"Hill Country Thoughts:Walking Daily With The Lord -Thoughts, Hopes,and Living in the Real World" "Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult {and} thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.
Just reading Psalms 144:1 “Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:”
As I was reading this verse this morning, it made me realize the power that is in the word, both in the written and spoken. That the Lord is teaching us to use our hands to war and our fingers to fight!
I can see in this how what we write can effect others. That we are given the opportunity to use the Internet for the building up of the body of Christ, to encourage one another in our walk with the Lord. That is my goal as we come to the end of 2004 and begin anew in 2005.
Who would have thought twenty years ago that we would be using a medium such as the Internet to link together, to be able to encourage, exhort, lift up others and to share our hearts, to share that which is real in our lives, trusting that it will minister and bless others, as we share our thoughts, our hopes, our tears, our dreams, our victories and triumphs on this path called life.
The time that I have spent here in Kennesaw, Georgia is opening new doors, new opportunities, new venues, thoughts and ideas. I had the opportunity since being here to meet a fellow brother and writer in the Lord, Cecil Murphey, who has written numerous books, two that I am in the process of reading now. “Committed But Flawed” and “Seeking God’s Hidden Face: When God Seems Absent.”
It was a real blessing to spend time with Cecil. I came away uplifted and encouraged in the Lord and more assured in my heart and spirit that I am doing that which the Lord has called me to do, to be a pen in His hand, a ready writer. The Lord used him to confirm things to my heart that He had already spoken to me. Thank you Cecil!!
Let us remember as we approach this new year, 2005, the importance of what we say, what we share. Remember the power of the pen to lift up, build up and exhort others, to remember the power of words, that which we speak, that which we write. Let it be words of life, words that will minister to others, to give hope in a time that the world is looking for it.
Let us share the hope that is in our Lord Jesus Christ. In 2005 let us share that He is indeed alive!! Let us share the heart of the Father, let us share the hope of the new life that we have in Christ!!
Please remember my friends, as I always share, don’t ever think that what you write or share is not important, for it is. There have been a number of times as I have visited or blogged by so many other blogs, that a word shared, a thought expressed, was the word that I needed at that moment, at that time, that made me to realize that I was indeed hearing from my Father, that I was not alone, for others have walked this path also. So thank you my many friends for sharing, for being real, for allowing the Lord to use you to express His heart so many times.
You may never know who you have touched, or brought freedom to. That which you shared might be the key that opens the door of their hearts to the Lord, to received from Him, that which He has for them, as it causes them to open up to Him.
Don’t be afraid to write, to share, to speak, allow the Lord to use you as a key to open the hearts of others to receive the healing word, the healing power, the healing touch of the life, that breath from God that will breathe life into their hearts, to the spirit and bring restoration to them.
Thank you my friends, for being the hand of God extended, for sharing, for giving, even when you didn’t realize that you have given a word, whether written or spoken, that has rekindle the fire, the passion of the Lord within and causing me to pursue the Lord with all that is with in.
I want to say what a blessing my daughter's Gloria and Elise are to me and what a blessisng my son Joshua is, who never lost faith in me, who constantly and persistently pushed me, to write, to share, to go for it and for that my son, I thank you!
There is something real soothing about taking a walk. I just got back from a walk around the neighborhood where my daughters live.
I walked down to the corner, to a little park area next to a church that had a wooden walkway, covered bridge, over a small bubbling brook, with a nature walk.
What an absolutely beautiful spot. A spot that I am sure that I will visit daily and most likely spend sometime listening to the brook, the small water fall and observe the beauty of the area.
A place I am sure that I will pen some thoughts. It made me aware of the awesome presence of the Lord, of the handiwork of our Fathers creation, of the wondrous things around us.
Even as I traveled by bus to Kennesaw, Georgia, I was aware of the wonders of God’s creation as I looked out the windows and observed the things around me. I was able to gaze at the beauty of an almost full moon in the clear skies, the different types of trees and landscape as we traveled down the road.
To have the time here with family is all so precious and again, even in this, I was shown the awesomeness of our God, of the importance of family.
