there came a moment .....

Father, Son, Spirit ...
complete
perfect circle
perfect unity

all in one

and yet
there came a moment when these three in one
took a risk
and invited in a 14 year old girl
in all her littleness
to become pregnant with the plans of God

and there comes a moment
from time to time
when we
each one
in all our littleness
are invited in
to become pregnant with the plans of God

to birth the plans of Father, Son and Spirit
on this earth
in this soil

in the fullness of time

a state of abandonment

In the state of abandonment the only rule is the duty of the present moment.  In this the soul is light as a feather, liquid as water, simple as a child, active as a ball in receiving and following all the inspirations of grace.  Such souls have no more consistence and rigidity than molten metal.  As this takes any form according to the mould into which it is poured, so those souls are pliant and easily receptive of any form that God chooses to give them.  In a word, their disposition resembles the atmosphere, which is affected by every breeze; or water which flows into any shaped vessel excatly filling every crevice.  They are before God like a perfectly woven fabric with a clear surface; and neither think nor seek to know what God will be pleased to trace thereon; because they have confidence in Him, they abandon themselves to Him and entirely absorbed by their duty they think not of themselves nor of what may be necessary for them nor of how to obtain it. The more assiduously do they apply themselves to their little work, so simple, so hidden, so secret and outwardly contemptible, the more does God embroider and embellish it with brilliat colours.  On the surface of this simple canvas of love and obedience His hand traces the most beautiful design, the most delicate and intricate pattern, the most divine figures.

It is true that a canvas simply and blindly given up to the work of the pencil only feels its movement at each moment,  Each blow of the hammer on the chisel can only produce one cruel mark at a time, and the stone struck be repeated blows cannot know, nor see the form produced by them.  It only feels that it is being diminished, filed, cut, and altered by the chisel.  And a stone that is destined to become a crucifix or a statue without knowing it, if it were asked “What is happening to you?” would reply if it could speak, “Do not ask me, I only know one thing and that is to remain immovable in the hands of my master, to love him and to endure all that he inflicts upon me.  As for the end for which I am destined it is his business to understand how it is to be accomplished; I am as ignorant of what he is doing as of what I am destined to become; all I know is that his work is the best and the most perfect that could be and I receive each blow of the chisel as the most excellent thing that could happen to me, although truth to tell each blow in my opinion causes the idea of ruin, destruction, disfigurement.  But that is not my affair, content with the present moment, I think of nothing but my duty and I endure the work of this clever master without knowing or occupying myself about it.”

community and the banquet

Luke speaks about a banquet, and the invitation to the banquet
and how although originally accepting the invitation to attend, when the meal was ready, everyone found an excuse and did not show up …. the excuses were based upon people, position and possessions …….
and I am struck by the similarities between community and the banquet ..
it is the desire of the that Lord we live in community … he invites us to do so …
just as food and drink are served at a banquet, food and drink that feed the body,
there is food and drink that feed the soul to be found in community …
community living can be messy and it can be hard … it certainly necessitates replacing the I with we …
and yet, when there is a need within the community, too often no one shows up …
the invitation to live in community has been accepted …...but the excuses arise when it is time to come together, to sit at the same table, whether it be a table of suffering, or loss, or pain or ……
and the excuses interestingly are the same …
people, position and possessions ……

the art of listening

I have noted over the past few years how few people listen …..
another’s story is precious, part of the fabric of their lives,
and when they choose to share it, the whole or simply some moments,
care must be taken to listen, to be fully present while listening, 
eyes focussed on the story teller, not looking elsewhere, over their shoulder, around the room …
so important not to interject moments of our own story or cast doubt or judgement or attempt to wrap the teller in a cloak of shame ….. why has it become so hard to keep our hearts open and our mouths firmly closed while another speaks …. there is an art to listening that often is missing that we need to rediscover so as to honor one another’s story …...

a boy on a hillside

nothing wasted

there is something so amazing about the very familiar story of the loaves and fishes ....

after the offering, the breaking, the feeding, Jesus Himself orders that all the left overs, the fragments, be gathered up " so nothing is wasted" .....

if we offer our all to Jesus and allow His breaking, He is aware of and cares for our "fragments"  ...
the pieces of us that we consider left overs, of no use ..... He wishes them to be gathered up ..
"so nothing is wasted" .....

even our left overs can feed someone else .....

and that happens when we share our story of redemption ...

I have never seen that before .... what an absolutely tender truth ...

