Day 322

It's Day 322 of  The Red Shoe Project.  My Ruby Reds are on my feet and I have hit the road to visit my mom for a couple days.  First thing this morning, I checked in with God and gave Him my day.  I asked Him to bless it and am believing that He is directing my path.

"Trust in the Lord will all your heart.

Lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will direct your path."

Proverbs 3:5-6

That said, I know that He is aware of every step that I take and is in control of every situation I encounter.  How comforting.  It's good to have a best friend and constant companion that is omnipotent, (all-powerful).  His nick name is:

"Almighty God!"

Today God has been continually reminding me to TRUST HIM.  He knows that I am human and thereby have difficulty understanding some of the things of God.  The Holy Spirit has that wonderful characteristic of being omniscient,  (all-knowing).  I don't.   Just because God tells me what He's going to do, doesn't mean I understand how that's going to happen.  Most often I don't have a clue.

Standing on the promises of God -- Believing by faith that God will do what He says He will do -- Whew!  It has it's challenges.  Rarely can see the BIG PICTURE.  And even if I could, His divine plan often doesn't seem do-able -- at least not in human terms.

"With man this is impossible,

but with God all things are possible!"

Matthew 19:26

Remember when I was talking about the person who spoke a word over me that was in opposition to the word God spoke over me?  God told me go THIS way and someone else told me to go THAT way.  I'm finding that people do that all the time.  They say things like:

 "That could never happen."  

or  "I wouldn't go that way!"  

or  "That's crazy!"  

They mean well, but they don't realize that sometimes they are speaking a word to me that's opposite of what God has said.  Without realizing it, that can cause DOUBT when I should be operating in FAITH.  Hmmmm.

Okay, so as I wonder how often I've been the one who has unknowingly said something like that, I am realizing that I can't fix what other people say.  Instead, I have to recognize when people are saying those things to me, and disassemble those words accordingly.  Like an expert on the bomb-squad going in and disassembling a bomb before it goes off,  I need to take apart an opposing word  before it impacts my behavior.  I have to defuse it!  

I don't have to make a big deal about it.  I can take care of things without anyone knowing the better.  I don't have to explain the details of God's plan.  I don't have to win everyone to my way of thinking.   Hey...  I have trouble understanding it all myself, why would I think that others would embrace it, when it doesn't even concern them?  

Yeah... often it's best to defuse quietly and move on.  Perhaps what is really happening is that I am looking to others for reassurance, confidence and support, when what I should be doing is talking to God about it.  
(Just thinking out loud.)

Sometimes God just says 

"TRUST ME!"  

Remember when Moses lead the Israelites out of captivity and they came to the Red Sea?  He shouted to them...

"Do not be afraid.  Stand firm 

and you will see the deliverance 

the LORD will bring you today."

Exodus 14:13

Take a moment to Read Exodus 14.  I know that many of you know that story.  Sometimes it's not enough to just remember the story.  You don't get the full impact.  For me,  reading it gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to anoint it.  That's when it comes right off the page and God makes it real to me, personally.  I don't want to miss that!

That's what God spoke to me today.  Now, I'm going to slip off my RED shoes and meditate on it.  I'm going to let it marinate -- simmer -- allow it time for the fullness of it's meaning to embrace my heart. 

Talk to you tomorrow, 

Gail

Day 321

I hate to say it, but Day 321 of  The Red Shoe Project was another day of cleaning.  In the morning I had on my RED work shoes and did yard work.  (You know how I hate yard work!)  And in the afternoon, I popped on my RED flip flops  and finished off cleaning the bathroom.  If you want to get a glimpse of Heaven, all you have to do is walk into my bathroom.  First thing in the morning, the sun is shining right in the window and everything is sparkling.  It's so bright in there it's almost blinding!  LOL.

