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Seek First The Kingdom – And All These Things Will Be Given To You

JustOne — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 16:35:55 +0000

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Jas 1:17 NKJV

Wow – yesterday my son saw these two promises manifested in his life once again. I’ve mentioned it before, and this is another wonderful example of, how our Father cares about everything – even the little things that so many consider “not worthy” of prayer or a “waste of God’s time”. He’s answered prayed and un-officially-prayed requests of mine as seemingly insignificant as the desire for a professionally done haircut (vs an in-the-bathroom job!).

My 13 year old son has been pouring himself and his heart into the tech ministry at our church. He has spent countless hours learning, participating, and growing in this area that he so loves and enjoys. Through it he seeks to display aspects of his heavenly Father, even when he doesn’t realize this is what he is doing. He has spent multiple hours at church, and even more at home, hours no one but I have seen.

Because we homeschool (as directed for us to do by the Lord) he has has the opportunity to spend lots of time under the wing of some really great guys at church, learning and growing in all kinds of ways (too many to list here beyond tech stuff). For me this is exciting to watch, and honestly, who wouldn’t want their child to be learning what he loves in the environment of the church!

Obviously, the more time he spends there the more I need to make sure we can get a hold of each other. For awhile now, he has been asking for an upgraded phone from my hand-me-down phone he has been using. For probably over a year he has been looking up and looking into what phone he would like to have, and reminding me consistently about his request. For awhile I determined he didn’t need an upgraded phone, but the more he got into photography I decided it would be great to be able to give him one with a better camera. At Christmas, his grandfather gifted him with a nice DSLR camera he had wanted, and he carries it with him everywhere! So again, I figured he had the camera thing covered. Then the glass on the back of the phone broke. We peeled off broken pieces and covered the rest with tape. I was not in a position to be able to buy him a new phone. Then the front broke. We covered it with tape. I broke some more. More tape. It stopped ringing at times (frustrated me to no end when trying to call him). The phone needed to be replaced. I decided for his birthday I definitely needed to get him a new phone! Instead, he broke his arm and all b-day gifts went into x-rays, bone re-settings, casts, doc appointments, more casts, more doc appointments…. No phone.

Over the past two weeks he has been pouring himself into the tech ministry at church. He spent countless hours programming lights and making tech plans and preparations for the upcoming VBS and middle school missions week at church. Because of the faith his mentor has in him, he was put in charge of the recap video for the middle schoolers. So not only did he participate in the middle school missions during camp, he also took on the responsibility to film parts of the week! After a long, tiring week, he spent the entire next day not only putting together the recap video he was responsible for, but also pulling together a second surprise video for the tech team!

He was pouring himself into serving others through his gifts and talents, to support the Kingdom of God.

Yesterday, he was blessed with the manifestation of our Father’s promises. One of the church leaders somehow saw the condition of his phone during the past week, and blessed him with an upgraded, non-broken, phone! One in perfect condition which he could use right away, same carrier and all (yes, of course we have to get a new SIM card). While he was seeking the kingdom, his Father was providing a good and perfect gift that he needed.

Have you ever experienced this yourself?

You probably have, and can think of when this has happened if you’ve kept your eyes opened to see the hand of God move in your life. I know I have, many, many times myself. When I am in need of or believing for something, big or insignificant, as I follow His directives and obey what He is telling me to do, even when it is completely unrelated to my need, He comes through and meets that need in a miraculous way! He knows what we need, before we even need it, or know we need it! The Lord even did that for me to cover the expenses of my son’s broken arm, and the request for a manly b-day gift. Two days before it occurred we suddenly sold a number of things on eBay. I thought this was great, I could now give him a great fun b-day! Those were my plans, not the Lord’s plans. The money raised covered exactly what I needed to pay for his multiple doctor appointments over the next few days, plus the ability to take him to a nice lunch each day after his appointments (remember, he is a growing boy!). Because he was turning the 13, I had been praying that I could offer him an exciting, manly b-day gift, to usher him into his growing manhood. Later, I learned that the broken arm, to my son, was the best manly ushering in he could get.

