Day 318

On this 318th Day of  The Red Shoe Project,  I am wearing my RED shoes, sipping on an ice tea, and thinking how fortunate I am to have great Christian friends.  Though my friends are a blessing to me in many ways,  today I am specifically noting, that over the years, my friends have been crucial components in my spiritual growth!

In Matthew 22:36-40,   Jesus was asked,

"Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus responded this way:  (I'm paraphrasing.)
If you are only going to do two things right, do these:
  1.  Love  God  with  everything  you've  got.
  2.  Love the people that God puts in your life.

There's no way around it -- People are important and it's our job to love them.  In doing so, we make some great friends in life, and friends often promote spiritual growth in us.  Consider how that works:

Who's following you as you follow Christ?

First of all... we need friends in our lives that we can lead.  One of the most powerful opportunities for Christian growth is teaching Bible lessons and praying with  those who know less than you.  Way back when I was still a fairly new Christian, I was asked to cover someone's Sunday school class for a few weeks while they were away. It was a children's class made up of 4 and 5 year olds.  I was given curriculum and a study guide, complete with directions for making a specific craft that went along with the lesson.  Easy enough.  Who knew that four or five years later I would be heading up all the children's programs in my church? 

A few years after that, I became a full-time teacher at a Christian school.  One of my favorite jobs ever was teaching third graders, (8 year olds), the Bible. Eventually I graduated to teaching adults.  What can I say?  You have to start somewhere, and the great thing about teaching kids is that I never felt intimidated.  It was great practice.  Don't get me wrong, there were challenges, but for the most part, kids are a great audience.  The key to working with them is to make learning fun.  What's better than that?  I got to be a kid again.  I re-lived my childhood.  In their world, I was the  BIG  KAHUNA because I knew everything!  LOL.

As I teach adults about the Bible today,  I still try to make it fun.  Nobody wants to be lulled to sleep with a boring Bible study.  The Bible isn't boring.  It's packed with history, interesting people, drama, miracles, adventure and all sorts of fascinating details!  People make the Bible boring.  On a personal note...  I'm a story teller and an adventurer at heart.  The Bible is filled with stories worth re-telling!  I thrive off that!  Not to mention that I'm always talking about my adventures with The Holy Spirit!

There's a saying...

If you're the smartest one 

in your circle of friends

it's time to find some new friends.

Completely on the other end of the spectrum are mentors.  Everyone needs a mentor.  Even mentors need a mentor.  These are people who know more than you.  They are your  BIG  KAHUNA.  They answer your questions.  They fill you in on the hidden secrets to success.  They challenge you to grow.  We're in awe of their personal experiences.  We listen to them and take notes.   We learn from them.  They are our example.

We're following them, as they follow Christ! 

Then there's your peers -- People in the same vicinity as you are in this Christian race called life.  Their experiences may vary.  They may know more about somethings, and you may know more about other things.  Even still, you're all around the same place when it comes to maturity in Christ.  God often uses your peers to fine tune you.  

"As iron sharpens iron, 

so one person sharpens another."

Proverbs 27:17

Nothing wrong with a little competition.  I'm not saying that we are to compete with one another.  No, we are to work together.  That said, however, competition happens and it can be a good thing.  When I see someone excelling and moving forward with Christ,  I think to myself,  "Hey... they're moving forward.   I'm not going to be left behind.  If they can do it, I can do it!   I'm going all out with them!"  That's iron sharpening iron at its best!

Even in challenging times, God uses relationships with people to temper us and teach us.  Subjects like forgiveness, patience, mercy, humility and compassion -- to name a few --  are tough but important.  

Talking things out with one another, sharing experiences, encouraging each other in our walks with the Lord, challenging one another towards victory and progress -- You can't accomplish that alone.  Your own abilities will only bring you so far in life.   If you're going to succeed, it's going to take teamwork.

Of course, the best friend of all is the Holy Spirit.  Romans 5:5 says...

"God's love has been poured out 

into our hearts through the Holy Spirit 

who has been given to us."

