Light Detector

I love when the Lord randomly talks to me using visual aids.

I was with my new boss Melissa, an amazing woman I might add, and we were at a lighting company she does business with. The place had such cool display rooms but one caught my attention right away. It was a room filled with chandeliers that were barely lit. I love chandeliers so I went into the room wondering why it was so dark.

As I entered all the lights in the room slowly got brighter and brighter. As if my presence some how made the lights engage, it was magical. When they were all lit it was so beautiful.

The Holy Spirit said “this is what it should be like with believers. We should bring light into a dark world.”

Light should begin just because the presence of the Lord has entered.

For example, one time I went with some friends to eat and we were sitting at the bar waiting for a table. A man walked up and starting talking to us. He then did the strangest thing, he put his back to me and started telling a joke to my friends. He looked over his shoulder as he started and said to me “you won't like this joke.”

He didn't know any of us yet “something” told him I wouldn't appreciate his joke. I think that something was the presence of the Lord.

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Some times we do nothing but show up, other times our actions cause the light.

Another visual.

I was in the ladies room and a woman walked to the sink the same time as I did. We were both washing our hands, she then turned to the paper towel dispenser to dry her hands. 

She stood there for a few seconds waving her hands underneath the dispenser waiting for a paper towel to come down.

She looked at me and I smiled and said I think your going to have to pull the towel out yourself.
She obviously thought it was one of those automatic ones. We both laughed and I again thought about our being the light. Sometimes we have to apply ourselves and not just wait for something to happen.

The next story is another example of doing something to cause light for someone in darkness.

My daughter and I were at the Sam's Club Saturday doing a bake sale to help raise money for missions. 

That in itself is funny because I don't bake. I showed up with a huge baking dish and the only thing in it was a paper towel. I figured I would buy something from Sam's to fill it but thank God other people did bake and there were plenty of yummy things to sell.
There were 4 shifts and I was on the second shift. I knew my daughter of course but the rest of the people volunteering I was meeting for the first time. 
While we were there a young man showed up on a bicycle who apparently had been drinking. He started off talking with my daughter then I spent an hour or so listening to his story and sharing the love of God with him.

At the end of our conversation he asked if I was going to church that night and I initially said no and asked why. Sometimes the Holy Spirit has to hit me with a 2 x 4.  

 My new friend asked if I would meet him at church that evening and I of course said yes. I also told him if he stood me up I would kick his butt (probably not "light" talk.)

Later that evening I went to church and waited outside about 40 minutes for him but he didn't come. I was disappointed but I knew I said some things that were hard to hear. I figured he was either processing or passed out.

Either way I prayed for him over the weekend and hoped I had shed some light into his world.

My son Anthony leads a class at his home on Sunday nights and was going to be late getting home so he asked if I could go to his house to let the group in. As they came in I recognized one of the women from the bake sale. When she saw me her face lit up and she seemed so excited to see me. She said to her husband “that's her, I can't believe that's her!”

I thought she was pointing me out because she couldn't believe I showed up to the bake sale with an empty pan but that wasn't it.

She told me Sunday morning her husband was volunteering at the Connect 2 station which is the information center for new people at the church. A man walked up to him and said “ I need to find Amanda and her mother. I can't remember her name but I have to find her.” The volunteer explained there are a couple thousand people that go to Grace and there are multiple services so he had no idea who Amanda or her mother were.

The visitor explained that he promised this woman (me) that he would meet her at church but something came up and he didn't make it. He wanted to make sure I knew he didn't stand me up. His urgency may or may not have had something to do with the butt kicking :)

The volunteer apologized again that he couldn't help and then my new friend said “I met her at a back sale.” The volunteer said “a bake sale! Wait a minute my wife was at a bake sale.” Only God....

He got his wife and sure enough they recognized each other. He explained to her what he told her husband about not being able to meet me and really wanted me to know he didn't stand me up. She told him she didn't know my last name but would be happy to take a note and give it to me at the next months mission meeting. He said that was too far away, he wanted me to know now, but gave her a note and made her promise to give it to me.

She had no idea Anthony was my son and she would see me the very next day. She and her husband made some motion and were part of the light process.

Gems I think if we had a spiritual camera and took a a spiritual picture this is what we should see.

The family of God lighting up a dark world.  Being light detectors the Holy Spirit can use to turn people onto Jesus.

Lamp Unto My Feet

In the last jewel "you can't get there from here" we were packing  and waiting for our move destination to be revealed. And I once again had to rely on my favorite verse.

  This is not my favorite verse because I read it and it seemed nice but because I learned to hold onto it for dear life when fear was running rapid and medication was not an option.

