The Cage of Responsibility Strikes Again!

It isn't as if I haven't been aware of the cages.  I have them posted in my office, they are in my briefcase, and on this Blog.  And yet, one of them has ever so subtly worked its' way back into my day.  In my job as a Realtor, I work with new people all the time.  Each new person brings another set of responsibilities that I take very seriously.  Recently, I have been blessed with a surge in business, therefore more reponsibility.  Don't get me wrong, I know that every client I get to serve is sent to me by God for a reason.  I am fully aware that most likely the relationship will bear spiritual fruit for one or both of us.  That makes it easy for me to use it as an excuse not to do something God is calling me to do.  You know what I mean;  That reoccuring voice in your head telling you to call someone, to write a note to someone, to start a Bible study for young women, to join the Hungry & Homeless ministry, to babysit a friend's children so she can have a moment to herself, to hire that teenager to help around the house, etc...  If I learned nothing in the Chase The Goose study, it was that every little call can lead to a huge call.  If not for you, for someone in your life.  Whatever time you think it will rob from you, God will return to you multiplied.

In Ecclesiates 8:5b it says: for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure.  Don't use the excuse of Responsibility to keep you from what the Spirit is telling you in your heart.  Do It Now!

Be Blessed!
Terri

Sometimes, It Is The Small Stuff...

We seem to eagerly anticipate those moments when God does huge things for us, with us, through us.  The fact is, everything and anything God does with me is HUGE.  Why He would choose to pay any attention at all to me is baffling, but I am incredibly grateful He does.  For the past couple of weeks I have had a terrible time sleeping.  I can get to sleep, but I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep.  I have done some reading, watching tv, (or should I say, infomercials), Photoshopping, and of course internet surfing.  Last night I got caught up on some of my favorite Blogs.  My all time favorite is Beth Moore's LPM Blog.  I have her new book So Long Insecurity You Have Been A Bad Friend To Us.  She is leading a Blog inspired study with that book, so I started perusing those posts.  Appearantly, last week, she asked her readers to Look up Scriptures that have to do with strength and power and victory and write some out in a comment.  The response was unbelievable and pouring through them I became empowered and blessed beyond measure.  One, however, jumped out at me because my sister and one of my newest friends have had a very tough week. Joy in the journey wrote:

"She will have no fear of bad news, her heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord, Her heart is secure, she will have no fear, and in the end, she will look in triumph on her adversaries."
psalm 112:7-8
YES, the enemy has NO place here!!

I immediately sent this in an email to my sister so she would have it first thing in the morning and I knew I was going to be seeing my friend in the morning and would share it with her then.

It is no surprise to any one reading this that I am sadly lacking any real insight.  I know women who seem to have empathy and wisdom coming through their pores, (Tara Hutton you know who you are!).  That is not me.  I am usually very intuitive about people concerning their character, but I fail at meeting their inner most needs.  Thankfully, God uses me anyway.

When I did see my friend this morning, or yesterday morning since it is 2:20 am, I could not wait to share the scripture with her and the rest of the group.  She had already had a morning of God inspired intervention in her plans and was overwhelmed when she heard the words God had given me for her.  Just having another human being share in what we can sometimes rationalize away as our wishful thinking, validates the fact that God still communicates with us here on earth and He IS paying attention!  Make no mistake, these are not coincidences.  A specific phrase or even a single word you have repeated over and over to yourself, mentioned by a Pastor in a message or given to you in a message from a friend is God's way of assuring us, He is.  That's it He IS!

I am going to bed now, Be Blessed!

Sometimes He Compells You To Obey...

In the spirit of this blog, pun intended, a story of being completely over taken by The Spirit is wholly appropriate, so here goes...

I am a member of a large church here where we have two opportunities for women's Bible Study, Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings.  On the third session of this study, I met a woman in our small group who was going through a very tough time.  That was Thursday morning.  On Saturday evening during the church service, I saw that she was sitting with some of her friends right behind me.  We both smiled and said hello during the greeting and  contnued to worship.  During this service we have a time for people to go to the front and pray with a prayer partner.  I am part of the prayer team and noticed that she and one of her friends came down for prayer.  I was so glad to see her down there.  After returning to my seat, two of our praise team began to sing My Adonai.  Immediately I felt compelled to turn my body around, reach over the back of my seat and hold her hand.  So I start argueing with God saying it would be awkward, I would be contorted and besides she was sitting with friends and we just met!  I can't explain it any other way, but that the Holy Spirit welled up in me and basically said we are doing this!  Without looking back, I turned half way around in my seat, reached my arm over the back of my chair and grabbed her hand.  She squeezed my hand in recognition and we stayed that way until the song was near its' end.
The whole message that night seemed to be written for her exact situation and I knew she was being blessed by it.  After the service, when we were all filing out of our rows, she did not look at me and I thought oh no I overstepped.  I tapped her on the shoulder and told her I would see her Thursday.
All week I dreaded seeing her because of what a fool I had been.
Thursday morning as we got to our small group, she said I want to thank you for last Saturday.  Then she said; I was sitting there falling apart and telling God that I just needed a hug, or someone to hold my hand and then you turned around and grabbed my hand.  I so needed that at that moment.
You just never know why God wants you to do a thing.  I was in at least three cages that night before He set me free to help Him bless a hurting woman.
My advice, don't argue, just do it.

