Day 217

Day 217 of  The Red Shoe Project has come to an end.  As I reach down to remove the RED shoes from me feet, I can not believe the adventure I've had today.  My pal Bonnie pulled up in front of my house around 5:45 p.m. and beeped.  Out I ran, totally equipped with a smile, Bible,  joyful spirit, and wearing my RED shoes.  What was it, that God had in store for us?

Bonnie was invited to a special event in which she could bring along a guest.  Some Christian friends of hers opened their home to ministers, Bob and Yvonne Gerhart of Watchmen for the Nations.  That sounded great.  I'm always up for a good word, good worship, good prayer and good fellowship!  "Let's Go!"  I exclaimed.

We were told to arrive early for a good seat, and a good seat we got... right next to the speaker.  We were the first guests to arrive.  As I sat there quietly, sipping on a glass of ice water, a funny feeling came over me.  "What was going on here?  I was expecting some little home Bible study, but the hosts were bringing out chairs, chairs and more chairs.  They must have set up for thirty people.  I looked at Bonnie and smiled a little apprehensively.  "Was God setting me up?  What was He about to do in this place?"  I had a feeling He was up to a lot more than I had anticipated.  I looked at Bonnie.

"We're on an adventure!" 

she declared 
with a smile.

I love a good surprise!  But if the cat gets out of the bag prematurely, all can be ruined.  I remember the day I turned forty.  My oldest daughter and I were heading out to do some errands which included a little shopping.  Unbeknownst to her, as I sat in the car waiting for her to join me, I put down the sun visor and a piece of paper fell onto my lap.  When I glanced at it, I noticed that it was an invitation to a surprise party being held at my house later that very afternoon... MY surprise party!    I returned it quickly to its place above the viser, and acted as if I'd never seen it.   My daughter soon appreared, jumped in the car and off we drove.  Apparently, she was in charge of getting me out of the house and keeping me busy for a few hours.

As the time drew closer and closer to 4 p.m., (the time of the party),  I found myself stalling to go home.  I started offering bizarre suggestions to my daughter.  "Let's not go home, now!  Let's go to a movie! Or what about just you and me going for a special dinner?"  Yes, I  was tormenting her, in a fun sort of way,  because I was privy to information I shouldn't have been aware of.  After watching her squirm a bit, I backed off and headed home.  As I walked in the door, I put on my best surprised look, and had a wonderful time.

SURPRISE!

Maybe that's why God never lets me in on anything before hand!  Seriously... He tells me nothing in advance!  That's okay, I'm getting used to the adventure of it all.  It leaves little to no time to get scared.  LOL.

Yvonne Gerhart is totally deaf.  As a young woman, a car slammed into the side of her car at 85 miles per hours which, amongst other things, left her unable to hear.  As the years went by, Yvonne married,  was widowed, and married again.  One day, her second husband, Bob, began to notice that she knew things about people that she had no way of knowing.  People were amazed at her accuracy.  How was it possible?  Yvonne was in fact deaf, but she had no problem hearing God's voice and God began speaking to others through her.

As time drew closer and closer for the evening's ministry to begin, I felt the Spirit of God churning within me.  Because I was sitting so close to the front,  I  happened to over hear Yvonne asking the host for the evening if the group could start off by singing the old chorus... "Come Holy Spirit We Need You."  I knew that chorus well.  Apparently no one else did, so I was nominated to lead it.

I'm definitely not what you'd call a singer, but in the old days of pastoring a pioneer work, I was trained to do pretty much everything and anything needed in a church service.  With that said, I lifted up my voice and lead the group.  As nervous as I was, I sang it through, acapella, trying to stay in key.

Simultaneously, to my surprise, God began pouring His Spirit in me.  It was like a heavenly drink of water.  When the chorus ended, the host asked me to sing it through again.  I obeyed, and lo and behold, God filled me up even more.  Once again, I was signaled  to continue, so I did.   I admit I was a little nervous at my inadequate voice.  The words were clear, but I noticed my voice trembling.  At least this time, the others were  singing along with me.

