Day 154

It's Day 154 of  The Red Shoe Project and I slept til 10 a.m.  Twelve whole hours!  Wow, I must have been really tired.  My body must have needed it.  Hopefully this means that I am fully back on Sarasota time and ready for whatever God has in store for me from here on out.

As I got caught up with household matters that needed my attention, I thought it best to have a little chat with God on some needs that will be arising.  His response rather surprised me...

"Do you have everything 

that you need for today?"

Well, yes but...

As I puttered around my house in my RED slippers,  doing little things, here and there, God found it a perfect opportunity to chat with me on how He handles arising needs.

"Your way is to do things well in advance."

 He proclaimed.

"My way is to do things right on time!"

Am I supposed to find that amusing?  Because I don't.  It's just another ripe opportunity for my flesh to cringe and cry out...
I hate waiting to the last minute! 
But, I must admit, all feelings aside,  "the last minute"  is just another way of saying, "right on time!"  It's not early, and it's not late.  So I guess I have nothing to complain about.

One time when I was setting up my home office, I was in need of purchasing an office printer.  I talked with the Lord and insisted that I had to have the money to get that printer that day.  I don't think He specifically provided for that, but somehow, I maneuvered this and switched that around, and managed to find the money to get that printer right away, regardless.  Once I had it in my possession, I brought it home and it sat, in the box, for several weeks, unpacked.

Shortly after that, I was asking God about a property that He had promised me.  "God, do you think I could move into that property soon?  I need that space now!  It's perfect for what I want to do with my business!" 

"Like the printer?" He commented.  "You needed that NOW and it's still sitting in the box, untouched.  The property will be available when it's the right time... not one minute sooner, not one minute late!"

If you've been a Christian for any length of time, you've heard the saying, 

"God is never late,

He's seldom early,

He's always on right on time!"  

That's his  "M.O."   Modus Operandi   or  Method of Operation. 

Tonight I attended a presentation given by a friend entitled, "How Creation Points to a Divine Creator."  All sorts of facts were presented regarding the importance of specific measurements.  For example, if the gravitational pull was any stronger or any weaker than what it is, we'd have some serious problems existing.  Or if the rotation of the earth was any faster or slower, things wouldn't be as they are.  If the sun was any closer or farther away, the result is no life on earth.  The examples of God's precision seemed endless.

"Precision" refers to exact & accurate measurements, calculations, specifications and details. 

All this made me realize that God wasn't right on time just for the fun of it.  He's right on time because that's critically important to the working of His plan for my life.  A little early or a little late could change everything, throw things off,  create undesired results. I'm getting the feeling that God's got a reason for everything.  He just doesn't always share that with me.

So as I check off another day of The Red Shoe Project, I head off to bed, my head spinning, as I am reminded that God's ways aren't my ways for a reason.

Still getting adjusted to God's time clock,

Gail

Day 153

Day 153 of  The Red Shoe Project is a day of resting in RED shoes.  To be honest, the RED shoes have been on and off throughout the day.  On to walk the dog.   Off while doing a few things around the house.   On to go to church.  Off to lounge around and relax.  I'm taking this day to allow my body to get caught up with the rest of me.  Mind, Body and Spirit... I need them all to be in proper alignment, with me and with one another.

In my rest, I've come to notice that God has been speaking something to me over and over again these past few days.  Evidently it's something that's important enough that it keeps coming to my attention, ever so briefly, here and there.  I think the busyness of getting back into the swing of things, has taken precedence, but now this "word"  is  finding it's way to the top of my priority list.

Isn't it funny that God can be speaking something to us and it somehow it gets jumbled about in our thought lives before we actually get a grasp of it?  It's like when you throw a pair of sneakers into the dryer.  The load looks just as it always does... a big pile of wet clothes.  It all blends together.  You think nothing of it.  But as the dryer bin goes around and around, you can hear them clunking away.  You're reminded that this dryer load is a little different than usual.  There's footwear in there that needs your special attention.