WHAAAAT??? you ask…

Yes, it was. Of course as a mom I was heartbroken at first, because the big plan for him was to ride in a serious downhill mountain biking race that weekend, on his b-day. It was going to be tough and dangerous. Honestly, I was a little afraid of what could happen, as he was going to be the youngest to ever compete on that course. But he wanted to do it, after lots of consideration, he wanted to see if he had what it would take. A few weeks later, I was telling my son how much I respected him for how he had been handling his arm, from the moment it was broken until then, as well as the disappointment of not being able to race, not being able to even bike, and the challenges of doing tech with a broken arm! While we were discussing this, he said he had always wondered if he had what it takes to get through something like this…. the pain… the challenges… the limitations… I knew this hit to the core of the maturing young man in his heart – something I’ve learned while reading the Wild at Heart series material by John Eckhart. But I digress, back to the original purpose of this post, this story is for another post….. but is an example of our Father’s timely provision of finances as well as a gift to my son that he is cherishing in his heart.

Anywho… Some may shrug this off as no big deal and insignificant. Who cares, someone gave him a phone. But it’s not. It is a big deal. It is a big deal to him and to me. Even this seemingly little gift. It was an answer to his prayers and need, and to mine! As I support him in maturing, growing, and being able to do his thing, I need to know I can get a hold of him when I need to, and that he has a camera he can use at any moment. In his world it is a BIG gift. One that could have easily been blown off as an expectation to be received from me. But one that can’t be ignored when given to him from someone else. A gift from that someone else that they may have no idea is that big a deal of a gift. And we know that they will be blessed in multiplication in return for their selfless gift.

But that’s not all….

I experienced another answer to prayers last night. Around here we loooove movies. We wind down many days watching movies – good, clean movies, usually on PureFlix.com. We were watching the last two of a series on PureFlix last night to wind down the last day of a long week for the both of us. When it came time to watch the third movie in the series, around 10:30 pm, my son got up and said to me that instead of watching the next movie, he really wanted to go read his Bible. I sat there stunned a bit, and was hesitating while processing this, and all I could muster was “Oh yeah?!? That’s great.” He said yes, that is what he wanted to do, and that he realized he really needed to be reading more of his Bible more often. WOW! That is a huge answer to my prayers! That his heart would be drawn to do this, without my pushing him to do so, which I know would make him not want to do it at all. Instead, as he experienced more of the Kingdom and Love of God, his heart has been drawn more deeply into seeking it further. Ultimately, this is what the promises of our Father in Heaven lead us to – the desire to seek a deeper, and more fulfilling relationship with Him. Once we experience His love, His provision, His miracles, His gifts that we can’t make happen on our own, that is when we are led to want to see these things more, not only in our lives but also in the lives of others.

My son and I have been witnessing, and receiving love, blessings, and miracles like these for awhile now. As I prayed years ago that the Lord would open my spiritual eyes to see, and my spiritual ears to hear, I began to notice and see not just the huge happenings, but also the small. Not just the ones so big they hit you in the face, but the tiny ones that can so easily be overlooked. And, not just the current ones, but ones that go back many, many years, before I was truly walking with and following Jesus. All those years, He was by my side, guiding and directing, providing, loving, and more. (For a great teaching on “changing your lens” see Graham Cooke’s video.)

You know, the best part about this – is that our Father looks to do the same for you. If He does this for us, He wants to do the same and even more for YOU!!! Open your heart to Him through Jesus, and as He promises He will lead the way. He will lead you on your path, even when it doesn’t look like it, feel like it, or smell like it. When you can’t feel your way, He will guide you. We don’t lean on our feelings, we lean on Jesus, the Word of God. It IS true, it IS right, it IS never-failing, it IS eternal, it IS for every situation big or small, it IS the I AM.

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The post Seek First The Kingdom – And All These Things Will Be Given To You first appeared on Just One Chapter.

Dogs Got Fleas?

