A Normal Day in My Life 2024

Smelling coffee, birds singing just outside, here comes God’s mercy streaming in with the morning light. My heart races waking up to His smile. It’s a good morning.

Front deck overlooking the lake, sipping coffee with Jesus. Words in red penetrate my porous soul. Gentle Spirit speaks and changes me to yet another glory. A humming bird zips by my head and hovers for a second. Refreshed and energized, I walk back into the house.

Jay drinks sweet tea as we discuss the Spirit Words given to us this morning. Apparently, we both read the same Word. We stroll around the lake, praying, while birds and beasts flit and scurry before us. The placid lake gives us a wink as we return.

Phone rings, Lisa wants to know if we could get coffee, Starbucks, Robinhood, 10 am? Sure.

Starbucks is humming this morning. Lattes, coffee, frappes, the line is long. Lisa and I chat; someone says hello. Why it’s Matt and Tim front of us.

We take our warm beverages out to the patio. A lady with a poorly fitting prosthetic leg tries to squeeze through the door, Lisa runs to open it for her.

“Thank you,” she says, eyes cast downward. I feel Jesus tugging and join Lisa at the door.

“Jesus has a beautiful day planned for you. Are you ready for some excitement?”

She cracks a smile, looks up at me and then down at her leg. “Sweetie, what kind of exciting things do you think I could actually get into?”

Lisa and I look at each other, suddenly the humming stops, all is quiet. We look deeply into her eyes. Matt and Tim slowly stand at their seats.

Gently, taking her hand, I say, “In the name of Jesus…” She starts crying… “Rise up from your languish, be healed…” She shakes, her hands warm… “and whole!”

Matt and Tim push their chairs back, racing for the catch as she crumples; the prosthetic slides off. Faces pressed against the glass, patrons gasp. Plastic prosthetic lays along side her new pink leg.

She gazes at her new skin and wiggles her toes. Laughing and tears streaming, “Thank you, thank you Jesus.”

iPhones are popping pics. People pour out of the venue. Starbucks hums with questions.

“My daughter has MS, could you…”

“I have migraines all the time…”

“Could He…” “Would He…”

Starbucks is humming. Healings, deliverances, salvations, the line is long. Two other Jesus followers join us. Over and over I hear and say, “In the name of Jesus!”

Three hours later, six original believers have become 32 believers. Starbucks is humming Hallelujahs. People connect, five different churches are represented and have new visitors lined up for Sunday services. I have new friends; Agnes has a new leg and new friends. Drinks on the house, Love overflows out of the venue as these new believers flit and scurry to share their God stories all over Winston.

Goodbyes. I hug Lisa tightly, our eyes moist with the presence and power of God. Glass door gives me a wink as it closes after me.

Home again. I share the God stories with Jay. Like gentle waters, God’s mercy streams into our home as we float praises to the a living powerful Jesus.

Preparing supper, I reflect on recent adventures. Tuesday, Yet another friend shuddered under the power while receiving his prayer language, youth prayer night when the fire department rushed to the rescue and were themselves rescued by God’s power, the grocery store giveaway, and just yesterday comforting a grieving friend. Was God’s Name made famous this week? Yes. Yes it was.

Pale evening sun sets over the placid lake. A goodnight wink and I’m off to bed. My heart rests in God’s love. It was a good morning.

Wilson Creek

This is freedom

Water.
White, foaming,
Terrifying, tumbling
Over hardest rock,
Breaking upon ancient stone altars.

Die to live

River.
Icy, clear,
Secretly slipping
Along crooked paths,
Gurgling around hardest hearts.

Live to move

Stone.
Granite, hard,
Quietly cracking
Beneath the living stream,
Changed by washing water

Moved to freedom

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Ruthless Trust

I love vulnerable and real posts, but like David’s, end up remembering God has our best interests at heart. This post is that post.

hannahriggin's avatarWardrobe Doors

I quit trusting God a long time ago.

I didn’t do it intentionally, but distrust seemed to come in swiftly and pull me further and further under like quicksand.

