Adventures with Lisa

So I had a couple of adventures lately. I meant to blog about them earlier, but this week was very busy and I didn't have time to do it until now. 

Adventure #1: Last week Wednesday, I was leaving work and headed to the post office, which is my usual routine. I turned onto Murphy Mill and was just driving along. I had 50 million different things flying through my head that I was thinking about. One of those things was NOT how fast I was going. So, of course there was a police officer clocking people, watching for speeders. He pulled me over. It was ridiculously hot, and I was having to wait for awhile. Long story short, he told me he clocked me going 49 in a 35. Whoops! I don't ,drive that much over the speed limit, so when he told me that, I knew he was going to give me a ticket. He took my license and went back to his car. When he came back, he asked me if I have ever gotten a ticket before. I told him I had not. He told me he didn't think so, and that he didn't want to be the one to break my streak. He let me go with a written warning. He also thanked me for not arguing with him. (I never understand people who are brash enough to argue with an officer. Really? Are you TRYING to get yourself thrown in jail???) Needless to say, I was incredibly grateful. I knew it was the favor of God. And it was a real life example of how God is...that even when I sin and deserve punishment, He is gracious and merciful and does not give me what I deserve. I was REALLY happy because my sister and I had plans to go to Montgomery that Friday, and had I gotten a ticket, shopping would have not been an option for me! And shopping was so much fun! Found good sales and got a couple items I really wanted.

Adventure #2: On the way back from Montgomery, there were 5 or 6 dump trucks traveling down the highway. My sister was driving and in the process of passing the trucks. Gravel was flying out of them and showering the windshield, which I (obviously) did not like. With good reason. A larger (though still small) stone flew out from underneath the door (don't know what they technically call it) on the back of the truck and proceeded to crack my windshield. Not chip. Crack. Thankfully it wasn't a huge crack. It was just over 1/2 an inch. But still. I was NOT happy. I finally called up my insurance company and got hooked up with Safelite who came to the house today to repair the damage. It doesn't look as bad to me, though you can still see it, of course. Plus the guy cleaned the outside of my windows AND vacuumed my floorboards! That was awesome. And I didn't have to pay a cent. 

So those are my recent adventures. If life stays this "exciting," I think I have found a new name for my blog!

IT'S FALL, Y'ALL!!!!

Okay, so not really. For one, it is too hot. However, this IS Alabama, so it's almost always hot. I'm sure it FEELS like fall SOMEWHERE in the United States right now!

I probably say this every year, but I can't help myself...

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!!

This time of year, I feel like I come alive. I get this sense of anticipation and excitement. I'm ready for cool nights (AND DAYS!!!). I'm ready for sweaters, scarves, and boots. I'm ready for pumpkin spice lattes and holidays. I'm ready for some FOOTBALL!!!

Friday, I went to the park to walk. It was my first time going out there in over a month, so it was long overdue. It wasn't bad when I got there, but by the time I was halfway through the trail, it was ridiculous! The heat was awful. But there was something about the way the sun was shining that morning as I drove to the park. It felt like I was waking up and I suddenly felt very excited and I burst out, "IT'S FALL, Y'ALL," even though I was alone in my car and no one could hear me. The sun seems to shine differently in the fall. I can't explain it. But it makes me happy. In those moments, it doesn't matter what is going on in my life, I know everything is going to be okay.

I Saw the Light

Have you ever thought you wanted something? Well, let me rephrase that...have you ever REALLY wanted something? Then things happen and you don't get it and you are left hurting and wondering WHY, GOD, WHY??? For me, it seems like most of the time I never get an answer. I'm left hurting and wondering because there was never an explanation given. (Obviously, the last sentence refers to situations that involve other people). I have learned a lot about myself recently. I hate unresolved issues. However, I hate conflict and confrontation. Do you see my problem here? I am STILL, after 30 years, learning to move on and let things go, usually with no answer as to why. (More or less my own fault, too.)

I re-listened to an older message of Keith Moore's titled "Trust Him." In it, he started talking about people asking "why." He said the why isn't the issue. "The issue is what you do when you don't know why. That's when your heart is proven. That's when your faith, or lack thereof, is proven." That was something I definitely needed to hear again! I believe I have moved on. Yes, I still deal with feelings and lingering thoughts. But I can't be governed by that. I have to cast down those feelings and thoughts and not give place to them. I have to trust God, even though something doesn't make sense to me and I don't understand it. I don't have to understand everything. True faith trusts God no matter what things look like on the outside.

