Day 143

Day 143 of  The Red Shoe Project has me in the Guest Cottage of Ashlea Manor and up at the crack of dawn, choosing a pair of RED shoes.  Every day thus far has been an early morning rise for me.  Some mornings 4 a.m. others 4:30.  One day I fell asleep at 8 p.m. and was up at 2 a.m.  That was great until about noontime the next day.  Jet lag?  Probably.  

But God is using it to get me alone with Him.  I must admit,  He is the highlight of my day.  It's at this early morning encounter that He breathes life and strength into my heart.  My spirit is filled with JOY and that's what puts a smile on my face. 


This morning I looked carefully at my small sampling of  RED travel shoes.   I was feeling a little weary and weighed down.  So what is it that I do when I'm like that?
  
I pulled out my BRIGHTEST, BOLDEST, SPARKLIEST, 
RED shoes!  
They remind me of the Goodness of God and that no matter what,  All is well with my soul!

At 8:30 a.m. I headed over to the main house for a real Scottish Breakfast,  hosted by the owners of Ashlea Manor,  John and Ros.  As soon as I walked in the door, John remarked, "Look! You've got RED shoes on like the girl from the Wizard of Oz!"   Yup... I liked him from the moment I met Him!  How could I not?  Ros cooked me up a breakfast fit for a queen!  Scrumptous!   But there was something there that I couldn't quite put my finger on.  Something warm and wonderful!  Something familiar.

As Ros cooked away,  John carried on the most wonderful conversation.  He's very personable and a delight to dine with.  He pointed out pictures of his children and asked me about mine.  On the far end of the dining room there was a baby grande piano.  I inquired about it, only to find that John, not only plays at his church, but he's working with a young soloist, cutting a CD, to help fund a missionary endeavor to Romania.  How delightful it was to find someone who talked my language!  I even managed to get him to play me a few tunes on the piano.  It was wonderful!  He and Ros were a breath of fresh air to my somewhat withered soul.  I was truly thankful for their fellowship and hospitality.

Breakfast was over far too soon.  But I was on a schedule.  There was traveling and visiting to do.  Now I was fueled up and ready for whatever the day had in store.  Thank you Lord.  You surprised me!

The Girl in RED shoes,
Gail

Day 142

It's Day 142 of  The Red Shoe Project and I am indeed wearing my RED shoes, looking diligently for God, in this massive world in which I live.
Earlier this morning, I looked out the garden window and saw a bird, content as could be, showing off the little worm that was dangling from his beak.  He'd found his breakfast bright and early!  On the other hand... if you're the worm, life is over!

Perspective - How things appear from your vantage point.

The other day, I talked about the Spiritual Oppression that I sensed lingering over the city.  Today, my vantage point is different.  I've left the city streets and can now be found amidst the winding country roads.  In the distance are rolling green hills, some of them snow capped.  Surrounding me are fields upon fields of greenery.  There are sheep and cattle everywhere.  Horses graze.  In some places, there are bright yellow fields of flowering rape seed which is used to make cooking oil. The sky is blue, the clouds are white and puffy.  It's truly a beautiful sight to see!

The other night I was watching a bit of television.  A police officer was hanging from the ledge of a window for dear life. The director shouted "Cut!"  and the officer stood up, smiled and walked away.  It was just a movie set.  The actor wasn't in any danger at all. She was merely lying down on a floor that was painted to look like the side of a high building.  It was the camera's perspective that made it appear so dangerously real.

Years ago, I remember meeting a young woman at a birthday party.  She had a Bible with her.  I asked her question after question about God.  After answering each specific inquiry, she would open the Bible and show me where those answers were.  I'll never forget her telling me, "Gail... right now you see the world from where you are standing.  But when you ask God into your life, it's as if He picks you up, and places you on a rock that's on higher ground.  Suddenly you look around at the world and see things that you couldn't see before!  You point and think, where did that come from?  I couldn't see that from where I was standing. And, Oh my gosh!  I didn't know that was behind there!"   Vantage point. 

That birthday party was thirty years ago.  I can remember it like it was yesterday.  Today, I can attest to the fact that she was right!  I just have to remind myself from time to time that my perspective is not  the only option available.  I have to remind myself that my own mind can deceive me.  I have to remind myself to ask God to show me His perspective.

