I woke up this morning to find this in my email box!

I love you Mom!!

I laughed and I cried and headed to find my tweezers

Be blessed to day friends, and CHOOSE LIFE!!

My Mom, slow dancing on her 80th Birthday

I just got home from the dentist. Yep- it’s only Monday! My week started with the FUN-FUN-FUN of the 2nd half of a Root Canal. Oh Yeah.

Last Monday, 1st half–today 2nd half.

 

I know I’m kind-of weird but while I was enduring the torture (actually my Dentist was great) of this fun, I tried to “fix my mind on things above” and was pondering some encounters I had this past weekend at my church women’s conference.

I led a workshop on finding your purpose and I served on the prayer team.

I was particularly struck and deeply moved by several “last hope” kind of prayer encounters I experienced. Woman after woman sat down in front on me with vacant eyes overflowing with hopeless, last chance prayer requests.

I couldn’t help but think about my FIRST 1/2 of the root canal over the weekend; then again today as I prayed through the second half.

Here are some things I decided that last hope prayer SOMETIMES has in common with a root canal:

1) Something has been neglected way too long and has now come to a critical condition.

Neglected–Time spent with Jesus one on one in worship, Word study, prayer.

Neglected–Focus on Marriage.

Neglected–Intentional Parenting.

Neglected–Health.

THE BIG ONE—Neglected–Knowing and Embracing of God’s WORD and His TRUTH verses the enemies LIES.

2) Infection has settled deep into the roots and is going to cost something to fix.

It breaks my heart to see women who return over and over for prayer but never actually DO what they are counseled to DO. It breaks my heart to ask women over and over again–DO YOU KNOW WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THIS?? only to see their sad eyes fill and their heads shake NO.

3) Some digging and drilling and pulling stuff out will likely be required.

Sometimes it takes going back to the past to get going towards the future. Some heartbreaks, heartaches and hidden hurts really must be pulled up and have light shown on them in order to break the stronghold that Satan has attached. The TRUTH really does set us FREE!

4) Medication and Antibiotic must be applied before complete healing can take place.

God’s Word is Medicine. God’s Word is LIGHT. God’s Word brings direction. God’s Word brings wisdom.

There is no shortcut that MAN can PLAN. God can do a quick work but going to people verses going to HIM is merely a band-aid approach. Like taking Aspirin for a toothache and expecting it to just disappear!! (Who does that??) Sooner or later, the roots have to be cared for. God’s Word is medication and health for our hurting hearts and broken lives.

5) Later is better than Never and it is Worth the Cost.

Jesus is our Healer and he WANTS to set us free from the sickness and disease that attacks our homes; our marriages; our health; our self-worth; our dreams; our CALLINGS!

Some ROOT CANALS are filled with REVELATION!! Don’t you agree?

So–what has happened in YOUR DAY that could be turned into a Spiritual Truth?

 

Which do you like best??

 

 

or

 

Or Ask for More Options??

Proverbs 19:21 says  ”Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails”

I am living in a Season of Surreal.

Surreal:having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream;unreal

Last December, I did what I always do and set aside some time for some New Years Life Planning. My favorite tool has become Michael Hyatt’s Life Planning tool. I spent days praying, pulling out scripture  that confirmed my ideas and  putting some big plans on paper.

Daring plans.

BHAP’s!! (Big Hairy Audacious Plans!)

Sometime’s I PRIDE (key word) myself in just how BIG my dreams can be. I love to press for things that ONLY GOD can do. I ended the year thinking He and Me were on the same side of my thinking.

Not the case.

When the New Year rolled around I started making my big announcement of the plans I had for 2012 to the people that mattered, but the people that mattered had their own plans which totally threw my plans for a dizzy trip into who knows where.

Now, here I am staring August–8/12 (70%) of 2012 living a plan that was NOT on my Michael Hyatt Life Plan for 2012.

Not.

Nowhere near.

I am dealing with stuff  I had NOT PLANNED to deal with on a daily basis.

Still. My God is my God. He is still LORD of my LIFE PLAN.

How about you? Are you living a different plan today than the one you had for your year?

If so let me remind you of what I have reminded myself this morning from the 23rd Psalm.

The Lord is MY SHEPHERD!! My Jehovah-Rohi. He knows my name. He knows each step I take. He IS IN THIS WITH ME!!

The Lord is MY PROVIDER. My Jehovah Jireh. He will provide for all of my needs. He will take care of my burdens; my worries; ; my heartbreaks; my lack of skill.

The Lord is MY PEACE. My Jehovah Shalom. He cares about every detail of my life. He knows exactly what I am facing today. He knows where fear rears it’s ugly head. He knows where lack self worth drags me down. He hems me in!

