Life As An Adventure

Ha! Look what I can do, Beloved! I can do amazing things! But I don't work the way you expect Me to. I want you to walk in Freedom. Your need to be in control is still hindering your ability to just go with what I'm doing. I want you to learn to trust Me in everything - in every circumstance, regardless of how it looks! 

I want life to be an adventure for you! You talk about the roller coaster of emotions, but you forget that some people actually LOVE roller coasters! 

"So let go, my soul, and trust in Him! The waves and wind still know His name!" (It Is Well, by Kirstene DiMarco)

This adventure can be fun for you, Beloved. It really can!

Your Pillow, Your Blanket, Your Cosy Nook

Do you still trust Me, Beloved? Even though the way ahead is so unknown? Do you still trust Me, though the plan keeps changing at the last minute? Do you still trust Me, even though your body seems to fail you? 

"My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!" (Psalm 73:26)

Beloved, find your place of rest in Me. I am your pillow, your blanket, your cosy nook. You don't need to "hold it together" for Me! Run to me as you used to run to your bed when you were in trouble as a child. Find your safe place in Me, as you used to cocoon yourself in your sheet. I am your safe place of rest, hide yourself in Me. Let your sobs out, don't hold them in. Let your body release the stress and tension of this week and just let go! The longer you stay here with Me, the stronger your conviction of My Strength and My Love will be! 

Rest and soak up My Presence, Beloved!

My Handiwork

Tune your ear to My voice, Beloved. When your soul is downcast, turn your eyes to Me. See how My Truth lifts your spirit to dance and soar in its beauty? 

Things look bleak to your eyes, but that is because you are looking at your circumstances with your natural eyes, not your faith eyes. Remember, I am the God who calls things that are not as though they are; I am the God who raises the dead!!

I am doing a new thing, and I have a special place for you here. I have chosen you before you have chosen Me. I am calling you to be a listener. A prophet. Not for your own glory, but for Mine. Do not try to rush Me. Trust Me. 

Oh Beloved, your heart is weary and troubled about many things. Rest your head on My bosom and be comforted. I have chosen you for this journey, not for any punishment, but because I LOVE and DELIGHT in you! Can you believe this? Dare you believe this? It is My joy to see you grow as an overcomer! 

The joy that you experience in taking a discarded article of clothing and making it into something new, something beautiful - this is just a taste of the joy I have in taking your broken and ugly circumstances and creating something beautiful in you. You are My HANDIWORK, Beloved! My joy and My delight!

Flourishing Oasis

Beloved, My Treasure, rest in My Love. Trust Me with the details. I've got this - every element of this! Surrender every fear, every desire to control your circumstances, every sorrow. I can contain all of your emotions, no matter how big or how messy! I AM your safe place. I will never leave your or forsake you. 

Trust Me - not only that I can get you through this difficult time, but that I can turn the desert into a flourishing oasis!

The Dance of Love

My Darling, you have opened the treasure chest and seen the beauty and joy within. It is time to take out the jewels and WEAR them! Beloved, you are My Princess, but you are walking around in rags! It is time to throw off the rags. I clothe you in robes of righteousness, and it is an insult to My Name to cling to your rags.

Beloved, I have set your precious gems in settings of silver and gold, and it is time to wear these treasures for all to see. Do not keep them shut away any longer!

Let Me take you by the hand and dance with you. Come, let Me lead you around the throne room in the Dance of Love. You are wearing your royal robes and precious jewels. This dance is such a joy and a delight, is it not! Lose yourself in the joy and colour of this moment, Beloved, as I twirl you around the floor.

My Dear One, come with Me. Let Me lead you back into your life. You see it as drab and dreary, but as I dance with you, see how every scene will turn from drab and grey to joyfully brilliant and full-colour! Vibrant, beautiful, full of Life and Joy! Every activity - mundane and enjoyable - will be touched and transformed by the Joy and Life of My Presence as we dance through your day.

