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A Relationship with God

Lord, I am—we are—always asking You for things. Please do this, or heal that. Please help us or guide us or protect us. And we do try to remember to thank You and praise You—is that what You mean by a reciprocal relationship? Our praise? Or our offerings, our money or tithes? Or when we help someone else?

When you give your money or your time to help someone else, you are really practicing one facet of “love one another.” And yes, of course that pleases Me, just as a parent rejoices to see a child sharing toys or treating someone kindly.

God, it’s hard to think of You as needing anything from us.

Can you believe your behavior at times breaks My heart?

Yes, Lord. I can, definitely.

And can you believe your behavior can delight My heart?

Well, yes, of course—as You just said, like a child doing well and making a parent proud.

So can you stretch your belief beyond God-as-Parent to consider the implications of God-as-Friend and God-as-Spouse? Think of what parents provide children—food, shelter, safety, a place where they can grow and discover the world around them and who they are. I Am all of that. All of that is contained in a relationship with Me. But it can be so much more, and that is what I Am inviting you into—and through you, inviting others, many others, as many as will listen, into.

Think of the way you began to feel about your husband, how you couldn’t wait to see him, to be together, to tell him all about your day and hear all about his. Think of the excitement you felt to hear his voice or to be in his arms.

But isn’t ours more of a cerebral relationship, all this dialog?

Is it? What about the hearts you find? What about the Light Shows I put on, just for you? What about those times you heard My Angels singing? What if I heighten your senses to experience My Presence with you in a holy way, so your taste, your sight, your hearing, your smell, even your sense of touch is ramped up to make you more aware of what life in Heaven is like?

Wait—heaven is sensory?

What did you think, that your senses disappear?

Well, yes, like when You said we don’t marry, we are like angels.

All I meant by that statement is, your loving others is not exclusive, but expansive. Your heavenly capacity to love is too large to center on just one or even a few persons. And you can begin to expand your capacity even while on earth. It is what couples do when they adopt, or when someone starts a rescue shelter.

Remember I ate before My Disciples after My Resurrection. I had a Body. I have a Body, without the limits an earthly body has, limits of time, space, strength, and stamina.

So what do I need to do, to heighten our relationship?

Let Me woo you. Trust Me to give you good gifts; trust Me with your dreams. And when I open new doors, go through them joyously! Little one, you are so worried, about time. Tell Me your dreams.

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The Third Way

Lord, what do we do when we want two things that are—or seem—mutually exclusive?

A Third Way.

Lord, there is a third way?

There is always a third way. That is one message of My Resurrection: on the third day, a third way. Neither the life I had before, nor death as finality, but resurrection, a third thing, a third way. Neither a caterpillar nor a chrysalis but a butterfly—a third way, a third thing.

So, Lord, when I get trapped in either/or thinking, I should look for a third way?

 The third way is not rational. It is not a logical conclusion. Nor is it a synthesis of what has gone before. The third way is new in every sense of that word. The third way can seem miraculous even, because it is so fresh, so unexpected. It is nothing you can dream up on your own. The third way is a Divine surprise, a solution so far beyond the obstacle or problem or challenge as to render it insignificant.

The third way is the doctor coming into the room, puzzled, and saying, I don’t understand these test result but the cancer cells are gone. Healing is a third way solution. So is miraculous provision, like the coin in the fish’s mouth, like the net bursting with a catch, like the loaves and fishes multiplied. Seek the third way, even in business. No, especially in business. I promise you, there is a third way, and it doesn’t involved you weighed down, drowning in debt, but walking on the water of provision.

 

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Talking and listening

Now I’m at that awkward pause point where, in a conversation, you realize you’ve been doing all the talking.

There never needs to be any awkwardness between us. You assume I don’t care what you have to say, that your thoughts or feelings or words don’t matter. Of course they matter–they are the fabric of your daily life. Out of your thoughts arise your choices–and those matter a great deal, how you spend your time, and with what attitude. If you didn’t have Me to talk to, here, much of what you think and feel would remain locked inside you, never to be acknowledged or directly expressed, or worked through. Your thinking would be more muddled than clear.

Sometimes, I Am like a therapist who asks one question just so you can listen to yourself. So, what do you hear when you listen to yourself this morning?

I hear focus, Lord. I do. I have a lot to get done, but I don’t feel panicked. I feel…confident, actually.

You see, spending this time with Me has already done you much good. You’ve checked your compass–you know you are on course.

And that’s it?

Isn’t that enough for one day? These conversations don’t always have to be profound. Sometimes they can be, they need to be, very practical. What good is a relationship if it doesn’t touch you where you really live?

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Learning to see

I have more “space” in my 3-page journal allotment. Lord?

You are learning where your power lies, where your strength is. You are learning the power of gentleness. You are learning where to apply stubbornness. You are learning there is a time to stand. Because of your tendency to reticence, you are learning to carefully consider your words when you do speak. You are practicing awareness and connection–to My Spirit first, to My beautiful world, to others around you.