How is it that you're going to love God and love others?   God has deposited that divine ability into us though the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Without the Holy Spirit, I'm not sure we could ever really fulfill those commandments on our own.  To top it off, the Holy Spirit is our friend, our traveling companion, our helper, the one who walks with us through life.  He's our counselor and advocate.  He's our teacher.  He is the ultimate friend.  He is the divine partner.  He makes life interesting!

"...there is a friend that sticks

closer than a brother."

Proverbs 18:24b

As I sat in my Bible study today and asked everyone to give a testimony or praise report, one gal responded,  "All I can say is that I am blessed!"   With that, she listed off several things she was thankful to God for.   I guess that's what I'm doing right now.  I am realizing that one of the greatest blessings in my life are my friends.  They bless me in numerous ways...  one of those being that they help me to grow in the Lord.  Who are you thanking God for today?

In Red shoes,

Gail

Day 317

Today is Day 317 of  The Red Shoe Project and my RED shoes have been on my feet since early morning.  Today has been another day of cleaning.  Ugg!  I am still working on that bathroom of mine.  Several of you have asked me,  "How big is your bathroom that it's taking so long to clean?"
It's good sized, but that's not it -- the problem is that I haven't really given it a thorough clean in years.  I've been washing everything...  walls,  windows,  blinds,  curtains,  mirrors,  tiles,  faucets,  the insides of cabinets,  as wells as everything in the cabinets -- You get the picture.  

I can't believe the amount of dust that collected.  How did I miss that?  Really? Then again... maybe I just didn't want to see it?  I only have so much time in a day.  Who wants to spend it cleaning the bathroom?

Of course I clean my bathroom regularly -- scrub the toilet, mop the floor, windex the mirror, etc. etc.   Well -- sort of.  I guess I really just "maintain."  That's when you continually tidy up so it always looks okay.  I always thought that was sufficient.  At a quick glance it always seemed just fine.   But after today,  I've come to the conclusion -- that wasn't enough!   

I was really thinking that I had to repaint the woodwork in there.  Today, I discovered that the woodwork doesn't need painting at all.  It just needed a good scrubbing!  As I got down on my hands and knees and began attacking the grout on the tile floor,  all these thoughts were going through my mind.  I remembered my sister's comments from the other day regarding "cobwebs"  and "dust bunnies"  in the prayer closet.  

Oh my gosh!  Have I neglected cleaning 

my prayer closet as well?  

Have I been thinking all is just fine, 

when in reality the dust is building up?

I also noticed that wiping things down doesn't cut it.  I had to put a little elbow grease into it!  When I sprayed things and wiped them with a paper towel, they looked okay until I looked closer.  I was settling for a dull, gray finish.  When I took the time to be meticulous --Woolah!  What a difference!

"meticulous"  means...

showing great attention to detail,

very careful and precise.

Perhaps that's the lesson for today...  

To be meticulous with things of importance.  

At first I thought, "Of course my prayer closet is clean!"  After all, it's not like I haven't been praying.  But then again... just the other day, didn't I say that I had found "Old Pentecostal Prayer"  in the back of the closet -- something I hadn't used in decades?  When I was cleaning one of my bathroom cabinets,  I rediscovered a hair dryer specifically for curly hair.  I had completely forgotten that I even had one of those.  See what I mean?  Same thing.  

As I focus on prayer, this last quarter of  The Red Shoe Project,  I'm finding a lot of old favorites  that I had  forgotten about.  They are still relevant and powerful!  When and why did I push them to the back?  

Did I hit a season of weariness 

that turned into 2, 3 and 4 seasons

 of  "tidy, maintenance praying" 

that just got me by? 

 It doesn't take long to forget what you have packed away, does it? Well I'm taking them out, cleaning them up and putting them back to use.  I refuse to just wipe them off!  I'm vacuuming off the dust, scrubbing them clean and reminding myself how they work.

