Day 210

It's Day 210 of  The Red Shoe Project.  I've had on my RED shoes all day, looking and listening for God, but I've been distracted.  I've been swatting at all the birds that keep trying to nest in my hair!

They are everywhere.  They were waiting for me when I took Pauly outside for his morning walk.  They attacked again while I was trying to worship in church.  When I got in my car to drive home "bang, bang, bang"  they smashed  against the windsheild of my car.



 I thought that was it, but as I sat eating a quiet lunch at home, they reappeared again, outside my window.  Finally, I left the house for my prayer walk, and even as I sang and talked with God, they watched and waited at a distance, looking for an opportunity to swoop down on me.




Just what are these birds that I'm talking about?

They are the crazy thoughts, pictures, lies and temptations that the enemy catapults at me, in his relentless attempt to distract, discourage and disconnect me from God.  

I'm starting to feel like I'm in my own personal remake of Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS!



There's a saying...

You can't keep the birds 
from flying over your head, 

but you can keep them from 
building a nest in your hair. 

Just yesterday, as I was praying up a storm in the garden, God spoke to me about my walk with Him.  As I continued to cry out... "More of You, Lord!  Draw me closer!  I surrender all!"  He warned me that the enemy would attack.  He told me that I'd have to put on  my spiritual armor every day.  He reminded me that I'd have to fight off "the birds!"   I know I can never let them rest in my hair or my heart.

What does that mean?  
It  means that I can't give room to those thoughts, pictures, lies and temptations.  I can't dwell on them.  I can't spend time thinking about them.  I can't let them land in my head or they will do their best to "nest" there.  They will want to make my mind their home!  And boy... once they've nested... it is ever so difficult to get them out of there.
Fighting them off is easy in comparison.


The Bible says...

"...do not give the devil an opportunity to work."

Ephesians 4:27  (ISV)

Being caught in a deluge of tempting thoughts has it's challenges.
Here's some of the things I do to keep them off me:

When I was out walking Pauly, I simply dismissed the thoughts as they popped into my mind.  "That's crazy!"  I thought,  and I started talking to God about the day ahead.  For me... it's not sufficient to just not think about it.  I have to fill that space in my mind with something else.  I can't just leave it empty, or the enemy will keep trying to fill it.  Prayer is perfect!

Later, while I was trying to worship at church, I found that I had to open my eyes.  (Usually it's the opposite.  I close my eyes to focus.)  This time, I found it helpful to focus on the song lyrics that were displayed on the screen.  As my eyes focused on the words and I sang along boldly,  it pushed out and replaced the picture Satan had tried to deposit in my head.

While in my car... solid Christian music that I could sing along with did the trick!

And during my prayer walk... I sang songs of victory almost the entire time.  That kept the birds at a distance!

Eventually, I resorted to my most effective tactic.  It works every time!  I stop whatever I'm doing,  sit down,  close my eyes  and pray up a storm, in Jesus' Name.  It's not my usual prayer.  It's an Ephesians 6 prayer.  It's a battle prayer that reminds me who I am in Christ and that... "I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me." (Romans 8:37)

"Submit yourselves, then, to God.

Resist the devil, 
and he will flee from you."

James 4:7

The day is quickly coming to an end.  THANK GOD!  Truly, it has been a "Work Day!"  But there will always be days like this.  Days that I have to work hard to defend my faith, my family, my mind, my call.  All things that are dear to my heart.

It's funny because I know better than anyone that I can defend nothing on my own.  Sure, it just looks like  "Little ole me"... in my RED shoes...  but truth be told,  I'm surrounded by the the Army of God... His Heavenly Host.  I'm protected by the prayers of my "Rubies,"  family and friends.  I'm filled with the power and presence of The Holy Ghost.  And I'm wielding the Sword of the Spirit:  God's Mighty Word.

That's the life of a Soldier in God's army!
And I'm one of them.
Thank you fellow soldiers for your prayerful support.

Gail

Day 209

Day 209 of  The Red Shoe Project may consist of twenty-four hours, but almost an hour of that time went missing during my prayer walk today  in RED sneakers. 

With two thirds of my walk completed,  I turned the corner and came upon the property with the big pink house.  The house was recently picked up off it's foundation and moved  way over to the back corner of the property where it now rests on stilts. The land around it has been completely leveled.  The beautiful garden that I used to sit in to pray is a total, abandoned mess.  The brick pathway that ran through it has been torn out.  The greenery and flowers are overgrown, dried out, plucked out, and stepped on.  