Somewhere along your path, you picked up the idea that worry was a sign of caring. That you could not care without worry. From there, it was easy to pick up fear, and then, to let those become so heavy that they turned into panic. Hauling worry, fear, and panic, along with their companions anxiety and stress has exhausted you, and robbed you of joy and peace, of hope and vision.

The world has enough doom-and-gloomers. My world needs visionaries–those who see Light, who see reason to hope, who see evidence of My Presence. Hope is the evidence of things not seen–not seen by others. Not seen–yet–by the world. But you see! I’m telling you, you DO see. That is why and how you can have hope. Hope isn’t blind. It is seeing the evidence others don’t see. It is making the invisible, visible. That is what I mean when I say, you are My visionary. That is why the phrase “stubborn hope” has resonated with you so. It is who you are–who I made you to be, not blind, but seeing, and sharing what you see, for Who I Am.

 

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Why is all this happening?

But why is all this happening in the first place? I don’t understand.

 

You have stories from the Old Testament where prophets warned ahead of time about disasters to come. Well, your scientists and climatologists are modern-day prophets, and just as in those Old Testament stories, today’s rulers ignore their warnings at their own–and their citizens’–peril.

 

So what is an ordinary person to do?

 

Pray. Keep connected. Counsel as many as will listen, now and afterwards, to heed the warnings. Believe I can even now inspire solutions, creative solutions, to ease the pain the earth is feeling.

 

The earth is in pain?

 

Of course. You think a storm like this impacts only humans? The very earth, the waters, the winds and waves, are literally suffering even as their energy is ramped ever higher. For the earth is Mine–and its fullness–and no part of My earth rejoices in destruction, not flood, not fire. Rain, wind, fire–these were meant as blessings, not curses. The earth is out of balance and suffers under the weight of that burden. And yes, it is breaking My heart. I made earth out of a dream in My Heart, of a place of great beauty, populated by great love. Now look at it!

 

Lord, You made miracles. Miracles for the blind and lame, You cleansed lepers, You healed the deaf, You cured epilepsy, You transformed water to wine, You multiplied meager resources, You helped Peter pay his taxes, You brought an abundant catch of fish, You calmed the storm on the Lake, You raised Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus. You make miracles Now. So please…would my fasting help?

 

That is another misconception. You never have to “convince Me” or “persuade Me” to take a loving action, to be Who I Am: Healer, Protector, Provider. You think this is what you have to do. But, no. I Am Healer. I Am Protector. I Am Provider. You merely have to receive. And receiving is an individual choice.

Some sadly, don’t know. Don’t understand. Don’t realize Who I Am. Some cannot really accept that I Am here to be all those things, for them. So they give up, or give in. They don’t know. Knowing isn’t study, isn’t listening to or memorizing sermons or Bible verses. Knowing implies relationship. Knowing about Me and knowing Me are two very different things. Knowing about Me breaks down in crisis, personal or collective. Only knowing Me, Who I Am, gets you through. So pray Floridians hear Me, sense Me, pray they listen. For everyone who is able to listen, truly hear My Voice, will be spared, even in this storm.

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Don’t Be Afraid

Please. Will You hear my heart’s cry, and will You please intervene? Will You do this thing I am asking?

 

Because you have asked this, I say to you, I am hearing your cry, and I will act to save Florida from destruction that would have otherwise been. Not to show Myself strong–to show you, to show praying people everywhere, how strong, how effective your prayers are. I have asked you to pray, asked you to ask, so you can see how this works, how prayer, how connecting with Me and getting hold of My Heart, changes everything. “For it is not My will that anyone perish.”

Yesterday I asked, and I am still praying You weaken the storm, wring it out. So in advance of a strike, I see the storm is weaker. Thank You. And I posted my “I can’t hear You” entry.

Yes, you can.

You can hear Me.  And you know I hear you–all of you. I Am not deaf, and I Am not mute. Neither are you.

Okay, so, deep breath, what would You say? Now? To our fear? “Fear not” doesn’t seem practical.

Fear is a last resort. I never want any child, any of My Children, which means anyone on the planet, to feel afraid. I said “fear not” over and over and over. I sent angels to say “Don’t be afraid.” I don’t want humans afraid. That is not My will or My plan.

But isn’t Your will what happens? I mean, You are God–so, Thy Will Be Done–it’s Your will, it is what is supposed to happen, right?

Oh, little one, no wonder you are so afraid, so susceptible to fear and the torment fear brings.

No, My will is, sadly, rarely done. That is why what you call The Lord’s Prayer begins with, first, an acknowledgement that I Am Holy, which is another way of saying I Am Goodness, I Am Kindness, I Am Pure Love. Next comes “Thy will be done” as a plea, not as a statement of fact. If My will were done, you would be living in Eden: no shame, no regret, total transparency between humans, and completely tame wildlife. You would be fed, fulfilled, healthy, loving, and loved. There would be peace on earth.

