Today is Day 357 of The Red Shoe Project. Oh my gosh! As I sit here gazing at my RED shoes I'm just now realizing that there's only 8 days left in the year. Where has the time gone? There's part of me that wants to start planning for the New Year, but God continues to remind me not to jump ahead. That's probably been one of the biggest lessons I've learned this year...
Staying in the present moment.
God's always telling me...
Forget about
the past!
Focus on today!
No forging into tomorrow,
until it arrives!
The Red Shoe Project is all about looking for God today and writing about that experience. Holding onto yesterday prevents me from moving forward and experiencing all that God has for me today! God only knows how many blessings I lost, in days of old, when I spent way too much time thinking about what could've and should've been. It's easy to get trapped in those places, but once you're set free, you make it a point never to be ensnared again!
Rushing into tomorrow is just as much of a challenge and I've found that there's usually a lot of worry attached to it. "What if this happens?" or "What if that doesn't happen?" Worrying is a time waster and more often than not, it's the stomping ground of spiritual warfare. If you want to spend your time there, prepare for a struggle. I've learned that walking away from it is far more productive. If I have concerns, I pray and present those concerns to God immediately and move on with my day.
Lately I've been using "the secret weapon." A day doesn't goes by in which I'm not bombarded with crazy thoughts that want to pull me into the past or push me into the future. Sometimes the littlest things will trigger thoughts and behaviors of my past life. It might be a song or a smell... a particular place or an activity -- even the mere mention of a name.
BOOM! Like a hook on the end of a fishing line, it snags me and attempts to reel me into a past memory. I've learned to take authority in Jesus' Name and break the line! With that, I begin praying in the Spirit. I've noticed that when I pray in the Spirit, the spiritual warfare immediately backs off! It's instantaneous relief! Ahhhhhhhh!
Far too often, I don't know what's going on, let alone how to specifically deal with it, so I let the Holy Spirit pray for me. He's specifically equipped to do just that! Lately I've been praying a lot in the Spirit -- quite a lot! It's a lot easier and a lot more productive than worrying!
Just this past week, God has repeated something to me three times: "WAIT!"
He doesn't want me making decisions on my own about the New Year.
He has a plan, and He will reveal it to me in due time.
A friend of mine told me an interesting story the other day. Years ago, she and her husband knew a couple that was going through some difficult financial struggles. Their house was about to foreclose. They needed $10,000 in order to stop the foreclosure and get things back on track. The two couples prayed together for God's divine provision and unanimously felt that God was saying, "WAIT!"
Later that day, my friend and her husband sensed that God wanted them to give the couple the $10,000 they needed. With that in mind, they went to the bank and made arrangements to get the money. Meanwhile, a day -- maybe two-- went by and the other couple announced to them that they had decided to move forward and filed for bankruptcy. Little did they know that my friend and her husband had the check in hand and were about to deliver it. But the door of opportunity to assist was now shut -- prematurely -- because the couple did not yield to God's direction to: "WAIT!"
Many of you have asked what I will be doing in the New Year. Today, I am not sure. For now, I am waiting. I'm praying a lot in English and I'm praying a lot in the Spirit. I'm doing my best to stay in the present, so that I can give all I've got to God in these last Red Shoe Project days. You'll find me worshipping and praising God whenever possible, and you know I'm always looking for an opportunity to testify of His goodness! I am confident that He will let me know what's next, when He's ready -- probably as the ball is dropping in Times Square on New Year's eve!
In Red Shoes,
Gail