To be honest, I've been enjoying the solitude.  Most days, I'm up and out the door, living life and looking for God.  Cleaning days are quiet days.  Sometimes I like quiet.  I like the peacefulness of it all.  When I've had enough quiet, I listen to the Bible on CD.  If I'm going to scrub away for hours, I might as well take in the Word of God while  I'm at it.

I've learned the importance of filling my mind with something profitable.  Have you ever noticed that if your mind is empty for too long, the devil will try depositing his garbage in there.  At one point today I had to shout at him,

"Don't drop your garbage off here!  

It's private property -- now get off!"

For a while there, I had myself a little prayer meeting.  I don't tolerate the enemy stepping into my camp like that.  Really?  Who does he think he is?  The fact is, too often we let the enemy walk right in and treat him almost as if he were a guest.  Our culture has become so politically correct, it's started to seep into our spiritual camp.  God forbid that we offend the enemy.  NOT!!!   TRASH is TRASH, no matter how you look at it.  And if there's one thing that I've learned from all this cleaning it's this...

You have to stay on top of it,

otherwise, it builds up fast!

I can't help but think of that old pentecostal chorus...

"I went to the enemy's camp and I

took back what he stole from me.

Took back what he stole from me. 

Took back what he stole from me.

I went to the enemy's camp and I 

took back what he stole from me.

He's under my feet!  He's under my feet!

He's under my feet!  He's under my feet!

He's under my feet!  He's under my feet!

Satan is under my feet!"

Of course, when we would sing this chorus, we wouldn't do it quietly. We would make gestures with our hands as if we were grabbing back what the enemy had stolen from us. And when we got to the part about his being under our feet, we'd jump up and down and stomp on that carpet like there was no tomorrow!

That said, I feel a little prayer meeting coming on right now!  What better time to tackle the enemy and take back what's mine?  Why don't you join me?  Why not stop what you're doing right now, get in the zone and battle it out with the enemy.  I'm serious!

"I will repay you for the years 

the locusts have eaten."

Joel 2:25

I don't know about you, but I'm putting on my praise 

and my RED dancing shoes and going for it!

Gail 

Day 320

I'm making a note to myself:  Day 320 of  The Red Shoe Project was a wonderful day!  Before I even got out of bed, I sat up and gave the day to the Lord!  I asked for His divine guidance and prayed that His perfect will would be accomplished in my life.  Then, since I didn't have an appointment until 12:30,
I took my time getting ready.  I washed up, got dressed and made myself a big cup of hot tea.  It was beautiful outside, so I took my drink out onto the lanai and sipped it slowly as I chatted with the Lord, lifting up several friends before Him in prayer.

While doing that, the Lord told me to turn to a specific Bible passage found in Ezekiel.  I read it out loud and the Lord spoke several interesting things to me before instructing me to read it over and over again in various translations.  He's teaching me something and I have no doubt, that in the near future, there will be an activity attached to it.  He uses this Work-Study approach with me often.  First He shows me something in His Word.  Then when I least expect it, He announces...

"Put on your RED shoes, Gail!  

We're heading outdoors for a living illustration!"  

Off I go, into the world, to experience His Word in action.  I love that!  Studying the Bible is important, but if I read the Word over and over again, and never actually live it, what good is that?  If that's the case, it's just a story.  Not to mention, how would I ever know if all the things discussed on the pages worked, if I didn't test them out myself?

The Book of Acts is the story of the Christian church and if you look at it closely, you'll find it has no ending.  That's because it's still in progress.  The Acts of the Holy Spirit are still taking place today.  You and I are the characters that the Holy Spirit is filling and working through in today's world.    I bear witness to that every day as I write The Red Shoe Project. 

Just after twelve, I headed out the door, in my RED shoes,  to meet up for lunch with one of my "Rubies."  Oh what a delightful afternoon we had in the cafe talking about the things of God.  We shared stories, dreams, secrets and prayers.  All I can say is:  

God is at work!