I notice that my RED shoes are glimmering in the sunlight.  I smile.  I remember that as a Christian, I am privileged to have been fitted with spiritual glasses.  The Holy Spirit who lives in me, is able and more than desirous to show me the spiritual perspective of things any time,  if I'll just ask.  Not only that, the Word of God is always there to show me spiritual perspective and relieve me of unnecessary doubt.

When my son was about five or six years old, I took him for an eye test and he was equipped with a set of glasses.  Later that day, we were playing in the backyard and I saw something that I've never forgotten.  It was my boy lifting his glasses off his nose and scanning the world around him. Then, situating his new glasses back in placed, he looked again.  "WOW!" he commented.  All those years, he had been seeing the world blurry, and now his perspective was clear and detailed.

As I'm drawing nearer to the end of my trip, already I am catching myself at wanting to worry about what tomorrow holds.  Home seems so far away.  The state of things there... especially things to come, are a bit of a mystery from today's vantage point.  I remind myself that worrying today about what my mind wants to tell me is a bit like looking at the police officer hanging from the window of the movie set and panicking.  It's simply a waste of time and energy.

As I catch a glimpse of my RED shoes, I turn my head back to the car window and take in the beauty of the land, focusing on where I am right here and now, enjoying God's creation.

Talk soon,
Gail

 

Day 141

On Day 141 of  The Red Shoe Project you could find me strolling along the downtown streets of Dundee in my RED shoes.  And then, like a revelation from above, it hit me.  Remember that thing that I just couldn't quite put my finger on?

 

First my sister and I 

went by Caird Hall... 

a concert auditorium.  

Next, we walked down the street 

to see the Museum. 

From there, we had a great view 

of  The Courier building.

Across the street was Dundee High School. 

The kids were just being released for their lunch break.  

Street after street

consisted of 

 flats and shops. 

The structures of the big stone churches were bold and magnificent! 

And of course we saw

"The Clock."

As I took it all in, I began to notice the architecture of the city was for the most part, Gothic.  (Go back and take a look at the pictures).  For a moment I thought it funny that it reminded me of Gotham City in the Batman movies.  The heavy, stone architecture with its dreary, sharp features reflecting the hard, cold spirit weighing over the land.  The mysterious air of depression and indifference covering the city like a cloak, every time the fog creeps in to visit.  

Remember my prayer time from the other morning?  I closed my eyes to pray and all I saw in the Spirit was Darkness and a Stone Wall.  I remember thinking, "What's with that?"  And although I didn't get it at the time,  I found it necessary to put on the whole armor of God before stepping any further into my day!

Spiritual Oppression of a geographic area is when 

a specific area of land, ( a street block, a community, 

a town, an entire city, even a country), is spiritually 

bound  resulting in its doors being CLOSED to the 

Gospel message. 

The region may appear cold... spiritually lifeless;  dark... sinfully rampant;  poor and poverty stricken;  heavy with indifference, contentions, and rabble-rousing;  depressed, sick and broken.  The list goes on and on.  

It's a buffet of spiritual poverty and 

is the result of dark, spiritual forces 

of evil hovering over it, taking claim 

to it, and controlling it.  

Sometimes it has been that way for hundreds of years.  

The only way to break through it is

 Prayer and Fasting!

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the powers of this dark world,  and 

against the spiritual forces of evil in the 

heavenly realms."

Ephesians 6:12

Keep in mind, the people may be wonderful.  (I know all of the ones I met certainly were!)  They may have fine, good paying jobs, terrific families, and kind hearts.  But generally speaking, there's an overall heaviness and dreariness in the atmosphere that causes a hardness or "closed" mentality or even an emnity towards God in many. 

Now I'm not saying the entire city is completely void of Believers.   I wouldn't know that first hand.   I'm just a visitor taking a little tour.   I'm confident that God has His people in place to win the Lost.  And a mighty task they have at hand.   They can certainly use our intercessory prayers!

But I can feel the heavy opposition in the spiritual realm.  It's a sharp contrast to what I'm used to.  It has been weighing on me since the moment I arrived.  I have found myself unnecessarily tired and worn down - something that's well beyond jet lag.   For days, I have been unable to share a word of testimony...   not a word!   People aren't interested in the things of God.  They aren't interested in a relationship with God.  Some are steeped in religion, some in the occult, others are just simply uninterested in Christ.  A few have boldly professed to me...  "I'm not a Believer!"  and have made it clear they have no interest in talking about it further.  It's just pushed aside, swept under the rug, quickly forgotten about and the conversation moves on.  

