Ready to Run!

Today is our last day in Abu Dhabi and we head to Dubai to fly out on Monday. I am reflecting on how to end this portion of this writing to go on to the next phase of this blog........we are ready to run. I say "we" because I feel that it is time, whether we feel like it or not. It is time. Time to run and not look back on all the stuff. Time to run with grace, in humility but in power and authority. Time to run and I,  for one, am ready. I am ready for God to lead the way in all of this and transition us to our next assignment by His Spirit. I am excited about all that there is to write in the coming days - what we have seen and observed and what has been revealed to us over the past 10-20 years of our travels.

Where has the past 10 years or more taken us......I prophesy this out over my life and I pray that you prophesy over yours. Out of the desert and into the nations, the cities, the countries......into your destiny . I will sound like the culmination to the Amazing Race but here goes.......

After 10 years or more and from traveling to these countries where we have lived, visited, prayed, observed, loved, and where we have set our foot on to bring glory to His name..............from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Netherlands, France, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Switzerland, England, Philippines, Japan, China, Kenya, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Canada, Trinidad.........................and now coming full circle back to California to start a work for the Lord. To build up His kingdom in His glory and to take teams to the nations.

What is your calling? What is your destiny? Prophecy it now and call into existence that which is not as though it were by the Spirit of God and walk by faith and not by sight into your future where all is settled by His hand. You need only to follow Him. I am not doing this to hype anything up. It is time.

I have so much in me to speak to regarding these years of travel and exploration. All  that God has put in us regarding His kingdom now and in the coming days. Speaking forth without presumption and without hype, without a need for reputation or honor to our name, we humbly submit to our Savior to carry His truth to a world in chaos and align with His plan and purpose for our lives. How about you?

We end this season with humility and joy, amidst the pain of rejection which has humbled our heart to trust Him. Amidst the pain of grief and loss over the years we look forward to taking off our mourning clothes and put on the joy that has been promised. We look for that city, where the builder and maker is God, serving Him wholeheartedly and with complete abandonment. Having nothing to prove and nothing to lose, we bless and forgive all those who have hurt us purposely and in ignorance, assuming things about us without truly wanting to know our hearts. We in turn ask forgiveness for any thing we ourselves have done and we know that all is under the power of His blood which takes it all and casts it away so that we may walk forward in newness and freshness of purpose and destiny.

I prophecy out to each of you reading this simply to MOVE. MOVE whether it is one step, one inch, one foot, one miles, one nation, one city, one house.......but MOVE and He will indeed walk with you and talk with you. You were not created to exist but to live and move and have your being in Him. Take risks and take the adventure that Christianity has promised as we live in Him. Oh how He is worth it..............how glorious and wonderful He is to call us and choose us for His purpose in the earth today. You were born for such a time as this. Relinquish your throne and allow Him to be Lord over your whole life and see what the future has for you that He holds in His hand.....onward.............to California and to the next season.....come on.......go with me. As a prophet I say..............it is time.  NOW.

Harsh Reality - The Desert!

Nothing is glamorous about the desert. All those pictures we see of sand dunes looking so romantic and real. Palm trees. Oasis. Shifting sands. Camels. In reality, look to your right. This is the desert and this is what I see in part on the way to Dubai from Abu Dhabi....nothing........as far as the eye can see. There are cities on the way that are monotone in color and mosques in white all over the place. But everything just seems to blend in to a whole lot of nothing. Overall, the color of the desert is basically colorless where I live in the UAE. (But I shall only be here for a few more days. Yay!) The color is monotone and drab. The scenery never seems to change. In the summer where temps are easily daily at 45-50C or at least 120F, the heat rises up and there is a haze in the air most times. That is the desert..............

The desert is HARSH REALITY. You can't assume anything or presume anything in these harsh conditions. One can often die in the heat. Water is life here and not to be wasted. These are just facts. In the natural there is no shade. The desert lends itself to a condition whereby you can't hide. In fact, look at that picture again. There is nowhere to hide. That is WHY God puts us into the desert. Some of us go there physically but all of us, hungering for God, go there spiritually. It is the harsh reality of Christian existence. Harsh reality can harden one indeed or................you can look for the beauty in that which is around you. You may have to look hard but you will find it.