JustOne — Sun, 21 May 2017 23:41:11 +0000

Ok, so we love, love, love our dogs, and couldn’t imagine life without them by our side! With them come all kinds of interesting and sometimes not fun stuff like fleas! Yick! Well, because we also stick to a chemical free life as much as possible, and after a horrible experience with a common flea treatment years ago, we use the following flea protocol. Sure, dogs get an itch every now and then, but when the itching starts to increase (about this time of year) I immediately start this and our problems go away….. Yay! We haven’t found any harm in doing the following, even if it turns out not to be fleas, so we just start this anyway. Of course, I can’t guarantee this works for your dog(s), nor make any promises for safety for your personal pet, and definitely don’t recommend this for any pets besides dogs.

At first beginning itches*:

Take your dogs outdoors with some food grade diatomaceous earth. We use this brand and love it, and if you are an Amazon Prime member you can order it next day (and not wait for more fleas to reproduce!) (Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial.) Grab a spoonful of the powder in your hands and start to rub your dog down. Fleas will congregate initially in certain spots on your pet, target these areas first. On our dogs they attack right at the base of their tail first, and work their way up to their necks. I start at the base of the tail and work my way up to their neck pretty quick. I don’t brush extra hair off before doing this, that way if any blow away on shedding hair they will get killed in your yard. If the fleas have found homes off your dog and are now in carpets and pet bedding, etc. feel free to spread extra around the house using a super handy spreader (make sure you hold it with the spout on the bottom, not top, or you’ll find no powder coming out).

What this does: Diatomaceous earth is a great item to ward off pets of all kinds. Made up of small shard-like pieces that are actually tiny, fossilized diatoms (plankton). These will cut open the outer shell of a lot of bugs and pests, killing them. Applying it to fur and leaving on for a few days will also make sure the powder gets to all the places your dog goes, and where fleas can be hiding. So all pet beds, blankets, and the couch or your bed they secretly sleep on when you’re gone also will get some bug killing powder on it… Flea eggs take a varying amount of time to hatch and if they aren’t reckoned with can start a vicious cycle. When you wash your dogs (below), vacuum everything to get as many as possible up. It’s a good idea to reapply the powder to all the places your pets are in the house again once the eggs may be getting ready to hatch. Still nothing to worry about as it’s safe for people and pets.

Why I love this: Food grade diatomaceous earth is safe for humans and pets to eat! Some people even detox with it (no, haven’t tried that). So if your dog reaches around to nibble, instead of a mouthful of chemicals, they’re ingesting something safe for them to eat (and maybe get a little detox themselves). I also don’t have to worry if any gets on me, I just jump in the shower afterwards.

What to watch out for: Do not inhale the powder, it’s been debated how unsafe this can be. Even tough editable, not particularly breathable. Watch out for windy days, and if you need to apply on a windy day apply in the bath/shower/garage. Also note this powder can turn into a messy paste so don’t over apply for when you need to clean some up or when you get to the next step below.

After a few days, it’s time for a bath

Happy and flea free!

Once the itching has somewhat subsided, it’s time to take a bath. We usually wait a day or two to do this. The powder that has killed any fleas on your pets can be washed off. Most may have fallen off by now, and can easily be vacuumed up. Any left on your dog can be washed off. If there is still quite a bit still in their fur I suggest brushing a lot of it out with a good brush, outside. Get them in the bath/shower and lather them up with Dawn (feel free to pick a scent of choice) starting at their neck and working your way to their tail. Once you have them lathered up, with a good, thick lather covering everything but their face, leave it on for 5 minutes. Here, it can get challenging depending on the dog. You may need to just rub them for the entire time to keep them in the bath!

After 5 minutes, begin rinsing them off. Before rinsing all the soap off, start to brush their coat with a flea comb. After one or two combs through their hair at one of the spots they were scratching, take a look at the comb. If you see little brown/black specks these are fleas. If they’re moving they’re still alive (run for the hills!). Seriously, lather up your dog again and wait another 5 minutes. If you don’t see any moving, keep combing their entire coat and look for any that are moving. There’s a pretty good chance you won’t see any!

Why this works: I’ve had a number of dog groomers tell me this is their secret to getting rid of fleas. What the coat of bubbly dawn does is pretty much suffocate any live fleas. They can’t make it too long in these conditions and should die. If they haven’t and you’ve got scuba diver fleas (not a real thing) then just lather and wait some more.

