Day 147

Day 147 of The Red Shoe Project has me in comfortable RED walking shoes touring the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.  Our walking tour has covered several miles of Scotland's capital city, and no matter where we seem to stop, en route, we can see Edinburgh Castle sitting high above the land.  "What a stronghold!"  my sister commented.   Yes... it is truly a picture of Strength, Power and Protection.  It reminds me of the hymn penned by Martin Luther...

"A Mighty Fortress is our God

A Bulwark never failing..."

Bulwark - a defensive wall, a barricade, a fortification.

Fortress - a heavily protected and impenetrable building.

Impenetrable - impossible to pass through.


The Psalmist stated...

"Truly He is my rock and my salvation;

He is my fortress, I will never be shaken".

Psalm 62:6

Stronghold - a place that has been fortified or strengthened so as to protect it against attack.

"He is my loving God and my fortress, 

my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, 

in whom I take refuge, 

who subdues peoples under me."

Psalm 144:2

Fortification - a defensive wall or other reinforcement build to strengthen a place against attack.


King Solomon noted:

"The Name of the Lord is a fortified tower

The righteous run into and are safe".

Proverbs 18:10

"The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, 
a stronghold in times of trouble."
Psalm 9:9

At the end of the day, I look down at my worn out RED shoes.  My feet are tired.  My spirit is weary.  I think it's time to climb into The Word of God.  I know that I will find the Name of the Lord in that place.  I will find strength and security.  I will find protection from the onslaught of the enemy. Like Edinburgh Castle, I am safe there.

I'm just a soldier, like you, 

 in a battle not so different from yours, 

only I'm wearing RED shoes.

Perhaps you should consider them as a part of your uniform? 

Gail

Day 146

It’s Day 146  of  The Red Shoe Project.  I have packed my bags, put on my RED shoes and said goodbye to all of my Scottish relatives and friends.  There’s still a few days left in my journey abroad, but today I leave the little country cottage of Ashlea Manor and it’s beautiful garden behind.

I have hopped aboard a train headed for Edinburgh.  There’s an hour and a half ride ahead of me.  The scenery is simply beautiful.  I have nestled myself into the train seat and taken a deep relaxing breath. 

I am so looking forward to a good read.  I have pulled out the book I’ve been reading, Behold I Give unto you Power by Paul E. Billheimer and can’t quite find where I last left off.   

I start here on page 97… “There is an old consecration hymn upon whose wings many seekers, in years gone by, have been borne into the fullness of the blessing.  It has been almost forgotten and lost to the Body”

"Oh, God, my heart doth long for Thee;

Let me die, let me die;

Now set my soul at liberty;

Let me die.

To all the trifling things of earth,

They’re now to me of little worth,

My Saviour calls, I’m going forth;

Let me die.

Lord, I must die to scoffs and jeers;

Let me die, let me die;

I must be freed from slavish fears;

Let me die,

Unto the world and its applause,

To all its customs, fashions, laws,

Of those who hate the humbling cross,

Let me die.

When I am dead, then, Lord to Thee

I will live,  I will live.

My life, my strength, my all to Thee

I will give,  I will give.

So dead that no desire shall rise

To pass for good, or great, or wise,

In any but my Savior’s eyes;

Let me die,  let me die."

On this Sunday, May 26^th at 11:34 a.m.  I sit in Seat #60, Section M of the train going from Dundee to Edinburgh.  As I read this hymn I am ruined in the Spirit.  Sitting in this little seat, my soul is more than disturbed.  I want to hold it altogether for I’m right in the middle of a public place, surrounded by people, sipping tea and nibbling croissants, the picturesque scenery flashing by the train windows.  But it’s not working.  As my friend Jim would say… “I’m leaking.”   The tears are quietly streaming down my face. I look away from the people I am sitting with, in hope that they will not see me and disturb this most private moment with God.

I am crying because I so desperately want to be “SOLD OUT” completely for Christ.  It’s just something I must do.  Every time my soul cries out,  “Jesus, I want more!”  there is a piece of my flesh that shrieks as it shrivels up and falls to the ground.  The problem is that I recognize there’s still way too much flesh that's alive in my life. 

Flesh refers to the fallen ego, 

the self,  the soulish life.

My flesh is most ugly when God’s light shines upon it.  I cringe as I see my own self’s attempts to live a righteous life.  I am sick when I realize the trickery of my own thoughts, the deceptions on my own heart, the manipulation in wanting my own way.  Thank God that I don’t have to witness the fullness of my flesh day to day!  I see it only when He chooses to show me His perspective.

So much of this trip has been a test… a test to show me where I stand on things.  It’s easy to think I’m doing great.  (Why don't I just give myself a little pat on the back)   But it’s only when I’m tested that I can accurately see how I measure up.  And today I realize that I’ve got some work to do.  He’s still got plenty of work to do in me.  And He conveniently uses each day, and all it holds, 

to change me accordingly.