When I returned home, I decided to make a delicious home made soup.  My youngest daughter is such a darling, and I know how she loves my cooking.  It will be a surprise for her when she gets home from work tonight.  It is my way of blessing her!  I also love to cook.  I enjoyed listening to my worship music on Pandora as I chopped all the fresh veggies!  Why do I mention all that here?  BALANCE.  Our life has to have balance in it.

As my soup was cooking on the stove, I meandered into my prayer closet to spend time worshipping the Lord.  Sometimes, I just know that the Holy Ghost is going to meet me there in a demonstrative way.  It's as if I'm aware that He's penciled Himself into my calendar.

"I'll meet you in the 

Prayer Chamber 

at 4 p.m."

As I paced back and forth, singing quietly to the music, I remember thinking to myself that there were other things I could be doing.  Yet that quiet voice within me whispered confidently, 

"No!  Wait it out.  He's coming!"

Oh yes... He did, in fact, show!  He said some awesome things to me.  Some were powerful confirmations of things I've been sensing in my spirit.  Others were directives.  He even gave me a vision of a man with a huge infected wound on his leg that He was going to heal.  I will bathe that one in prayer.  

I ended the day watching a two hour teaching on the internet by one of my favorite preachers.  Talk about a feast.  My spirit ate it up as if it were my evening meal.  What can I say?  I'm a growing girl with a healthy appetite for God's Word and solid teaching!

Day 320 has come to an end.  It has been a full day.  It has been a blessed day.  

Thank You Jesus!

The girl in RED shoes, 

Gail

Day 319

Today was Day 319 of  The Red Shoe Project.  I had an early morning appointment, so I was up, dressed, and out the door in my RED shoes  by 9:00.  Later I had lunch with my spiritual mentor.  We spent time talking about ministry, Scripture and what God is doing in our midst.  We capped it all off with prayer and I headed back home to tackle some office work.   NOT!

I just sat down for a second.  

I don't know what hit me. 

 It was still pretty early in the day.  

Next thing you know... 

I was out!

My mentor just talked to me last week about the importance of REST.  

-  Relax. 

-  Take a break!

-  Recharge one's batteries. 

- Take a load off. 

- Put your feet up.

- Chill out.

- Don't do anything!

I've noticed that as I teach under a greater anointing and as I pray more and more, I am wiped out the following day, big time!  It took me by surprise today because it didn't hit until almost 24 hours after I ministered.  I was probably running on the fumes of adrenaline.  I wonder how those big, powerful preachers do it?  Perhaps they have worked up an immunity to it?  

Years ago I gave a close friend of mine a special gift.  It was an afternoon of flight instruction that cumulated in actually flying a small plane with an instructor.  I was invited to go along for the ride.  I've never been overly fond of those tiny planes, but it was nice enough. All was going well until the instructor said, "Now I'd like you to try this."  I guess the student didn't quite do it right because the plane went into a nose dive. 

It couldn't have been more than fifteen seconds, yet somehow it seemed as if each second was stretched to capacity.  Time slowed down significantly.  Those moments were dream-like.  I remember seeing my purse, that I had placed on the seat beside me,  floating in the air by my head.  It just sort of hung there in space.  In the background,  I could hear the frustration in the voice of the teacher as he tried to pull out of the dive without success.  Right around that time I remember thinking, "I'll just close my eyes now."   And that's exactly what I did.   Instantly,  I was in the prayer closet of my mind, praying in another language.  Within seconds, the plane was back in the instructor's control and all was well. No one panicked.  That was a really good thing!  LOL.

I am heeding the words of my experienced mentor and making it a priority to pencil  "REST" into my schedule... especially after days of ministry.  The last thing that I want is to CRASH and BURN.   Yeah... I really want to avoid that at all costs.  With that thought in mind, I am heading off to bed early tonight.

"My Presence will go with you, 

and I will give you rest."

Exodus 33:14

In RED shoes, 

Gail