Welcome to the Wild Goose Chase

Welcome to the Wild Goose Chase! (By Mark Batterson)

When I first saw this book it caught my attention because it reminded me of something that I used to do every year at work when I worked at the golf course. We would literally chase geese, wild geese. It wouldn’t be just for fun, but it was part of a tag and relocate program with the DNR. Every year it was such an adventure. We would always build a fenced in area, or the pen, the day before.  It would have been nice to go to the pen the next morning at sunrise and find that the geese had co-operated and were waiting for us in the pen. But they never happened. We had to chase them into the pen. Sometimes we had to chase them from the other side of the golf course. The whole day wasn’t about doing regular work. The whole day was about chasing the geese. Chase them we did, with reckless abandon I might add. (P.S. We would do this during a time of year that geese do not fly.)

So after seeing this title I found myself wondering if my experience of chasing actual wild geese would be anything like what Mark Batterson was writing about. So far in the first chapter the answer is yes and no. If you have ever chased a goose you will know that they do not run in a straight line and can turn on a dime! Sometimes it seems that they travel in a pointless direction. Chasing God (the Holy Spirit) is somewhat similar. He never runs in a straight line does He? Sometimes keeping up with Him can be difficult and we often find ourselves wondering if He even knows where He is going. But if we follow Him through every twist and turn, trusting in His seemingly wanderings, we will find that He has lead us on just the right path.

Unlike my goose experience of trying to pen the geese, chasing God is different. We often don’t see it differently though. We usually find ourselves wondering where He is taking us? I am sure that we all have thought “What is His purpose for me? What is the destination that He has in mind for me?”  Here is where we often lose sight of our Wild Goose. We look too far ahead of Him. We try to figure out where He is going and how He is going to get there. The real trick here is to focus on each step of the Goose, not His destination! If we follow Him closely, where ever He takes us we will find that each day we are at the destination that He wants us to be, chasing Him. It’s a moment by moment, step by step chase. It’s about a journey and an adventure. Not about a destination.

Are you ready to chase with reckless abandon? If we choose to chase with a passionate pursuit we will find that the adventure is never boring, but sometimes a little dangerous.

So let’s go Chase a Goose together! Honk Honk!

Don't wear fig leaves

Have you ever had those times where you can't find God. You look and look, but can't seem to find Him anywhere. Times like that can be so frustrating. Often times I get in that place. I can look in nature for Him, and not find Him. I turn on the worship music really loud, that helps but I still can't find Him. I read His word looking for Him there, and it is dry time of just words on a page. I pray and then wake up after a good nap not really finding Him there either. Those times are frustrating and almost depressing.

The other day I visited Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis. In that story I read how all was well in the Garden of Eden. They actually walked with God in the cool of the day. Talk about being tight with God! They had the best of what God had to offer them. Until the unspeakable happened. In one simple act of disobedience they changed the course of history as we know it. Not only did the act of eating the forbidden fruit mess things up for us, it messed things up for them as well. As I read the story and discovered how they reacted to their sin, I found myself. Not only did they cover themselves up with fig leaves trying to hide from God, but each other as well. Then they actually tried to hide in the undergrowth of the Garden.

I do the same thing. I hide when I sin. Deep down I long for His presence, actually I hunger for it! But at the same time I hide from God. Then I also hide from those people in my life that I love. I sure don't want them to see me in all my ugliness. We often create a barrier that won't allow others to see us as God created us, and we become self centered. This is not good for anyone.

I wear fig leaves. Do you wear them too? I think that is why there are times when we search for God in all the places where we have always found Him and still come up empty. It isn't that He is missing, it is that we are trying to hide from Him. We often cover our eyes with fig leaves, like a hat with a really big floppy brim. We see glimpses of Him, but for the most part, not all of Him. The undergrowth that we hide in obstructs our view of Him. How silly it seems to think that we can hide from God. Deep down we know that He can see all things, and yet we try to hide anyway.

What if Adam and Eve didn't hide from God after they sinned and ate that juicy piece of fruit? What if they stood there with the pit still in their hands and cried out to God for forgiveness? What if we were to choose to do the same thing each time we sin? Putting on the fig leaves is a choice that we make too. Which choice will you make? I dare you to stand naked before God. I bet you will find Him then.

The tale of Two veils

While reading Tozer the other day I read something that never really struck me before, the thought of there being TWO veils. It really had me scratching my head to grasp this and then seeking God for help to understand deeper.