I’d have these “end of my rope moments” where I would explode to God, telling him that if he didn’t come through or at least talk to me a little, I swore I was done. I’d finish my rant, hear nothing, sit in the silence, and feel a little less heavy but mostly defeated. Disappointment started setting in because “Oh my God no matter what I do, I can’t get His attention” and anger would set in because it seemed as if He knew I wasn’t going anywhere, but chose to remain silent anyway.

Where was the God who loved me furiously and would have bankrupted Heaven all over again just to walk through life with me? Not here. Sitting on…

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Curiosity Killed the Cat

Curiosity Killed the Cat.

Thankfully I’m not a cat.

I can’t just read things. I automatically ponder. Why did a person write, does it apply to me, is this true, didn’t so-and-so say this too? I guess it’s because I’m curious.

For instance, I just read something Rick Joyner posted.
“Nothing happens for those who sit and dream. If we are to accomplish our purpose, we must learn how to start moving and then keep moving.” Rick Joyner

(Lucky you, you’re about to go on the thrilling roller-coaster ride, “PJ’s Brain.”)

So, I thought, that’s funny, didn’t I just have a chit chat with a friend about the difference between dreams and vision? Hmm… I need to stop sitting and… Keep moving forward… Disney said that. Let me look it up on Goodreads.com
“Around here, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” Walt Disney

God said that too… Where is it, oh yeah…
…but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. (Philippians 3:13-14 AMP)
…Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7 AMP)

Curiosity? That’s not in the Bible. But I’m curious, what does the word mean. Well, hello dictionary.com app, I love you…
curious – kyoo r-ee-uh s
1. eager to learn or know; inquisitive.

Oh, nvm, the whole Word of God BEGS us to be curious. I just read that this morning in Psalm 119…
Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) …who seek, inquire for and of Him and crave Him with the whole heart. (Psalm 119:2 AMP)
And…
I am Your servant; give me understanding (discernment and comprehension), that I may know (discern and be familiar with the character of) Your testimonies. (Psalm 119:125 AMP)
And…
Your hands have made me, cunningly fashioned and established me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. (Psalm 119:73 AMP)

So yeah it’s all over the Word, curiosity rocks!

I hope this blog didn’t seem too tumultuary…
Word of the day
Tumultuary – adjective.
confused; disorderly; haphazard

Oh for the Joy

100 Things. That’s all I had to come up with, 100 goals I want to accomplish before this life is over.
Who knew I had so many? Who knew I had so few? I may never fill in 100.
I admit it’s rather overwhelming to see all 66 goals written down. Which one comes first?

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I dialed Hebrews 12 this morning and verse 2 called me back…
…Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 NIV)

The Joy set before Him. His ultimate goal, me fully alive with Him, brought Him great joy. He walked the streets of Egypt, Galilee, Samaria and Jerusalem thinking of me. He healed many, set the captives free and taught the crowds keeping me in mind. He endured betrayal, punishment and the cross believing I was worth it all. And he was rewarded, with a throne and his ultimate prize, my heart. We are one.

So the question I have for myself is, which of those goals brings me great joy? Which one of these listed would I actually give blood for?
Now they are narrowed down from 66 to 10 with only two common themes within them. These goals are some of the milestones along my journey to fulfill my joy…

If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. (John 15:10-11 ASV)

Onomatopoeia

I adore words. Big words, little words, words that sound like rocks…?! nvm

In the cool of the mornings I like to sit on my back deck and hang out with Jesus. Most of the time the sounds of the forest call out to me and share His love.

Intrigued by the sounds this morning, I tried to capture them in words. What was that crazy word that is a word that sounds like what it is?…. Oh yeah, the coolest word ever – onomatopoeia – tada!

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Jumbo juicy raindrop – plop
Charming cherry cardinal – trill
Passive perching squirrel – chirrup
Whispering willow leaves – swish

Just to make sure I got that word right, I looked it up on the fount of all wisdom, the internet. The definition got me stuck in a thought.

Onomatopoeia means more than I expected: making or creating names. I remember reading a couple of stories about people who did just that.

