hearing from God

Who’s Got Your Back? By Guest Blogger, Beth Hungerford

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Jana is preparing for a marriage retreat. But she will be back on Monday with a special blog about Wrinkle Release!! Some of Jana’s recent posts are available here.

Enjoy this great story from Beth.

I was on a walk with the Lord when I started seeing snails.  Every few steps I was passing a little snail on the ground. I didn’t really think anything of it until I was almost to the end of the greenway and there was a much bigger snail on the ground.  It caught my attention because the shell was spotted just like the back of those giant slugs you see every now and then.

The last time I was out at the rock when I had stopped fighting and was only pulling on the really loose rocks, I had accidently grabbed one of those huge slugs thinking it was a piece of the rock because it was underneath it.  I don’t get grossed out very easily but that did it for me.

At the time I had heard God telling me to pay attention but I didn’t know what a slug had to do with anything and I had pretty much forgotten about it until I saw this snail.  I was looking at it and basically commenting to the Lord about how it looks just like that slug and He said, “Except that it carries that big heavy shell with it everywhere it goes. Wouldn’t it be easier if it didn’t have one like the slug?”

I said “Yeah but the shell is how it protects itself,” and the Lord responded, “Yes, but the slug was protected too…it  just has to rely on an outside source of protection and was using the rock.”

WOW…I’ve been thinking a lot about that and He’s showing me that’s why I’m fighting so much.  I think I’m protecting myself, but really I’m just making it harder and heavier than it needs to be.

Stop Fighting Part II – by Guest Blogger, Beth Hungerford

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Jana is preparing for a marriage retreat. But she will be back on Monday with a special blog about Wrinkle Release!! Some of Jana’s recent posts are available here.

Enjoy this great story from Beth.

So you would think that after my encounter with the ocean waves I would have learned my lesson about fighting against the Lord. Apparently I am a really slow learner.

About a month later, I went to one of my favorite places to spend time with the Lord…a large rock that hangs out over the river.  I have many conversations with Him while out there picking pieces and sometimes large chunks off of the rock.

This time I was working particularly hard at trying to get off a large piece that was just loose enough to make me think I could get it.  I heard Him again telling me that I was still fighting.

“But I really want to get this piece off.”

“Stop fighting.  You don’t have to work that hard.  Just worry about the really loose ones.”

I wouldn’t listen.  He kept gently repeating Himself and even told me exactly where to go on the rock but I still insisted on trying to get the pieces that just weren’t ready to come off.

I think He finally got tired of me not listening and insisting on fighting so He let me suffer the consequences.

I was looking down at a lot of small cuts and nicks on my hands from where the rock kept breaking off (instead of coming off in chunks like it usually did). The Lord said, “Those hurt didn’t they?”

“Yes,” I said as I went back to pulling on a large piece of stubborn rock.

Then He said, “You know, you’re only getting hurt when you’re fighting.  Just stop fighting.”

“I will just as soon as I get this…”

Right at that moment it gave way or at least part of it did…my hand slipped and my finger got cut deep enough that I now have a scar.

Now fast forward about a week.  I went back to the rock this time fully committed to working where the Lord told me and only pulling on the pieces He gave me permission to pull on.  At one point He said “look where you are.”  I looked down to see that I was stretched out as far as I could over the water and that’s when it clicked.  I had been upset and angry about cutting my finger because I really was going to obey once I had gotten that piece off.  But… had the Lord not stopped me and allowed me to continue while I was still fighting and not listening, I would have been in the river.  He had protected me until I was ready to handle what He had for me.

Stop Fighting – by Guest Blogger, Beth Hungerford

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This past September I went to the Dominican Republic to visit my friend.  My favorite day of the whole trip was the day we went to a secluded beach to swim in the ocean.  We swam out pretty far from shore and just floated up and down with the waves.

However, these were not small waves and I kept finding myself coughing and spitting out salt water after getting smacked in the face.  I got really tired of this really quickly but I just couldn’t seem to do anything about it.

Then I heard the Lord say quite clearly, “Stop fighting.”

“I’m not fighting I’m just trying not to drown,” I responded getting another mouthful of salt water.

“Stop fighting.”

