A Shower of Praise! (Miriam)

As I drove home in the rain today, I was thanking God for another "car wash"..lol. My car was filthy from the previous snow storm and in need of a shower from heaven. It was great to know that I was safe and dry inside while the Lord was making Jackie (that's my car's name) all clean again. She looked like she just came from the car wash minus the wax. I was inspired to get cleaned up myself!

Maybe I am the only one who gets their praise on in the shower. There is just something about being clean and pure before God that lends itself to praise. Many people sing in the shower. It's refreshing and there is a certain "newness" and "freedom" one can express while getting all clean. While taking my shower, the Lord reminded me of this past week's Wifestyle Image Network Youversion study on Miriam (http://www.a.youversion.com/events/320058). I could suddenly relate!

Miriam, who was Moses's sister is remembered for leading the women in praise after the miraculous crossing the Red Sea. The Lord identified who was for Him and who was against Him through the water. I love the symbolism in the Bible. Water is used a lot to describe the Holy Spirit. (Mark 1:10, Matthew 3:11, John 3:5, Luke 3:16)

The water, the Holy Spirit of God will either be working for you or against you. It has the power to cleanse you and protect you, but it also has the power to submerge you. You can allow God to do the work to refresh you or be a tsunami to break you. Make no mistake, God is a rescuer, but He is also judge. We will all stand naked before Him and the shower of the Holy Spirit will reveal your dirt. We can either get clean now or be drowned later. I think I will keep praising Him in the shower.

Fast and Pray

The Daniel Fast. Wow. Honestly believe that this is 1 of the hardest fast I have ever done. I've never done this fast before, but for some reason, this fast in general has really complicated my life.

The temptations are ridiculous! I have been tempted to eat food that I should not eat and I  have been tempted to sin in many ways. The flesh is truly dying here with all of the self discipline that is being imposed upon me at this time. I am truly relating to Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by the devil more now than ever.

However, at the very same time God has poured out some crazy, and I mean crazy, blessings on my life during this time. It begin on day 1. I decided to get rid of some things to crucify the flesh and to clean out myself spiritually physically mentally emotionally and in every way so the Lord could fill my life completely and mutiple  blessings were poured down that SAME DAY!!

After the 10th day my fast had to change because I caught a virus. Great!! Well, I modified my fast and kept praying. The verse that came to my mind was "obedience is better than sacrifice". I felt the Lord telling me to focus on my praying than my meals. Amen. He was preparing to pour out blessings that I was not prepared to receive!

By day fourteen, I was getting the hang of the Daniel fast. I had broken a few of the "rules" but did not really realize it. I was on to the home stretch. The Lord was stretching me physically and spiritually.

Fast-forward to day 21.....I'm finished. So, I have several observations. The first is that this fast requires some major preparation prior to beginning. There are so many rules that it is hard to concentrate on fasting itself. Honestly, I would rather go with a bread and water fast or juice and water than the Daniel Fast. Secondly, it was very expensive for me. Shopping in the vegetarian section is no joke $$$. Lastly, I found myslef more concerned about what I would eat next than what I was supposed to be praying about. I literally got frustrated. I would eat something and find out that it was not on the list (fail), then I would fix somethingto eat and I disliked it (fail), or I would eat nothing at all and my heart was not right because I was upset (fail). So I simplified the fast by limiting myself to less food. Sounds crazy right? I know, but I actually felt as though I was giving up something and making a true sacrifice to God. Sometimes less is more in my spiritual life. God does not always require of us as much as we require of ourselves.

Now I have to say that the Daniel Fast is good for many reasons. It's healthy. It's a good fast for first-timers, just a lot of prep is needed and money. I'm glad that I had the experience, but I probably will not do it again. I have done water only fasts, juice and water and bread and water. When I fast like that, my flesh suffers and my spirit grows. It does not matter so much HOW one fasts but what the intention and earnest plea of your heart is. May my fast be acceptable to God alone, not to me.  ~ Isaiah 58:5, 6

The Last Supper (of 2012)

Well, this is it friends! The end of 2012 is almost here and the Lord has given me one more hard lesson. It was very unexpected too.

So there I was in the kitchen making a great mexican dinner for our last meal of the day, month and year. I was really excited about doing it because my whole family loves tacos! Now, let me set the scene for you - I'm cooking, the hubby is literally over my shoulder in anticipation and the boys were playing upstairs. Before I can even prepare everything, everyone starts rushing me to finish, asking for certain things in particular and asking what dessert will be. After I'm done my guys pounce on everything like they have never eaten before in their lives. I always make sure my husband gets his plate first, and as you have probably guessed...I'm last at the table even though by this time, I'm awfully hungry as well.

Then the strangest thing happened. My Chay says "Yuck! I don't want this stuff. It looks nasty. Give me something else - anything but this stuff". Say WHAT?!! Excuse me?!! I had just prepared what I thought was his favorite meal. His little statement really threw me off my "Holy Girl" game. I was immediately bitter, mad, angry and really hurt. You have to understand. This son is the one who still cries when I leave and tells me that he loves me a million times a day. He just cannot sleep without mommy's good night hug and kiss. How rude!! Didn't I train him better than that? I know kids can be picky, but seriously? FINE! I'm not fixing anything else. No one even said thank you. I wallowed in these thoughts during my meal. Then something occurred to me.

"Isn't this how you treat me sometimes?" -God

Gulp! Really? Do I beg for blessings and favor from the Giver of all things pertaining to live and righteousness and then brush Him off? He gives me what I need (like life, health and food) and sometimes I can be a spoiled brat of a King's kid. How dare his children treat Him like that! Didn't he teach us better? (Phillipians 4:8-13).

I pray that I will always be a gracious recipient of God's abundant blessings to me and openly express my gratitude for His profuse faithfulness and loving sacrifice, especially after this last supper has ended and 2013 has begun.

The last supper (of 2012 that is).