Day 73

As the clock is nearing midnight, Day 73 of  The Red Shoe Project has almost come to an end.  I've already kicked off my RED shoes for the night and begun to rejoice in this wonderful day.    It was awesome!!!  Why?  Because I connected with God in so many magnificent ways.   Yahoo!!!!!!!   That's something to get excited about!  It's worth shouting over.  It's worthy of a joyous victory dance, right here in my living room!  I'm taking a little time to laugh, smile, and give thanks... right here, right now!  Woo-hoo!

This morning I met with a group of people who are searching and seeking for God.  We talked about a scripture found in Jeremiah 2:13...

"My people have committed two sins:

They have forsaken me,

the spring of living water, 

and have dug their own cisterns, 

broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

Basically, God presented Himself to His people, like an incredible never ending fountain of clean, rushing water.   Not only did they not receive Him... but they chose a cheap imitation in His place.  Their idols are likened unto collected rain water in a man-made holding tank that leaked, and eventually became stagnant.

Unfortunately, many people today are still making that same mistake.  Think about it!  God offers us Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness and Self-Control, all packaged into a relationship with Him.  Yet many don't even consider His offer.  Instead, they try to obtain those very same things from idols like... Money,  Parties,  Relationships,  Career,  Education,  etc. etc. etc.  And you know what?  None of those things will ever Satisfy the Soul!

I'm excited because I've decided to jump right into that Stream of Living Water.  What the heck?  Anyone thirsty?  Uncomfortable? Hot?  Sticky?  This Living Water is cool, thirst-quenching, nourishing, healing, freeing and refreshing!  Come on... Won't you join me?  I'm diving in!

Later this afternoon, I went by a little pizza shop to grab a quick bite to eat and see a friend.  I was reading a testimony of the Transforming Power of the Holy Spirit in a person's life.  Suddenly and quite unexpectedly,  I sensed the presence of God welling up within me.  It was like a rushing river ready to explode!  I  quickly paid my bill and got out of there before I completely lost it!  I jumped into my car, where I could shed a few tears of joy and talk freely with God.  That testimony stirred up such an incredible desire to want to see people come to know Christ! 

"Lord...  What can I do God to see the people around me transformed like the person in that story?  What?  Please tell me!  I want to see that happen in my world!  Right here, in my life, in my community, amongst my family and friends! I must know!"

I sat there quietly with my head bowed just listening.  He answered me -- in the most conversation-like way -- as if he were sitting right there in the seat next to me.  He said,  

"Just tell people about me.  Tell them what I'm doing in your life."  

The realization of my inability to make a miracle happen... a healing... any kind of transformation in anyone's life, smacked me in the face like a cold, wet towel.   

"That's my part Gail.  That's what I do!  You don't have to worry about that.  After all, this is a partnership."

I wondered to myself...  don't I need to know all sorts of fancy stuff... Bible talk... maybe an eloquent message of sorts?

"No... just testify of Me... In fact, you can talk about almost anything... it doesn't matter all that much.  I'll take care of it!"

Ahhhhhh!  God is so Good!  I don't know how He does it... but I've witnessed it time and time again,  He does this miraculous thing where someone says something to a crowd, and each person listening is so sure that God was specifically speaking directly to them.  It's one of those "God things!"

Finally, I sat down at my computer, this evening, and listened to a great message by a Woman of God on YouTube.  I don't have the time to give all that to you now, but let me just say this...  

It was life-changing!  It brought answers to questions I had been asking God.  What can I say?  Today was another  day of Transformation for me!  How great is that?

I'm closing down for the night, but before I do,

I am ending this wonderful day of  The Red Shoe Project with "The Happy Song,"  

doing a little jig, then heading off to bed!

Until tomorrow, 

Gail

Day 72 of  The Red Shoe Project has found me wearing a band-aid on my little toe while I run around in my sparkly RED shoes.  It seems my Ruby Reds have given me a bit of a blister.  Ouch!  New shoes tend to do that!  They rub against a part of your foot that's not used to continual contact.

So, it's Decision Time...  

Are these shoes worth it?  

