Living the Vision, part 6: Everything is Finished

**This is the last in a of a series of posts that are a more in-depth look at a lesson I recently taught to a group of women in our church. To read the additional posts, you can easily access them by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page or in the body of this text.**


Yes, it is finally coming to an end...sort of. See...I think this "Living the Vision"-thing is a lesson that never ends. When I shared how God is drawing me to "live like the vision is complete", it includes coming to Him daily and thanking Him that it is done, and asking Him to show me how to live like it...just for today. Today is enough to worry about, Jesus said. (see Matthew 6) I think He actually meant it, although it flies directly in the face of everything we have experienced in this life.

So to pull all of these posts together, I have taken a little longer to ponder and process for this final segment. It is by far the most potentially volatile and could conceivably be misconstrued on many different levels. Therefore, I am asking you not to take my word for it. Instead, go to the Holy Spirit and ask for His discernment. He has challenged us to
"...cry for discernment, 
Lift your voice for understanding; 
If you seek her as silver 
And search for her as for hidden treasure;
Then you will discern the fear of the LORD
And discover the knowledge of God." (Proverbs 2:3-5)

You also need to know up front that I despise "prosperity gospel" and "name it and claim it" heresy. The "power of positive thinking", might lower your blood pressure, but no where did Jesus equate blessings with wealth, happiness with stuff, or Christianity with an easy-street-pass for ever and ever. Amen!

With that disclaimer in mind, I still want to persuade you of something. This is why I used words like "revolutionary" to describe this "revelation" on how to approach God's will and even how I would pray.

The "thing" is this:
When the Holy Spirit lays a request or desire upon your heart for which to seek His will, wisdom or discernment...we should automatically accept that it is done!

Go ahead...think of something for which you have been praying. Ask these questions...

• Is it good?
• Is it within God's will?
• Can only good come from it?
• If I remember that God still gives visions and dreams; this world as we know it is not all there is and that God dwells in the fullness of time is there any reason why God couldn't complete this "thing" some day?

James teaches us that "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (James 1:17) If only good will result from it...I can guarantee you the prompting is not from your Enemy. Again...I am not talking about stuff! We Americans have to stop thinking of prosperity, blessings, joy, and happiness in terms of wealth and stuff!

When I ask, "Is it within God's will?"...this isn't really as complicated as we make it either. I don't know how many times myself or others have absolutely agonized in prayer over someone's salvation. Is it God's will that a person be saved? Absolutely! If not, then Jesus died for nothing and His blood sacrifice was a waste.

2 Peter 3:9 tells us that, in fact, God wants everyone to come to repentance. Now...don't go around saying that I've become a universalist. Do I think everyone will be in Heaven? Actually, Scripture teaches that many will not. I am saying their salvation is complete. They still have the option to choose it or not.

But God also told us that if we delight in Him, He would give us the desires of our hearts. (see Psalm 37:4) As we delight in Him...His desires are reflected in our desires. If He lays upon my heart to pray for someone to seek a relationship with Him...I am 100% certain that for God...it is done!

We no longer have to agonize over if it's His will for someone to know Him. Instead...keeping the focus simple, as with the Vision for your life...when the Holy Spirit reminds us to pray for a person, we can confidently thank Him that "Joe's" (insert any name He leads you to) salvation is complete! It's done! Hallelujah!

The second part of that prayer is this...Now today Lord...draw them just one step closer to living like it! And then, when we see "Joe" being kind...or generous...or loving...or merciful...or forgiving...or anything that is good...recognize it, remember that "Joe" is on a Journey to becoming the soul God created Him to be and thank God for how you see Him working in "Joe's" life. Once again...I can guarantee none of those "good" attributes are anything "Joe" just drummed up out of the goodness of his own heart. No...Scripture also tells us twice that "every inclination of the human heart is evil." (see Genesis 6:5 and Genesis 8:21) 

Do I think that all "good" people will get into Heaven? Bottom line...I am not God and I will never presume to decide who's in and who's out. What I do know is that Jesus said He is the way to the Father (see John 14:6) I just happen to believe that it absolutely does not matter how God chooses to bring a person to that conscious choice.

