TREMORS

     Back in 2014, just as the sun came up I was taking some random pictures of flowers outside of our rental cabin. As I downloaded some photos onto my computer, plates started to rattle, the doors shook, and dust sifted down from the loft above... earthquake tremors.   

     I recognized the signs because while living in Tokyo, Japan, there were slight tremors all of the time; at least seven a day and in Guatemala, while on our honeymoon, we experienced an earthquake during a salsa lesson then two of the three volcanoes surrounding Antigua started smoking for hours. I recognized and I knew the sensations well.

     The minute this quake in Costa Rica was over I remembered how just minutes before I was admiring the beauty of the coffee plantation. When I gazed out the scenery was picturesque and untouched in the aftermath. The earthquake was real, and yet after it all, with all intact, it seemed surreal. Even some locals using our spring-fed swimming pool continued to laugh and splash. They were oblivious.

     Most of us are similar. We experience God, we see miracles or healing and are touched by His presence, but with the distraction of people around us, the busyness of our day, and the draw of our technology, these etheral moments are relegated to the back of our minds and get lost due to the next event marching by that captures our attention. 

     Jerry and I were having earthquake moments in the spirit during this 2014 vision quest concerning our part in ministry in this country. We knew God urged us to come back, but we weren't quite clear on what God had in mind for us. 

     Up until now, we have had many divine appointments in meeting individuals and seeing them ask God to become a real part of their lives. We have made good friends with ex-pats and Ticos alike that we know were purposeful. Who can put a value on just one life? But since our trips at first did not bring changes in the lives of many, and we knew that God did really speak to each of us and drew us here; we continued to seek Him to listen for the Holy Spirit. We needed Him to give us direction. But there was no great revelation. 

     After Elijah cried out to God that the Israelites had forsaken God and his covenants, torn down holy altars, and had killed prophets with the sword, he lamented that he was the last one left and that he too would be hunted down and killed. He needed a word from God, too.

     In 1 Kings 19:11-12, “The LORD said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came the gentle whisper.

     Elijah was then given some instructions about anointing and appointing certain men to rule and to prophecy. Then God softly let him know in verse 18 that there were still 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed down to worship Baal. He was not alone. 

     What we understand now as we look back is that God was not asking us to wait for detailed instructions: a master plan. He was not going to ask us to start a work or church. He was not going to come in a vision or dream and guide us that way. He did arouse a desire to serve Him in this country, but now all He asked is for us to walk this out. This would not be man’s design or working, but God opened up doors as we continued to walk forward and trust. 

     From 2013 to 2016 we sacrificed and blindly obeyed. His gentle intervention has taken us to a place where now at several times a year we speak to hundreds through ladies’ conferences and evangelistic meetings. Whereat first we struggled and used up all of our savings to fund our trips we now see God providing us with everything we need for good works. We simply trust Him. He provides through joyful givers. We are overtaken by the goodness of God!

     Some of our most cherished times are not the tremors of these large moments…but there are sweet times spent anointing and speaking health over a man or woman with cancer in the privacy of their home. Spending time sharing God’s word and encouraging them in their plight.

     Walking down the road after church we visited a sweet sister suffering from diabetes and heard of her impending amputation due to the ulcer on her leg. We were in agreement with the pastors and spoke healing and blessing over her in the name of Jesus. Later we heard that she walked into services the next week to give a glowing testimony of how the doctor unwrapped her leg to find the ulcer gone! She was aglow as she told of God’s goodness.

     Hugging and encouraging a pastor’s wife who struggled with postpartum depression as she cried about how hard it was going to be to leave her newborn in order to commute over three hours a day to her teaching job during 2021. But less than a month later, I was thrilled to read joyous words she penned on Facebook of her love for her students with a strength oozing throughout that let me know she had found solace in God and a victory over her fears.

     Those first moments when God spoke to us about Costa Rica still seem rather surreal just as those passing quakes I’d experienced, but they were real. Even as life moves on and the scenery changes I stop and am grateful for the journey. I have experienced the fire, the wind, the earthquake, but I cherish especially that soft whisper and the warmth of God’s sublime peace that enfolds me as I continue to walk on, waiting to see what He has for me just around the corner.

     My advice for holding onto those precious tremors, those private words that God speaks softly over you is to pay attention. Write them down. Meditate on them and rest in His presence often. 

