Listening

Today I understood how marvelous it is to hear from my Father God personally - and NOT have crowds of people standing around me waiting to hear what Father just said to me. This is the way most people treat Pastors and Preachers. They sta...nd in silence with their eyes glued to him waiting to hear what he has to say. Imagine how annoying that could be. You wouldn't have a moment of real privacy with your Creator because everything He said to you would be slated for sharing. All the real intimacy would be ruined with the responsibility to feed all the sheep. What a heavy responsibility. What a stupid responsibility.
Seriously.

First thing I would do is pray a prayer for Father to help them get past their own box so they could hear Him speak (since He's speaking all the time). Then I would tell them all to close their eyes and repeat the first words that came to mind.

Ha, ha, ha, ha! Then we would all have a huge laugh when they realized they had all just heard similar words meaning the same thing but said in different ways. They would look around at each other in shock and awe until it dawned on them the only differences were that each message was heard in the exact dialect, slang or accent they would understand personally.

Suddenly the light would pop and the glory of the Lord would fill the place. What an awesome sight that would be.

 

DO NOT BE AFRAID

Did you know that God doesn't like cowards?

Revelations 21:8 Amp
"...as for the cowards,...cravenly lacking in courage,...cowardly submissive;...they shall have their part in the lake that blazes with fire..."
...
This scripture lumps cowards together with liars, unbelievers, murderers etc.

Imagine that! Does that mean everyone who is ever afraid? Nope, I don't think so. Difference is that even while afraid you can move forward and face the thing that is scaring you and then you aren't a coward. A coward is someone who is afraid and won't move forward to face it.

Now why do you suppose God feels that way about cowards? We are all cowards at some point about some thing.

I believe it's because a coward has no faith, no trust, no hope, no integrity. Fear has defeated all those things in him.

One thing I know about God and His Word; there is no place where He is defeated. No, not one. There is nothing that exists that CAN defeat Him. Not even death.

So, as it says all thru the Bible "do not be afraid". And if you are - move forward in faith, trusting that nothing can defeat you when God is with you.

DO NOT BE AFRAID

DO NOT BE AFRAID

God's enjoyment

Lately I've been thinking about Jesus living in me.  I used to describe it using a toothpick stuck in the middle of my fist.  And I'd say the toothpick was Jesus and the fist was me.  But as I let Jesus grow inside me the toothpick would expand into a branch and then a log and my fist had to open up to let this happen.  So, every day in my prayers I would ask Him to help me LET Him grow; that I would surrender more.  Then I would ask Him to use me however He wanted to use me that day.  Sometimes He actually did.  And that was awesome!  It was the greatest high ever!  And I would crave it.  I'd crave for it to happen again . . . soon.  No, soon wasn't soon enough.  And I kept thinking about how I could LET Jesus grow inside me and actually become more of Him and less of me.
Now, He says to me that I'M LIVING IN JESUS.  Not the other way around.  Ok.  Wow.  That took my mind and bent it all around into a totally different direction.  And I had to let that settle into my heart.  I'm living in Jesus.  I'm living through Jesus.  That means I'm not the one making the choices anymore.  I don't have to beg Him to use me; He's the one orchestrating my day already.  So, if He's using me to talk to someone, or using me to stand and stare at the beauty of the mountains.  I thought that if I wasn't actually talking about Jesus to someone, then He wasn't using me.  I thought that all the chores and things of the day were really getting in the way of Jesus using me.  But now that I think He's already in charge here; well, then, maybe He likes doing chores.  After all, He doesn't have a body anymore - except ours.  Imagine if you didn't have a body.  Maybe after awhile, you'd actually miss those mundane things like washing your face, cooking dinner, doing the laundry, walking the dog, cleaning the carpets . . . and such.
OK, no, no, no I'm not being sacreligious.  I'm not.  I'm saying that Jesus loves LIVING through us.  And if we really let that sink into our hearts we could actually enjoy being ALIVE.
Maybe linger longer over that beautiful sunset, instead of rushing away to . . . find someone to "witness" to about Jesus.  Besides, that only works when the Holy Spirit directs you to do it because He's already been working on them and got them to the point that they need to talk to someone now . . . and usually that's only to confirm that they are already way ahead of you.
You see . . . there's that REST "thing" that He told us to do.  Why?  Because I think originally before Adam & Eve messed it up, God said He rested.  What was He doing while He rested?  He just ENJOYED.  He enjoyed.  He enjoyed everything He created.  He enjoyed strolling along in the cool of the evening just chatting.  He enjoyed looking at all the beauty and saying things like "that's really good".
The whole point of all the years between then and now . . . is to GET IT BACK.  Get what back?  The RESTING.  The enjoying.
Remember that tomorrow . . . Jesus loves living through you.  So, sit back and enjoy the ride.  See where He goes.  He'll probably go do all the things you've been doing all along, but He'll enjoy them.
Hmmm?

