Don't Ignore the Holy Spirit's Warnings!!!!!!

Oh, my. What an end to a TERRIBLE day! (Scroll down to read all about the earlier mishaps!)

I just received YUCKY news. My computer died the week of the "A Woman Inspired" conference, so I have been without my laptop for weeks. My friend, who had been out of the country, returned and had some time to fix it. It wasn't as easy as he thought it would be and as it turned out, I LOST all of my Word documents.

Gone.

Forever.

Years of work.

Devotions.

Documents for my speaking ministry.

Hundreds of documents.

Gone.

No problem, you say because everything was backed up, right?

Nope.

For months now the Holy Spirit had been warning me, whispering to me, to back up my computer files.

Yes, I will do it.....tomorrow.....next week.....when I have a few more minutes....when I have some free time.

So, each time the Holy Spirit again reminded me to do this, I put Him off, assuring Him and myself I would do it.....eventually.

What is that about delayed obedience? Disobedience! And, when we (I) choose to go our ways, ignore God's warnings, do things in our timing, well.....we (I) get into trouble!

The Holy Spirit is our Helper. He wants to lead us and guide us. God wants to help us in our walk. "When we trust in the Lord with all of our hearts, lean not upon our own understanding, then He will direct our steps, straighten our paths." I should have trusted God, heeding His warning. I should not have leaned upon MY understanding, stubbornly doing it my own way.

So......I am IMPLORING YOU- don't ignore the Holy Spirit! Listen and heed that still, small voice within You. Trust in what He tells you.

Mama said there would be days like these!

OK....what a crazy day....

Got up late (set the alarm for PM instead of AM).

Began with a run. Time to be with Him. Worship to awesome praise music. Prayed over my day, it was going to be a busy one. Asked God to be over it all. Told Him I surrendered my time to Him.

Hmmmmmmm.....

Cut beautiful lilies for inside. Went upstairs to wake Ashley for swim practice.

"Mommy, I don't feel good."

"You'll feel better once you wake up and eat a little something. Come on, you can't miss practice." (Unspoken translation: I don't have time for you to be sick today. Have to stick to our plan. )

Took Ashley to practice. Came home to make toast for the rest of the kids. Aaron came running down. "Mom, the bathroom is FLOODED! The water is running!"

Ran upstairs to find 2 inches of water on the floor, water running in the sink, overflowing.....

"No! No! Please help, God!"

Every towel from the linen closet soaking up the flood. (Just washed, dried, folded and put away yesterday.....another mess to clean up).

Run downstairs to make sure water isn't flooding through family room ceiling.

It is.

More towels.

Holding towels to ceiling. Run to get fans!

All the kids pitching in to help.

Soaking water.

Phone rings.

Ashley threw up at the pool.

Andrew, hold the towel while I get Ashley.

Paint chipping off the ceiling.

Tuck in Ashley. Check the ceiling.

Fight with Andrew.

After 2 hours of taking care of flooded bathroom, time to do basics and chores.

Take a shower (still had not from the 7 AM run!)

Walk into the kitchen.....Buddy (the dog) threw up.

Clean it up.

Start on lunch. Oops. Forgot that the pasta was boiling on the stove.

Lord, what a day. (and it's only lunchtime).

Lord, I know there are things that You want to teach me through the trials of life. Days when "everything seems to go wrong"....I know You are there. What is it, God that You want me to learn from all of this?

I sang this morning that I want to depend on You....to trust You. I know that it is so much easier to say, pray, and MEAN when I am running with praise music playing in the ipod.....just me and You, God. No worries. No chores. No tasks. Just me and You on a country road, basking in the beauty of Your nature.

But, when I come home, that is where I have to live it.

When the ceiling floods. When the dog throws up. When life doesn't go how I would like it. This is where I must live it. To choose to surrender to You. To choose to trust in You. To choose to turn to You, depend on You.

I love You, Lord. Thank You, God.

Blessed be Your Name.

And.....I ALWAYS APPRECIATE your prayers! :)

Thankful Thursday

Since it is late Wednesday night while I write my "Thankful Thursday," I have to say what comes to my mind first is being grateful for an awesome day today with my kids. Because it was a rainy day, we had lots of fun playing board games.

We had a Monopoly championship, then played my favorite, Life.

Lord, thank You for a time of rest and relaxation today. Thank You that we didn't have to "GO" anywhere or "accomplish" anything. In today's world of hurry here and go there and finish this activity and accomplish this goal.......it is so WONDERFUL to just do NOTHING- but laugh together, have fun, and PLAY.

Why don't I allow myself to do this more often? And, why do I get irritated when my family has no problem in this area of resting/relaxation/playing? I sometimes get frustrated at their (Brian's and the kids) LACK of being upset that things AREN'T "getting done." They don't feel "guilty" when our never-ending to do list "ain't" done.