The Treasure Chest

Beloved, you are so afraid of looking back at your time in hospital with Verity because of the painful memories. You see in that back corner of your heart a dusty old chest to keep those memories locked away in, but My Darling, it is a TREASURE CHEST! Let Me open it up and show you the beautiful jewels and precious gems that are waiting inside! You do not need to fear these memories, as they are full of treasured moments when I met you right where you were, in the midst of the pain. In the depth of your despair, I spoke Hope. In the agony of uncertainty, I spoke the certainty of My Presence through it all. Your story is one of Hope and Joy in Me in the face of adversity. Do not hide this away any longer! 

A Clear Mind

Beloved, I see you struggle with chaotic thoughts. It doesn't have to be this way! I have so much more for you. It is my desire for you to live with a clear functioning mind. I want you to have a mind ruled by peace, not chaos. I want to show you how this is done, but you need to stop your obsession with distraction. I know this obsession is driven by fear - fear of being alone with your thoughts. You need not fear your thoughts as I am with you. I commune with you in your thoughts! There is no need for fear here!

I want to show you just how different a day can be when you spend it communing with me. Each one of your distractions costs you in ways you don't realise. Consider all the words of peace I am speaking to you that you cannot hear over the TV program. Consider all the words of wisdom I am dropping into your heart that you cannot access when you keep your heart busy. It's revolutionary, Beloved. Try it tomorrow, test it and see!

Relax Into My Presence

My precious daughter, I see you grappling with this concept of leaning into Me. You understand it intellectually, but you are finding it hard to truly live it.

Remember when you were learning how to float in the swimming pool? Do you remember how terrified you felt? How you did not believe that the water could truly hold you? And so, you flailed around in the water, kicking and splashing; refusing to lean into the water's holding. You saw the water's turbulence as proof that it could not hold you, when in fact, it was your own struggle that was causing the turbulence. It was not until you learned to breathe through your fear and relax into the water that you discovered the water's power to buoy you up. You had to believe somebody else's report that this was an attribute of water, that it could hold you. You had to cling to this truth as you breathed through your fear.

So it is with Me, Beloved. I want you to learn to relax into My Presence, just as you learned how to relax into the knowledge that the water could hold you. Stop flailing around, My Dear One, stop kicking and splashing. Your struggle is creating the turbulence that you sense around you. I do have the power to hold you, Beloved! You need to cling to this Truth as you breathe through your fear. Relax into My Presence and find the place of calm I have for you.

Sit With Uncertainty

You just want to know all of the answers right now. But this is a time of uncertainty, a time of waiting, a time of leaning into Me. You are desperate for answers; the not knowing is causing you such anxiety, yet you seek answers in the natural realm. I have all the answers, you should know this by now. I have all the answers, I see every minute of your future and yet I don't let you know too much in advance.

Rest in Me, beloved. Sit with the uncertainty - breathe into it, just sit and breathe and rest in Me.

I am with you.  Know this Truth with your whole being. What would you do if you knew her surgery date right now? Would you suddenly become calm? Would you have no stress at all? Would you know exactly what to do about child care arrangements, about sorting out all the issues that are weighing on your mind? No, you would be even more anxious, wouldn't you? Your mind would be buzzing trying to sort out every last detail. Is that helpful? So much could change between now and then. You just have to trust Me with the details. I've got this. Really, I do! 

You have asked Me to help you learn to manage stress better. Well, Beloved, this is it! This is a perfect opportunity for you to learn to manage stress! Just lean into Me and trust Me with the details. That is all I ask. It is no use wasting your energy worrying about these things that you cannot control and you cannot change.

I see you struggling to move from the intellectual understanding of this concept to the actual living of this. You need to carve out time in your day to rest in Me. Any time will do. I am here, available 24/7. Every moment you can grab to lean into Me will be worth it. Every moment will count, every time you lean into Me instead of bearing this burden on your own shoulders - every time will lighten your load. You worry about the impact this added stress is having on your health. Well listen to this, Beloved - you can lessen the impact by leaning into Me. But I can do better than this! I can actually help you improve your long-term health by the lessons you learn about how to manage your stress during this difficult time. Do you believe I can?

Believe it or not My sweet, I have big plans for you! I really do. I know this time has been incredibly hard for you, but I do care! I do love you, so very, very much! So for now, let's sit with the uncertainty and just be.

