Prepare Part 3: ..."Prepare the Way of the Lord

Prepare - part 2 "...with Thanksgiving I'll be a living sanctuary for you..."

Well, I’ve been preparing to prepare :) Lots of reading, listening, praying, reading, praying, listening... In my last post I told you that the song, Lord, Prepare me to be a sanctuary came to mind immediately after I received my word. So I’ve been singing it and listening to it. I’ve been reading the Word of God in large quantities, preparing myself for whatever God brings my way. The best thing I know to do is to prepare my heart and spirit by spending time with my Father.  

A few nights ago, I was laying in bed and simply said to God, “what is the next step in preparing?” He immediately brought the next lines of the song, ...”with thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for you...” So I responded, “Got it” and began giving thanks for all things in my life. I have tried to stay in a constant attitude of thanksgiving.

The second verse of that song says “Lead me on, Lord from temptation, Purify me from within. Fill my heart with Your Holy Spirit. Take away all my sin.”

I don’t know if you are familiar with the purification process but generally, it’s not pleasant. Purification normally requires fire. The thing to be purified is put in the fire. The fire separates that which is pure from that which is impure. Often the impurities rise to the top for everyone to see so that it can be removed.  

MyOneWord 2013 - PREPARE

I’ve known MyOneWord for a while now. I’ve been studying and reading in the Word about this word. To be honest, when God spoke this word to me, I wasn’t thrilled. It scared me. After the last couple of years, my first reaction was “WHAT  NOW?”

I could really use a word like “joy” or “prosperity” or “peace” but NO, I get the word “Prepare”.  Yes, I know “Prepare” could be for blessings as well as hardships but considering the difficulties of the last few years, my thoughts went directly to “Oh no, what is going to happen now? Prepare for what?”

The last few years have been tough. My Dad has battled cancer, gone through radiation twice and a round of chemo, has had disfiguring surgery and faces difficulties due to that. My niece was diagnosed and is currently being treated for Hodgkins Lymphoma.  Deaths of several very close family members. Loss of some friendships. My husband’s construction business has all but gone under due to the economy. He started another business. We have undergone transition in pretty much every area of our lives.Things haven’t been great but we have survived it with the strength that comes only from God.

We have just recently received good news – my Daddy’s and my niece’s PET Scans were clear. My husbands new business is beginning to show a profit. We were beginning to see some sunlight and then God says “Laurie, Prepare!” My first reaction was one of fear. I know that God has not given me a spirit of fear so I had to fight that instinct. I did not accept that word for a week or so. I kept saying, “God are you sure that’s my word?” I didn’t like it and I certainly didn’t choose it, but God spoke clearly to me and I couldn’t deny that was MyOneWord.

I began asking God, “prepare for what? Good or bad? Just tell me one way or the other so I can know how to prepare.” But He hasn’t told me either of those. He just said “PREPARE”.

So I began looking for songs about preparing to listen to and I remembered this song. “Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary…”

Hair, Glare, and Violet Streaks - A Story of a Family's LOVE!

Hair, Glare, and Violet Streaks - A Story of a Family's Love! from Laurie Webb on Vimeo.

Hindrances to Next Level Living

Sometimes there are things that are preventing us from moving forward with God or in our calling that we don’t recognize right off.

Things happen in life that, if not dealt with immediately, take root and grow into strongholds. Much like a weed, if not dealt with immediately, grows into a strong cancer that takes over the garden and multiplies. If not killed at once, the root travels far into the earth and can’t be easily uprooted. Have you ever tried to pull up a weed, only to find out the root runs across to the other side of the yard? You continue to pull and pull only to have it break off before the very end of the root comes out only to have it regrow time and time again? Or one day you see one dandelion and the next day twenty? By not removing that weed from the deepest root, it continues to crop up time and time again only to hinder the growth of the desired plants or flowers. By not dealing with disappointments, abuses, hardships, unfair circumstances etc, you allow it to take root in your spirit man and to cause stunted growth in your spiritual fruit. You aren’t able to grow and mature in your walk with God. You wonder why you seem to be stuck in the same place time ofter time. You desire to go to the Next Level in your relationship with God but can’t seem to move forward. It’s one step forward and two steps back. You aren’t making progress in your spiritual walk and you don’t understand why.

