Day 97

 It's Day 97 of The Red Shoe Project.  I popped on my RED sandals early this morning and headed to the last service of this GREAT four day conference.  Mel Tari was the featured speaker and he didn't disappoint us.  He said a lot of great things... but here's what hit my heart with power.


Don't forget 
who you are!
You are a son or daughter of God.

God is pleased 
with you.
And He has 
called you!

So, fill up with Him each day...
then go out into the world and
pour Him out to the lost!

A few weeks ago, a friend bought me a little journal that I could carry in my purse and encouraged me to write in it the messages, dearest to my heart, that God would have me to share with others.  I've been praying that God would reveal to me what to put in there.  As I left the church meeting this morning and headed to my car, God just dropped "it" into my heart.  I love that!  In a matter of a handful of seconds... He just lays it out simple and clear as day.
"Put that in your little book"  He says.

"I need you Jesus.
 Come to my rescue.
 Where else can I go?
 There's no other name 
 by which I am saved.
 Capture me with grace.
 I will follow you."


Ok... so I know that little story seems so simple and sweet to you. But as I was writing that,  the lyrics to "I need you Jesus" came on the radio and just wrecked me.   I had to stop everything I was doing  and just worship Him.  He was beckoning me to come sit with Him a moment... and quite frankly, when He tugs on my heart like that, I'm learning to STOP everything and soak.

Those are "NEAR" moments in which He pours life into my soul.  I can't push those aside any more.  I wont!  He means too much to me now
to overlook those little touches of
His presence.


It's like your lover, grabbing ahold of your hand, and pulling you close.  Everything else fades into the background as your head and heart swirl with a love beyond imagination.  What's better than that?   Nothing!

Ok... I got nothing else for you now.  My head is in the attack of Glory.  I'm off to enjoy more of Him.

"But isn't the conference over now?"
  Oh no, my friend... it's just begun!

Til tomorrow,
Gail

Day 96

I was found wearing Red sneakers and jeans on this 96th Day of  The Red Shoe Project.  Comfy shoes and comfy clothes are a must at the Christian conference I'm attending.  For starters, I arrived early and waited in line to insure a decent seat upfront.  (RED high heels would not have worked for that.)  Then, once in the auditorium,  it's not unusual to be jumping up and down or dancing your little heart out before the Lord!  One could always kick off their shoes, if need be, but I personally prefer not to.

Here's the real issue though... nobody cares if you jump up and down, dance, or not. But if your heart is bursting with joy and you want to and you don't... Well then, You missed out!  We live in America... we're free to dance!   Even better... we live in Christ, and we are free to dance before Him!  That is a more than acceptable and Biblical offering of praise and worship unto the Lord.  If it was good enough for Miriam the sister of Moses, and King David, then it's good enough for me.   However,  let's be honest here.  We are way too conservative, structured, religious and restricted than we care to admit.  Like really? Dancing in church? How does that happen?  Actually, it happens all the time, just maybe not in your church.  It's really quite delightful!


Have you ever had your cell phone die on you well before the end of the day?  What's with that?  It was on the charger all night, but for some odd reason, it didn't charge correctly.  Without notice,  it's done - powerless - shut off -  nothing happening!  And there's not a thing you can do about it, but plug it in and let it recharge.
Last night was like that for me.  I hadn't even left the conference grounds and I just shut down.  There was nothing left.  I had to come home and re-charge. So I made it a point to rest a little longer this morning.  But there he was waiting for me as soon as I opened my eyes -- The enemy of my soul!  Yes, even in my RED shoes, the devil came out full force, blasting me with His favorite weapon:  A machine gun that fires one lie after another in quick succession.

I was a bit of a mess this morning as craziness attacked from all directions. The good news is that I have a dear sister who loves me and prays for me in time of need.  I love my friend Bonnie!  When I'm down and out,  she's not down with me.  She's covering my back.  She's firing away with scripture.  She's speaking truth into my life so that I can see through the deception. She jumps in front of me, shielding me with love, so that I can catch my breath and pull myself together.

After all, we're committed to making this last trimester of our lives count for Christ! This is Divine Sisterhood at its best! We're not messing around here!  We mean business!  Where He goes, we will follow!  What He asks, we will do!  We each have our own set of gifts and promises, strengths and weaknesses... but together,  WATCH  OUT!  We're a team on fire for God!

What's better than that?  A bigger team.  And we're trusting God to do just that!  For now... we're practicing our maneuvers, working on divine strategy, sharpening our swords, and storing up our prayers.  Some days, (like today perhaps),  God calls a PRACTICE session.  He wants us to see if we are ready.  He shows us where we're at -- where we're strong, and where we're not.   You see, God never throws you in a battle you can't handle.  He makes sure you have plenty of practice in advance!

So for now, I'm kicking off my RED shoes for the night.
I'll be well rested for whatever tomorrow holds.

Gail

Day 95

Today was Day 95 of The Red Shoe Project.  I may have been the only one in RED shoes at the conference with Heidi & Roland Baker, but EVERYONE was looking for God!!!  People crowded the altars, their hands raised and heads bowed.  Some knelt.  Some laid prostrate.  Singing filled the entire place.  Many waved their hands.  Some waved flags.  People danced with passion.  Prayer was going up to the heavens from every corner and crevice of that auditorium.  Some prayers were in english.  Some were delivered in other languages.  Joy and laughter were not uncommon.  And there was even the blowing of the shofar.  Overall, I'd say the masses were crying out for God!  It was a lovely thing.  I'm sure God was ever so pleased!  And I was glad to be a part of the celebration.