The Visible Realm vs The Invisible Realm

"One of the young men answered, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valour, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him."" 1 Samuel 16:18

David was a carrier of My Presence. Other people could see it in him. This is how it can be in your life too. As you spend time each day soaking in My Presence, you will naturally take that Presence with you as you go about your day. You will "leak" into the lives of all you come in contact with. This is why you need fresh in-filling each day. It is My Presence, not your knowledge that will win people.

As you live this way in your day-to-day life, you are building habits and resetting your default reality from the visible world to the invisible world. Like David, My invisible reality will become more real to you than your "normal" visible reality. Then, when you come up against giants, you will go forward in confidence, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that the God of the Angel Armies backs you up. 

"And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field." Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head."" 1 Samuel 17:42-46

David lived with an awareness of My Presence that pervaded his life. As he faced Goliath, he was essentially saying to the giant, "You come to me in and pride and arrogance, for you live only in the realm of the visible where it appears all the odds are in your favour - your huge size, your superior weapons, your years of experience on the battlefield. But I come to you in confidence, for I dwell in the realm of the invisible, and I can see that the odds are actually overwhelmingly in my favour! The LORD of the Angel Armies sends me. He has GOT this."

When the giant of chronic illness says to you, "You're stuck with me for life. As time goes on, I will invite more of my chronic illness pals to join me in tormenting you. I'm going to make you sick, exhausted and miserable for life!" --

You can reply, "You come to me with statistics and peer-reviewed research, medical expertise and other patients' stories. But I come to you in confidence, for I dwell in the realm of the invisible, and I can see that the odds are actually overwhelmingly in my favour! The LORD of the Angel Armies sends me. He has GOT this."

A Different Path

1 Samuel 13-14

See how quickly Saul slipped into "D.I.Y. mode"! As soon as there was some question about My representative being true to his word, Saul took matters into his own hands. His pride in the position that I gave him caused him to let his eyes slip from My Face to himself - and the consequences were disastrous for him. Saul sacrificed the future of his kingdom. 

Beloved, there is always a consequence to "D.I.Y. mode". It is not a safe place to be. Your judgement will always be compromised, as you cannot see the big picture the way that I can. The only safe place to be is with your eyes fixed on Me. Saul's judgement was compromised, and he made a rash vow that almost cost him his son's life. Living in "D.I.Y. mode" has cost you your health. It's not a punishment, dear one, but a natural consequence of choosing to carry the weight of your world on your shoulders instead of surrendering it to Me. 

Hear Me, Beloved. This is not intended to make you feel guilty. This is news of HOPE. I am showing you a different path. A path of moment-by-moment surrender to Me. I am searching for people after my own heart. I can do so much more through you when you live surrendered. Come with Me on this adventure!

 

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

Beloved, do not be dismayed by this fresh sickness. Here I am hijacking your plans for today. You need rest, and if you will not make time for rest, then I will make sure you do. Slow down, Beloved. Rest easy in Me. 

I know you feel overwhelmed. Swamped by the bare basics of life. This is the perfect opportunity for you to lean into Me. 

Come to Me, and I will give you rest. Yes come to Me, and I will give you rest. 

Rest in the middle of your busyness; rest in the middle of your sickness;

Rest in the middle of all this mess; rest from all of your stress. 

Come to Me, and I will give you rest. Just come to Me, and I will give you rest. 

 

Hijacking Your Agenda

1 Samuel 8-10

Saul had a plan, an agenda for his journey - to search for his father's lost animals. But I hijacked his agenda. Saul was obedient, and went along with My plan. I want you to live in this way each day - don't stop making plans, but make them loosely, knowing that I may hijack them at any time. Do not be put out when your plans are "thwarted", but turn to Me in expectant trust, saying, "Okay Father, what do YOU have for me instead?"

So much of the stress you live with is of your own making. My perfect Peace banishes stress. You have a direct supply line of My perfect Peace, but you must keep it switched on by fixing your eyes on Me. Keep Me ever before you, through the ups and downs, and through the monotonous moments of this day. 

My perfect Peace is not only good for your soul and mind, it is also good for your body. "Remove stress from your life" you are told. The best way to do that is to lean into Me. To learn to walk each step of each day with Me. To trust Me with the details of your life, over and over and over again.