Day 365

Finally... Day 365 of  The Red Shoe Project is here!  Early this morning, I popped on my RED beach shoes and headed out for a special New Year's Eve "Bonfire"  on the beach.  Mama Z. shared her personal testimony, officiated communion (jewish style) and blessed us with a foot washing at the water's edge.  We topped it all off with an amazing circle of prayer.

How great it was praying for one another,

 hearing from God and believing that

 anything is possible in this new year!

Most of the afternoon was spent, just me and the Lord, relaxing.  I put on some soft worship music, lit a candle,  and ran a hot bath with eucalyptus and epsom salts.  It was a bit chilly outside and my ankle and shoulder were achy.  It was a perfect excuse to soak... in the tub, as well as in His presence.

I'm not sure what I expected today to be like.  There were all sorts of kind and encouraging words, little gifts and surprises, not to mention unlimited hugs and smiles.  What's better than that?  I spent my morning with some very dear friends.  Most of them I didn't even know a year ago.  It's amazing what God can do in just one year's time.

I'm not quite sure what to do with myself now.   The Lord hasn't given me specific instruction yet,  but I do know this:
I'll probably be wearing RED shoes,  every day,  for the rest of my life.  I mean, really, what kind of statement would I be making if I stopped?  It would be like saying "I'm not going to look for you today, Lord!"  Yeah... I don't think I could ever do that.  What can I say?  I'm black and white -- and RED too!

I chose to lay low tonight.  Yeah... I know it's New Year's eve,  and I did receive several invitations to join friends for various celebrations, but I want to be with Him tonight.  I don't want any distractions when He whispers, "I love you."  In case there's any confusion here, I'm talking about the Lord.  Truly, my heart belongs to Him.

I keep playing this song,  by Hillsong, over and over in my mind.  It so clearly depicts where I'm at today.

"Here I am, down on my knees again,
surrendering all... surrendering all.
Find me here,  Lord as You draw me near,
desperate for You... desperate for You.

I surrender.

Drench my soul, as mercy and grace unfold,
I hunger and thirst...  I hunger and thirst.
With arms stretched wide,
I know You hear my cry.
Speak to me now...  speak to me now.

I surrender.  I surrender.
I want to know You more!
I want to know You more!

Like a rushing wind,  Jesus breathe within.
Lord have your way.
Lord have your way, in me!

Like a mighty storm,  stir within my soul.
Lord have your way.
Lord have your way, in me!

I surrender.  I surrender.
I want to know You more!
I want to know You more! 
I surrender.

I still have some unanswered questions.  And I in no way feel I've arrived in these mere 365 days.  It's just not enough time!  LOL.   I feel like I'm half way up the mountain.  What am I supposed to do now?  Turn back?  I don't think so!  After all, there are books to write, messages to preach, and people who need prayer. There are strong holds that need to be pulled down.  There are words that need to be proclaimed.  There are divine connections that need to be made!  I could go on and on!  How can I turn away from all that? As long as He is willing to lead the way, I am more than willing to follow.

So my plan is to get up tomorrow, slip on my Ruby Reds,  put one foot in front of the other, and continue to walk it out, one day at a time.  I  do hope you'll continue to walk with me.

With love,
Gail

Day 364

It's Day 364 of  The Red Shoe Project and the enemy has not backed off one bit.  FIRE!   FIRE!   FIRE!  He is relentless in His attack, but I'm standing firm in my RED shoes.  My shield of faith is lifted high and the Word of God is flowing from my lips.  

With that, I am determined to not only hold steady in my position, but to move forward in this battle -- to the glory of God!   

I refuse to let go of anything God 

has blessed me with this year and 

I am anticipating an abundant 

harvest in the days to come!

This morning I awoke rather abruptly.  It was as if a hand grenade went off.  One minute I was caught up in the most interesting of dreams.  The next minute, my eyes opened and it was over.  How in the world did that person from my past end up in my dreams?


So much of this year has been cutting away the stuff that doesn't belong in my life.  Yet here, in the midst of my subconscious, it was resurfacing as I slept.  What gives?  I thought I had taken care of all that.  Is the devil able to actually drop thoughts into the battlefield of my mind as I sleep?  Or even worse... am I still toying with the past in my dreams?  Ugg!  How am I supposed to overcome that?  I could feel the discouragement pouring into me.