On the other hand, words that sound like real-life sounds are called echomimetic. Those words are imitations or echos of sound.

You know, Christians are stuck in echomimetic mode. Yup, we copy the past, each other, the music, the experiences, the jargon… Face it we are copycats. Not much new going on here, kind of an echo of past glories without the original Glory.

But God is still in onomatopoeia mode. He calls those things that be not as if they are. He makes all things new. He created the world with creative words and gave Adam the commission to create names for all living things. He used creative methods for healing, delivering and teaching. Not once did He copy his previous method.

I want to live an onomatopoeia life. Start each project with fresh creative eyes, as if it had never been done before. Create an atmosphere of hope and love with my words. The only constant i need is Jesus.

Oh, BTW, did you know there is an onomatopoeia dictionary? Really, there is http://www.writtensound.com
Aren’t you glad you read to the end?

Quiet on the Set

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I love adventure movies. I prefer them to chick flicks any day. Who doesn’t like a good adventure? Globe trotting Heroes, creepy villains, epic story lines, mysterious occurrences, mass mayhem and death, clueless bystanders, exciting chase scenes, crazy cinematography, and of course a pot of gold at the end (or the lost ark.)

I believe we love adventure movies because we were created to live our lives as an adventure. Instead we’ve been tricked into living vicariously through Indiana Jones, while safely eating popcorn.

Everything about God and His story screams adventure. But you already know all that. Pick any person in the Bible… Adventure. John Huss, Charlemagne, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther (both of them), Smith Wigglesworth, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera… Adventure.

Lately, I’ve decided to see my life as an adventure. Woah, that totally changed my perspective. It has been awesome just hanging out with Jesus and watching Him work through me and despite me.

But right now I’m not thinking about all those exploits. I’m thinking about the in-betweens. The parts that never make it to the big screen. Waiting for set changes, waiting for make-up and wardrobe, waiting for others to complete their scenes… Waiting, waiting, waiting.

The adventure was moving right along when someone yelled, “Cut! Reset, back to 1.” Again?! We have to do that whole scene over again?! Or worse, waiting for the extras to get it straight before you even walk on the scene. Waiting for the adventure to get rolling again is the hardest part.

So here I sit in my director’s chair, munching on popcorn, missing the thrill of the chase.  Suppose I’ll take this time to go over the script again. I guess the waiting is an adventure in itself.

Quiet on the set, filming resumes in 3, 2, 1… Action!

New Thing

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Rumbling in my spirit
Hunger
Food can not satisfy
Drink will not quench

Rumbling
Awake O Sleepers
Feel the rhythm
Cadence calls

“I can hear the rhythm
of the Lion of the tribe of Judah
He’s doing a new thing
So we’re singing a new song”*

I tire of old wine skins
Stretched and wrinkled
I am like bottled-up wine
New wine skins ready to burst

Rumbling in my spirit
It’s coming
The new thing
Cadence calls

“I can hear the rhythm
of the Lion of the tribe of Judah
He’s doing a new thing
So we’re singing a new song”*

Do you hear it too?

And His Name is made famous again!

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” (Mark 2:22 NIV)

*lyrics by Misty Edwards, “People Get Ready”

Bloodwor/k/d

blood

Bloodwork(d)

Yesterday, the doctor needed some bloodwork for me so he sent me off to the very nice technician to draw blood.  She asked me which arm I wanted to get the blood from.  That was polite, but I don’t like making decisions.  Finally, I said, “It doesn’t matter to me, there is blood in both arms.”  She chuckled – so nice that I started her day with a smile.

8 vials of blood later, I was headed home, when I felt the Lord remind me that no matter what scripture I read, it had the blood in it.  Old Testament, New Testament, Gospels, letters, history, poetry, prophetic, it didn’t matter.  The Living Word is full of the story of the Blood sacrifice for my sins.

So the next time, I can’t decide what to study, I’ll just randomly open the Book and ask Him to show me the Blood.  I’ll just let the Living Word do His work.

2 Timothy 3:16 Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), 17So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.