Sometimes there are things that we are are unwilling to let go of in order to  be free. Somewhat like a monkey trap, we refuse to let go of the object in order to be set free from captivity. In order to catch monkeys without harming them, people would build a cage made with bars all around. Each bar is just far enough apart to get an open hand through. Then on the inside of the cage lies the bait – a banana or something else attractive to monkeys. When the monkey reaches it’s hand through the bars and grabs the banana, he soon discovers that his hand gripping the banana will not fit back through the bars, but he refuses to let go of the bait. Even while being captured and sometimes mistreated, the monkey still will not let go of the bait.

We are so like the monkeys that we refuse to let go of things that we need to release, forgive, and leave in God’s hands so that we can be freed from captivity. We allow Satan to hold us captive, when all we have to do is release the bait.

What is it that keeps you from moving forward? What memory, what circumstance, what person keeps you from being free today? What event in your past have you failed to deal with? 

Not a Fan

If you haven’t read the book, “Not a Fan” by Kyle Idleman yet, you need to do so. It is not a feel good, pat you on your back, everything is glorious kind of book. It is a contemplative one. One of conviction and location. One that causes you to examine and re-examine your relationship with God. I’ve read it and am reading it again. Pretty much the premise of the book is to determine if you are a fan of Christ or a follower. It defines each. I would venture to guess that if most of us are honest, we would find out that we’ve been in the “fan” category; not really wanting to “go all in” with Jesus. We like our comforts and our routines and really don’t like it when Jesus interferes with that. But what does it take to become a follower? To “go all in”? Read the book to find out!

There is a huge difference in being a fan and being a follower. 

Nevertheless, Lord...

A few days ago I asked God to talk to me - he immediately gave me a picture of someone carrying a cross and the verse “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple” Luke 14:27. So I sketched down the picture and left it laying on my desk. A couple of days later, I sat down and finished the sketch and posted it on facebook and asked the question, “What do you think it means to take up or carry your cross? How does that relate to being a disciple? I received some great comments. but as God tends to do with me, He continues our conversation. He took me to the scripture where Jesus is praying in the garden and says. “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:42. Before Jesus willingly carried His cross and willingly died on the cross, He expressed His humanness. He expressed that suffering was not His will and if it was possible, that God take that from Him but then He said one important word - nevertheless. “Nevertheless not My will, but Your will, be done”. This is what I believe taking up your cross and carrying it means. When you lay your will aside and not just accept God’s will but ask for it!

Help Wanted...not

“Be still and Know that I AM GOD” That was my answer when I petitioned the Lord about a pretty important life decision that I felt needed to be made – now! I had been stressing, obsessing, fretting, worrying – trying to make sense of it all. Asking questions, reasoning it out and when I stopped striving long enough to actually hear the answer to my question – this is what God said.

In other words, “Laurie, stop stressing, obsessing, and trying to figure this out with your limited human mind.” I already know the end from the beginning, the direction that I would have you go, I know your purpose and how to get you there. I AM GOD! Let Me be God!”

I have been feeling like I was hanging between two ropes – one in one hand and another in the other hand pulling me opposite directions. Afraid to let go of either one but knowing it is necessary in order to get anywhere. I can’t continue to hang on to the past while reaching for the future. I can’t continue to hold on to my expectations and reach for God’s will. I can’t continue to live out yesterday’s purpose while pursuing today’s. I must let go!

but…

...Our Daily Bread...

How often have you prayed “give us this day our daily bread..., without really considering what you were asking? Our daily bread is not just physical provision but also spiritual. When we ask, knowing what we ask, God will give us our daily bread - His Word for the day.  Scripture, the written Word of God is to be our foundation, but in order to be led by and be obedient to Holy Spirit, we must know His voice. Holy Spirit came to earth to be our helper. He came to lead and guide us on a daily basis.

