♫ Thru the Fog - Pamela Martin. Listen @cdbaby

Another song I am learning....

Learning the song Control on Guitar

I love this song! I am still learning it on guitar :) The words to the song remind me that if I believe Jesus loves me so much that He gave His life for me ... why should it be difficult to give Him all of my life? To give Him control? " Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! " I John 3:1 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life- is not of the Father but is of the world." I John 2:15,16 "Although it seems safe and logical to be in charge of your life, being in charge becomes a heavy, lonely responsibility. Your Father graciously offers to take your life, protect you, strengthen you, and comfort you on your journey. You need not fear relinquishment , for it leads to freedom, security, and the real you." -Cynthian Heald, "A Woman's Journey to the Heart of God"

Dreaming Vividly

I have always been a vivid dreamer...anyone else like that? I laid down for a short nap before supper and I just had the most amazing dream! Sometimes my dreams are so real!

So here is the story for your enjoyment...:)

I was in a large arena I have never been too. It wasn't fancy...just circular in shape. There were all these horses performing a horse show. (No, I haven't been watching the Equestrian games, or ever been to the Equestrian Center- although I would like to go now LOL).

As i was walking out I passed by one of the riders leading his horse out of the arena through a door the other horses had gone through. He said, "Do you want to try it?"

I am not a horse rider, but I would like to learn how . I said, "Sure". He helped me into the saddle. The horse was very tall and cream colored with a soft white mane that fell to the right side of his neck. I couldn't get my feet in the stirrups well before his trainer started leading him around the arena . The horse walked so gently that it didn't matter that I didn't have my foot in the stirrups; I didn't fall off. At one point the trainer said some foreign word that sounded like "souffer flocker". The horse leaped up into the air and I threw my arms around the horse's neck because I thought for sure I would fall off. The horse kept leaping, up and up and up...at least 20 feet into the air! Then he started his descent.

"I don't know how to stay on," I whispered in the horse's ear, feeling silly talking to a horse. (But in my dreams I am aware it is a dream so I thought he might talk back :) ) He just nodded his head once and I clung to him and he landed back in the arena . The landing was so soft....almost cloudlike...no stirring of dust when his hooves hit the ground...no jarring.

"You are an amazing horse!" I told him. He shook his head "yes" once more LOL! Then I looked around for his trainer but he had left.

"I don't know how to get down," I told the horse.

He nodded and just started walking towards the door that all the other horses had left through. But he walked past it to a different door.

"Ummm...all your horse friends didn't go through this door," i told him as he used his nose to push the fire bar on the door and leave the arena.

We were outside and it was night. The moon was big and bright and beautiful and thousands of stars were twinkling. It was a beautiful night.

The horse started running but again I didn't fall off. It was like being part of the horse.

The wind was blowing through my hair and I just hugged the horse's neck. He didn't even smell like a horse. Then he leaped again...even higher. The feeling of flying through the air was incredible! As we started down I saw he was headed towards a big oak tree.

"I'm afraid I will fall and crash into that tree," I said into his ear. He nodded his head and again gently landed like a cloud right before he reached the tree.

"You are so smart!" I told him. He kind of pranced around at that, like it made him happy.

"Don't you think you should get back to your owner though?" He nodded yes and then with a few more leaps over prickly spots in the terrain, and soft landings we were outside the arena again.

The door didn't have a fire bar to get in and I still did not know how to dismount. But the door did have one of those big silver buttons that open the door for handicapped people. He took his velvet nose and pushed the button and just walked right in and up to his trainer and another younger guy who was the one that actually took care of the horse. He helped me down and I apologized for taking the horse outside but explained that I had no control.

The helper guy said, "Oh, Hans always takes care of people."

"Hans is the horse's name?" I asked as I petted Hans on the head.

"Yes," he said. "Hans is the owner's name too."

I started telling him about the amazing leaps and landings and the helper guy said, "He is what we call in Arabia a 'cloud-stepper'. He can do things like that."

"Wow!" I replied. "How much does a horse like this cost?"

"About four million dollars," he answered.

Then I woke up. I would love to have a horse like that! I love dreaming :) Hope you enjoyed that! I should write a story about Hans!

The photo above is similar to what Hans looked like in my dream...only taller and broader.

And I did look up vivid dreaming which actually is a "real" thing. Dependent upon many factors. Particularly stress...which I have had a good bit of throughout my life and recently as well. So I think it is pretty cool that as a stress reliever God made my brain to be able to know I am dreaming and yet have such a wonderful, relaxing real dream!

And I looked up "Hans" and "cloudstepper" on Google....couldn't really find anything about cloudstepper. But found a very interesting article about a horse named Hans that lived some time ago and no one really knows what happened to him. It is about a very smart horse and was fascinating so if you like horses....you might want to check out this link. Clever Hans

Today I heard the whisper of God in an afternoon nap, an amazing dream and a story about a very intelligent horse. God is the creator of all things....rest (which I need), dreams (which He uses sometimes to speak to people and sometimes apparently to be a stress reliever) and horses (He made them so smart!).

Out of the Way

     Do you know how it feels to try to do something out of your comfort zone? 

