague..sounds like a transition time. We are having one here, yet cannot seem to launch my son (19) so God must not be done with him here yet...or us...lol. I find my girls much easier, though still hard to let go. God is faithful to make his vision ours in time, I am finding. And his vision at that, has been an surprise to me. I will try to think on how to blog in my own space about that soon.
Hello Ganeida, thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a lovely comment. I have enjoyed taking a journey through your blog.
Changes are hard to make, some more difficult than others but I am so very thankful that there is a God who cares about us and he is there to help along the journey of life the ups and downs and in betweens.
Amanda: Isn't it frustrating when you're too late to read trashed comments? lol Unfortunately this wasn't anything exciting. Lid was just letting me know I'd forgotten to use her blog name so I had to re~do your comment. ☺
Jan Lyn: Liddy is a wonderful blessing in spiritual matters. I miss her discernment when she isn't here. She has a lovely clear point of view & usually a different angle to mine.
Hello Foxglove Spires. Nice to have you visit. ☺
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