There used to be a pump in the middle of the garden that took  away any excess water during heavy rain storms.  It's gone now.  A few weeks ago I stopped by to take a look and the whole garden was like a big mud puddle.  Today, the puddle was gone, it's all dried up and the earth is like hardened clay. 

No matter!  This garden is where the Spirit of God dwells.  To me, that means it is an altar to God.  There have been no demolition crews or workers here for months now and there's no fence around the property.  Sorry!  I couldn't resist.  God only knows how much longer I'll be able to do this.  I side-tracked from my walk and headed down the stone driveway to what remains of the garden.  


It was early afternoon and the sun was beating down on that desolate property. Fortunately the forsaken garden was still home to a tree that provided me a little shade.  I stood in the middle and did a full circle.  What a mess -- the dried up garden... the plowed up property... the overgrown grass, the house held up on stilts.


I just wanted to cry!  It reminded me of the story of Elijah at the Brook Cherith. That was the place where the ravens fed him during the drought.  But one day... the brook dried up!
(1 Kings 17:7)

What was I doing here?  "Speak to me Lord!  One more time in this place, I ask that you speak to me!"  



I closed my eyes and shut out the scenic mess all around me.  A cool breeze blew through the garden as I felt His Spirit rumble inside me.  At first all sorts of random things were popping in my mind.  "What if someone saw me on the property? - especially praying  -- what would they think?"  I could be mistaken for a crazy person.  LOL.  Then I thought,  "Come on!  Who cares!"  

I kept pushing through the ideas and pictures popping into my mind.  "Okay Gail... Focus!" 
As I attempted to push aside the collage of craziness in my head, I asked the Holy Spirit to tell me who to pray for.  At first I had nothing, so I waited.  I continued to focus.  "Lord, show me who you want me to pray for."  Then a picture of someone popped into my mind.  I went to prayer on their behalf.  Another face followed and another and another.  One by one I lifted each person up before the Lord.  I asked God to give favor, to bless, to have His way, to heal and to meet specific needs.

The names and faces in God's prayer line flowed continuously for some time and then suddenly... they just stopped.  My prayer feeder was empty.   Just like that!  Nothing.  All done.  I opened my eyes.  Yikes!  There I was sitting on a stone chair at the edge of the old garden.  My hands were lifted up and the Peace of God rested upon me.  How glorious!  I just love that.  Oh.... it looks crazy!  But I love it all the same.  I thanked the Lord, and moved along.  The prayer party was over -- at least for now.

I smiled and sang a happy tune to myself as I walked that last mile home.  It was a good day... a RED shoe day,
and it had just begun.

Gail

Day 208

Today is the 208th Day of  The Red Shoe Project.  With the exception of my Prayer Walk in RED sneakers, I spent most of the day, shoeless, at the computer, preparing my notes for my Bible study this evening entitled,

Knowing for Sure that You're Saved!

One of the Proofs of Salvation that I talked about was:    LOVE.  

In John 13:34-35 Jesus said,

"A new command I give you:  Love one another.  

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  

By this everyone will know you are my disciples, 

if you love one another."

Often, people doubt their salvation because they are harboring unforgiveness, even hatred towards someone.   We all find it easy to love the ones we want to, but God commands us to love all people as He loves us.  He doesn't make allowance for us to be selective of who we want and don't want to love! 

If all this sounds impossible, it's because it is impossible.  In and of ourselves, we are not capable of loving like that.  But when we are born again, the Holy Spirit dwells within us and He is able! The only way to love others like God loves us is by allowing the Holy Spirit to love others through us.

I'm still pondering that scripture that 

Corrie Ten Boom talks about:

Romans 5:5...

"The love of God is shed abroad (poured out) 

in our heart by the Holy Ghost 

which is given to us."

One of Ms. Ten Boom's areas of greatest calling had to be her revelation of this scripture.  God made this so real to her that it became one of her well-known messages given around the world.  She spoke it to women. She spoke it to men.  She spoke it to believers. She spoke it to unbelievers.  She even spoke it to prisoners.  Anyone and everyone who would listen, heard about the great depth of God's love.  

Even today, people give their lives to God because of that revelation.  People forgive the unforgivable because of that revelation.  Because she, herself,  was able to forgive in the darkest of situations, God is able to use her story as a beacon -- shining the of light on the Path of Forgiveness, for others to walk down.