This is your picture. My picture. We exist by grace even through the harshest conditions, showing forth God's grace. And we shine through with the beauty of our salvation, both male and female, in the dryest conditions under submission to the One who loves us.

Isa 51:3 3 For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody. NKJV

Look to the picture to your right. This one is called “Alone in the Desert”. How appropriate to our condition. Exposed to the dryest and most trying conditions, we live. We don’t just survive folks. We live. Growing. Stretching. Living in the most extreme conditions. We live and not only do we live, we break out to be something that we were not when we entered this place.

Song 8:5 5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? NKJV

Tonight as I sit here in our hotel, waiting to leave the desert in a few days I see that the desert has changed me for good and by His grace. It has been a time where I have learned so much that I will talk about in the days ahead to build you up with a strong love to believe that you are called by God for such a time as this. Do not believe the lies that say anything else.

What else can I say tonight to each of you who blesses me by reading this? My heart is full that I would be so honored by God to suffer so that I may share in His glory. To suffer loneliness, persecution, rejection, trials, afflictions - all during these past few years so that as I, and you, have been stripped down, we arise into the glory of His presence in His grace.

Selah.

A Broad Place of Freedom!

There is a narrow gate that beckons one to forsake all to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. The gate is narrow and when we choose to submit to Him to be set apart for His glory, we do it through an act of our own will. It is true that forced love is no love at all. God is looking for a people who will lay it all down, follow Him into an uncomfortable place, and walk with Him day by day, trusting in Him implicitly. Can I stress this enough? No. Why? Because there is no shortcut and Christianity is not cheap. The blood which was shed by Jesus Christ is precious and costly, bringing us out of death into life.

Something interesting happens when we enter through the narrow gate into our confinement in the wilderness. We begin to blossom in a very dry, dusty, mundane and uncomfortable place. Yet the process between entering the desert and total submission and acceptance to your surroundings, brings one through much trial and error. What is God after in this place? YOU. Interestingly enough, no matter how much you kick, scream, cry out................He sees your heart and only He knows when the time is ready for you to leave. You actually can go anytime you want because He is not forcing you to be here. The entrance is open. We have a free will. The only reason that I kicked and screamed and whined and complained was because I wanted something easier to achieve the same results. Ain't gonna happen baby..................hindsight is definitely better than foresight.

I learned something very important here in this time. So important that it has literally changed me and is continuing to change me from the inside out. FREEDOM. Freedom in the desert. Freedom to dance when no one can see you. Freedom to sing when no one is listening. Props are removed. You have an audience of ONE and He is indeed watching and listening. Why are you doing this all? Inner motives are exposed and left to be examined on the dry dusty sands. It is YOU exposed and naked and transparent in a place where you simply can't hide. And you have chosen this of your own free will. Why? Because you love Him. Selah.

I love this verse and it was always in my mind over these past 3 years.

Psalm 18:19 He also brought me out into a BROAD place. He delivered me because He delighted in me.

I was in a broad place. Not exactly what I expected but it was what God desired for me. This place of confinement was broad and free. It appeared to be restricted in the natural but it is not the natural that God is looking at in you. He is looking deep to see if you can be FREE in your confinement to focus and look at Him. Worship only Him. Dance for only Him. All props removed. Okay.........did I learn this overnight? No way. It took me a few years because I was flat out angry to find myself in this place. So outwardly I went through all the motions. Sort of like a little child that you have just disciplined and he or she says to you "But Mom, I'll be good. I promise. Just let me out of my room and I promise I will be better." Yeah.........right. God sees deep and keeps us in this place even when it hurts. Mothers know that. I am a mother, a grandmother, a woman of God, a Deborah and a Spiritual Mother. I know all the tricks and yet I tried using them myself. :)

This broad place of delight is now IN ME. I can dance when no one is watching. I can sing when no one is listening. For Him and Him alone. A funny thing happens when what God desires is accomplished in you. Suddenly you are dancing and singing and you notice that the scenery begins to shift around you. God sees and knows that you are ready. You are His and even though you may have days of ups and downs, you are His. You are free to go but the desert is inside of you and what you are learning here will be with you all the days of your life. Never forget this time for it is precious and invaluable.

