Smore to God Than I Imagined

I just think God is so crazy cool.

I ask Him for something like one of those goofy 25 cent toys out of the machines at the store, and He shows up with Smore makings. Not only does He always out do what I ask for, He does it with creative flair that makes my heart all warm and marshmallow-y. Never saw God as a hopeless romantic before, but now, I seem Him like that all the time.

I think it is because I'm His favorite. :-)

True Identity--A Word for Believers

Monday night I was at my worship group, and the Lord gave me the following word for the body of Christ. I want to empasize this is not a word of correction for the lost, but for believers who believe the name Christian equals a life of comfort. It means a life of uncompromising commitment, and that is usually far from comfortable.

The word the Lord spoke to me--

My people are walking around proclaiming to be royalty, but acting like spoiled brats. They don't know how empty their bank accounts are. There is a false teaching that says being my child buys you certain rights and certain comforts, I never promised that. I promised me...

Without me, you are bankrupt. Do you want to live on the pocket change or on the fullness?

I AM the fullness. Fullness is about my being King, not your being princes or princesses. It is all about me. ALL about me. I AM the one you write your checks on. You call yourselves princes and princesses. When will you quit living in mental, emotional, and spiritual poverty by focusing on who you are? Focus on who I AM and everything you have been missing will be released from my storehouse. Then you will live in my richness and your fullness will be complete. If you want to be who you really are, you need to focus on who I really am.

Truth at Any Time of Day

It's 1:00 am as I begin this. I went to sleep about 10:30, and less than two hours later, I was sitting upright in bed coughing horribly. I tell you frankly that I am tempted to have a pity party, but I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm going to tell you what I know.

God is good.

Such a simple statement, and yet, the vastness of it, if we indulge in it, would leave us on our face in more than humble gratitude. It would do more than declare His goodness. It would show our value. I think if we ever allow ourselves to entertain the truth of the lengths He goes to in order to be good to us, it would so radically change our view of both Him and ourselves that we could not live in mental, spiritual, or emotional poverty.

If we sat and listed the goodness of God that came forth in a single day, we would be overcome by His attention to detail. Let me give you an example from my day.

Because God is good...
...I woke up this morning after sleeping last night in our new sunroom with the windows open so the humidity could work as a natural vaporizer to break up the gunk in my head so I can breath.
...My healthy son was sleeping on the floor next to me. He had gotten up in the night because he has the ability to walk, wandered in to check on me, and lay down near me to comfort me.
...We had breakfast.
...I did laundry in a washing machine with clean water.
...I hung my clothes on a clothesline in our nice backyard with the help of my two able children.
...We went to diving classes where I sat and wrote a story in the first class and talked to a sweet mom in the second class.
...The teacher even let Anna stay in Robert's class so she could practice her more advanced dives.
...I was able to take a nap.
...We were all able to have lunch, and the children made their own while I lay down and let the medicines course through my system. I could afford the medicine that makes life a bit more bearable right now.
...The children took baths in clean water that was warm.
...They were able to use shampoo that neutralized the chlorine so their hair won't fry.

I could keep going, but the list above does not get us to 1:00 pm, and I haven't mentioned our working vehicle, the gas we could buy, the clean drinking water, the comfortable beds we sleep in, the books we like to read, the Bibles we have to read any time we have the sense, the couch recliner that allows my throat to remain clear when lying down makes me feel like I'm suffocating, hot stuff to drink, crayons, or innumerable other things

God is good.

Right now, my chest hurts. My neck muscles are aching, and I am tired. I'm frustrated that nothing alleviates the coughing, and I am ready to have energy and freedom to play with my children.

But you know what? That doesn't change the truth that God is good. My cough is bad, but God is good. Being up in the middle of the night is annoying, but God is good.

Circumstances of life in this world can stink, but that does not change the truth I know--God is good.

I don't know stinky stuff you are dealing with right now, and I don't know how or when it will resolve, but may you find joy and peace for the process because you know...God is good.

The Blessing of Clouds

This morning the Lord woke me up early enough to see the sunrise. As the light began to creep into the sky, the shadow of clouds could be seen. Sometimes that does not bode well for a sunrise. However, today, as the sun hit the clouds, the light diffused, and the sky was covered with rich purples and pinks.

As I watched the magnificent display, I was reminded that white light that is invisible to us is made evident when the clouds diffuse the light into its elements. The clouds actually make it so we can see the light.

