Hearing God and Hope Lodge

Okay so I have an "Art of Hearing" streams course at church tonight, all day tomorrow and all day saturday. Can I just say that I am total excited about this class. I have been wanting to take this class for like FOREVER (translates to about 5 years). It is a class obvioulsy, about the Art of Hearing God more clearly. I really feel like this is a time for me to try and find some sort of clarity. U know how God speaks to all of us - I think that HE speaks to us in a way that we can Hear and understand - based on who we are - so HE doesn't speak the same way to each person. Like a special way to each person..... like when you disguise your voice 20 different ways to get it just right for every person you are trying to mimic....like I have a voice I do for Mandy and I have a voice I do for John and one for Mary and one for Lucy and one for Rache and one for my boss .....u know what I mean??? When you are telling a story about that person and you do "their" voice with your voice.... okay off a tangent there... in my world we call that train tracking - so from this blog on out - train tracking will be used and not explained - learn it - live it ; )....so I start at 7 sharp - probably 7.12 knowing my pastor ...... and I will be learning a new way - special all my own way on how to hear specifically how God talks to me. And I am also going to be learning the gift of interpretting our dreams. Yes - it is biblical. Don't think so - not so sure - open your bible - you'll find COUNTLESS times that God spoke through dreams to HIS prophets - God never changes does HE? Makes sense. Also I am hoping to go to Hope Lodge next month with one of my most beloved and trusted bff's. We will be feeding cancer patients and just visiting in general with them. My mom's a survivor of breast cancer and I feel so blessed to have her here and 100 percent well. Chemo for 5 years - that's tough - most days are great - but some days not so much... she's a fighter though and she never shows it to anyone else.... only cause I KNOW her and I can feel it....... I just want to give something back. Tell me if you know anything bout Hope Lodge - I have never been and really have butterflies about what to expect.

Back to the blog

So it's a been a week or so since my last blog.... as you all pretty much know we had the funky, nasty, wicked stomach bug that's been going around plus Lucy had walking pneumonia. I am so thankful to report that we are on the mend and Lucy is doing really well. They may even play outside today at school with this 70 degrees in AL we are supposed to have on this Feb. 26th day. Although it's a totally yucky day out at least in B'ham! Work is getting more and more hectic everyday - the closer we get to April 15th - awe - the feel of tax season. It's a "want to pull my hair out, my freakin' head hurts, I want to cry, did I really just say that out loud, feeling accomplished with what I did with my day" kind of feelings..... it's good though - the work day goes by swiftly. My afternoons at home have become filled with ABC flashcards, counting, wrestling in the Thomas train, playing butterflies and tugbuts in the bath tub, eating dinenr at the table, holding hands and "saying grace" like 15 times and then the big tada AMEN finish and then tucking my 2 year old to bed while we decide which movie she will watch while tucked in her polka dots snuggly with her blanky and teddy - wearing her Curious George and Elephants pj's and screaming "I LOVE YOU" at the top of her lungs.....then there are lights out and silence as I close the door to her room. Then it's cuddling on the couch and watching some funny dumb movie or laughing at American Idol (as if we would have the guts to get up there and sing ourselves) - saying OMG her forehead looks so big or I can't BELIEVE she did her hair that way or what in the world are they wearing.... then off to a night of peaceful dreams tucked safely in each other's arms. I have really really become so fond of these total consistently random afternoons that I spend at home doing nothing and everything with my peeps. I also learned that I am indeed smarter than a fifth grader yesterday which was really nice to know.....
So I was talking with God the other day and in the course of my doing the talking it was like a light bulb went off - everything - I mean every single thing that we have in our lives, the enemy has attacked us on - our marriage, our finanaces, our belongings, our jobs, our church, our relationships, our family, our health, our emotions, our literally everything.... and just when I was about to give up - Mind you this was the day we were ALL 3 sick with the virus....I had reached my breaking point - I got a card in the mail from the least likely source - it gave me words of encouragement and hope and a reminder that there really is NO DISTANCE between my Father in Heaven and my prayers.... WOW! - so armed with this light bulb discovery and this new hope from my card in the mail I began to listen to what God was saying. It changed my entire outlook. We stepped out on faith a while back and made the decision to begin walking in our destiny, giftings, callings, and mantle from God.... the enemy has done nothing but try and discourage and destroy us..... then I found this verse - which actually turned out to be my "life birth proverb..... It's Proverbs 4:23 and this is what it says...... this is actually 4:23-27 (it was all relevant to the one verse - Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
That is my life verse - that... for those that really know me - u r probably laughing as I did when I read this. That's so like God.

Seeing what Jeremiah saw

So I just keep reading these verses over and over and over again - wondering what I am missing. The Father hasn't released it in my spirit yet. Maybe it's just the awe that God watches over HIS word to make CERTAIN that it does come forth. Tell me what you see.......I will come back to this post if there is anything else that I see. I do see that there is a confirmation of what Jeremiah sees and a translation between God and Jeremiah of the things that Jeremiah sees. This is just awesome also the sheer fact that God has a plan before we were formed.

Jeremiah 1
1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah 4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew [a] you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
11 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.
12 The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching [b] to see that my word is fulfilled."
13 The word of the LORD came to me again: "What do you see?" "I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north," I answered.
14 The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD. "Their kings will come and set up their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah.
16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made.
17 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

An idea about a book named .........

So I had this really heavy conversation with my mom a few months ago and it has really stayed with me. She had been in bed late that particular morning and half way between sleep and being awake she heard God tell her "Everyone has a story" and then she saw a book - on the cover of the Book the title "My story" by none other than my mom. So her idea is that right now we are definitely in a time of being heard and a time of sharing our story (and/or testimony - which ever you prefer). So I have been mulling the idea over and over in my mind. I have a really awesome testimony to share - but everytime I sit down to write I think - does anyone really want to hear mandy' story. Is it possible that if I wrote and published a book - anyone would pay money to read it (besides my friends and family)? So I pray for inspiration and the "where to start" ...... I LOVE to read and I LOVE to write even more.... here I find myself - half way between an idea and a hard place - asleep and awake - thinking about a writing the book of my life - a book named......

My 1st blog - a blog about blogging

So this is my first blog and I am most definitely new to this whole blogging thing outside of myspace and facebook. So I have been reading all of these fascinating blogs by people I know and even people I don't know. So I guessed that since blogging is all the rage - there must be something to it. So that got me thinking - that's all we really want in life... we all just want to be heard and to be understood and known by those we love. So I will catalog my thoughts, our escapades, maybe some writings, some spiritual thoughts and secrets, and just general family stuff.