Tonight I realized something interesting.  When we know that there is hatred in our heart towards someone and we can't even conceive the thought of considering forgiveness,  perhaps we need to take a step back for a moment and consider another approach.  Sometimes we have put a wall around our heart because we've been wounded. The mere thought of that person brings pain.  The wall protects us from feeling that. 

 Instead of making forgiveness about a rule: 

"I HAVE TO FORGIVE THAT PERSON!" 

 Why not make it about relationship?   

Just turning our hearts towards God, spending time with Him, talking to Him and soaking in His love will, over time, soften our hearts.  Slowly but surely we will let down the wall, at least for God.  

And that love of His?  It has healing powers!   It's a soothing balm that brings about wellness and wholeness over time.  He mends the broken-hearted.  He drains the heart of pain.  He's gentle, loving and kind.  He can and will (if we work with Him) change our heart of hatred to a heart of love, like His.

Our way is to...  

Avoid --> Shut off --> Shut Down --> Close up -- Don't even consider it!

God's way is that we... 

Come to Him --> Open up --> Receive His Love --> Receive Healing --> 

Trust Him more --> Consider His ways.

 Yes, some things take time, but remember God's not in a rush. We're the ones that are always in a rush.  

"Love is patient,  love is kind.  It does not envy, 

it does not boast, it is not proud. 

It doesn't dishonor others, 

it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,  

it keeps no record of wrongs.  

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  

Love never fails."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

I'm heading off to bed, now... 

thinking about His Love and

contemplating His ways.

Gail

 

Day 207

Today is Day 207 of The RED Shoe Project.  I spent some time in RED sneakers doing yard work.  Then, shoeless, I watched a movie.  Finally, I popped on some RED sandals and met up with a friend to talk about the Word of God.  It was a jam-packed day!

There are many things I could talk to you about today, but I must admit, I am in a bit of a solumn mood   --  sober, meditative and thoughtful.  I just finished watching the movie, "The Hiding Place."   It's the story of a Dutch, Christian woman named Corrie Ten Boom.  Corrie, her sister Betsie and her father, were all arrested for hiding jews in their home, from the Nazis, during World War II.  It is an amazing story.  I don't even know where to start.  I'll just say...
"Watch it!"   You can find it on YouTube.

Corrie and her sister spent quite some time in a concentration camp.  Her sister ultimately died there.  Their witness for God in that place was outstanding.  Many prisoners came to know Christ as their savior.   When Corrrie was asked by the prisoners about God and the atrocities they they were facing in that hellish place, Corrie responded, 

"There is no pit so deep 

that God's love is not deeper still."  

Afterwards, I watched interviews of Corrie Ten Boom in her later life.  In one, she was asked about the evil she saw in the concentration camp.  She responded...

 "The devil is strong, 

but his power is limited.  

God's power is limitless."

Later, she continued... "When we partner with a God that's

all-powerful, we become more powerful than the devil, too."

Romans 5:5 is a scripture that Corrie talks about quite often.  It's a scripture that has always been a favorite of mine.  In the last few days, I have found myself pondering it over and over in my mind.  It says...

"God's love has been 

shed abroad (poured out) 

in our hearts 

through the Holy Spirit, 

who has been given to us."

Sister Ten Boom references this verse of scripture when she talks about forgiving those who abused her and her sister in the concentration camp.  Years after she was released, she toured the world, telling her story.  God's forgiveness was often the topic of her conversation.  

One day she came face to face with the German prison guard that beat her sister.  He had since asked Christ for forgiveness and had come to know Jesus as his personal savior.  He requested of the Lord, the opportunity to meet with one of the prisoners from the camp, to ask their forgiveness for his evil deeds, during that time.  God brought him to Corrie.  At first, she says, she felt hatred for him, but then she remembered Romans 5:5.  She asked the Lord's forgiveness for her hatred and was determined to stand on His Word!  She reached out her hand to the former guard, and forgave him.  As they shook hands, she says she felt the love of God rush from her heart, down her arm, out her hand and into his. Woosh! 

Hearing a story like this just changes everything for me.  For one thing, I have nothing to ever complain about in comparison.  It just makes me want to shut my mouth! That's a good thing.  And second, it makes me want to live even more fully for Christ.  God forbid that things have to get so difficult before I will die to self and live for Him completely!

In her later life, Corrie said that she loved to go into the prisons and speak about God's love to the in-mates.  She felt like she could relate to them, because she, herself, had been a prisoner.  She lead many to Christ.  She said that she never looked at them as criminals... ones that had done wrong.  Instead she just saw them as people God loved and sent His son to die for.  WOW!

I'm totally inspired!

Gail