That’s when I started watching the two local boys that were out there with us.  They had lots of experience swimming out in the waves and I realized they just dove straight into them.   I tried this and found that it was much easier than bracing myself or trying to fight them.

Soon I was tired and started swimming toward shore. If you’ve ever done this, you know that you swim and swim but never really get anywhere because the receding waves pull you right back out.

Again I heard the Lord’s voice, “Stop fighting.”

“I’m not!  I’m just trying to get back to shore.”

My way clearly wasn’t working, so again I watched the local boys and learned that the only way to get back in was to swim hard with the incoming waves, but then you just relax and let the waves pull you back a little, repeating the process until you’re all the way in.  It is slow going but you use way less energy when you let the waves do the work and don’t try to fight against them.

At last I was close enough to stand and I immediately tried to run out of the water before the next wave came to overtake me.  I still hadn’t gotten it.  I didn’t even get three steps toward shore before a giant wave picked me off my feet and slammed me into the ground.

“Stop fighting.”

“I didn’t even know I was!”

What I ended up having to do was let the water bring me all the way up on shore and I mean ALL THE WAY.  The waves were so strong that to stand up even when it was little more than ankle deep you would be caught be the next wave before you could get out and you’d get a not so gentle landing on the rocky shore.

When it was all over, I realized the Lord was trying to get me to completely surrender and let Him do all the work.  I really didn’t have to do anything except listen and respond to His voice.

Warrior 101

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I had two different questions last week that had almost the exact same answer. One was from a friend who is experiencing a downpour from the Lord, but identified some fear lurking in the shadows. You know, the “other shoe is about to fall”  fear that the devil loves to torment us with? I hate that.  It can be paralyzing. She asked how to prepare. Was there some class in “Warrior 101?”

As an aside, what if the other shoe did fall?  Is God not the Author of that as well?  Is He not strong enough?

But the other question came from a person who is dealing with a severe illness in his family. He asked what to do. But the answer that flowed out to both of them had more to do with a Who than a What.  Here is my response as related to when my youngest daughter was critically ill for 4 years. I will fill you in on details later.

“I know how tough these days must be.  I have really had to process with the Lord how to respond to you. I learned so much about the Lord, and from the Lord, during this very hard season.

I don’t think I have actually taken the time to write the story out. So I will try to highlight the take aways from that season.

1) God alone is sovereign.  We tend to dismiss things in life: money, health, relationships, circumstances. But He holds all things together, and in Him we move and have our being. This sickness brought that reality home in a whole new way. God had the RIGHT to do whatever He wanted, and would STILL be acknowledged as Good. But also because He is sovereign, He is always working on our behalf.  He is not a distant God; but right here, right now. One of the many intercessors during this season had this word from the Lord for us, and for Charis:  “God is not doing something TO you, he is depositing something IN you.” This journey with Him would be a foundational piece of our story and HER story. That brought us great courage.

God doesn’t waste anything.

2) The doctors are not greater than God. I had to learn to listen to what GOD said rather than what they said.  They were “practicing” medicine. He was the Healer.  Many times they gave her meds for her detriment. Literally.  God would instruct what to listen to and what to ignore. Also, when the Lord told me that He was going to heal Charis, the doctors scoffed.  Literally.  I had to decide who I would stand on. God or man.  It is a tough, tough road.

Clearly, God was right. The docs had her diagnosed as lifelong meds, allergies and food restrictions. Today she walks in restored health.

3) The body is connected to the spirit.  “Confess your sins to one another that you may be healed,” James says. Chuck and I did much inventory of our lives to remove any “authority” we had given the evil one to torment us and Charis. We believe God broke strongholds during this season. I would pray for the home and marriage. That was a root issue in our case, and perhaps yours.

4) I learned how to pray in earnest. I learned out of desperation how to sing songs of deliverance, to bang on the doors of heaven for healing. I grew faith like never before to believe in the God who loved me and my daughter, even when the circumstances did not align with His voice. I was in the Word often, asking for guidance and leading.

5) I began to expect the supernatural. Before this, I heard about it, thought about it, sort of wished for it. Now I HAD to have it. She had to have it. We and the community around us have a stronger testimony that Our God Saves because of what we have seen and heard.

6) I learned to let go. Living with death as a real possibility at times, taught me more than I can write. I became a more grateful person.