So, I have to move forward, cast down thoughts and feelings (sometimes almost constantly, all day long). I can honestly say, by God's grace, I am doing that quite successfully. It's amazing how free I feel since I let go of things. I felt challenged the other day...like God was asking me, "Do you really trust Me? Do you really believe that My plans for you are for good and not evil? To give you hope and a future? You speak that daily, but do you really believe it?" What am I going to say to that??? "No, God, I'm not sure I can trust You." How can I say that to Him? To the One who has NEVER failed me or left me or let me down. The ONLY one. My only option was to prove to Him I trust Him, by laying those things down once and for all.

Usually, asking why is never a good idea. But sometimes, when you least expect it...when you have moved on and let something go, you can be surprised with an answer. This happened to me. I got an answer. Not necessarily an answer that was easy to hear, but an answer nonetheless. But you know what? The answer opened my eyes. It proved what I have been telling myself for some time now. I recognize that I'm better off without something I wanted. I see things and recognize it wasn't good for me. God knew that all along. By God's grace, I was spared. Had I asked God to being with, I would have been spared even more. But as it is, I've been hearing so much about being led by the Spirit IN EVERYTHING. My heart desires that. My heart longs for God to be so big in me, that nothing moves me, nothing phases me. I know what I wanted was not God's best for me. It was a distraction. It wasted my time. But God is merciful. And even though I did what I wanted, God still protected me and brought me through it.

I don't mean to sound like a broken record...

There are so many thoughts floating around in my head. I know God has great things in store for me, things for me to walk in even right now. But it is definitely a battle to get in position for those things to come to pass in my life. It’s no surprise, because the Bible says “labor to enter into rest” and “fight the good fight of faith.” That means it is going to take work! It is going to take diligence. I find myself feeling weary and tired of fighting, but each and every day I remind myself of the things God has promised me. I know things are difficult right now because satan doesn’t want me to have the things God has for me. He doesn’t want me walking in those things. As weary as I feel at times, I won’t give up. I won’t quit. I know that the promises of God are on the other side of everything I am dealing with right now.

I am faced with my flesh, my emotions, my feelings, each and every day. And, multiple times a day, I have to say to myself that “NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME.” (I know that is not what that scripture is technically referring to, but it fits.) I know what God said. My head may not understand, but it doesn’t have to. It will find out eventually. I don’t have to understand how or why, I simply have to BELIEVE.

I listened to Keith Moore’s series “Spirit Led” again. I need to play that over and over and over! It’s like everything he said in those messages is specifically for me. (I highly recommend them. Great stuff!) I realized, as I have so many times over the years, if I had simply listened to my Spirit, I would have been saved so many heartaches. Even now, the things I am dealing with, I see all the mistakes I made in situations and have so many regrets. “If I had just done this, or not done that, maybe things would be different.” I get angry at other people for what they did, but then I look back at myself and see all the things I did (or didn’t do). Then I feel like I have no right to be angry, and it is my fault.

I don’t remember if it was yesterday or today, but I know at one point, my mind was going back to a specific “issue” (as it so often has of late), and it hit me, “I have to forgive myself.” I realized I have not yet forgiven myself for the mistakes I made recently. But I have to forgive myself and LET IT GO. If I don’t, I will never be able to move forward. Whether or not someone else chooses to forgive me and move past something I did wrong is not my concern. If I know I messed up, all I can do is repent. So I’m hanging in there…keeping His Word before my face…reminding myself of His promises…saying what the Word says. I know that there are only good things ahead for me!

I spent the day with Keith Moore and it was AWESOME!

So there are some things I have written over the past month or so that I considered posting, but I'm not sure I should at this point. Yesterday was a rather quiet work day, so I thought about writing something, but I had no idea what to write about. Anyway, I ended up listening to quite a few messages online and I wrote this afterwards:

So today was a very quiet day at work. To remedy that, I went online and listened to two messages from earlier this year. I also listened to the word Joe Morris spoke to me as well as when he prayed over the staff during the 20^th anniversary meetings a couple years ago. Some things were brought to my remembrance and I got stirred up! I was so excited, and the things I listened to really encouraged me.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Keith Moore is one of my favorite ministers. I was sitting at my desk thinking about what I was going to listen to next. Then I thought, “Well, I haven’t listened to any of Keith Moore’s messages in a while, so I think I will go over to his website and see what I can find.” One of the very first series listed was “Spirit Led.” I thought that sounded like a good place to start, so I clicked on it.

Oh. My. Gosh.