Immediately, I propped up my pillows, sat up in bed, and opened my Bible to Ephesians,  Chapter 6.   Apparently, today was a work day.  I had better get dressed for the battle field!  I wasted no time clothing myself in the Armor of God.  



Suddenly, God brought an 
image to mind.  
Of all things, it was a picture 
of cotton candy.




When I was a child, I loved cotton candy.  What a magical treat!  The only drawback was that it was so darn messy.  No matter how I attempted to eat it, it always ended up all over the place -- my face, my fingers, my clothes.  It stuck to everything!

As I got older,  I thought for sure that I could avoid all that mess by handling the situation in a more adult-like fashion.  If I gently picked just a little bit off at a time -- using my thumb and forefinger -- and then licked my fingers clean after each bite, surely I'd be just fine.  NOT!  It still ended up all over the place.

The only solution was a simple one:  

Wash it off!  

All I had to do was put my hands under running water and within seconds,  Presto!  the stickiness was completely gone.  That only worked, however,
if I could resist picking at the cotton candy again.  "Well... maybe just one more taste!"  I'd say,  and the cycle would start all over again.  LOL!

As I sat there in my bed, God didn't hesitate to give me instruction.

"I'll wash it away!"  He said,

"but don't pick at it again.

Just walk away and you'll be all set."

Right then and there, I jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom, turned on the faucet and washed my hands.  Just like washing the stickiness of the cotton candy away, I believed God was washing the stickiness of those old thoughts away!  Then do you know what I did?   I walked away.  I didn't ponder the dream or the details ever again.  I simply closed my mind to them.

Okay... so you know that's what we do, right?  That's where the problem really lies.  We keep thinking about the details.  We mull them over and over again in our mind, thinking that if we analyze it, we'll figure it all out and be done with it.  But it never really works out that way, does it?   We just end up giving opportunity to the devil to play with us.   We give him an inch and he takes a mile, every time!  Before you know it, He has you saturated and bound in sticky thoughts that you can seem to get away from, no matter what.
 

What was yesterday's message?

"Don't do it!" 

Today is a reminder of that 

--a reinforcement -- 

 a practical application.  

Is He speaking to you?  or just me?

Walking it out, in armor and RED shoes.
Gail

Day 363

Some days are so easy.  I wake up with a song on my lips and just glide through the entire day.  That doesn't mean there are no challenges.  But even the biggest challenges seem inconsequential.  On the other hand, some days are not so easy.

Day 363 of The Red Shoe Project 

has been one of those days!

I woke up way too early today -- long before my alarm went off -- and couldn't get back to sleep.  Before even getting out of bed, I could see that it was somewhat overcast and drizzly outside.  Now that doesn't bother me.  The greatest day of my life -- the day I asked Jesus into my heart -- was a gloomy, overcast day with pouring rain.  True... it was a mess of a day, but I was shining from the inside out, so it didn't matter!

This morning when I opened my eyes, I wasn't shining on the inside.  My body seemed to ache all over.  I trudged into the bathroom and headed immediately for the shower in hope that all I really needed was to wake up.  When that proved not to be the problem, I sat on the edge of the bathtub, wrapped in a towel and prayed that God would dress me in my spiritual armor.  No sense in waiting any longer!  I can't stand being a sitting duck for the enemy!

Then I had to walk it out!  I had to believe by faith that God heard my sincere prayer.  Oh the arrows kept flying at me.  All the negative thoughts kept catapulting towards me.

"You're never going to amount to much."

"That will never happen."

"Blah... blah... blah... "

In my mind, I broke those arrows in Jesus' Name!  That's right -- I pictured myself catching the arrows in mid air, breaking them in half and tossing them to the ground. Eventually I got bored and turned my attention to something else.

Isn't that the biggest challenge of all? -- Getting your mind and focus off the tormenting words of the enemy and moving on?  All day those arrows were coming at me.  Most of the time I was wrapped up in other, more promising things, so I paid no attention.  But even still -- later in the day after spending some time with friends -- I came home and the voices were louder than ever.   Good thing my ears were tuned in to God's voice.  For right then and there, He gave me some specific instruction:

"Don't say it!"

cautioned the Lord.