These last couple days I have focused on the bathroom, but I have already begun an all out cleaning of my prayer closet.  I'm excited about what I've already discovered and I am anticipating treasures that I never knew existed -- Powerful weapons that He has hidden for me to find.  Some old -- Some new.  Things that will make my life a lot easier.  Things that I really can't do without.

What about you?  Come on!  Are you ready for an adventure yourself?  

In the Prayer Closet, 

in Red shoes, 

Gail

Day 316

Today was Day 316 of  The Red Shoe Project.  My foot is still black and blue, but the swelling is going down little by little each day.  Thus... I am still sporting little RED flats.  No fancy footwear at this time!

Last night I tuned in to a telethon for Christian television.  A famous minister was speaking on the topic of...

"SEEDING" 

planting financial seeds in someone's ministry 

for future harvest.  

What I found so intriguing about this particular message was the minister's personal testimony.  Years ago, someone had challenged him to plant a rather large seed of $1000 into someone else's ministry.  He had never given such a large offering, and the request came at a time when he had some huge financial obligations himself.  In fact, he didn't have enough to take care of his own bills, let alone give away so much money.  The man was relentless in his approach with the minister.  Finally, the minister surrendered and gave the offering.  Sure enough, by the end of the week, the minister  received unexpected monies that far surpassed the amount he had seeded.  He thought it was just a fluke, so the same individual challenged him to try it again.  Once again he seeded $1000, and this time an even larger amount of money came back to him.  Baffled, he tried it one more time, and one more time it came back to him multiplied many times over. Within a couple of weeks from that first offering, his bills were paid off in their entirety.  Not only that, the minister personally broke through into a whole new level of ministry.

As he stretched his faith and believed God

to return to him a financial harvest, 

God stretched the man's ministry 

to a whole new level!

Forgive me for butchering the minister's testimony, but you get the idea.  Okay, so I realize that you may thinking that this is just a scam that ministers pull to get bigger offerings.  Well, I didn't think that at all.  The minister's testimony was very detailed and personal.   Regardless, I didn't have any money to give, so it didn't matter.

Today, however, I was sitting in church and the pastor was talking about the devastation that  just occurred in the Philippines.  With no pressure whatsoever, he took up an offering.  Right then and there, the Holy Ghost began to stir within me.

"Give sacrificially, Gail!  

Stretch your faith like that minister did 

and I will meet your needs, and stretch 

your ministry to a whole new level."

I'm so serious when I say that the pastor was in no way pushy whatsoever.  

God, however, was quite a different story.  He was rather bold in his personal challenge to me!  So how did I respond to that?   I pulled out my purse and took out the cash I had reserved for gas money.  Next I found the few dollars I was going to use for a light lunch out.  Then I even went into the little zippered pocket where I hid $10 for an emergency.  Everything... I gave everything! I folded up all the bills and stuck them in an offering envelope and dropped it in the basket!  I'd love to tell you that it was all about the cause.  It's a good cause,  but I could have easily just thrown a couple bucks in the basket, and that would have been it.  But no... 

I did it because of God's anointed instruction

 combined with the promises of His Word.

"Give, and it will be given to you.

A good measure, pressed down,

shaken together and running over,

will be poured into your lap.

For with the measure you use, 

it will be measured to you."

Luke 6:38

Having worn RED shoes now for 316 days in a row -- all while looking and listening for God -- I have noticed that my relationship with the Holy Spirit has changed.  As I  yearn for greater divine partnership, I have found that it comes with a cost.  When He speaks, not only must I listen, I must obey.  There's always a choice to be made.  Or is there?   I've noticed that He's speaking a lot these days.  His voice has become clearer and louder.  With that, I am finding myself responding -- Yes, in obedience -- but even more so, I am responding in love -- in excitement --  and in anticipation of what great things He will do!  There's no choosing "MY" way.  That's the wrong direction.  I'm choosing "HIS" way and loving every minute of it!

Walking with Him

In RED shoes, 

Gail

Day 315

It's Day 315 of  The Red Shoe Project.  I've had on various RED footwear throughout the day ranging from RED socks to RED sneakers to RED ballet flats.

