This is in honor of a cute new blog called “Today's Letters,” that my bud Kristen told me about. Thanks, Kristen. (You said I could thank you later.) www.todaysletters.com
Dear Ms. Rosey Downer from the Library, I'm sorry your back hurts. A trip over the speed bump will not likely hurt anything but her pride. Roofing companies have trained professionals. It is more likely they will be killed by a donkey than fall off your roof. It was nice to meet you.
Dear husband, I sort of like it when you sleep on the pull-out. Not only do you get more restful sleep, but I like explaining to people you are not in trouble. p.s. I'm having an affair with the guy on the couch. (wink)
Dear Blind Man, Although I'm sure you have forgotten all about it and would not know me if you saw me on the street, I am still sorry about your mailbox.
Dear mailbox, May you rest in pieces.
Dear Oakley Grace, You are the most expensive free thing we ever got. Please quit visiting the neighbors. They like their shoes, hammers, and cell phones where they are.
Dear Brother, Your birthday comic was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. If I wasn't Amish, I would post it on-line. Hope you can come see it hanging on my refrigerator soon.
Dear Homeless, Jobless, Helpy-Helperton, I almost laughed out loud when you said the degree-less, “six years of college did you a world of good.” I'm glad your cup is half-full. Good luck finding a job.
Dear Sierra, You are a gift and are gifted. As you grow, you will be able to see things and know things that others do not. Don't worry, I already told your mom. I pray you still remember heaven on your 90th birthday as clearly as you do now. I hope you will be a good baby and an even better teenager.
Dear Sierra's Mom, You are a perfect of example of looks being deceiving. Don't be afraid, the delivery will be fine. Every time I use my fancy new file folders, I will think of you. I hope to bump into you while buying office supplies again sometime. p.s. That is not a method.
Dear calculator, You are my favorite invention next to electricity and indoor toilets. It makes me happy when I know you are near.
Dear people walking down the street styling the 80s do, I have a PRESENT for you.
Dear Dollar Store Lady, You didn't think I was funny, but I had a good time telling you anyway.
Dear Tee Ball, You are my favorite sport of all time. Please never grow up.
Dear Football commentators, I will not comment on how you make me feel. It should be enough knowing that I am one of the 25% of people who hate you.
Dear Oreos, It was very nice knowing you.
Dear Worship Leader, Sometimes when you are leading, people will say things to me like, “You are married to that.” and I'm like, “Yep.”
Dear English, Thank you for the words, “Smote,” “Crevice,” and “Holla.” I love them.
Dear Nursing home Resident, If we can hear you yell, “I'm dead.” Then you aren't.
Dear My Three Sons, My most favorite thing about you being little is your multiple daily superhero costumes. Your tax-deducting super powers came to mommy and daddy's rescue.
Dear 1st born, You are just what we wanted. No, you will not be allowed drive when you are five, but I love that you think you can.
Dear 2nd born, You are our Love. It is my favorite when you describe people like, “That fat Mama.” or “The man with the hair do.” I love that you love your pink kitty, your babies, and food better than anyone I know.
Dear 3rd born, You are the best surprise we ever got. For you to be able to be such a little bumpkin, fart on command, and know it is funny is a real treat.
Dear Saint Sister-in-law, It makes me very happy that you even felt sorry for me 25 years ago when you had to live with him. No one else could understand like you do. You're the best.
Dear GPS, Tennessee is number one in the nation and possibly the world for our fantastic roads, and you show them fairly accurately on your screen. But according to you, we drowned on our trip to Kentucky.
Dear Nicole, Our Friday night, married, double dates were a highlight of my life. I miss your laugh and married hair.
Dear Blogspot, I know you had us Amish little people in mind. Thank you from the deepest part of this techno-illiterate blogger.
Dear Jilly B. a.k.a Mrs. Robinson, You always have been my favorite and not just because of your word usage and sentence structure. However, that is my most favorite thing in this world. I pray all your baby girls will speak your language and have your cheeks.
Dear Jack Bauer, Thank you for your service. I feel safer knowing you were out there for eight seasons.
Dear Author of that really awesome housecleaning book, When I see you in heaven, I will plant a big sloppy kiss smack on your lips. p.s. I love you even more because you are chubby.
Dear Fast food restaurant, decapitated toy, I promise to lose some weight, but I don't think that will prevent your friends from disaster. You guys just aren't made that well. Please don't take it personally. I'm really not prejudice against little guys who abide with French fried potatoes.
