Day 76

Day 76 of The Red Shoe Project has me in RED, suede flats, unable to shake off something that God spoke to me, late last night, in the wee hours of the morning.  All day, I have been pondering it over and over again in my  mind.  It's a good word.

I don't know what your evening ritual is before bed, but since I started The Red Shoe Project I have become a bit of a "night owl."  Most of the time, I don't sit down to write about my day and what God has done until after 10 pm.  Sometimes it can take up to 4 hours to flush that all out into blog format, get the right pictures for it, publish it and post it.  When all is said and done,  I shut off all the lights, and inform my puppy it's bedtime.  While I go off to the bathroom to wash up,  Pauly,  (the dog),  jumps up onto the bed and waits for me to come and shut off the lights.


So I've noticed that in this bedtime ritual,  I always seem to get this little burst of energy right before I turn the light out.  When I see my cute little puppy just waiting there for me, I without fail, decide it's time to have a chat with the dog, scratch behind his ears, roll him over and rub his belly.  As much as I enjoy that,  Pauly doesn't seem all that interested.  He's ready for bed!  I can almost hear him saying, "I've been here all day, and now, at two in the morning, you want to play?"


All this has got me  thinking about all the years that I used to do just that with God.  I'd go about my life all day, then right before I shut the light out at night, I'd decide to read the Word,  say my prayers  and give a few minutes to God  to speak to me.  I wonder how God felt about that? (I always thought that He'd be happy with the fact that I was checking in.)

As a Christian, I know that Christ lives in me through the presence of The
Holy Spirit -- not sometimes, but all the time -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 He doesn't "pop in" to visit  me on occasion.  He's a permanent resident in my heart.  Yet, I give him but a few minutes at the end of the day?  Something isn't quite right about that.  In fact, I'm thinking it was rather rude of me to ignore my best friend, my divine partner and my God like that.  If you, (whoever you are), were to come visit me,  (even though I don't even know you), I would never ignore you period, let alone the entire day... and then right before the lights go out for the night, start talking with you and limit you to a fifteen minute response. That's crazy!

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The Divine Relationship  is the powerful connection between a man 

or woman and God.  It's developed through continual communication and fellowship with one another over time. 

The Divine Partnership is when a man or woman walks with God.  

God is the Leader, and the man or woman is the Follower. 

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It has occurred to me that when I'm resting in bed... The Holy Spirit is with me. When I walk the dog morning... The Holy Spirit is with me.  When I shower, The Holy Spirit is with me.  When I drive in the car... The Holy Spirit is with me.  When I attend an appointment... The Holy Spirit is with me.  When I run into the store to pick up groceries, The Holy Spirit is with me. When I'm working out... The Holy Spirit is with me. Even as I sit at the computer late at night writing, The Holy Spirit is with me.  So why would I limit my conversation with Him to a few minutes before I go to sleep?  Hmmm.  

Ok... so I'm exaggerating slightly.  I do talk to God a little more often than that... especially since I started this Red Shoe Project.  But even still... my conversation time with Him is significantly limited when I contrast that with His 24/7 availability.

This means... 

He's always with me, 

but I'm the one choosing 

WHEN and HOW OFTEN

 I connect with Him. 

All this time, I've been wondering how to better connect with God on a consistent basis, and all I really need to do is continually Acknowledge His Presence and Talk with Him.

So when I wake up, I can say "Good Morning, Lord!"  When I walk the dog, I can ask God what He wants to do today.  When I eat breakfast, I can ask God questions about my morning devotional and listen for His response.  When I walk out to my car, I can thank God for the lovely flowers and the sunny sky.  When I'm driving in the car to my appointments, I can chat with God about what the day has in store for me. When I'm on the treadmill, I can bring my cares and concerns to Him.  I can do this all the time.

That's so easy!  Why didn't I see this before?  

I can do that!  This will be life changing!

So I mentioned this "good word" to a friend today.  I got the impression that she thought it was a little weird that I was "talking to God" all the time.  Well, I think it's a little weird, (not to mention a little rude),  that I'm not talking to God all the time!  I've decided to change that!  

I thought it was the BEST DECISION I ever made when I asked God into the center of my life.  Now thirty years later...

I have decided to actively fellowship 

in greater measure with God on a daily basis.  

Why wouldn't I do that?  If God has given me access to Himself, 24/7, why would I settle for 15 minutes?  or 1 hour?  or 3 hours?  That's got to change.  I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to see that... and it doesn't matter why.  The thing is... I see it now and I'm going to do something about it.  I think this will be the NEW Best Decision in my life:  Continual fellowship with God.  And I'm going to do it in RED shoes!

Gail