So what is this matter that needs my attention?

 It's direction from God regarding my prayer life.  He is asking me to... 

Pray about everything 

that crosses my mind.  

"In everything, through prayer and petition, 

with thanksgiving, make your requests known unto God..."

Philippians 4:6

So often, things cross my mind, and I think, "I should pray about that." Sometimes I do,  but most of the time,  I just think about it for a while.  I figure I will pray about it later -- when I'm praying.  I hate to admit it, but sometimes I do pray about it later, and many times it's just forgotten about.  Does that ever happen to you?

I've come to realize that THINKING about something and PRAYING about something are two entirely different things.  Thinking about something involves me, alone.  I review the thought in my mind.  I analyze it from different angles.  I explore my options and opinions.  Maybe I even decide to do something about it.  When it comes to praying, however, two are involved:  Me and God.   I am speaking...  and God is listening.  I am making a request known to God...  and He is receiving it.

Hebrews 11:6 says this...

"For without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for anyone who comes to God (in prayer) must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of him who diligently seeks Him."

When I come to God in prayer,  I am exercising my faith, believing that God will not only hear my prayer, but take some sort of action... that there will be a response, of sorts, on His part...  even if it's not what I think it will be,  I pray EXPECTING results.   Hmmm.  That's quite different than when I just  "think" about it.  Even if there is potential action taken in both cases.  Thoughts involve my response, where prayers involve His response.

It seems to me that "thinking about things"  become MISSED OPPORTUNITIES in which God could have done something, but wasn't given the chance.  Holding onto thoughts and ideas is like me going to the post office and mailing a letter, only it gets unknowingly dropped on the mailroom floor and kicked under a machine.  It's lost and forgotten about.  It's never delivered.  Now there's a fresh revelation of...  "It got lost in the mail!"

Oh my!  That's not good.  I don't want to even think about how many times that's happened.  Am I a postman that's been negligent of her responsibilities?  I didn't even know that I was doing that!   

The other day,  I asked God to open my eyes that I might find something very important... to bring that missing thing to the surface for me to see... but I was talking about something else.  What's this then?   Has God decided, that while He's bringing what I think is so important to the surface - to my attention,  that He'll  make the most of the moment and bring what He thinks is important to light as well?  LOL.

In searching for today's blog pics, I discovered this picture of letters stuffed into a stone wall.  Apparently, the Israeli postal service sorts over two million pieces of mail daily.  Some of these letters come addressed to God.  The unopened letters to God are collected and delivered to God and deposited at the Western wall a few times a year.

I'm ever so mindful of the fact that God is with me 24/7.  He has encouraged me to talk to Him continuously.  I've often wondered how I could possibly come up with so much to say.   Is this His attempt to give me some conversation points?  

* So as people pop into 

my mind and I think 

about them... I should take that moment or minute to ask God to bless them or give them favor or help them with their problem.

* When I drive by a car accident, I should ask God to intervene...  to bring healing and life to a situation that could be deadly... to bring 

comfort, strength and wisdom to all involved.

* When a difficult situation I'm involved in fills my thoughts, I can ask God to help me see it from His perspective... to reveal to me what I'm not seeing... to give me wisdom on how to deal with it. 

* When I hear a news report on the television or radio, I can take a moment to ask God to work out His perfect plan in those matters.  

* When thoughts are flooding my mind, right and left, I can ask God what He wants to do with them and pray in the direction He gives me.  

James 5:16 says...

"The prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective!"

Okay... I think I'm getting the concept here.  I can do this!  I will give it a try.  Instead of thinking about things so much... Instead of holding onto thoughts and ideas... Instead of letting the ball drop with me... I'm going to take whatever pops into my mind and ACTIVATE it through prayer.

  

 I'm going to drop the letters 

into God's mailbox.  

Today I have become a Mail Carrier for God.

In RED shoes, of course.

Gail