As humans created in the image of God, we just don't want anyone to suffer. But sometimes it takes great loss and great tragedy for a person to lean upon an Almighty God. Are we willing to walk through great suffering, loss and tragedy with someone...if it means they can spend eternity with their Saviour? Sometimes I think we want to make everything neat, tidy and pain free. But if someone had to endure pain and decimation in order to experience the full glory of God...wouldn't that be worth it? There is no fuller glory than knowing the redemption of a loving Saviour!

The other example I'll give is when we pray for a person's healing. I don't want to belabor the point, but suffice it to say no one has ever entered Heaven with a tumor on their back...or brain...or colon...or carried a congenital birth defect into eternity. And no matter how much we pray for healing in the now...none of us will be whole and healed until we stand before Jesus.

Can God heal in this life? Absolutely! Does He sometimes choose to do so? Again..a resounding "yes!" But we have to stop thinking that if we agonize in prayer just a little bit more...maybe He'll do it in regards to the loved one for which we pray. Too many parents are beating themselves up for not being faith-filled enough. And too many people begrudge a God that "chooses" not to heal them. 

If we can remember that this life as we know it is not all there is then when the healing occurs doesn't matter...because we know it will!!! Again...God dwells in the fullness of time so for Him your healing is complete...now for today...what do we need to do to live like it?

I would never belittle another person's pain. I also know there are parents with children for whom their prognosis gives great uncertainty as to what their future can hold. I just know that when I am praying as the Holy Spirit leads...I can confidently pray that for Him, that person is healed. But even better...there will be a day when I get to hear the story of how God healed them and how His presence was so real during their illness that they knew He was near.

For me, it does not matter if I hear their story in this life...or the life to come. I will hear it!

And Beautiful Beloved...you will one day have that amazing child look you in the face and tell you how they always knew you were there and they never missed one minute of what you did to love and serve them. And that parent or grandparent that right now struggles to remember your name will very soon sit across the table from you and remind you of your patience, care and joy during the journey of their slow decline.

You see...for God...there is only healing.

I've got to wrap this up, but thank you for hanging with me. I pray you do seek God's wisdom in regards to not only the Vision He has for your life...but how to live it out for today. But more than that...my prayer is that we can boldly and confidently believe Him. Instead of laboring painstakingly to effectively pray and drum up the faith to make the prayers come to fruition and agonizing over when and how the results will be revealed...we can embrace that for God, His will is already complete.

So why aren't we living like it???

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I would delight in hearing how God works this out in you and draws you closer into discovering His Kingdom is already at hand. Feel free to leave me a comment and allow me the joy of rejoicing with you! Amen!

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See also the other posts in the "Living the Vision" series:

Part 1, God Still Gives Visions and Dreams

Part 2, This Life As We Know It...

Part 3, God Dwells in the Fullness of Time

Part 4, The Vision is Complete

Part 5, How Do I Live Like the Vision is Complete?

Living the Vision, Part 2: This Life As We Know It...

I hope by this point, we can believe that God still gives visions and dreams.

But more than this, we can be confident that they will come to fruition. How can I know this and state it audaciously? For this simple reason:

This life as we know it...is not all there is!

I explored this theme about two years ago in a few different posts. (see Heaven, Heaven is For Real, and Becoming Heaven-Minded) God's vision for my life doesn't have to take place in this lifetime. As Randy Alcorn states in his book Heaven, I will have all of eternity to live out adventures, travel, learning new things and refining old talents. I don't know about you, but missed opportunities have a lot less hold on me when I know I have a "lifetime still to come" to live out my dreams and desires.

As a financially-challenged, homeschooling mama who hasn't been able to afford all of the music lessons, foreign language software and cultural experiences that our world tells are absolutely pertinent to developing well-rounded individuals, Alcorn's biblically-substantiated promise that my children will have all of eternity to learn how to play Bach...and Bach will continue to compose!...brought more relief than words can express.

For some unexplainable, God-given reason...Africa has always had a special place in my heart. I know it is a massive continent, and I love it all! Before I had even surrendered to this promise that there is more than this current life, I was already being drawn to Africa...so much so, that one year for school, all four of my children and I went through an African history unit study that I enjoyed immensely. Because of God's promise that there is more than this life, I can now, guarantee you that one day, I will step foot on African soil. It may be the refined, perfected Africa after Christ has returned to establish His Kingdom on the New Earth...but it will happen.

This is precisely the same reason why I can know, beyond any doubt that someday I will "have a place where I can grow things, teach others to grow things and a place where the "weary traveler" can come, put up their feet, rest, be nourished, encouraged, grow in wisdom, discernment and knowledge, for however long it takes for them to be sturdier on the feet God gave them."

