Who am I?

I am a lover of God, and my expression of that is worship. My first conscious memory of worshipping God is around 3, singing in the Cherub choir at church. I am at my most peaceful, joyful place in worship.
When I came back to the church, it didn't seem like legitimate work for the Lord. I think because it's not really a priority at church. I kept trying to reinvent myself into something else, something useful. Singing was a weekend volunteer job, not the "real" thing.
Jesus taught us, "on earth as it is in heaven", so what's going on in heaven? Continuous worship around the throne. Worship is the correct response to seeing God. It's ok, that this is my purpose. Better than ok. For me it's air.
David knew it was the correct response to God, and hired thousands of musicians and singers to worship God night and day and pray. The 24/7 house of prayer was God's idea then and it is now as well. We don't have to reinvent ourselves to satisfy the current theological, social or political trends of usefulness. God invented me. I'm good with that.
Lord, make my life praise...everything I do, I want it to point to You, and be an act of worship. Amen

Pentecost

Today is Pentecost. All this past year, God has seemed to do new things in my life on Jewish Holy Days. Last year, I left on Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish New Year, for Kansas City. I knew that was significant. For more than a year, He had been sending me the word out of Isaiah 43 I spoke of before, over and over,
Isa 43:19
19 "Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
NASU
It was a season of "new". I could feel it internally. My 49th year of life, and 50th birthday came in Kansas City. I kept getting words of "jubilee!" The Sabbath year.
The desert was behind me, and I could smell the rain.
So today, of all days, the birth of the church of Jesus Christ, it is appropriate, that God would ordain it to be the official beginning of the Dayton House of Prayer. We met, kind of last minute, at the new Webster Street facility. It was one of those full circle moments. I remembered seeing and praying for this way back...how many years....14, 15 16? Not sure, but a long time ago!!So long that I went through a cycle of birth of a vision, death of the vision, and rebirth. Well...I'm a slow learner. Late bloomer. It took that long I guess to learn to keep my hands off it.
So I had one of those, full circle moments last night. The indescribable feeling, of being priviledged to be there on the Dayton House of Prayer's birthday. The answer to my prayers. Of course there were many, many people pregnant with it. Laboring to bring it forth. We didn't know one another, but we were all out there doing our thing, waiting. And last night, the night of Pentecost, the birth of the Christian church, and the festival of First Fruits, I saw a "first fruit" from Dayton, one of America's fastest dying city's.....but maybe not.

Isa 42:3
3 "A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
NASU


Give us beauty for ashes Lord. Amen

Self Gratifying Culture

A pastor at IHOP was preaching a couple of Sunday's ago, and said how we, the church, have bought into the self gratifying culture. We preach Jesus as the way to get your sins forgiven so we can go to heaven, be blessed financially, emotionally, spiritually. It's all truth, but because of that being the focus, we treat God like He's there to fulfill us in every way. We're taught to "find our passion,the sweet spot that fulfills us." What an injustice to our Creator. It's subtle, because God has given us a call and destiny, but in one form or another, it's to find what is on God's heart, what He's passionate about, what He dreams of, that should be our passion. It's not about my dreams at all. Yes, He created and wired me in a certain way, but it wasn't to use on my agenda and what makes me feel good (even ministry). Matthew 6:33 says "Seek first the kingdom of God, and everything else will be given to you."
Our passion is to be for Him alone. And the overflow is anointed tasks, gifts, talents, used to His glory. So much of what we do is for our own glory. If you would like to hear the message that I barely scratched the surface of, it is on the IHOP website archive. God to WWW.ihop.org, then to "live prayer room web cast". Then,click on weekend services, and next, Forerunner Christian Fellowship. Look for archive for April 25th, and part two was May 2, which I haven't seen yet.
It's all for Him and His glory! All for love!

Impeccable timing!

If all goes accordingly, we will be moving out of our house June 28, and the owner of the home in Kansas City would like us to be in her home July 1st. Hows that for timing? No one signed up for the Jamaica team, so I canceled it. Now I know why...because my house was going to sell and I would be moving to KC. Now He's showing off a little.

Saying Goodbye...

I didn't think I'd be sad to stop grooming. I have grown so tired of that daily grind, but now that it's time, I find myself grieving. Grieving! Today, I realized, I was grooming Oreo, Abbey, Spike, Stella, Lilly, and Isabel for the last time. They are such a regular part of my life, and of course I took it for granted. I enjoy them! They each have such distinct personalities and quirks. I'm grateful for the skills and business God gave me.
I'm excited though to move on also. Within the space of a couple hours, Brad was offered a home in KC, where the owner is going out of the country and had been praying for a couple to rent it to and stay and take care of little things. I've been in it before, and it's a great house, within walking distance of the prayer room. Only $350 a month, and it comes with a weekly housekeeper and groundskeeper. Hows that for God loving and taking care of us! He truly is giving us a Jubilee year. I can't get over it. What a kiss from the Lord!
We have such a loving Daddy, who enjoys giving His children gifts! Thank you Father! You are the Bomb!

Every increased possession loads us with new weariness. John Ruskin

Got a contract on the house last night. Of course, it's not over till it's over, so it's business as usual for the next 3 weeks or so. A friend at IHOP was praying over me, and gave me Jeremiah 31, and talked about signposts. Watch for signposts. The scripture says,
Jer 31:21

21 "Set up for yourself roadmarks,
Place for yourself guideposts;
Direct your mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
NASU

I was wondering aloud to Brad what it meant to 'set up for yourself' a guidepost. Was I supposed to be specific with the Lord, and say, if the house sells before Brad's training is over, we go to Kansas City for a season, and if not, we stay in Dayton. I hadn't come to a conclusion other than even Gideon put a fleece before the Lord to get affirmation of what to do. That was Tuesday that the word was given to me, and last night my house gets a contract. Hmmmmm.
On a deeper level, directing my mind to the highway, is about walking with the Lord, intentionally, purposefully. If you get on a highway your going somewhere! There are definitely guideposts for that...worship, prayer, spending time with Jesus, study of the Word, and fellowship of like minded people. If these things are in place, I won't deviate from the road, and get off track. The whole of Jeremiah 31 is a great promise and I feel encouraged this morning. It was scary when it came time to sign the offer though. The reality of letting it all go for something unknown.
Carmen used to sing this song called Step of Faith. The chorus was something like
"living for the Lord,
Trusting in His care,
stepping out in faith, and finding something there."
It feels like the scene in Indiana Jones where he has to cross the chasm and scatters the gravel to see the invisible bridge.
No home. No jobs. Just Jesus. Feels like air under my feet.....