Listening ... REALLY Listening

 

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Introduction

Here I go again -- attempting the NaNo process of writing a book in just 30 days. This year I think I will include a couple of little side notes about the timing of my writing -- mostly to encourage someone else who may want to undertake such a task in the future. The NaNo process always begins on November 1, at exactly midnight. I have attended gatherings in restaurants with others to kick-off this challenge. This year I begin it at my parents' house in Williamsport, PA, after an evening filled with family time. I selected to rest at 11:00 p.m., and took a little nap until 1:30 a.m., at which time I arose and ate some JAX (an off brand Cheeto-like snack), and drank a small amount of ginger ale. Then I realized I needed to put my contacts in if I wanted to be able to actually see the computer screen that I was typing on. So my first lesson learned in this writing was that I need to wash my hands well after eating JAX prior to placing a contact on my eyeball. My first attempt resulted in a cheesy eye. I was able to redo it successfully the second go round after washing the substance off my fingers better. None of this has any relevance to what I am about to write, but I decided to include it just to demonstrate how the writing process can take form. If you write already, I am sure you know. If you don't write, then you may have an idea that writers just sit down and the words just magically come to them. At times it may feel like this, but for me, stories, characters, plot lines, scenarios, dialog and more just play around in my head all the time, very disjointed and unconnected. The writing process just provides me with some time to try to capture some of them and bring them together in a reasonable fashion. It is not as easy as you might imagine. And then when you add a challenge such as this on top of it, well, let's just say the next 30 days will be interesting to say the least. 

I am a writer. I love to write. It is not the only thing I have to do though making this endeavor a bit of a challenge. But once again, I am up for it. I have done the challenge in past years, sometimes accomplishing the prescribed goal of 50,000 words in one month, and sometimes not accomplishing it. The challenge is just something to help direct and discipline myself to accomplish this goal of writing. This year I have decided to work on a devotional book. I am a Christian, and spend some purposeful time with God every single day. Don't get me wrong -- I sincerely believe that God is with us 24/7 and He is there all the time for our prayers, whether we actually acknowledge Him or not with a specific time. When I mention "purposeful time," I mean I set aside time from my daily schedule just to be still and concentrate on Him. I begin my day with Him in the morning, but I do not stipulate how long the time may be -- my time spent doing these things may be 15 minutes to a few hours. It is always a blessing to me to begin my day by reading a devotional and praying, as well as reading the Holy Bible and journaling.

I have incorporated these activities into my life rather faithfully for quite some time now, reading through a variety of devotional books, praying in many different positions for so many people and situations, going through a multitude of Bible translations and studies, and journaling in numerous ways in dozens of books and notes. In the past few years, one of the greatest lessons I have learned in all of this is "Listening ... REALLY Listening." Of course, I am referring to listening to God in all of this. Jesus did say in John 10:27-28 that

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Although I am including full Bible verse in this book, I want to encourage every one reading to please get your hands on a Bible and follow along. Don't just depend on me to spoon feed you scripture. What if there is a typo or something? Please get into the habit of looking it up yourself in your Bible. Some will say stick to the King James Version, but I say use the version that you can understand right now. You can read other versions later as you gain more understanding. Or do what I did in my early Christian walk -- place versions side by side and read them that way. That's how you will get more understanding. And when just one verse is mentioned, please take the time to read the entire chapter so that you can grasp the full context. I may not go into all the context, and just expound on what the one verse was saying to me at a given point in time. For your own reference, knowing the context is valuable. Again, going deeper in your study than just reading this devotional will help you in the long run. For my references here, I will use King James Version for most, if not for all, but the current Grandmother's Bible that I am using, reading and studying is an New International Version.