If so, I will have to endure the breaking in period.  

Endure means to suffer patiently, tolerate, and put up with.

The Breaking In Period is the time it takes to get comfortable with something new, so that you are moving easily and gracefully with it.  

As my faith is growing with The Red Shoe Project, I have noticed there's a little discomfort involved.  For one, my time schedule has changed.  I'm up late at night writing, which means I sleep later in the morning.  I know that may sound wonderful to some,  but I sometimes feel like half my day is gone before I even get moving. 



Secondly, my financial situation has changed.  I used to know very specifically where the money was coming from and when.  I had put together a system of spending, saving, and bill paying that worked rather nicely.

Thirdly, I've noticed that my appearance has changed.  Daily, I was running around town in upscale, corporate clothing.  I must admit, I had put together quite a fashionable wardrobe.

Lastly, my job is different.  My calendar used to be very structured.  Everything happened on the same day, same time, month after month.  It was predictable!

So...  Is it worth it?  Is my new life worth this discomfort?  
Okay... I can hear some of you shouting at me, "Are you crazy? What's your problem?"  LOL.

There are many people who would die to sleep late.  Yeh!  Most days, I don't even use an alarm clock! How nice is that?  I'm slowly adapting to a new sleep pattern so that I get enough sleep, and re-working my schedule so that I can make the most of it.

Secondly, I've had a huge financial breakthrough!  Finally, I am living by faith, and it's working.  Yes... it's a life of daily manna, but that's ok... it's exciting to see God working in this way!  In fact, I'm rather fascinated by the whole process!

Thirdly, let me consider my wardrobe.  I absolutely LOVE the RED shoes!  I'm not sure I'll ever wear another color shoe again -- Not to mention that they cause me to catch what Christ is doing each day. I don't want to change that... ever!  The clothing end is crazy.  I haven't quite figured out what my new style will be.  LOL. Generally speaking... my new work allows me to be much more casual.

Most of the people I work with 

are looking for what's in me, 

not what's on me.  

They are checking out my words and actions, not my fashion style. A more comfortable look on me makes them feel more comfortable with me.  As a spiritual writer, speaker and coach... they know that I can relate to them.  They know that I'm like them.  I haven't presented to them a package of perfection that we often do in business.  My job is about being authentic and relevant. And what's more real than jeans, a shirt and a smile?

Finally, my calendar is loosely structured and rarely predictable. (Is predictable another word for boring?) These days it all about "the Adventure."  Yahoo!!!  I never know what God is going to do... but He's always doing something.  And as I learn to flow with Him, He invites me, more and more, to partner with Him in His work.  I'm loving that I continually get a front row seat to watch Him do the miraculous... not just in my life but in the lives of others.  What's better than that?

Why is it that changing our routine is so difficult?

That's what this is really all about.  My routine is changing.  Someone asked me yesterday if I liked what I was doing these days.  I almost jumped out of my seat with enthusiasm.  I'm writing, creating, teaching, facilitating, coaching, praying, believing, growing and loving every minute of it!  I am having the time of my life!

I'm also realizing that as CHANGE is taking place, I've got to shed the old ways and embrace the new.

I know that holding on to the old, 

only delays the wonders of what's in front of me.

I'm a work in progress.  But as I let go, I'm breathing in deeply, and  learning to go with the flow.  There are no complaints here as I find myself , right smack in the center of what I love to do, with awesome people, under the direct mentorship of the Holy Spirit.

So... Is it worth it?  Absolutely!
It's just time to develop a new routine:  The RED Shoe Routine.
A routine where I let go of how I've always done it and let my partner show me how it's done.

It starts everyday by putting on RED shoes!

Gail

Day 71

Day 71 of The Red Shoe Project found me all over town today for a variety of classes, meetings and appointments.  Someone commented about the RED shoes I was wearing every place I went. It's exciting to see people taking interest in what God is doing!

Early this morning, I started my day over at Living Word Christian Bookstore, where I facilitated a Women's Bible study that focused on the topic of "Waiting on God."

What are we waiting for?

An Answer to Prayer.   

A Word from God.   