• Learning a new skill
• Overcoming a fear
• Going through something physically difficult or something emotionally baffling
• Making the right decision although it is the hardest way

All of these can make me feel like I am floundering in deep water with nothing to hold on to.

There is encouragement that God brought up in His Word to me in the past few days.  

Read these words.  They come from the book of Hebrews 13:20,21.

"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,  the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, thru Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever."

You skimmed them didn't you?  :)  It's okay.  But this time think about each phrase as it relates to the things you are dealing with right now in your life....
Things that you think you can't do
Things that you think you can't say
Things that you think you will not make it through

Now...
Who are we talking about here?  The "God of peace".  Peace has a way of fleeing the scene when our circumstances seem overwhelming.  Danger is said to cause a "fight or flight" response.  When we are fighting...we aren't experiencing peace.  We also are not experiencing peace when we are running away. 
Standing in the way...running away...both of these do not produce peace.
But what if we just got out  of the way?  Out of the way for the God of peace to come do what only He can do.  Ahh...now there is peace. 

My sister once told me that when she went on a mission trip to a scary part of the world, she wasn't afraid because (not only did she have God) but God sent a marine to be a part of the mission trip.  :)
Yeah, I can see that.  Going into a scary situation with someone trained to deal with danger would ease my fears too!
Or how many of us have said, "Come with me" to a friend because we were nervous about doing something on our own?  Whether it be "come with me" to a doctor's appointment, or "come with me" to meet new people at a get-together...whatever it is...having someone alongside you can help to ease your fight or flight instinct.

What we...what I  have to remember is that the Creator of the universe, the God of peace is with me every minute of every day and every night.  And you know what?  He has some pretty impressive credentials, let me tell you.

Right after telling me who the Scripture tells me what...what He did.

He brought Jesus back from the dead.  This was real.  Not some Hollywood movie.
Jesus...alive again.  What power is that!  More than a Marine!

And who is this Jesus?  He is the Son of God.  He is our Lord.  He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep.
A shepherd loves his sheep so much that He takes care of them, leads them to pastures to graze, protects them from dangers of wolves or falling off cliffs, and carries them when they cannot go any further on their own. 

Does this sound like someone you would want by your side in hard times?  I think so!

So what is God doing?  He is equipping me and you with EVERYTHING good that we will need to do His will.  Do you see that?  No need to feel inadequate.  No need to feel scared.  No need to be worried. 

Because God is equipping us.
Man, so many times I try to equip myself.  I hear the call and I start packing.  I'm going to need this and that and a little of this and a whole lot of that.  And by the time I hit the road I am burdened and weary with all of my equipping.  But God carries that load for us, telling us that He will  equip us to do His will. 

What He calls you to, He will walk you through.  (I didn't make that up;  I heard it somewhere :) )

And while He is equipping me, I realize that He is the best leader there is.  Because He knows what I need to do what it is I will be doing.  He knows if I need solitude to study and prepare.  He knows if I need friends around who care.  He knows if I need courage, if I need forgiveness, if I need discipline.  HE KNOWS...and isn't that the kind of person you want to have around when things get tough?  Someone who knows what they are doing.

I have several friends who are nurses.  They may get tired of me asking them questions (although they never say so) but I ask because I know that they know what is needed in certain situations whereas I do not.  I have friends who are good at telling the truth in love and I appreciate them because of their courage to do this.  I have friends who are good at encouragement...just in the nick of time. 

God knows ALL our needs which is part of why He is the God of peace. 

And as He gives each of us what is needed then He works in us what is pleasing to Him.  The only way He does this is through Jesus Christ and His blood of the eternal covenant.  Without Jesus' righteousness covering us, none of us can please Him.  None of us can do this on our own. 

And Jesus time after time comes saying, "Let me carry it.  Cast your cares on me.  Get out of the way and let Me show you what is needed."

Which is why we give Him the much deserved glory to His Name forever and ever.

So if you feel inadequate, go to the God of peace and find what you need in Him.
If you feel afraid, go to the God of peace and find courage in Him.
If you do not know what to do, go to the God who knows everything and find rest in Him.
If you are nervous, remember that our confidence is in the Lord.

Isaiah 30:15 says, "In returning and rest , you shall be saved;  In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." 

So just get out of God's way and let Him work through you ....and then watch what happens and give the glory to the Lord!!!

Today I heard the whisper of the Lord in the whisper of inadequacy.

Homegrown Crystals

It is our first day of fourth grade at American Freedom Academy! It has started wonderfully with our new Sonlight curriculum!! What a blessing! I can tell I will want more time to do this curriculum than what I have so I am praying for a resolution to that and trusting the Lord will work that out. :) As a mom of a ten year old boy who loves science, we have to start out with a cool science experiment , of course! :) So today, at his request, we are going to make crystals based on this wonderful website's instructions. https://abeautifulmess.com/2014/09/how-to-grown-your-crystals.html We had a special breakfast for first day of eggs and pancakes and now are going to recycle our eggshells into our experiment :) First step, washing out the eggshells and painting a layer of glue inside of the shells and then sprinkling with alum powder.