But as the song goes... "Nothing is wasted!"  God has used this time to present to me, first hand, an impactful lesson on Missions.  I will leave this place with a clearer understanding of Spiritual Oppression and Warfare that I never could have imagined had I not experienced it myself.  So that's why we need intercessors!  So that's why there are times I've woken up in the middle of the night, moved to pray for a land that I know nothing about!  Oh that spiritual breakthroughs might take place around the world!

Never again will I take so lightly 

the call to intercede for those who 

are doing the work of the ministry 

in far away places!

God has changed me!  My prayer is that I will never forget what He has shown me.  I am certain that He will one day put it to use.  He never gives me insight and understanding for nothing.  There's always a reason.

Regarding, The Power of Prayer...  I still don't know the half of it!
But evidently God is changing that as I travel abroad in RED shoes!

Gail

Day 140

Day 140 of  The Red Shoe Project found me awake, out of bed and in the Secret Place at 4:30 a.m.  That seems to be my wake up time here.  At first I thought this was just "jet lag syndrome"  but no...  He is gently waking me each morning and calling me out to the garden for special  "morning time"  with Him.  How can I possibly resist that?  My soul yearns to hear His voice, know His heart, and find out what His plans are for the day.  No one else, nothing else can pry me out of bed at that early hour,  but Him.  I hear the birds singing and next thing I know, there I am, in front of the garden window,  in my jammies and RED socks,  looking for Him, calling to Him,  listening with open ears...  "Jesus!"

Today there were technical issues with the internet, thereby the postings were significantly delayed.  Nevertheless, I was found up and about Dundee, Scotland in my RED shoes.  The relatives had us everywhere imaginable, from one side of town to the other.  We drove up and down the streets of several old neighborhoods where we once lived.  
My older sister has an incredible memory and was able to point out specific places and filled in the gaps with the most detailed stories from her childhood.  How interesting it all was... but there was something I couldn't quite put my finger on.  I'm not sure what it was.  It seemed right there in front of me, but I just couldn't figure it out.

Our journey continued to the top of the Law Hill.  What a sight to see.  It gave a 360 degree view of the entire land.  The fog was slowly settling in.  The weather was cold and damp.  That's just how it is here.  Way too cold and dismal for this Floridian.  I'm missing the warmth of my home and my family, my friends, and my puppy.  Routine is far away.  "Go with the flow"  is once again today's agenda.

Our tour continued as we visited two big ships:  The Discovery and The Unicorn.  The Discovery is all about the British sea exploration of Antarctica. How fascinating!  The Unicorn, on the other hand,  was another British ship that we happened, just by chance, to stop in on.

There wasn't much to see on The Unicorn,  at least not in comparison to The Discovery, which is more like a fully equipped museum, not to mention, it's Dundee's #1 tourist attraction.  But God brought me to The Unicorn for a very specific reason.

I think The Unicorn is the oldest British navy vessel still afloat.  It didn't have much to see onboard.  In fact, I almost wondered if it was rightfully open to the public.  For a tourist attraction, it was empty and quiet.  It didn't seem to have its act together. Much of it was closed off.

It was dark inside.  The ceilings were incredibly low, the steps absurdly steep.  It seemed a bit of a hazard.  Surely someone over the years has hurt themselves in this place.  Did we actually pay to get in here?  But God had a plan and this was part of it.  For as insignificant and off the beaten path that this stop seemed, it housed another unique gift that God had promised me at Sozo.

To think that I just listed all the things He's been physically manifesting in my life on this trip and here was yet another one.  It was one of the few artifacts on board, and one that I could actually pick up in my hands, hold and examine closely.

It was two pair of steel shackles. You can imagine how blown away I was to see this living depiction.  First, it was a clear sign that God is very much in control of my steps on this trip. A confirmation of the prophesy spoken over me in advance.  And second, it was yet another confirmation that my God is The God of Details.  There wasn't just one pair of shackles.  No, God presented two.  The picture I had posted on Pinterest several weeks ago, of God's gifts to me, was just that:  Two pair of shackles, one locked, one open.

I must have looked ridiculous when I came off that ship, smiling from one ear to the other.  It was a secret thing!  A thing between me and God.  It was a most intimate reminder of what my Savior has done for me.  For not only has He set me free from sin and death, He has set me free from the darkness of my past in this place.  I'm free!

Now there's something to be happy about!
I've traded in broken shackles for RED shoes.
I'd say I got the best of that deal, wouldn't you?

Gail