Come on get up & go forward

As I walk along, I glory in the Word of God that brings me
messages of comfort and direction along the way; often specifically designed to
speak to my situation.  God, in His
unfailing and uncompromised Love, directs these messages to reach me at just
the right moment when I need them most.
I glory in this; that He loves me this much to take the time, take the
initiative, and take the energy to send me a message.  How awesome is that thought?


God sent me – just me specifically – a message.  It was FULL of love.  It was SO FULL of love that it overwhelmed
me.  GOD!
GOD, HIMSELF!  Who would have
thought that God, Himself, would bother to send ME a message?  Who am I?


Well, apparently, I became His beloved Daughter when I
became born again.  All these years I
thought of myself as a tiny, little piece of God’s creation, floating along
somewhere in His vast universe, hoping to just be a good enough follower to
hear Him say “Well done, good and faithful servant.” when I reach the throne in
heaven.  But other than that, not very
worthy of anything at all, let alone His attention to actually send me a
message; especially not during something that is just my own emotion hang-up
I’m trying to overcome.


But, it has happened so many times now; and still I’m
overwhelmed when it happens again.  It
ABSOLUTELY humbles me!  It drops me right
to my knees.  God is not only caring
about my struggles with my own imperfections and mistakes that He cares to
encourage me, Himself!  He isn’t judging
me or wagging His finger at me or even advising me, oh so gently.


No!  He only tells me
with SO MUCH LOVE just to be assured that He loves me and everything is going
to be just fine.  So I can go ahead and
get back up off my self-imposed floor of guilt and condemnation and
“butt-kicking”; and forgive myself so I can go forward.


Go forward.  That is
His only advice.  Go forward.


Really?  What about
berating me?  What about wagging a finger
at me in disappointment and shame?  What
about telling me “you knew better, didn’t you?”?  What about . . . ?


None of that.
None.  Just plain, none.  Zip.
Nada.

Just “come on, I love you, go forward”.  Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

Really?  REALLY?

REALLY!

Wow!

September 19, 2011 at 6:09pm

I'm limiting God!!!

In my amazement at His messages, I wallow around chewing on them for hours and days.
Then this morning I realized how much I would love to hear from Him ALL THE TIME!  And my first thought was that I was asking too much.
Wow.  How we limit God.
Why do I know that I want to hear from Him all the time, but think that He doesn't want to talk to me all the time?  Why would I think He's too busy?  How silly is that?
He created us to have relationship with us.  And personally, I know that getting a message from Him is better than getting a message from anyone.  I love it.  I hold it and grasp it.  I marvel at it.  I'm thrilled by it.
I want more . . . and more . . . and more.
Today, I'm going to try to stay in His presence . . . which is actually another silly thought because His presence lives inside me and He's with me all the time.  So maybe it's better to say that today I'm going to try to invite Him to walk and talk with me every moment today.  Just like I would If I asked a friend to go shopping with me.  I would be aware of their presence and I would be making effort to communicate and share all during that time.  I wouldn't speak to my friend for a minute and let them speak to me for a minute and then just ignore them the rest of the day.  How awful!
Why would I do that to God?  Why would I think that He doesn't want that kind of relationship too?
I remember that song "I am a friend of God".  The Bible says so.
So, I'm going to treat Him more like a friend.

September 20, 2011 at 7:49am

Are you kidding me? I did that.

