Day 124

Today is Day 124 of  The Red Shoe Project.  It's a beautiful day in sunny Sarasota!  The sun is out. The sky is blue.  There's a light breeze in the air.  
It must be 80 degrees outside.  What's better than that?

I popped on my RED flip flops and headed outdoors to bring Pauly for a walk around the neighborhood.  We weren't
out the door one minute when the nice neighbor lady stopped by to chat.
And then it happened... out of my mouth came an onslaught of negativity.  Yikes!

Where did that come from?  That's not usually my area of difficulty per say.
But... well... I guess,  Today it was!  
"Jesus... Please forgive me!" 
And I'm not joking when I pray that.  I take very seriously what comes out of my mouth, and though it didn't last very long... I could have kicked myself.  I should have kicked myself. It was totally unnecessary and unprofitable.

The neighbor lady is very nice.  She just crossed the street to say hello and chat a bit.  But somehow, I was caught off guard.  I was tired.  I didn't think quick enough.

"What do I talk to this lady about?"  

"What do we have in common?"  

She mentioned that she liked my new mailbox.  She's interested in getting a new mailbox herself.  Next thing you know... I went into a two minute soliloquy on how the local neighborhood development committee gave me a hard time about my mailbox.

Could I not have found something more uplifting, more interesting, more happy to talk about with her?  Apparently not.  And once I got started,
it was like I couldn't stop myself.  Immediately,
I recognized what was happening, but I couldn't seem to shut it down. - put a lid on it - zip it  -  lock it shut -  and say no more!   Nope...  it just continued to flow from my mouth like water from a hose.   Only this water wasn't refreshing at all.  It was tainted.


Of course now, I can think of all sorts of positive options.  We could have talked about the dog, or the weather, or her mom visiting, how pretty her lawn looked, how her boys were getting so big.   And actually,  we did end up talking about those things once I changed direction.  As soon as I had the chance, I nicely ended our conversation and carried on walking the dog.  Whew!  Finally I was out of there.

 Yes... I was mad at myself for going there... on negative ground.  I heard it with my own ears and I didn't like the way it sounded.  It was a messy speech of excuses and emotions that was going down from the moment it started.  Sometimes I can rescue things in mid air and turn them around for the good, but this wasn't one of those occasions.

After asking God to flat out forgive me.  I spent the day, open for divine feedback.  I guess what stands out the most was the fact that this woman just wanted to chat.  That was so obvious.  Maybe she needed a friend?  and I cut her short.

I thought the problem was what I said.  And to be honest... most people probably would not have even picked up on it.  My ears tend to be overly sensitive to negativity.  Perhaps I could have rebounded, changed the direction of the conversation, and then just listened.  I'm not saying that what I did wasn't wrong.  It was and The Holy Spirit checked me on it.  I get that.  But what God pointed out to me was "the need" -- her need.   I was so focused on myself  --  what I said,  how it sounded,  how it might be perceived, how I can do so much better  --  that  I missed what was really happening. I cut the visit short.  I cut off the opportunity to minister to her.  All I really had to do was be a friend and listen.

Well, I can still do that.  I'll have to make it a point to get my feet, in RED shoes, and get over to her house this week.  Perhaps I'll bring her some daisies.

"Don't you think that daisies are the friendliest flowers?"

Meg Ryan - You've Got Mail

Lesson learned!   

Gail

Day 123

Today was Day 123 of The Red Shoe Project.  I was out of the house by
10 am, wearing white pants and a linen shirt,  along with the cutest pair of  casual, RED slip ons.  

I met up with a wonderful friend and business colleague at Starbucks to discuss some important business matters.  We are both entrepreneurs and today is Friday, so we casually sipped our iced lattes, outdoors under an umbrella, in our casual Friday attire, and discussed strategic planning.
How great is that?  This is networking at it's best!

Oh... if relationship building was always that easy.  I love it when I naturally connect with someone.  It's effortless.  I can totally just be myself.  It's as if there's nothing I  can do to turn the other person away.  For some reason, we're just divinely connected. The relationship is somehow part of a big plan that will someday all make sense.   That's such a contrast to all the people I've tried to connect with over the years and no matter what I've done,  (jumped through hoops, over-extended myself, gone above and beyond, you name it... )  and it never came together.  Talk about inviting God into your business day?  I'll take one of these divine set-ups, any time!