In time, 

Gail

P.S.  What I so love about this is that I later realized that I had already read that part of the book a few days earlier.  (Apparently, it didn't quite settle in.  LOL.)  Although I should have begun my reading four or five pages further along,  God saw to it that I didn't miss out on this life-changing moment with Him.  I love when that happens!  Don't you? 

Day 145

Day 145 of The Red Shoe Project finds me in comfortable RED flats, sightseeing in Scotland with my relatives.  It is a joy meeting with all of my family and hearing the stories of their lives.  Everyone has their own perspective of things, so you just have to listen to them all, and then piece it together like a big jigsaw puzzle.

Today I visited Glamis Castle. Unbelievable!  Seeing a castle in real life, touring the inner chambers and having an informative guide brings so much of history to life!  Where was this when I was studying world history?  Reading about something and experiencing it are quite different.  I am truly fascinated!

We did go back to my auntie's house later.  No, they never read any tea leaves.  I'm not sure what was said, but we just didn't go there, period.  At one point, while my aunt was making tea, I was compelled to just ask her sister,  "So, is auntie a witch?"  It was as if time stood still. You could cut the air with a knife.   Her eyes widened, as big as silver dollars, as she stared at me, unable to answer.  My sister quickly stepped in and announced rather sharply,  "You didn't want to get into that stuff, so let's end this conversation right now."  And that was it.  New topic. I later asked my sister why she did that.  She said that she felt it might cause me to be awkward around my aunt and she didn't want that.  Funny how no one thought it was awkward to have that original conversation in the first place, knowing that I am a Christian... not to mention that they didn't think it offensive to say that I could just sit in the other room, by myself, while they read fortunes.  Really?  LOL. 

At any rate, there was no room given for discussion of the occult or debate of any sort, and that was it.   Case closed...  unless God ever decides to re-open it.  That's not for me to decide.  And I'm okay with that.  It's funny,  cause after that all happened, there was an immediate BREAK in the atmosphere.  I'm not quite sure what happened, but from that point on there was a complete liberty to just love my aunties without reservation.   I can speculate all I want on the state of things - where people are at spiritually, but that's not my job.  God is the one who examines and knows every man's heart.  I trust that, regardless of how it all rolled out, God is in full control. 

In the meantime, I am so very thankful for the prayers my dear friends and "rubies." They have lifted me up continuously while I've been away.  I have needed those prayers!  They have carried me from day to day.  Some  of you even managed to get little messages of love and encouragement to me by email and face book.  Of course, I received them at precisely the right time in which they were needed most!

Even more than that... as I think back to today's tour of the castle,  I am reminded that I am a child of The Most High King.  Daily,  the Father has been faithful at telling me how much  He loves me.  His messages sometimes come at morning prayer.  Other times they are just dropped into my heart and mind, randomly and quite unexpectedly... but they are always greatly welcomed!  I love Him. And this RED Shoe Project  has been an unexpected blessing to me.  It has me looking for and recording all of what He is doing in and around me each day.  WOW!  He's really quite active in my life!  

What about you?  Are you looking?  Are you recording?  There's a blessing right here just for you.  We call it  "Low hanging fruit."  All you have to do is reach up and  pick it.  It's right there.  There's no difficulty involved...  No ladder or stretching required.  

If not, perhaps you'll give it a go today.  Just follow me down the Yellow Brick Road of Life.  I'm the one in the Ruby Slippers.

Gail

Day 144

As I kick off my RED shoes and rub my weary feet, I look back on Day 144 of  The Red Shoe Project and all its challenges.   

Some days can be described as

"Bitter-Sweet"  

Not-so-good and Wonderful  

all wrapped into one.  

Oh how my flesh wishes it could always be sweet, sweet, sweet with no bitter.  But life isn't like that, is it? 

There's always contrast, opposition, differences of opinion,  incongruity and conflict.    

I'm learning that my job in this world is not to make everything seem "sweet."  And I'm finding that sometimes I have to step back from what I perceive as the "bitter"  and ask God for His perspective.

It was wonderful meeting up with two of my aunties today.  I haven't seen them for over thirty years.  Living in America most of my life,  I grew up with just my immediate family around me.  On a few occasions, when I was quite young,  I was sent during school vacation to stay with my Granny or one of these aunties.  

Later that afternoon, we walked along the cobblestone street to the local pub for a Scottish dinner.  I linked in to one of my auntie's arms, squeezed tight and told her how much I'd missed her.  I rested my head on her shoulder and soaked in the love.  At dinner we all laughed and smiled, told stories and reminisced.  How wonderful it all seemed!

