Day 222

It's Day 222 of  The Red Shoe Project.  My Red sneaks are on, and I've already started my day with some solid spiritual intake.  Prayer Walking is the perfect opportunity for me to get away from distractions and focus completely on God.  I speak to Him, and He speaks to me.  It's not unusual for me to sing a song or two...  or three, for that matter.  Good old worship choruses pop in my head all the time.  Some are scriptures, right out of the Bible, word for word.  That's how I memorized a lot of scripture over the years.

 Many times, I've found that the choruses that pop in my head are actually answers to questions that I've presented to the Lord in prayer.  He has this incredible way of giving me the exact chorus I need.  Now I don't think to myself, "What chorus could I sing that would answer that question?"  If I knew that, I wouldn't have to ask the question."

 I just talk to God, and  BOOM!  the chorus immediately pops into my mind. What's really funny is when He gives me the chorus before I even ask the question.  Sometimes it's mid-day before I realize that He's already answered me.  I'll think, "Why does this same chorus keep popping in my mind?"  And then it comes to me... "That's it!  That's the answer I've been looking for!  Thank you, Jesus!"

I want to continue talking a little more today about  the cycle of Spiritual Fueling, Digestion and Giving Out for God.  After I wrote yesterday, some specific examples came to my mind that I thought might be helpful.

There are 3 primary bakeries 

in which God offers unlimited, daily bread.

 1.  The House of Prayer
 2.  The House of Worship 
 3.  The House of His Word

The House of Prayer  

is anywhere you can close in with God for some one-on-one conversation.  

You can be in your seat at church.  You can be on your knees by your bed.  You can worship as you drive your car.  You might find it delightful, sitting on your back porch, strumming a guitar while you chat.  Personally,  I love prayer-walking.  That happens to be one of the things that's working for me these days!  Mind you, you're never limited to one way.  Try them all and do whatever works best for you in your present circumstances.

Over the years, I've found God to be quite chatty in the most unexpected places.  One time, I had a God encounter while folding laundry in the basement of my house, late at night.  Another time, I was apprehended by The Spirit on God while on my knees, scrubbing the bathroom floor.  (Actually, He's met me there many times.)  Many years ago, (before Pauly), I was dog-sitting a big black lab and a little jack russell for several months.  Every night I'd bring them out into the back yard to do there business.  It was dark out there.  I used to put on these big rubber boots just in case I stepped in anything unfavorable.  There I was walking around in the dark, in the middle of the night, in the muck...  and God would come talk with me.  How funny is that?   That was a very difficult time in my life, but nevertheless, God would come fellowship with me.  Yes... God will often show up when and where you least expect him.  If you're hungry, He'll be there!

Of course the sky's the limit on all the diverse opportunities that can be found to talk with God.  Even still, sometimes we can feel overwhelmed with distractions.  Personally, I've learned the power of  "closing my eyes!"   I can be almost anywhere, and closing my eyes blocks out just about everything.  Sometimes I'll push my fingertips against my ears or pop in some ear buds to shut out any distracting and disturbing sounds.  Suzanna Wesley, mother of the well known Wesley brothers of old, was known to sit in her chair at prayer time and pull her apron over her head.  That signified to her children,
"DO NOT DISTURB,  MOM IS PRAYING!"

The House of Worship

 is anywhere you can close in with God to Worship Him.  

It can be singing music, playing music, listening to music.  It may be live music.  It may be recorded.  You can find music on t.v., on Pandora, on a cd, or on the radio.  You can hear it out in the open, or you can hear it through your ear buds.  It's all good!  There's a lot of Christian music.  But which music is it, that brings you into that Secret Place with Him?  Which songs are immediate access points to God for you?  Some music is very celebratory.  Some music is nice to listen to... it's peaceful and calming.  On the other hand, some music gets me on my feet, shouting praises to God!

And then...  there's "THAT" music.  

The kind that somehow compels me to drop on my face and weep before the King.  I must admit, I love them all, including some that I haven't mentioned.  But the music I try to focus on most these days, is the kind that leads me to the Father's Heart.  I don't want to be outside.  I want to be in His Presence, at His feet, close enough to rest my head on His heart if I can.

You'll  find that many people love to dance when they worship.  Some wave flags.  Some stand.  Some sit.  Some kneel.  Some weep.  Some shout praises to God, while others sing softly in unknown languages.  Need more ideas?  Just open up the book of Psalms.  You'll find more examples than you know what to do with.  God loves variety!

The House of His Word.  

Speaking of variety, never before has there been such an 

"All You Can Eat Buffet"   when it comes to God's Word.  

Years ago, there was primarily one translation used by most Believers... The King James Bible.  Today, there are numerous versions, and all are pretty much acceptable.  The Bible is not just in book form anymore either.  More and more Believers are using Bible Aps on their electronic devices.

Scripture is everywhere.  It can be found in songs, in devotionals, in inspirational articles, blogs, down loads, pod casts, electronic archives and webcasts.  If you missed church, tune in any day of the week, at any time -- day or night -- to hear a sermon from people and places all around the world.  You'll find messages from men, women, and young folk -- some well known ministers and some not so well known.  You'll hear powerful poetic messages with a beat, called Spoken Word.  The list goes on and on.

With all that's available, I still believe that 

if a Christian consistently  took one minute 

and read "The Daily Bread" every morning, 

without fail, we'd have some 

Powerhouses for God!  

Okay, I'm going to stop here for today.
Tomorrow, we'll talk more.

Eat!

in RED shoes,
Gail