It popped into my mind out of the blue and was just as clear as if it happened yesterday.  I was 26 yrs old again and my Momma had just died.  I was so heartbroken and devastated, not to mention afraid.  Yeah, even at 26 it frightened me that my Momma was gone.  Who would be praying for me that I would be safe?  Who would I call when I was confused, hurt and alone?  I had a husband and I had children, but there's no one like your Momma.  And I wasn't sure that God heard anyone else except my Momma.
In remembering that moment, I also remembered the decision I made in that fear.  It was this: "I will continue to walk forward and try to raise my kids, but I know I will be a terrible Mom because I don't know what I'm doing, so I'll just hope that loving them and praying for them will be enough and God will do the rest."
It wasn't such a horrible thought/decision except for the part that I would be a terrible Mom.  Looking back on that moment from 30 years later, I can see how that one thought trailed through my life and haunted me.  But I didn't remember it until yesterday.  I wondered why I couldn't be a good Mom, or why I thought I was such a bad one.  And OHHHHH the guilt.  Guilt is an evil, ugly, cruel companion that will never go home until you expose him for the liar he is.
Seeing this scenario yesterday, I welcomed it like I welcome my feet touching the ground after flying.  Finally I know where this came from.  I'm stunned that I did it.  I'm usually more analytical about my thoughts and decisions.  But I remember the emotional trauma I was experiencing at the time.  My thinking was far from clear and I was desperately grasping for something to "ground" me and take away the fear.
I know that fear comes from my evil enemy.  It never comes from God.  And I also know that I can actually "TELL IT" to leave me by telling "him" that he's a liar and that I am a Child of God full of God's love and protection.  It took me a long time to learn this.  But it has released me from many emotionally "freezing" episodes of fear.  And I have found such wonderful peace in doing this.
But I didn't know these things back then.  I didn't recognize the lie and I didn't recognize the fear.  I only knew that I was living in desperation.
Blame is usually the next step in our society.  Find the source and place the blame.  But we don't seem to understand that this piece of the process is the smallest part of healing.  Nor do we seem to realize that it doesn't take hours of tears and additional re-living trauma to place the origin of the trauma, the lie and the result of believing it.
My revelation came from a simple statement I had made to God in prayer the day before.  I had asked Him to show me where this "terrible Mom syndrome" had come from.  I didn't travail in prayer.  And when the revelation came, it was a simple scene that popped into my mind while I was busy doing something benign.  When I saw it, I didn't stop what I was doing and grab my chest as my heart palpitated.  No.  My reaction was "are you kidding me?".  "I did that."
My next step, I already knew, was to simply renounce that old decision and cast it into the sea of forgetfulness never to be retrieved.
By that I mean, that I will not blame myself, berate myself, carry guilt over it, and suffer any consequences for it.  I refuse all of that in Jesus name.  Why would I treat it that way when we usually expect those reactions as the normal course of human emotion to spend lots of time "dealing through it"?
I won't because I don't have to.  Jesus set me free from the bondage of emotionally "dealing through it".  His healing was not the result of that course of action.  His healing was a result of my faith that He is real and that He not only made healing available to me, but that He did it already 2000 years ago and all I have to do is claim it as my own and believe that it is done.
This whole trauma and life-long lie was the result of my enemy taking advantage of my weakness and seeing it as an open door to tell me a lie that I wasn't mature enough to recognize.  So, it's not my fault.  I will not carry any fault for it.  Not only did Jesus make my healing available, but He also healed the results of that lie - at the moment I recognized it and placed it in its proper category.  (In my weakness, He is strong).
Why do we think that we can fix anything emotional by "working through it"?  Where did we get this power to heal ourselves?  Recognizing the source of the problem and placing blame doesn't do anything for us except when it is approached through Jesus' terms of healing.
See it, Place it, Renounce it, and be Healed.
Too simple for you?  Yeah, I know, I battled that argument years ago and persisted in fighting emotional issues the "normal" way for so long.  Then I realized how much time I was wasting.  We have work to do promoting the Kingdom.  And this is part of it.  Healing is simple.  It really is.  Just do it.  You have the faith the size of the mustard seed.  Use it.  And if for some unknown reason your healing doesn't manifest in some area, keep believing and keep walking forward.  You WILL know why later.  He promises that to us.

He will lead me.