And since I brought up Jesus previously, let's get something settled right now. I know I said I was a Christian earlier, and that does mean a Christ follower, Jesus Christ that is. Some folks are all right with you referring to God, but get a little antsy when Jesus Christ comes into the mix. I do not want to start a doctrinal debate right here in the introduction, but I do want to make you aware that I believe that Jesus Christ is our way to God. There is a salvation plan, and I am thinking that most of you taking the time to read this far are well aware of it, but since I know that God works in mysterious ways, and this writing, my friend, could be one of them, let me give you a brief synopsis of salvation in case you have not heard of it.

Here goes my own condensed version. God made man because He thought it was a really great idea to have someone in His own image to commune with and to grant dominion over the Earth to so that all the world would be cared for correctly. Man disobeyed God and decided his ideas were better than the creator's so sin -- all that messy stuff like greed and hatred and spite and jealousy and bitterness and laziness and selfishness and on and on came into the beautiful place God had intended. This sin stuff separated us from God because God is righteous and cannot partake in the evil. Even though man stretched God's patience, God still loved man and wanted to be close to him so God sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for sin. Jesus did this with His life, making an eternal atonement that is available to anyone who believes on His name. Jesus made it possible for us to come to God, even though we were a hot mess, and we still are. At this point, some pastors or teachers may include some prayer words you can recite so that you can make that commitment right now. I believe you can make that commitment on your own between you and the Lord Jesus Christ right now with your own words in your own way if that is what you are led to do. By the way, if you are led to do something like that, we call that leading the Holy Spirit, but you see, there is more to learn here that I have time to tell you in this introduction. In fact, any Christian worth his or her salt of the Earth will tell you it is a lifelong learning process. Saying "Yes, I believe," or "Save me, Lord" is just the beginning. I would strongly suggest that you seek a solid clergy, pastor, reverend or some Christian in your area now if you want to know more. The Gospel message is better handled in person I believe. If you truly want to grow and get all that God has for you, you need to be discipled in some way. Seek that. 

Okay -- that being said, now I can move on with this book, "Listening ... REALLY Listening." After making my own commitment of belief in Jesus Christ in 1973, it took me until sometime in 2000 to Listen ... REALLY Listen to God. Call me a slow learner! Call me uneducated! Call me whatever! It doesn't matter. This is how my journey with the Lord is playing out. Every person's spiritual journey with God is different. So I begin this devotional book. In it I will be using scripture and the various interpretations and insights that God had laid on my heart. If it sounds personal, it's because it is. I have had some Biblical coursework, and I have studied under some genuine theologians and Biblical scholars. I, however, am not one. I am a woman whose life has been touched by God -- over and over -- shaping and transforming me and my life into what He desired from the very beginning. Come along with me on this journey. I pray that God will reveal things to you as you continue to read the following pages. God Bless. 

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Acknowledgement

I'd like to give a special acknowledgement to Dustin Leonard for this devotional book. He published this on my Facebook page in the comments section of one of my posts: "You should write a devotional book."

And so I did. Thank you Dustin!

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Chapter 1: Time

One morning before work, I stood in the shower after having my devotional time with God and He gave me this quote out of the blue, "Time is that elusive creature that tends to slip through my grasp whenever I attempt to pen it." I love it. What a great play on words! It meshed so perfectly with the devotional I had read and the process of my journaling efforts. I hurried through my shower time so I could write the phrase down and not forget it. I was very excited when this quote came to me. I knew it was from God Himself. That was His voice, not mine. Now some, especially those who do not believe in God Almighty, may dispute the origin of that phrase. I love when people say things like the cosmos or the energy from the universe revealed something. For me, God is all that. He breathed everything into existence so it all comes from Him. I can only give credit to Him. The Bible says in James 1:17  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

When something spectacular like that phrase comes into my thoughts, I know it is from God. I am not that clever or wise. I was not sitting down racking my brain trying to develop some clever phrase about time. I was just washing my hair and body thinking about the day to come and what all I thought I would have to do in it. I was reflecting on the time I had spent with God, and meditating on some of the words I had read in the Bible. And then, bam! A good and perfect gift came! A wonderful phrase about time! It was implanted into my brain by the One who created me. I had taken the time earlier in the morning to focus on God and what His Word said. I believe taken this kind of time opens ourselves up to hearing God's voice in some unique ways. If we don't allow ourselves time to do this, then the noise of our own thoughts and the constant cacophony of daily sounds drown out what God is trying to tell us. Many people may say they don't have time to do this. We have to make time for meeting with God a priority in our lives. It may not be easy, but it is possible. Think about the time you spend. 

