Speaking of authentic conversations...

 When is the last time you had an authentic conversation with God?  Has it been a while?

 

You know, the terrific thing about God (besides the fact that He IS God) is that it doesn’t matter how long it’s been, He is actively pursuing you and wants to talk with you. And, even if it's been a while God wants you to come.

 

Another important thing you might want to know is that talking to God involves speaking, listening, and silence.  Silence?  Yes, silence. Sitting with God in silence and just spending time with God helps you understand His character. Think of it as sitting on papa's lap feeling totally safe and protected. 

 

Silence also helps you to have quality time to “take in” God’s love for you.  I am convinced that the most important thing God wants you to know is that He loves you deeply and wants to spend time with you. 

 

Brennan Manning, author of Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging, says, “Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.” 

Often the self we embrace is an illusion built on how we have identified ourselves by the world's standards.  We discover our true self as we spend time with God, sitting, listening and taking in how radically and deeply God loves us. 

 

Today, as you wait define yourself as a valuable person that God loves. Tell God you love Him.  After you’ve listened and sat with God for a bit, take some time telling Him your deepest longing, or your deepest burden.  Then stay with that for a while.  See what God says, or what you feel in return.  God speaks to everyone completely differently and will utilize your strengths.  I am a visual person and so God often speaks to me in pictures.  Yours might be a picture, a feeling, a word, or a deep knowing.  It can also be a combination of all ways of communication. God is creative and will speak to you in a unique way that is fits your mind and heart. 

 

Most of all, most important, BE LOVED.  Accept what God has FOR you…

 

 

 

Feel free to share the miracle of what God does, or post a comment. I set it up so you can post anonymously or if you want, you can sign your name.  

Talk to God: Authentic Conversations

Talk to God: Authentic Conversations: I am writing a book entitled, Talk to God , and the title pretty much gives a big clue about the content of the book. When people find ...

Authentic Conversations

I am writing a book entitled, Talk to God, and the title pretty much gives a big clue about the content of the book.  When people find out I am writing a book and they hear the title, they ask if it’s about prayer.  Well, yes and no.  It IS about talking to God, but it is NOT about prayer as in the traditional sense.  It is about different ways we can talk to God, but it’s also about how to really communicate with God. In other words, it’s about authentic conversation with God.

I love authentic conversations with God and with people.  I don’t mean just talking with someone.  Authentic conversation involves sharing your soul with another person, and speaking heart to heart.  It’s the kind of conversation that only happens once in a while.  It also usually happens when you least expect it. 

I unexpectedly had an authentic conversation with someone today.  Right in the middle of a busy day, I had a great conversation with someone and we really connected.  There is a saying, “Life isn't about the breaths we take, it's about the moments that take our breath away.”  Today I was reminded authentic conversations are where real life happens. So, have you had any unexpected authentic moments lately?

Faith, Groanings, and Laughter

I woke this morning thinking how God has given me faith to get me through a really difficult season.  It  has been an excruciatingly difficult.  It’s hard to describe how hard I’ve worked and how much anxiety I’ve had.  There were days I used every drop of energy I had to “skim” the surface to get by.  Others who are in the same situation have suffered major health problems and been overridden with stress.  Almost everyone has broken down at one point or another and cried.  To make matters worse, we had to go on without letting anyone we are helping know we are struggling.  Looking back over the last 6 months, I realized God helped me to survive by giving me faith and laughter.  In the midst of all the anxiety, there were times when we stopped long enough to laugh about some silly thing that happened.  

I also realized this morning that August and September were “peak” months. Every day when I got up to go back I knew God would get me through it. I was so buried under I’m not sure I was even thinking clearly.  For at least ten to eleven hours every day for the last seven months I experienced panic because I knew I couldn’t possibly get everything done I needed to do.  I was surviving because I had a pattern set and I stayed in the groove of that pattern.  I believe Jesus was “carrying me” through each day. I’m not sure I realized it at the time, but looking back I can see it. The silly laughter helped. 

This week I finally started to “dig out” and I felt like I made headway.  