"Don't open your mouth.

Don't repeat it.

Don't even think it!"  

That was God's advice.

When we speak things out loud, our ears hear them.  When our ears hear them, very often our brain takes action accordingly.  Next thing you know, you're out in left field wondering how you ended up knee high in crap.  It's because you spoke the words the devil planted in your mind - You watered them and let them grow.  Don't do it!  God instructs us to think otherwise:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,

whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever

is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable

-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy --

think about such things."

Philippians 4:8

No RED gardening boots for me today!  I refuse to wallow in the muck and mire.  No sir!  I'm sporting my RED high heels, keeping my mind focused on noble things and singing praises to God until this stormy spiritual weather passes.

Gail

Day 362

It's Day 362 of  The Red Shoe Project.  My RED shoes have been on my feet all day as I've done errands, cooked, cleaned house and pondered the things of God.  It's funny how God can use just about anything to speak something so profound when He wants to.  This book is proof of that!

For the life of me, I can't stop thinking about a television program I saw late last night.  A young woman was planning her wedding on a fairly tight budget.  She prided herself in her commitment to be frugal throughout the entire process.

In reality, she didn't have much of a choice.  She lives in NYC where everything is expensive, including weddings!  Yet, she was determined to have the wedding she wanted without excessive spending.  Word got out of her unique endeavor and a film crew decided to make a documentary of sorts on how to accomplish this using her as the example.


Here's what she didn't know:

Her immediate family and closest friends
were in on a HUGE secret. The  actual
intent of the show's producer was to give
her the fabulous wedding she truly desired,
no holds barred.



The young woman made sacrifice after sacrifice due to the high cost of things.  Necessary cuts had to be made here, there and just about everywhere.  She even resorted to making her own hors d'oeuvres, had benches instead of proper seating, ordered her bridal dress online, and skipped having any sort of live music for entertainment.  The list of things she had to settle for went on and on.

Here's what I loved about the program:

When the wedding day finally arrived, the producer, family and friends slowly began to unwrap the surprises for her. They started off by giving her the option of wearing her  "cheap-o," mail order dress  -OR-  she could wear the gorgeous $5000 designer dress that she had tried on one day "just for fun."  Yes!  She chose the fine dress.  Next, her dad showed up in an antique car to bring her to the wedding.  Yeah... that wasn't in her budget, but she jumped in all the same.  The surprises just kept getting bigger and better.

All the while, she just goes with the flow 

and enjoys it all!

She doesn't fuss.  She doesn't get upset.  She doesn't question a thing.  I'm not really sure that she was fully there.  Maybe she was in shock?  You know how brides can tend to kind of float through their wedding day on cloud nine?  That's what I mean by her not totally being there.  The whole event is so surreal -- let alone heaping unexpected extravagances on top of it all!

At first, I wasn't sure why I was so captivated by this program.  I just happened upon it as I surfed the channels, but once I started watching, 

I had to see it through to the end.  

Then, when I got up to go to bed, the Lord surprised me by asking...

  "What did you think of that?"

"Are you kidding me?  

That's exactly how I feel 

going into the new year.

I have no clue what's 

about to happen.  The 

only difference is that 

I know that YOU are 

in control of it all!"

 "Now I just have to master the art of 

going with the flow!"

I guess what surprised me the most was that the woman didn't hesitate in receiving all that was poured out on her.  She just enjoyed it.  She didn't care that her mail order dress got tossed to the side.  She took no offense that all the planning and prepping she did was in vain.  A crew of experts rushed in 24 hours before the gig and did a complete overhaul on the entire venue.  

Walking with the Holy Spirit is just like that.  You can plan all you want, but you have to be able to let go of everything and anything - often at the last minute -  for the upgrade!  If you're going to hem and haw, drag your feet, hold offense, complain and cry, your not a good candidate for Divine Partnership. I will say this:  When you're new to the role, He cuts you a lot of slack.  When you're not so new, He expects you to grow into the role, move with Him and follow His lead.

This year has been a lot of practice of just that.  

Next year I'm simply going to the next level!

In RED shoes, 

Gail

  

Day 361

Praying in partnership with the Holy Spirit is what's on my mind this 361st Day of  The Red Shoe Project.  My RED socks have been on my feet all day as I've puttered around the house in continual conversation with the Lord.

