Go Johnny Go…and Stirring into Action

As he walked with Cecilia Levine,
Young Johnny had love on his mind.
She was pretty and sweet,
And quite quick on her feet.
So much so, she left him behind.
I have another post nearly completed about our trip to Florida and back. Just haven’t had the ability to get it finished off with pictures. I have the pictures, just missing a little time for resizing and adjusting.

Instead, I will post as briefly as I can about some things God is stirring in me.

A) From Tisra’s blog: LifeTrain Don’t just skim this…really read it…it’s important.

“Am I doing enough? I am at peace about where God has our family in regard to adopting a child. That is not the specific calling He has for us in regard to orphans and we are doing what he has called us to do. (I’m not going to list our efforts…it’s really not anyone’s business but God and the orphans.) What I question is…what about the other issues that press against the glass? How much am I still holding back from a hurting world? Whether it’s money, talent, time or all three…am I seeing the needs as far away, or am I taking ownership of the commission to be present and available for ‘such a time as THIS’ right now and right here?”

B) From Scripture: Psalm 12:2 and 5, Psalm 102:11-12 and 17, Psalm 132:4-5

“They speak vanity, every one, with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.”

“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, sayeth the Lord, I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.”

Am I one who speaks with vanity and a double heart? Do I “puff” or simply blow smoke at the needy and oppressed?

“My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. But thou, O Lord, shalt endure forever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.”

“He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.”

Am I seeking a legacy for my name to endure, or HIS?

“I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, and habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.”

Do I still adhere to this covenant? Do I apply it liberally enough to include the “least of these” from Matthew 25?

C) Church service Wednesday night: Extravagance message by Bryan Jarrett

Is my “all” on the alter? What is my “all?” Where does God want to take me that fear has held me back from?

All of this hit me on the SAME DAY. It was unsettling in some respects, but it was not difficult to bear. (His yoke is easy.) What I found was comfort in the idea that God wants me to be focused and He wouldn’t be bringing these questions to the surface unless He has something in the works. It’s up to me to get on board.

So often I find a song on my lips without any outside prompting. I haven’t heard or sung this song in a very long time but as I was pulling out of the church parking lot on Wednesday night I found myself humming it and sort of shook myself out of my driving mode to figure out what I was singing. I knew that there was a message in it from the Holy Spirit. He was prompting my confession with the following:

“Have Thine own way Lord, Have Thine own way.
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, after Thy will.
While I am waiting, yielded and still.”

Isn’t it marvelous that he wraps it all up with a final word like “still?” It’s what I’ve been studying when I get the chance. Stillness within and stillness without. He is drawing His church to mobilize for Kingdom work and to be immovable against the distractions of the world. Oh the JOY of being HIS!