I must say "thank you" to my Lord for the amazing fact that He is willing to take the time in His "God running the Universe" duties to guide me personally in my many questions and curiousities.  Just like my children were full of "what's that?" questions that sometimes tried my patience, I find a whole new set of inquiries each day I am alive.  But unlike me dealing with a 'work day' schedule, He always has plenty of time and interest in my questions.  And even when I don't understand His direction and instruction the first or second time, He is willing to keep explaining the same thing in a new way until I finally "get it".
I didn't have 'church' to answer all my questions through the years.  I was isolated.  But as I look back through those years, I clearly see His very personal and very intimate guidance.  He didn't have a problem with the fact that there wasn't a 'church' guiding me.  And now that I have learned so much from Him directly, it reminds me of children who are 'home-schooled'.  They have actually surpassed children in conventional schools only because their learning was so personally guided.
There have been those who think my faith has a tendency to the 'radical' view only because I cannot accept at 'face-value' any "widely accepted mainstream Christian doctrine" when presented to me.  Telling me that "this is what the most theologically-educated say" does not impress me; not because I am rebellious or controversial as a chosen character trait.  No, on the contrary; I will remain silent in preference to 'peace' rather than open my mouth and cause a 'ruckus'.
But when it comes to choosing a path of belief, I consult my closest confidant, the person who was there through it all and never failed me; my friend, my creator, my God.  This is not to place a crown upon my own head in some kind of awesome, wonderful, great holiness of my own; ha!  This is the simple fact that I was terrified and lost so horribly that I threw the reins of my life at Him in panic and fear; and He didn't flinch; He guided me completely for so long now that I don't know any other way to do it.
I chose to have a 'church' recently.  And when I hear my pastor or other teacher reprimand the congregation for failing to spend time with the Word and with God, I glance at the floor and wonder how they do it that way.  Then I remember when I did too.  It was before.  It was what lead me to throwing the reins at Him.
I honestly don't know; maybe other people don't ever come to that point in their lives.  Maybe making all their own decisions and figuring out life on their own actually works out for them.  I just don't know.
It sure didn't work for me.  I failed so horribly.  And I would not have survived it if He hadn't stepped in to stop me from ending it all.  I guess that's what the phrase "broken" means.
But I'm not "broken" anymore.  And I know I don't ever have to be again because it's been a long time since that happened and He taught me how to lean on Him completely and He showed me how to "live".
There is a word - codependent; that seems to describe me and my relationship to God.  Apparently in the psychiatry circles codependency is a bad thing and we must overcome it.  Well . . . that's just not happening here.  I'm doing just fine in my wonderful little codependent world.  It works.  And I feel pretty special sometimes when He gives me  the gift of a unique message just for me.  I have found there to be no other "high" that comes anywhere close to the "high" that results from that situation. . . . God, Himself, gave little 'ol me a message all my own; it's specific to me, it's concerns only me, and it's targeted to only me.  Well, when that happens all I can say is . . . .
WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!
Oh, and one more thing.  If you don't have that kind of relationship with Him and it sounds far-fetched and impossible to achieve . . . I just have to chuckle.  You really think I'm a lot more special than I think.  It's just not that hard.  It's a choice, not an achievement.

Parable of the Minas (Oct 2010)

 

November 6, 2011 at 3:39pm

Parable of the Minas     (Oct 2010)
Luke 19: 12-26 Parable of the Minas

Please read the story first. It’s a very short story.

Luke 19:12-27 (Amplified Bible)  12He therefore said, A certain nobleman went into a distant country to obtain for himself a kingdom and then to return.  13Calling ten of his [own] bond servants, he gave them ten minas [each equal to about one hundred days' wages or nearly twenty dollars] and said to them, Buy and sell with these while I go and then return.  14But his citizens detested him and sent an embassy after him to say, We do not want this man to become ruler over us.  15When he returned after having received the kingdom, he ordered these bond servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know how much each one had made by buying and selling.  16The first one came before him, and he said, Lord, your mina has made ten [additional] minas.  17And he said to him, Well done, excellent bond servant! Because you have been faithful and trustworthy in a very little [thing], you shall have authority over ten cities.  18The second one also came and said, Lord, your mina has made five more minas.  19And he said also to him, And you will take charge over five cities.  20Then another came and said, Lord, here is your mina, which I have kept laid up in a handkerchief.  21For I was [constantly] afraid of you, because you are a stern (hard, severe) man; you pick up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.  22He said to the servant, I will judge and condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked slave! You knew [did you] that I was a stern (hard, severe) man, picking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow?  23Then why did you not put my money in a bank, so that on my return, I might have collected it with interest?  24And he said to the bystanders, Take the mina away from him and give it to him who has the ten minas.  25And they said to him, Lord, he has ten minas [already]!  26And [said Jesus,] I tell you that to everyone who gets and has will more be given, but from the man who does not get and does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  27[The indignant king ended by saying] But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them--bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!