Psalm 37:4-7a says it well. (NIV)

      Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

5 

 

Angels and Dreams

     Reports of angel sightings, visitations, and messages are not anything new. Drawings, paintings, sculptures, historical recordings have made it clear that angels have been here at our aid quite a bit in the past and today seemingly there is much more activity.

     Dreams are one avenue that is used to give messages from angels or from God himself. There are many who are reportedly receiving more dreams than ever before and who share many that are important to release encouragement, to bring hope, or to warn people whatever the intent of the message was that was given to the dreamer. 

     Many times we attribute the visions, the dreaming, and the visitations as being given to prophetic voices to speak out on their platform or to their sphere of influence but I am here to tell you that God's angels surround us every day. And it's not just prophets who hear from dreams or who receive messages from angels. Any one of us could be confronted with the heavenly messengers to guide us away from danger or to guide us into a good place where we need to be in order for a connection to be made that serves a positive purpose in our lives.

     When my youngest son went snorkeling with his dad all of the sudden, his gear tangled in the rebar coming out of the cement on one side nearer the campus; no matter how he struggled to get free he was only able to swim to where his head was just beneath the surface of the San Marcos River. 

     Running out of breath, he was resigned that drowning was imminent. Though he faced death and was totally out of breath from trying to detach himself, an uncanny peace settled in and around him. He told God that he was ready to go to heaven if it was time. Instead of drowning, a miracle occurred. 

     Suddenly, his lungs filled with air, he was aware that this was supernatural. His foot, which at this time he was not touching was immediately loosed from the fin. My son may not have seen angels, but they were there and rescued him from the worst possible scenario. He told me later about it as a miraculous rescue by God. I agreed.

     There are numerous times when I have felt God's presence or heard him speak and know that his holy angels were with me or my children in various situations.

     I was reading in Matthew 1:18-23. You know we always hear about how Mary heard from Gabriel that she would miraculously conceive the seed of the Messiah and be his mother, so an angel also appeared to Joseph in a dream and it was so real that he heard and believed that Mary had not been unfaithful or promiscuous, but that she was a virgin chosen by God to bear the Son of God, Jesus. 

     That is quite a life changer for this couple. She was not shamed. She was beloved, respected, and provided for. Jesus also grew up with a loving father who provided, mentored him in carpentry and as a man, and he did not grow up with people believing he was a bastard. Thus, God's plan could go forward, but he also was caring for the main players in his plan of saving mankind from the punishment of death for sin.

     Yet it is recorded in the book of Matthew that there were three other times that an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream.

     The second visitation was a warning telling Joseph to take his family to Egypt to escape the genocide of all the boys two years old and younger that Herod was about to command. Joseph heeded the warning and sure enough, the terrible news of the wailing of mothers and fathers over their slain tiny boys reached them and confirmed that indeed, God had warned him and saved Jesus from an untimely death.

     A third time an angel appeared to Joseph and again it was in a dream. He was told that Herod was dead and it was time to return to Israel, so they headed home.

     One last time, Herod was dead, but his evil son, Archelaus, took the throne. This time, the angel came in a dream and told Joseph to head for the hills of Galilee. They settled in the town of Nazareth which fulfilled the prophecy, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

     Joseph never preached to multitudes or told his dreams to guide or encourage others, but he took them seriously and they brought great peace to their home and provided protection due to his obedience.

     God wants to speak to us whether through the Holy Spirit teaching us as we read and meditate on the Bible. Whether a still small voice as we walk in town or are at home washing dishes. He will send messages to us at work as well. Be ready and know that God still speaks in dreams, in visitations; we need not be afraid. It is for our good and our encouragement. 

     Because of the dreams that Joseph experienced and heeded, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies...all of them. 

     Now, we can fulfill the prophecies of Jesus. All who believe in Jesus His death on the cross for our sins, and His resurrection from the dead. We can repent and be saved from eternal damnation. We can also be filled with the Holy Spirit and do the same things Jesus did while he was on the earth and even greater things with all of our technology and God leading us.

