When God Speaks

You know that slogan for E. F. Hutton a number of years back, the one that said, "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen."

Well, when God talks we should have the same attitude, so the question that begs an answer: "Are we listening?"

Today I sat in a room full of people hungry to see the freedom Christ promised us manifest in their own lives, and to take this freedom out to the people they serve in His name. The afternoon session involved two things. 1. A Music Lesson, and 2. An afternoon of listening for the questions God wanted to answer and then asking them.

John 10:27 says that God's sheep know His voice. Interestingly enough, this is a Scripture that tells us a spiritual truth wrapped in a natural fact. I have heard pastors and teachers alike speak about going to Israel and walking the countryside where shepherds are tending sheep. SHEPHERDS.

Several different shepherds may tend their sheep in one area. Now, my grandaddy used to keep sheep on his farm in west Texas and to be honest I hated the smell of them, but I loved helping him tend them. One particular summer we proceeded to "dip" them. Sheep "dipping" is a vaccination against Scab Mites. My grandaddy used an oral vaccine, but I've seen pictures of an actual trough where sheep are sent down into the dip and walked out, hence the term "dipping" sheep. The only way I could tell the sheep that had been dipped from the sheep that had not was the big black dot I spray painted on their wool. I could yell with all my might and the sheep would run from me, but my grandaddy would just give a whistle and call them and they would come a running. His sheep knew his voice.

Well, back to the SHEPHERDS. Several shepherds tend their flocks together and then begin to call them to take them home. The sheep would go to their shepherd, AND their shepherd knew which ones were their sheep. The sheep know their shepherd's voice.

Today, I heard my Father's voice, the Good Shepherd's voice.

We started by asking "friend questions". A friend question is something like, "What do you like best about me?" or "Show me how you see me." My question: "Is there something in my life that makes you sad?"

The answer: "Yes." So I asked him what made Him sad. "You still don't trust Me completely." A little more than a year ago God began to unearth the deep buried woundings that had led me to not trust Him. He said, "You say you trust Me, but you don't trust people and therefore you don't trust Me."

The moment brought me to grief over those wounds and set me on a healing journey asking Him to uncover them and open my eyes to ways I didn't trust Him. We've made progress... But, clearly there is still work to be done.

The next question: "God, what question do You want to answer today?"

Answer: "When?" So I asked Him, "God, when?"

Answer: "Soon. There's a time to dance and your time is coming soon."

I knew immediately what that meant. God's been walking things out with me for some time now and I've been seeing Him move my heart to release my expectations about His promises so I may one day receive them fully. His timing.

Today's answer opened my heart afresh to His promises. Then the group was assigned to break off with partners and one partner was to ask God the question that needed to be asked for their partner. To pray what God showed them for their partner.

My friend prayed with me as she often does. She prayed and began talking to me about God doing something new and wanting me to be released to do ministry. I knew it in the moment she spoke. I've been feeling it in my spirit as the Holy Spirit has been talking to me about an unsettledness in my heart. A restlessness to get on to the next thing. I had a very clear picture of that next thing, but today God told me what I'd begun to realize a few months ago-He's reframing my picture. His perspective is different. It's not going to look the same way I think it does.

Which stirred up all this stuff I'd left behind. Words spoken over me, and words He's given me even back before I even knew what it meant to tune in and hear His voice.

Today, God told me that He wants me to step out in this new direction one step at a time, letting Him map the journey instead of running ahead to make the path I think He's revealed to me. A new season to be sure. A season where I might get lonely, but He'll always be with me. A season of risk taking and moving forward in dreams I've held close to my heart for many years.

I remember a warm Sunday morning in August 2008 when a woman who had been a stranger two days earlier sat with me in the wee hours of the morning and gave me a word about harvest and BIG things that were coming to me. "Big," she said, "B-I-G. Big."

I remember those early days when I couldn't believe that God would entrust leading, directing, teaching and guiding other women to me... And, He said, "This is the starting place... Be ready to Go when I tell you to." Today, I learned that is the same word Joyce Meyer received. Then it stirred up this picture of me walking head down in the rain from the Alamodome to my hotel room the afternoon before my new friend delivered that BIG word in my life. She said, "Yesterday, when you were walking in the rain ahead of us by yourself I saw a picture of you in a hotel rooms alone, speaking at events just like the one we are attending this weekend." An event where the speaker sold books and addressed thousands of people in a large arena.

I cringed. I'd known it but I thought it was my own grandiose, wishful thinking that had led me to believe that I could be one of those people. I still find it overwhelming if I think on it too long, but I know that just hours after I returned home another friend pressed in about that BIG word I'd received. She saw a big tree with many leaves. The tree was me, and the leaves were the many, many women whose lives were changed because of my ministry.

I wonder what it will all look like in the end, but the most important question God answered for me today was this one. "Will you still love me if I never do ministry again?" He said, "I've always loved you with an everlasting love, and that will never change."

