LOL: Unwrapping Christmas

Memory/Meditation Verse:  In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. ~ John 1:1-2,14 (NLT)


Living Out Loud (LOL) Christmas...

What does that really mean? When you hear the word Christmas most think of decorating that perfect trees and hanging bright lights on our homes. This is fun but....

There are Black Friday sale's and long lines at the check out counters as we find that great deal or that perfect gift. This is trying yet worth it but....

There will be family gatherings with an abundance of food and warm drinks by a fireplace. All this is good, but...

Many families will follow the tradition of reading the Christmas story from God's Word before exchanging their gifts for each other. This too is good but...

Many people will go above and beyond to help someone else in need by their giving of time or monies. This is great but...

Is it living Christmas or is it living the holiday?

I believe living Christmas Out Loud can be all of these but more importantly it is living out our salvation that came from the baby in the manger. It's unwrapping salvation's story. My Pastor Michael Craft said it so well in his message this weekend...

"Could the word Christmas be a verb...and a mission? God interrupted history and was birthed into the world. He was what everyone needed and what everyone was craving. Jesus wants to Christmas (birth himself) in you and through you and you have the chance to birth Him anywhere and everywhere that you go."

Jesus Christmases in us. Christmas in action. Our salvation in action. Living like God is with us and in us. The gift of God himself coming to earth, the gift of His Holy Spirit left for us when Christ returned to his Father's side.

See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” ~ Matthew 1:23 (HCSD)

Christmas is living out loud Jesus all year long. Making it our mission. No matter where our life has been, what we have done, how we have lived, we allow God to interrupt our life and to be everything we need and the one thing we crave the most.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen. ~ 1 Timothy 1:12-17 (NLT)

Christmas is seeing the gift of salvation found in the manger lived out on the cross. Christmas is to embrace a love so undeserving to the greatest of sinners-you and I.

Christmas is embracing the love of Jesus and gifting it back to Him by falling in-love with with Him more and more each day.  It is Christmasing Jesus into the lives of other.

 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. ~ Romans 12:1-2 (Message)

Beth Moore penned it well when she wrote the poem (Jesus Day By Day, 2008):

He is Jesus.

The One and Only.

Transcendent over all else.

To know Him is to love Him.

To love Him is to long for Him.

To long for him is to finally reach

soul hands into the One true thing

we need never get enough of.

Jesus.

Take all you want.

Take all you need.

Till soul is fed.

And your spirit freed.

Till dust is dust.

And Face you see.

Jesus Christ.

He's all you need.

 
Christmas in action. Christmas as a mission. Unwrapping salvation's story. Embracing God. Jesus Christmases in us.

Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth. ~ Psalm 115:1 (HCSB)

Striving to live Jesus Out Loud~Pamela

LOL: Conformed

Memory/Meditation Verse: But I want you to be wise about what is good, yet innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. ~ Rom 16:19b-20 (HCSB)

Came across these verses in my quiet time the other day. Just couldn't navigate my mind away from from them. Another golden find for this time of my life. Another set of scripture to turn into a most powerful prayer!!

But whats the story surrounding this heavenly find? 




Paul is closing his letter to the Roman church. He is preparing them for his visit. He wanted to present the gospel and its implication to their present life and their life in eternity. He is proud of their spiritual growth and the spiritual fruits they have established for eternity. He is appealing his readers to work out their Christian faith in practical ways, both in the church and in the world. Read his words to the church again in the Amplified version:

I would have you well versed and wise as to what is good and innocent and guileless as to what is evil. And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) be with you.

No other letter written by Paul so profoundly addresses the Christian walk. The Christian walk. This has really laid heavy on my heart and soul these past few months. The whole concept of living and breathing Jesus in our everyday, not just at home or at church where it tends to be easier but in the world.

Jesus lived bolding in the world. He didn't shy away from the sinners or even their places. He could be dab smack in the center of the Pharisees home and still not be one of them. That is want I want of my life. To be in the world but not of the world but clearly visibly belonging to Jesus.

Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. ~ Rom 12:2 (Amplified)

To be wise about what is good. This begins in knowing God and loving Him above all else. Beth Moore put it so well in her devotional book Jesus Day-by-Day:

"The exquisite beauty of loving Christ is that it makes it impossible to keep only one commandment. The Word tells us that the person who truly loves God will pursue the obedient life and be far more likely to persevere in trials. Loving God is the vital lifeline to all other commandments." (pp.65)

[And He did it in order] that we might be justified by His grace (by His favor, wholly undeserved), [that we might be acknowledged and counted as conformed to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action], and that we might become heirs of eternal life according to [our] hope. ~ Titus 3:7 (Amplified)

Christ walked His journey here on earth so that we could follow in His footsteps. His grace and mercy through Calvary should empower us to live to do good in His name. It should become what our living is about. Can you say that? My living too often has just been about me. Waisted living. Once again, in these verses I hear His whisper on my heart...

But still, I want you to understand what is good and not have anything to do with evil.   Then God, who gives peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet. I pray that our Lord Jesus will be kind to you. (Contemporary English Version)

Seeking the good, staying away from evil. And the outcome? This is what is so awesome about these verses...read it in the Message version:

I want you also to be smart, making sure every “good” thing is the real thing. Don’t be gullible in regard to smooth-talking evil. Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus!

That is so calling out a victory dance!! That's the kind of victory I want to see in my own life-the peace of God coming down and stomping anything of satan right into to the ground!! Then to live to enjoy the best of Jesus. That's living conformed!

I want you to be wise about good things and pure about sinful things.  God, Who is our peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the loving-favor of our Lord Jesus be yours. (NLV)

That's living conformed and living in His favor-enjoying the best of Jesus!! Let's make it a goal to live each day to enjoy the best of Jesus here on earth!!

Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him. ~ 1 Chronicles 16:11 (NLT)

Shalom~Pamela

LOL: Copy-Cat Living

Memory/Meditation Verse: Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes...Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. ~ Eph 4:23; 5:1-2 (NLT)

Remember when you were little on the play ground at recess and you heard a squeaky voice shouting "Copy-cat! Copy cat!"?  It wasn't necessarily a good thing. Yet, as we have grown older, we still find ourselves wanting to copy others, usually for positive reasons.

Maybe you want to copy the recipe of a new dish you just tried at a church pot luck dinner.  It was popular at this event, maybe it will be just as popular for your next family holiday gathering. Or maybe you'll sing a new song that has been recently recorded and released. She sang it so sweetly but maybe your voice can reflect an even more tender version. Or maybe you are into success, climbing the career ladder and you want to achieve an outcome that was successful for your peer. It work for them so it should work for you, right?

You and I know it doesn't always happen that way. The recipe flops in the oven, your voice cracks during the chorus, and then the position you have worked so hard for is now being eliminated. Not all copy-cat living works out. It doesn't always reflect the original.

Living Out Loud does have a component of "Copy-Cat Living". God put people in our life so we can learn and grow from them. Have you ever known someone who seems to live life to its fullest? What is it about that person that draws you in and makes you want to copy them? Maybe it the joy they live out loud? The humility? The sweet, gentle, quiet spirit?

 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. ~ John 10:10 (NIV)

There is one person above all others that we should want to copy-cat our living by...Jesus. Did God not love us enough to give us His Son to be a living breathing example we can copy living by? It wasn't just the Christians that were draw to Jesus, the sinners were drawn to Him also.

"One reason people loved being around Jesus was that he gave the people around him breath, life, energy, peace, and joy. He came to restore our relationship with God and to put fresh air back in our lives." ~ Chris Hodges, Fresh Air  (pp.70)

 

I love how Chris Hodges describe Christ above...breath...life...energy...peace...joy. I yearn to be like that...like Him. Someone who loves others like He did. Not the introvert that I tend to be but a compassionate, caring, humble person who doesn't center on her own needs before the needs of others.

  

"...my life message is to encourage people to draw closer to Jesus. That's because I know what it's like to move from a life-draining, exhausting, self-propelled faith to one that's life-giving, invigorating, and Spirit-propelled." ~ Chris Hodges, Fresh Air (pp.75)

I have lived a life-draining, exhausting, self propelled faith. It got me no where spiritually. It was definitely lacking in joy. It was a faith built on duty, grounded on rules. Paul spoke on this all throughout his letters to the churches (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians). Circumcised verses uncircumcised. Legalistic works verses obedience. Living faith out of a sense of duty vs living faith out of your relationship with God.

