Update #118

"Cease striving and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 NASB

Outdoor market - Bern, Switzerland

I was reading Psalm 46 while away in Switzerland. The tenth verse is oft quoted and used but little regard is given to the previous nine. “Be still and know that I am God” is the Psalms summation– it becomes easier to follow the command when you understand the context.

God is our refuge and strength, very much found to be a help in distresses. On account of this we will not fear when the earth changes and when mountains are slipping into the heart of the seas. Let its waters foam; let the mountains shake in its swelling.

i.e. Do not fear when your world is shaking, changing, falling apart and you can’t hold onto anything solid…your job is gone, your home is gone, your friends have abandoned you, and your car won’t seem to start. Your family thinks you are nuts, your grandfather has a heart-attack, your grandmother a stroke, some gang of miscreants in California pilfered your bank account and spent all your money, AND the main heater in your house just exploded and, of course, it is the deep freeze of winter.

People are talking, rumors soaring, and slander abounds. You are misunderstood and misquoted. Communication is fruitless – you speak English and they only understand/comprehend a dialect of ancient Asian.

There is a river, its channels gladden the city of God, the holy tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be shaken; God will help her at the turning of the morning.

River = Holy Spirit; Holy Tabernacles = Us. The river of God flows enabling us not to be shaken (good question here, if you are shaken, how deep is the river you are bathing in?). God always shows up – everyday he is available – as soon as we awake.

The nations roared; kingdoms were shaken; He gave forth His voice and the earth melted. Jehovah of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is a refuge for us. Come, behold the works of Jehovah, who sets ruins on the earth, causing wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts apart spears; He burns the chariots in the fire.

We strike and war – he speaks. We build, we fight, we dominate - he takes apart, ceases conflict, brings down power structures. God is in control even though at times it appears we are.

Incase you are still shaken, fearing, and hiding because of your circumstances…

Be still and know that I am God! I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth. Jehovah of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is a refuge for us.

Be still and reflect upon who you say you worship. Cease striving and trying to fix things yourself. Be at peace, stop fighting, let go of your concerns, desist, let it be – and allow the God of the universe, the exalted one, the Lord of Hosts, to take care of the situation; because he works all things for our good…all things.

Updates:

Living – I am in escrow! Yes, believe it or not, the immovable is now moving! There are several contingencies we have to wade through but it looks promising to close mid-May (when the plastic comes off the building and the banks will ‘ok’ a loan).

Work – Training is in full swing and we are prepping for our upcoming trips to South Africa and India.

Travel – I booked my tickets to two upcoming weddings…Holly / Glen, Teryn / Tom so excited for you!

Requests:

Living – that the contingencies will be non-obstacles and that I’ll be able to sign papers when I make my next trip to Seattle in early May.

Work – for tickets to South Africa to attend the Global Day of Prayer, that the team will come together, and that the Indians will be able to recruit client for the upcoming venture in Chennai.

Websites – If you would like to RSS my update vs. getting them by email visit my blog site http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/. To find out more about rēp visit http://www.repurposing.biz/ for information.

Update #117

"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Romans 12:19

Marching Cow Bell "Band" - Interlaken, Switzerland

Bless those that curse you. Turn the other cheek. Be kind to those who malign. Yada Yada Yada. But why? Why be nice when they are not. Why bestow grace when they really deserve a kick in the butt…with a pointy steel-toed boot!

I have come to realize if God asks / advises / commands something he probably has a good reason. He tells the Israelites in Deuteronomy not to eat rabbit - no reason given, just don’t eat it. Science, much later, proved humans expend more calories eating hare than they do ingesting it; producing a negative caloric outcome. God knew that.

I looked up the word blessing and was surprised by what the root of the word means. Blessing stems from a Germanic noun for “blood”…literally meaning “to consecrate with blood, sprinkle with blood”…so when you ask God to bless someone you are asking him to cover them with His blood – to sanctify their actions, to redeem their behavior, to bring good out of bad.

When you pray blessing over another person you are asking God to “go get ‘em.” When an incident occurs and we pray blessing upon those who wronged us we are giving God license to “help” the other person. God gave us free will and independence – he won’t act upon something unless we ask him to.

To the other person our prayer of “blessing” may not look much like one. Their lives may begin to crumble, their wrong attitudes and perceptions may begin to change creating chaos, and long-standing acquaintances may abandon them because of their new “outlook” on life. They see disaster, calamity, tragedy and ruin – but we see the blessing of change.

