Day 363

Some days are so easy.  I wake up with a song on my lips and just glide through the entire day.  That doesn't mean there are no challenges.  But even the biggest challenges seem inconsequential.  On the other hand, some days are not so easy.

Day 363 of The Red Shoe Project 

has been one of those days!

I woke up way too early today -- long before my alarm went off -- and couldn't get back to sleep.  Before even getting out of bed, I could see that it was somewhat overcast and drizzly outside.  Now that doesn't bother me.  The greatest day of my life -- the day I asked Jesus into my heart -- was a gloomy, overcast day with pouring rain.  True... it was a mess of a day, but I was shining from the inside out, so it didn't matter!

This morning when I opened my eyes, I wasn't shining on the inside.  My body seemed to ache all over.  I trudged into the bathroom and headed immediately for the shower in hope that all I really needed was to wake up.  When that proved not to be the problem, I sat on the edge of the bathtub, wrapped in a towel and prayed that God would dress me in my spiritual armor.  No sense in waiting any longer!  I can't stand being a sitting duck for the enemy!

Then I had to walk it out!  I had to believe by faith that God heard my sincere prayer.  Oh the arrows kept flying at me.  All the negative thoughts kept catapulting towards me.

"You're never going to amount to much."

"That will never happen."

"Blah... blah... blah... "

In my mind, I broke those arrows in Jesus' Name!  That's right -- I pictured myself catching the arrows in mid air, breaking them in half and tossing them to the ground. Eventually I got bored and turned my attention to something else.

Isn't that the biggest challenge of all? -- Getting your mind and focus off the tormenting words of the enemy and moving on?  All day those arrows were coming at me.  Most of the time I was wrapped up in other, more promising things, so I paid no attention.  But even still -- later in the day after spending some time with friends -- I came home and the voices were louder than ever.   Good thing my ears were tuned in to God's voice.  For right then and there, He gave me some specific instruction:

"Don't say it!"

cautioned the Lord.

"Don't open your mouth.

Don't repeat it.

Don't even think it!"  

That was God's advice.

When we speak things out loud, our ears hear them.  When our ears hear them, very often our brain takes action accordingly.  Next thing you know, you're out in left field wondering how you ended up knee high in crap.  It's because you spoke the words the devil planted in your mind - You watered them and let them grow.  Don't do it!  God instructs us to think otherwise:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,

whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever

is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable

-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy --

think about such things."

Philippians 4:8

No RED gardening boots for me today!  I refuse to wallow in the muck and mire.  No sir!  I'm sporting my RED high heels, keeping my mind focused on noble things and singing praises to God until this stormy spiritual weather passes.

Gail

Day 362

It's Day 362 of  The Red Shoe Project.  My RED shoes have been on my feet all day as I've done errands, cooked, cleaned house and pondered the things of God.  It's funny how God can use just about anything to speak something so profound when He wants to.  This book is proof of that!

For the life of me, I can't stop thinking about a television program I saw late last night.  A young woman was planning her wedding on a fairly tight budget.  She prided herself in her commitment to be frugal throughout the entire process.

In reality, she didn't have much of a choice.  She lives in NYC where everything is expensive, including weddings!  Yet, she was determined to have the wedding she wanted without excessive spending.  Word got out of her unique endeavor and a film crew decided to make a documentary of sorts on how to accomplish this using her as the example.


Here's what she didn't know:

Her immediate family and closest friends
were in on a HUGE secret. The  actual
intent of the show's producer was to give
her the fabulous wedding she truly desired,
no holds barred.



The young woman made sacrifice after sacrifice due to the high cost of things.  Necessary cuts had to be made here, there and just about everywhere.  She even resorted to making her own hors d'oeuvres, had benches instead of proper seating, ordered her bridal dress online, and skipped having any sort of live music for entertainment.  The list of things she had to settle for went on and on.

Here's what I loved about the program:

When the wedding day finally arrived, the producer, family and friends slowly began to unwrap the surprises for her. They started off by giving her the option of wearing her  "cheap-o," mail order dress  -OR-  she could wear the gorgeous $5000 designer dress that she had tried on one day "just for fun."  Yes!  She chose the fine dress.  Next, her dad showed up in an antique car to bring her to the wedding.  Yeah... that wasn't in her budget, but she jumped in all the same.  The surprises just kept getting bigger and better.