Patience - In the Moment!

Ever feel like this??? I was looking for the perfect picture for PATIENCE and instead of all the cute sayings.........I found this. The funny thing about this picture is that we once had a Golden Retriever, AJ. Marvin actually would teach AJ to do this and he did. When the time was up, AJ would move his head, flip the biscuit back and catch it in his mouth. AJ had patience to wait for the reward that was inevitably right before his eyes. :)

Now about us, or rather about me and you can relate to this. I am not........patient. (I hear a resounding amen from my husband, family and friends.) But, I am learning to be.

Heb 6:10-12 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. NKJV


Patience, in the wilderness, is something that is essentially learned and imparted into our lives by a wonderful Savior who has all the time in His hands. He is in no hurry and can wait to see that all is accomplished in our lives. We are simply to submit and allow Him to work this in and through our lives. Yet, it is not that easy. Trust me.


Patience is linked to God's timing and the two become worked together as one. God has a timing and patience is required to move in the reality of that timing, not to go ahead or lag behind. It is the perfect scenario of working and walking alongside your Lord. Patience to simply focus on the moment and not think ahead or behind but to trust Him. He is the Master and you are the child. Kind of like the dog up there...............a good Master trains for a purpose and does not withold but gives at the right moment under the right circumstances.


In the wilderness, you should learn to be IN THE MOMENT. Too much hindsight or foresight will drive you crazy because, let's face it, the scenery doesn't change too much. Hot, dry, uncomfortable. :) The moment requires faith and patience to look at only Him and to disregard your peripheral vision, no matter how much it actually calls to you from across the fence or beyond the borders. You must silence all the what ifs, the maybes and all that talk talk talk. Quiet down in the moment and trust.


Looking to the past brings a wide array of fears that somehow or someway you have been disqualified or missing it. Looking to the future will only cause you to miss the journey and actually folks...........God is concerned about the journey and what it is doing in you. Enjoy the journey! I would hear that often while in this place. I hated it. Why? Because I was impatient. Hmmmmmmmm need I say more? Yes. :)


God desires a people finely tuned to His movements - moving when He says to move, being still when He says to be still. The moment focuses on Him and Him alone. Patiences eliminates unnecessary distractions which try to pull you out of the moment. Patience to simply focus, wait and trust that God will do what He says He will do. Again, easier said than done. But hey, I get to write this from my experiences. And to think it only took me 56 years to get to this point. Would have liked to encounter this at 30 but God chose this point in my life so I say "Bring it on Lord. More more more."


Look at this verse. This is an ouch verse when you are focused on what everyone else is doing and all you want is to hear God say "Poor baby. I will release you right now because you asked for it." Nope, instead He says this to our impetulance and anxiety.


John 21:20-22 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?" 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" 22 Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me." NKJV


All around there is movement. I envied that for it seemed that I was standing still. But in hindsight once again, I was not. I was actually moving - at His speed, not mind. That required patience.

Let me give an example again. I had such a desire for ministry. I wanted to see this ministry move forward and the indication of this would simply show me how much God loved me and poured out His favor on my life. But it did not happen that way. Instead of moving forth, the promise which was deep inside of me, brought me miles away from my destiny. Happens to a lot of us right? Anyway, this desire to prove myself brought me into such a fleshly desire to have this ministry that my vision was distorted, anger set in, frustration, worry, fear and a whole range of emotions. Ministy defined my life because I had nothing else at that moment. I felt that I had given up so much to follow Him and here I was - without anything in the middle of nowhere. I could not get past the tensionan in me that brought me fear of missing it all. And when I saw others around me moving, that fear intensified. That was the problem........I was looking around me and not at Him. I know that now. I did not know that then.

So what is the deal? Here I sit in Abu Dhabi waiting to leave on Monday to head back to California. I am a bit more patient ( and I say a bit) but a lot wiser. I have allowed the Lord to tame me and yet there still is a sanctified restlessness in me that wants more and yearns for more for my life. I think He likes that a lot........and I can see Him smiling.