The Lord is MY HEALER. My Jehovah Rapha. He knows where I am injured and broken and need more healing! He reminds me of the times He has healed me in the past and I rest in Him again.

The Lord is MY RIGHTEOUSNESS. My Jehovah Tsidkenu. Oh my. Jesus knows I am a sinner by flesh and that flesh will go to the grave with me. He knows where I am weak. He knows my failures and my pride. He knows my grouchy, whiney was when things get messy. HE STANDS IN MY PLACE!!

He is the God who is HERE with me right now. My Jehovah Shamma. He knows my dreams. My wanna-be’s. My wanna-do’s. He knows how old I am. He knows the other people in my story.

Do you need to remember those things today? Have your plans taken a detour like mine have?

I want to encourage you today with these promises!

He is YOUR Shepherd.

He is YOUR provider.

He is YOUR peace.

He is YOUR righteousness.

He is WITH YOU RIGHT NOW!

As always, I love to hear from you.

It was a James Bond moment.

Jesus, with his head tucked into his tunic so that no one would recognize him, hugged the dark street corners until his hand landed on a doorknob. Hoping nobody was home, he tried to sneak quietly into a strangers’ house on a strange road. He was exhausted and desperate to grab a moment of peace and quiet. He needed a rest from having some sick or needy person tugging on his tunic or grabbing hold of his feet. He was surely at the end of his grace rope after having just been rejected in his own hometown; organizing his leadership team; serving dinner with no denarii to 5,000 hungry people followed by a stormy after-dinner stroll across wind tossed waves to rescue a bunch of freaked out leaders.

When we let our minds take creative freedom and actually imagine all of this activity we get a good idea of the “MAN MOOD” Jesus was probably in.

Rest was not to come. He slipped quietly into the dark house and IMMEDIATELY found himself face to face with another demanding woman with another demon possessed daughter.

The woman was not even in her own house! Jesus had finally found a nice dark house to hide out in and this woman was hiding there waiting for him. She knew where to find Him.

She was groveling at his feet before he had time to find the chips and dip and turn on the basketball game. (Oopps sorry, I lost my train of imagination, that was MY MAN I was thinking about)

Back to the story.

He was barely in the door and had not even found a couch to stretch out on, when he had a desperate woman falling at his feet screaming “My DAUGHTER HAS A DEMON! Heal her!”

I must admit that as the mom of a daughter, who has been a teenager, I have been tempted to voice those very thoughts before. I am CERTAIN my own mother did!!

What Jesus says to her blows my mind.

It is shocking really.

He called her “DOG” (Mark 7:27) Yes He did.

Every single time I read those words I cringe. Oh my. Did He just say that? My Jesus. My Gentle, kind, compassionate Jesus? The lover of my soul? Did He actually call that hysterical Mama a DOG?

Yes. He did.

When I read this passage my first thought is that He must have done what I so often do, and say something that I wish I could take back as soon as the words slip through my lips but it’s not true.

Jesus called her a “Dog” and he meant to.

I reread that story this morning, taking the time to let God create that moment in my minds-eye. Watching the scene while knowing the character of Jesus. I got a fresh look at the intent of our Savior. God’s Word spoke to my heart. I saw Jesus’ goal in a fresh way.

Even in His human flesh, Jesus is never too tired to teach. He is never to tired to speak truth and life. He does it in the dark. He does it in the light. He does it in the day. He does it in the night. It is what He did then and what He does now. His entire purpose is to stir TRUTH up in us. He is always, even in His worst MAN MOOD, working to draw TRUTH out of our circumstances, needs, fears and pain.

Jesus, by this shocking comment forced this woman to speak truth. He forced her to see and speak her rights. He drew her from position of begging to her position of claiming. From defeat to victory. From helpless to hopefull.

It is almost as if He is challenging her—

“You’re a “dog” right?

You don’t deserve anything right?

You’re not smart enough, right?

Pretty enough, right?

Popular enough, right?

Young enough?

Good enough?

Have you ever felt that way? I know I have.

Jesus doesn’t like it.

Once the woman got out of her whiny beg, she stood up and faced her Lord and staked her claim. Once she knew in her heart that Jesus could and would meet her need, she found victory.

She was humble.

She was specific.

She was persistent. And that DOG WILL HUNT!

She went home and found her daughter lying in her own bed and the demon was gone. That was one happy Mama and it was her now faith that made it happen!

This story spoke to me today how about you?

Got any demons in your life that need to be destroyed by your humility: your specific request: your persistence.

I definitely do and I know where to find Jesus!

How about you?