Jude 20  says this...

"... building yourselves up in your most holy 

faith and praying in the Holy Spirit..."

Although many would interpret "praying in the Holy Spirit"  as praying in other tongues, the book I was reading today ( Good Morning Holy Spirit)  stated  "it's so much more than that!  It also means to pray in the realm of the Holy Spirit and in the power of the Holy Spirit."

Hmmmm.  That got me thinking.  I have been praying a lot lately in my heavenly language.  When I do  that,  I sort of step aside and let the Spirit of God in me, pray directly to the Father for me.

"In the same way, the Spirit 

helps us in our weakness.  

We do not know what we ought to pray for,

 but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us 

through wordless groans."

Romans 8:26

True... sometimes it's me praying.  Other times it's the Spirit praying.  But even still, there are times when I feel  "WE"   are praying, in partnership with one another -- The Holy Spirit and Me!  Now that's a horse of a different color!


Today was one of those times.  I sat down rather intrigued by the idea of praying "in the realm of the Holy Spirit."   This isn't anything new to me, I've just never thought about it in those terms before.

A "realm"  is a kingdom, domain,  stomping ground, territory.

When I pray in the realm of the Holy Spirit, I am praying in His domain, not mine.  That would explain why I can see things in the Spirit.   Today, for example, I sat down, closed my eyes,  asked the Holy Spirit to partner with me in prayer and began to speak in a heavenly language.   Almost immediately, I saw a picture in my mind of a grave yard.  

I asked the Lord, 

"Why are you showing me a grave yard?  What does it mean?"  

Without hesitating, He responded, 

"These are the people who were prematurely robbed of their lives."

  

John 10:10 says...

"The thief comes only to 

steal, kill and destroy..."

My mind flooded with the names of all sorts of addictions:

Drugs          Alcohol 

Sex              Pornography   

Food           Gambling  

Spending    and more.

There is such a spiritual bondage in regards to such matters.  People are tormented.  Lives are destroyed.  Loved ones are left in despair.  No matter how you look at it, it's devastating!  

But the Spirit of God quickly reminded me that  John 8:36 says,

"... if the  Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

With that scripture, I found myself prompted to intercede for those battling with such addictions.  I started off with a rather general prayer of deliverance for a faceless mob of people, that I imagined, bound in shackles.  Then quite suddenly, specific names of the children of many of  my friends began popping into my mind.  I was reminded that each of them are caught up in an addiction of sorts, so I called out their names to the Lord, one by one,  and proclaimed freedom over their lives in Jesus' Name!  

That wonderful name of Jesus!  

There's such power in it!

Later in the day,  I saw a program on television in which the minister was proclaiming the promises of God's Word regarding our children.  He noted Proverbs 11:21 (KJV) which says

"... the seed of the righteous shall be delivered!"

That could easily be interpreted, 

"...the children of God's people will be set free!"

How is that going to happen?  Prayer.  Not just any old prayer.  Powerful prayer in partnership with the Holy Spirit.  Prayer and Fasting, perhaps.  Committed prayer.  Continual prayer.    

I'm praying.  You're praying.  The people who have come through it are praying.  The more people praying, the better.  Let's do it, and let's not stop until we see results!  Amen?  Will you unite with me?

In RED shoes, 

Gail

Day 360

It's the day after Christmas -- Day 360 of  The Red Shoe Project.   The house is quiet as I putter around in my RED socks.  All the hoopla, festivities and Christmas singing is over for another year.  Let me just say...
"I love it all!"   I hope all of you, dear Rubies, had a wonderful day with family, friends and of course, the Lord!


I don't know about you, but I don't
 start packing up all the Christmas decorations until after January 1st.
The house is so pretty at this time of year.  Between all the ribbons, bows, ornaments, cards and  stockings, the atmosphere is filled with a sense of Divine Anticipation.

It seems that  "Anything is Possible!"   

I like to let that thought linger as long as as I can.

Today my daughter headed out to visit with some friends for a few days.  I have the house to myself.  At first I was a little nervous.  "What am I going to do with myself ?"   Jordan and Pauly are in Jersey.  My son, Joe, is in Colorado.  And now Gracie is in Orlando.  Then it dawned on me...