Later that evening, we returned to one of their homes to chat some more over a cup of tea.  As I scanned the room, I  noticed that my auntie collected witches.  One hung in the corner of the living room from the ceiling.  Another was situated by the fireplace.  Still another sat by the door looking into a makeshift crystal ball.  "What's with all the witches?"  I thought.   It wasn't like her decore was Gothic, by any means.  It was more on the cute an playful  side.  But there, on a side table, next to a bed, sat a very thick, black book entitled,  Witches.  Interesting bedtime reading?

As the evening progressed, the conversation changed to the topic of Tea Leaf Reading and Ouija Boards.  Long story short, at our next visit, they were considering a little "spirited fun".   I made it clear that I didn't like that kind of stuff and that I wasn't going to participate.  Even still, they were planning to do a little fortune telling with the tea leaves.  It was suggested that I could go in the other room.   

So, let me give you a little background.  My grandmother was a Spiritist and used to read tea leaves.  And it wasn't that unusual for the family, on occasion, to pull out "the board" and have a little go at it.  Personally, I never got into any of that, and didn't participate.  I was always a little creeped out by the whole thing and just decided to stay far away from "spiritual" matters of that sort.  My sister, however, thinks it's a bit of a joke.  She just sees it as a game and is convinced that someone in the group is the one moving the glass that points to the individual letters leaving a mysterious message.  I think she even admitted to moving the glass herself one time to spell out a word.

So remember Sozo?  I spent quite some time, during those prayer and deliverance sessions,  specifically renouncing the effects of generational involvement in witchcraft and the occult.  There was no way that I was going to open the door and invite it all back in!  I made it clear to my sis that if they were going to be doing that, I would find something else to do that night.  She thought it ridiculous that I would make such a fuss, but assured me that we wouldn't get into it. 

She's the older sister.  My voice is very small in her world.  I get that she doesn't get it.  And so  I tried to explain that I've done some serious study in this area.  I've seen and know people who have been demon possessed.  I've prayed for people who have had demons.  But she  casually blew it off as just  "my way"  of looking at things.  I just wanted to grab a hold of her, look her in the eyes and shake her.  I wanted to shout out, "Will you listen to me!  I know what I'm talking about here and you don't want to be messing around with these spirits!  In fact,  I did just that, in a bit more of a collected manner, of course.  What can I say?  Sometimes people are just blind and closed. You can ask a blind person over and over again, what color your sweater is... but they can't see it!  It's a useless endeavor.

One time, while on a Christian women's retreat,  I met a young woman who told me that for decades she had been experiencing bothersome spirits in her home.  They would shake and rattle in her closet, night after night, often keeping her  fearfully awake for hours.  She just learned to put up with it.  As we talked, we traced it back to a time when she was a child, on a family camp out.  Her and some other children found a Ouija board and decided to try it out. When it was over, the kids all returned to their respective homes.  The spirits, though not invited, decided to follow her home and take up residence.  We prayed right then and there.  She renounced her involvement in such things, in Jesus Name, and boldly proclaimed she was "shutting the door."   Months  later, she testified that  the spirits had left. The chaos was gone for good.  Her home was now filled with Peace.

Years ago I almost lost my son to drugs.  Two months prior, while in prayer,  I had a vision from God of a Strongman kicking my son  around like he was a slave in chains.  I didn't understand the vision at the time.  Later, I came to realize that Strongman was a demon of drug addiction. 

You've heard me say many times... "Nothing is wasted!"  Last summer,  while I was in deep prayer and intercession, God reminded me of that same vision.  He told me that a day would come when I'd be speaking to groups of people and that He'd bring back to my mind that same picture of  the ugly Strongman.   He noted that it would be a clear sign to me of demonic involvement in that person's life.   Then He told me that I was to  call out the spirits, in Jesus Name, and proclaim freedom over their lives.  He then assured me that He'd take it from there.

"Me?  He wanted me to do that?  Yikes!  Remember God, it's Me we're talking about.  I don't have any ability to set people free."  

He reminded me...

"The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in You!"

Romans 8:11

I'm not able to set people free, but the Holy Spirit that lives in me is more than able to do just that!  It's His job!  And He works in partnership with Christians, like me and you, to do accomplish that!

So time will tell how things all turn out.  Today was a day of pushing the heals of my RED shoes into the ground and taking a stand on what I know to be true, even when I'm out-numbered.  There was no huge Victory per say, but there was no lost ground either and that is a victory of another sort.   

Today was a seed planting day.  And I'm trusting that those seeds will be watered, and in time,  God will work out His perfect plan.  Oh how I wish for a harvest!  In due time, harvest season will come.  In the meantime,  I am recognizing that in my life... where things are so often perceived as  Black and White,  there's another option...  RED.   My RED shoes remind me to, not only look for God, but to be an example of His love.   Without love,  it doesn't happen.  I must train myself to become a lover of the people God has in my life. 

Patiently waiting in RED shoes.

Gail