Why I love this: This gets all the powder out of your dog’s coat and really gets them clean! All while killing fleas. Wondrous miracles.

What to watch out for: Be careful with some dog breeds, this can really dry out their coat. For example, our Husky has a nice, oily coat. This generally acts in her favor and keeps her from getting fleas. But if we have to put her through this her coat can dry out. You can help re-oil it by using moisturizing shampoo, or rubbing them with a little coconut oil. Don’t wash them like this too often, you don’t want to mess up the balance of oil on their skin and coat, which can actually keep fleas off!

Avoiding fleas to begin with!

To keep fleas at bay, as well as other pests, a great old farmer’s trick is to cover your dog’s coat in a fine (i.e. small) layer of coconut oil. When fleas jump on their coat they can’t grab onto the oily surface and fall right off!

If you can’t use coconut oil for any reason, there are many other great ways to ward them off. Here are a bunch of ideas from Every Day Roots.

Good luck towards a no flea zone!

Do you have a great flea remedy or way to avoid them? Please share below!

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Stand!

JustOne — Fri, 19 May 2017 16:57:15 +0000

Just as I opened the door one began stabbing him with his beak, but he stood, unwavering still. They circled him, getting closer to intimidate him, but he stood. The squwaking had stopped as I had come out, they knew the authority of the one who was now also a part of the scene. I rebuked the crows and they backed off and continued in their silence. Still you could see in their actions they wanted to continue to attack and scare the huge owl standing his ground on the thick limb, high above the edge of our yard.

I have seen this before. A few weeks ago a loud clamoring of different, boisterous crowing and squawking was going on in the middle of our backyard. I looked out the window to investigate and witnessed what I believe the Lord calls us to do. I saw three crows trying to run off a large hawk that frequents our backyard. The hawk was fighting back, wanting to claim this area as his territory for the moment. He also flew back and forth, ferociously squawking right back at them. This continued, back and forth, for a good five or more minutes. Finally the large hawk darted at the crows and won the battlefield. I thought, good for him! He is a great creature to watch, and I didn’t mind him getting rid of the annoying crows (who NEVER seem to be quiet!) that often represent evil. But then, when I expected quiet peace to return to the yard, before I could walk away the hawk turned and started in the other direction towards something else, trying to make it too leave. “What or who was he after?”, I thought. Then I saw him. The great, majestic looking owl that hides himself, high above out yard, camouflaged in the tree limbs and leaves. He is huge, and mighty looking. He and I have stared at each other for hours before. He quietly teaching me things without a sound. As the hawk sought to dislodge this creature bigger than he, the owl stood.

He stood. He was unshakable. Unwavering. He allowed the hawk to carry on a bit, until he finally let out a great owl screech. The hawk got closer to see somewhat call his bluff. The owl was not bluffing. He stood. The hawk closed in, and as he did the owl screeched again. The hawk knew he was not going to win this day. Probably not any day. Not when someone, something stands their ground and doesn’t show any sign of wavering against attack.

This was happening again today, the owl was standing his ground, and the one who was going to own this territory for this time. I watched as the crows bounced from limb to limb, so wanting to attack again. The owl stared at me, letting me I didn’t need to continue to rebuke the crows away, he’s got this. He’s been here before, and he knows the outcome. I went back inside, to come and write this story. Shortly after wrestling a bit with my computer, the squawking resumed. I went to the back door, but peered out instead of stepping out. The owl saw me and stared again, letting me know all he has to do is continue to stand. I sent him a look of thanks, to let him know that I appreciate him fending off the crows from our yard. He turned to stare down the crows, and they stopped. After I walked away the crows too left. He won. By standing.

I thank the Lord too for this reminder, this great reminder of what he tells us to do. Immediately the verse that came to mind through this great display was: “Eph 6:11 KJV – Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” This great owl was doing just that – standing! He was not fluttered, he knew he would overcome. He knew by not showing fear or that he could be threatened that he would win!

