Day 25 of  The Red Shoe Project started with a message:

 "Put a lid on it!"

I was barely awake, and all of a sudden, there came an onslaught of negativity!  Voices in my mind, coming from all different directions. Negative, discouraging voices. You know what I mean... those voices that say:

• You can't do that!
• What will people think?
• That person's probably thinking this about you right now!
• What about this?
• What about that?
• You can't keep focusing on Jesus... there's other things that need your attention.
• It will never happen.
• God won't come through.
• Maybe you should try something else!
• Time to take matters into your own hands!

Man those voices can be relentless!  Non-stop.  Never-ending. All shouting and veering for my attention.

BUT THEN...

There was one voice.  It was different from all the rest.  It wasn't loud, but it was firm, and it pressed it's way through the crowd of discouragement.

The Voice said,

"Gail,  Time to put a lid on this trash".  

Snap the lid in place so that it's on tight and nothing can fall out. 

Put it outside for collection."

That voice is My Friend, The Holy Spirit. He's easy to distinguish because He's never negative. He's never loud. He's never abrasive. He never tears me down.  He builds up.  He's loving,  joyful,  peaceful,  patient,  kind,  gentle, and good. That doesn't mean that He never corrects me, because He does.  But He does it in a God way... a positive way,  that always has a positive impact on me.

You know what that voice said to me just the other day?  He said,

"I like it when you smile!  

You look good when you smile".

Today,  I put on a smile, along with my RED SHOES.  I looked good and I felt good - I felt good about myself and about where I'm going.  And I'm reminded that I'm not traveling alone. I look down at my feet, and remember that The Holy Spirit is always with me.  What a GREAT Traveling Companion!

Remember... you don't have to keep the trash in your house until trash day.  Everyday you can dump the trash into the Trash Can outside and
"Put a lid on it!"

Have a happy day!
Gail

Day 24  of The Red Shoe Project found me puttering around the house all day, bare foot, with shiny, RED toe nails.   :)   I was tired, so I made it a point to rest in His Presence. I just found the need to STAY CLOSE to the HEART OF GOD... To listen to worshipful music... To think about Him and His love for me...  To read and remind myself of the character of God. That's so strengthening and comforting in time of need!

But you have to "do it". 

You have to get there... into His Presence. 

Just thinking about it isn't enough!

My SECRET PLACE with God is where I go everyday to focus on him. It's usually right in the middle of my living room. Sometimes I stand with hands lifted up in worship and praise. (A good worship CD or Pandora really adds to the atmosphere). Sometimes I dance around and sing with joy!  Other times I sit on the couch and read the Word... perusing the scriptures and listening for His voice,  for anything He may want to expound on. When I pray... that's a different story.  You might find me on my knees, or sitting with my head bowed or even pacing the floor back and forth... as I lift up my family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances... even strangers before the Lord.

Where's your SECRET PLACE?  

Where do you ESCAPE to when it's

time to meet one-on-one with God?

Do you go for a long walk in the neighborhood?  Do you walk the dog and look up at the stars?  Maybe you head for the beach, or the park, or someplace where it's simply quiet and beautiful?  Some people take a ride in the car.  Others go to their bedroom and shut the door behind them.  Suzanna Wesley used to sit down in her kitchen, lean her head in her lap, and pull her apron over her head, so that her children knew not to disturb her. That was her SECRET PLACE.

What works for you?

Why does it work?

Tell me.

In spending time with the Lord, I'm noticing a wonderful PEACE that lingers. It stays with me, even when I have to step out of the SECRET PLACE and go about my duties for the day. Red sandals, Red shoes, Red boots... whatever... they remind me that He is with me... and though I know I can talk with Him anytime, anywhere... there's something specifically wonderful about the SECRET PLACE.  The place where it's just Me and Him.  I can't wait to get back there.  Because... 

"THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME".

Going back there now,

Gail

Day 23

True to the rules of  The Red Shoe Project,   I was in my RED high heels, and out of the house, early this morning. On the Agenda:  Business Meetings. What I never expected was that  23 days into The Red Shoe Project  would be The Day of "Unveiling"!

 "Unveil" means:   

to expose something that's been hidden... 

  to reveal it,  to bring it to light,  to make it known.

I can't get over the fact that something can be right in front of me and I just don't see it.  The Answer I'm looking for?  There it is!  Where?  It's right there.  Right in front of my nose!  BUT... no matter how hard I squint my eyes... even if I put on glasses... I just don't see it!  What? Am I  blind?  Yes... that's exactly what it is!  I'm blind to it.  It's hidden. It's covered up.  For some reason, I'm just not meant to see it at this particular time.   Then one day... Woolah!  The curtain is lifted.  And there it is!  By golly, I was blind, but now I see!  Oh, how God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.