I choose a relationship. I chose to be a copy-cat of Jesus. Living to be life-giving, invigorating, Spirit-propelled. Living Out Loud Jesus. More than anything, I want to live like that. I want to reflect the original.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. ~ Ps. 19:14 (NLT)

LOL: the Jehoshaphat's Way

 

Memory/Meditation Verse: “In Him we live and move and have our being,” (Acts 17:28 NIV).

This verse crossed my path and captured my heart. It literally wraps up what Living Out Loud is based on-it is all about Him. Then I am reminded of one of my favorite Old Testament stories and today, I take you there...2 Chronicles 20. Read it here...every verse and then come back here.

Davids son Jehoshaphat understood what it meant to Live Out Loud. In the footsteps of his father, King Jehoshaphat included God in his everyday. Imagine living in that time. We are dealing with political battles, different parties fighting for what they think is right for our country. Not necessarily to the magnitude of Jehoshaphat's time. He was dealing with a political battle...a battle in which his enemies wanted his territory.

How did King Jehoshaphat respond?

Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. ~ 2 Chronicles 20:3 (NIV)

His first response? He became alarmed. Any time someone is invading our space, or threatens something dear to us, we will react that way. King Jehoshaphat's men came to him with what they knew and He heeded the words of his men. He didn't brush them off. He wasn't too busy to listen or to care.

His second response? He turned to God and he gave it to God. He called on God in this most beautiful prayer, a prayer that confirmed his faith and trust in his God. A prayer that we should all use when we are feeling overwhelmed:

"Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You. Are You not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and who gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?  They have lived in the land and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name and have said,  “If disaster comes on us—sword or judgment, pestilence or famine—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your name is in this temple. We will cry out to You because of our distress, and You will hear and deliver.” ~ 2 Chronicles 20:5-12(HCSB)

His third response? He reacted. He reacted in faith. He took the threat seriously. He knew on his own he could not stop his enemies. But he knew His God would react to him. He reacted by fasting.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”~ Matt 6:33

Though Matthew 6:33 had yet to be penned, King Jehoshaphats faith knew this.

Fasting is one of the most powerful weapons God has ever given us for our daily lives...Although fasting lasts for a short season, it brings long-term results, which sharpens us, enabling us to face the challenges of life in His strength ~Jentezen Franklin

Nothing was more important to him then being as close to His God as he could be. He knew God was bigger than him. Our passage reads on to show God coming through when His spirit came on a man in the congregation, Jahaziel, with these words:

This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ~ 2 Chron 20:15b

The battle is not yours. If only we would recite this line every time we confront the invasion of the unwanted or the impossible. The battle is not yours. What a beautiful confirmation for King Jehoshaphat that his reaction and commitment to God was the right step towards this threat. But he didn't stop there. Even before the enemies were defeated, what did he do?

After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:

“Give thanks to the Lord;
his faithful love endures forever!”

~ 2 Chron. 20:21

He gave thanks. He praised God in advance for His work He would do. that's faith. That's trust. That's walking life with God. You know the rest of the story if you read this chapter like I asked you to in the beginning. I don't think the ending is so much about winning the battle as it was the result of God's action in their lives....

So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side. ~ 2 Chron. 20:30

Peace. Rest. What a blessed reward. I believe this same reward awaits us is we live out loud as King Jehoshaphat did here in this chapter. When life hits you hard, live your faith out loud  by:

1. Be alarmed.
2. Resolved to seek the Lord.
3. React
4. Remember, "the battles is not yours".
5. Give thanks and praise to God from the beginning.

Then rest in Him. Wait for His peace. Live Out Loud Jehoshaphat's way!

Sweetly Broken

Scripture/Memory Verse: Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. ~ Psalm 37:7 (NLT)

I have recently returned from a women's church retreat in which a lot of "strongholds" were laid before the cross. The retreat was called "Sweetly Broken" and encouraged us to live in that beautiful spiritual state.

I haven't been doing that. I thought I was but God showed me differently. I have been living "broken" but in the wrong way. God revealed to me that I have been a slave to the shame and pain of the sin that brought me to my brokenness. That is spiritually unhealthy. It has been preventing me from living, truly living in a healthy brokenness-sweetly broken.

