Training Lessons: Yes, God Speaks

Our Bible study group is just starting week 3 of "Discerning the Voice of God". LOVE it. This study is just so powerful and after watching the third video setting up session 3, I believe this week is going to be HUGE in the life of our Bible study group. I can hardly wait for our next time together.

God speaking to me has been a desire for as long as I can remember. I remember being just old enough to take my own bath. I would sit in the tub and talk to God, asking Him to whisper in my ear. Just tell me something, ANYTHING. I just wanted to hear His voice.

If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know that five years ago, God sidelined me from my "position" within our Worship Arts ministry. He did it because of an area of disobedience in my life. I refused to submit to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, so God had me sit out with my hand in a cast for six weeks or so.

During my "break" God and I had quite a bit of time to well...work on several areas of my heart. Hard? Yes. It was very hard to look at that area of my life and admit I was wrong. That I had allowed myself to wind up with a stronghold that I would have never imagined.

It was during that time that my childhood desire and hunger for His voice returned. I could not and still can not get enough of Him. God, for reasons unknown to me, allowed me to write "Speak to Me". (With one arm in a cast!) That hour or so of writing with Him was one of the sweetest yet intense times in my spiritual life. I know that I heard Him and that He heard me. A spiritual mile marker I will never forget.

Saturday during our 10 mile run I had another moment like that with God. A moment that ranks right up there with that day in December of 2005 when "Speak to Me" was written.

We were somewhere between mile 7 and 8. My tough miles. While we had stepped up the pace a bit, Chad was doing his best to keep me from speeding up. I knew we were on our last lap and I was ready to get the last big hill D.O.N.E. and finish that last mile on mostly flat road.

My body was tired and my legs numb, but I kept thinking about my dear running friend who says "Just keep moving in the general direction of forward!" Apparently, the more I thought about that, the faster my pace became.

Chad FINALLY made me swap to the inside and he ran a step or two in front of me. If I got too close, he would put his arm out and push me back.

Immediately, I thought about Priscilla Shirer and the video I had just watched on Friday morning. That's when I felt God speak.

"Don't rush. Don't speed up. You aren't quite ready for that yet. Don't miss the lessons from today's run because you are trying to just get it done."

Boy, oh boy did I get it. I needed to finish this 10 mile run well and feeling like I could go a little longer. Why? Because next Saturday I run 12. If I missed the lesson of pacing, my next long run would be harder than it needed to be.

Priscilla said it this way, "Diligently engage in the truth He has allowed you to see right now!"

She also referenced this verse. Yes, it is going into my scripture spiral this week.

Mark 4:24 (NLT)
“Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given,and you will receive even more."

Saturday afternoon after my ice bath, I realized how serious that point is. Sometimes, we get SO caught up in what we are asking or expecting God TO DO, that we overlook what He IS DOING today. I don't want to miss Him today, so I'll be the one running a little slower with her eyes fixed on the back of the One in front of her.

A Trip By the Dump

Last Friday evening while Chad and my dad took the girls to a football game, my mother and I headed to Target to find a new coffee maker. Gretal, who served me faithfully for one year decided to leak. Repeatedly. All over my counters. Not a fun thing.

To avoid the horrible football traffic in this small town, I was brave and decided to head the back way to Target. I found it with no problem in case you were wondering, and we brought home a new coffee pot. He was promptly named Howard Dooley. We are getting along just fine thank you, but that isn't what this is about.

On our way to Target, we passed the dump. As we approached, we noticed there was a mist coming out of pipes in the fence that surrounds the garbage mountain. I was fascinated at what this mist would be. Then we smelled it.

Now, I'm no expert in air freshening products, but it sure did smell like an interstate rest area type of freshener being sprayed around the perimeter of the dump. We got tickled and thought it was the craziest thing we had ever seen. Only in small town Georgia. However, I'm quite sure the people who live around there appreciate the air freshener. (Maybe they could contract with Febreeze because what they were spraying was nasty.)

I've thought about that garbage mountain several times this week. Buried underneath that green grass is nothing but garbage. (My sweet coffee maker Gretal is probably there now.) No matter what the top layer of that "mountain" looks like, there is rotting garbage underneath. Trash. The things we wouldn't dare to keep in our homes because of the stench it would bring.

Sometimes in life we bury things that we are ashamed of. Things that we would just die if anyone knew about. We pile poor decisions, hurt, unforgiveness, anger on top of more hurt, bitterness, unconfessed sin....we in essence build our own garbage mountain.

Then we dress it up.

We put on our Sunday best and hide behind our good works, our activity, our church membership,and our tithe check. And at the same time, there is a mountain of garbage underneath that needs to be dealt with once and for all. Those outward activities aren't bad things! Often times they are things that God has called us TO do, but when we aren't operating with a clean and garbage free heart...they are like that cheap air freshener. It smells good for a short time, but then becomes repulsive. That is not what God intends.

We are to be a sweet aroma in this world. A world that needs Jesus.

