by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
{ Day 13 }
When I consider those books that have left an indelible mark on my life (other than the Bible, of course) Wild Goose Chase…Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God by Mark Batterson rarely slips past without notice.
Here’s a taste of why that’s true:
“Jesus likened the working of the Holy Spirit to the wind. Sometimes the Spirit is a light wind from the south. Other times He is a gale-force wind that batters our ship. Sometimes the Spirit is a headwind that seems to frustrate our plans. And other times He is the wind at our back. Chasing the Wild Goose [you’ll have to read the book to understand this reference!] is recognizing which way the wind of the Spirit is blowing and responding to it. It requires a moment-by-moment sensitivity to the Wild Goose. And you have to trust His promptings more than you trust your own plans. Instead of getting frustrated by fighting the wind, you appreciate the fact that something uncontrollable and unpredictable will get you where God wants you to go.” -Mark Batterson, Wild Goose Chase
What initially drew me to the book was Mark’s first book, In A Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. It’s one of my top three favorite reads ever—and that’s saying something. Secondly, I like the word “adventure” in the tag line. I’m not an adventurous person, never have been. For years I felt less-than because of it. And honestly, I still do in some respects. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a learner, an explorer, and an observer of wee details…but perhaps not as most expect. (Until I hit that mark, I’ll continue living vicariously via the Susan Stilwell’s of the world. Love you, friend!)
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| My adventurous Hokie friend, Susan Stilwell |
If I’m not careful, however, my natural bend towards predictability can weigh down my steps, causing me to miss the adventure that comes in pursuing God.
“I want to see God do things in me and through me that I am absolutely incapable of so I can’t possibly take credit for them.” – Mark Batterson, Wild Goose Chase
Staying in Step with the Holy Spirit: Unpredictability in the hands of the Holy Spirit is anything but.
Heavenly Father, regardless of how we were wired by Your hands, help us to never settle for a predictable walk with You. Keep us in step with Your Spirit as we wholeheartedly pursue You.
#Write31Days past posts:
{ Day 1 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Our Senses
{ Day 2 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Less Clutter
{ Day 3 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Healthy Relationships
{ Day 4 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via God’s Creation
{ Sunday }
{ Day 6 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Specific Prayer
{ Day 7 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
{ Day 8 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via A Soul Search (with guest Ginger Harrington)
{ Day 9 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Vulnerability
{ Day 10 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via God’s Creation, Wk. 2
{ Day 11 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via A Moonlit Sunroof
{ Sunday }
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
{ Day 11 }
during our 31 Day Challenge.
Enjoy.
#Write31Days past posts:
{ Day 1 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Our Senses
{ Day 2 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Less Clutter
{ Day 3 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Healthy Relationships
{ Day 4 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via God’s Creation
{ Sunday }
{ Day 6 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Specific Prayer
{ Day 7 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via A Soul Search
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
{ Day 10 }
Our conversation lingered as stone gray clouds shuffled by in a show-like manner. The moon was full and bright, no doubt the star of the show.
The discussion, while weighty, was uplifting as my sweet friend pointed me to the One we’d just studied in the company of other God-seekers.
Pulling out of her driveway, I hit the magic button allowing the sunroof to open, inviting warm Fallish breezes and moonlight to accompany me on my ride home. Suddenly, going from point A to point B became an exhilarating connection to God’s creation, reminding me that the same God who set the universe in motion is the same God who cares about me, about you, and every detail in between.
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| by Ainsley Allmark @DolphinDancer |
Staying in Step with the Spirit: Connecting with God often happens in the most unexpected places. Let’s open our eyes to ordinary times and places, asking God to ignite our senses. Soak them in, see God’s goodness, and delight in the One we call Father.
Heavenly Father, thank You for making the ordinary extraordinary.
When
I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the
stars, which You have ordained; – See more at:
http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Moon#sthash.B9BYszB1.dpuf
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place… Psalm 8:3
#Write31Days past posts:
{ Day 1 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Our Senses
{ Day 2 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Less Clutter
{ Day 3 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Healthy Relationships
{ Day 4 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via God’s Creation
{ Sunday }
{ Day 6 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Specific Prayer
{ Day 7 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via A Soul Search
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
{ Day 8 }
There’s a woman in our current Bible Study that no one in the group had met prior to our gatherings.
She’s beautiful, possessing a gentle smile. Yet the tender spots from past wounds surface when she speaks.
Last week, as she thoughtfully shared her hurt from a past church experience, I was moved by her transparency before people she had never met prior to this study. Her vulnerability not only gave us an opportunity to love on her but to also pray for her throughout the week. And, because she was willing to be vulnerable, others were too.
Yes, vulnerability can backfire. I have wounds to prove it. Don’t we all? But choosing to remain fully guarded is costly when relating with others and especially with God. Mary poured out fragrance on our Savior’s feet and David danced naked through the streets. However, no greater example of vulnerability exists more than Jesus Himself.