OK. Ready?

First thing I noticed is that it doesn’t say if he called them by name, or if he just said “10 of you come here” and a miscellaneous 10 came. So based on what normally happens in most workplaces I figure that either way he comes up with the same 10 guys and here’s why. In every workplace there are the ones who have done the best, achieved the most, and become the most trusted. They always seem to stand out from the crowd by being in the front, or at the top of the list. Of course, there are always some rather hypocritical “wannabes” in that group and they need to be “weeded” out. Those are the guys who cheated to get there. They stole another guy’s idea to get recognition, or they lied to the boss to make him think they were special, or they were just plain “weasels”. You know the type. Well, when you are the boss, you try to figure out who those guys are, because honestly they don’t respect you; they aren’t there because they believe in their company or respect the goal of the company; they are only there because they are greedy and ultimately everything they do undermines the company and the people.

Granted, all the parables seem to fit into many different situations and explanations; but it’s always interesting to listen to the Holy Spirit and see what He reveals to YOU. This is what He revealed to me.

This parable is about getting the hypocrites and unbelievers out of the kingdom. I say that because you will see two things going on here. One is the 10 servants “thing” and the other is the comments about the people of the city – they are an important part . And at first I wondered why. But if the goal is to find the unbelievers and hypocrites, then the people belong here.

He gives those 10 guys, 10 coins and tells them to “buy and sell” with them.

Then he mentions that his citizens hate him and don’t want him to be their ruler. This is obviously in direct correlation to the fact that Jesus came to the Jews first and they rejected Him. He became King anyway – as he does in this parable.

When he comes back from his journey, he checks in with the 10 guys first to see what they have done. You will notice that you only hear about the first 3 guys results. What happened to the other 7? Apparently we are to assume that the same results continued. I don’t think he had to continue the story after #3 because this was the “weed” in the group – he was found out. There typically isn’t a LOT of them.

But did you wonder why he got so angry at the guy for just burying the coin? I did. At least he didn’t just spend it for himself. But, then the Holy Spirit told me. This guy didn’t do what he was told to do. He didn’t obey.

Jesus is really BIG on obedience. It is one of the two things He talks about the most; Love and Obedience.

This guy didn’t do what he was told because he either didn’t listen, because he was too wrapped up in his own agenda; or he didn’t think it was important to his agenda; or as he said “he was afraid”. Well, that goes back to the Love. Remember, “Perfect Love casteth out fear”. Apparently the other guys weren’t afraid. And I don’t think the remaining, unspoken 7 were afraid either, or they would have been mentioned.

Another thing I noticed; Jesus doesn’t mention if any of them DID NOT make any money. We all know that when you buy and sell, you don’t always come out on top. Sometimes, you end up losing. He doesn’t mention any of those; not to reprimand them, or to reward them. That doesn’t mean that they didn’t exist. It just means that they don’t apply to the point He’s trying to make.

However, he does says at the end “he who gets and has will more be given, but he who does not get and does not have, even what he has will be taken away”. This is the Amplified Translation. I like this one because it adds that word “gets”. And that seems important to me. Why? Because out of all the servants, these 10 are the only ones who “got” something. They received the coins. I’m sure he has more servants. So, do you think he means that all the rest of his servants are “bad” just because they didn’t “get” any coins from their master? I don’t think so. Anyway, this says “he who does not get and does not have . . .” so how does that apply to this “wicked” servant. He was given a coin just like the other ten.