As afternoon rolled around, a much anticipated lunch date with a pal was canceled due to illness.  Even so, I found myself in my friend's neighborhood doing another errand.  Once I was done, I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself.  I guess heading home was the most obvious option.  But no...
the Lord dropped a rather strange request in my heart.
In obedience, I found myself driving around my friend's neighborhood, singing soft worship choruses and praying for my friend and her family that the peace of God would fall upon them and that healing would touch their household.  After about fifteen minutes of that, I thought, "What a nice thing!  Okay, I'll go home now."  But no, it wasn't God's time to leave just yet.  I kept thinking to myself... "I think I better do one more loop around the neighborhood." Off I went, driving up and down the streets,  praying for my friend while singing lovely choruses of worship.  It was the most peaceful drive around.

 Many loops later, I pulled over by the waterfront and chatted with God awhile.  I asked Him for a sign about something we have been discussing as of late.  Right then and there, a monarch butterfly passed by.  That was so funny, because God just told me a couple days ago, when I was talking to Him about this same matter, that He would give me a monarch butterfly.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but as this particular butterfly fluttered right by me,  I remembered God telling me that.  I took several minutes to look for more butterflies, but there were none.  There was just that one... at that precise moment... and then it vanished.  Hmmm.  A God thing?

I drove around a little longer, praying for my friend, and finally felt the green light to go home.  My little neighborhood prayer ride turned out to be an hour and a half excursion, with Christ as my co-pilot.  Seriously!  I never do such things.  I wouldn't even think to do such a thing.  And even if I did,  I would grow weary of it pretty quickly.  But today it was God's idea.

2 Chronicles 16:9 says...

"The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth 

in order to strengthen those whose hearts 

are fully committed to Him."

We serve an awesome God.  He knows when our hearts are crying out to Him.  He knows how to interpret our heart's cry, even when we don't.  My friend has not been feeling well, and a heaviness had rested upon her and her household. I believe God had me driving around her home and praying for a reason... perhaps to bring a special comfort to a heart in distress.  Who knows?  Only God.

I finished off the evening attending a concert at my church featuring: 

Tenth Avenue North. 

 What a wonderfully uplifting event. Great music and great friends!   

I had an awesome time.

I drove home, kicked off my Ruby Reds  and began to blog.
Thank you, dear friends, for tuning in tonight.
God's blessing be upon you.
Gail

Day 122

On this 122nd Day of  The Red Shoe Project, I am amazed at how many pairs of RED shoes and socks  that I've already worn out! (LOL).  One pair of shoes is just no good for anything anymore.  They are coming apart at the seams.  They were so comfortable, I just wore them all the time.  I also have a pair of RED socks that are beyond darning. (LOL).  They wore out mostly because Pauly, my dog, insisted on pulling them off my feet while I was blogging.  He thinks it's a game.  And well, he ripped the hole in them a little more and more with each tug-of-war.

Overall, worn out shoes are due to excessive wearing 

and in my case, that's a good sign.  It shows that I mean business. 

I really am 

Walking out my Faith 

each day in RED shoes!

"Walking it out"

That's what I want to talk to you about today.

I've been in and out of the house several times today, in several different pairs of RED shoes,  and in the coming and going, to and from different places, I have been honored to lift several people up in prayer.  A few people, in particular, are endeavoring to walk down their own Yellow Brick Road filled with challenges beyond measure. They are bravely putting one foot in front of the other, taking on one challenge at a time,  one step at a time, and walking it out!  

They are acknowledging God's presence 

and asking Him to help.  

• They are asking God for guidance and direction in their life.
• They are asking God for courage to do what needs to be done. 
• They are asking God for wisdom in what to say and how to say it. 
• They are asking God for provision where there is none. 
• They are asking God to open and close doors as He deems fit. 
• They are asking God for favor.

Sometimes that's the hardest part... TO ASK GOD.  It shouldn't be, but it often is.  Why?  Mostly because of our self reliant attitude that states... "I can take care of myself - I don't need help!"  Of course it's a good thing to want to work hard and do a good job at whatever you put your mind to,  BUT  if all that gets in the way of partnering with God... then it's not so good. 

It took me a long time for this to sink in...

God so desperately wants me to be in  PARTNERSHIP  with Him.

He wants to take all that I have to offer and intertwine 

it with His Spirit, making  it an awesome "combined" effort.

The perfect mix of... God and me.

That's what blesses Him!

Too often the "solo-performer" is all about his/her own spectacular display.  The result may be quite fabulous,  but it's solo.  It's missing something.  

It's missing God!   And with that, the individual has limited their presentation to what is humanly possible.  

 Don't you see?  He doesn't want to be invited to "watch" the program.  

He wants to be invited to be  "part" of the program.  

Many times I've had such good intentions 

in wanting to do something for God. 

But His desire is that I do something with God!

And when God is involved... that's when things come out of the box!