In other words, it doesn't matter when...because I know it will...happen.

Now...I can live at peace and not attempt to manipulate, connive and maneuver my way into making something happen in my timing, because I have all of eternity to see it come to fruition. And the most beautiful part is that if it doesn't happen until the New Earth...it will be a perfected, whole and holy completion of the vision...just as God always intended it to be from the very start.

Each of the three lessons God had been growing in me were wonderful, beautiful and amazing in their own way. But this one was freeing.

No more regrets over missed opportunities. No longer did I need to grieve that I'd been "wasting my life". The talents I've been given in the here and now, that no one seemed interested in using...will be utilized perfectly in God's Kingdom on the New Earth.

One such example is that I'm a singer. I have to guard against pride yes, but I also need to acknowledge that God gave me a pretty good singing voice. Yet, for some reason (possibly to protect me from my pride!), I have been in church after church in my lifetime where this talent was not one that was needed. This stung, hurt and disappointed me for many, many years. The pattern always seemed to be that there would be a plea put out for musicians, I would respond, it would take 6-12 months for someone to get back in touch with me, I would sing a few times over a couple months' period and then the person designated as "in charge" of the musicians would leave, be demoted or a new director would be hired. This cycle was repeated so many times in the last 25 years that with our move to First Church of Christ two years ago, I told my husband that I would never seek to sing in any church again, no matter where we went...the rejection was just too painful. [Full disclosure: last summer, I did offer to be a part of the music program at FCC, but when they followed up with me in just a few short weeks, I could never bring myself to move forward with it.] All of that to say, I am now 45 and I realize it's only a few years until my voice probably will be too wobbly to use in a public setting anyway.

Of course my Enemy has used this to beat me up with the fear that I've "wasted" the gift and "squandered" any chance of using it. [Why I never chose to pursue it professionally has escaped me to this day. I think a combination of not thinking I was good enough and no support when I was younger, encouraging me to pursue it. But that's an entirely different therapist's session to glean the lessons in that part of the story.] In this example though...God has brought freedom to me and the knowledge that on the New Earth...He will use the voice He's given me. Even if it's only for an audience of One...it will be worth the wait, right?

Now...in this moment, I think it's interesting just how much I've shut down that musical part of myself. So much so, that I don't even see it as part of the Vision He has for my life. Funny how discouragement and doubt affect us, isn't it? But what I do know...is that He gave us each of our talents and gifts for His divine purpose and maybe on the New Earth my official title will be the Singing Encouraging Gardener.

That's a title I could live with!

I hope you embrace fully the beautiful promise that this life as we know it, is not all there is! Please plumb the depths of it. I believe one of our Enemy's greatest weapons is deceiving us into thinking it can't get any better than we've already got it. Oh...but it can...and it will.

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For more in this series, see Part 1 God Still Gives Visions and Dreams

Don't Ever Discount What's Happening On the Inside

I am blessed to know some pretty wonderful ladies. God uses them again and again to encourage, challenge and grow me in ways that I sometimes I don't even realize I need until He provides it through them. One such lady is Chandra. I've had the opportunity to sit down with her twice in the last month or so and have come away blessed each time. Last Thursday we had a great conversation, as usual...but the message she sent me the next day was exactly what I needed...when I needed it.

"One other thing that kept popping in my head yesterday and I kept forgetting to say is that...all of these great works we desire to do are awesome and I think He will keep leading us there/showing us the way/providing for, etc. and that I think it's good that we keep striving toward them but we can't lose sight of the fact that the eternal work He's doing inside of us along the way in teaching us to be more patient/loving/wise/courageous...is far more important. Obviously we need to continue to serve, love, and bring people into the Kingdom and that's our most important work...but this life is so very temporary and short and He is preparing us for WAY more than we could ever begin to imagine in our works that are yet to come."

There it is again...this recurring theme that this life is not all there is. It came up in discussion at our home school co-op last week and I read about it again as Rick McKinley referenced Randy Alcorn's book Heaven in his own book This Beautiful Mess. I can let go of the guilt and frustration of unfulfilled dreams because I have all of eternity to complete them with a perfected body on a perfected Earth. I do not need to suffer any angst that my children will not be complete if they don't __________ (play sports, take music lessons, travel, speak five languages, have a Mensa IQ) because again, they have all of eternity to learn how to play basketball or Bach and travel to a perfected China, Australia or Germany.