How often does this happen to us? The enemy comes after us, circles us, yells at us, tries to intimidate us and get us to move, to flinch. How often do we give in? We twitch a bit at times, and wonder if what he is screaming at is true. It could be, we are hearing it so loudly! The message is coming through loud and clear! We may, we could, be defeated. But what are we called to do instead? Put on our armor to STAND against the wiles of the devil. Not always fight, sometimes it’s just not to give in, not get distracted, and not flinch. To not give him the foothold by giving way to the thoughts he wishes to implant and take root in our minds. We are to stand – for we are already placed in a seat of victory in Christ Jesus. We may lose a battle every now and then, but the war has already been won. We hear that often, so often… But it is easy to forget when we are getting poked with the sharp beak of the devil in the midst of conflict. Easy to forget that we are to stand, and sometimes just simply resist him like the owl resisted both the crows and the hawk. Even while they screamed at him, continually. And when they wouldn’t leave he rebuked them with his deep howl of authority. If the owl can do this, we can too, and so much more so. For we are seated with Christ, who has given us authority greater that the owls, in fact even over the owl himself. We can do this, just like the owl. We can stand and resist. Even when it looks hard, voices are screaming. Did the owl learn like we have to, that he could do this? Or has he always innately known? I supposed that like us, as we grow in the Lord and understanding the authority we have over the evil one that the owl had to also grow and mature in the understanding of his authority and ability to stand in it.

Like so many things, this is easy to say, yet hard to do in the midst of conflict. How do we stand, and what are examples of standing? When looking up the scripture reference above, I was actually shocked to find 274 uses of the word “stand” in 267 verses of the KJV version of the scriptures. WOW! I did not stop to read them all (I’d get sidetracked for now) but did skim a number of them, and there are so many examples in the OT of how to stand, how others stand, and how the Lord told people to stand in a variety of circumstances. In the NT there are more instructions on how we stand, and encouragement to do so. I encourage you to read through these examples, and ask yourself how you too can better stand against the wiles, screams and pokes from the devil. I know he does this to me often, and when I’m not prepared I can flinch easily. Praise God, He is teaching me for sure how to ward this off sooner than later. I pray too you find yourself to do this more and more, easier and easier, remembering to put on the full armor of God, for this purpose and more.

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What Name Are You Wearing?

JustOne — Tue, 16 May 2017 20:38:17 +0000

What name or names do you strive to wear? What name do you give everything up for to wear in the presence of others? We all work in one way or another, and present ourselves to the public or our friends in one way or another. Many work hard to earn good money, buy nice clothes, cars, and a residence in a certain area. Have you ever stopped to think about what name you are striving more and paying to wear, represent or be associated with? Do you put on a certain name that makes you feel good, important or worthy? These days it’s pretty easy to find any name to wear at a reasonable price: Channel, Michael Kors, Coach, Kenneth Cole, etc. You can find the ultra expensive names in consignment shops and outlet stores. When you buy something with a designer name and put it on, does it make you feel like you can walk a little taller, strut a little more, or smile a little brighter? Many people will clothe themselves in high profile names, feeling like it helps make them somebody. They show this off in public, on Facebook, Instagram, and other places. We purchase a high end car with a certain name so we can take on that persona, or live in a specific area to appear to belong to a certain group or class of people.

Or do you sacrifice to wear the name above all names, even designer names? The only name that will bring you all you long for? The only name that satisfies your every need, want and desire? The name of the One who placed all that only He can answer upon your heart? The name of Jesus. The only name that glorifies us, makes us righteous, and gives us the true reason to hold your head high, walk taller and smile brighter! The name of the One who clothes us in righteousness with a robe we don’t have to pay for, He paid for it. A robe of righteousness that we only need to adorn through faith.

