Decree a Thing!

"If you lay gold in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brook [considering them of little worth],

And make the Almighty your gold and [the Lord] your precious silver treasure,

Then you will have delight in the Almighty, and you will lift up your face to God.

You will make your prayer to Him, and He will hear you, and you will pay your vows.

You shall also decide and decree a thing, and it shall be established for you; and the light [of God's favor] shall shine upon your ways.

When they make [you] low, you will say, [There is] a lifting up; and the humble person He lifts up and saves.

He will even deliver the one [for whom you intercede] who is not innocent; yes, he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands." Job 22:26-30

You know, I was turning myself inside out, weaving ALL kinds of scripture to back something up that, once I took a little time away from it to get dinner, I realized I just needed to let God's Word tell the truth simply. Let the truth and the power in the scripture above soak in, read it, and read it, and read again, say it out loud, mark it in your Bibles.

Our Father Who art in Heaven, THY Kingdom come, THY Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. His will is GOOD. We need to be saturated in the knowledge of His will. To do that we must DELIGHT ourselves in Him, and one way we do that is to commune with Him in His Word. And practicing His presence, praising Him, worshiping Him, Thanking Him! The trying times that we have train us to turn to Him, trust in Him, Him alone, rejoice in Him. For many of us, 2009 has been a whole lot of that putting whatever our gold is down, and delighting in Him. NOW, He is leading us, calling us, instructing us to DECIDE and DECREE a THING and it SHALL BE established to you! Make your prayer known to Him for the coming year, and even include those in your realm of responsibility that He has entrusted to your intercessory care. Be it spouse, or son, or daughter-in-law, or sister, or niece. Pray His goodness into their lives, pray tenderness into their hearts. Bind the enemy from stopping their ears. Ask for the Holy Spirit to stir the hearts to seek the Lord while He may yet be found!

I believe with everything in me, He wants all who will, all who are inclined to take Him at His Word! Delight in Him and Pray, Decide and Decree and it shall be established! Take authority over your garden patch!

Clock's ticking! It's almost 2010! Decide and Decree!

Decree -

1.	a formal and authoritative order, esp. one having the force of law: a presidential decree.

2.	Law. a judicial decision or order.

3.	Theology. one of the eternal purposes of God, by which events are foreordained.

4.	to command, ordain, or decide by decree.

^"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]." Proverbs 18:21

The End of a Thing is BETTER than the Beginning!

^"11So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
¹²For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. (Isaiah 55:11-13, King James Version)"

2009. Mmmhmmmhmmhmm. It's been a year. Not all, but many people that I know have been going through some paring down, some pruning, some refining. Yeah. Been going on in my house fo' sho'! Look around you at current events and think back over the past year's news stories. Companies, local governments, families, schools, hospitals all cutting back, streamlining, more carefully targeting growth. How about whole family's investments being lost in ponzi schemes (like Madoff). Not fair. Not just. Unexpected. No going back. How about the people of the local government in Indiana (I believe that was the state) who the court system broke the rules of law in order to accommodate the Obama Administration's desire to have an automobile company go through bankruptcy without honoring the hierarchy the law requires for secured creditors to be honored first. Their retirement gone - kaput. Vamoose. God doesn't like it when court systems are unjust. Read through Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. Not. At. All.

I could go on to say that the current Administration, and both Houses of Congress, they're probably all I know of not feeling pain this year. They are on the upswing....or so it would seem!

In my own family there were challenges in so many fronts. And the Lord faithfully kept us, taught us, healed us, provided for us, sustained us, covered us throughout it all! During all of it I felt He wanted me to Know, wanted us to know - He was our Church, He was our provision, He was our friend, He was our covering. That He does NOT have LIMITS! You name it, He was IT!

Me personally? He kindly let me recognize hardheadedness, pride, grudging on behalf of my family members, weird complacency where I should not be complacent.

I mentioned all these woes and troubles, to say that God has been bringing it to my attention that not ONLY have all these things been for our good, that we would wake up, that we would seek Him, that we truly, in every way which we can at this point, see Him as our provision, not our jobs - they are just a tool in His hand, not our stock, they are just a tool in His hand. He puts one tool down and picks up a new one, who are we to say otherwise? We go where He goes, we stay where He stays, and so on. Not only were these experiences and trials for our good, BUT, I feel in my heart the Lord pointing out and wanting me to see and ACKNOWLEDGE, REJOICE, RELISH how much we are better off for what we have learned, how much more rooted in Him, how much more trained to look to Him and Him alone, how much more ready and likely to praise in the midst of panic and watch an opening for Grace to move in. Important to recognize that as we say good bye to 2009, we leave it stronger in the Lord and the power of His might, in joy, in hope, in great expectation, in stability.