We all know the story about on that first Good Friday the veil, or really BIG curtain in the temple that separated man from the inner Temple where God's presence lived, was torn in two. (Mark 15:38) Upon the death of Christ it was torn in two from the TOP to the BOTTOM! If you think about that fact alone it is really cool! It was God's way of saying "No more separation between Myself and mankind. The penalty has been paid, sin has been absolved and now man can freely come to Me." So many people miss or skip over this fact of how the curtain was torn. I don't know why they skip this fact, but it bugs me bad each and every time! It's like telling half of a story.

Ok, so the veil that had for centuries separated man from God was no longer a barrier! So, now here we are left thinking, what the heck? If this is true then why can't I feel His presence? Why can't I hear His voice like some people claim to be able to do? According to Tozer, it is because of that second veil that we never hear about. Only this veil doesn't cover the Inner Temple entrance, but it covers our hearts! Our hearts are veiled off from God! Because He wants us to love Him by choice, this is our responsibility to seek His help in. (Sometimes I wish He wasn't such a gentleman. ☺) Don't get me wrong, it is nothing that we alone can do in our own strength, but rather we need to cooperate with the working of the Holy Spirit to remove this veil.

So what kind of thread is it made of? The obvious things first, un-repented sin. That is a no brainer right? But as you pray about what your veil is made of you might find other things being brought to mind. Things like regrets and shame of past sins, forgiveness, lack of trust in God, weak faith and business in the things of this world...the list can go on and on. It is amazing to listen to the things that the Holy Spirit reveals! So be still and listen. He will only deal with one thread at a time in this endeavor, and that is a good thing!

So as you take time to spend with God asking for Him to show you the different threads that your veil contains, allow Him to work you over and help you deal with the pain that may be involved as He begins to pull out the threads of your veil. As you work with Him, you will begin to feel His presence on a deeper level, hear the whispers of His still small voice much clearer and see Him in even the smallest things. .

Will you begin to allow Him to tear away at your veil one thread at a time? Such wonderful reward awaits you if you chose to cooperate.

Lord here I am yet again today seeking your help with this thick veil that separates my heart from You. When I step back and look at my veil I get over whelmed. Show me each strand that you wish to work on one at a time. I give you permission to pull and tug and begin the work of ripping it out, and I will do my best to cooperate with you. Thank you Lord for your help, your love and your tenderness as you work with me to tear away at  this veil that stands between us. In Jesus name, Amen.

Don't Scrimp!

Summer is for flowers! I love flowers! When I plant in the spring I try to make it shine forth God's glory and the beauty He created. This year my flowers were not cutting it. I used cheap dirt for my planters. The flowers acted like it; they weren't happy at all. Finally I got frustrated enough to start over. After all my flowers didn't show the beauty that God created them to have. So off to the flower stand I went. I had great ideas, but not the money behind those ideas. So I thought I would skimp. I bought some new dirt for my planters but the flowers were just too expensive for my idea. Then I saw it! I beautiful hanging basket! Full of flowers in brilliant vibrant colors! "What a testament to God," I said to myself. Instead of buying individual flowers to create my own planters from scratch, I thought I could save....aka scrimp.....money and buy that basket and simply divide it up into my planters. Then I could divide it up and spread that beauty around my porch. So I went to work. It was like a bowl of spaghetti! The branches were all intertwined and twisted. Carefully I worked to untwist, uncurl and free each individual plant. Carefully I planted them into their new forever homes. As the day went on I noticed that all was not well. They were wilting! Broken branches were dying before my eyes. By the end of the day they sure didn't display any glory to God at all. They looked more like they were hit by the curse of a fallen Eden. I waited a day hoping for a miracle. Picking away at what was dying or dead, praying that there would be some life left someplace. A resemblance of His glory had to be still in there! It was hopeless. They looked like dried flowers instead of what I had envisioned.

That is when God spoke to my heart. "What did you expect?" He asked. "If you truly wanted it to be for my glory, why did you scrimp? Don't you know that I would have provided money for it?" Then this verse hit me between the eyes, "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, [which is our hearts] which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house."

Often times I neglect taking care of my spiritual life in pursuit of other things. Even good things that are meant to give Him the glory often get in the way of my daily gathering of manna from His word.
So I spent some time in His Word and let Him set me straight on a few things, then ran off to the flower stand yet again. I came home with some individual plants and replanted my flower boxes. Yeah it cost me in the long run, but He is good for it.

Have you taken care of His house yet today? I highly recommend it before He blows away all your efforts for the day.

What's your Isaac?