As I spent time with our grandchildren, many memories where brought back, they raised my spirits high.
They showed unconditional love. I would just be sitting here writing, and they would come up to me and just give me a hug and say grandpapa, I love you, or they would just get up on the couch and just rest against me and it would just melt my heart.
To spend time with our son Joshua, daughters Gloria and Elise, my son-in-law Sheridan and future son-in-law Hunter and family has renewed me and caused me to rejoice that they are here for me and I for them.
We as parents, as grand-parents need to rejoice for the times and the moments that we have with our children and grand-children. For a just a little while they are children and before you know they are adults and we don’t want to lose the precious moments that we have with them!
Take time today, this day, to give thanks for your children and grand-children. Let them know how unique they each are. Don’t take them for granted. They need to hear the words I love you, your are special, your a gift from God.
For indeed our children and our grandchildren are gifts from God to teach us what it means to love with His love, that unconditional love, that says I am here for you no matter what!!
There are some days that I wish that I lived anywhere but here. There are so many times if I had the means I would have packed up and hit the road since the divorce. Every day is a reminder of what was with my former wife living across the street in our oldest daughters house.
For instance today, as I was going about my day, going out to my front porch, I saw my former wife and in-laws in her front yard working, of cutting down a tree and visiting and enjoying each others company and it seem so strange after twenty-nine years not to go over and be part of that laughter, part of the family and it hurt.
The Lord is my strength and comfort and He has been with me through all of this but it sure has been easier to deal with the wounds of cancer than the wounds of divorce, the wounds of the heart, that go deeper than cancer ever could.
The cancer was removed and the wounds are healed but I am not sure about the wounds of the heart, of the spirit, it seems like they go deeper than the cancer ever did and I can deal with the pain of the cancer a lot easier than the pain of the heart.
I know I am a newbie at being divorce, but oh it still hurts. And the wounds, every time they seem to start to close, open up each day and I am so tired of tearing up and crying at every memory. It seems as if I am walking my own trail of tears but at the same time I know that my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father are walking with me, carrying me through as I walk this path, this trail of tears.
I don’t know when these tears will end but I do know that I will find my comfort in the Lord. I sometimes ask the Lord why do you have me share these pains, these wounds? Isn’t there an easier way to write, to share. You know, happy stories, things that make people laugh. Why do you have me share this part of my life? And this is what I hear in my heart the Lord saying:
“Paul, you promised to be real. To share your heart, your thoughts, your pains so others that are walking this path, this trail of tears will know that I love them, that I understand and hear their cries too, each and every tear drop I know.”
“I share my heart and it too breaks. I cry over broken relationships, over those who have chosen to divorce themselves from me and I too cry, when I see those whom I loved, reject me. I am will acquainted with the pain, the suffering that you and others are going through as you walk this trail, this path of life and I am here”
“I am walking with you and the others on this trail and I will never leave you or forsake you or anyone who has chosen to follow me, even in the midst of the storms, the uncertainties, the doubts, the fears, the hurts, the pains and the tears. It is my hand that reaches out and brings you through.”
“I love you Paul with an everlasting love, an eternal love. I love all my children with that same love and I will bring them through, even as I will bring you through as you stay focused on me and trust me, even in the midst of the doubts, the fears, the pain, the rejection. I am here and I will always be here for my children, for those that I love.”
As I shared yesterday, a Little Faith came into my life but things have changed. She was just a pup and she was not doing so good. So my friends took her to the vet in Kerrville, Texas, where she takes her pets, so she took Faith to have her checked out too. Faith will be staying at the pet hospital for awhile and in the animal shelter there till they get her better.
But again I was given another opportunity. They brought another dog. A five year old male, house trained, goes by the name of Frisky, has his tags, shots and he and I hit it off right away. He sort of looks like one of those E-Woks from Star Wars.
I will miss Faith but I know she will be given a home when she is better . She was a blessing for me for the little time she was here.