Dear Baby Daddy, When you read, “Wiggle Waggle” in the voice of the hippo, it is very sexy.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Soaring
“I’m looking forward to soaring.” ...That was the last line I wrote in my post about Vertical thinking in relationships. Since I posted that, I hit some turbulence. I was still "working" on keeping myself in vertical thinking. God wants no hurt in our lives because he loves us, but hurt and bitterness are also a big distraction. Seeds of bitterness can get buried in our heart and reproduce the hurt in our life again later by attracting hurt and hurting others. "Above all else, guard your heart because out of it flows issues of life." I do not know much, but I do know enough to know I did not want any of those bitter seeds reproducing anywhere in my life. I heard one of my favorites, Rob Rufus, say the other day, "The MOST dangerous thing in this life is a disgruntled Christian." He was saying it was more dangerous than any devil or anything because of our God-given creative ability plus the words they spew onto everything and into everybody plant seeds of discontentment, lack, bitterness, offense. So I could still feel some hurt and noticed fruit of bitterness in my life in the form of negative emotions and bitter thoughts. I prayed and asked the Lord to create in me a pure heart. I had a dream...
I love, love, love, love, love dreams. I love that dreams help us to understand what is written on our hearts. I love that God can speak to us through dreams. I love that dreams are parables and therefore are hardly literal. Dreams, to me, are endless revelation just like when you read a parable from the Bible. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what of a motion picture? So fascinating!
I dreamed I was sitting down with one friend who I allowed to hurt me. I was able to talk with her like we used to do and it was nice. I miss it. The interesting thing about the conversation was that I spoke things to her that I didn’t even know I had in my heart. I spoke of every tiny offense I was not even aware I had. I woke up, and realized that God brought forth those seeds of bitterness from my heart because I asked him to give me a pure heart. I had scabbed over the wound with the junk inside and therefore was not healing properly. With the scab now removed. I could clean out my wound and allow God to heal my heart with his love instead of me try to superficially bandage it. It was great except for the fact that my wound was now reopened. I felt like it had happened just that morning.
I had an opportunity to be in the worship service. I went expecting from him, and God did give me a miracle. During worship, he showed me a vision that has really brought healing to me. I love that God's language to us is revelation, and then we interpret it into a language our brains understand. When he was showing me the vision, he said, "You said you wanted to soar!” (sweet!) It was a gift from the Lord that I had not even asked for. He just knew I wanted it and gave it to me. I love him for that! To me, Father's visions are sort of like day dreams except more real. It is like one of those dreams that you wake up and think really happened, except you know it really did. They are not weird or spooky. It is just one of those things. Everybody can do it. As a child of the Most High, it is your right to hear, see, and experience his goodness.
The soaring vision...
I was in a short, white, bright, happy, peaceful hallway. It had windows I could look out of on both sides. I could see out of the windows that I was high in the sky. I could see nothing down below. I was happy and at peace. At the end of the hallway was a door. I walked up and opened the door only to see the wide open sky with nothing below. There were clouds. It was a beautiful day. I assumed the intention for that door was so I would step out and fly. The only problem was, I was afraid to step out. I wanted to explore the things God had out that door waiting for me, and I didn’t want to admit that I was too insecure to step out. I stood in the hallway imagining what it would be like to step out and fly. I knew God would keep me from falling, but I also imagined how insecure and awkward I would feel flying around. I knew I would be aware of myself as I flew. I didn’t like the emotions and insecure feelings I imagined I would have if I stepped out of the door. So I didn’t step out. I just stood there gazing out the door. I felt a little guilty on the inside that I wasn’t “there yet” and where I thought I should be. I felt guilty because I didn’t have the faith I thought I should have. I was missing out on God’s good stuff for me because of my insecurities. I stayed in the hallway feeling happy I was there, but disappointed in myself. Suddenly I became very aware of the back of the hallway. It seemed dark but the image was so blurry I did not see what was there. There were no defining images. It was just a dark imagination. I was only aware of its presence behind me, but I couldn’t see anything. I knew that darkness represented the situation and all that had hurt my heart. There was nothing definite to look at because I was at God perspective and he doesn’t see the “faults.”. He was giving me an opportunity to see his perspective. What happened to me and how I hurt really happened, but it was unclear in my vision because it was not truth. For me to turn around and stare at the dark imagination would be for me to turn my back on the door and the beautiful clear sky. The sky was so clear because it was truth. I basically had a choice to make, I could choose to focus on the door and the things he placed outside just for me, or I could turn my back to those things and try to “imagine” the past with all the hurt and offense. Then something amazing happened. God showed me that he did not require me to jump out of the hallway to soar. He never asked me to make a step, I had only assumed it. He showed me the hall itself was flying through the air. He showed me that it is not up to me to do anything to have the right thinking. I didn’t have to jump out of doors in the sky. I just rest there in that happy little hallway and enjoy HIS ride. I was soaring whether I did anything or not. Instantly the negative opinion I had about myself left because I had just assumed I was suppose to do something. I mean a door is there to walk through, I thought. He requires nothing from me. He just wants me to enjoy his ride that he provided. He did all the work. I was already soaring, but if I turned around to the darkness, I wouldn’t know I was.