7) This is an invitation to intimacy.  It is one thing to know OF God. It is radically different to KNOW Him.  I became firmly convinced that every single thing in our lives, good or bad, is His call to see Him in the middle of it. He wants to walk with us, and will do whatever it takes to get our attention. Whatever it takes. And believe me, He got our attention. Still I can tell you, I wouldn’t trade this season for anything. I am forever changed.

May the Lord Himself be your Comfort, Healer and Strength.”

So Take A Step. . .

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“Nothing is impossible with You
Nothing is impossible.
Nothing is impossible with You,
You hold my world in your hand.

I believe that you’re my healer,
I believe you’re my everything
Jesus you’re all I need.”

This song, Healer by Kari Jobe, is what the Lord woke me up with this morning. I love that. I love Him. I love that I can be running around inside my own head screaming, or sitting in a corner sucking my thumb (figuratively, of course) and He cares enough to encourage and soothe and inspire me.

I don’t know if you have seen the movie, The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), but among many great quotes is one made by the dying priest. They are both serving life imprisonments and nearing completion of an escape tunnel. After a mortal wounding, the priest bequeaths his hidden fortune to Dantes. The pious priest instructs the wrongly imprisoned Edmond Dantes to not waste his pending freedom by committing the crimes he was unjustly serving time for. Bent on revenge, Dantes says he will surely do that very thing.

The priest says to Dantes, “Here is your final lesson – do not commit the crime for which you now serve the sentence. God said, ‘Vengeance is mine’.”

Dantes retorts, ” I don’t believe in God.”

“It doesn’t matter. He believes in you,” the priest said.

Why would God believe in us? Why would He go to such lengths to strengthen and spur us on to good works? There are obvious world needs that demand intervention. But on a more personal level, I think it is a multi-layer answer. When you or I hear His still small voice and respond, He is delighted that we recognize Him.  When you or I recognize Him and attempt something beyond our little world, He is delighted that we acknowledge His power, His presence, His glory. When we acknowledge Him, we see Him more fully, and thus we see us more fully. He wins. We win.

Just now I am reminded of Psalm 147: 10-11

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man;the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

We hope in Him, we trust, depend, expect, desire, stretch, wrestle, and decide on Him.  How can you love that which is never known?  How can you trust that which is never tested? And how can you grow faith if it is never required?

All this to say, we are sending in our $100 deposits for two seats to Zimbabwe. Nothing is impossible with You.

With God, Nothing Is Impossible

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So guess who got a 3 a.m. wake up call? I almost laughed out loud. As I was taking the Lucy puppy-girl out to potty (talking about being glad we have indoor plumbing!) I asked the Lord what He had to say. Immediately, He brought back to mind a song. I realized it had been running through my thoughts before I woke up.

I try to be so tough
But I’m just not strong enough
I can’t do this alone, God I need You to hold on to me
I try to be good enough
But I’m nothing without Your love
Savior, please keep saving me
(from Savior Please, by Josh Wilson)

“What is this all about Lord? What do I need saving from?”  I asked.

And what came in the wee hours and even this morning, is Him flushing out just how scared I am of Him and how much I question His provision. I believe He is good. I believe, know and have experienced His crazy supernatural giving. But here I am standing on the edge of this cliff, again, and I am freaking out.  Am I really going to jump??

I told my friend this circumstance is like Elijah laughing at the false prophets and taunting them, “Pour more water on the altar.”  To reveal the reality of the Living God, he wanted to make the test as hard as possible so that when God  rained down fire and licked up all the water, there was no question about who had the power. (1 King 18-19)

So here I sit, a CD in the making (one bucket of water), a new book brewing (another bucket), and now add a teaching trip to Zimbabwe (big bucket), and a trip to India (whew) – I think my altar is soaked to the bone.

But I confessed to my friend, I’m not sure I have the faith of Elijah.  Yet I cling to what I know. The only thing I can truly stand on is what God showed to Elijah too.  Believing His still small voice. Living in the tension of knowing Him, and still not knowing the outcome. He whispers, Trust Me. “The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Oh God, help my unbelief…

One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
and that you, O Lord, are loving. Palm 62: 11-12

Times with God

/ Jana / 3 Comments

I seem to be having multiple conversations that all direct back to one question: “How do I get to know God better?”