"so nothing is wasted" .....

those parts of us that we let fall to the ground Jesus wishes to be gathered up
"so nothing is wasted"

I am so moved by this ......

the more I learn about this man Jesus, the more humbled and astounded I am ....
and that alone breaks me ....

vision from 2004

One day while in prayer, I saw myself being taken up to heaven.  Before me I saw a huge house with many rooms.  I knew instantly this was Father’s house.  I could feel the love of Father drawing me in, so I began to run as fast as I could to enter the house.  As I entered, the Lord walked me through many rooms…. He quietly  invited me to follow Him into the most beautiful room in the whole house -the intimacy room.  It was absolutely extravagant and beautiful.  Upon entering this room I was overwhelmed with love and wanted to stay there forever,  In the Spirit I could hear others in all the different rooms in the house.  Some were studying books in the library ...others were in the wine cellar.  I was somewhat surprised that everyone wasn’t in the intimacy room since it was the most beautiful room in the house.  As I was admiring the intimacy chamber, I noticed a little wooden hatch door on the floor adjacent to the bed.  It seemed really odd to me because it wasn’t fancy and hardly seemed to fit with the rest of the room.  I asked the Lord why it was there and He told me it led down into another room in the house,  I asked Him why he would put this door so close to the most beautiful thing in the whole room, the bed.  He responded “I keep it here because down there is where I spend most of my time.”. Instantly my curiosity was stirred so I asked what was down there.  He said it was the “weeping room”.  Although it hardly sounded like a room I wanted to be in, there was a cry in my heart that said if that is where the Lord spends His time, then that is where I want to go.  I asked Him if I could go down there with Him and He responded “very few choose to go down there.  It is not extravagant like this room.  It is lonely, not comfortable and you have to get very low to fit through the door.”. I told Him that I didn’t care what the conditions would be like.  I just really wanted to be wherever He was.  So we opened the little hatch door and began to slowly climb down a dark staircase until we came to the tiny room.  I had to get on my knees to fit through the door because it was so small.  As we entered the room it was very simple.  All it consisted of was a small wooden chair.  One of the walls had a small window in it.  The Lord took His seat on the chair and turned His face to look out the window.  Instantly I became aware of why this room is called the weeping room.  As you look out the window you could see and hear every single cry coming from people on earth. You could see every single act of injustice all at the same time.  Every starving child crying out to God, every woman being raped, every moan of the rejected.  You could hear every prayer , every cry all at the same time.  The Lord sat in His chair and watched and heard it all.  At once I was overwhelmed with intercession and began to weep.  I wept for hours. I wept for those who were hurting but even more I was undone by this beautiful King who would choose to spend His time in this place.  This King who paid such attention to every cry and who was so full of compassion.  As I sat and wept with the Lord I began to feel His heart and all my selfish ambition began to fade away.  While we were in that place I noticed there was another door in the weeping room.  I asked the Lord what was behind that door and He told me that was where the strategy room was.  As he said those words instantly in my spirit I. knew in that room divine strategy for end time revival was available.  Although the door was still closed I recognized that wisdom and revelation were in there.  Heavenly blueprints were laid out to see the fulfilment of His kingdom coming to earth from that room. It was the hidden room that everyone searches for.  Everyone longs to have divine strategy.  I immediately asked if I could go in there and the Lord soberly told me that I  didn’t fit through the door.  I instantly understood that I had to spend time in the weeping room.  As I began to really apprehend the heart of God for the poor and the broken, then issues of my soulish nature would be stripped away until I would become small enough to fit through the door.  At that moment everything became clear. This was the way to access divine strategy.  From the place of intimacy God invites us to a deeper level - He beckons us into the weeping room - a place where we choose to see what He sees and feel what He feels.  And as we spend  time getting the heart of God things of our flesh begin to be stripped away until we are small enough to fit through the door that leads to the strategy room.   I had this encounter over two years ago but believe God is now moving many in the church from a place of intimacy into weeping.  This will lead them into the strategy room.   In actuality you never have to leave the intimacy room you just discover the deeper levels.  Many have surrendered themselves to the weeping room and extravagantly pursued the heart of God for the broken, they are now being invited into the strategy room.

I had another encounter a little over a year ago in which I heard a loud voice say “it’s time!!” and in the spirit I saw the strategy door swing open. God is inviting us into divine strategy that will release a global harvest of souls and establish the revelation of His kingdom on earth through overcoming saints.  I believe that as we enter the strategy room we will be compelled and moved by what we have seen and felt in the weeping room.  I have a sense that some have gone before us into the strategy room.  Unfortunately most quickly forgot what the strategy was for and used it to build their own kingdom.  (Haggai 1:3-7)

God is in the process of raising up a whole company of believers who are repulsed at the idea of building their own kingdom.  This company will have their hearts truly branded with passion and compassion.  These arethe ones that God is looking to release into the strategy room.

It’s time!