 I've got three whole days 

of just Me and The Lord! 

What final work does He want to accomplish in my life these last few days of the year?  I'm not sure if I should shout "Hooray!" or  "Oh no!"  LOL!  We could be having a praise party, or the Lord could be performing some heavy duty heart surgery on me.  What's it going to be?  Maybe a little bit of both?

I met with my spiritual mentor today.  I told her that I was feeling quite vulnerable.  With all the  cleaning I've been doing in obedience to God, it's like I have no past.  When I look over my shoulder, there's nothing there.  There's nothing to hold onto.  It's a little scary.  I feel like everything behind me has vanished.  POOF!

It's only scary because the safety harness has been removed.  I was accustomed to having all sorts of  "stuff"  in my life --  ideas,  memories,  ways of doing things,  traditions to fall back on.  In reality, most of that was unprofitable.  It didn't work in the past,  so why would I think it would work in the future?   It was just taking up space in my life.

 Sometimes  "stuff"  makes us feel safe,

 but that doesn't mean we are safe.  

It can be an illusion.
(Kind of like a parachute that 
doesn't open when you jump!)

Someone once told me that when they were really little their mother put a safety harness on them and tied one end of it to a tree in the back yard.  I know that sounds kind of harsh, but in the old days, no one batted an eye at such a thing.  I suppose it seemed a rather good solution to keep a small child from falling into the pool or from running out of the yard and into the street.

Today I happened to come across a picture on the internet of a pregnant woman strapped into her car with a rather elaborate seatbelt.  Surely it was to protect her and the baby in case of an accident.  Yeah... she wouldn't be going anywhere.  She looked immovable!  I guess what I'm realizing is that while harnesses may provide protection, they can also be rather restrictive.  Hmmmm.  Just something to think about.

Truth be told, as I fly into the New Year without my old safety harness, I'm either going to fly or I'm going to fall flat on my face.  You can't talk about flying all the time and then never actually do it!  I've been flying all year.  You have been my witness that God has been with me every step of the way.  I have no doubts that He will continue to be with me from here on out as well.

He will be my safety harness.

Him - alone!

That's the next step for me!

I will trust in Him, His Word, and His voice. 

 I'll listen and I'll obey.  

For the first time, in who knows how long, I will be soaring without all that baggage!  What a difference that ought to make!  Sounds exhilarating!

In RED shoes, 
Gail

Day 359

Day 359 of  The Red Shoe Project just happens to be Christmas day.  How wonderful!  It doesn't matter how old I get, I love waking up on Christmas morning.  There's a unique anticipation and excitement in the air that's like no other day.  This day, my feet were sticking out of the covers, clad in RED socks, of course.

When I first opened my eyes this morning, there it was...
the "BELIEVE" sign.  God's voice is always so clear when I first wake up and today, of all days, He whispered, "When did you stop believing?"  Was God rebuking me?  Ever so nicely, I must say, but a bit of a rebuke all the same.

"What?" I responded.

"When did you stop believing the promises I've spoken to you?  Last week you were all excited in your prayers, professing and believing all that is to come.  Today, you've shelved some of those promises.  Why is that?"

"Ummmm... I guess it's because I don't see any evidence of them." 
I retorted rather sheepishly.

"So what?  You just give up because they haven't come to pass yet?"

"Oooops!"

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not yet seen."

Hebrews 11:1

The other day, I was flipping through the t.v. channels and came across a newer release of "Peter Pan."  In one of the scenes,  Tinkerbell is mischievously flying all over the place creating havoc.   For some reason, that reminded me of a much older version in which Tinkerbell is dying and Peter Pan tells the audience that if they would believe, Tinkerbell would come back to life.
"If you believe,"  he said,  "Clap your hands as loud as you can!  Louder!  Louder!  That's it!"   So now I'm wondering...

Have I killed Tinkerbell with my unbelief?  

LOL.  Well... you know what I mean.  There's just no way to make it sound pretty.  Unbelief kills promises.

"For without faith it is impossible to please Him..."