So I've been reading The Pursuit of God by Tozer. It's an old classic but always is full of gems that never fade! Recently I read a section that spoke about Abraham and Isaac. It really made me think about my own life. Have you ever thought about Abraham and Isaac? Really thought about that whole story. If you aren't familiar with the story, here is the condensed version.

There was this rich old man, who just had a son (Isaac) with his old wife. A total miracle even by today's standards. Yeah they were that old. This son was promised to him by God and held the very future of the Israelites within him. So all is cool and Abraham loved this son, a bit too much. Ok, it must have been way to much because God asked him to do the unthinkable. God asked him to sacrifice Isaac to Him. Gulp. Not to do disrespect to the story, but God saved the day just in the nick of time! He provided a ram to be the sacrifice just mere seconds before Isaacs death.

So here comes my wow moment.  Abraham had everything. He was very rich by mans standards, but yet he possessed nothing. Everything he owned belonged to God.  God sat on the throne of his heart until Isaac came along and eventually took that place from God. How about you? Look deep inside at your heart. Who or what is perched on that throne in your heart? Is it a person? Things? Yourself? A pet? Money? What do you feel like you own?

The Bible tells us that God is a jealous God. He wants that place in our hearts. Look at what happened to Abraham. Isaac was on that throne and God wanted it back. What really is on your throne? Are you willing to surrender it up to God or would you like to have God take you up on that mountain where He asks you to sacrifice those things so He can once again take up that place in your heart that is truly His? When we cling to that thing that sits upon that throne in our hearts, we often put ourselves in needless pain, as God peals away our fingers from what we grasp way to tightly. Open your hand up today and offer that thing back to God. Give Him that seat of honor in your heart. He is the only one who fits it to a T.

What does your Isaac look like? Are you willing to loosen your grip or are you willing for God to ask for it as a sacrifice?

Don't eat the QUAIL!

(Before you read this look up Numbers 11 in your Bible to refresh yourself about quail and the Israelites.)

I've been doing a study called No Other Gods by Kelly Minter. There is a segment in this study about the Israelites, manna and quail. As I studied this section I realized God was speaking directly to me! Yeah, one of those 2x4s that Christians talk about.

The correlations are so tight been their attitude and mine it was scary. They weren't happy because they were bored with the manna. They wanted other provisions because they didn't think God was enough. They longed for the times of plenty.During their grumbling they forgot that they were slaves when they thought they were happiest.

Here comes the correlations between them and me. I grumbled to God. I was bored. I felt we needed more money than what He was providing. I wanted stuff to fill my life. Depending on God's provisions for our needs was simply too hard. I thought that if I went to work things would only get better. I think that God simply got tired of my begging and grumbling. So he tossed up His hands and said, "Fine! My manna isn't enough? Here have some quail!"

Just like how the Israelites were really not thrilled with the over abundance of quail, neither was I with my own "quail". God gave me more than what I wanted! I became a slave. That job robed me of my time with Him. Time with my spouse and myself vanished into thin air. It drained me of all energy and strength. Although this job didn't actually kill me, it caused many physical issues and literal pain.

I am not saying that all women shouldn't work! Just this one! Back in 1997 when I quit my job at the golf course I did so because God flat out asked me to trust Him with what I had so that He could give me even more. (And what a blessing He provided after I followed Him and stopped working.) God never changes and His promises NEVER fade! What was I thinking when I doubted Him this time?

Moral of the story....always look for the quail feathers! If you see them, turn around and walk away as fast as you can and cling to the only one who can truly provide! The manna giver!

The "re-boot"

After loosing my job after only 8 weeks of being there, I continually ask myself, "Why did HE allow me to have it in the first place?" Actually many people have wondered this on my behalf too. So I've been scratching my head a lot. Trying to learn what must be a lesson, somewhere in this.

I looked at how busy my life had become before working. Running here and there, doing this and that. Often I found that my Bible was closed more often than open. Then came the job (my quail if you will) I thought I was busy before! But yet I could feel and see Him everyday through my busyness and exhaustion. Now though, my Bible was zipped shut to keep the dust out. I was starving and I knew it!

Then the day happened. The pain of being fired was unbearable. I was completely broken. The next day I found myself with nothing to do. Often I joke about my life simply being "re-booted" like you would re-boot a computer. A fresh start lay ahead of me with nothing but time to figure it out.

In my quietness I resisted God. I didn't read or pray, but yet I could feel Him carry me. To where, I really didn't care.