All the while, she just goes with the flow 

and enjoys it all!

She doesn't fuss.  She doesn't get upset.  She doesn't question a thing.  I'm not really sure that she was fully there.  Maybe she was in shock?  You know how brides can tend to kind of float through their wedding day on cloud nine?  That's what I mean by her not totally being there.  The whole event is so surreal -- let alone heaping unexpected extravagances on top of it all!

At first, I wasn't sure why I was so captivated by this program.  I just happened upon it as I surfed the channels, but once I started watching, 

I had to see it through to the end.  

Then, when I got up to go to bed, the Lord surprised me by asking...

  "What did you think of that?"

"Are you kidding me?  

That's exactly how I feel 

going into the new year.

I have no clue what's 

about to happen.  The 

only difference is that 

I know that YOU are 

in control of it all!"

 "Now I just have to master the art of 

going with the flow!"

I guess what surprised me the most was that the woman didn't hesitate in receiving all that was poured out on her.  She just enjoyed it.  She didn't care that her mail order dress got tossed to the side.  She took no offense that all the planning and prepping she did was in vain.  A crew of experts rushed in 24 hours before the gig and did a complete overhaul on the entire venue.  

Walking with the Holy Spirit is just like that.  You can plan all you want, but you have to be able to let go of everything and anything - often at the last minute -  for the upgrade!  If you're going to hem and haw, drag your feet, hold offense, complain and cry, your not a good candidate for Divine Partnership. I will say this:  When you're new to the role, He cuts you a lot of slack.  When you're not so new, He expects you to grow into the role, move with Him and follow His lead.

This year has been a lot of practice of just that.  

Next year I'm simply going to the next level!

In RED shoes, 

Gail

  

Day 361

Praying in partnership with the Holy Spirit is what's on my mind this 361st Day of  The Red Shoe Project.  My RED socks have been on my feet all day as I've puttered around the house in continual conversation with the Lord.

Jude 20  says this...

"... building yourselves up in your most holy 

faith and praying in the Holy Spirit..."

Although many would interpret "praying in the Holy Spirit"  as praying in other tongues, the book I was reading today ( Good Morning Holy Spirit)  stated  "it's so much more than that!  It also means to pray in the realm of the Holy Spirit and in the power of the Holy Spirit."

Hmmmm.  That got me thinking.  I have been praying a lot lately in my heavenly language.  When I do  that,  I sort of step aside and let the Spirit of God in me, pray directly to the Father for me.

"In the same way, the Spirit 

helps us in our weakness.  

We do not know what we ought to pray for,

 but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us 

through wordless groans."

Romans 8:26

True... sometimes it's me praying.  Other times it's the Spirit praying.  But even still, there are times when I feel  "WE"   are praying, in partnership with one another -- The Holy Spirit and Me!  Now that's a horse of a different color!


Today was one of those times.  I sat down rather intrigued by the idea of praying "in the realm of the Holy Spirit."   This isn't anything new to me, I've just never thought about it in those terms before.

A "realm"  is a kingdom, domain,  stomping ground, territory.

When I pray in the realm of the Holy Spirit, I am praying in His domain, not mine.  That would explain why I can see things in the Spirit.   Today, for example, I sat down, closed my eyes,  asked the Holy Spirit to partner with me in prayer and began to speak in a heavenly language.   Almost immediately, I saw a picture in my mind of a grave yard.  

I asked the Lord, 

"Why are you showing me a grave yard?  What does it mean?"  

Without hesitating, He responded, 

"These are the people who were prematurely robbed of their lives."

  

John 10:10 says...

"The thief comes only to 

steal, kill and destroy..."

My mind flooded with the names of all sorts of addictions:

Drugs          Alcohol 

Sex              Pornography   

Food           Gambling  

Spending    and more.

There is such a spiritual bondage in regards to such matters.  People are tormented.  Lives are destroyed.  Loved ones are left in despair.  No matter how you look at it, it's devastating!  

But the Spirit of God quickly reminded me that  John 8:36 says,

"... if the  Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

With that scripture, I found myself prompted to intercede for those battling with such addictions.  I started off with a rather general prayer of deliverance for a faceless mob of people, that I imagined, bound in shackles.  Then quite suddenly, specific names of the children of many of  my friends began popping into my mind.  I was reminded that each of them are caught up in an addiction of sorts, so I called out their names to the Lord, one by one,  and proclaimed freedom over their lives in Jesus' Name!  