 Fill - Fill- Fill.  

In my humility, God continued to pour into me.  Finally, the man instructed... "One more time, please!"  As we all sang  together, the atmosphere was saturated with God's Spirit... and so was I!  Boy, was I glad to be sitting, for I was near filled to capacity and close to drunk in His Spirit.  It was fortunate that I wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon.  LOL.

Yvonne and her husband proceeded to share scriptures and stories.  Then, one by one, Yvonne called people to come up before her, where she would speak to them prophetically.  People were so incredibly moved both by her accuracy of how she divinely knew what was on their minds and the good word given to them from God through her.  The whole time I listened carefully.  Meanwhile, there was this other part of me that was compelled in my Spirit to intercede for the ministry taking place in front of me.

You don't understand.  It's not like I had nothing to do, so I thought I would pray quietly for everyone.  The Spirit of God in me, just decided to pray to the Father, on the behalf of those in attendance, and used me, as a vessel, to do so.  I'm sure that no one around me took notice.  If they looked at me, they would just think that my eyes were closed and that I was preparing my own heart to be ministered to.  Perhaps they caught a glimpse of a tear running down my cheek or my lips silently quivering.  Most likely they saw nothing.

Outwardly nothing.  

Inwardly... God was 

moving mountains

through prayer!

She hadn't even gotten to me yet.  It wasn't yet my turn. But already, I was experiencing God in great measure!  I wish I had the words to accurately describe what the presence of God is like.  Sorry, I'm doing my best.  When your time comes... you'll say, "Yup... now I know what Gail was talking about!"  

It was only a matter of time and she pointed to me.  I stood up and positioned myself in front of her.  She held my hands and immediately tears rolled down my cheeks.  It wasn't so much that I couldn't wait to hear what she would say...  It was more the awesome presence of God in that place! The peace of God surrounded me as her unpretentious, yet bold voice spoke to me.

She said she saw a turtle.  She noted how a turtle moves oh, so slowly, and stated that's what I've been thinking about...

"Why, oh why is my life moving so slowly?"  

Wait a minute... not two days ago, I wrote in my blog,  (Day 215),  

"How could something possibly happen that quickly... especially when everything else in my life is happening so slowly?" 

Yvonne continued with her word from God stating that I was on the right path, and that due to the slowness of my life, I was now able to see and experience things that otherwise I would have missed.  Important things!

I knew that... boy did I know that!   But hearing her say it was such a confirmation that I was truly hearing from God.  Sometimes, God has you on a path that can seem a bit peculiar.  As you pray, you sense that He's telling you you're right in the center of His will... but even still,  it's peculiar all the same, and you wonder,

  "Could this really be God's will?

or is it just me?  Am I crazy?"

  A confirmation like this one is a way of God saying...

 "Yes, Gail... I want you to know, 

without a doubt, it is My will!  

It's okay... Stay the course!"

There was more... but too much to say right now.  Someone recorded the whole thing and is going to send me the transcript.  Maybe later I'll say more, but for now, I'm reminded of an old saying...  

"God works in mysterious ways, 

His wonders to perform."

Truly tonight was 

an adventure in RED shoes, 

Gail

Day 216

It's Day 216 of  The Red Shoe Project and as I travel about in my RED flats, I'm reflecting on the value of a testimony.

A Personal Testimony is... 

•   A public recounting of my religious conversion or experience. 
•   It's communicating to others how and why I became a Christian.
•   It's telling people about my relationship with Jesus Christ.
•   It's witnessing to those around me about what God is doing in my life.

It's personal because it's  MY story.   It's not his story or hers... it's not yours...  it's mine.  It's about my unique encounter(s) with God.  It's filled with details and emotion because I've experienced it.

"When I think of the goodness of Jesus

and all He has done for me,

my very soul cries out 'Hallelujah!'

Praise God for saving me!"

Tonight I attended a local  Celebrate Recovery  meeting where some new friends of mine were ministering on "The Father's Love."  The speaker for the evening shared his personal testimony.  Wow!  What a story.  

