I have no title....going to see Jim Cymbala tonight though

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."

- Jack Kerouac

My friend gave me this today; I yelled when I read it, so much so that the girl a few offices up came down and asked me what I looking at, she asked me if she could have what I had! Passion creates passion.

I'm just gonna close my eyes while I talk to you...

I woke up this morning at 5:30 am, and I was so pleased that I managed to wake up at the right time, that I closed my eyes again to thank God; I hadn’t set my alarm, and I had been out at Star Lake until 11 pm last night, so my body wasn’t exactly rested, so to wake up on time, it could only have been divine intervention!

Unfortunately, when I closed my eyes to do this, I had this urge to sit up and raise my hands while I prayed, and I resisted – shame on me! I got out of bed at 7.40 am! I fell asleep again! Oh, I’m a muppet!

When I was about 15 my friend Julie lovingly made fun of me when she found out that in my quest to stay away during my prayers, I would lie on my bed with my bottom against the wall and my legs parallel the wall so that I could pray; this didn’t work! I’d roll over and fall asleep. I have knocked that off my “ways to pray” list. (I knew someone who used to think that falling asleep during prayer was a sign that God was blessing you and that you could take it as a sign to know that it would all be ok! I don’t think I agree with that.)

It’s crazy to think, that with all the time we have in the day, we can struggle to find time to talk! I remember my mammie telling me that she prayed walking home from work – that is my picture of someone praying; my mammie walking up Silvertonhill Avenue with shopping bags, (hopefully from Marks & Spencer’s cream cakes inside,) speaking her prayers to God. So, sometimes, while I am driving, I’ll turn the radio off – and being that I am an extreme extrovert and silence kills me, I have to talk, and the only one in my car is God, so I make use of that time. (I talk with my hands, many strange looks!)

Other times, I write; I never thought myself a writer, I was horrible at English in school; (I was so bad, that the head of English taught me himself; even he couldn’t raise my grades.) I started writing my prayers when I was 17 – I loved being able to go back and look at my questions and being able to see the prayers that God had answered; encouraging on my crappy, my life sucks kind of days! (There is a really good journal out there, it’s marketed for women, but I know a bloke who uses it. It just helps you organize your prayers.) My friend Carole Jeanne gave it to me, it’s been very helpful – well worth the cash!

In the “Complete Idiot’s guide to Understanding Islam,” they discuss the prayer life of a Muslim. Ritual prayer for worship is required by anyone over the age of nine; personal prayer requests are not considered prayer, but supplications. “Sincerity is the key to having requests granted.” Prayer is separated between ritual prayer and requests. I felt like I had found a flaw in their way of prayer, it was that to separate prayer into these two labels, left a huge gap – when do they get to know God? When do they let God get to know them? GUILT! That was a very self-righteous thing to say. How many times does our prayer life go any further than ritual and request? I’ve recently learned of the “Listening Prayer.” The girl that is teaching me has started me off by having me ask God what He thinks of me; I’d never thought of doing that! What does God think of you? Strange question it seemed…

I did read something that got my back up; (rightly?) it was that God gets angry when they don’t call on Him regularly. Anyone got any thoughts?

One thing I do like and I’ve seen part of this done; is that when they supplicate, they hold their hands out, palms up to receive God’s blessing. When they are finished, they move their hands over their face to accept the grace of God. I like that.

Peace y’all

ASBURGER

Anyone know anymore on the Asbury Revival, drop me a line, I'd love to know more - also, if you fancy sponsoring me to go and see what it's all about, you know I'd be obliged to take you up on the offer! LOL

Peace

PAY ATTENTION!

Proverbs 4:25-27
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.

26 Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.

27 Do not swerve to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.

I am not the best driver in the world - I have never claimed that I am, it took me 4 attempts to get my license, (for all Americans reading this, our test is harder! Not quite 4 times to pass harder, but it is harder and longer!) Anyways, I'm not that good; I do offer to drive, only because I think that it is mannerly, not 'cause I'm any Michael Schumacher behind the wheel. So today, I'm driving out of my street and I'm rounding the corner and smack! I mount the kerb! Wow, I'm an idiot! I know even before I get out my seat that the tire didn't survive. I'm trying to think how to get out of this predicament. Instantly I think to call someone, but being as prideful as I am, I can't! (And anyway, they are all at THQ!) Knowing that I am not calling for help, I call my boss, and he is charming as usual, tells me not to worry, that he'll see me when he sees me.