We don't have to live enslaved to the shame of our brokenness, nor does God expect us to. God made it very clear to me He wants us to live sweetly broken. There is a difference. Do you know that difference?

Everyone I know who has hit rock bottom or found themselves in a pit will tell you they have cherished that milestone in their life as it was in that desolate and desperate time they found God in the most deepest, precious way. It set the stage for their next step in the journey to a deeper and richer life with Him.

Brokenness is intended to lead to beautiful. It is meant to help us live humbly and reverently for God. As I look back to that time I was brought to complete brokenness, I was embraced by God's grace and love. He became all I needed. It is the guilt and shame that leads to the brokenness. You cannot have one without the other. His salvation is the embrace of grace, the spiritual CPR we need to continue to live this life.

"The key is to focus on what happens in you, not to you." Chris Hodges, Fresh Air (pp.82)

His salvation in those circumstances is not just life-saving, its life-changing. Yet, too many of us remain enslaved to the shame and regret of what landed us there. It is painfully easy to walk in the shame of our sin in an unhealthy way...beating ourselves down for the mistake, hiding from the world in fear of the rejection that awaits you, allowing satan to label and lame you by his constant reminders of your sin. This type of brokenness is not beautiful but debilitating. This type of brokenness is not sweet but bitter.

 

"People who have God's breath inside them...remember the past without remaining in it. They enjoy the present as a tremendous gift. They anticipate the future with great hope. They have influence and use it to positively encourage and shape those around them." Chris Hodges, Fresh Air (pp.71)



Sweetly broken allows the shame to keep you grounded and focused on God. To be sweetly broken allows you to embrace what you have become and not to live in what you did wrong. To be sweetly broken allows you to live out loud as a testament of what God can and will do with the ugliness of our lives. To be sweetly broken one joyfully lives in the melody of His redemption for the eternal.



I get it. I am there....finally. Though satan continues to try to beat me down with the cause of my brokenness, I fire back to him the scripture that supports who I am in God. It is a process to get to this point. Some days are easier than others. It is possible to move from a shameful brokenness to being sweetly broken.


This verse came across my quiet time again as I was reflecting through my scripture spiral cards for this year. I blogged on it here. It is such a sweet reminder of how we are to live sweetly broken:

"..don't stay in the stronghold. Leave and return to the land of Judah." ~ 1 Samuel 22:5 (HCSB)

To be sweetly broken you acknowledge the sin that put you there but you don't stay in the shame. Remember it but don't let it enslave you from moving forward in God's plan for you life.  Seek the forgiveness of God and those who were affected by it. And don't forget to forgive yourself, as often times  this is the hardest thing for us to do.

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight..." ~ Psalm 51:4 (NIV)

To be sweetly broken you have to leave the sin. How? By focusing on praise (Judah)...praise for the One who you now focus life on. Don't dwell on what could have been done differently or how others could have reacted to you. It is what it is. You can't change it but because of what it is, you are now a changed person. Embrace that! Don't hide from this most important concept. Though there are consequences to our sins, there is healing in looking at where it has brought you spiritually. It will set you back if you dwell on the sin itself.

Is this even possible? Oh yes, it is! When rejection knocks at your door, praise God for accepting and loving you and being all you need. When the illness returns, praise God that He is in control and has a plan in it. When the pain you inflicted on another is again relived, praise God on what He is going to do in that person's life despite the pain. Praise Him with scripture. Praise Him with song. PRAISE HIM!

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. ~ Psalm 37:7 (NLT)

So how does Psalm 37:7 fit into here? The most potent healing in any situation of brokenness comes from God. Being able to hear Him, see Him, or sense His presence is the cure.

My life is too busy. I bet yours is too. Noise is constantly around me...deadlines to complete, school activities to attend, meals to fix, a house that needs to feel like a home, voices from from family, voices from the workplace, voices from church....it can be so loud you cannot focus. The only sanity in all this is to be able to "be still" daily. I don't know about you but this can be so very hard.