I don't think there's anything better 

than hearing someone's personal testimony 

of how they came to know Christ as Savior.

This particular guy was young - in his twenties -- and had pretty much hit bottom.  He woke up one Sunday morning, severely hung over from a night of partying, lying on his living room couch.  His sister and daughter had gone to church that morning and left the television on with the volume turned all the way down. 

When he opened his eyes,  he saw Jimmy Swaggart preaching on television.  A message appeared at the bottom of the screen for the hearing impaired.  It read:  

Want a new life?

   1.  Confess to God that you are a sinner.

   2.  Repent from your sins.

   3.  Ask Jesus to come into your heart.

Although he couldn't hear a thing the preacher was saying... He desperately wanted a "New Life!"  He knew he would forget what to do, unless he wrote those three things down, so he grabbed a piece of paper, jotted them down and followed through.  By the time his sister came home from church, he was saved, not to mention, delivered from drugs and alcohol.  How awesome is that?

One of the greatest testimonies of all time can be found in Daniel  4.  

It is the personal story of King Nebuchadnezzar -- the world ruler of his time -- and how he came to declare that God is higher than all... including himself.  

He didn't always think that way.  I encourage you to read this compelling story.  Ultimately Nebuchadnezzar shares his testimony to all the leaders of the then known world.  I kind of think of this as the first official tract ever released with the intent to evangelize the world!

So, what's your story?  How did you come to know Christ as your personal savior?  Have you ever told that story to others?  When was the last time you did that?

Years ago, when I was co-pastoring a little church in Rhode Island,  I remember sitting outside, on a warm summer evening, with a small group of people, testifying of the Goodness of God.  Even back then, I was notorious for asking people... 

"So... What's Jesus doing in your life?" 

I'll never forget this one guy's response.  "Sister Gail," he said  "You always have a fresh testimony!  I have a testimony, but it's five years old and I don't tell it very often.  You have a new testimony every time I see you!" 

You've got to have fresh testimony!  Don't get me wrong... our personal testimony of how we got saved is always special, not to mention, it's a powerful evangelistic tool!  But God doesn't stop once your saved.  He's just getting started!  The Red Shoe Project 

is evidence of that!  

"When you seek me and search for me 

with all your heart, 

then you will find me." says the Lord.

Jeremiah 29:13

I want to encourage you to always be ready, at a moment's notice, to share your personal testimony or a testimony of what God is doing in your life right now!  People so desperately want to know the truth.  They want to know that God is real.  They want to believe that it's not about Religion... that it's about a Relationship with the Living God!  

How will they know if we don't tell them? 

I'm testifying daily, in RED shoes!

Gail

Day 215

It's Day 215 of  The Red Shoe Project  and  I haven't quite slipped on my Ruby Reds for the day yet.  I'm still lying in bed wondering just how I'm gonna let you in on this secret.   I can't believe I'm going to tell you this...  
but today is the day!

Yesterday, something strange happened to me on my prayer walk.
I was about two miles out, when suddenly, BOOM!  my breath was taken from me.
I couldn't breathe!


How weird is that?   No reason.   I had to stop,  right then and there, bend over and  try to catch my breath. "What's going on?"  I thought. "Lord, Is there something you're trying to tell me?   Are you stopping me in my tracks to show me something?   Are you slowing me down for a purpose?"  

I tried to re-start my walk three or four times, but no, it wasn't happening.  My power walk shifted into first gear  and slowly I puttered home.  The rest of the day was business as usual.  I soon forgot about the mishap... until this morning that is.

When I opened my eyes this morning, I noticed immediately the  big BELIEVE sign glaring down at me.  It seemed like God couldn't to wait to tell me...

"Today's 

the day! 

Let's tell the world!"

"Really Lord...  today?  

We're going to tell them today?"  I said.

Then I remembered last night's blog entry on FAITH.  There I was telling you how God speaks to us... over and over again, in the same way, so that we know it's Him.  And today... before I've even gotten out of bed, (Yes, I'm writing this, on my laptop, in bed!),  He's putting me to the test.  He's asking me to trust Him on this and to share the secret so that my "rubies"  can see how it all rolls out to manifestation.