     Yea, though I walk in the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

     You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

     Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:4-6 NKJV

      

     

LITTLE PEBBLES

 

LITTLE PEBBLES

     "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."               -Mother Teresa

     There are days when the car won't start; when no one gets me; when I am out of ideas; when I just feel like a little pebble in everyone's shoes. I often am amazed that I get anything meaningful done some days because I just wimp out and go from one thing to the next without finishing anything in particular. Then there are days when I run errands, get a lot of cleaning done, fix a great meal for supper, but I just feel like I have not expressed my inner self in a meaningful way.

     Inside me are so many ideas racing around and they won't behave and get organized into the books and the articles that I want to write. I am easily distracted. For so many years as a teacher I have planned lessons to the nth degree with power points to accompany them filled with links to videos to charm and bring clearer understanding to my students. I prepared activities to enhance the depth of their learning and with several preps I rolled these out at a stunning pace.

     Now that I have four days a week to let my creative "genius" leak out I find myself satisfied with the mundane tasks and errands that crowd out my quiet time when I could write.

     Today I sat at my desk to write a message for my last session of a ladies meeting that convenes a week from today, I opted to start a blog, and in starting the blog I was inspired with an idea for a children's book and that is what I wrote. It turned out well. So good for me actually writing down some ideas that wanted to get out of me, but bad for me and my lame attempt to finish my primary task. But good for me because I got the creative juices going and my best friend in turn is excited to do some sketches for the illustrations and this will take us out of our day dreams of collaboration and into the real world of making it happen. 

     Then I sit and think about all of the things going on in our country and in the world and I wonder how my little children's book, my blog, the books I have in the works but not finished, my talks to women here and there, my encouragement to my elderly parents, taking them to appointments, rocking my tiny grandson and singing abc songs with his three-year-old brother add up to inventors, soldiers out on dangerous missions...out on the high seas, CEOs, big tech, or leaders of nations, states, counties, cities, or school districts.

     Then I hear God encouraging me. He says, "Be fruitful." "Love one another." "Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another." Seek first the kingdom of God" "Encourage one another." "My thoughts and ways are not your ways." I get the hint, God. My measuring stick for productivity and contributing to society is not based on my net worth, titles after my name, being famous, saving the world, or even if I get everything on my to-do list done today.

     I have lived and loved. I have shared and smiled. I have served and provided. I have encouraged and shared truths. I have been fruitful and I hear you say that I cannot even begin to measure my worth on this earth.

     To me it seems like little pebbles dropped in a vast ocean, but in the end the ripples continue on and on and on beyond my immediate senses. So I guess this is your message back to me. Just be satisfied that each day I have shared a bit of myself, whatever that bit may be. After all, those bits will sprout and blossom into what they were meant to be if only I am true to myself and realize that I do matter in each little unique way that I am me. This is the contribution to the world that only I can give.

Psalm 8:3, 4 (ESV)

When I look at the heavens, the work of your fingers the moon and stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him...

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind...

Ephesians 5:1 (ESV)

Be imitators of God like beloved children.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works...

     

     

THE WHISPER

 

THE WHISPER

     "Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

     Have you ever had a toddler tap you on the leg as you stood by and then motion for you to bend down to their level so they can whisper something into your ear?

     Well, in my experience, I have waited expectantly as their soft breath of innocence entered my ear. Each time, I focus intently to distinguish the sounds flowing my way in order to decode their very important message. And if I didn't quite get the complete message--I asked for it to be repeated, whereby the youngster usually would give me a knowing look realizing that I needed some added assistance...spoke more loudly or slowly so that I would catch their meaning this time.

     As I consider the desire I have to hear more from God, I think back on how I waited and focused in silence to hear that wee one speak to me. I totally focused on them and even shushed others so that I could hear them better. 

     For me today there are too many distractions. The laundry, the kitchen, the shopping, phoning to make my hair appointment, updating my calendar of events, checking email, my social media, catching up on the news, paying bills, ordering essentials on Amazon, and my to-do list that has no end. 

     I want to be still. I want to hear well so I turn off the phone, go to a lesser-used room, one I rarely work in and clear it of reading material. With my Bible beside me and an empty legal pad, I retreat to get quiet, see, hear, and record the precious words of life that will come forth.

     Worship. Quiet. Wait expectantly...listen. Ask questions. Listen. Record. Make petitions. Worship. Wait. Quiet.

Words on this from the ESV version of the Bible:

Psalm 37:7 Bestill before the Lord and wait patiently for him. 

Psalm 25:4-5 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Psalm 199:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.