How often do we think about time? All the time! We have places to be, things to do, people to see! I am often saying I don't have enough time for this or that. What about our time management? Are we good stewards of the time that we are given? Do we ever feel convicted of the time we might waste or how much time we use selfishly? And what about time with God? Do we give Him any? I am not talking about going to church or volunteering for this wonderful thing or that. I am talking about purposeful one-on-one time with God. Do we do that? 

Go back and look at that scripture in James. God does not change. He began the world, the universe, everything by speaking. And guess what? He is still speaking. But are we listening? God is also constantly pouring out good and perfect gifts on us, but guess what? We are missing them. We are not receiving them. Why? Because we are not Listening ... REALLY Listening. We are busy. We are distracted. We are focused on something else. We don't take the time to be with Him, to open the portal to His Kingdom by opening ourselves up to Him and positioning ourselves in His presence. Remember the Lord's Prayer? Jesus Christ was teaching the disciples how to pray and gave them the following words. You can find this prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. 

 9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

In this prayer, we ask God for His kingdom to come and His will to be done -- on earth. But then, we go about our lives ignoring what we asked and seeking our own kingdoms and wills. We often plead with God to be a part of what we want instead of us seeking to be a part of what He desires. He wants to transform us, and we want to conform Him. It doesn't work that way. You see, when we come to God through Jesus Christ, we become a new creature. NEW! Has this happened to you? It can you know -- right now! You've got the time. Why not surrender to Him now if you haven't already? You can step into a new life, a better life, the best life. Ask Jesus to set you free and have God come into your life and put all the broken pieces together. He'll do more for you than you ever dreamed possible. Say yes to Him. This is what happens when we listen ... REALLY listen to God.

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Mirror, Mirror

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Fist Bumping Jesus

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Planted and Rooted

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Get Wisdom!

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Holiness -- What's That?

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The Cupbearer Prayer

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Building Altars to the Stars

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The B-I-B-L-E

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God is Orchestrating a Symphony

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A Permanent Scar is Better than an Ongoing Infection

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Repent With More Than Intent

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Internal Halting!

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Working With Your Weapon

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Blessed Insomnia

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It Ain't Over

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Nothing Can Stop Him

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A Proud Look; A Haughty Spirit

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Rarely Asked Question

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Seeing Through Job's "I's"

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A Word to Pastors

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God or GERD?

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Following Your Statutes

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One of the Least

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Spend Time in the Psalms

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Brewing Trouble

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The Truth About Family

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Forgetting to Remember

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A Time to ...

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Money, Money, Money

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Perspective Check

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Sons of God?

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What's Up With Job Anyway?

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Rejoice! Again, I Say Rejoice!

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Thanking God for You

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Sing It; Shout It

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Put On Charity

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The To Do List

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Our Deliverer

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What to Think

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God is Good

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Oh Give Thanks!

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Remember...

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Blessed Be His Name

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Your Servant

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What God Does

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A Light Affliction

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The Unspeakable Gift

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The Household of Faith

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Praise the Lord!

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Wonderful Works

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Declare His Doings

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Fresh Mercies

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Let Them...

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Who to Trust

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My Salvation

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Enduring Forever

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Light My Candle

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Seek His Face

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If My People...

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David's Song of Thanksgiving

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What's His Name?

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God Is Speaking

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There is a Comforter

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Choose Your Own

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~

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