This brings forth the real point…with this new knowledge, are blessings good or bad? Are they for health or harm? Are they to help or hinder? Romans 8:28 says that God turns all things to the good…ALL things. So even if something looks awful and tragic in the beginning it will be favorable in the end; a devastating injury bringing a closer walk with God, a death bringing a family back together, a drawn out illness causing a loved one a slow decline cultivating patience and perseverance of character in the caretaker.

Blessings are bestowed – when asked for. Blessings are beneficial – but not always immediately. Blessings are abundant – look around.

Have you ever been wronged? Have you ever been intentionally hurt by another? Have you ever been slighted, maligned, slandered, belittled, humiliated, shamed? What was your reaction? How did you treat the person who harmed you, your character, your reputation, your family name? What did you do?

Did you bless them?

Updates:

Living – I have an offer! We are currently in the negotiation stage but by Tuesday I hope to be in escrow…Whoopee!

Work – Training is in full swing and we are prepping for our upcoming trips to South Africa and India.

Travel – Redding, CA was fantastic! Work / Play is a good mix!

Requests:

Living – that I’ll get into escrow, all the contingencies will work in my favor, and the sale will go through as soon as the buildings construction is completed.

Work – we have all day training on Saturday and our retreat is April 9-11 – lots to do before then!

Travel – South Africa in May for three weeks for GDOP www.GDOP2010.com

Websites – If you would like to RSS my update vs. getting them by email visit my blog site http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/. To find out more about rēp visit http://www.repurposing.biz/ for information.

Update #116

“I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart.” Ezekiel 26:36 (GNB)

Seedorf, Switzerland

Have you ever looked at your feet? During my career as an athletic trainer and physical therapist I spent more than my fair share looking at, treating, and fixing feet. But, I have to admit, they are one of my favorite parts of the body.

Feet are amazing. Not only are they the body’s primary weight bearing surface, they adapt to whatever cover you put on them – running shoes, walking shoes, flat’s, kitten heeled shoes, boots, high heeled shoes, stilettos, or my favorite…slippers. Our toes adapt to the pressure put on them and shape to the shoes we wear, joints form corns and calluses where repeated friction occurs, and in extreme cases of repeatedly wearing ill-fitting shoes, bunions materialize.

I think our spirits are a bit like feet. They adapt. They can become numb, anesthetized, desensitized, unfeeling, deadened to the world around us if our primary environment isn’t spirit-enhancing, spirit-building, and life-giving.

Our spirits can become dull to the pain surrounding us because we see it everyday. We are insensitive to the pleas on TV to feed this one, give to that child, save this village. We treat as junk all the “ministry mail” entreating us for money - and some, don’t even open the envelope. Our spirit adapts, it acclimatizes and develops “hard spots” so we don’t have to feel the pain. It puts filters in place so we perceive only a fraction of the truth and, ultimately, our reality becomes skewed.

How did we get this way? How did we become so hard, so callused, so thick-skinned? When did we start treating the pleas of the world as background white noise?

When feet get “ugly” I highly recommend a pedicure (yes, for men too). Pedicures remove the dead skin, scrape away callus’, remove corns, take away hangnails, push back cuticles, file away rough edges, and reveal the true, beautiful foot underneath.

I think our spirits need this service too. We need to get rid of unforgiveness, repent for sins we have committed, reveal the truth about our feelings, and honestly confront situations. We need to apologize where needed and offer grace and mercy as well. We need to nourish our spirits with life-giving water and refresh often!

When was your last pedicure…your last spiritual pedicure? When was the last time you sat down and had an honest face-to-face with God about stuff happening in your life? When was the last time you repented, cried, and felt remorse about something you did to another…intentionally or accidentally? How thick are the layers around your heart? Is it easily touched by your surroundings or are you immune? What would it take to restore your spirit?

Updates:

Condo – we may have a buyer! I am waiting for the offer to come through and am praying that it is a full price one…stay posted!

Work – We have about 27 new trainees going though our training process and prepping to travel with us this spring to either Cape Town or Chennai. I am tired after the weekend but the fatigue was worth it!

Travel – to Redding, CA this weekend for recruiting and the JesusCulture conference (whoo hoo!)

Requests:

Condo – full price offer, that the buyer will be “legit” and not flake at the last minute

Work – we had our prayer team come in and pray all day during Saturday training and it was AWESOME…I can’t believe we hadn’t thought of it before. My prayer is that we can have intercessors at every training session and in mass at our weekend away in April.

Websites – If you would like to RSS my update vs. getting them by email visit my blog site http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/. To find out more about rēp visit http://www.repurposing.biz/ for information.