That's when the fireworks go off!

That's when the anointing falls!

That's when  "POW!"  happens.

That's when the GLORY sets in!

That's when the onlookers are wrecked!

They can't understand it.  -  They can't take it in.

Their brains can't fully process it 

because it goes beyond human boundaries.

Their mouths drop open.

They are brought to tears.

They're speechless.

They stand in awe.

They don't even know how to respond.

In reality, GOD can blow every one of us out of the water. 

 There's no competition with God.  

When was the last time, you placed the stars in the heavens? or created a man from the dirt of the earth?  chiseled out a Grande Canyon? or healed someone of cancer?  God has nothing but stellar performances each and every time.  We should be honored that He's willing to look in our direction, let alone establish a relationship with us, mentor us and partner with us. 

Do you get it?  He wants to walk with YOU and ME,  the way He walked with Adam in the garden. That's what blesses Him!   

So  "BRAVO!"  to all of you who are taking the initiative of entering into that Divine Partnership.  It's not easy!  I never said it would be easy!  But it's rewards are crazy, awesome!  And better yet... it pleases Him!

You may not be wearing 

RED shoes, but God

will get the Glory 

for your life!

I'm praying tonight for All of You who are "walking it out!"

Gail

Day 121

Day 121 of  The Red Shoe Project was a damp, dreary day of down pouring rain.  We rarely get those kind of days here in Sarasota FL.  Regardless, I still headed out the door this morning in my RED shoes, and drove with a friend to visit another friend in need of a little love and fellowship.

My friend had a few errands to accomplish on the drive there, so while she stopped and ran into a couple of stores, I stayed in the car and chatted with God.  I found myself praying for a variety of people that God brought to mind. That's not the way I usually do things, but I was glad God was able to use me that way.  It's funny, because it made me realize that God probably brings my name to people's minds on occasion, and they, likewise,  lift me up in prayer -- and I don't ever even know it! God does things like that.
It's nice knowing that God taps people on the shoulder from time to time and asks them to pray for me.  He does that for You too.  With that in mind, I tried to pray thoroughly on their behalf as the Spirit lead me.

My visit was wonderful.  My dear friend was not feeling well.  I was glad to pop in with my RED shoes to say hello and visit for awhile.  It thundered and poured outside, but inside we sat by a stream of love and kindness.   The Holy Spirit is so wise.  He knows what people need... even the ones who don't think they need anything.

When I returned home, later in the afternoon, it was time to close the doors behind me and seek God.  I was so cold that I filled my tub up with hot soapy water, poured in some eucalyptus bath salts and submerged myself for a good half hour soak.  Dimmed lights,  a lit a candle and ear buds pumping worship music delicately into my head provided the perfect atmosphere for meditation.


I know you must be thinking, "Really? How could that possibly be God-inspired?"  LOL. "It doesn't sound sacred enough!"  Well, it's not meant to be sacred.  But it did a fine job at raising my body temperature, while allowing me to process some of the thoughts trapped in my head from the morning.  As I lay back in the tub with my eyes closed, I could feel the dreariness of the rainy day lift off me, and I was able to talk a few things out with God.

It's amazing how God sometimes speaks to me through songs.  After my
conversation with Him -- which was mostly a mixed up, muddled mess of feelings and words pouring out of me , (LOL), it was time for Him to respond.

 A song came on entitled "Surrender!" 

There was no way around it.  I just needed to surrender my thoughts to God, and let Him take them away.  I did that by not taking the thoughts back and rethinking them.  Nope!  They were successfully released and are gone forever!

I have noticed that whenever I surrender to Him, He always reminds me that...

His SPECIFIC plan for me

is so much better than 

what I want to hang onto.

And then He tells me...

"You wont be disappointed.

Trust me!"

I left the tub, refreshed and restored.  I got dressed and continued behind closed doors to read, relax and pray.  For the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening, He continued to speak words of affirmation and direction to me.  I felt my countenance change and my entire being, (both physical and spiritual), strengthened!

I had one final appointment to attend to...  a late night meeting at the coffee shop with a dear friend.  God came with me, which was good, because we needed His advice on several important matters.  We gladly brought Him into our conversation and He helped us solve the problems of the world -- Well, at least, our little part of the world.

I'm back in the house now.  It finally stopped raining.  It's been a long day in RED shoes and now I'm ready to retire for the night.  As I shut down my computer and turn off the lights, I hear Him whisper to me...

"be confident of this very thing,

He who has begun 

a good work in you

will continue until the day 

of Jesus Christ."

(Philippians 1:6)

Good night,  dear "Rubies,"

I so appreciate your friendship.

Gail