The main thing I see in Jesus parables is that you can’t really understand them with your own intelligence. If you do it that way, you will completely misinterpret them which is why Jesus told them in a parable. You must go thru the Holy Spirit to “get “it.

Watch this, “he who does not get and does not have, even what he has will be taken away”. To the human brain, that statement doesn’t even make sense. If a guy doesn’t have anything, then how can he have something to take away? We always skim right over that, like Jesus said it wrong. No, He didn’t. He was talking about two different “things”.

So, lets go back to the “wicked” servant. What did he NOT have to begin the story? Well, he didn’t have a real relationship with his Master. He didn’t really know who He was. He didn’t trust Him. He didn’t BELIEVE in Him.

In order to be obedient to your boss you have to believe that he has the authority to tell you what to do. In order to trust him you have to have some relationship with him that has been tested in your heart and found trustworthy. This guy didn’t have that. He didn’t believe in the Master’s authority – that’s why he didn’t obey him and “buy and sell”. And it’s why he told the Master that He was afraid of him because “you are a stern man; you pick up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow”. In making this statement, he was actually trying to “kiss up”. Think about how a hypocrite tries to ingratiate himself to the boss – by “Superman” flattery. That was what this guy was trying to do. He didn’t actually believe what he was saying. He thought this was what the Master wanted to hear . . . that he was a conqueror; a tough guy.

Did it ever bother you that this man describes the Master in those terms? This Master is an example of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t reap what he doesn’t sow. Jesus doesn’t pick up what he doesn’t lay down. Jesus is not greedy nor a thief – Satan is the thief. I believe that the Master’s reply is SARCASTIC. Because He answers him; “You knew {did you} that I was a stern man, picking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow?” Notice there is a question mark at the end of the statement. That’s because it’s not a statement. It’s a rhetorical question – a sarcastic one; meant to prove the servant to be a liar.

And it was a redundant question with continued sarcasm for him to say “then why did you not put my money in a bank, so that on my return, I might have collected it with interest?” This comment is not to say that it was acceptable for the servant to put the money in the bank, that would still have not been obedience; this comment is to prove the servant to be a liar. If he had truly thought the Master was such a thief, wouldn’t the money have been safer in the bank? And if he thought the Master was so greedy, at least in the Bank he would have earned interest. No, he actually didn’t think the Master was any of those things. He was lying. The truth was that he didn’t care about the Master at all. He didn’t respect Him and didn’t acknowledge His authority. This guy was a real jerk. He didn’t do what he was told; then when questioned – he pulls out the old “kiss up” act.

That is why he was a “wicked” servant.

In the middle of that statement was another statement “I will judge and condemn you out of your own mouth”. Since this servant judged the Master as a greedy thief, then the Master treated the slave as a greedy thief.

The key to this whole story is the reward that is received in Jesus kingdom. I will sum it up in Jesus own commandment. “Love one another as I have loved you”.

If we don’t “get and have” LOVE, then everything else we have will be lost – including our life – which is what happens to the citizens who didn’t want him to be their King. If we receive the Master’s Love and have His Love living inside us, then we will receive more and more of His love lavished upon us.
 

Unicorns and dimensions

 