Often we use clouds as a metaphor to describe hard, sad, or troubled times. We consider them the things that hide the fun or joy of life. As Christians, we refer to them as the trials in life that “try to hide the sun (Son)”. If anything tries to distract us from Jesus or keep Him from being obvious as a huge mass of warm fuzzies, we declare that thing to be a cloud, and it is met with our contempt.

The clouds serve purposes, though. Clouds, for all the metaphorical misery, are blessings. Clouds have the ability to take invisible white light and show off its colors. In the same way, the trials and dark spots of life have the ability to show the various facets of God. In the hard places, the painful moments, and the crushing attacks, we find God to be a strong tower, loving Father, and mighty warrior. At various times circumstances accentuate His mercy, His love, His discipline, and His passion. Without them, He would become the sun in the desert--an aloof object so far away that it is primarily irrelevant and taken for granted, often times seen as cruel and overbearing in what it takes in relation to how little it appears to give. Isn’t that really what law without expression of love is? Overbearing? Cruel? Demanding? Destructive?

Presently, my backyard is starting to see the beginning rays of the day. The sun has risen above the clouds, and its rays are spilling into the neighborhood. The light is glorious. It always is. Sometimes the clouds remind me just how much.

All text and artwork Copyright © 2007 Jerri Phillips

Different

Well, I have been avoiding my blog because I couldn't figure out how to make the title appear again. I changed from the old version to the new, and my titles disappeared. Being the computer semi-literate that I am, I spent an obnoxious amount of time trying to fix it only to end up muttering under my breath while threatening the safety of an inanimate object. THEN, this incredibly handsome (and smart, I also love him for his brains) man I live with took a look at it, and two minutes later, he hands me my computer with title intact. Just another reason I thank God that wonderful man's title is My Husband.

Anyway, isn't it funny where a week can take you? I'll level with you. I was struggling last week. Physically I was exhausted. My children had been sick with a respiratory thing going around. My son required a middle-of-the-night trip to the ER to deal with a double ear infection that left him screaming in pain. About the time they were sleeping well and we weren't alternating between steamy bathrooms and the deck where it was a nice 60% humidity and mid-30s temp, My Husband got hit. Now, WonderMan (and he is) is not whimp. The whole thing about how men are babies when they are sick does not apply to Wonder Man. This stuff knocked him for a loop. Usually, if the kids are sick, one of us will go to church and the other stays home with the kids. The kids still weren't up for church, and Rob was not up to taking care of them, not even sitting up and watching a movie. My Man was sick. It took about three days for him to breathe without being wheezy, and then...yep...I got it. I don't think I've been as sick as anyone else in the family, but my head has hurt, and breathing has been challenging. So, physically, I was exhausted.

Mentally, I was exhausted. Mental and physical exhaustion are hard to separate as you most likely know.

Emotionally, I don't even have an adjective. The only thing that came to mind was "raw", but I think I was pretty shut down. Granted, I was very easily affected, but is that really "raw"?

Spiritually, well, spiritually is always what seems to determine how much the first three interact, and I have to say the interaction wasn't good. Now, I didn't say I wasn't in a good place spiritually. Sometimes you can be a in good place and it still be hard. When a person is pouring forth before God and seeking the Lord and the Lord is doing a mighty work of healing or cleaning or drawing or really any kind of speaking, it can be intense. I have had a few really intense weeks.

Thankfully, I finally got a breakthrough that totally rocked me today. I've been struggling in an area, and I couldn't figure out the root. I had pretty much shut down in a lot of ways, and I couldn't pinpoint the cause. I didn't know where it had started, and I wasn't sure how to come out of it. Well, yesterday I felt like the Lord gave me the strategy for coming out of it, and today I started implementing it in faith. The Lord honored that, and today He revealed the source of the issue and then confirmed it by bringing to mind a pointed prophetic word of healing I received last fall. So now, I am sleepy but beaming. Truly, it is amazing the difference a week makes.

Actually, you know what? The week had nothing to do with it. The issue started over a year ago. A week did not break the hold. The real truth is what a difference an encounter with God makes. If you've ever been at a place of desperation where He intervened, you know what I mean. If you are pouring out before Him and pleading for help and are waiting, you know what I mean. If you have never known that kind of desperation or that kind of passionate seeking or if you've never had that kind of encounter with God, you need one. When you've had one, you'll know what I mean. There is nothing like it, and you won't be like you are after you've had it.

Isn't it glorious the difference an encounter with God can make?

Praying that wherever you are and whatever you need you will have the encounter with God that makes the difference....