Frisky is already making himself at home and he is just sitting here on the front porch. It is really amazing what a pet can do for you. He just jumped up into the chair next to the desk and laid his head on the desk and my hand and is watching me write and I think enjoying the heat from the oil lamp.
Is it not amazing how our Father cares for us, even in the smallest things. Who would have thought that in less than twenty-four hours He brought two pets into my life, to let me know that He cares. To me that is awesome.
There is a calmness about Frisky. Seems strange with a name like Frisky to be so calm. He has already taken away some of the loneliness of being here at home alone. I look forward to seeing what I can learn from Frisky as we learn to grow together.
Hey maybe, some of the principles I will learn from him will help me with others, such as faithfulness, friendship, being there and just listening.
Who would have thought, I would be sitting here on the front porch, talking to the Lord and chatting with Frisky ever so often, with him tilting his head listening. Wonder what he is thinking!
Wouldn’t you know it! Opportunity came knocking again!
Just as soon as I wrote “Missed Opportunities”, I was given another chance, another opportunity to help someone out, but this time it was the four legged kind and I can imagine my Heavenly Father, sitting back, with a grin on His face, saying to me, “Just checking you out. Thought I would see if you meant it! Never did say it would be human.”
No, He never did say that, but I did get a chance to help a friend out. They thought I could use a puppy in my life and this puppy showed up at one of their friends house. They were wondering what to do with the puppy, they thought of me.
Now this is were a little Faith enters my life. Yep, that is the name I gave her. She is a blue eyed, Australian Blue Healer. Neither of us slept very well, well I didn’t. She did!
Earlier she had escaped her place I made for her and came out to the living room where I was resting so I could hear her. Well, she came out there and did her business right in the middle of the living room and then barked and woke me up as if to say, “See what I have done, arn’t you proud of me?”
She and I had a human to dog talk. I let her know that I was not happy and that the carpet is pile carpet, it did not mean she could add her own pile to it and neither did it need watering. So back to the bathroom with her, the only place without carpet, shut the door. she went to sleep and I went to cleaning.
I have to admit she has caught my eye. Those soft blue eyes looking at you, licking your face, as if to say you know you want me to stay.
She is probably right, we shall see, as we are on a trial weekend to see how we do together. It has been a long time since I have had any pets. Maybe she is the little companion that I need right now.
So a little Faith has come along, to take away some of the times of being alone. To remind me that it's all in the Lords hands. That I will watch out for her and she will watch out for me.
Wouldn’t you know it! Opportunity came knocking again!
Just as soon as I wrote “Missed Opportunities”, I was given another chance, another opportunity to help someone out, but this time it was the four legged kind and I can imagine my Heavenly Father, sitting back, with a grin on His face, saying to me, “Just checking you out. Thought I would see if you meant it! Never did say it would be human.”
No, He never did say that, but I did get a chance to help a friend out. They thought I could use a puppy in my life and this puppy showed up at one of their friends house. They were wondering what to do with the puppy, they thought of me.
Now this is were a little Faith enters my life. Yep, that is the name I gave her. She is a blue eyed, Australian Blue Healer. Neither of us slept very well, well I didn’t. She did!
Earlier she had escaped her place I made for her and came out to the living room where I was resting so I could hear her. Well, she came out there and did her business right in the middle of the living room and then barked and woke me up as if to say, “See what I have done, arn’t you proud of me?”
She and I had a human to dog talk. I let her know that I was not happy and that the carpet is pile carpet, it did not mean she could add her own pile to it and neither did it need watering. So back to the bathroom with her, the only place without carpet, shut the door. she went to sleep and I went to cleaning.
I have to admit she has caught my eye. Those soft blue eyes looking at you, licking your face, as if to say you know you want me to stay.
She is probably right, we shall see, as we are on a trial weekend to see how we do together. It has been a long time since I have had any pets. Maybe she is the little companion that I need right now.
So a little Faith has come along, to take away some of the times of being alone. To remind me that it's all in the Lords hands. That I will watch out for her and she will watch out for me.