I know, Lord, that I need to rest in You more often. I need to NOT focus on the doing and just focus on the being. I am not measured by how good I am or how much I accomplish or how together I am. I am good because You are good. My life is hidden with Christ in God. I am "all right" because Your Spirit lives within me, because I am Your Child, and because the blood of Christ has done all that needs to be accomplished.

So, as I ponder how fast "Life" happens when playing the board game- you finish college, choose a career, get married, have kids and retire all in an afternoon- I realize that REAL LIFE happens at equally break-neck speed and I need to slow down and enjoy it! I have awesome, wonderful kids who WANT ME to play games with them. I know this is just a season and before a blink of an eye they will be grown.

So thank You, Lord, for an afternoon of refreshment. And, more importantly, God, thank You for wisdom in teaching me to slow down and rest in You. Enjoy my time each day. Enjoy my kids.

Thank You for rainy days.

Please visit my friend Lynn for more Thankfulness!

Thirsty for His Presence!

First posted October 9th, 2006

"Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together!"

I have been reading this great book, "Drawing Near" by John Bevere. He often uses the plight of the Israelites and Moses as biblical examples, so I have been going back to their story and rereading it for myself.

God can teach us so much through their experience! And, I how I see myself, too. Even though God delivered them with signs and miracles from BONDAGE and cruel slavery, every time they would come up against hardship in the desert (or "wilderness"), they would grumble and complain to Moses. They would ask Moses, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt? We should go back to Egypt!" This was the one that REALLY got me, "Isn't is enough that you have brought us up OUT OF A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK HONEY (EGYPT), to kill us in the desert? Morever, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards."

Can you believe that?! Yes, Egypt was a land flowing with "milk and honey", but not for them! They were slaves! They did not even get to experience the bounty and prosperity! Isn't that just like us, at times? When times get hard, as God is leading us through our own personal wilderness, we cry out for the way things WERE. We would rather grumble and complain about the "good ole' days", even when they weren't in truth so good, then to dig our heals in, take God's hand and walk with Him in the desert. We willingly trade freedom for bondage.

What REALLY blew me away, though, is that a group of priests get really mad and rebel against Moses and Aaron (Moses' brother and "top" priest). A priest named Korah (remember this name!) got his family and 250 other leaders to rise up against Moses. He wants some of Moses' power. He says, "The whole community is holy (yea, right!), and the LORD is with all of them. Why do you put yourselves above them?"

You see, in Korah's eyes, "holy" meant following all of the laws and rituals. But, God looks beyond following the law....He looks at the heart. Yes, they were following and obeying God's directions, but with what kind of attitude? And, didn't God Himself place Moses in charge? Wasn't it Moses who led them out of Egypt? And, this is most important, who talked to God? Who continually was in the presence of God? It was Moses.

Moses had a HEART for God, a relationship with Him, a hunger for His presence.

So, the next day they go to appear before God, to let Him judge between them. God tells Moses and Aaron to seperate themselves from these men (Korah, his family, and 250 leaders) so that He can "put an end to them at once." Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?" Moses does what He has continually done through grumbling and complaining of the Israelites- He falls face down and cries out for God's mercy. When you read the story, the people grumble and blame Moses. It strikes me that Moses is forgiving and merciful even when He is the brunt of all their bad behavior. Anyway, God has everyone move away from Korah, Datham, and Abiram (family). He warned the assembly, "Move away from their tents or you will be swept away because of their sins."

God opened the earth and swallowed up the families of these men (women and children, too), then a" fire came out of the LORD and consumed the 250 men who followed Korah."

God was MAD! He was angry at their rebellion, their lack of reverence, complaining, and pride. Now you would think that would have been the end of it, wouldn't you? I mean, if it would have been me, if I saw the earth open up and swallow people and then a fire consume 250 more, I would have been doing some big time repenting! For us, it obvious that they had sinned and offended the LORD greatly. But, can you believe this, the next morning, " the WHOLE (YES, WHOLE!) communtiy grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 'You have killed the LORD'S people' they say."

What rebellion! And, blaming! WHO killed the community???? MOSES????? We never want to take responsiblity of our own actions when it much easier to blame someone else! Notice, again, that it is against Moses that grumble and blame. Even though they saw with their own eyes the earth open up and fire come from the LORD.

Well, you can guess that the LORD was ANGRY! He was going to "put an end to them at once." Again, Moses and Aaron fall facedown on behalf of the people. Moses tells Aaron to put incence in his censer to make atonement for the people. "The wrath came out of the LORD and the plague had started." But, Aaron runs over to the people with his censer and made atonement for the people." The plague had already started, so Aaron was a dividing line between the living and the dead. The plague stopped where he stood. 14,700 people died from the plague.

OK, this so amazed me. I wondered how could the people have been so obstinate, rebellious, stubborn? How could they have witnessed with their own eyes God's anger the day before as He dealt with the rebellious Korah and his followers, and still not be humble and repentant? Instead, they go and do the same thing? Didn't they see how angry God was? I began asking God how could this be? How can people see with their own eyes the will of God, and still rebel against Him? Wouldn't what they witnessed the day before nipped any grumbling in the bud? Stopped it cold? Obviously not. But, how, why?