Before I go there, I want to talk about the WHY of getting to know God better. Most of our most broken, hurting, missing, longing places all need the love of God.  We talked about this last night at WGR.  We are the Beloved.  But we must allow ourselves to Be Loved. The more we let that truth soak into our spirits, the more our hearts, minds and lives will be changed.  So to be loved, is to spend time with someone who loves us. God.

Now on the HOW to do this, and there are several possible answers. Not a right answer, but just like with your friends, there are lots of ways to spend time with your Friend. Lover. Father. Husband.

Worship is a powerful way to soak on the truths of God, who He is, what He is like, and who He likes (hint: you). It may involve music, dance, art, nature, reading scripture aloud.  If I had to sum up the word worship it would be to experience the beauty of God with your whole being.

So take music, for example. When I worship with music, I sing, I listen, I think about the words, I move my body to the rhythms.  I encounter God.  Different than being in a bar, which is escape. All this energy is focused on hearing and knowing Him more, better. Same with exploring nature, or  reading scripture. There is an expectation of hearing from God.

The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people. He lives with them. So I sing either out loud or in my heart a lot. I sometimes use CDs, and sometimes I just hum the song that He has got running through my head. There have been times that I have ‘sat’ on a song for about a week. Listening again and again until I believe all that it says.

Another way to get to know God is to read and write. Read your Bible and books that explain the Bible. And write down the prayers and encounters that you have with God. Over time, you begin to see answered prayers, areas that God is changing, and dreams beginning to take shape.  Never underestimate the power of reading the Bible. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” I have scripture everywhere, on my walls, calendars, post its, you name it. It helps me think about what He thinks about more.

Look at the Bible as a love letter, a medicine kit, a mirror, and a Counselor all rolled into one. I read Proverbs and Psalms almost daily, and then hit other books of the Bible as the Spirit leads.  In case you don’t know this, there are 31 Proverbs. So if you read one chapter of Proverbs a day, at the end of the month you will have read them all.  And you will grow in wisdom.

Finally, spend time with Him the way you would a friend. Make a date. Instead of placing a call during drive time, call on Him. Talk as you’re working on something. Just begin the conversation. My favorite times are when I can talk out loud. He shows me the lies I am believing when I can hear myself say them.  Just pursue Him in your flavor. Enjoy the time with Him. Oh yes, if you get a middle of the night wake-up call, get up. He wants to talk to you!

A Note from Laura Jones: New Year’s Revelation

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For most of my life, I’ve avoided New Year’s Resolutions. I hate them. Who needs one more hampster wheel to burn out on, right? I certainly don’t need another way to fail.

However, the Lord’s been up to something new in me.  Since I’ve been in Jana’s class and John Dee’s class, they’ve taught me to ask for New Year’s Revelation: to ask the Lord to reveal Himself to me more, to show me the desires He put my heart, to give me His word over the coming year.

You know what’s amazing? He’ll actually answer.

For example, in 2008, I asked the Lord to give me a new song (Psalm 40:3). I meant metaphorically. All I wanted was a fresh start. But He took me literally! He gave me lyrics to six songs that year, each one verbalizing some of His love He’d been teaching me about. Love that gave me the fresh start I longed for.

In 2009, He pressed on my heart, “Be ready.” Didn’t even have a verse for that one. I had no idea what I was getting ready for. Just a sense that I was to prepare and be watching for what He had next, whatever that was. Sure enough, 2009 has been about weeding out. Setting boundaries. Learning about how He wired me. All things that have prepared me to walk through new doors that He’s opening like working with Women Getting Real and going back to school – things I was not ready for last year!

The fabulous thing about asking for New Year’s Revelation is it takes all the pressure off.  It’s not about performance.  It’s looking at Jesus and listening for His answer.  It’s reaching up to put my hand in His as He leads me through the New Year.

Why don’t we ask Him together? Ask Him to give you more of Himself. Ask Him to show you the desires He put in your heart and His desires for you. Ask Him to give you a word for the year. And as we have this dialog together, post back here when you hear His answer!
 