Tim Keller wrote a sermon on the gifts of Christmas given to us through Christ. One of
those gifts is the ability to be vulnerable in relationships. He says,
“In the gift of Christmas, the unassailable, omnipotent God became a
baby, giving us the ultimate example of letting our defenses down.”
Staying in Step with the Spirit: When we choose to be vulnerable with people we trust, we become transparent and when we’re transparent, we’re not seen. God is.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of vulnerability fleshed out through your Son. Because He chose to become vulnerable we now have the ability to do the same with others, and most importantly, with You. How can we fathom such love?
Does vulnerability come easy for you or is it a struggle? Either way, you’re not alone.
“Love anything and your heart will be wrung and
possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must
give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with
hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in
the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe,
dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it
will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be
vulnerable.” -C.S. Lewis
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
{ Day 7 }
When three people tell you within a two month period that you’re being too hard on yourself, God may be up to something.
Perfectionism has been my enemy for as long as I can remember. You wouldn’t recognize this tendency if you visited my home or caught sight of my unruly brows but it’s there nonetheless. It established patterns of procrastination behind my back, paralyzing me to move forward in certain areas of my life.
Can you relate?
Perhaps it’s because I’m still a WIP (work in progress) that I gravitate towards godly women with a wise perspective, like Ginger Harrington. I had the opportunity to meet Ginger at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference in May and now she’s also a fellow #write31days participant. When I read her post Soul Search: Why Are You So Hard On Yourself? from Monday, I had to share it here, with you. Prepare to be blessed!
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| Ginger Harrington’s 31 Day series |
Ginger’s theme for October is Soul Strength and you’ll not want to miss a post via Ginger’s Corner.
Staying in Step With The Spirit: When we choose to see ourselves as God sees us, we are strengthened by truth — and truth never fails to draw us closer to God.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the “wide fields of grace” You provide for us to run free and forgiven in Your presence. Help us to stand firm in the truth that when You see us, You see Jesus—the only Perfect one.
For it is God’s loving soul search that sets us free to run forgiven in wide fields of grace. -Ginger Harrington
Past #write31days posts:
{ Day 1 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Our Senses
{ Day 2 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Less Clutter
{ Day 3 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Healthy Relationships
{ Day 4 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via God’s Creation
{ Day 5 } Sunday
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
|
| The 31 Day Writing Challenge is Underway! |
by Cathy Baker
{ Day 7 }
It’s no wonder Brian has “threatened” to secretly videotape me during the day. I can’t explain it, but when 70’s music cranks, so do I. Floors get swept, dishes get washed and books get dusted—all while pulling out my favorite ’70’s dance moves.
Music has been a part of my life since I can remember. I shared a few music milestones in a 2009 post so I’ll spare you a repeat here. I didn’t, however, share the role hymns and spiritual songs have played, and continue to play, in my grace story.
Divorced twice by the age of 27, I was laden with shame, defeat, and little hope.
I’d left my first husband for another, and the “another” left me the following year. Though the rubble of consequences still falls at times, I thank God for allowing me to hit rock bottom—and hard. It was only then that I came to understand my desperate need for a Savior.
I became a Christ-follower in a duplex on the outskirts of town and the following year, God blessed me with an amazing husband (celebrating 24 years this month!) who encouraged me to stay home with my two young sons that I adored (and still do.) I was, and continue to be, overwhelmed by His grace and mercy.
So imagine my hearing an old-school tune like Babbie Mason’s After All a few years down the road. Many a day I wept listening to these words as they precisely mirrored my own life. Today, decades later, the lyrics still stir a gut-wrenching gratefulness way down deep.
After All
Verse One
I heard you calling. I felt you knocking. But I drew
further from You every day. I knew better, still, my heart grew colder. And
I just kept on going my own way.
Chorus
But after all was
said and done with me. After all
my pride then my fall. I was so amazed
to still find you there. After all I’ve done You still loved me after
all.
Verse Two
Your eyes said welcome. Your arms were
open. How could I ever doubt Your love was real. You never mentioned all
my past rejections. Words can’t express the way that makes me feel.
Verse Three
To freely forgive is so hard to do. But You completely
forgave. And now I will spend my whole life with You. After all, forever
and always.
Staying in Step with the Spirit: The word “music” is used 90 times in scripture (NIV version). One indication of the Spirit-filled life is the desire to sing. Whether it’s singing about God or to Him, it delights His heart (and ears!)
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of music. Just as the voice of a child sounds angelic to his/her parents regardless of age or ability, You too delight in the sound of our hearts raised high for Your glory. What’s one particular psalm, hymn, or spiritual song that ushers you immediately into the presence of the Lord?
Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. -Martin Luther
#Write31Days:{ Day 1 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Our Senses
{ Day 2 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Less Clutter
{ Day 3 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Healthy Relationships
{ Day 4 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via God’s Creation
{ Sunday }
{ Day 6 } Staying in Step with the Spirit Via Specific Prayer