Only a stable foundation can be built on and remain strong, steadfast. I remember when I first found out that if a building is not built strong enough for the later second story to be added, it sometimes isn't possible, and if done requires MUCH renovation. He has been preparing us for things, opportunities, great feats, relationships, authority, prosperity, things that would have been harmful to us, caused collapse, if we had not undergone these experiences which have pressed us and caused us to KNOW His goodness towards us, KNOW His faithfulness. We have been going through PREPARATION! Makes me giddy!

"Better is the end of a thing, than the beginning of it," Ecclesiastes 7:8

And knowing that, I have recognized we have an obligation to speak into the upcoming New Year. Post coming tomorrow about that!

Wise Men (and Women!) STILL seek Him!!

My oldest had a favorite thing to do at home with his father and I. He would hide. I think most children do. He did this A LOT! He scared me a bit, because I was concerned - were we paying enough attention? What if he got lost? I was a very young and inexperienced mother and spent much more time worrying than praying in his earliest years, and I grew as he grew. It turns out that he just LOVED to be found! He got such a satisfaction in the adventure of "hiding" and "seeking"! And the intimacy associated with us being in on the secret of his location! I do believe he liked knowing he mattered enough for us to seek after him. It's important to note that his goal was not to prevent us from finding him. The goal was 1) to be sought after, and then 2) to be FOUND!

The past few days I have been reminded through scriptures, that when we seek Him for knowledge, wisdom, truth, providence, direction, courage - He ALWAYS answers. We show our humility in seeking Him, and our desire for Him and His ways, and our faith in Him. In Daniel 2, Daniel didn't just quietly accept the execution order for all the wise men in the kingdom, he SOUGHT a reason why from the guard, and he received an answer. Then Daniel sought agreement and strength in his prayer partners in verses 17, 18. Here's an excerpt "So that they would desire and request mercy of The God of Heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." Verse 19 is the answer! "Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed The God of Heaven". (there's that THANKSGIVING again!).

This same pattern occurs in Matthew 2. The Wise Men are seeking Jesus, following the star to His location. As it came time to leave, the Amplified Bible tells us in verse 12 "And receiving an answer to their asking, they were divinely instructed and warned in a dream not to go back to Herod...". They sought Jesus, and they found Him. They sought direction, they received direction!

Every day for the past few months I have been making a prayer of a verse in Psalms "Show me Your ways Oh Lord, Teach me Your Paths". Because I am learning how very futile my thoughts and knowledge are, on my own. Truly, in every way, in the large and the small, the grand and the minute, I am needful of His grace, His light, His strength, His peace, His provision. Out of all these if I had to pick one - His light or direction/knowledge is one of the most valuable to me. Because without His light, I risk wasting, or misappropriating His rich blessings to me.

This week as I have been letting the beauty of the TRUE Christmas Story come to life and to light in me, I keep coming across this theme. The theme of seeking Him, the pattern of the Wise Men, back in Daniel's day and in the time of Jesus birth, as well as the BENEFITS of seeking Him! The fact that it pleases Him that we seek Him! I want to be that Wise woman! I want my husband and sons, one day my daughters-in-law, all my nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, parents and friends to have the wisdom and joy that comes from SEEKING Him always!

Listen to what Daniel said of our God, after the secret was revealed to him. "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever! For wisdom and might are His! He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding! He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him!"

May we ever seek Him and reap the rewards in living with knowledge necessary in these challenging times, which job to take, which one to pass on, which path of education to steer our child(ren) to and through? What to do with retirement stocks? Keep investing? move to something stable? What is stable now? Should I start that new class? Why are we still dealing with this? HE has the answers! He leads us by peace, day at a time!

A God of His Word - Words in red - Matthew 7:7 Amplified: "Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking (reverently) and (the door) will be opened to you."

Seek
1. to go in search or quest of: to seek the truth.
2. to try to find or discover by searching or questioning: to seek the solution to a problem.
3. to try to obtain: to seek fame.
4. to try or attempt (usually fol. by an infinitive): to seek to convince a person.
5. to go to: to seek a place to rest.
6. to ask for; request: to seek advice.
7. Archaic. to search or explore

"The path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day" Proverbs 4:18

Merry Christmas! Much love, ya'll! Maria

The GLORIOUS Disaster!!!

Some of my FB friends saw me joking about perspective based on my observations on Monday morning. PRIOR to being able to jest about it, I had to spend time pouring my heart to The Lord outside as I did the mundane chores that give me comfort, then I came inside and retreated to the "Bat Cave". As I lay in my room on my bed, with my Bible, phone, remote control and Fox News muted, so's I could read the ticker tape while I poured my heart out to God some more. I focused for a bit on Joseph and Mary In Matthew 1. Like so:

"18Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place under these circumstances: When His mother Mary had been promised in marriage to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be pregnant [through the power] of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹And her [promised] husband Joseph, being a just and upright man and not willing to expose her publicly and to shame and disgrace her, decided to repudiate and dismiss (divorce) her quietly and secretly.