I asked you to pray for God’s will to be done in the context of My Holiness, My Hallowedness, not to focus your attention on all that is wrong in the world, but as a way to align yourself with all that is good and right and true.

Right now, your heart-cries and pleas for mercy are good and right and true, and I promise you, I Am acting on behalf of all My people, prompting everyone to take action, to take shelter, to keep themselves safe in the storm. You ask, where am I? I am in the midst of Irma, weakening it here, turning it there, giving as many people possible as much time as possible to flee and get to safety.

 

 

 

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I can’t hear You

Lord, I can’t hear You. Please…

You’ve let the world become too loud again in your heart, Little One. Not My world—the world of protest and angst, of fear and anger, of doubt and despair and desperation. Even Jesus “came apart”—you need to “come apart” before you completely come apart at the seams. The fabric of your life with Me is not thin, not fragile, not worn, not threadbare. It is like a blanket of down, remember? It is the soft buckskin of Give-Away deer to remind you, footprints like hearts through your day.

Lord, I somehow want to lie down on the sand. Literally. Stretch out on Your earth, let You heal me. Connect to ground and let the earth speak.

I want you to think of yourself as the Alpha Mare in your own life, responsive to and following Me as your stallion. Let others follow you. You follow Me.

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Keeping in Rhythm

I am so full of my own thoughts, I can’t seem to shut them out long enough to tune You in.

You always assume you have to silence yourself to hear Me speak, as if I were not living inside your heart, inside your deepest and best thoughts and feelings. I want for us to be like a Duet, in perfect harmony. Harmony singing is not unison of notes, it is unison of timing. It is being in rhythm. When you get frantic, we are no longer in harmony. You need to listen—especially—for My rhythm. That will change and direct the notes you produce. You will be both more productive and more rested if you can stay on the beat.

The Beat of My Heart in your life is always Peace. Is always Gentleness. Yours is the way of Gentle Understanding. Yours is the way of the Soft Answer—the answer that “turns away wrath.” You can walk the narrowest path with ease, because your steps are confident—if you can keep to the Beat. For every thought, ask yourself, is this in rhythm with God’s beat in my life? If not, it is an intruder and can be ignored.

This does not mean the rhythm of your life is dull, boring, never-changing. It doesn’t mean you are marching and plodding. You can dance. You can waltz. You can syncopate, even, as long as the syncopation keeps to an underlying, foundational rhythm.

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Legacy

Lord, what would You say about legacy?

I’d say, dream Big. Vision Bigger. “God has planted eternity in the human heart.” You think that’s small? Try to imagine: I, God, have planted—like a seed—Eternity. In your heart. A perspective that sees no limit anywhere, for anything. A mindset that anticipates miracles, not out of hubris, out of faith. A heart that knows Me, at depth, at breadth, at height, at length. Knows beyond “knowing.” A heart that feels certain. A heart that asks—and walks—in confidence, in assurance. Not out of arrogance, out of the conviction of the infallibility of our connection. A heart that knows I Am God, I Am Good, I Am Lord, I Am Love.

Do you love your son? I, more.

Do you love your husband? I, more.

Do you love the grandchildren? I, more, more.

Do you want the best for them? I, more.

Did your mother and father want the best for you?

Do I want the best for you?

Breathe that in. Release all doubt. Be a Champion. Act like a champion acts. Own it. Embody it. Attract the world to you, to your door. The world will be blessed by the eternity I have planted in you. Own your calling, own My choosing of you. Shine—blaze—you carry My light within you. Fear not the storm. You will spread the Peace.

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Choose Joy Over Fear and Worry

Lord, I find myself saying, over and over, I am tired. I am so tired. But I also keep saying I want more—more time to be creative, more opportunities to minister, to have an impact for You.

If you could lay down worry, and stress, and just go about living each day joyously and fully, and leave the parts of your life and your business that worry you in My care, you would immediately feel better. Pete would see that and he would relax, and feel better. Rather than wasting time and energy endlessly planning and worrying, you could be even more sensitive to My leading. Your life will take on a different hue. The joy will return. The success you stress over will flow to you, drawn by your confident expectation. It is My joy to give you the kingdom, remember?

The only lock on the door is your worry, which creates fear and stress, which leads to panic, depression, insomnia and a whole host of health issues, some serious. Ramp down. This is part of that old set of tapes, the tapes that say you are in a battle zone and you have to prepare for every possible enemy assault. No, no, no. You are in My Hands, and you have to prepare for every conceivable blessing—and blessings beyond all you could ask or think. But you will miss those blessings if you continue to give fear the upper hand.

You choose whom to listen to. All day long, every day, you choose. Choose Life. Choose Joy. Choose Me. Choose the Fragrance of My Annointing. Walk and live in the Presence of God. Let others wonder how you do it! Just do it! Let’s not waste one more minute, one more hour, one more day, one more week, one more year. Let’s not miss any more Moments. Let’s make Moments count. Let’s make Moments count, together. Give Me something to work with. Trade in your worry for My Joy. Expect the miraculous again. Refuse to be dismayed or pushed off course.