God expects us to read His word, but God also desires for you to know His voice. He so wants intimate relationship with you that He has made available His Spirit, the third person of the triune God-head to live within you and to guide you daily.

In Exodus, there is an account of God supplying daily sustenance for His people. He gave them just what was needed for the day. They could not save yesterdays manna for today, because it would spoil and they could not receive tomorrow’s manna today (except on the day before the sabbath). The people had to rise and gather their manna, their daily sustenance, each and every day. Manna, otherwise know as “what is it?”, was given to His people everyday for forty years while God was leading them throughout the wilderness.

Exodus 16:15, “So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, ‘This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, (v 19) And Moses said, ‘Let no one leave any of it till morning.’

You can’t save up yesterdays “word”, you must be obedient to it as Holy Spirit speaks it. If you wait until tomorrow,

Something's Brewing...

You’ve heard the statement, “Something’s Brewing”. Just recently I made that comment on my facebook page and I was referring to the feeling that something was brewing in the spirit realm. Immediately after making that comment, I began to ponder the word “brew” and what it meant. To brew means to “make or prepare by mixing, steeping, soaking, or boiling in water; to concoct or mix; to contrive, plan or bring about.”

An example immediately came to mind: brewing tea. Being a tea lover that would automatically come to my mind as maybe coffee would come to yours. When you brew tea, you submerse the tea bag into boiling water. As the tea sits in the hot water, the tea infuses into the water. This not only flavors the water, but it colors it and disperses within the water all of the properties of tea. Tea contains antioxidants, caffeine, and other properties that are beneficial to your health.

Considering the process of brewing, I began to ponder the process of brewing in the spirit realm. When something spiritual is brewing, what happens? Have you ever thought that you were so close to a major breakthrough, spiritually speaking, and then all hell breaks loose? Me too!

Why is this happening? ...

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses..

Excuses, excuses, excuses...we've all got them! I'm too young, I'm too old, I'm too busy, I'm too dumb, I'm too uneducated, I'm too learned, I'm too fat, I'm too skinny, I have children, I work, I have no skills, I'm too shy, I have a physical challenge, I had a bad childhood, I've been abused, I've been neglected... We can think up endless excuses. Can't we?

We all do it. When we feel overwhelmed or inadequate, we make up excuses. We make up excuses to avoid doing something that we think we may fail at. But God didn't say "get up and go...only if you are perfect, capable, skilled, ... He said "Get up and Go! Go, make disciples of all the nations. Get up and walk. Be doers of the Word... go and tell...plant the seed, reap ..." I'm sure you get the picture. How we follow God's mandates is entirely unique to each of us. God did not call me to do what He called you to do because we are different. He has a purpose that fits my unique capabilities to a T. As do you! He designed each of us for our personal, unique God given purpose.

So those of you who say I'm too old, I've waited too long. I say "Phooey!" Excuses, excuses, excuses! You now have something some others don't have - time! And lots of it! Sure you can spend your time watching re-runs of Everybody Loves Raymond" (I, actually, love that show) or do Sudoku until you are so mad you rip up the book because you can't get it... OR...you can do something of eternal value! Hmmm...let's weigh that for a minute...mindless time fillers...or...God-given purpose with eternal value...hmmmmm, what's it gonna be!

Ok, so you think you're too young? You have something others don't have too.

Action - MyOneWord for 2012

I’ve known what My One Word for 2012 was going to be for quite some time now. God began dealing with me about getting up and getting moving. You see, God led me into a period of rest for several months. He specifically led me to rest from all of the ministry projects I was currently involved in. To be honest, it was a tough decision to be obedient because I had many people counting on me to continue what I was doing. And to be honest again, some people were not so accepting of that decision. Yes, I had all kinds of attitudes thrown my way! But, I was determined to do that which God instructed me to do. So, I stopped all ministry activities.