It's in the being still that we live out loud what it means to be sweetly broken. Bringing praise to our God by repeating a verse over and over or singing a praise song will open the door to allow His presence to enter in. Meditating on scripture followed with silence will allow the peace that passes all understanding to spill over into the moment and calm us. Silence...stopping the activity within our mind to allow God in to savor Him, listening for His voice, allowing His presence to fuel the sweetly broken spirit we need to live in. Prayer covers us with spiritual energy and helps us live our days glorifying Him in our words, our actions, our thought.

Sweetly broken. Grateful for the fall. Humbled by His embrace. Committed to Jesus by seeking Him daily in His Word. Praying to Him. Trusting Him. Growing in faith. To be sweetly broken is to be so in love with Jesus that He knows you and you know His voice. It's a choice.

I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me—John 10:14 (Amplified)

Sweetly broken...

LOL: Can You Relate?

Memory/Meditation verse: "...for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness... ~ Phil 1:7-8 (ESV)

Living Out Loud...what does that really mean? Can one shout out the name of Jesus without using their voice to live out loud? Can one be in the world, among the sinners, and still live out loud? It made me think of Paul in his letter to the Philippians (chapter one). Paul had a passion for his fellow believers. He was driven to nurture their spiritual growth, no matter where he was because of what he had experienced in his own life.

Can you relate?

I can. Paul was driven for the eternal. The passion resulted from a messed up life against God that tasted the sweet flavor of grace. When you really experience it, experience it from a brokenness of self, it changes you to your core. A passion and drive boils up from your innermost being and takes hold of you.

Can you relate?

I can. It radically changed Paul and it should radically change us too. Instead of becoming one of the greats among his own people Paul was drawn to the Gentiles, the people of the world, people he knew needed Christ just as much as God's chosen people.  His passion to bring "them" to God caused his own to target their attacks on him. They wanted to prison him into his past and not accept him for his transformation or where that transformation came from.

Can you relate?

I can. Did that stop Paul? No, if anything it fueled his passion even more and drove him to love God more and to love others more for Him.

Can you relate?

I can...but I fall short here....

Our Damascus road experience wraps us in a blanket of God's grace. We embrace it and cling to it. It becomes our life line and it should. But some people struggle to live beyond the experience, to live it out loud and to share His grace with others who so desperately need it. 

But the Master can slowly loosen the grip owe often have on the experience. He will gently pry each finger back to show us that His grace will not be taken away.We find we can hold His hand and live His grace out loud. It is within this realization that we can allow that passion of living in His grace to grow and drive us to share it with others....the gentiles in Paul's case, the broken Christians in mine.

 

 

⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. ~ Philippians 1

Three words stand out to me in Paul's letter here: Imprisonment, Defense, Confirmation.

Imprisonment
Paul was imprisoned in a jail but he had also been imprisoned by his past. One's past can really cramp one's future if it is allowed that control. Paul demonstrated a life lived out loud by not allowing his past to control who he was-grace gave him permission to do this and it gives us permission to do the same. This grace has the power to control our living out loud.

Defense
Paul found himself defending the teachings of Christ. He lived God's truth among the world of sinners. He didn't shun the world, or  start a commune to protect himself from the world. Like Christ, he went out into the world with an eternal purpose, a drive to bring others to Christ.

Confirmation
Paul was able to confirm God's grace by his living. Like Christ, he was persecuted, he was shun, he was mistreated, talked about unfavorably, and people wanted to label Him from His past...the carpenter, not The Christ. Jesus confirmed God's grace by living out loud and giving out loud where He was and among the sinners.

Can you relate?

 

My Holy and Sovereign Lord, Abba Father, you are my reason for living out loud. My brokenness, my Damascus road experience lead me to your beautiful  grace and I am so grateful. My heart yearns for others to experience You as I have. You have place this passion and drive to live out loud deep within me and I ask you to lead me in it. I pray today that I boldly live imprisoned by your word, not by my past. I pray I boldly live in defense of Your word and not of who I have become. It is not about me...it is about You. I also pray I live as a confirmation of who You are and what You can do in a broken messed up life. I love you but I want to love you more.

LOL: John 14

Memory/Meditation verse:  “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." ~ John 14:6 (HCSB)

 Living Out Loud....Giving Out Loud...

Multiple times this past month my mind has taken me to imagine eternity. Yesterday I drove an hour through the country to get to my destination. I love those times...they can be some of my best "God times". I love the out doors. Its the canvas displaying God's love for us and I feel most content admiring it. On this particular drive there were storm clouds in the distance and I almost pulled over to take a picture because I had never seen such a unique formation of clouds.