²⁰But as he was thinking this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of (from, out of) the Holy Spirit.

²¹She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savior], for He will save His people from their sins [that is, prevent them from failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God]."

As I thought about these Joseph's and Mary's perilous situation, I got a little taste of the very dire circumstances for each. Try to consider what a strict religious culture they were a part of. The power that women have today, non existent by our standards. Mary, by the religious and cultural standards would, ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, be worthy of the death alotted to an adulteress. Think for bit on that. All my life a weak spot I have is telling bad news. I would just about put myself in any imaginable Lucy and Ethel moment to avoid telling bad news. Ridiculous, but true. May the Lord forgive me and gently lead me. But can you possibly imagine Mary having this conversation with Joseph? The Lord provided of course, but, I wouldn't think that would nullify her fears, but instead give her the grace, strength and favor to overcome them.

Now think of Joseph. Clearly he did not "buy" what she was selling as her "story". Yet, he was a gentle man, because he didn't want her death. He wanted to do it quietly. Divorce her discreetly. Can't blame him. From a religious point of view, yes there were prophecies, about a coming Messiah, but, clearly it was like it is today, not in my lifetime, and even if it was, THIS isn't what it would look like.

It looked from every understandable carnal viewpoint like a disaster. A pity. A shame.

But, it wasn't. Not. At. All. It was GLORIOUS!!!! The Lord was birthing something BEYOND ANYONE's comprehension in Mary. She humbly agreed to yield, to submit. She rose to the occasion. She probably came to understand by degrees, generally in my experience at least, that's how faith works. She wasn't stoned, she wasn't put away, she was loved. She lived, she gave birth.

Joseph heard the Lord, even in the heat of the moment where he was planning his discreet get away. He listened, he obeyed. he shielded, he protected, he lived to see the birth and THE Messaiah was born.

In Galatians 4:19 Paul tells the Church in Galatia "My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) in within you."

As I thought to myself and to The Lord on my bed that day I was aware that as His sons and daughters, we are NOT WITHOUT HOPE. We belong to a Father God that is GOOD to us. We live in a fallen world, we dance between carnal and spirit in our lives, which makes the ingredients for many GLORIOUS DISASTERS! Sometimes we help them them to happen, sometimes we are happened to, you know? BUT the GLORY? THE GLORY IS ALL HIM!!!!

Monday, what was being formed in me, and in Jason was for each of us our own separate resolves, each good and right. Additionally, for myself, The Lord I am quite sure, was teaching that what I was going through in that moment was not a matter of provision, which is what I was focused on, but a matter of an appointed time. He was very clear in His impression to me, and the way the situation worked out backed it up. He allowed unpleasant circumstances , did not cause them, allowed them to help Christ, the Mind of Christ be formed in me, and in Jason. That was my disaster - what is yours? It is not important that we know the middle, it is important that we KNOW The Omega! The Alpha and The Omega, The Beginning and The Ending!

Christ in YOU! and In ME! THE HOPE OF GLORY!!!! Hallelujah!

OH MY GOSH! As I finish this GAC is on and Bucky Covington just came on stage singing his cover of a Nickleback song! I'm in Hilly Billy Heaven, Ya'll!!! God Wink! This moment was JUST FOR ME!

Much love, Maria!

Ethereal Effervescence

Ethereal: 1) light, airy or tenuous: "an ethereal world created by poetic imagination." 2) extremely delicate or refined: "ethereal beauty" 3) heavenly or celestial: "gone to his ethereal home" 4) of or pertaining to the upper regions of space. 5) Characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible. 6) Highly refined, delicate. 7) a - of the celestial spheres, heavenly, b - Not of this world, spiritual
Effervescence: of several definitions, I choose this for today "to show high spirits or animation", the synonyms show the feeling I don't know how to describe, click here to see.

Yesterday I was running an errand for church early in the morning and on one of the little side roads that I chose in order to get to the Giant Super Mart that shall be unnamed, I experienced one of those scenes like from a movie, it was very surreal. There was a wonderful, whirling dervish of tinkling leaves, at once gentle and wild. It moved in front of me as I drove for a good pace, and when I came back through on the way back to the church, it met me again, always staying just ahead of me, as if in elvish delight.