A Simple Touch.   

A Call to Action.  

A Powerful Revelation.   

A Life-changing Vision.

Healing.    Deliverance.   Guidance.    

Direction.     Provision.    His Presence.

With that said,
it is a Good thing to be found....

Hungry for God.  

Crying out to Him.  

Presenting Him with Praise. 

Desperately Seeking His Face.

Eagerly Awaiting His Presence. 

Wanting More of All He has to Offer!  

 Needing to Know Him in a Greater Way!

Waiting on God means...

Staying put for now. 

 Not losing focus.  

Sticking around for God.  

Not moving ahead without Him.   

Killing time until He arrives.

Holding out for Him.   

Lingering a little longer.   

Delaying another day. 

 Not being in a rush to leave.

We do this...
Patiently...   
Without Complaining.  
Trusting,  
Believing,  
Expecting 
and Anticipating.

"I waited patiently for the Lord

He turned to me and heard my cry."

Psalm 40:1

Don't be surprised if you find yourself  crying out... wailing... groaning... shouting in desperation...

"Abba!  Father!   Daddy!  --  Help me!"

Psalm 34:4 says...

 "I sought the Lord.

 He heard me, and

   delivered me from my fears."

In closing, 

Psalm 130:5 encourages us to 

Stand on the Promises of God!

"I wait for the Lord.

My soul waits and 

in His Word I put my hope."

I don't know about you, but
I'm staying in RED shoes, 

Gail

Day 70

It's Day 70 of The Red Shoe Project, and as I sit back in my Red Shoes, I want to thank all of you who participated in the Mystery Parable.  (See Day 64.)  Here are some key facts that will unlock the mystery of that story.

The older, wealthy, wise mentor represents God.  This Divine Mentor wants nothing more than to pour into the younger woman's life that she might succeed. With that in mind, she states that she will provide the resources needed for them to meet, so that she can train her personally.

Meanwhile, the younger woman is having trust issues with God.  She hears the woman say she'll provide, but doesn't understand how that all comes together. Operating in fear, she focusses her energy and attention on providing the money for the meeting herself. 

As long as she insists on paying, the mentor will let her.  The mentor knows that the woman must learn how to trust her before they can move on to anything else.

So, you know that the younger woman is me... right?  I've been struggling with this "God will provide" thing for a while now.  Not all of it... just part of it.  I'm not even sure what part of it.  I just know that something isn't quite working.  So I made it a matter of desperate prayer.

"God! What am I missing?

Why am I not getting this?

Help me, please!"

Ok... so it's not like I'm a novice at all this.  I know that God provides.  I know that His name is Jehovah Jireh, My Provider.  But what I know in my mind, is not manifesting in my life.  What's with that?  I need a BREAKTHROUGH! and that's what I began praying for.

A Breakthrough is  a sudden dramatic and 

important discovery or development 

that results in a significant and dramatic 

overcoming of a perceived obstacle 

allowing completion of a project.

Today... Day 70 of The Red Shoe Project, I had a major breakthrough in this area, and yes, I was wearing my RED shoes.  Last week, a good friend and spiritual mentor had passed along a set of teaching CDs she wanted me to listen to.  She called me this morning and asked if I had listened to the first CD yet.  She stressed that God had specifically told her to tell me that I needed to listen to that CD now... like today, because it had answers for me.  Ok... I picked it up and popped it into my car CD player as I drove to St. Pete.

All I can say is that I left Sarasota with one mindset, and arrived in St. Pete with another.  As I pulled into the parking lot of where I was going, the message came to an end.  I shut off the car and decided to pray before getting out.  A transformation took place.  I will never be the same.  I know that you may be wondering... What was it?  And when I can verbalize in a way that makes sense, I will share it. But for now, know this:

God hears those desperate prayers. 

When it seems like He's not there,

He's usually working on our behalf.

The Secret is... 

• pressing in, 
• holding on,
• waiting with anticipation,
• wanting more, 
• determination and tenacity,
• not giving up on God.

As I take off my RED shoes, I think "What a day!"

Thank you for the breakthrough, Lord.

Gail