This isn't the first time He's done this.  He has a way of setting me up for the miraculous.  Next thing you know... BOOM!   There it is!  
A little something from heaven, that I never could have anticipated, has been added to the script of my life.   One day, nothing.  The next day, God's blessing has positioned itself front and center. 
If I'd tried to plan it, it never
would have happened.
I guess God just decided to rain down a little fun.   Now then,
what am I gonna do with it?
He wants to tell the world!  


It all started a few months ago.  I woke up just "knowing."   I texted my friend, "Your never going to believe this, but..."    She wasn't surprised in the least.  "Yes..."  she said.   "I see it happening quick!   Like soon!  Maybe even before the end of the year!"

The end of the year?  Really?  

How could something possibly happen 

that quickly... especially when everything else 

in my life is happening so slowly?  

I must admit, I was dumbfounded.  The Spirit inside me seemed to be in total agreement with her.  The time is near.  

What about me?  Don't I have any say in this?  My life is taking off in a new direction and I find myself running to jump on the plane so as not to be left behind from my own destiny.  LOL!  
I'll have to think this thing through while in flight!


I began looking back on the last year of my life.  Three people, out of nowhere have prophesied over me, that this would happen.  I just fluffed it off.  What did they know?  Prophets... always putting stuff out there like that.  They were speaking it, but at the time, I guess I didn't want to hear it.  My heart wasn't in a place to receive a message like that... at least not then.  But things were changing rapidly.  God began preparing my heart.  In these last months,  I've undergone major surgery and didn't even realize the seriousness of it all.  It was divine heart surgery performed by Doctor Jesus, Himself.

I'm getting married!

He's told me I'm getting married!

My dearest of friends recently called me and said... 

"Gail, I just had a dream about you last night!  

It was a Wizard of Oz dream!"  

I broke into her declaration and asked... 

"Was I getting married?"

 She responded in disbelief...

"Oh my gosh... 

How did you know that?"  

What can I say?

  He's preparing my heart!

Corrie Ten Boom was locked up in solitary confinement for months.  She got to what she described as an all time low.  In her despair she cried out to God... "I don't think I can bear being alone with no one to talk to any longer, Lord!" At that very moment, her eye caught a glimpse of an ant.  That's right... an ant.  She began talking to the ant.  Every day, (God only knows for  how long),  that ant came out of its little hole and she talked to it.  

While I was prayer walking last week, the Lord began to open up the scriptures to me about Adam in the garden.  God knew that it was not good for man to be alone.  Human Beings were never created to be alone.  (Oh my gosh... Corrie Ten Boom was speaking to the ant, because she wasn't created to be alone!)  God showed me how He specifically made woman to compliment the man. Two individual human beings meant to unite as one!   WOW!

As I lay here considering all that God has done,  I see that He's been grooming me all year-- changing my heart, changing my mindset,  preparing me for a new life -- 
a life with someone,  someone specific that He's chosen for me to unite with for a purpose!



Those of you still waiting for your Special One,  please don't hate me for this.
I remember reading that J.R.R. Tolken, (author of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings), was quite perturbed when his friend C.S. Lewis presented to him his manuscript entitled,  The Chronicles of Narnia.  Tolken had spent over a decade developing lands and languages and characters.  How was it that Lewis could throw a similar type work together in such a short period of time?  It's simply not fair!   It's not supposed to work that way!  Surely it's not possible!  What can I say?  Sometimes God just does it that way.  He drops a blessing into your lap. Who knows why?

So the secret is out!  Shall 2014 be a new book...  Married in RED shoes?   LOL.  Time will tell.  I know I'm on the threshold of a new adventure,  but as I've mentioned before, God's  "divine timing" can be tricky. "Soon"  to Him, is not always the same as how I interpret "soon"  to be.  I guess we'll find out together.  In case you are wondering...

"Who is he?  

Who's this man Gail is going to marry?" 