He has been speaking to me lately. At first He would continually whisper, "Be still." Now He has placed me in the green pasture to rest beside the quiet waters. Just the two of us. Just me and Jesus! He has been wooing me, speaking and calling me to draw closer to Him. This is what He is saying, "O how I delight in you! For no other reason than because of the love we share. Nestle in close and let me minister to your hurt and pain. Listen closely as I whisper songs of my love and of rejoicing in you. Allow my words to become your calm and healing."

That time at work had nothing to do with me! It as all about Him! He needed my attention, desired my devotion to Him and wanted to spend time with me. He had been calling and I wasn't answering! His plan worked because here I sit. Just relaxing in His arms, listing to His singing, feeling His love bring my heart healing and comfort.

My response to Him: O how you do indeed satisfy me as with the richest of foods! There is nothing more that I want. Nothing more that I need. I will praise you all day long from the depths of my soul. You are all that I need.

I have been "re-booted" and I am so glad!

Well Duh

Today in church John 17 was read. It is the chapter about the vine and the branches. Then it hit me, "Well duh! What happens when a branch is no longer attached to the vine, it withers!" That is me as of lately. I feel withered and fruitless. I feel dry, crinkled and almost dead. Today I totally get it! It is because I haven't been connected to Jesus very much lately. My prayer life is in need of attention, my Bible study has been suffering greatly (although I do have 3 studies on my desk to work on each day, there they sit.) my time of praise and worship is non-existent! So why do I feel fruitless and dead? Well duh.

It's the vine stupid!  You know the "snickers satisfies" commercials? They are so wrong! There is only one thing that satisfies! Connecting with the vine. Not just a come closer to it, but connecting to it.

I think I will go hit a study now and get some connections started.

The Pathway

Ps 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. …with your right hand you save me.

Ps 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and staff they comfort me.

Is 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; for I AM the Lord your God and Savior.

When I read these verses in order I thought, “Ok, He will be there when I am in trouble,” Gee that’s nice. But wait, He will preserve my life? How often do I really wonder about that! Often actually. Preservation is a bit more than walking with me in times of trouble.

He will also walk through the valley of the shadow of death with me. Shadows are dark; valley’s can darker. Especially when it is a spiritual valley, those can be really dark and lonely. (Those spiritual valleys can really take their toll on me!) Both shadows and valley’s can be unnerving to say the least. But then, toss that DEATH word in there. YIKES. Even as believer that can leave a bad taste in our mouths. But as a follower of Christ, I am not alone in this life regardless of how dark each day seems to be. He is the light in my darkness. He is the arrows of direction on my pathway of each day. He is the hope that drowns out all “what ifs” in my day. The shadow of the valley holds nothing against me! I can gain comfort through each dark moment because I know that HE is there with me!

As I read through the verses on Isaiah I can see Him even more clearly. We always hear that “God has a plan for your life.” Yep that makes yesterday make more sense, and it gives us hope for tomorrow. Just yesterday it hit me, well duh. If His plan is good for yesterday and tomorrow, then TODAY I must be living in His plan as well. That realization takes the “ouch” out of the day for me. Getting back to Isaiah, God talks about “WHEN YOU”…; so He does know about my today! As I thought about this a little longer and listened to the Holy Spirit I could sense Him saying, “Your journey will lead you on pathways you wouldn’t have chosen for yourself. BUT you must walk through where this path leads IF you trust in me and follow me. I know where this pathway ends.”

This pathway may be scary. This pathway may be dark and full of evil on both sides. But none the less, I will walk it today and every day by choice because I know that I am not alone.

A boat full of water!

Is your boat full of water?

Recently there have been days that I have felt like my “boat” is filling up with water. When I look at our situation from a worldly view I find that is when I panic and allow my heart to fill with fear. It seems that when I panic, more water comes into my boat. Even when others tend to panic for us it seems that water tends to get in our boat too. There are times (for all of us) when life is just too much to handle! There is just too much water coming into the boat and all the bailing in the world doesn’t seem to help. Drowning seems certain; all hope seems gone.

   Life is always getting us wet in one way or another.  Life is tough especially when the storm is filling your boat full of water and it seems that there is no escape! How can we prevent life’s storms from overwhelming us with water? Often we don't have a choice but we could try to staying out of the boat or even stay tied to the dock  the safest choice. But to do that would be to choose not to live out of fear of what could happen.  Living a life of fear is no way to live. When we give in and continue to live our lives in fear, the water just keep filling the boat even when we think we are playing it safe tied to the dock!

