Day 338

Day 338 of  The Red Shoe Project is my "day off" from ministry but not from wearing RED shoes -- And it's certainly not a day off from God.  I don't ever want a day off from God!  I prefer to think of us as "attached at the hip."  That means wherever He goes I go, and wherever I go, He goes.  We are permanently connected -- always by each other's side -- and that's the way I like it!

I've had some very interesting conversations with the Lord lately regarding "matters of the heart."  I  hesitate to discuss such things, even with my Rubies,  because it's "odd"  to say the least.  It's strange to talk about the future, as if it already is, with other people.  I have difficulty understanding it all myself, so I can only imagine how crazy it would sound to others.  But I'm believing God to do what He's said He will do.

"What I have said, that will I bring about;

what I have planned, that will I do."

Isaiah 46:11b

It's only a matter of time -- I will be getting married!

God has spoken in great detail with me about the person I will marry.  That's weird!  Don't get me wrong,  I love that He's doing that, but it's strange all the same.  I have heard the testimonies of people who have claimed this has happened to them --  And now, it's happening to me.  How wonderfully bizarre!

Right after God had this long, detailed conversation with me, I walked into church wondering, "Could God really be that detailed?"  Within minutes the worship leader did something that he usually doesn't do.  He went into a long, drawn out testimony, which he summed up  by saying...

"God is so into the details of our lives!"

When I got back to the car, God asked me to read The Song of Solomon.  He said He wanted to talk to me about something and that specific scriptures would jump off the pages as I read them.   I've tried reading The Song of Solomon before, but without much success.  Every time I read that book, it was as if I hadn't read one word.  Somehow the words went over my head and got lost somewhere in the atmosphere instead of securing themselves in my heart and mind.  I've always chalked that up to bad timing.  Sometimes specific scripture is meant for a specific time in your life.  When that time comes, BOOM! revelation comes with it!

I got home, sat down, opened the Bible to The Song of Solomon and dug in.  Sure enough, a few scriptures jumped out at me, and I took the time to do some research and study.  The commentary in my NIV Study Bible noted that...

 "Marital loves is the strongest, 

most unyielding and invincible force 

in human experience!"

How awesome is that!  God spoke volumes to me during that special time of study.  It was precious!  I didn't have much time however,  to dwell on the whole thing.  The following day, I was scheduled to preach at a women's group, and I was focused on preparing my heart for that.  The day after that, I  was overseeing The Bonfire  and facilitating a Bible group in the evening.  Again, my mind was focused on other things.  But today was my day off!  

Here's what God asked me to do.  Remember yesterday's blog?  I thought I was writing it for you.  Today, however, God told me to go through all my "stuff" and get rid of anything that has an attachment to an old romance -- pictures, gifts, clothing, music, etc. etc.  Really?   Photographs I can understand, but I have some nice gifts that were given to me.  What's with that?

After much heart to heart discussion, I agreed with God that there was no profit in holding on to anything that connected me with a past love.   That may sound harsh to some, but after reading The Song of Solomon, I believe that such a thorough act of "heart-cleaning"  is crucial in my preparation  for a long life of love with that special someone God has for me.

When all was done, the Spirit of God fell upon me and into the Prayer Chamber I went.  

"God!"   I cried out.  

"Cleanse every room of my heart!  

Wash me clean that I might start afresh!

Most importantly, Lord... 

Let no one ever sit on 

the Throne of my heart.  

Only You!  

You are the True Lover of my Soul!  

First and Foremost! -- 

Always and Forever!" 

In RED shoes, 

Gail

Day 337

Today is Day 337 of The Red Shoe Project.  I was out the door in my RED shoes  and off to The Bonfire, early this morning.  What a powerful time of ministry!  My sister, Kea, spoke on the depth of The Father's love for each of us and exhorted us to draw closer to Him this holiday season.

Right prior to her teaching, an insightful prophetic word came forth in the group in which...

The Lord pleaded to the people 

to not only open their hearts, 

but to make room in their hearts for Him.

I found that so interesting.  Is God insinuating that people's hearts are filled with other things? --  so much so, that there's NO ROOM  for Him?  Hmmm.  I wonder what those things are?

If there is a throne in our heart for God, what or who do we allow to sit there?  That's a good question to ask the Holy Spirit.

"God... reveal to me What or Who is

sitting on the throne of my heart?"

Growing up, it was common knowledge in my family that Dad was 

"The King of the Castle!"  He was the father -- the head of the household -- the provider -- the protector -- a wonderful husband and an awesome dad!  None of us every questioned his authority.  

Dad had a chair -- a big beautiful recliner.    When he came home from work, he sat and relaxed in that chair.  He enjoyed conversation with his family in that chair.  Sometimes he even made decisions in that chair.  Nobody else ever really sat in HIS chair... at least NEVER when he was around!  I wonder... 

"Is it possible to sit on the 

throne of your own heart?"  

 Yikes!  Just saying that makes me uncomfortable.  But it happens.  

As the prophetic word continued in our meeting, God added...

"Unlock the doors of 

your heart and let Me in.

Trust Me!"

