Day 36

It's was a bit cooler than usual in Florida today, so yes, I was spotted out and about town, sporting my RED ankle boots, on this 36th Day of  The Red Shoe Project.  One of those stops was at Living Word Christian Bookstore for my weekly Bible Study Group. On average, there's about 10 of us women that get together to dig deeper into God's Word under the direction of The Holy Spirit.

Today we talked about ..."Fearing the Lord".  

What does that mean?    Are we to be afraid of God?

It was a great discussion, and although I can't share everything from that 2 hour class, I did want to bring up one particular point of interest.  So many of us can totally relate to God as Our Father...  Daddy... Papa.   All of the women in this group have strong relationships with God.  Each of them could tell you countless, personal examples of the close, loving relationship they have with Him.

But then we veered off into a little bit of a different direction.  We talked about some of the Names of God that describe His great power.  Names like:

 Almighty God.   The Righteous Judge.   My Deliverer.

The Lord of Hosts of Heaven's Armies.    God Most High.

The All Sufficient One.    My Front & Rear Guard.   My Provider.

God of Glory.   King of Kings & Lord of Lords.   My Righteousness.

Suddenly... a quiet, Holy HUSH came upon us.  You could feel the whole atmosphere in the room change.  Recognizing God's Presence, we just stopped everything right there and sat quietly in awe of Him.  Wow!  Worthy is His Name!

Here's the paradox.  On the one hand, He's Our Father.  Like a child, we sit in Papa's lap. We hug Him. We hold Him.  We rest our head upon His chest and listen to His heartbeat.  We laugh.  We cry.  We share out uttermost secrets with Him.  We are safe.  We are loved.

On the other hand, we recognize that there's a whole other side to Our Father.  He may be Our Father, but He's also God Almighty! The Righteous Judge.  The Deliverer.  The King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  (You get the picture). 

So here's the golden nugget I gleaned from that:

If God is all that and more... how small my cares and concerns are in contrast to who He is.  Yet... they are anything but insignificant to Him!  He has convinced me that He is MORE than able to deliver me, provide for me, understand me, position me, fight for me, etc. etc. etc.  

"Be still and know that I am God!"

Psalm 46.10

Be still?  that means... 

Don't Worry!  Don't Squirm!  Don't be Concerned!   Don't be so Uncomfortable!  Don't Pace!  Don't Struggle!  Why?  Because...

He may be My Father... but He's also GOD!

Now I can walk anywhere, in my RED SHOES, in quiet CONFIDENCE that He is Able!

Gail

Day 35

It's Day 35 of The Red Shoe Project.  

What a productive day!

RED socks around the house.

RED flats to walk the dog. 

RED boots as I headed outdoors for appointments.

Checked off everything on my TO DO List!

Check.  Check.  Check.

Now it's time to just SIT and BE QUIET...

To LISTEN for His still, quiet voice.

Enough said.

No more shoes tonight.

Gail

           

Day 34

It's Day 34 of  The Red Shoe Project and out of necessity I have taken my white Niki sneakers and painted them RED.  LOL!  What can I say?  I can't be putting off my daily workout due to lack of  proper footwear... and this will work out just fine!

I've been pondering this whole "bike" parallel with "living by faith", these past few days. Do you remember your first two wheel bike? I think I was about 6 years old.  My dad bought a second hand two-wheeler from someone in the neighborhood. It was originally red and white stripes, but my dad spray painted it gold for a fresh new look.

To a young kid in the 1960s, a bike was a total necessity!  You became a super-hero on a bike, by going what seemed to be "faster than a speeding bullet!"  Not to mention that your world expanded, big time!  In those days, there were two ways kids got around the neighborhood.  1) You walked  or  2) You rode your bike.  Parents didn't drive their kids everywhere the way they do today.

Back then, somewhere around 9 or 10 a.m., you're Mom literally shuffled you out the door stating, "Go Play Outside!"  The Neighborhood was your playground.  You returned at noon for lunch. And then you weren't expected back until 5:00 for dinner.

Without a bike, the neighborhood consisted of your front porch, your yard, and your street, at best.  But with a bike... the neighborhood boundaries enlarged significantly!  One's only restriction was time. You had to be back in time for the meal.  Remember... in those days, there were no cell phones to call home.

Taking all that into consideration, you can imagine the importance of not only receiving a bike of your own... but learning how to ride it well enough so that you could go "off the street" and explore the world.

 Decades later, I can still remember the grueling process of learning to ride.  I walked out to the back yard in the morning, and there it was parked in the driveway.  No one instructed me. It was more like, "Figure it out and Practice it until you get it."

With that, I positioned myself on the bike and began to test it out.  That balance thing was tough!

Try.  Fall over.  Try again.  Fall over.
Try again.  Go for 2 seconds.  Fall over.
Try again.  Go for 2 seconds.  Fall over.

That went on all morning. I just couldn't seem to stay up for very long.  I'm sure the thought of giving up crossed my mind many times.  But after lunch, there I was, again, positioned on the bike, determined to make it happen.

One... Two... Three... Four seconds up, then boom, down again.  That's ok, that was progress!

The afternoon was more of the same.  Relentlessly, I stood the bike back up and gave it another go... and another go and another go.  Over and over again for hours.  It was harder than I thought.
One more try.  Another one more try.  And another.

Finally,  later in the afternoon, the 4 seconds turned into 7.  The 7 seconds worked up to 8, 9 , 10 seconds and more.  Soon, I was cruising up and down the driveway!  I was doing it!  Not perfectly, (of course), not yet anyways.

But, I was well on my way to mastering the skill of bike riding!  In due time I would be out and about with all the other kids my age... Going here... Going there. Searching and seeking adventure, wherever it could be found.

Now you know why mastering this "living by faith" thing is so important to me. It's just the grown up version of bike riding!

So, today I'm off... RED sneakers and all, to practice some more.  Before you know it... I'll be conquering the world for Christ!  And having a blast doing it!

Happy riding,

Gail

Day 33

Month 2... Day 33 of  The Red Shoe Project  - I opened my eyes, and there it was in big, bold letters, hanging on the wall, directly in front of me:

" B E L I E V E "

Along with it came the voice of God:

"You're on your way, Gail.  Just remember... 

 BELIEVING is a mindset.  

Every morning you can choose to believe 

that I've got a plan for you...

 that I'm in control... 

that I will take care of all your needs... 

and that I will work everything out for the good.  

Or...

you can choose not to believe... 

to take control of your own life, 

to steer your own course, to do it yourself."

Hmmmm... Let's see. Do I even need to think about this one?  Partner with God and everything is possible! There are no limitations. On the other hand,  Do it Alone and all of a sudden... everything shrinks significantly because I am limited, in every way. 

Not that it can't be done alone.  People "do it themselves" all the time. But that's not an option for me.  I've tried that way... on many occasions... and I never like where I end up.  I'm going with the Divine Partnership!

"There is a way that seems right to a man,

but ultimately it leads to death."   

Proverbs 14:12

"With man this is impossible,

but with God all things are possible."

Matthew 19:26

Two is Better than One... 

especially when the other one is God!

Gail