God's creation just blows me away. I am one of those people who is most comfortable when I am in the country. Currently we live in town to be close to the girls school and activities. Though I love this old house we have renovated, these neighbors are just too close. The symphony of nature is often marred with the sounds of traffic. The towns lights drown out the sparkle of the night skies and the sun rises and sets on rooftops...not picture perfect in my book.

As I said, my contentment is most often found within God's creation. As beautiful as this earth is, heaven can only be more breath-taking.Can you just imagine? As I was driving yesterday my thoughts were drawn to that verse I had memorized as a child...

"In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also." ~ John 14:2 (HCSB)

God prepared a place for us when He created the heavens and the earth...He has "wow'd" us with rolling hillsides, snow topped mountains, bubbling streams, and flowers in colors of every shade...I can only try to imagine how much more beautiful heaven will be. So in that drive, my thoughts again turned to that "room" and again God and I had a conversation about it. Have you ever given much thought to that "room" he is preparing for you? I know as a kid it was impressed upon my young heart that my life lived would determine how big my dwelling place would be in heaven.

Living Out Loud is all about John 14 in which we find this verse. Read it here. And ironically, this is where my reading took me last night when I had a chance to sneak in some quiet time.

“Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way to where I am going." ~ John 14: 1-4 (HCSB)

Needless to say, last night my heart was trouble over some unwanted "noise" in my home.  

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you know Me, you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him." ~ John 14:6-7 (HCSB)

I took the evening "noise" to God. I cannot change it without Him. In the chaos is when we need His truth the most. After reading the next chapter in my current Bible study (which so happened to be on this particular "I am" truth in John 14), I turned my chair to watch a weather storm move in. It mirrored the unwanted "noise" that swept in to ruined my evening. Even with its threat, I know the truth of  "I Am", my God, which is greater than any storm of life and He can overcome it.


“I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." ~ John 14:12-14 (HCSB)

Instead of getting more angry, or wallowing in self pity over the injustice of what my heart felt, I praised God for the eventual outcome and asked for the mess and ugliness of it to somehow glorify Him. I asked for his intercession but I also asked for His outcome. He knows what my hearts desires, but my hearts desire is not necessarily His desire so I asked Him to aline my desire with His. In His name, I surrendered the storm and praised Him for the showers that would grow and strengthen my weakness.

“If you love Me, you will keep My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. ~John 14:15-18 (HCSB)

Living Out Loud...keeping God's truths in the midst of a storm. Knowing God well enough to sense His Spirit and to hear His voice...even in the storms of life. There are branches and leaves cluttering my back patio now. I am required to pick up and dispose of them so the chaos of that patio is returned to its formal glory. So too does my life call me to this same action....to pick up and dispose of the clutter that is preventing God's glory from being displayed. To remove the "noise" and obstructions of God's view in my life. To prepare me for eternity.

"The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him...If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.  I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit —the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you...” ~ John 14:21, 23-26 (HCSB)

I love Him, I want to love Him more. I want my love for Him to be evident in my everyday living...Living Out Loud for Him. Turning to Scripture for healing and strength. Cleaning out the ugliness of my sinful nature to allow the Spirit room to work. Being teachable, especially during the storms.

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful." ~ John 14:23-26, 27 (HCSB)

When I get there...to eternity...I imagine that special place for me...that "room" He is preparing just might not have four walls as my home here does. That "room" He is preparing might instead be an outdoor room with walls layered by the most fragrant and colorful flowers my senses have ever experienced. Tile or wood would not cover the ground but instead my feet would walk upon a velvety field of grass. A full praise symphony of new sounds would filter though my ears unlike the locust song I heard last night. And this room would be wrapped with a sky more magnificent than the one my eyes looks to each day and each night. 

As I spoke my heart to God yesterday, I heard His still small voice ..."you can't even imagine" and I am betting He chuckled a little at our conversation. I felt Him wrap me tighter in His peace as the storm hit. I am driven even more to prepare myself for this special place He is creating just for me...driven even more to Live Out Loud for Him....as I journey closer to Him.

Praising Him in the Storms~Pamela