2 Corinthians 2:15 says, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."

Today, more than ever we Christians must take our position in the world serious. People need Jesus, and they need to see that following Him is worth it! They need to see that He is the best thing that has ever happened to you! Do you believe it? Have you granted Him full access to your heart?

If we are going to be the pleasing aroma of Christ in this world, we can't settle for anything less than a clean, restored and healthy heart. A heart that oozes His saving aroma and nothing else.

Training Lessons: Stuffing

In this post I shared about my experience with the hill of death and the "dog" that gave me the giggles. If you haven't read it, you might want to read it first to understand this. :)

So last Tuesday afternoon after we had finished school and I was sitting down to my afternoon Spark, I thought back over the morning's run. Yes, I laughed about the stuffed dog and Chad's use of the word "stuffer" instead of taxidermist.

As I made some mental notes about my run and things I would do differently next time, I kept thinking about that silly dog and it reminded me of what some of us Christians look like.

We stuff ourselves to the point we can hardly move. Stuffed full of Biblical knowledge and spiritual activity. We "DO" all the things we have been told by the church good Christians do. While those things are good they are not always the best and sometimes, they are not at all what Jesus told us to do.

Our lives are so full of activity that the Word of God does not have time to sink
into our being. It stays in our head. His Word, His Holy Word that was given as our road map, our love story, our story of redemption...hardly goes past our eyeballs into our brain. It doesn't take root deep in our beings because we are so dadgum busy that we don't have time to let it sink in.

That dog as real as it looked was a dead. (I really think it was a statue, but will not be going back down the hill to take a closer look.) It simply gave the appearance of what once was. Or perhaps better said, it was an illusion of something that was once full of life.

I'm praying that God will convict this heart the second I start to look like a stuffed and stiff Christian or worse, an illusion of a Christian. I want to look like a Christian who is LIVING the abundant life Jesus died for me to have.

Training Lessons: It's Easier to Laugh

Early yesterday morning Chad and I headed out for my first 8 mile run. Not only was I running my longest distance to date, I was also responsible for my (and I'm quoting my husband) "hydration and food". For the first time, I looked like a serious runner. Belt with small water bottles filled with my Rehydrate drink and in the pocket of that belt was my favorite part of longer runs. A mint chocolate pudding like gel that I get to eat. Seriously, I love the stuff.

We were around 5 miles when we took a turn down a road I had not run on before. It was around 5:30 am and still pretty dark. A house on my right had it's front porch light on and there was a dog sitting perfectly still on the front step. Almost too still. I am very afraid of dogs, so I was keeping my eyes on that thing.

I was amazed at how still that thing was and asked Chad if it was real. He laughed at me and said no. (Seriously, it was spooky at how real this thing looked. Fur and all.) He laughed at me, and we passed the spooky dog house. I soon realized I was headed DOWN a long steep hill into a dead end. Going down was not an issue, coming back up was another story.

So we rounded the dead end and headed out of what I'm calling death valley. It was awful. I was crying and it was NOT because God was teaching me something. I was crying because IT HURT. Everything hurt. I was just about ready to sit down on the curb and tell my husband to go get the car. But that freaky dog was still on that porch and it had me so spooked I knew I couldn't stay on that street. So I kept moving forward.

Chad actually had the nerve to ask me why I was crying. Between the sobs, and hiccups I managed to get out "hill" and "Can't do this." Do you know what he said to me?

"Come on, we've got to take a look at that dog that has been to see the stuffer." I said, " Stuffer? Are you talking about taxidermy?"

Yes, friends he was. Bless his heart, he couldn't think of the word and "stuffer" was what came out.

Well that started the giggles. GIGGLES at 5:30 in the morning. On the hill of death.

We came to the top and there sat the dog that looked stuffed. While I was still a little spooked by this thing, the giggles had taken over and the tears had stopped. We are still laughing about it all.

We finished and I learned that when running, it's easier to laugh than have the ugly cry.

I'll share Thursday how God used that spooky dog to teach me a spiritual lesson.

Lessons in the Holy Classroom: Listening Skills

Since January or so, Freedom's Call has been talking and planning with a church around Warner Robbins, GA. We've been praying and preparing for this weekend. A weekend where we will worship Jesus and dive into His word. Jill is teaching on Spiritual Breakthroughs. It is a powerful teaching and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous! (She has the worship team up on stools for part of a session for some "discussion" time. Mercy, I'm sweating just thinking about it!)

God has had all four of us in the Holy classroom as we prepare for this weekend. If I attempted to tell you a fraction of what has gone on in our lives the last few months, you would not believe it. Instead, I want to share something that is a little less intense. Something God has been reminding me of.

I'll just go ahead and say, if you know me in real life you know I struggle with this and I apologize. I KNOW it and God is working on it. Thanks. :)

I read a Proverb every day. As far back as I can remember I have done this. Even when I was not doing a serious quiet time with the Lord, I read the Proverb of the day. I love Proverbs.

