When God Speaks At Twilight ...

When He speaks you better listen.  In the twilight hours hearing God whisper He so loves me.  Hearing and recognizing He has done it. It is not for me to try to figure out how. He did it.  My job is to give Him praise for it!

My life is getting ready to change.  Changing for the better because He said so. What is amazing to me is the end of a journey. Realizing what the bible says is also sure: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 KJV

When the Lord speaks. He tells me that I am about to close a chapter. The confidence in His voice and joy that I am experiencing makes my somewhat weary heart pound with anticipation.  Chapters close others open.  I have the faith to believe this is so.  I trust God enough to know this is so.  All things are possible.

He is the Alpha and the Omega!  He is exactly who He says he is….the beginning and the end.  Yes, my life is getting ready to change.  Some of what I have been praying for, hoping for and believing for is about to come to pass and I do believe it is going to blow my mind! It is going to be bigger and more fantastic than my little brain can comprehend.  Yes, we serve a big God.

Confirmation on what was whispered of things to come.  The time for preparation has ended and we will see the birthing of great ministries flowing from the doors of our churches. Successful businesses among all of the true worshipers will come to be.  The anointing is thick and the oil is raining down. We have waited and cried and have yet praised Him in spite of all of our tears.  The Lord sees.

 

The time has come for us to lift ourselves up from that prostrate position and step into what He has promised.  The time has come for us all to walk in the newness.  Celebrate His victory over all of our ills and missteps and misfortunes. We already know that He is able to do exceeding and abundantly above all we can ever ask or think.  He has equipped us and the harvest is ripe.

I love twilight hours like this when the Lord speaks.

The Lord speaks as the moon rises.

March 6. 2014

(c) Debi Mason, Oakland, CA, USA  

The Rains….

The rains came.  

Bringing newness to dry land, 

Cleansing and purifying the very air we breathe.  

These are the times of refreshing.  

From deep within the sap of winter dormant trees stir, 

Trumpeting a new world a comin'. 

Tender buds,

New fruit. 

Stagnant stale winds gone  

Sounds of wailing sorrows and discontent. 

The rains came 

Bringing gentleness to my soul.

This is a glorious time to be. 

Yes, it's His faithfulness. 

(c) Debi Mason, 2014, USA 

Taking it a step further in 2014

I am excited about moving into a new year and I hope that you are as well.  This year is brimming with delightful, expected and unexpected, hoped for possibilities. The time of preparation has ended with the toll of the bells ushering in 2014.  We are ready. We are energized to the point where we can feel the spark of the Holy Ghost in us, around and through us. Confirmation after confirmation has come forth is the last few months and God has given us an insider’s view of what is to be in the coming year…. The blessings in our finances and yes, our double portion is primed and ready for us to grab it.  Our families will see abundant good health and will share in our prosperity because each of us individually will be stronger and healthier than we have been in years.  Our ministries will flourish because God through His deep abiding love has prepared us for such a time as this.  Now is the time to hear the voice of the Master as he directs our very footsteps. Left foot, right foot…to do, to make, to build to win. To do the work that is pleasing to God using our talents to make ready ourselves and others for His soon return. We vow to build and strengthen the kingdom through our commitment and dedication to win souls for Christ.

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Joshua 1:9 KJV

Walk in it. Rest in it. Be in it to win it. Amen?  Amen.

https://www.facebook.com/debimason1950

Engagement Shawl by Scott Burdick

That Secret Place

We are not perfect.  No matter how hard we try to be the simple fact is we are just not perfect.  The bible says, “we all fall short of the glory of God”.  We all have issues, problems, phobias, mess and confusion and it matters not that we are baptized in Jesus name.  We simply are not perfect. We are but human.

Often we are so much in a hurry to accomplish great things for the Lord.  We are the champions of Kingdom building.  We go to school, we train, we prepare.  We suit up and show up for ministry opportunity after ministry opportunity.  We have our laptops and tablets fully charged and a cell phone surgically attached to our ear.  We are busy, busy, busy. We are ready to effect great things for the saints in our churches, on the streets of our neighborhoods, in our communities, cities and towns.  We are holding up the blood stained banner and we are convinced that we have the power to move mountains. After all is it not written that if He be for us who can be against us? We are equipped and we have put on the whole armor of God. All of it on the surface of our ‘outer’ man while our inner man suffers and cries and hurts.

We all have that secret place that nobody knows anything about. That place in the dark where we are naked and fully exposed. That place that holds all of our secrets.  Those secrets that come in many sizes, shapes and descriptions.  Secrets about our sexuality. Secrets about how you really feel about your messed up self. That secret place of loneliness, un-lovedness, unworthiness.  The secret place that holds all of the lies about ourselves that we have held on to for so long that we have begun to believe them as truth.

   

There in that secret place are blessings blocked and we remain in a state of fear that someone is going to find out the truth. That so called truth that really is the enemy whispering over and over that we really are not smart, we are not very attractive, we really are a mess up.  Whispers and jabber that repeats that we really are a failure and everything we touch comes to a lousy conclusion. No matter how much we hear it preached over the pulpit or how often words of encouragement come from our pastors, deacons, sisters and brothers in Christ or our family members we cannot fully grasp or receive it because of that secret place where we sit believing a malignant lie.

We were not saved because we are perfect.  We are saved today because of the simple fact that we are not perfect. We are but human.

©2013, Oakland, California, USA

Grey blessings: Living and loving life after age 50

I don't know about you but I am embracing my Third Chapter.  That next 25 years after age 50. I am in love with my grey hair, my wrinkles in weird places, my body size, my smile AND my teeth "replacements".  I am loving all that I am, especially my womanliness...my blackness.  