Though none go with me, I will follow. Come what may. I'm a sheep.

God's MVP

Josh Hamilton just received the award for MVP in the ALCS as his team, the Texas Rangers, won the AL Championship tonight. As the tops were popped on green bottles right out there on the field, the announcer noted, "Ginger Ale for Josh Hamilton who has been very open about his struggles with substance abuse."

When Gene Autry's widow presented the MVP award to Josh and he was given the opportunity to speak he said, "All the credit for this goes to God and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

When asked about what it means to win the MVP award he refused to talk about his own accomplishments and instead asked to talk about his team.

Earlier this year Pastor Robert Morris interviewed Josh Hamilton and his wife, Katie, at Gateway Church. Josh's testimony resonates with the truth of the Gospel. God's power to save and deliver us from the attachments of this world through His Son's sacrifice and resurrection. During the service when Josh and Katie were interviewed, the couple shared openly about the toll Josh's early rise as baseball star and drug use had taken. Truthfully, it wrecked both his marriage and his carrier. But, Josh shared that these days when he travels with the team, he attends church online via the internet and often the guys on the team come in and watch the services webcast from Gateway live in the locker room on game days. He shared how God has to be first and Jesus is the One Thing he could not live without.

Tonight, I thank God for the testimony of this man who is called "the Natural" and touted as one of the greatest players presently playing the game of baseball who has so significantly influenced his team that they celebrate with Ginger Ale before breaking out Champagne in honor of their Home Run Hitting Outfielder, Josh Hamilton.

Josh Hamilton has written a book about his struggles coming up as a young baseball player addicted to drugs and alcohol. If you have not had a chance to do so - Reading his book, Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back is a story about the struggles of life, and the freedom as well as the influence available to each of us who choose to live our lives fully devoted to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Not only does Josh talk the talk, but he has chosen to walk the walk and we in Texas who have been watching this magnificent series unfold could not be more proud.

Congratulations to Josh Hamilton, Nolan Ryan and everyone in the Texas Rangers Organization. World Series here we come.

SIDE NOTE: I have been watching the games this week as we have inched each time closer and closer to the World Series opportunity. On Monday night I prayed, "God bless (the batter who was at the plate), and God bless the Texas Rangers." Then a home run was hit. I got excited. On Tuesday night we came home from Life Group to find the Rangers needed to come back from 3 runs down to win. They did... 10 runs were scored. Before the 5th run was scored I began to pray again and the team scored heavily in the latter innings of Tuesday's game 4. Game 5 did not go so well. I was reporting my prayer warrioring on behalf of the Rangers to friends at work when my Pastor stated, "You were praying and six little nuns in New York."

On Thursday, I said, "Last night, the six little nuns won." We both laughed.

Tonight I texted him at the top of the ninth inning: "6 little nuns (1) and 1 very excited Texas girl (6) God bless Neftali Feliz and God Bless the Texas Rangers. In Jesus' Name, Amen" They won! As I prayed tonight I acknowledged that as my prayers were answered I would blog about it - so here you go. Our Rangers are headed for the World Series for the first time in Franchise History and God gets the glory. He is good... And He is fun. I love Him, so much.

No haters though, San Fran or the Phillies it's going to be an awesome series to watch this year! :)

Halloween, Baseball and Justin

This year the Rangers are in the playoffs well on their way to a pennant race. Halloween is just a few days away and the fall season is upon us a full month in.

I miss my boy.

Justin loved fall, Halloween and baseball.

One of my favorite memories of him is on a particularly rainy Halloween when he was about fourteen years old. It happened to be a Sunday night and the youth were hosting a fun night for the children's ministry at our church. Families arrived with nearly soaked children in tow and the fun began.

The carnival style setting left nothing to be desired. Toys, candy and face painting offered fun for every age group. Justin chose to man the small "goldfish" molded plastic pool on the covered patio in the breezeway between the two buildings of the church. The pool was a make-shift "Bob-for-Apples" activity. By the end of the evening, most of the families had made their way home, but a few of the core families were still hanging out in the kitchen.

I went looking for Justin. I found him, still on the small covered porch with about three toddlers. The water pouring off the roof into the soggy yard beyond the patio looked like a waterfall. The splattering water soaked everything including the kids. But, the children giggled and cheered as they-including my fourteen year old son-took turns bobbing out the apples. And, what, pray tell, did they do when they were done?

The littlest child would start grabbing the apples and toss them back in the pool and they made the round again.

Justin helped in the nursery at the church for a few years. One Sunday morning a little girl named Hannah came running around the corner of the lobby and squealed in delight as she buried her face in her mother's skirt. Her mother knelt beside her and asked, "What is it Hannah?"

About that time Justin walked around the corner and Hannah giggled. "See that BOY over there!"

She pointed at my J.

"He is so funny!"

Yep. That was my J. I miss him.