Heidi & Roland Baker are a  husband and and wife ministry team that is quite unique, to say the least.  Both are powerful in their presentations, but in completely different ways.  Their message, however, is the same...

Do whatever you need to do to get in God's presence 

and then just fall in love with Him.

Nothing more.  Nothing less.  

Find that place of intimacy with God, and He'll take care of the rest.

Without hesitation, the people responded to this message in great numbers -- myself included.  Everyone is ready to pack up that "Old Time Religion"   

(Rules,  Regulations,  Structure, Programs, Work, Work, Work!)  

And they are yearning for Divine Intimacy with Our Lord and Savior.  

Oh, that we might be like Abraham and be called... 

"A Friend of God." 

(Not an acquaintance, but a true friend!) 

Conferences can be quite the intense experience, but as I traveled home, I realized that it was time to just "REST in HIM."  No more singing.  No more shouting.  No more praying.  (Not tonight anyway.) 

Like a kid, falling asleep on the ride home from a long day of adventure, I am resting in God's presence -- shoeless --  in my bed -- in my house -- and dreaming of the One I love more than life itself .

His name is JESUS!

Until tomorrow,

Gail

Day 94

Day 94 of The Red Shoe Project was a crazy, rainy day.  It poured non-stop!  That's okay, because sometimes the rain paints a prophetic picture of God raining down blessing on His people. (No umbrellas, please!)

 I was out the door before sunrise to attend the "Champions for Children" Hospital Fundraising Breakfast. There I was sporting the classic RED high heels, and looking for God.  He wasn't difficult to find.  A young teenage girl courageously gave her testimony of how, with God's help, and the support of the hospital team, she was able to overcome the devastating effects of child sexual assault.  I didn't have time to "stick around" after the program.  I had another appointment to attend.  But I couldn't overlook The Holy Spirit's prompting to go over and thank the young girl for sharing her testimony.  Obediently, I headed over to her table,  thanked her, and BOOM! there was God speaking through me,  great words of encouragement to her.   I love that about God!  You see... I don't have to know anything!  All I have to do is follow His lead, and He'll do exactly what He wants to.  That's Divine Partnership at it's best!


Before I knew it, I was on the road and headed to the church for the final session of another "Seeker" class that meets on Thursday mornings.  Today, four of the five attendees all boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord.  The fifth person confessed honestly that he felt that he understood so much more, but that it was all still very much in his head and not in his heart.  On the spot, the Lord revealed to me that unforgiveness  was blocking that passageway.  So again, I followed The Holy Spirit's leading and asked the man about it.  He confirmed that he was harboring unforgiveness and resentment.  Because it was raining so hard, we couldn't leave the building.  So we decided to hold hands and have a closing word of prayer. During this time, the man released all his resentment and unforgiveness, and asked God to take it away and replace it with  a relationship with Him.   Praise God! It was a powerful meeting!

After resting briefly in the afternoon, I was once again in RED shoes and heading off with my daughter to the Heidi Baker Conference.  What a POWERFUL worship service!  I had forgotten how some people are divinely gifted to usher large groups of people right into the presence of the Living God!  Sometimes God can just do it all -- right there -- during worship. He can take care of everything in your life before the Word is even preached.   This type of worship, I know, would be different for some.

They call it "SOAKING" in His presence.  

"Soaking" means...  steeping -- drenching -- sopping -- saturated --

 completely absorbed in.

I closed my eyes and just allowed The Holy Spirit to carry me into the Throne Room of God.  At first I was just praising him quietly.  "Glory... Glory... Glory to You, God."  But before I knew it, I found myself before The King of Kings and weeping profusely.  

In my mind,  I saw a picture of my heart... strangely blackened with disease.  I began to sob as I shouted out...  

"My heart is wicked, Lord!"  "Forgive me!  Please forgive me!" 

To be honest, I thought I'd taken care of everything with God.  But there's something about standing before Him...  How did Isaiah put it?  (Isaiah 6:5 )

"Woe is me! It's all over.  I'm doomed! 

for I am a sinful man."

Now mind you, I'm standing in a church with several hundred people, all worshipping God.  Nobody is talking about any of this.  This is all happening within me... to me.  I don't know what everyone else was doing or experiencing.  I can only account for myself... because it was as if nobody else was there.

Right then, I remembered how I had just talked about "unbending the hose"

 -- taking care of the stuff in your life so that God's Spirit could "gush" through you.  Well God showed me a hose... one attached to a power-washer.  He was power-washing all the corners, crevices and vessels of my heart.  The water  was gushing through it,  flushing out the sludge, and the blackness disappeared.

So here's the cherry on top of it all.  It was 10 pm before the preacher even came to the platform.  He talked about all sorts of good things.  But his concluding summery went something like this:

"Intimacy with God is about being vulnerable in His presence.  It's about opening up every part of yourself... every fear to Him.  It's about letting God into every corner of your heart, and allowing Him to pour through you and cleanse you of all sin!"

I looked at my daughter and nodded my head in shock.  I opened my little notebook.  There it was.  During the worship I had written it all down so that I wouldn't forget it.  The preacher had just confirmed verbally - almost word for word -  what had happened to me during the worship. 

Yeh... we serve an amazing God!

See what happens when you wear RED shoes!

Rain... Rain... Don't go away!  

Come again, any day!

Gail