At the beginning of the year, I started getting a a little antsy. You know the feeling – the feeling like you are supposed to be doing something but you don’t know what.  I began to get a little unsettled so I began praying and seeking God’s direction for me.  Transition is such an uncomfortable time because you don’t know what is going to happen, you don’t know where He is going to lead, what doors will be opened and what doors will be closed – discomfort! So I did what I do every year in January – I went on a 21 day Fast. My focus was seeking His wisdom and His guidance for whatever it is He is preparing me for.

During that fast, God gave me a dream.

2012 - Path to Wisdom

 Last year I started my year out reading "Made to Crave" by Lysa Terkeurst. As I've been pondering what My OneWord for 2012 is going to be, I decided to start my year off, much in the same way I did last year. Seeking God, His wisdom, and His plans for me. I am reading through Proverbs this month, but since I've already read 3/4 of it, I will probably add Ecclesiastes to it. I am seeking wisdom from God's Word as I start off 2012. I also started a 21-Day Fast on Sunday Jan 8th. I am doing the KLove challenge again - even though the music I listen to is 90% Christian, I will make that 100% for the time being

I am going back and reading my Made To Crave Diary of Blogs from last year. I hope you do the same. As you ponder your OneWord for 2012, seek God's plan for your New Year. When you choose your OneWord - comment and let me know what it is. I will reveal mine soon!! As I end this post, I am pasteing my 1st blog from last year on my "Made To Crave" Journey. I hope it encourages you as much as it did me.

Made to Crave - 21 Days to Relationship!

Freely Give

Don't you love the word FREE? Especially at Christmas Time? I've decided to give away - (yes, FREE), my book "Holy Spirit Made Me Do It". Last Sunday, Pastor John Wood of Christ Chapel preached a sermon about "giving freely what you've been given freely". You can't give what you don't have, but you can give what you DO have. The question was presented - "What do you have?" My answer -  I have a book!  Next question - "Who gave it to you?"  God. He gave me the knowledge, the resources, the favor to get this book published. He FREELY gave that to me so I, in turn, freely give it to you.

The Art of Listening

Listen!  This is an action word! To listen, you must actively make a point of inclining your ear towards the object you are listening to. You can hear something but not listen to it.  Just ask any parent! How many times do you say to your child, “Listen to me”? What we mean when we say that is “pay attention – actively listen to what I am saying!”

How many times do we resist our own advice? We ask God for direction but yet we fail to “listen”. We whine and complain that God doesn’t speak to us. We call out to God, “Where are you?” We constantly pray and ask, pray and ask, yet…

God is faithful to speak but we must be faithful to listen. Listening takes practice. We hear sometimes but not actually listen to what is being said. Right now, I hear a multitude of noises. Music from the radio, the AC fighting the GA heat, the hum of the refrigerator, the sound of me typing on the keyboard… But I am not actively listening to those sounds. I don’t know what song is playing right now. I don’t know how long the air has been running (probably constantly) because I am not actively paying attention.  If I focus I can hear that “Waiting Here For You” is playing on K-Love. but I had to incline my ear towards the door to my office so that I could hear it well enough to make out the words.

This is what we do with God. We allow all of the noises of life to drown out his voice. We could hear if only we tried. We don’t “listen” for His voice. There are many examples in the Bible of those who actively positioned themselves to hear what God had to say. They were listening!

 

The First Step

Why is it the first step is always the hardest?  At least, that's what everyone says. Whenever you have a new direction you want to go, it seems the first step is almost impossible. Oh sure, we are quick to give others advice, “come on, you can do it.  With God all things are possible.  It’s the right thing to do.  You can do it.  Geez, what’s the big deal?  Just do it!”

But when it comes to our turn, we quickly forget all of that encouragement. Suddenly, it’s “I can’t do that.  The step is too big. The gap is too wide. It is impossible. How can God expect me to do that. After all, I’m just little ole ordinary me.  Nooo way, no00 how! Besides, have you heard what God wants me to do?”

Really? Is that what the devil told you? Why is it we are so quick to listen to what the devil has to say and so quick to dismiss what God has to say? Maybe we should listen to our own advice.  