Hmmm.   Doors... (plural).  Are there rooms in our heart that we keep locked up?  What's in those rooms?  Memories?  Skeletons?  Secret Sin?  Hurts and pains perhaps?  Old loves?   Wow!  That's something to think about. 

God doesn't want us to lock those things away!

 He wants to help us clean them out.

God is gentle and loving when it comes to our hearts.  His touch is tender.  He never barges in.  That's not His way.   He asks like he did today  and He waits until we're ready.  He understands that it takes time to trust.  

Funny thing is... every time I've trusted Him in the past, I ended up wondering afterwards,  "Why was I so afraid?"  "Why didn't I trust Him sooner?"  I wished I hadn't wasted so much time before letting Him in!  All that did was prolong the blessing of cleansing and healing. 

Tonight, as I examine my own heart, 

I'm compelled to trust Him 

more often and more quickly!

In RED shoes, 

Gail

Day 336

Today is  Day 336 of  The Red Shoe Project.  I just finished preaching in my RED shoes at the Church of Hope -- "Heart to Heart"   gathering.  What a night!  I am so thankful to the many friends who came out to show their support and hear a word from God  --  Not to mention a big THANK YOU to all my "Rubies"  who couldn't make it, but prayed that God would move in a special way!  I can't begin to tell you what that did for me.  When I got on the platform and looked out into the crowd,  I saw so many of my girlfriends.  It was such an encouragement to me!

THANK YOU!

I spoke here a year ago.  A lot has happened in a year.  The Red Shoe Project has  transformed me.  Tonight was my night to talk all about that and share some of the things I have learned.  I preached a message entitled, 5 Keys to Unlocking the Fullness of God.  I had to trim the message significantly to fit into tonight's time frame, but I hope to get the full message on video and uploaded on YouTube.  Stay Tuned.

Tonight was a real joy for me.  This is the first time this year, God has opened the door for me to speak to a large audience again, and He was faithful to join me.  Earlier today, I asked Him... "Is there anything you want to say tonight?"  His response was, "Just let me lead."   I did my best to do just that.

I got to pray with several people and the feedback I received was fabulous.  Many said that they have been inspired to take their own personal journey to the heart of God, and one woman that Sister Tammy and I prayed for proclaimed she was healed before she left the church.  AMEN!

Women are Hungry for more of God!  They want to win the Lost to Christ!  They want to lay hands on people and see them healed.  They are tired of hearing everyone else's stories.  They want their own stories with God. They want to know God in a deeper way and they want to be used by God.

Seeds were planted 

tonight in the soil 

of people's hearts.

And the Holy Spirit 

watered it!

By the way... It's month twelve of The Red Shoe Project -- only 29 days to go.  I am expecting great things in this last month.  Tomorrow morning,  I will pop on my Ruby Reds once again, and head out to The Bonfire.  

Talk soon,
Gail

Day 335

Day 335 of  The Red Shoe Project just happens to be the day after Thanksgiving -- that's the day that I always set up my Christmas tree and decorate for the holidays.  I popped on my Ruby Reds and set out to do just that.

Seven years ago, I decided to invest in a rather large artificial Christmas tree.  What was unique about this tree was that it had the twinkle lights permanently attached to it.  Who doesn't love twinkle lights?  They make the atmosphere so magical, don't you think?

Decades ago, when I was a little girl,  I remember my father unwinding all the Christmas lights and checking each and every one to make sure it worked.  If one of the lights didn't work, then the whole strand of lights didn't work. It was a tedious process to find out which light didn't work so that you could replace it.

For the past several years, I have noticed more and more of the twinkle lights on my big Christmas tree, no longer functioning.  I took care of that each year by adding my own twinkle lights in the spots where the lights didn't work.  That seemed fine until this year.  When I plugged the tree in -- of the hundreds of lights,  only 5 or 6 lit up.

Oh no!!!  Another menial task.  It took me two whole days to get all the dead Christmas tree lights off the tree.  Two whole days!  What is it with me and menial tasks these days?  That's okay though, because the Lord was with me.  We had quite the chat today about my future.  He told me some interesting things I can look forward to.  It was the strangest thing.  It was as if I had a friend over the house helping me.  Fellowship with Him is getting sweeter and sweeter.


There's an old chorus that goes like this...

"I keep falling in love with Him, over and over and,  over and over again.
 I keep falling in love with Him, over and over and,  over and over again.

It gets sweeter and sweeter as the days go by.  Oh what a love between my Lord and I.

I keep falling in love with Him, over and over and,  over and over again!"

One of my goals in The Red Shoe Project  has been to build an intimate and comfortable relationship with the Lord that's real.  A relationship that mirrors a relationship I would have with another person.  One that's not always on my knees.  One in which I can speak openly and freely as opposed to one in which I speak in King James English.  LOL.   I want to say "normal" -- but I'm not sure that most people would consider all this as "normal,"  if you know what I mean!   

Seriously...  I just want a relationship with God that's  24/7 -- on my part,  not just on His!  Today I saw the beginning of that.  As I was taking the lights off the tree, the Lord was talking to me about life as if He were a person standing right there next to me, helping me.  I love that!  To think that all that came about while doing a menial task!  LOL.

God works in mysterious ways,

His wonders to perform!

In RED shoes, 

Gail