Now don’t take me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wearing nice clothes, taking care of yourself, and presenting an acceptable appearance to others. As sons and daughters of the one true God, we represent Him in our words, actions and appearance. As every good gift comes from above, fancy clothes, cars and residences can and are given by the Lord. He doesn’t call His people to poverty, nakedness (physical), or to live in ruins. Like everything in our lives, we do need to consider our motives and actions for things even like dress. Are we dressing to impress or dressing to represent? The Lord is concerned with the motives of your heart – and that is what He will bless or judge. There is nothing wrong with being blessed with a high end luxury car – many believers have been! Or living in a high end community – many believers do! It is what you do with these gifts that the Lord will look upon. Do you use them for His glory? Use the places they bring you to and the people you meet to spread the good news of Jesus? There are just as many people in high places that need to meet Jesus as there are in third world countries. There are plenty of CXOs that need to know the love of our Father in Heaven, and what Jesus sacrificed so that they do not need to strive, and starve their souls for eternity. That all they need to strive for is to know the Father, through Jesus Christ, and live and breathe in the Kingdom of God, knowing that as they do this all those things they need will be given to them.

So what name or names are you working on representing today? Every day we all make choices, whether we realize it or not. Make the choice to strive towards wearing on your soul and body the name above all names, and the robe of righteousness that He purchased for you. Others may see the name brand, or no-name clothing that you are wearing in the natural, but the invisible robe is the one that will make you truly walk a little taller, strut a little more, or smile a little brighter.

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Voice Lessons in the Small Stuff

JustOne — Tue, 16 May 2017 20:31:20 +0000

You know, the Lord really does care about the small stuff… Last night we were having dinner at a friend’s house. I figured I’d run to the store to get what we were going to bring along with other things we needed right before we had to be there. I quickly darted around the store, back and forth getting what we needed, of course racing back and forth to the same sections since I didn’t plan out what I was going to get in a more methodical manner…

Kinda in a hurry to make sure I made it home in time to make a salad and get to our friends house, I selected the shortest checkout line and quickly laid everything on the conveyor belt. Taking a moment to finally clear my head while the lady in front of me finished checking out, I heard in my head to go ahead and get my card ready to pay. That was a little odd since I never get my payment out in line, I always wait to put my purse on the counter and input my member number and then grad my payment. As I’m reaching to my wallet, I see my card is not there! “Oh no!” I think, “That is my BANK CARD! Where is it!” I search around my purse to see if I had stuck it in another part of my purse, to no avail. It is not there. As the cashier reaches for the first item to scan, I tell her “Wait! I can’t find my card – I must have dropped it in my car!” and I start to grab everything back off the conveyor belt, dropping items on the floor while my mind races to “Where in the world could that card be?!?” She tells me not to worry, slow down, take my time. I still throw everything back in and park the cart right next to the end of her lane, and I dart out the door.

Now, you have to understand that I’m pretty careful these days about keeping cards in my wallet. I have a few with a few different purposes, and they are all kept in a certain order in my wallet. That way I can grab the one I need pretty much without having to look at what I’m doing, they’re all in their spots. I’m careful to put them back in my wallet immediately after using because I’ve left a card in a back pocket of my jeans too many times to do that again!

As I run to my car, my mind is racing – “Ok, it will be ok. Maybe not! What if someone has my card?!?! It is my BANK CARD! It will be ok, where did I use it last?!!?” I run through the events of the morning, where I had to run different errands and use different payment methods. Both times I had decided I didn’t want to bring my (now heavy, full of my son’s stuff) purse to lug around while we just quickly grab what we need. I know the first trip I put that card back in it’s place right when we got in the car, and I grabbed my bank card for our next stop. I remember thinking as we got out of the car at the next stop, “Hm, I should be careful putting this in the same pocket as my phone, in case I pull out my phone and the card goes flying somewhere without me knowing…” so I put my card in a different pocket (love to have many pockets :). I couldn’t remember what I had done with it once we left the store! I obviously did NOT put it back in my wallet!