Moving Fast or Going Somewhere?

I read a quote a couple of weeks ago that has stuck with me.  ”Moving fast is not necessarily the same thing as going somewhere”.  You’ve been there before…spinning your wheels but not moving!  Sometimes it seems like life overwhelms you and you  are just spinning your wheels.  Not necessarily accomplishing anything but nonetheless “moving fast”.

When that happens, we need to stop moving and assess the needs. What needs to be accomplished today?  Then work on that one issue until it is accomplished. Then move to the next.  I know what you’re thinking – “Yeah, right!” I’ve been there more times than I could count.  Everything happens at once, everything needs to be taken care of at the same time, I need to be in 2 places at once, etc. But at the same time I know the Bible  says “Be anxious for nothing”. “Can you add an inch to your stature by worrying?” God knows what needs to be accomplished.  He also knows what you can handle and what you can’t.

This next month  is going to be a busy one for my family.  One daughter, Katie will be finishing up her first year at College, finals, and moving out of the dorm back home (until August).  The other, Lindsay, will be starting Grad school and needs to be moved from home to an apartment in another city. Looking for apartments and Easter this weekend, Relay For Life the next! I have a speaking engagement one weekend, SLSM Graduation the next. All exciting things but happening all at once is a little overwhelming.

What can I do about it? Step back and take one thing at a time. I will cover each weeks activities as they come. I am determined not to stress over them but to approach each one with purpose, knowing that God has it all under control anyway!

God is interested in every little detail of your life. If you don’t believe it, ask my daughter! She just had an incredible testimony as to just how much God cares about each individuals life. 

Living an Intentional Life

 Do you live intentionally?  Meaning, does life just happen and you flow along or do you purposefully guide your life in the direction you want it to go?  Just today, I read something that made me ask myself that question?  Am I steering the boat that is my life or am I allowing it to just float along on the current of life?

I don’t want to just float along mindlessly and end up in a destination that is not my choice.  That is what happens when you float with no paddles – you are at the mercy of the currents and you go where they take you.  But if you have a paddle, you can direct your boat anywhere you want it to go.  Have you ever gone rafting?  With paddles and effort you can paddle upstream, against the current.  But if you pull in the paddles and just rest, you turn right back around and head in the direction the current takes you. Sometimes you even go through some rough currents but if guided correctly with your paddles, you make it through safely.  You may wind up wet and tired but nonetheless safe!

WebSite Issues

 At the current time I am in process of changing hosting companies (since mine closed the doors with no warning).  So my site might not be updated for a short time.  To access  my blogs go to  http://webblaurie.wordpress.com/    You can still purchase books from my site at the present time but if no response email me at webblaurie@bellsouth.net.  I am sorry for the inconvenience but I had no control over this. Hopefully I will soon be back to business as usual with a new and better hosting company.  Thanks for your patience.

"Praise God regardless of the menial circumstances of life"

FOCUS - to concentrate my attention on one area

FOCUS - TO CONCENTRATE MY ATTENTION ON ONE AREA.

Focus - being my OneWord for 2011 - renders itself quite powerful.   If indeed, I “focus” on one area, it will produce a clear image.  If I focus on “purpose”, I indeed will gain clarity about my purpose.  If I focus on relationships, surely those will become more clearly defined.  The question is “what am I going to focus on?” 

I have started my year focusing on relationship with God.  I have done that by spending more time in prayer and fellowship with Him.  I am reading His Word on a daily basis.  I am focusing my spirit on “the Word of the Lord, today”.

I hope by doing so, I will bring more clarity to my spirit man about “who” I am in Christ Jesus, “what” He has purposed me to do on a daily basis, and “where” I am to focus my efforts.  I don’t want to flounder around just doing things.  I want to do only those things that He has led me to do.  By only doing what I feel Him leading me to do - my results will be Godly results.  When I do what “I” think is a good idea - I get (wo)manly results.  There is a big difference in His results and my results! When you have focused efforts, there are powerful results.