I’ll give you a little history using one of the many times the Lord used this verse to guide my path.

A few years back the Holy Spirit told me to go to Tennessee, not just Tennessee but Johnson City TN. I had never been to TN. and had no idea if there was a Johnson City.  I had to look on a map and sure enough there is. As if God needed a geography lesson.

The Holy Spirit used a series of events to show me Johnson City but the lamp unto my feet confirmation was when a friend, who was on a mission trip in Africa, and I had a very similar dream. The only difference was at the end of her dream she heard Johnson City. She had no idea what that meant but I did. It was my confirmed travel destination.

A few nights before my adventure I went before the Lord asking if it was Him speaking to me or me having a delusional moment and perhaps needing some type of therapy.

This was when the Lord took me to my Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet. And a light to my path.

I prayed for that light and guidance then God impressed on my heart the name Jonathon.

I was unemployed at the time and had no idea how I would get to Tennessee. My theory was and is if God makes the plan He will provide the provision. I searched on line to find out how much an airline ticket would cost, a hotel as I have never been to Johnson City or TN for that matter and of course car rental. About 2 days later I got a check in the mail to cover the entire trip and even enough to feed me :)

I was pretty nervous as I don’t like to fly and I have no sense of direction in towns I know never less towns I have never even heard of.  A friend dropped me off at the airport, drove off without turning back leaving me standing there shaking in my boots.

As I sat in the airport waiting for my flight I opened a book I brought to read hoping to calm my nerves. To my surprise and delight on the very first page was my verse.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet. And a light to my path.

I knew God was putting light on the unknown path.
This verse showed up all four days I was away in the most unusual places. It’s too long to tell the whole story but I do want to tell you I found this quaint little town outside Johnson City and decided to explore. I parked my car and walked down the streets enjoying the old buildings and cool weather. I came upon an antique shop in what appeared to be someones home that caught my eye.

I’m not an antique shopper but felt like the Holy Spirit said to go in. I walked up to the entrance where a sign hung on the door saying "ring the bell." I felt a bit like Dorothy standing outside the entrance to OZ wondering what to expect. 
I rang the bell and a man who appeared to be the owner opened the door.  We gave the standard head nod and smile to each other and I heard the Lord say “introduce yourself” so I did. 
His name was Johnathon!! I was able to share the love of God with him and pray with him. The Lamp had lead me straight from Florida to Tennessee to Jonathon and the light was shone upon us both.  I was in awe of God's faithfulness when we trust Him.

Through out my life when God has asked me to do something outside my comfort zone He has been consistent in giving me my life verse.

Back to the recent move. I told my apartment complex I was moving a month ahead of time and “thought” I was moving in with a friend. I thought wrong. The Lord shut the door and 3 weeks before we had to be out of our apartment I had no idea where I was going. 

Gems I had to start walking in faith down a dark path trusting God would light the way.

I then did the only thing I knew to do, PRAY.  My daughters and I gathered on my bed and we asked God to light the path. 
When we finished praying Amanda went on Craig’s list and found an unbelievable deal on an apartment in a private home. It was such a great deal I immediately had visions dance through my head of what it must look like. I thought for sure it must be a crack house as it was too good a deal. 

I called, spoke to the owner and off we went to check it out.

As soon as we turned into the subdivision I knew we were following the lighted path and sure enough it was a perfect place for us. We moved in over the weekend to an adorable apartment, small but quaint. We say words like quaint when we mean really small but I don't want to complain.

I was pretty exhausted from all the packing and unpacking and rested at my kitchen table to pray for a minute. I shared with my sweet Jesus that I was tired, physically and spiritually and looked forward to some rest time with Him. A few minutes later I grabbed another box and opened the cabinet above the refrigerator to put some things away. My hand hit an object and when I pulled it out it was a Bible. 
It had been laying opened for some time and it was opened to Jeremiah 6. I grabbed my Bible to look up the scripture and in my Bible I had Jeremiah 6:16 highlighted. This is what the Lord said:
“Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.

I knew God was telling me that as long as I keep walking in the Godly way I would find rest for my soul. You walk in the Godly way by allowing God’s word to be a lamp to your feet and a light to show you the path to walk on.

I looked in the front of the Bible to see if there was a name of who it belonged to.  
Gems what I found literally put a smile on my face. There on the front page printed into the paper itself was my life verse.

There was my final confirmation. I knew for sure we were in the right place.

I have already seen God connecting some dots since we have been here and I’m looking forward to some rest time with Him.  I know my path is always lit even when things are hard to see for me. It's at these time we have to remember that He is holding our feet in the palm of his Hands.

Gems we need to trust God because He will always be that lamp to our feet and light to our path.