It is a marvelous thing to be this age as we look forward to the many adventures that are left to be experienced. All of those crazy life experiences of yesterday and today just might help somebody make it through.  All of those life experiences have shaped our opinions and have given us reason to support a cause, an agenda that may not always be popular or in that traditional way of thinking.  We dare to be different and can say that we are honestly glad that we are.

Loving the skin we are in and having the freedom to grow and learn and say within our heart of hearts that our faith is just that - OUR faith.  We know that we have a direct connection with God who hears our prayers and sees to our every need.  We know when we are living according to His divine plan for our lives and when we are not. Even if sometimes we don't understand why things gotta be a certain way, we know at the end of the day "...all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 KJV

Blessed beyond measure, we have so much left to give to the world. The word "success" has a whole new definition.  

10 Best Traits of people living rich and "successful" lives (Excerpt from PBS Next Avenue - Daily Roadmap, http://bit.ly/15qhifE )

1. They’ve mastered a lot of life lessons and they want to pass them on. So they look for opportunities to teach and mentor others.2. They’ve pinpointed a few causes they really care about, work at developing deep insights about them and donate their time and energy to them in the belief that they can help change things for the better. They don’t worry about whether they’re impacting a single individual or the world.
3. They are grateful for what they have and take steps to share it.
4. They are seekers and doers who are enthusiastic participants in life — they are fully engagedin work, play and relationships. 5. They have a hunger to keep learning — information, skills, fresh practices — to foster brain health and become better equipped to stay employed and contribute to society in fresh ways.
6. They have an open heart, build communities around them, forge and cherish connections with people of all ages and help others create nourishing bonds. 
7. They try to learn from their mistakes and take action to heal old wounds, smooth out past relationships and resolve regrets.
8. They think about life’s big questions, focus on being open-eyed and taking action to become more emotionally insightful.
9. They acknowledge difficulty but choose to believe in the possibility of positive outcomes and try to spread the happiness they cultivate.
10. They respect and take care of themselves. They are conscientious about making healthy food choices, exercising regularly and taking measures to reduce stress. They accept that they have a responsibility to cultivate physical and mental well-being and to protect and honor their bodies. Why? To make the most of their own lives and to ease the prospective future burdens on their loved ones.

Nuff said.  

Featured painting:   The Dance by Becky Kinkaid

Just For Today             

Just for today I am going to take faith by the horns and live my life in freedom without worry of what I should eat, what I should wear or how am I going to get from point A to point B.  Just for today.

Just for today I am going to live in the moment. I will not project into a future that has not yet happened and re-live a past that is already gone. I am going to trust His faithfulness and live and breathe confidently that what He says is true….”I will never leave you or forsake you”.  Just for today.

Just for today I am going to believe that I have all the money I need in my bank account.  I am going to sincerely believe that God is indeed the supplier of all my needs. As He clothes the lilies of the field in fine arraignment so does He clothe me!  Just for today.

Just for today I am going to believe that I am on assignment as directed by God and not directed by my own wishes and desires. I am believing that I am anointed and divinely inspired to uplift and encourage the downtrodden. I have the words in my mouth that will lose the chains of the captive and give sight to those blinded by the cares of this world.  Just for today.

Just for today I am going to fully understand and appreciate His love, His grace, His mercy. Because of these things I am able to give Him honor and give Him all of the glory fore I am nothing without Him. Just for today.

Just for today I am going to look at things through the spirit and not through my flesh.  I will be grateful for the power of the Holy Ghost. I understand that FEAR is indeed false evidence appearing real.  Just for today.

And maybe tomorrow I will say it again …

Just for today.

The day after that I will say it again …

Just for today.

Then the day after that I will sweetly repeat

All that I have is

Just for today.

Living Out Loud for Jesus.

©2013, USA

Debi Mason, Spoken Word Ministries, 7/11/2013 

"So You Want to Be a Writer"

Here is a poem by a prolific and powerful writer, Charles Bukowski.  “His poem is sharp, caustic, merciless. All that, and yet it manages to get down to what it really means to be a writer.”  So, if you read this poem and can honestly say after, “yep!” you have given yourself permission to be what you have probably always known you are, a writer.  Write on? Write on.

So You Want to Be a Writer

By Charles Bukowski

if it doesn't come bursting out of you

in spite of everything,

don't do it.

unless it comes unasked out of your

heart and your mind and your mouth

and your gut,

don't do it.

if you have to sit for hours

staring at your computer screen

or hunched over your

typewriter

searching for words,

don't do it.

if you're doing it for money or

fame,

don't do it.

if you have to sit there and

rewrite it again and again,

don't do it.

if it's hard work just thinking about doing it,

don't do it.

if you're trying to write like somebody

else,

forget about it.

if you have to wait for it to roar out of

you,

then wait patiently.

if it never does roar out of you,

do something else.

if you first have to read it to your wife

or your girlfriend or your boyfriend

or your parents or to anybody at all,

you're not ready.

don't be like so many writers,

don't be like so many thousands of

people who call themselves writers,

don't be dull and boring and

pretentious, don't be consumed with self-

love.

the libraries of the world have

yawned themselves to

sleep

over your kind.

don't add to that.

don't do it.

unless it comes out of

your soul like a rocket,

unless being still would

drive you to madness or

suicide or murder,

don't do it.

unless the sun inside you is

burning your gut,

don't do it.

when it is truly time,

and if you have been chosen,

it will do it by

itself and it will keep on doing it

until you die or it dies in you.

there is no other way.

and there never was.