As I’m searching my car, the same voice that spoke to me in line at the store said, “Look in the center console.” I then think, “Why would I do that, it wouldn’t be in there?!” while at the same time I’m opening the center console. Would you know it, there it is! Surprised, I grab it, and run back inside. The lady who was behind me in line is walking out and gives me that kind of smug smile, obviously not thinking something nice towards me. I’m thinking this is a little embarrassing and not who I am supposed to be! Now of course every line that is open is twice as long as when I was in line! The sweet cashier let me checkout next in line, right after the guy who was two people behind me. As I stand there, now in more of a hurry to get to our friend’s house, I realize both the voices I heard were from the Holy Spirit. I think how thankful I am that I heard Him when I did, and found my card! After checking out, as I drive out of the parking lot I am thanking the Lord over and over. Then the thought comes, “Lord, why didn’t You warn me earlier, like before I got out of my car? If I you had warned me THEN, then that entire debacle would have been avoided.” Luckily, my friend texts and asks if we can meet a bit later, she is running late. SO thankful for that I let her know “YES!” and I’m off to home to get everything ready to meet them for dinner. Once we get to her house, I share the story and we both laugh, and she says she is thankful to hear she’s not the only one who does those things! As we had fun catching up, I dismissed it again for the rest of the evening.

This morning as I was spending time with the Lord, my same question resurfaced, “Why Lord didn’t you warn me earlier? I know You want me to share with others on hearing Your voice, but I’m sure someone else would have this question too… I’m pretty sure me inconveniencing everyone didn’t really turn out to benefit anyone…” Sipping on my coffee and focusing on how He would answer that question, it hit me – He DID try to warn me before I got out of the car. The Holy Spirit brought back to remembrance what happened as I was getting out of my car. I leaned to grab my (still annoyingly overweight purse) and I heard that same voice in my head to bring in my cards. I immediately translated what I heard in my head to “bring in JUST my card” meaning my payment card, and began debating back and forth with myself should I do that, but then I will need my entire wallet because I’m buying wine, and will need my drivers license, and that is in a clear cover and a pain to get out, so I may as well bring my entire purse! The Holy Spirit pointed out that He was reminding me of my card – the one not in my wallet or in my purse! To make sure I grabbed it also before going into the store! Of course then I apologize to the Lord and the Spirit for not listening to what was obviously His voice warning me in time!

“Yeah, well, big deal!” you could easily say. “No harm no foul, what’s the big deal about this entire experience?” I’ve learned, if you keep your heart open you can learn from what appears to be the smallest of experiences. He seeks to be with us in everything, and use everything to teach us His ways and His voice. Here are some voice lessons I’ve learned through this experience:

He cares about the seemingly small stuff. We can get so caught up in the wrong thinking or teachings that our Father only cares about and gets involved in the big stuff. This couldn’t be farther from the truth and is a total deception from the enemy! We have seen the Lord lead us in many seemingly small situations. We can view something as small and unimportant and allow ourselves to completely bow off and disregard the gentle leading of the spirit. Can you think of a time where you’ve said to yourself a version of: “The thought came to mind but I disregarded it.”?
We need to continually distinguish His voice from others’. I know I’ve been working years on learning which voice is His and those that are not. This will be a little different for everyone as you learn how He speaks to you. Personally I’ve learned if a voice of what sounds like reason, or an idea or thought I personally would not have says something, and I start arguing or negotiating with it, that is usually His voice. Of course the voice of the enemy can sound like this as well, and I’m learning how to discern the difference. For me the Lord helps to confirm some things through circumstance or the voices of others. More on this on another post, another time…
When we ask to be guided, led by and/or filled with the Holy Spirit, what do we expect? Yesterday morning I was listening to a great teaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and had asked the Lord to fill me again and anew with His Spirit. I have experienced before a great filling of the Spirit to where people I didn’t know would tell me I looked like I was glowing, and I’d like to be there again. Jesus said “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Luk 11:13 KJV. So do we think He will then only show up in the big stuff? He sought to guide and lead me in everything that day, and instead of allowing Him to do so I allowed myself to stay in control and in charge. So should it surprise me what happened? It’s like breaking a bad habit we all have, but the more we allow ourselves to calm our minds and allow Him to lead through that still small voice, through the big things we do expect and the small things we don’t expect, we will hear Him more and more clearly. I thank Him that he didn’t quit speaking even when I continued to disregard him!

I’m sure I’ve learned a few other things through this, and maybe when they come to mind I’ll add them to this list. Have you had a similar experience? What did you learn from it or this one?

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