It was 3 services from a meeting he did in Minnesota back in February. And it was EVERYTHING I needed to hear. It was so awesome! I realized, I was led by the Spirit to listen to teaching about being led by the Spirit! HA! How great is that? I listened to all 3 services and had church all by myself! There were so many things that ministered to me. I received correction, encouragement, and instruction. There is no way I can type all the things that I got out of those messages, but I will definitely be listening to them again!

God is really knocking my socks off these days and I LOVE IT!!!

I am telling you, those messages were awesome! There were so many things he said, and points he made. I want to write about them, but words fail me when I try to figure out where to begin. There were things he said that I have heard before, but they were presented in a way that was new to me. 

I know God is up to something. He's doing something in my life. Outside, things may look the same, but I'm not moved by that. I know change starts on the inside, and something's gotta give. God's Word is TRUTH and that is what I'm standing on. I don't care what others think about me or what they do or what they don't do, because my life is founded on HIM, and that is not going to change! Yes, I have made mistakes. Yes, I have messed things up in my life. But that is in the past. God has been working on me and I realized the other day, I no longer feel shame or condemnation over the things I have done. I'm still not proud of those things, but they have no hold on me anymore. God set me free from all that. It took awhile, but God is gracious and merciful. He still loves me and wants to "lead me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."

A New Perspective

               These days, I have been trying to focus on God, spend more time with Him, that sort of thing. I want my relationship with God to be more real. I want it to actually be the most important relationship in my life. I want God to be more than just someone I run to when I have a problem. I was reading a book that talked about a relationship with God being more fulfilling than a relationship with a man. I’ve heard things like that my whole life, but being older, it seems impossible. But my eyes are being opened to realize it is possible. But more than being possible, it is necessary.

               So for that reason, I have been really focusing on watching my thoughts. I have always been a big daydreamer, and I’m sure that has caused a lot of my problems. I’ve been talking to God about these things, and also telling Him what I want my relationship with Him to be like. I can’t say that is based on any scripture, but a real relationship is like that, right? In a human relationship, I would (or ought to) communicate to another person what I want and what I want to see in the future, discussing direction and goals and dreams. So why not with God?

               My thoughts for the past couple weeks have been consumed (I know, strong word, but very truthful in this instance) with this. I have really been looking inward, seeing things that need to be changed, and giving areas previously withheld over to God. Time is running out and I’m fed up with getting out of a rut only to fall back into it a year or two later. It has been challenging, but I know it will be worth it in the end.

               So, in the attempt to “clean up” my thought life, I have really been attempting to put a stop to all the daydreams that get me stuck in those ruts. One night, while I was talking to God and focusing my thoughts on Him, a passage of scripture came up in my spirit. I remembered the story of when Jesus spoke to the Pharisees and told them about unclean spirits. He said the unclean spirit leaves a man, looks for a new place, and doesn’t find one. So he goes back to the house where he came from and “finds it empty, swept, and put in order.” Then he goes and finds 7 spirits even more evil than himself and they enter there and “the last state of that man is worse than the first.” (Matthew 12:43-45)

After I was reminded of that passage, it came up in my spirit, “If you get rid of those daydreams, what will you replace them with?” I had never thought of that before. I never thought there was really any alternative. Then I felt God speak to me, “Dream of me. Think about me.” It was kind of strange for me. I felt like that was sacrilegious or “crazy.” Daydream about God? You can’t be serious! That’s weird! But is it?

Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” That sounds like a rather intimate type of moment to me.

I like writing. I always have. Lately, I haven’t been able to sit down and start writing a story start to finish. In my daydreaming, I’d envision different circumstances, and then I’d sit down and write them out. I keep all these vignettes in a notebook. There is no order or real coherence to them, I just write them down as they come. I figure if I keep them together in one place, maybe one day, they will fit together somehow (or with some changes here and there) and become a book. I may not use all of them, but perhaps some of them.

Well, when God spoke to me about focusing my daydreaming on Him, I felt prompted to write a vignette like that. So finally, the other evening, I took time and really thought about the longing and desire I have for a real, intimate relationship with someone. Instead of thinking about meeting someone, I thought about what it might be like if God was physically here, and I could spend time with Him. What would that look like? What would that be like? I wrote down what I thought about that moment, and I want to share that with you.

The sun was shining. It was a perfect day. As she reached the end of the path and the trees gave way, she saw him sitting there, at the same picnic table, waiting for her. She got excited when she saw him. Her face broke into a smile and she made her way over to him.

   “I’m so glad you came to see me today,” he told her.

   “When you called, there was no way I could refuse. I didn’t see you yesterday, and I missed you,” she spoke honestly.