So last Saturday, (after my first 6 mile run!) I settled into Proverbs 18. There are several "mouth" verses in this chapter that I love. A few of them were in my middle school girl's lesson last night. Saturday, I was thinking about how they all worked into that. When I came to verse 13 and knew it was time to stop and settle in for a few minutes. C.O.N.V.I.C.T.I.O.N.

Here it is from the ESV. (What I'm using this month)

"If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame."

As if that wasn't enough, here it is in the Message.

"Answering before listening is both stupid and rude."

Yep. I have a bad habit of being stupid and rude. Especially with my husband.

Whoever said finishing each other's sentences is sweet and romantic and a sign of how close you are...well. They were lying.

Listening skills, along with an extra assignment in humility is what God is pressing into me.

Pretty appropriate since our Bible study girls start "Discerning the Voice of God" this evening. I'll probably need extra homework!

A Lazy Saturday that Could Have Gone Bad.

Chad surprised me last night with a date night. Walked in the door after work and said, how long until dinner is ready? I told him 10 minutes and he said, "Good, we leave in 15 minutes."

Thank the good Lord I had makeup on. He handled the rest of dinner while I cleaned up and got changed. Babysitter taken care of and we were out the door within 15 minutes. HUGE, for this OCD planner. Since this was our first and last free weekend for a while, it was good to escape to our favorite Mexican restaurant for a little while.

Since we had no official plans today, we slept in. (Chloe and I were both awake around our normal times.) It's been awhile since I did not wake up to an alarm. LOVED it.

After half a bagel, I headed out with my handsome trainer to run. Today was my first 6 mile run. Yes, I lived. Moving slower than normal this afternoon, but I lived. Totally off subject - I have started my search for my marathon outfit. Apparently, it isn't a good idea to wear new clothes for the first time on race day. SO....I've got to find the outfit and break it in before November, 13. Who knew? I sure didn't. This running thing is a whole new world. And I love it.

Here is the reason this Saturday could have gone bad fast for me.

There were two conferences I really wanted to be at this weekend. Honestly, I have been a little unsettled all week knowing that it wasn't going to happen. At the same time I was looking forward to some much needed family time at home. (WITH NO PLANS.) It was this up and down roller coaster of emotions all week long. This morning as I was running next to Chad, it hit me that I was content. Content that I was right where I needed to be, but more importantly where God wanted me to be this weekend.

I could log on to Twitter and FaceBook, see my friends updates from these two totally different locations and be thrilled for them to be there. I could read their updates and be happy that I was at home with my favorite people.

The Saturday that could have gone bad did not. God knew that I needed the rest and family time. He knows what next weekend holds and that I will need to be rested and focused on Him.

This weekend was just one more reminder that He is for us and for our good. As much as I would have loved to have been at either of those conferences, I would not trade date night and this beautiful Saturday with my family for anything.

Blessings,
stephanie

(Oh, and if you think about us, please pray for Freedom's Call as we will be ministering to a group of women in Centerville, GA next weekend! We are excited and can't wait to see what God is going to do! Thanks!)

Training Lessons: Slow Down

I'm seven weeks into my training for this 1/2 marathon. (Nov. 13 is coming fast!) God continues to use this physical training time as a spiritual training time. Thursday's run was no exception.

When we finished the four miles I was pretty pleased with my time. (43 mins and a few seconds) I was getting ready to share my time with Chad when he looked at me said, "You've got to stop treating every run like it's race day. You need to slow down and concentrate on finishing each run feeling like you could have run a little further." He went on to tell me he was putting a heart rate monitor on me during my next run. Oh,and that I needed to slow down so I wouldn't need to walk as much. Yikes. And to think I was feeling good about my run!

When I "passionately" reminded him that I had NOT walked very much, he "passionately" told me that I would not have needed to walk had I been running at a slower pace. I just shut my mouth and enjoyed my post workout chocolate shake. Chocolate really makes everything better. :)

His words were on my brain all day. "Slow down." and "Concentrate on finishing today's run well." were two things that continued to pop up all day. I know that is God's way of saying, "HELLOOOOO, are you getting this?"

God reminded me that I do the exact same thing in life. I know that God has me, and you too, in a process, or training time. He is always teaching us. Stripping away the parts of us that He can not use and molding us into His image making us more like Him. That process can be excruciating at times. Worth it? Yes, but it can be intense.

Far too often, I find that I just want to get through the training time and celebrate the end of the journey. Selfish and prideful isn't it? To think that I can just be "done" with the lesson before God says it's time.

This week, God reminded me that I need to fix my eyes directly in front of me and concentrate on the next step. The finish line is coming and the training for this lesson will eventually come to an end.

This passage has been on my heart all week:

Hebrews 12:1-2
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For today, I'm to put one foot in front of the other and relax into the rhythm of today's training time. I don't want to miss the joy of today's lesson because my eyes are fixed on the wrong thing.