In His Love,
Laura

Your God Stories: The Gift of a Name

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I love to tell women about how much God loves names. All through the Bible, He gives people names or changes their names. A new identity in Him.  Abram to Abraham. Sari to Sarah. Jacob to Israel. Simon to Peter. Saul to Paul. In Revelation 2:17, God says, “I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” Isaiah talks about it. Ezekiel talks about it. I mean, new names are  everywhere.  And better yet, He still does this. God has given each of us “a new name.”  A pet name between Him and us.  This new name is such a gift from Him. Affirmation of how He sees us.

So I frequently invite women to ask God to reveal their name. “Go ask Him to tell you what your  name is. Look up your name meaning. Watch for Him to tell you again and again until you believe it.”  Here are a couple of girls’ stories.

Jana,

So I went to the website that gave us our name meanings. They didn’t have my name listed. So I just gave up.

Well, God put it on my heart to look again somewhere else. He gave me its meaning: “Princess”!

That’s what he’s been calling me the last couple of months, but I wasn’t sure it was really from Him. I just thought that I would share that. 🙂 God is good.

~Tia

__________________________________________________________

Jana ~

I’ve been meaning to email you since last class, but finally am making time to do it. I just wanted to share a couple things that have been going on with me. I left class last week angry (as you mentioned might happen)! I basically half-a$$ed the exercise, got in my car, and cried the entire way home. I came to the realization that I feel like I don’t have TIME to breakdown. I don’t have TIME to think about all this heavy, emotional stuff. I don’t have TIME to be so completely broken which then makes me feel like I need to fix everything, take time for myself, etc. So instead, I’ll turn my head and be fine =) Right? Because that’s way easier!

There’s so many things I want to share with you – my ‘journey’ on value, being be-loved, recently this notion of affirmation – and I’m aware they all are connected. And I get overwhelmed thinking I need to conquer all of them at the same time since they are all staring me in the face.

I was sharing last night in my small group how I’ve somewhat acknowledged the fact that I don’t want to ‘go there’ with the Lord. I get this picture of someone taking tiny, tiny baby steps towards the ledge – not really wanting to peer over and see what’s on the other side, knowing I could be cheating myself from the beauty and freedom of the view.

For whatever reason, I’ve been meaning to look up the meaning of my name. I know we’ve touched on that a couple times during class, so I finally did it this morning. Wouldn’t you know this is what I found:

Jamie

Meaning: truthful

Verse: “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” – Proverbs 3:3

Which is obviously the same context of scripture we talked about last night! Ah, I thought that was cool =) I also saw another version where they used the words kindness, trust, and mercy interchangeably with love and faithfulness. What website did you use when you looked up our names?

I’m way past my 3-sentence mark =) but wanted to share. Even though sometimes I don’t want to admit it, I know the Lord is working on my heart ever so slowly – or maybe it’s just that I’m ever so slowly starting to turn to Him.


Your God Stories: Just Swallow

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I get so many God stories, stories of how He interrupts our “normal” life with his “supernatural” life, that I decided to start sharing them!

Please don’t think that these stories indicate that someone “has it all together.” Read them to see how God loves speaking our individual languages and how He enjoys being with us.  He is the ultimate pursuer!

Ok, so this was my AMAZING story of the day. I was sitting at work thinking about all of this stuff in my life that sucks, especially being sick.  And Jesus just said to me: Bethany, remember when you were a little girl and your mom would give you cough syrup? It tasted awful so what did you do?  You just held it in your mouth. You would never swallow the stuff.  All you would have to do is swallow and not only would the taste go away but also it would make you well! Bethany, swallow!  If you just swallow all this stuff, (all the bad tasting stuff going on in my life right now: the no boyfriend, the being sick all the time, the money,etc) I will use it to make your heart well! Just swallow!

Isn’t that amazing!!!! I love that! I love how good He is. That is just the coolest metaphor! And it makes so much sense.

So…I don’t feel like it. Because I’m still a little bitter about it, to be honest. But I’m going to swallow, because I want to be well! I hope this makes sense to you, because it speaks volumes to me!!! Anyway, I’m just so excited I had to tell someone. I told this guy here at work and he couldn’t get past the first sentence of “Guess what Jesus just told me!” He just kept saying, “Jesus talks to you?!” Haha.

Ok, Love you,

Bethany