In my first business meeting this morning... that's right, I said BUSINESS meeting...   I had been hesitating on jumping in and getting overly involved in a project because I was uncertain of my place in the whole thing.  Did I really belong here?  Had I simply gotten to this place by happenstance? or had God put me here to make a specific contribution?  Then, quite SUDDENLY... God connected the dots  and REVEALED how things fit together, and that I was, in fact, to move forward now.

Perhaps you know the parallel of the TRAFFIC LIGHTS and GOD's DIVINE DIRECTION.  

• A Red Light means to STOP! ...Stay Put. Don't do anything.
• A Yellow Light means to WAIT.
• A Green Light means to MOVE AHEAD.

It seemed like I'd been sitting at that particular Stop Light for over a year.  That can make you start to believe that maybe you've missed something.  Maybe this traffic light is broken? 

Today... the light turned GREEN!  Yahoo!  We're moving forward, baby! Do I sound excited? It's because I am excited! 

The Connecting of the Dots was like a Divine Word of Knowledge that turned the Lights to Green.  What's that I hear?  BEEPING?  I think it's the Holy Spirit in the car behind me motivating me to proceed forward!

In my second business meeting of the day, I decided to invite a new business colleague to an event I'm going to. Long story, short, she turned out to be a well-seasoned Woman of God. Not only that, she recognized that she is able to help me specifically in a business venture that God has put before me.  Even more than just wanting to help me succeed, she believes that our meeting was specifically ordained by God so that she could help.  It was a wonderful thing. God "unveiled" who she really is, and how she is a key player in the plan God is unfolding before me.  In addition to all that, we both connected in an instant!  It is a God connection! A true friendship has begun.  Boy do I wish that all business meetings were that productive and exciting.  We both left "filled" with excitement and anticipation of what God has in store.

The whole idea of "unveiling" reminds me of a story found in  

2 Kings 6: 15 - 17.  

The enemy has sent his army to surround the city where the Prophet of God is residing. The servant of the prophet goes out of the house and sees the army.  He is petrified! He goes back inside to warn the prophet. The prophet responds, 

"Don't be afraid, those who with us are more than those who are with them".  

The servant doesn't see it.  What is the prophet talking about?  He only sees the enemy on all four sides. The prophet responds by praying... 

"Lord, open his eyes so he may see."

God proceeds to open the servant's eyes, and now when he looks around, not only does he see the enemy, he sees the hills full of horses and chariots of fire protecting the Prophet.

Ahhhh! "Unveiling"...  It is a Good Thing.  God totally pulled it all together for me by "lifting the veil" and showing me things that I hadn't been able to see before.  It was a productive day in RED SHOES!  

One day.  Two meetings.  Huge Insight.  Major Headway!

Can't wait for tomorrow.

Gail   

On this 22nd Day of  The Red Shoe Project,  I headed over to Living Word Christian Bookstore for our weekly women's Bible Study followed by lunch and an Art Journaling class. I love the ladies at these events. I have been attending for almost a year now and I have made some lovely friendships!

Today, I surprised the girls by wearing my new, hand-made, Ruby Slippers... glitter and all!  A Big THANK YOU goes out to Carolyn, (who heads up the art class), for helping me with the step-by-step process of converting my old, comfy black ballet slippers into magical Ruby Reds! I have to laugh...  I think I left a little bit of "stardust" wherever I walked today!

While I was out and about, I witnessed someone who had decided to verbally UNLOAD,  in public, all her woes, frustrations, and thoughts. It was Negative, Negative, Negative. A little weird. And a little scary. (I wont say more because the details don't really bring value to my point.)

I don't know about you, but I consider myself to be a very positive, happy-go-lucky, individual.  I try to surround myself with positive, upbeat, healthy people and positive situations, while bringing positivity where ever I go.  So when something really negative and angry, or loud and disruptive occurs, it can seem somewhat larger than life.  The energy and spirit of "your space" can be thrown off kilter, even if you're merely a bystander or observer.

Ok... so let me switch gears for a moment, and we'll come back to that later.

Do this exercise with me:

Clear your mind, and picture an orange.  A big, juicy Florida orange. It is so big and beautiful!  Can you smell it? Can you picture yourself peeling back the skin, breaking it open into slices and biting into it? That orange is so ripe and ready to eat. In fact, it's dripping with juiciness! Your hands are getting sticky and wet.