I’m not gonna lie….I still take a gander at the darkness, but every time I do, God reminds me of that revelation and I turn back around to his view. Since the vision, I have had the song in my head, “I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down. I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down…” I look out the windows, and I sit at the door feeling the wind in my face, and I just enjoy myself. It’s an amazing ride. Everyday I am less aware of the imaginary darkness behind me. Pretty soon, I’ll forget the past altogether because I’m so caught up in his view. I'm soaring!
I love, love, love, love, love dreams. I love that dreams help us to understand what is written on our hearts. I love that God can speak to us through dreams. I love that dreams are parables and therefore are hardly literal. Dreams, to me, are endless revelation just like when you read a parable from the Bible. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what of a motion picture? So fascinating!
I dreamed I was sitting down with one friend who I allowed to hurt me. I was able to talk with her like we used to do and it was nice. I miss it. The interesting thing about the conversation was that I spoke things to her that I didn’t even know I had in my heart. I spoke of every tiny offense I was not even aware I had. I woke up, and realized that God brought forth those seeds of bitterness from my heart because I asked him to give me a pure heart. I had scabbed over the wound with the junk inside and therefore was not healing properly. With the scab now removed. I could clean out my wound and allow God to heal my heart with his love instead of me try to superficially bandage it. It was great except for the fact that my wound was now reopened. I felt like it had happened just that morning.
I had an opportunity to be in the worship service. I went expecting from him, and God did give me a miracle. During worship, he showed me a vision that has really brought healing to me. I love that God's language to us is revelation, and then we interpret it into a language our brains understand. When he was showing me the vision, he said, "You said you wanted to soar!” (sweet!) It was a gift from the Lord that I had not even asked for. He just knew I wanted it and gave it to me. I love him for that! To me, Father's visions are sort of like day dreams except more real. It is like one of those dreams that you wake up and think really happened, except you know it really did. They are not weird or spooky. It is just one of those things. Everybody can do it. As a child of the Most High, it is your right to hear, see, and experience his goodness.
The soaring vision...
I was in a short, white, bright, happy, peaceful hallway. It had windows I could look out of on both sides. I could see out of the windows that I was high in the sky. I could see nothing down below. I was happy and at peace. At the end of the hallway was a door. I walked up and opened the door only to see the wide open sky with nothing below. There were clouds. It was a beautiful day. I assumed the intention for that door was so I would step out and fly. The only problem was, I was afraid to step out. I wanted to explore the things God had out that door waiting for me, and I didn’t want to admit that I was too insecure to step out. I stood in the hallway imagining what it would be like to step out and fly. I knew God would keep me from falling, but I also imagined how insecure and awkward I would feel flying around. I knew I would be aware of myself as I flew. I didn’t like the emotions and insecure feelings I imagined I would have if I stepped out of the door. So I didn’t step out. I just stood there gazing out the door. I felt a little guilty on the inside that I wasn’t “there yet” and where I thought I should be. I felt guilty because I didn’t have the faith I thought I should have. I was missing out on God’s good stuff for me because of my insecurities. I stayed in the hallway feeling happy I was there, but disappointed in myself. Suddenly I became very aware of the back of the hallway. It seemed dark but the image was so blurry I did not see what was there. There were no defining images. It was just a dark imagination. I was only aware of its presence behind me, but I couldn’t see anything. I knew that darkness represented the situation and all that had hurt my heart. There was nothing definite to look at because I was at God perspective and he doesn’t see the “faults.”. He was giving me an opportunity to see his perspective. What happened to me and how I hurt really happened, but it was unclear in my vision because it was not truth. For me to turn around and stare at the dark imagination would be for me to turn my back on the door and the beautiful clear sky. The sky was so clear because it was truth. I basically had a choice to make, I could choose to focus on the door and the things he placed outside just for me, or I could turn my back to those things and try to “imagine” the past with all the hurt and offense. Then something amazing happened. God showed me that he did not require me to jump out of the hallway to soar. He never asked me to make a step, I had only assumed it. He showed me the hall itself was flying through the air. He showed me that it is not up to me to do anything to have the right thinking. I didn’t have to jump out of doors in the sky. I just rest there in that happy little hallway and enjoy HIS ride. I was soaring whether I did anything or not. Instantly the negative opinion I had about myself left because I had just assumed I was suppose to do something. I mean a door is there to walk through, I thought. He requires nothing from me. He just wants me to enjoy his ride that he provided. He did all the work. I was already soaring, but if I turned around to the darkness, I wouldn’t know I was.
I’m not gonna lie….I still take a gander at the darkness, but every time I do, God reminds me of that revelation and I turn back around to his view. Since the vision, I have had the song in my head, “I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down. I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down…” I look out the windows, and I sit at the door feeling the wind in my face, and I just enjoy myself. It’s an amazing ride. Everyday I am less aware of the imaginary darkness behind me. Pretty soon, I’ll forget the past altogether because I’m so caught up in his view. I'm soaring!
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