And, God showed me that these people, although they follwed Him, did not have a "relationship" with the Living God. They foll0wed His commands and rules, but didn't know His heart. They didn't seek after the presence of God ("you go, Moses, and talk to God for us"). They didn't spend time with Him, getting to know HIM. They wanted His blessings and the promised land, but they didn't want to get to know Him.

And, how many of us are like that today? We want all the benefits of God, His blessings, answered prayer, our "promised land", but are not willing to get to know HIM, to spend time with Him, to get to know His heart. Do we hunger after His presence? Do we seek HIM above all else? Not just praying because we need something, but praying and reading His Word because we want Him more and more. We long for Him because life without His presence is NOTHING! Nothing compares to the joy and the passion we fill when we are walking with Him.

Moses was amazing. Do you know that when God got fed up with the Israelites at one point, He told Moses, "OK, go into the promised land. I will send an angel to go in before you to clear the way. BUT, I am not going in with you. You will not have my presence." But, Moses refuses! He knows that life in the desert WITH God is better than any promised land full of blessing and prosperity WITHOUT God.

Oh, God, may that always be OUR prayer, the cry of our heart! May we say we don't want the thing (no matter how wonderful) if You are not going to be with us! We don't want the job promotion if we won't have Your presence with us. I don't want any speaking opportunity if Your Spirit is not there!

Oh, God, may we hunger and thirst for Your presence above all! May we continue to seek You with all of heart, our soul, our mind, our strength. May Your love be better than life!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Rejoicing in His amazing love!

Thirsty for Him,
Tracy

What is "THIRSTY FOR HIM"?

I have been so excited to meet many new people at my blog recently. As I was thinking about this, it occurred to me that many who haven't followed me and don't know my "story" might not know what "Thirsty for Him" means.



I choose this as the name and theme of my ministry because it is the cry of my heart for myself and other Believers- to be so thirsty for a relationship with God. To HUNGER after Him.....to desire to know Him more and more.....to walk in His presence.....to be filled to the MEASURE of all the fullness of God.



The first time I read Psalm 63, I cried "YES! That is how I feel!" I continue to go back to this psalm because my prayer is that I never stop feeling this way. When I am walking through deserts or dry places, I want to continue to turn to God...to seek HIM with all that I am.

O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You. (verses 1-5)

My favorite devotion, Thirsty, is really my ministry passion. I thought I would reprint it here. Also, if you haven't yet, I invite you to read my "story." Just click on "Testimony" at the top of my blog.

Have you ever been thirsty, really thirsty? So thirsty that your tongue was sticking to the roof of your mouth? So parched and dry that your throat was sore?

I believe we are thirsty in today’s world. We are thirsting for God and His Word. We are longing for Him, as Psalm 63 cries. God has placed this desire in our hearts and our souls to know Him, to search for Him, to worship Him. There is a deep yearning inside of us to grow closer to our Creator.

You may be feeling this desire, this longing, this thirst right now, but you are not sure why you feel it. You only know that something is missing. You have a longing, a need that has not yet been met. You begin to search for the cause of your thirst.

Unfortunately, in today’s “me-centered,” impatient society, we try to fill that thirst, that longing with a “quick fix”- a chocolate brownie, a shopping spree, a margarita, TV, our endless activities, or a gossip session with a friend on the phone. We think these worldly pursuits will fill us up, make us feel better, and quench the thirst we are experiencing. These invitations look so appealing. The world claims we will experience fulfillment and satisfaction.

And, we want instant gratification! We don’t want to wait for God to fill us. We want to control our lives, to take care of ourselves, to pamper ourselves. We look to the world’s methods of making us feel better. We don’t like the uncomfortable feeling of thirst. We don’t want our spirits to feel pain, discomfort, longing or loneliness. So, we become deceived into looking for the “water” of the world to quench our thirst.

But, Jesus offers us such a better way! While talking to the Samaritan woman at the well, (John 4) Jesus talks about “living water.” He points out the “world’s” water- the water of the well, and says, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.”

Isn’t that true with our “water”? Food, possessions, praise from man, turning to exercise or watching TV never satisfies us. We continually want more and more. Our desire becomes insatiable, sometimes consuming us. The more we have, the more we want!

Jesus tells the woman at the well, “But, whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

Doesn’t that water sound so much more refreshing? Not only will our initial thirst be quenched, but we will have a SPRING bubbling, flowing within us! Not a glass of water, a drop of water, but a source of water. You will never, never be thirsty again!

Jesus says in John 7:37-38, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Remember, your soul is thirsting for the Lord! When you fill it with Him, you will be satisfied.

Come, drink of this water and be refreshed.

Father God, thank you for loving us so much! Thank you for creating this longing in our souls to know You. Please help us Father to seek you earnestly and to look to you to fill our heart’s longings. Father, please help us to ignore the invitations of the world. Help us to instead drink in Your living water. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.