I was awaken at around 03:30 this morning to the sound of a gentle rain on the roof. It was soothing and calming and it brought a freshness and a cleansing to the air as I got up and went and sat on the front porch to listen to the rain and think about the events of the night before.
Sunday evening was a bit of a rough night. Actually any family type of event at church or anywhere else is a bit rough on me right now because of the freshness of the wounds that I still feel. The hurt and the loneliness of not having family here. At the Christmas Cantata and Children's play I began to tear up as many memories began to flood my mind. I could not stop the flow of tears.
Even as I write these thoughts here on the front porch, the tears are flowing again and I cannot just shut them off but my Father is making me to know, that the rain are His tears, His gentle tears that lets me know that He understands, that He cries with me too.
He knows the things that we go through. The things that are on our heart. He comforts us during these times. There are many families that are going through this.The enemy does all he can do to destroy the most sacred of relationships, marriage. He knows what kind of effect it will have on others, on families, the church.
One of the hardest things for me to do is go home after church. I delay it. I hang around. One of the last to leave because I know everyone is heading home, to family, to friends, to dinner, to times together and I hate coming home to an empty house.
Why do we ignore or stand off or feel like those who have gone through the Big “D” are somehow contagious. We don’t want to be around them. So instead of reaching out and encouraging them. praying for them, we step away and instead of saying anything, we say nothing!
Over the next few weeks it is going to be hard for a lot of people who have gone through this. Divorce is not always by choice. Divorce is like death. Both parties are injured, both suffer.
Let us pray, encourage, lift up and love with the Love of God, taking no sides but seeking God’s will by praying that He will work in the lives of those involved such as the children, grand-children and inlaws.
Let us be like our Lord, let us love with His love, to have His compassion for the hurting, the wounded, those who are going through various battles of life right now. Cover them with your prayers, your love and just let them know that you are there, that they are not cast aways, but they are still part of the family of God and we are there for them.
I thank my Heavenly Father for being there for me. For meeting me here right on the front porch. For comforting me, for crying with me and for encouraging me with His love.
Can I do anything less, than to share His love with others?
Sometimes the Lord really has a way of opening our eyes. To make us really see how we missed Him when we were given a chance to do something for Him and the thing that I was given to do was a simple thing. To give someone a place to stay for a short period of time. I had plenty of room. The pastor asked if I would be willing to put this person up and how did I answer? By not answering at all.
By not saying anything, I said a lot. I missed an opportunity to help someone. Someone that I might have been able to encourage, exhort, lift up, to pray for. But what was I thinking? “Well Lord, I don’t know this person, do I want to leave them running around my house, I am going through enough battles, I don’t need anyone elses problems. I was making all kinds of justification in my mind for not saying anything. I should have realized that my pastor, my friend would not have sent someone that He would have not felt safe with.
Here I was in the Pastor’s office, myself needing help and my pastor, my friend said to me, “Let me think about it, let me pray about it” and I was kind of shocked and then I was reminded , that when a brother was in need, a stranger needed help, I was not there. I was so caught up in my own battles I was fighting, that I missed an opportunity to be a servant, to have an open heart, to be there.
My pastor reminded me that He asked for help and my non-answer was an answer, that when others were asked, they did not hesitate to say yes.
Right then and there I realized what I had done. I had greived the heart of my Heavenly Father, of my Lord and Saviour and I also disappointed a friend, my pastor and the guilt cut to the inner most part of my being. I asked the Lord to forgive me. I asked my friend and pastor, for forgiveness also. The pain of want I had done went deep but the Grace of God and the forgiveness of my pastor went deeper. There was healing there and a lesson learned that I shall not soon forget! My Heavenly Father and my pastor both showned me the meaning of grace this day. I am thankful for the lesson learned and the love showed.
Let us keep our eyes open, our ears attuned so that we don’t miss the opportunities that come our way to show the love, compassion and heart of the Father to others. That we not focus on ourselves but focus on the Lord and on those who are hurting and need to see the true meaning of the love of Christ.
Yep, that has been the kind of day it has been!! I have been real filed up all day!