When we first found ourselves in this "boat" I did a lot of panicking. Then God kept telling me time and time again that I don't need to be afraid of what life holds before us. “Be still, and know that I am God” He tells us in Psalm 46:10. We can run to Him, talk to Him, read His word looking for help. He tells us to do these things because He promises to be there for us. He tells us He is ready to help when we come to Him. When we look to and focus on Him and not the storms that surround us, there is nothing that can cause our hearts to fear. Nothing! He tells us in Psalms 46 that He is our refuge, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we should not fear. He doesn’t say that we won’t get wet, but that he will keep us safe in His arms. Trembling in fear isn’t what He wants us to do. “The Lord is mightier than the noise of rushing waters. He is mightier than the waves of the sea.” Psalm 93:11.  Next time I begin to see my boat filling up with water from the surrounding storm, won’t panic in fear. I will run to Him instead. He is a safe place, present with me all the time to help in times of trouble. He is ready and waiting for me to come and trust in Him to save me. I will trust Him with the water in my boat today. How about you?

Scripture reading: Psalm 46:1-3, 10-11; 93:3-4

 

The end or the beginning

The Journey

January 28^th, 2013

This is the beginning of The Journey that Jerry and I find ourselves on. First here is a brief history regarding this journey.  Jerry’s job has been shaky for years. We knew that the company wouldn’t last forever, but we always figured he would "sink with the ship". But, things don’t always end the way you think. Before I get into detail there I need to go back a month before he lost his job. I have always toyed with the idea of going back to work just to have something to do. One day a friend came up to me and asked if I would like to apply for a full time job working for a doctor’s office. I prayed hard about it, like down on my face kind of praying, and applied for the job. My attitude was always “Lord, only if this is ok with you. If not, I will walk away content.” In the past the Lord would always stop any attempt for me to work. He has His reasons and I am fine with that. So as the days passed by, and “face-time” with God took place on a daily basis, one interview happened, then a second, then the invitation to work full time presented its self. They were actually looking for someone who knew nothing about working in a doctor’s office. I was a perfect fit! Well, God had not said “No” this time, so Jerry and I both saw this as a gift from God. I was told that I would be making $14 an hour with insurance after 90 days. This was too good to be true! We figured that God was up to something, but we didn’t know what. So carefully we put my checks in the savings and began to build up a “nest egg”.

      One month into my job I come home to find that Jerry’s boss in his “wisdom” (I use that word in jest) laid Jerry off. As of immediately after 22 years with the company, Jerry was now unemployed. That day for me wasn’t a great day either. I was taken into the “office” and told that they had hoped that I was up to speed by now….aka perfect enough for "The Office Queen", but things were shaky. I left that meeting knowing that I needed to hang in there and keep trying albeit a little bit harder. There were so many things that I just couldn’t get.  To make a long story short, two weeks after that meeting, I was called into the office again and simply told, “You are not a good fit here. Turn in your key and your badge and go home.” Yep they fired me. I won’t go into great detail here but there are many reasons why I think this happened from an earthly perspective. I am clueless as to what happened in the Heavenly realm that day. So I came home that day from work not only crushed, or feeling like road kill wondering what just hit me, to be greeted by my wonderful unemployed husband who just held me as I cried. There we stood. A home, 4 pets and living expenses with no income now what so ever. Unemployment payments will make the house payment and leave us with $600 for everything else that needs to be paid. Praise God that we do have a small savings that will keep us a float. And with God’s economy plan, I know that He can multiply what we have to be more than enough! And so this journey begins.

 

So time since the above has pasted quickly. I am back to my relaxed life style of just floating through my day. Soon though, I realized that I was not content. Nothing sounded like fun but sleeping. It wasn't long before I realized that I needed to DIVE into God's word. I needed to find His promises and cling to them like never before. Of course, I couldn't find my little book on His promises. In my search for that little book I did find something that I had written for my daughter while she was in Army Boot Camp. Back when I had that nice little promise book, I went through and picked out some promises and would write her a letter, or a daily devotion if you will. Anyway, I found that notebook that contained the original writings! Thrill! So, I am going to use those writings and those promises to adjust to fit my heart needs this time.

 

I hope you enjoy walking this with us. I hope that you find hope in the promises that I share, and may our struggles and His provisions work around to fit you somehow.  Follow if you want. Share if you want. Encourage if you feel lead.

 

This is all about the Journey that He has placed us on, and I am glad that you will walk a few steps with us from time to time.