I can't explain the thrill, the other worldness of that scene, that experience. I heard a term not long ago that comes close to it, it's called a "God Wink". Those little things, that are often sprinkled throughout your week, if only your heart is turned towards Him, and you look with expectancy. Not like seeing markings in cows, or in your French Toast. But those things that are akin to the wink between two people in a large group of people, say at a cook-out or meeting, the wink that conveys a shared connection in that moment, based on that thread of the conversation, that maybe only the two of you get, and you will never speak of it. My Daddy is famous for these, usually accompanied by a stroking of his mustache...

I was thinking of two things in the rush that hit me upon seeing and hearing the tinkle and whirl of the leaves. 1) That people miss these God Winks all the time. What a shame. And 2) That it reminded me of yet another verse which I love to ponder and never fully comprehend. John 3:6-8 'What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not (do not be surprised, astonished) at my telling you, You must be born anew (from above). The wind blows (breathes) where it wills; and though you hear its sound, yet you neither know where it comes from nor where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

At the time, I thought of the verse for the obvious reason. But, once again, as I obediently heeded the nudge to try to tackle this post, I sensed something larger at play, another teaching moment as a gift from above...He's been reminding me that we are seated in Heavenly places and I am brewing some good stuff on that...and somehow I sense that this verse and that experience are woven together, with the concept of being seated in heavenly places. As in, to be born again, and seated in heavenly places, means there is and should be a very intangible quality, even buoyancy to us. You can't keep us down, the enemy can't grab hold of us, we bring an energy a zest that is contagious, that deposits into the people around us. We bring LIFE with us wherever we go.

Something about us is a bit like that wonderful experience where God met me in the whirl and twirl, tinkle and swirl of those delightful leaves on Sunday!

Much love, Maria!

The Gate Called BEAUTIFUL!!

"Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You choose and cause to come near, that he may dwell in Your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple." Psalm 65:4 Amplified (turning up the volume of the original KJV)

So many thoughts, so little time to choose and order them...trusting The Lord to order my steps (thoughts and words in this instance!). This year had some tough challenges and it wasn't pretty or comfy as we went through pruning and refining! The season seems to be changing! Fruit is popping up and it IS indeed luscious! But in the hardest, darkest times the golden thread that I would grab hold of from time to time was Thanksgiving or Giving Thanks...I'd like to say that I "clung" to it...that sounds so much more appealing to our Christian sensibilities. However, the truth is what will set you free! I most certainly did not cling to this truth, but God, Who is rich in His mercy, kept helping me to catch sight of the golden thread and when I did glimpse it, I indeed grabbed it...would indeed be refreshed for a while, and then as the dreary clouds would encroach again, I would then drop it and amble on the path weary and slowly, not having the means or the clear direction where to travel, just one day at a time.

As I took those steps day at a time, more light came and more revelation of the power of Thanksgiving and the purpose and power of Praise. I PRAY I never forget, never weaken in my resolve to continually let Thanksgiving pour forth, and when it doesn't want to pour, that I will shake my vessel and tip it on its head if I have to, in order to pour some out.

Do you have some places in His Word, that draw you, but you don't have full revelation of them, and probably never will. But you love to look at them, to think on them, ponder and mull, and let Him over time give you a little puzzle piece here and there? One such place for me is Acts 3.

"And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;" Acts 3:2 KJV

I encourage you to read verses 1-10 by clicking here, then come back! :)

The name of the gate...has always beckoned and always will beckon me. Inviting me to know Him more fully. Jesus said "I am The Way and The Truth and The Life No one comes to the Father except through me.". This one time, poor, lame man in Acts 3 was lame "from his mother's womb" JUST LIKE US! due to our sin nature. He was invited in by Peter, as we are to "In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Rise up and walk !", enter into the gate, the gate which is called Beautiful! He went leaping and praising, and I would imagine making a bit of noise as he went into the temple, through the gate which is called Beautiful!

The simple elegant golden strand which the Good Lord repeatedly put in my path to hang onto was just this, thank me that your name and those of your husband and your sons, and all that you are thankful for, that their names are written in The Lambs Book of Life. Out loud. So I would, as I performed the routine tasks in a cloud of pain, disillusionment and confusion, I would state my gratitude that indeed my name is written in The Lamb's Book of Life, my husband's name is written in The Lamb's Book of Life, my son James, my son Jason, I am so blessed that their names are written in The Lamb's Book of Life. More and more I would do this, and every time it was like walking on a bridge to a place where I would find JOY waiting for me! I would be refreshed and continue on the good fight of faith! I just realized yesterday that that truth, that mercy that the Lord showed me, was very crucial to where I am, where I will stay "Psalm 23 "...and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever."! Where I will bring it with me wherever I go!

Psalm 100 again: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful to Him, and bless His Name.". Yes, there are still and always be challenges, but I have more tools, more revelation, I can fight smarter, and I KNOW Him more fully, which gives me rest! Blessed indeed "is the man You choose and cause to come near, that he may dwell in Your courts."