That wonderful name of Jesus!  

There's such power in it!

Later in the day,  I saw a program on television in which the minister was proclaiming the promises of God's Word regarding our children.  He noted Proverbs 11:21 (KJV) which says

"... the seed of the righteous shall be delivered!"

That could easily be interpreted, 

"...the children of God's people will be set free!"

How is that going to happen?  Prayer.  Not just any old prayer.  Powerful prayer in partnership with the Holy Spirit.  Prayer and Fasting, perhaps.  Committed prayer.  Continual prayer.    

I'm praying.  You're praying.  The people who have come through it are praying.  The more people praying, the better.  Let's do it, and let's not stop until we see results!  Amen?  Will you unite with me?

In RED shoes, 

Gail

Day 360

It's the day after Christmas -- Day 360 of  The Red Shoe Project.   The house is quiet as I putter around in my RED socks.  All the hoopla, festivities and Christmas singing is over for another year.  Let me just say...
"I love it all!"   I hope all of you, dear Rubies, had a wonderful day with family, friends and of course, the Lord!


I don't know about you, but I don't
 start packing up all the Christmas decorations until after January 1st.
The house is so pretty at this time of year.  Between all the ribbons, bows, ornaments, cards and  stockings, the atmosphere is filled with a sense of Divine Anticipation.

It seems that  "Anything is Possible!"   

I like to let that thought linger as long as as I can.

Today my daughter headed out to visit with some friends for a few days.  I have the house to myself.  At first I was a little nervous.  "What am I going to do with myself ?"   Jordan and Pauly are in Jersey.  My son, Joe, is in Colorado.  And now Gracie is in Orlando.  Then it dawned on me...

 I've got three whole days 

of just Me and The Lord! 

What final work does He want to accomplish in my life these last few days of the year?  I'm not sure if I should shout "Hooray!" or  "Oh no!"  LOL!  We could be having a praise party, or the Lord could be performing some heavy duty heart surgery on me.  What's it going to be?  Maybe a little bit of both?

I met with my spiritual mentor today.  I told her that I was feeling quite vulnerable.  With all the  cleaning I've been doing in obedience to God, it's like I have no past.  When I look over my shoulder, there's nothing there.  There's nothing to hold onto.  It's a little scary.  I feel like everything behind me has vanished.  POOF!

It's only scary because the safety harness has been removed.  I was accustomed to having all sorts of  "stuff"  in my life --  ideas,  memories,  ways of doing things,  traditions to fall back on.  In reality, most of that was unprofitable.  It didn't work in the past,  so why would I think it would work in the future?   It was just taking up space in my life.

 Sometimes  "stuff"  makes us feel safe,

 but that doesn't mean we are safe.  

It can be an illusion.
(Kind of like a parachute that 
doesn't open when you jump!)

Someone once told me that when they were really little their mother put a safety harness on them and tied one end of it to a tree in the back yard.  I know that sounds kind of harsh, but in the old days, no one batted an eye at such a thing.  I suppose it seemed a rather good solution to keep a small child from falling into the pool or from running out of the yard and into the street.

Today I happened to come across a picture on the internet of a pregnant woman strapped into her car with a rather elaborate seatbelt.  Surely it was to protect her and the baby in case of an accident.  Yeah... she wouldn't be going anywhere.  She looked immovable!  I guess what I'm realizing is that while harnesses may provide protection, they can also be rather restrictive.  Hmmmm.  Just something to think about.

Truth be told, as I fly into the New Year without my old safety harness, I'm either going to fly or I'm going to fall flat on my face.  You can't talk about flying all the time and then never actually do it!  I've been flying all year.  You have been my witness that God has been with me every step of the way.  I have no doubts that He will continue to be with me from here on out as well.

He will be my safety harness.

Him - alone!

That's the next step for me!

I will trust in Him, His Word, and His voice. 

 I'll listen and I'll obey.  

For the first time, in who knows how long, I will be soaring without all that baggage!  What a difference that ought to make!  Sounds exhilarating!

In RED shoes, 
Gail