As I have shared recently I have gone through all the clutter, the stacks and now I am at that stage that I am going through all the files.
Actually, let’s see, twelve drawers, that is three full size file cabinets of papers, reports, magazines, articles, clippings and some treasures, which actually is another name for junk, most of the time. Nearly thirty years worth of things.
So now the Lord is working on another area of my life. To remove a lot of excess paper and things that are taken up space, that need to be removed!
Wouldn’t you know it? The Lord is showing me areas in my life, files that need to be removed and dealt with. To create more space for Him, for those things that He wants to store in me, in my life, such as faith, hope, trust, praise, faithfulness, integrity, the things that will cause me to grow in Him.
He is removing those files of fear, anxiety, hopelessness, despair, failure, bitterness, all those things that tear us down, rather than building us up.
It was amazing as I began to go through the files. I hardly put a dent in them as I shredded everything. I was amazed at how much space it was taken up with such a small amount of unnecessary files that I have gone through already. I mean I filled a full size garbage bag with shredded papers.
So what am I sharing this morning is that we are a work in progress, we are ever being molded and shaped as we go through the things of life. It is not how “spiritual” we are, nor are we “super saints.”
It is a matter of how willing are we to allow the Lord, through the word, through the Spirit to remove the old files, those things that are no longer needed, that hinder our walk, our relationship with Him and others.
Are we willing to allow the Lord to upgrade us, restore our system and allow Him to become “The Webmaster” of our life?
I know, I know, I can hear you all saying, “Lord, He has spent one too many minutes on the computer.”
But my friends, this is how my Father is speaking to me this morning and somehow I can see Him with a huge grin and smile on His face saying to me, “I am speaking to them in a language they will understand and they will realize how much I love them and look forward to our times, our walks together.”
I woke up this morning feeling like doing anything but pressing on, pressing in or trusting God. I knew immediately, right then and there, the source of those feelings. You can count on the enemy to attack you in the area where you have taken a stand. It never fails!
Immediately, as I acknowledged the Lord, as I began to meditate on Him, on His word, then those thoughts fled and a peace and a rest filled my soul, my spirit and I began to see this day with the perspective of the Lord. I chose to focus on Him!!
That is one of those things that we need to do each and every day, to focus on the Lord. Make it a choice, action on our part. There is one thing that the Lord will never do, is force himself on us. We must choose, we must take action, to yield our will to His will, to follow Him, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in the ways of the Lord.
So I really am amazed that the enemy would try to come at us in a way that he knows we will be aware or become aware of his tactics, aware of of what he is doing.
As we walk more and more each day with the Lord, as we spend time in His word, in His presence, we become aware of the tactics of our adversary and our Lord is teaching us how to use the full armour of God, so that we might stand and be strong and be victorious in the day by day battles that we go through.
We are learning to discern and then we can press on, press in and trust in the Father.
So what the enemy was trying to do was turn my day in to a day of gloom but what he actually did, was caused it to become an amazing day. A day of walking with the Lord, of sensing His presence, of walking with Him, and standing strong in the might and power of the Holy Spirit.
Now, is that not amazing, indeed the Lord has given me the oil and the wine of His Spirit today so that I could rise up and rejoice and be focused on Him and then be able to bless my brothers and sisters and lift them before the Lord.
Let us rejoice and be amazed at the awesomeness and wisdom of our Father, the Creator of Heaven and Earth!
Till Later,
Paul
Hill Country Thoughts Paul E. Dawn Jr.
Kennesaw, Georgia
Think on This:
“As we spend that time with the Lord, as we ponder His word, it will bring forth fruit in due season, and it will be life to others as we share those things that the Lord has made real in our lives as we walk with Him, as we go through the trials of life, the dealings, as we mature little by little, we will be able to share with others that which has been made real in our life, not theory but the life changing power of the word" - Paul
Words Aloft
Let my words soar on the
rising currents of your spirit
Let my words be powered by the
heart of your inspiration
Let my words lead others on the
incredible journey to your heart
Let my words reflect the vastness
of your Mercy, new every morning!