Most of my day has been spent in the prayer closet, closed in with God, worshipping and chatting back and forth.  It's been a day of directives.  That's when God goes into specific details on how and what He wants me to do.  I love directives.  They insure that I'm on the same page with Him.  I do my best to listen carefully and take notes.

 At lunch time,  I stepped outside for some fresh air.  It was so beautiful, I couldn't resist throwing on my RED sneakers and going for a prayer walk.  The Holy Spirit joined me and we continued our most delightful conversation. 

A good part of today has been lifting people up in prayer.  The Bible says...

"And without faith it is impossible to please God

because anyone who comes to Him must believe 

that He exists and that He rewards those who 

earnestly seek Him."

Hebrews 11:6

This is an interesting scripture.  It basically says that if you don't believe God is real, and personal and powerful -- you're going to have difficulty praying.  Someone who prays BELIEVES,  not only that God is all those things, but that  He is listening  and that  He will respond! 

As people popped in my mind today, I presented them to God and prayed whole-heartedly on their behalf.  I know God listens intently.  He never gets bored, and in fact, He often tells me how much He loves this one and that one.  He's very fond of His children, you know.  

Sometimes He'll ask me to do something specific for an individual... Maybe send them a card, text or email with a specific message.   I can't take credit.  He writes the best messages.  He always knows exactly what to say.  I guess that's because He knows people's hearts.  Sometimes I know what's going on and sometimes I don't.  That doesn't really matter.  My job is to be obedient.  

Sometimes He'll ask me to pay someone a visit.  It may be to lay hands on them and pray.  It may be to check in on someone, chat and stir their faith.  It's so common for people to get caught up in life and loose sight of God -- even though He's right there in their midst.  

God knows when people need a special, intimate touch from Him.  He makes sure I am equipped with everything I need for every situation.  It could be knowledge,  wisdom,  love,  kindness,  joy,  hugs,  prayers,  the gift of gab... even finances.  He's a gift giver.  I don't think I've ever visited with anyone, on God's behalf, where He hasn't dropped a little something special in their heart.

Like the other day, for example, I was driving home from a meeting with my prayer partner when God said, "Let's stop by and see Carolyn and Jim!"  Instead of going left to my house, I took a right and went to their house.  What a delightful time we had over a cup of tea.  Someone else was visiting them that God wanted to chat with -- a new Christian who needs a miracle of healing.  It was a lovely afternoon.  I told some stories, encouraged this new brother and before he left, we all gathered around and prayed for him.  We are believing God is at work!   What's really great is...

I never really know exactly what God is doing, 

but He's always doing so much more than I think!

There are people and ministries that I pray for regularly.  Some of those people know me, and some don't.  It's funny how God can put such a love in your heart for the people you are interceding for.  Many of them don't even know that God's employed someone to pray for them.  Just the other day, in fact, I received a call from a dear friend.  

"I want you to know,"  she said,  

"God has put you on my heart 

and I've been really praying for you lately!"  

I responded boldly... "Thank you dear sister! 

THANK YOU!   THANK YOU!   THANK YOU!  

I have needed it!"

When my dad was alive, he was confined to a wheel chair for years.  I noticed that every day he would take time to call people -- to check in on people who had no one -- to give a friendly hello and remind people that someone cared enough to call.  WOW!  There's so much wisdom in that.  What a ministry!

Tonight I ran out in my RED ballet flats for church service.  The message was entitled, "Stop trying to be a Christian and just be one!"   

Sometimes we overlook the importance of the simplest things:  

 A visit  --  A phone call  --  A note.  

Those ministries -- when done in partnership 

with the Holy Spirit-- are power-packed,  

meaningful and life-changing!  

When we all gathered around the table at Carolyn and Jim's the other day, I said to their guest...

"Would you mind if I prayed for you?  

It's just a prayer."  

Then I laughed and said...  

"Well, I shouldn't say  'JUST' a prayer,  

after all,  it could be the prayer that changes your life!"  

We are believing for that!

In Red shoes, 

Gail