While flipping through these previous posts regarding this topic, I was reminded one more time that God will not be done with my adventures, gifts and talents when I close my eyes to this current life. In fact, with eternity in view, it's more like that will be just the beginning of all good things. The only part I don't get a second chance at is His perfecting work in me and the joy of bringing as many people along as He gives me the opportunity to include.

I don't really have any desire to take anything with me when I breathe my last in this crumbling shell. I have no baubles, trinkets, knick-knacks, or "stuff" that concerns me as to what will be done with it when I close my eyes here and open them to see my Savior. So why would I want to take along all of this other baggage that can't be seen? If the only "work" that gets accomplished by me for the rest of this Journey is that I allow Him to systematically and graciously pry my fingers from the yuck in my heart and the bad habits I cling to then that is enough.

This may sound like heresy to some. After all, the Great Commandment and the Great Commission are to 'Love God with all your heart, mind and soul and your neighbor as yourself' and 'to go into all the world making disciples of all men.' Yet, I see these as inexplicably unseparatable (that is a word right?) from His purging and refining Spirit drawing me to Himself. As I allow Him to mold, shape, challenge and teach me, that can only be accomplished by loving Him with everything that is in me. Loving my neighbor and myself will naturally overflow out of the depths of this redeeming work. And since God is Love, that is precisely the only option on the agenda for making disciples of all men. Without Love, it cannot be of God since Love is God.

All these dreams I have had for decades of doing big things for Jesus...and as my amazing friend Chandra helped me remember...the greatest thing I do, might only shine forth out of the work that is done first in the hidden places.

Learning How to Pray About Death and Dying

I've been thinking about death a lot lately. It seems I know a lot of people that are either being diagnosed, fear being diagnosed, or are having unusual symptoms that need to be checked out. Also, with my mother-in-law's mini-stroke on Christmas Day and even the recent death of someone we went to church with in Indy...it seems I've been thinking about this more than usual.

Here's my dilemma: How do I pray for someone that may be dying? And even if they aren't dying, how do I pray for someone that has lived a full life, raised their children, knows their Savior and has just had a sudden onset of disease...serious disease? 

The thing this world and our churches have taught us is to pray for healing...and pray confidently. This I can do and have done many times over the years. I won't even allow myself to pray the usual, "Lord, if it's Your will, then please heal them." To me...this always felt like I was hedging my bets....sort of the mentality of, "well...if they don't pull through...then it must not have been His will". This for me, just paints a pretty patina on the fact that I never really believed He could heal the person to begin with.

But as I've followed more than a few journeys with cancer and illness through internet blogs and Facebook postings, the thought that keeps coming back to me is this: "Maybe I shouldn't be praying for their healing...because that's really not the best thing."

What? "Not the best thing?" Where is this coming from?

Our culture and everything in it  screams that life...the good life...healthy, happy and whole...is all there is to a life worth living. But that's not what God's Word teaches. In fact, we are taught that we'll never be healthy, happy and anywhere near whole until we close our eyes here and open them to see our Savior. Isn't that what we should all be praying and longing for? To live a life that has been so well lived, so rich in God's goodness that to exhale here and to inhale Heaven's mercy is as natural as going to sleep...that is my goal.

I've definitely become more Heaven minded...eternity minded...in the last year. Not coincidentally, at the same time I know at least a dozen families that have lost people that were dear to and now much missed by them. So I find myself praying more for the families...for their comfort, healing, dealing with regrets of things left undone and unsaid...and that sometime very soon they'll realize that these "undone" items aren't lost forever...they're just being put on pause for now.

I can't even count how many times I've thought and said in the last year, "I'm just ready." And I am. I can't imagine anything in this life offering me something better than being with my Savior and the Lover of my soul. It's not an obsession with death....it's an obsession with reality...that we all die and since Jesus has paid for my ticket, this journey is sort of like getting all the work done around the house before I leave. Except this time...it's only a one-way ticket. And I'm okay with that.

I hope I don't sound calloused and I would never minimize anyone's grief or pain. I just know that for the redeemed, once they've thrown off this mortal shell...there is no more grief or pain. Therefore, when I pray for God to use His power to perform a miracle that is for the very best of the one who is suffering...I believe that when they close their eyes here and open them to see Jesus...my prayer has been answered.