I haven't met him yet...
at least I don't think I have.
I only know this:
He's already taken my breath away!

Talk more soon,
Gail

Day 214

Today is Day 214 of  The Red Shoe Project.  I started out in my black suit and RED heels for an important business luncheon earlier in the day.  Now, I've kicked off my shoes entirely, and am dressed down significantly.  Comfortable is best when blogging.

Before I even stepped foot from my bed this morning,  I noticed
a picture that hung on my wall.
I painted it, myself, earlier in the year, at an art class I attended.  It shows a little girl, in RED Mary Janes, opening a big, heavy, wooden door and peeking inside.   Behind it, a magnificent light shines forth.

In big, bold, block letters, 

the sign on the door says...

"FAITH." 

That's exactly where I was in the early months of  The Red Shoe Project.
I felt so small in comparison with the things that God was bringing my way.  Part of me was intrigued and excited, like a child looking inside the door of a toy store.  On the other hand... how intimidating!  Who would have thought, that in such a short period of time, these RED shoes of mine would march me right into the middle of that place? LOL.

I'm not saying that I'm not intimidated at times.  But I'm no longer outside, looking in.  I'm well into the world of FAITH.

One of the things that I found fascinating in L. Frank Baum's book, The Wizard of Oz, was the chapter featuring "The Guardian of the Gate."
When Dorothy and her friends arrived at the Emerald City to see the Wizard, they first had to  pass through the front gate.  There, they were met by The Guardian of the Gate who fixed upon each of their heads a pair of green colored glasses.

How else would everyone view the  GREENESS  of The Emerald City?  With the glasses locked in place and immovable, everything appeared some shade of green.  (You didn't know that, did you?)

Sometimes faith can be that way.  Things seen by faith are not visible to the human eye.  I have to put on my spiritual glasses to see them.
Once I had a pair of readers that had tiny little lights on the front of them so that I could see what I was reading in the dark.  They were tiny, but they were powerful.  Everything on the page immediately came to the forefront.

The Holy Spirit is the power behind my spiritual glass.  He brings everything that is meant to be in the future 

to the forefront of my heart and mind.  

Why?

So I can pray it into existence!

God loves it when I believe enough to pray something I've seen with my spiritual glasses into existence.  That means I keep bathing what God's shown me or told in prayer, until I see it happen.   Every time I go to prayer, I remind God of it. When I talk to Him, I say things like... 

"I know you are going to do it, Lord!  
Hallelujah!  

 Praise the Lord!  I can't wait!  
Thank You Jesus!

Bring it to pass, Lord!  
Glory to God!  
Amen!"

What I love most is the manifestation of those prayers.  Seeing what He told me would happen,  become reality.   Just a note though... sometimes manifestation comes the same day, week, month or year.  And other times it's decades.  (It's that  "Divine Time"  thing!)  But if He shows you, just believe, pray it through, and it will come to pass.

Jesus said in Mark 9:23 NIV...

"Everything is possible for one who believes!"

One thing I've noticed is this...

When it comes to FAITH, 

you have to start sometime, somewhere.  

Once you do, it gets easier.  

Here's why...

God shows you something.  You think, "Maybe this is God?" 
so you follow through and pray.  Next thing you know, it happens.
You think... "Wow!  God told me He was going to do that and He did!"
Then some time goes by and God shows you something again...
almost exactly in the same way.  You think...
"God did something like this before - Maybe it's God again?"
So you follow through and pray again.  Sure enough, it happens.
"Wow!"  you think.  "Look what God has done!"
Some time goes by and lo and behold it happens again, and again, and again.
And God is faithful time and time again.

 He so desperately wants us 

to know His voice and how He works.  

That's why He does things the same way over and over again.  He's building your faith through experience.  Then, He'll speak to you a little differently... and the cycle repeats itself.  It doesn't take long before you realize that time and time again, God comes through... that you can trust Him to do what He says He's going to do.

Before you know it, there you are -- in the big world of FAITH, in your little RED shoes, believing God for GREAT and MIGHTY things!

Amen!

Gail