Yesterday was the first day in months that I was able relax and think clearly.

This advent season I’m grateful, really grateful that God carries us through even when we don’t ask or know He is there.  Romans 8:26 says, “…the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” 

Especially during the peak months I remember sitting with God and saying, “help me” but I didn’t vocalize specific requests.  Clearly, the Spirit did that for me.  Clearly God brought the laughter.

Thank-you, God for giving faith; thank-you, Spirit for helping us IN our weakness; thank-you for praying FOR us, thank-you for laughter, Jesus…Amen

Laughter

Have you ever thought about what God laughs at, or if God laughs? 

Considering the character of Jesus, we have some clues about how God feels about relationships and caring for each other.  We are told to "rejoice" IN the Lord. We are also told our bodies are a holy temple (where God resides) and we are to care for it, and it IS a medical fact that laughter is healthy. 

I think God has a great sense of humor and He created us to enjoy laughter in his own image.

I also think heaven is going to be one big really long party.  Since heaven is now, but not yet (more to come) we need to start enjoying ourselves now. 

Enjoy the season.  Laugh often.

Zeal

Do you ever feel empty? Sometimes I feel like I've given all I have and I just feel empty. I felt like that when I left work today. I had made plans to go to Lessons and Carols at my church so even though I was really tired I went. As usual, I was glad I did, because I was very blessed and touched by the Spirit.


I was Blessed by the choirs, the orchestra, incredible organ, scripture, lights, Christmas carols, and a plethora of wonderful sounds! All of it filled me with God's love and reminded me of His character. One passage of scripture that was read from Isaiah 9 struck me in particular. I've read that passage over and over again "For unto us a child is born..." but tonight was the first time I HEARD the words, "the ZEAL of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

Suddenly I was captivated and overwhelmed with joy that all of the promises found in Isaiah 9 were to come about BECAUSE of God's zeal!

A child is born...out of God's zeal.

A Son is given...because of God's zeal.

The government will be on His shoulders...from God's zeal.

His name will be called wonderful...

Counselor...

Mighty God...

Everlasting Father...

Prince of peace...

All out of God's zeal!

There will be no end...established with judgment and justice...forever!

All from God's zeal! God poured Himself out for us!

Suddenly I wasn't empty anymore and instead I was FULL of God's zeal because God so freely shares with abundant love all that He is.

Thank you, God for your unending supply of zeal. Thank you for the blessing of You.

Trust

I am not a scientist but I have always had a fascination with science and how God created the universe with tiny organisms that remain the same and God created other organism that have the capacity to grow and change. 

It reminds me that God created different kinds of people as well.  Some people I know are stable and unchanging.  They choose the safe road and prefer life to be stable. They are the people we often depend on in a time of crisis because they remain stable.  

God also created others who like change and who are constantly growing and seeking new mountains to climb.  They are the kind of people you turn to when you have a problem and you need someone to solve it.  They are not afraid of change and growth.  They tend to be bold and fearless.  

When Jesus came on the scene, many in Israel were ready for a change.  They had just gone through several generations of waiting. Hundreds of years before Jesus arrived the prophets promised the ONE would come who would carry our weakness and our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4).   Isaiah had promised he would grow up “like a tender shoot” (Isaiah 53:2). Still no one expected the Messiah to come as a baby.  No one expected the Son of God would be born to a carpenter from Nazareth.  I mean, even when the disciple Nathanael first heard of Jesus, he said to Philip in John 1:46, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”  No one expected God to send his Son to such a place. 

  . 

But God did it and He knew exactly what He was doing. When He sent His Son, everything changed.

Everything.

Know what else?  Today, God is still in the business of creating and changing.  God created you and sustains you.  God knows everything about you and what you are going through right now. If you are joyous, God shares your joy.   If you are suffering, God suffers with you.  Your road ahead may seem uncertain and it may seem like you don’t have choices, but IN God you do have choices.  God has a multitude of choices available for you.  God can change anything in His time. 

As you talk to God and wait during this season, KNOW that God sees you and has a plan.  Wait and trust.  Lean into God.  Trust.