Amen!

Just...Wow!

I will grant you that I tend to go overboard at times with superlatives. But when you are limited to language to describe the Creator of the universe and all that He is or does, superlatives are not even enough. Such is the case when faced with the task of describing just exactly how the Holy Spirit has used Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, to speak to my heart. So yes, "Just...Wow!" sums it all up.

I really wanted to wait to post until I'd completed the book and then do a one-time review. But if you've been reading this blog over the last month or so, you'll see that some days there were lessons I just had to share. (see "The Joy of Unfulfilled Dreams  "Doing What Matters...Watching the Clouds Roll By"   "And the Theme Continues"  and "Becoming Heaven-Minded") And I already see that even though this may be my last "official" post regarding the book, I pray that the focus on all things eternal doesn't end here. In fact, my plan is to buy a copy of the book and read it with my children for our devotional time once we start back to school. Why? Because I can't imagine a greater gift to my kids than teaching them that they were made for more than this life. They were made for an eternity of adventure and love with their Savior, Jesus.

I've decided to more or less present a summary here...a summary of what I've learned and some of my favorite quotes from the book. It truly has changed my perspective and reminded me that any sacrifices during this lifetime for the Kingdom pale in comparison to what God will redeem, renew and resurrect for the future.

• "Christian, meditate much on heaven, it will help thee to press on, and to forget the toil of the way. This vale of tears is but the pathway to the better country: this world of woe is but the stepping-stone to a world of bliss. And, after death, what cometh? What wonder-world will open upon our astonished sight?"--Charles Spurgeon
• Our enemy has deceived us into believing that this life is all there is....even Christians fall prey to this. Why else do we feel like our dying dreams, our squelched passions, our missed opportunities, our sacrifice of pleasure, time or money will never be restored to us?
• If instead we can remember that all of the above are only delayed, then what we feel we have "lost" will not be quite so traumatic. For example, I have since my early 20's had an almost overwhelming desire to travel. God has refined this desire over the years to include service to Him. I can imagine no greater joy in my life than to travel to new places (locally, nationally or internationally) and serve in His name. For far too long, I set aside this passion thinking it just wasn't possible because of family obligations. Now that our children are getting older, for the last two years, I've bemoaned the fact that we don't have the financial resources to do it. (Actually, wallowed is probably a better word than bemoaned). As I see the same passion growing in our daughter, I've become overwhelmed to the point of shutting down and even shutting God out because I "just don't see how it can ever happen." God's loving Spirit has comforted me in two ways: 1. If God calls us to missions for Him...He will make it happen, and 2. When the New Earth is redeemed and renewed to the glory of God, I will not only be able to see the things I've longed to see and experience the cultures I've longed to know...I will be able to witness the perfected versions...as God always intended they should be. Amen!
• "Another reason people assume Heaven is boring is that their Christian lives are boring. That's not God's fault; it's their own. God calls us to follow him in an adventure that should put us on life's edge. He's infinite in creativity, goodness, beauty, and power. If we're experiencing the invigorating stirrings of God's Spirit, trusting him to fill our lives with divine appointments, experiencing the childlike delights of his gracious daily kindnesses, then we'll know that God is exciting and Heaven is exhilarating. People who love God crave his companionship. To be in his presence will be the very opposite of boredom." page 395, Heaven
• "I feel within me that future life. I am like a forest that has been razed; the new shoots are stronger and brighter. I shall most certainly rise toward the heavens the nearer my approach to the end, the plainer is the sound of immortal symphonies of worlds which invite me. For half a century I have been translating my thoughts into prose and verse: history, drama, philosophy, romance, tradition, satire, ode, and song; all of these I have tried. But I feel I haven't given utterance to the thousandth part of what lies within me. When I go to the grave I can say, as others have said, "My day's work is done." But I cannot say, "My life is done." My work will recommence the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes upon the twilight, but opens upon the dawn."--Victor Hugo, quoted on page 397, Heaven
• And one more, but definitely not the last, area in which I was redirected is just exactly where and how I'm spending the limited amount of time I have left on this Earth that is under the Curse. It's even helped me when advising my kids about relationships and their time spent. Allow me a rather lengthy quote to explain this:

     "In a sense, we're already in Heaven with Christ: see Colossians 3:1-4.
     Our intimate link with Christ in his redemptive work makes us inseparable from him, even now. As we walk with him and commune with him in this world, we experience a faint foretaste of Heaven's delights and wonders.
     Though it's true that Christ is with us and within us while we're on Earth, it also works in the other direction--we're united with Christ, so much so that we are seated with him in Heaven: see Ephesians 2:6
     Notice that the following description, written to believers alive on Earth, is in the present perfect (not future) tense, which expresses a completed action: "You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect." (Hebrews 12:22-23)
     In a metaphysical sense, we've already entered Heaven's community. By seeing ourselves as part of the heavenly society, we can learn to rejoice now in what Heaven's residents rejoice in. They rejoice in God, his glory, his grace, and his beauty. They rejoice in repentant sinners, the saints' faithfulness and Christlikeness, and the beauty of God's creation. They rejoice in the ultimate triumph of God's Kingdom and the coming judgment of sin.
     Heaven, then, isn't only our future home. It's our home already, waiting over the next hill. If we really grasp this truth, it will have a profound effect on our holiness. A man who sees himself seated with Christ in Heaven, in the very presence of a God to whom the angels cry out, "Holy, holy, holy," won't spend his evenings viewing Internet pornography.
     No wonder the devil is so intent on keeping us from grasping our standing in Christ--for if we see ourselves in Heaven with Christ, we'll be drawn to worship and serve him here and now, creating ripples in Heaven's waters that will extend outward for all eternity." (page 184-185)

And there it is...the reason why I need to become less media-focused...the reason why giving out of our meager income instead of hording all for ourselves...the reason why focusing on relationships that will carry over into eternity instead of chasing after those that really don't want to invest in my life either...the reason why giving away all that I have, even my life, if asked, well...matters. Because when I truly grasp that what matters in Heaven matters here..."it creates ripples in Heaven's water that will extend outward for all eternity." I've yet to find anything else that even begins to compare...have you?

The Joy of Unfulfilled Dreams

No...I've not gone off the deep end. Rather, God is giving me peace about the things I've always longed to do, the places I've always wanted to visit, the hobbies and projects I've always wanted to finish and yes...even the dreams I've always dreamed but never seen fulfilled.

We all have them don't we? Whether as kids we dreamed of being a fireman, a cowboy, a princess or a movie star...we all have at least one dream...and probably many, many more that we gave up on too long ago to recall. But what if you didn't have to give it up? What if you knew that someday, somewhere, somehow...the hopes, dreams, plans, goals that you'd long ago set aside could amazingly be dusted off and actually see the light of day? Wouldn't that be worth every single sacrifice or abandoned hope you'd made along the way? Maybe the more appropriate question is: Doesn't that sound like Heaven?

Randy Alcorn thinks so...and his book, entitled just that, Heaven, is a scripturally supported work that challenges us to hope for the day (or rather, the eternity) on which we'll see our God-given dreams fulfilled. After all, we're told that every "good and perfect thing" is a gift from the Father, (see James 1:17) so isn't it safe to assume that these hopes and dreams came from Him? I mean, is there truly anything wrong with dreaming of travel to Africa, Australia or Asia? Isn't it good to want to run a marathon? Isn't there good to be found in the dream of singing praise, glory and honor to our Savior? Isn't it more than just good to want to have perfect relationships where there is no bias, no angst, no miscommunication, no doubt, no guilt and no pain? So if God is the giver of all good things, why would those dreams end just because this life under the Curse ends? Thanks to Alcorn, I'm realizing for the first time that they won't!

So yes, I am finding "The Joy of Unfulfilled Dreams". God is releasing me from the regret of missed opportunities. He's weeding out the bitterness that results from lost hopes. He's healing the hurt and insecurity of not having the resources to do all that I want to do for Him. He's helping me get beyond the questioning of "Where did I go wrong?" and "At what turn did I miss His leading?" He's showing me that someday there will be a New Earth and the sights, sounds, cultures and pleasures I've longed to enjoy now...are just being delayed for 40 or so (or fewer!) years...and I'm becoming okay with that.

But He's also opening my heart and mind wider to another realization: There is ONE thing I'll never again be able to do once I've shed this decaying form that is just a shadow of the perfected me yet to come...I'll never again have the opportunity to bring more people into His Kingdom along with me. Maybe that's why Jesus said over and over again that the "time is now" and that "the Kingdom of God is at hand". (see Mark 1:15 and (Matthew 4:17) He knew better than anyone that short-term sacrifice is long-term gain...like eternity-type long-term!

