Get A Glimpse

So I got yet another glimpse into myself a few weeks ago....


I was at a conference with a friend, I won’t tell you which one to protect the innocent :)

There were a lot of amazing Godly speakers and praise music so you would have thought I would have been Christ like for the entire event.  Not the case.

There was a photographer there as you would expect during a conference. The photographer was doing her job taking pictures.

I don’t know if you have ever paid attention to that but if you have attention deficit like me you can’t help but notice what others don’t. As she took pictures, many one after the other, you could here the camera click as she was snapping the photos.

After a while it got on my nerves and I said to the woman sitting next to me (you  think I would have learned by now to keep my comments to myself but NOOOOO) “that photographer is so distracting.”
The woman gave a polite smile and went back to listening to the speaker.

There was a break between speakers and I went to get a drink. When I came back the event had started and I was in the back of the room.

At this time the main speaker gets up to share and as she walks across the stage I notice the friend who invited me waving her hand at me to come up to the front where she was sitting.
I thought to myself how sweet she saved me a front row seat and doesn’t want me to miss the amazing testimony that was getting ready to be shared.

I made my way through the sea of people and sat next to my friend. This is where what I call the Holy Spirit hokey pokey comes in.
My friend leans into me and says “the photographer had to leave and the Lord told me to have YOU take the pictures.”
She then mentioned this was the main speaker "so make sure you get some great shots.”
WHAT!!!!! I could here the Holy Spirit say “let’s see what you got.”

Gems I truly cannot make this stuff up.  
First of all it was one of those cameras that you had to self focus, you know the ones with the long lens.
That would have been hard enough but it was also digital so I had to look and see if the pics were clear which would have been kinda OK if I had glasses on and could actually see them.

I was freaking out! I immediacy repented for my former thoughts and asked God to save me. He was kidding right? No.

I now understood why the real photographer was taking so many pictures. The subject was not standing still and of course was talking the whole time so you had to shoot a lot to hopefully get one good picture.
I had become the distracting clicking away camera woman.

This of course got me thinking about how quick we are to judge others when we have no idea what their going through.

Luke 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

It’s so easy to run your mouth about someone else until you’re running in their shoes. I know this isn’t a new teaching, more of a reminder for me that I thought I would share with you.

We have to be careful about even our thoughts. True, I didn’t really say anything mean about this photographer but somewhere in my mind I obviously thought I could do a better job.
Did I mention the first picture I took the lens fell off the camera and hit the floor?

It was a humbling moment and Gems, I’m happy for them.
They keep me real and hopefully from becoming self righteous.

I’m so thankful that when my Father asks me to get a glimpse of what’s inside my head He does it to correct my thinking. He does it so I don’t lose my love walk for my brothers and sisters or more importantly His sons and daughters.

Thank you Jesus for giving me a glimpse into my head and heart and for loving me anyway. Thank you God that you don’t keep the bad pics of me on record because all you see is Jesus. Thank you Holy Spirit for that the first glimpse doesn't have to be the last one.

Butterfly Ballet

Today is my birthday!!!!    I have had the most wonderful day already but what I want to share with you is my morning.

We will have to go back in time for a moment for you to understand how special the following event was.

A long time ago I was telling Jesus that one of the things I miss about not being a part of a couple is the little intimate moments.

For example when two people in love look across a room and make eye contact and smile. When they laugh at the same thing cause it's an inside joke or brought a shared memory. The little touches as you pass by one another or that look that seems to see your very soul and says how much you love each other without using words.

I now I'm a hopeless romantic.

Anyway I was sharing these things with my sweet Jesus and He reminded me how much I love butterflies. He told me that He would show me butterflies in random places and different ways and each time He did, He would be saying He loves me.

Is that romantic or what?

Over the years the Lord has done just that. Whether it be a picture of a butterfly, a T-shirt, or the real thing , Jesus has been consistent. 

One time while visiting Tennessee, my favorite place, I was looking for a hotel for the kids and I to stay at. I decided to pull into one of the many I had passed and hoped it was the right one. As we walked up to the front entrance there was a wooden bench outside the door. Guess what it looked like? You got it, a butterfly bench.

One time I was walking through the woods and butterflies were floating around me and I put out my hand and one landed right on my finger. I just looked up toward the Heavens and said “I love you too Jesus.”

The Lord has used butterflies to help me know I'm making the right decisions like when I was moving to Tampa and the Lord told me we would live in the Ruhe house. 

When I walked in their kitchen they had this huge butterfly artwork on top of the cabinets and as soon as I saw it I felt peace.

OK so you get the picture, back to my morning.

I woke up and made some coffee and decided to drink it on the porch. While I was standing there looking at my beautiful view the Lord has blessed me with something caught my eye. 

 

There in the tall grass I noticed a bunch of butterflies dancing all around as if to say Happy Birthday. I of course said “show off” to my sweet Jesus and thanked Him.

That would have been enough to make my morning, watching them dance about as a group but suddenly something unexpected happened.

One at a time a single butterfly would come to the area of grass that was cut and fly up and down and all around in front of me as if it were performing a solo in this butterfly ballet I was witnessing.

As soon as one went back to the group another would come out. Each one a different color and size. I stood there enamored by this unexpected surprise unfolding in front of me.

The final butterfly was a baby one. It was so small you had to really focus to see it. It flew out and did it's performance before me and the King then unlike the others it landed on the ground as if to take the final bow.

Gems it was incredible!  I know I must have had the biggest smile on my face. 

 

I thanked my sweet Jesus for such an amazing birthday present,

for a sweet intimate moment between us that I will forever cherish.

When I went back inside Jessica came home with a dozen long stem roses. I have never received long stem roses before!

I was so surprised! As I was still taking in the moment I heard the Lord whisper to me “every great performance ends with the Prima Ballerina getting flowers.”

Now you may be saying, man this girl has one vivid imagination. And ya know what I would say "yes I do."

 I have an amazing, vivid, animated, brilliant, colorful, dramatic, dynamic, expressive graphic, spirited imagination and guess who gave it to me?

My sweet Jesus so I wouldn't miss one of His blessings, especially Butterfly Ballets!