So I get to the boot and start to pull out the spare tire. Of course, I have never changed a tire before in my life - it surely can't be that difficult! Women change tires everyday! I get the spare out, and then start looking for the jack - it's screwed into my boot! So, I look for the wrench thing, and it's not there! So, I walk to the house - about 200 yards from where I was - and I gather a selection of wrenches - hopefully one will work! I get to the car, get the jack out, and then I learn my second lesson of the day; my first being make sure there is a wrench thing in your car in the first place; the second, don't change your tire on a hill! So after the car falling off the jack, I drive it to the flat part of the road and within 10 minutes I was Wonder Woman herself! Vicotry was mine!

I thought my lapse in concentration was God's way of getting a hold of me; some have said that I over spiritualize everything, but, based on the fact that He made everything, I cannot be convinced of that! I was meant to get up and go to the gym before work, and I didn't; that annoyed me. I was supposed to do my devotions before that, and I didn't. So I thought that it was His way of grabbing my attention because I hadn't spent time with Him this morning. My discipline for quiet times is poor, and He is always the one short changed when time is short. I don't know what I think of that... maybe just annoyed with myself.

I know that should my dad have been around, I'd have called him, and he would have changed it; Dad or David. I had to do it myself though. In our spiritual walks, when we mess up, God is always there to pick up the pieces - today, He wasn't gone, I spoke to Him the whole time I was changing my tire, but He wasn't gonna change my tire for me, I had to do that myself. Sometimes it takes hitting the kerb before realising that we are not concentrating on the road ahead, so keep your eyes up; I hit the kerb had to steer back towards Him; which meant admitting I was wrong in some way, talk about pride! Please do not misunderstand me, you aren't gonna smack the kerb when you don't have your quiet times - I bet He tries to catch your attention in one way or another, may not be as severe as this, but He will try - wow He's awesome!

Safe and happy motoring!

(I just wrote this entire blog thinking I was being really cool, writing tire the British way, I was wrong! This is a British tyre; this is an American tire! Pants!)

If I was any other religion, I'd be Scottish!

Very much in awe of God; can't understand Him, most people that I've known as long as I've known Him I have sussed - Him, I don't even know where to begin. What I do know is this - that when I drive home today - the sky will be more beautiful than I will ever let myself imagine, and the rays of sunlight will reach down onto the horizon like the very fingers of God touching the earth.

Some people will be annoyed by it, others will think that it's just a coincidence - it's so much more than that! I know that when my jaw drops from the beauty and cracks the steering wheel, that His dealings with me for that moment are accomplished - He made me fall in love with Him again... and He knows He can keep doing it, over and over again, day after day; He knows I look forward to Him doing it! It's at that moment that I truly understand the intercession of King Jesus, making my grunts into more intelligent praise for the LORD, my words simply are not good enough - Amen that Jesus' are!

Too many chocolates make your hips too huggy!

So I have finally updated my blog! I am sorry for those whom I have upset with my lack of blogging, I shall endeavour to do better!

I had meant to write a blog for Roots, and I didn't, opps! So, I shall give you a quick wee run down of the times in Atlanta!

We flew to Atlanta, (driving was entirely too enthusiastic for us - 14 hours is a killer, there is no mini-van big enough for a trip that long!) and arrived in 60 degrees! We were terribly excited, 60 degrees in January - we were using air conditioning in January, no jackets and sometimes no sweaters; which is a terribly grandma thing to say, but it was very cool for a lassie from Scotland.

Thoughts from the weekend still pass through my mind, ideas people presented, words the Holy Spirit drew out to me, and a vision that God has been encouraging in me since I moved to the States. I say encouraging me, because I have a tendency to drift back and forth from what I think that God is saying to me. I know that it is not only my own ideas floating around my head, because there are way too many who concur this vision from their own conversations with God.

I had the priviledge of meeting this kid from Atlanta, who was rediculously intelligent at the age of 16; he sat next to me during the teen activities and he would not shut up, reminded me more than a wee bit of myself! He would not take a telling, he went on and on! He spoke of emo-Christians! What's an emo-Christian! Well, I'll tell you, cause I asked him, and he told me! An emo-Christian is someone who is all emotional about their faith. They are not not intelligent about their faith, but they are more inclined to have their relationship with Christ all about how they feel. I can understand that; as one who struggles to back up her faith intellectually because she thinks so much without actually having to know anything as fact; that made alot of sense. Emo-Christians, it was nice to learn something - that kid was awesome! I was so impressed with him!

I'm tired, so much of this will not make sense in the morning - but congrats to the Steelers!

I-omega zip