Hebrews 11:6

Last night, I actually attended two Christmas eve services.  One was at my church and one was an outreach in the park, downtown.  Both events included candle-lighting.  In a candle-lighting service, the minister takes his candle and lights the candles of a few of his leaders.   They, in turn, go out into the congregation and light the candles of those around them.  Before you know it, everyone is lighting the candle of the person beside them.  Within seconds, everyone's candle is lit.  It's absolutely beautiful, and so inspiring!

At the service in the park, however, there was a cool breeze that unexpectedly snuffed out several of the candles, including my own.  No worries, the person beside me leaned over and re-lit my candle.  All was well!  I didn't have any problems after that.  It stayed lit for the remainder of the service.  I was even able to relight someone else's candle that had gone out.

I bet I can use that same process in regards to my forgotten promises.  With God's early morning rebuke to BELIEVE,  I have decided to  re-ignite my faith for those things that I erroneously pushed aside.  I'm putting those lost prayers back into my feed and processing them, once again, in my prayer closet.  I do believe it's all good!

What about you?  Are there promises and prayers, hopes and dreams that you have forgotten about merely because you haven't seen them come to pass yet?  Perhaps this is the sign you've been waiting for that there's still HOPE.   Why not put them back on your prayer list today?  

"May the God of hope fill you 

with all joy and peace in believing,

so that by the power of the Holy Spirit

you may abound in hope."

Romans 15:13

In RED shoes, 
Gail

Day 358

Day 358 of  The Red Shoe Project just happens to be Christmas eve.  Some days never turn out as you expect them to, -- RED shoes or not!  Today was one of those days.  I awoke at 9 a.m.  to a text message from my dearest friend.  She had taken her husband -- who was experiencing severe chest pains --  to the emergency room at 3 a.m. and was now waiting to talk to the doctors.  Within minutes, people were lifting up prayers to the Lord.  With that, the peace of God fell upon her and by early evening, her and her husband were on their way home for Christmas with a prescription for a change of diet.  That was such an answer to prayer!  Thank you Jesus!

Late in the afternoon, I joined my friend at the hospital and we had a bite to eat together.  By that time, the scare was over.  God has shown Himself faithful.  She was grateful knowing that within hours they would be home resting this Christmas eve.  As we sat there in the little cafe drinking ice tea and munching on our veggie sandwiches, I realized how blessed I was to have such a great friend.  I was glad to be there with her.  As we talked about the Lord and His goodness, all I could think about was:

"What a great way to spend Christmas eve!

The church I attend had four Christmas eve. services starting at 3:30.  I went to the very first one,  just to be sure that I didn't end up missing out.  It was wonderful.  What I enjoyed most of all, however, was the ride from the parking lot to the front door of the church.  My friend, Dirk, was a volunteer for the special services and saw me get out of my car.  He whipped over in the little golf cart and offered me a ride to the door.

"Merry Christmas!"  he announced, 

bringing joy to my soul.  

"Merry Christmas!" I responded.  

You see, Dirk is one of the guys that rededicated His life to Christ this past year in my Starting Point discussion group.  Earlier today, he messaged me that he had been thinking about what I had said regarding Divine Partnership.  

"I'm a military man,"   he told me.  

"Instead of partnering with God, 

I prefer to think of myself as a 

soldier in God's army!"   

How awesome is that?  It brings joy to my soul that he sees himself as a warrior for God!  What a great Christmas present!  Thank you Jesus!

Later in the evening, my youngest daughter announced that she needed me to help her with a important craft project she was working on.  It's been many years since I worked on such artistic endeavors of the sort. Regardless, we put our heads together and tackled the job.  Several hours later, we successfully completed our task.   It was Christmas eve.  -- just the two of us -- sprawled out on the floor with ribbons, scissors, a hot glue gun, glitter and more.  Working together like that on a specific project was really rather glorious!  There we were functioning as a team!  Now that it's over,  I find myself shouting in my soul, "Thank you Lord for such a blessing!"  I can't quite put into words what that was all about, but it was one of my best Christmas eve's ever!

Today was filled with all sorts of Christmas festivities.  To name a few, there were  Christmas carols, last minute shopping, not one but two Christmas messages, candle lightings, and even a snow machine.  Don't get me wrong, all those things were great.

But what has me as content as can be 

is the time I spent with my family and friends 

along with the assurance in my heart that Jesus is Lord!

Merry Christmas dear friends!

Gail

Day 357

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