Now, put that picture aside for a moment, and think of a cow.  A cow... standing in a field.  A black and white cow.  A big, giant  black & white cow.  The cow is moo-ing.  "MOOOOO!"  There he goes, he's moo-ing again. "MOOOOO!"   Occasionally he puts his head down and chomps on some grass.  The grass is so thick and green and beautiful. It's a gorgeous day, and that big, black & white cow is right there in front of you, moo-ing and chewing on grass.

Ok.. now, go back to the big, beautiful orange.  See it?

Now... go back to the cow again.  Can you see him chomping on the grass?

Now picture an angry man yelling at the top of his lungs, standing in the middle of the food court in the local mall.  He is so mad!  His face is turning bright red. He's pointing his finger in someone's face and really giving it to them. He is losing it!  You are so glad not to be the receiver of his outburst. You notice your're  not so comfortable. The negativity is heavy... so heavy that you can feel it pressing down all around you. (Take a deep breath and let it out).

Ok... Drop the picture of the angry man and go back to the Orange... that Big-- Juicy-- Orange. Got it?
Now go over to the Cow.  Can you see the cow?  Black & White.  Green Grass.  Sunny Sky.  Moooo!

Thanks for participating in this little experiment.


During our Bible Study today, we talked about the importance of Guarding Your Heart and Mind.
We shared about "GIGO" Garbage in... Garbage out! You've got to be careful about what you take in through your eyes and ears.  They are gateways to your mind.  But not just that... you have to be careful at what you allow to linger in your mind -- What you spend time pondering, or thinking about.

Sometimes, when we've witnessed an ugly situation,  (like the the angry man in the mall), we allow that thought or memory to SIT in our mind.  We think about it over and over again.  We talk about it to this person and that person... re-hashing it.  regurgitating it over and over again.  We're not even sure why we are DWELLING on it.  (Maybe we don't have something better to think about?) So we think about it a little more... and a little more.

Have you ever noticed that nothing really positive ever comes from that. In fact, if anything, we just rile ourselves up by it.  We stir it all up, over and over again, absorbing as much negativity as we can possibly get from it. What's with that?

We are WASTING our mind's time with ugly negativity 

that ultimately has a ugly, negative effect on us.

Why we do that?  I don't know. But today we discussed God's Way.  Ahhhh... God's Way!  I'm learning a lot these days about God's Way.

  Philippians 4:8 states, 

"...whatever is true, whatever is noble,  whatever is right, 

whatever is pure, whatever is  lovely, whatever is admirable...

if anything is praiseworthy, think about such things. 

...And the peace of God will be with you."

God wants us to spend that "spare time" we have with our mind, pondering the good things in life.

• Like that great purse my friend, Linda, made for me!
• Or the wonderful lunch I had the other day with my friend, Bonnie!
• Or the joyful songs God keeps placing in my heart and nudges me to sing!
• Or even how my awesome bulldog, Paully greets me at the door!
• Or the great weather we're having here in Florida... sunny skies & warm! 
• And what about that beautiful butterfly that just fluttered by me!

Those are but a few of the hundreds of thoughts that will bring me PEACE.

Ok... so, how does our little experiment fit in?

Many people have difficulty with that  negative experience that barges into their mind, SITS down, and refuses to leave..

The Word of God says...

"...we take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ."

2 Corinthians 10:5b

So here's how it's done:

Think about the Orange.  Think about the Cow.  Think about the mall situation.

Think about the Orange.  Think about the Cow.

Think about the Orange.  Think about the Orange.  Think about the Orange. 

No more Cow.  No more Situation.  Just the Orange.

If the cow creeps back in.... Or if the mall situation creeps back in... I like to picture the handle of a toilet.  I press down the handle of the toilet and flush that thought away.  It's gone. I remind myself it's gone.  I remind myself that I'm not going to give that thought a place in my mind any more.  

I choose to think about good things, instead.

I think about the Orange.  It's a lovely Orange.  It's a big, beautiful orange!

You get the idea.  Try it!  (Of course, your happy thought doesn't have to be an orange.)

So when I got home today, I told my daughter all about the weird, verbal dumping that I witnessed earlier in the day.  I went through every detail.  Then I threw on my RED SHOES and  I brought Paully, the dog, out for a walk.

Out there, under the dark sky, filled with stars, The Lord spoke to me...

"Ok... so you got that off your chest.  

Now it's time not to think about it or talk about it anymore.

 Don't waste the space in your mind!"  

Enough said.  I'm keeping my mind focused on the Good Things!
Because that's God's Way.  And that way will bring me PEACE.

Won't you join me?

Gail