Do I still long to see the Australian Outback, the Great Wall of China, and just to step foot on Africa...anywhere in Africa? Absolutely! But knowing that someday I will not only see them...but I'll see the renewed, perfected, non-decaying versions of them, makes it a less bitter pill to swallow. The cool thing? Because I'm willing to make the sacrifices in the here and now of giving to the needy when we don't have enough, spending time with single moms and their kids when no one else wants to or doing without the fancy vacations, fancy food, fancy clothes, fancy cars, fancy "whatever" so that even more people I know (or have yet to meet) will be able to go see all of those things with me...THAT, my Friend...is "The Joy of Fulfilled Dreams!"

Mentioned in this post:

Doing What Matters...Watching the Clouds Roll By

As God's Spirit is daily reminding me and drawing me more and more into this new adventure of making everyday count, I have had so many words written and spoken urging me into a focus on doing things that will eternally matter. I hope to finish Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, and review it soon...but, for now,  I can't help but share how in less than half of its pages I am challenged to become primarily Heaven minded.

I have to admit, I've been fighting with God over something too. I may share that later...for now, it's settled...and Praise Him...He won...but I'm still processing and probably wouldn't make much sense if I attempted to put it into words. At the center of this battle has been one theme, "Are you going to do what I say matters (being Heaven-minded) or are you going to listen to the voices of the culture telling you to follow them?"

I learned a long time ago, you can't mix God's ways and man's ways. My heart's desire is to follow God's. So today, I did a simple, yet profound for me thing. I set aside the computer for about 30 minutes...stopped indulging myself in me time and went outside with my eight year old, Leah. She was bored and honestly, a little annoying...and then in my head it just "clicked". I could continue to offer suggestions at which she balked...or I could go outside, lay on the grass on her Daddy's quilt and do something that regrettably, I've never done with her before...watch the clouds roll by.

Before I thought of taking pictures, we saw a rhino, Mickey Mouse, E.T., Cleo the poodle from the Clifford TV show, and Sid from the Ice Age movies. I leave you with some pictures that we took.

It was a good day...one that mattered!

A taco! I know, not very original.

A colonial mole, wearing a tri-corner hat, carrying a walking stick in front of him.

(We were becoming more imaginative with practice!)

A swimmer, cutting through the water, his face turned toward us and his arm, on top ready to come up over his head.

And this one? This one was just cool!

Becoming Heaven-Minded

Are you noticing a theme? (see Heaven and   Heaven is For Real)

Well, yesterday, I began reading the second book recommended by our pastor a few weeks ago entitled Heaven by Randy Alcorn. I'm only about 75 pages into it and I'm already being challenged to become more "Heaven-minded".

But what does that mean?

Paul encourages us many times to remember that this world is not our home, that these are "light and momentary troubles", that we are surrounded by a "great cloud of witnesses" and that there is 'great rejoicing before God' when a repentant heart surrenders his life and his sins are covered/erased by the blood that was shed by Jesus the Messiah. But in my day-to-day often mundane, ordinary life...what does it mean to be 'Heaven-minded'? So that's what I've been asking God for about that last 24 hours. And this morning...He began giving me some answers.

It was one of those 'fully-formed-ideas-planted-in-your-head-that-could-have-only-come-from-the-Holy Spirit-because-it-is-so-radically-different-from-anything-you've-ever-been-taught' kind of moments. Yeah...that was a mouthful and it was a brain-full too! In fact, so full that six hours later I'm still chewing on it...processing the implications.

This much I can share because this much I am grasping so far: Waking up this morning, praying "God...I DO want to be Heaven-minded! I DO want to focus solely on what You want for each day. But God...most of what I want to do for Your Kingdom requires money for giving or money for travel and we just don't have it. I feel like I waste so much time just waiting for doors to open and opportunities to arise when my hearts desire is to be do-ing something for You!" The reply to this? "Now Angela...I wouldn't give you the desire to do something unless I was going to give you the resources too!"

And then came that fully-formed-idea moment. I can't even begin to put it into words what it all means yet, but there are already a few practical steps I'm asking Him to lead. I pray there is more to come...and soon. Consider joining me in this prayer: "Lord, what are You already doing, what are You already providing, where are You already leading that I just need to follow and be faithful?"

Amen!