October 13, 2012 at 3:46pm

Did you know there are unicorns in the Bible? Ha!  I'm laughing cause I can see your surprise.  Probably the same look that was on my face when I found out. Yep, they are mentioned 5 times.  So, my next question to you is this.  Will you write those 5 mentions off as the beliefs of some uneducated ancient peoples and skip around them when you read the Bible?  Or will you just embrace the old standby 'we don't understand everything yet'?
I asked myself those same questions and made a couple basic decisions.  If I write off any piece of the Bible then I have to write all of it off.  Therefore I'm left with the second statement.  Unfortunately, that statement has never, ever set very well with me.  I'm never satisfied to 'not understand'.  It doesn't fit with my relationship with my Lord.  He's very personal to me and seems to answer every question I ask Him.  He's never told me 'you can't understand now' and left me in the dark.  Just the opposite happens.  Not only does he explain, but often if I'm not mature enough to thoroughly understand, then He opens the door to a situation that simply shows me what He's trying to say.  No, I don't believe He ushers me into suffering and pain in order to teach me a lesson.  That's just plain sick Theology to believe He's twisted that way.  He's more loving that we can imagine.  And . . . well, I have to release that point or I'll be babbling about it for an hour.  Anyway, back to my point.  I don't believe we aren't meant to not understand.  I believe what Jesus said 'seek and you will find'.  So I look around - with His help.
My first step is to ask Him.  So I did.  "Jesus, what about unicorns?"
His answer was actually pretty simple, "anything that you can imagine, exists in another dimension.  Mankind is quite exclusively arrogant to think they can create a thought, or a myth, or a story completely of their own volition.  If a thought exists, I knew about it long before you thought it.  If an idea forms in your mind, it was in my mind long ago.  If you create a picture or a story; I created it before you were born.  So if the tale of unicorns has been around for centuries, guess who thought of it first?  Don't you know that when I think of something, it becomes a reality somewhere?  Just because you don't see them in your dimension doesn't mean that people haven't seen them.  Sometimes the dimensions overlap a bit.  Sometimes people have glimpses into them.  You believe people have seen heaven in near-death experiences.  You believe in the Spirit and yet you can't see Him.  Yet you hesitate at the existence of other dimensions.  What do you think heaven is?  It is another dimension.  Even science is catching up to these facts and beginning to understand them.  You should never be afraid of learning.  You should never be afraid . . . of anything.  Open your heart and mind to me.  Remember I said "eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it come upon the heart of man, that which God has prepared for those who love Him".  If you can be shocked at unicorns, imagine what my other surprises will do to you."  I felt Him smile.
So there you have it.  My conversation with Jesus about unicorns.  You don't have to believe it.  You don't have to embrace it.  You don't even have to read this.  Sometimes I enjoy sharing the experiences that blow religious mindsets.  It makes me giggle.  Yeah, I know how they roll their eyes at me anyway.  The fact that I talk to Jesus and He talks to me makes them put me on the fence of "too far out there".  That's OK.  After all these years and all the things Jesus has told me that I could have never known otherwise, I'll just keep listening to Him.  Plus, I really enjoy His company.  So, if He tells me that unicorns exist in another dimension, then I'll just accept that as fact.  It seems silly but we struggle to understand all the serious stuff so it's kind of fun to understand something silly for a change and know that God has that side to His character.
If you don't have conversations with Him, yourself, you should.  Just start talking to Him all the time throughout the day.  Babble about everything you think about, wonder about and question.  Somewhere along the way, He'll answer you and you'll hear it.  That's a day to remember!

So Alone, Not Alone

 

Epiphany.
I am not alone unto myself; not in this body, not in my spirit, not in all the dimensions and realms that exist.  The Bible says we have a great cloud of witnesses.  Never knew what that really meant until now.  Not only is it all the people who are vested in my life either by the word of a book, the inspiration of a song, or a relationsh...ip of love - these are vestments we have in each other, or in our favorite things, the things that "speak" to us, but also by those who are gone to another reality but have touched my life.  They are all my cloud of witnesses.  They wait, and watch and cheer for me. 

We each have one.  It is actually quite vast compared to the relevance we believe we have.  We believe we influence very few.  We believe that influence is rather miniscule.  We think that influence is only on a very few closest to us.  But the truth is, we have a cloud watching.  They invested themselves into us through their writings, their music, their love.  It touched us somewhere.  And it became a part of who we are as a whole.  We are not alone.  They are all here.  They are all watching.  They are all hoping.  They are all cheering.

Not only them.  There is another group who have invested in us through their DNA.  It is that long, line of relatives; many we never know either through time or space.  However, their investment is there.  We twist our nose to the left in nervousness and that was the investment of a great uncle long, long gone.  We have a strangely, slow gate to our syllables when a cool breeze hits.  The investment of great, great grandma who never knew us.  Yet that investment lives.  It exists.  It isn't known to us.  But she sees.  He sees.  They stare in wonder as they watch our reenactment of their life in this place.  How fascinating.  How familiar.  How irretrevably connected.  Deeply connected.
You are me.  I am you.  We are us.  And we've been here, how long?

Do we repeat the same patterns over and over, endlessly?  Do we think the same thoughts?  Do we wonder at the same marvels?
Who are you? Are you one of us?