   “I missed you more,” he said. “But you are here now, and that is all that matters.”

   She sat down in his lap and he put his arms around her and held her. She told him all about her day and everything that happened. He listened quietly, stroking her hair. She couldn’t help herself. She poured everything out, even admitted to feelings that made her feel like a failure. She was a tad scared and she didn’t look at his face, because she couldn’t bear to see disapproval there.

   But she didn’t sense any disapproval. All she felt was love. It enveloped her. She felt it down in her soul. There was peace and comfort in his arms, not judgment.

   “I could have helped you. I wish you would have let me help you.” His tone was not harsh or condemning, but almost wistful.

   “I know. But I felt like it was such a small thing and that I ought to be able to handle it on my own.”

   “It’s not a matter of whether you are able to handle it or not. It’s about the fact that I don’t want you to handle it. I want to take care of you. I want to help you. I never want you to carry any burden. You are strong, but I am stronger. I don’t want you taking care of anything that I can do for you.”

   She was in awe of him. His love was evident in every word, every look, and every mannerism. How could she have gone a day without speaking to him? How could she ever refuse him when he made her feel the way he did? Then she was embarrassed by her selfishness. Her thoughts were all about what HE did for HER. But that’s what drew her to him. That’s why she loved him. She couldn’t deny that. If he did not pursue her, if he did not care for her the way he did, she would not love him that much. Her love wasn’t perfect like his.

   “Nothing gives me more pleasure than you being here with me, spending time with me.”

   She felt unworthy. “I don’t understand why you say things like that. After all the times I’ve neglected you, let you down. How can you say that?”

   “Because I love you.”

   “I know, but…”

   “There are no ‘buts.’ I love you. Nothing will ever change that. I want you.”

   She wanted to cry. She had done so many things to hurt him, yet he still loved her. He still waited for her. He still wanted her. No one else had ever been so forgiving. But he did more than forgive…he forgot.

               I know some of this may sound strange. Believe me; it is not easy for me to share this. There are other things that I have seen over the past week from doing research that I have written down. I have not shared all those things yet because I feel awkward sharing them. But this is something that is so big in me right now. These are things I have heard my whole life and I am now, FINALLY, at the age of 30, beginning to understand and grasp them. When I think of all the years I have wasted by not learning these things…all the people I have hurt along the way because I did not truly understand these things…it makes me sad. But God is merciful. He can restore. He can mend.

               His love is real. Like in the vignette, I feel like it is selfish of me to think about God in the sense of what He does for me. 1 John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

My thoughts from a couple days ago...

"I’ll remind myself of all that You’ve done

And the life I have because of Your Son

Love came down and rescued me

Love came down and set me free

And I am Yours, I am forever Yours

Mountain high or valley low

I sing out, remind my soul

That I am Yours, I am forever Yours"

Sometimes, life is tough. Things don’t always work out the way you want. Sometimes, you have to FIGHT for what you want. I received some MAJOR encouragement a couple weeks ago. I was so blessed and excited. Yet, ever since then, things have been TOUGH. I’ve been struggling, and most of the struggle has been in my own mind, although it is due to outside circumstances. The other day, a verse came up in my spirit. I am going to share the Amplified version here, because the Amplified is probably my favorite translation.

Hebrews 4:10-11 - ¹⁰For he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own. ¹¹Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell].

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of strive is “to devote serious effort or energy :  endeavor” or “to struggle in opposition :  contend.” So basically, it is going to be a fight. We will have to FIGHT to enter into that rest. But once we enter it, oh how sweet it is! I realized, yes, I received an awesome word. Yes, God has GREAT things for me. But satan isn’t excited for me. He isn’t going to sit back and say, “Wow, Lisa! That’s great what God has for you! Enjoy it! Enjoy the Word!” If anything, he is going to be throwing stuff at me to KEEP me from receiving all that God has for me. He doesn’t want me joyful. He doesn’t want me to experience God’s fullness. So I have to fight. I have to put my flesh down. I have to take control of my mind and emotions. I have to resist the devil. The Bible promises that if I resist him, he WILL flee! (James 4:7)

I have been rather double-minded over the past week or so, and that is definitely not good! Like I said, the scripture from Hebrews came up in my spirit. I realized I needed to do SOMETHING to get my mind under control. I listened to some messages, read some mini books, and then I did some scripture confessions. I also spent time praying and singing songs to God. It is AMAZING how things calm down when you get your focus off of you and onto HIM! Now I know what I need to do. I REFUSE to let anything distract me or come between me and the promises of God!