Failure Can Be A Stepping Stone...

For all my Woodlands Church Journey friends, PLEASE MAKE NOTE, this is no longer a private blog.  While my intentions were good, they have proved fruitless, and the privacy seems silly and pointless.  Not that anyone else will read this, but my intention is to have a place where women can share their Wild Goose Chase.  It is an amazing journey, that has personally rocked my world.  The fabulous women I am privileged to meet with weekly, have layed their hearts out on the table many times during this process.  We have laughed, cried, prayed and hugged our way into each other's lives.  We come from all different backgrounds, ages, walks, etc...  Our strories intertwine in ways ONLY God could manage. He has blessed us through each other and we are amazed weekly.  If you join us online please read the first post for the guidelines remembering that this in NO LONGER PRIVATE!  What you share here is available for anyone on the internet to see.
With all this being said....

WEEK 5 THE CAGE OF FAILURE:

As a self-professed control freak, the worst part of having a control complex is that I have to take the blame when things fall apart.  And they always fall apart when I try to take control.  The difference between my failure and a God planned failure is the outcome.  My failure takes me out of God's will.  While I can return to His will, the consequences of my failures can be huge and lasting.  God planned failures prepare us for His purposes.  They test our faith and our obedience.  They also provide the framework to showcase His glory in our situations.
Where are you most at risk of taking control?
What can you do today to let it go?

Be Blessed!
TerriMike

Guilt? Not Me!

So here it is Friday night and I am just sitting down to write this weeks blog post.  I realize no one is really  reading it, but I said I would do it, so I will keep it up until the study is over.  This week is the cage of guilt.  Do you think maybe this cage pertains to me?  I feel guilty for not getting this up two days ago.  I feel guilty for not having my homework done.  I realize this is a huge cage for me and my message today from the "God's message to you today" said it was time I forgave myself.  Tonight we had a lively discussion in our small group and I feel guilty for upsetting one of my friends.  This is going to be a challenging and hopefully freeing week.  I pray for you as we go forward that God will use this week to give you freedom from your past so that you can experience God's absolute best for you!

Be Brave and Be Blessed!
Terri

The Obedience That Comes From Faith

Good Morning Ladies,
This morning God gave me a scripture to share with you in Romans.  In Paul's address to the Romans, introducing himself and his mission he states: Through Him and for His name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.  And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. (RM 1:5,6)

The obedience that comes from faith.  I think this is what this study is all about.  While obedience seems to embody all the cages, it is the obedience that comes from faith that frees us to follow the Holy Spirit.  We already have it in us.  It is the hope that propels us when all of our circumstances seem hopeless.  In submitting to the obedience that comes from faith we are strengthened and renewed to persevere to the victory He has in store for us.

Be Blessed,
Terri Mike

I Assume You Know...

What a great group we had today!  We should not be surprised that God has arranged for us all to be in this group.  Looking around those tables today, I saw women from many different walks, different challenges, different ages, different insights, different family situations, and different passions.  The great thing is, we all have one God.  One amazing, powerful, restoring God!  I pray like Tara did, that He will make himself blatantly obvious in all of our lives this week.

Week 3 The Cage Of Assumptions...

What assumptions are you making about yourself and your circumstances that are keeping you from what God is calling you to do?

Not So Routine...

I so hope your study is going well and that the discussion on Thursday was rich!  I missed being there.

This week we look at the cage of routine.  I, frankly, find this whole study a break from routine.  I have been doing Bible studies officially for the past eleven years.  They have all been wonderful life changing studies, but they have also been organized in a way that I knew what was expected of me each day between the group times.  I often did more than one "day's" worth of homework at a time and enjoyed checking off my progress.  I love the homework, but I am finding that part of the reason for that was so that I could feel like I got more accomplished than expected.  With Chase The Goose, there are no days, no set expectations for things accomplished.  I am  truly having to let the Holy Spirit take me as far as He wants me to go.  While this isn't one of those WOW experiences, it is a wow experience for me, because it has revealed something in me I did not even know existed. 

I look forward to this week and hope that we can interact here to enrich our study.  Share what you want to share.  Let us know how God is showing up in your week.

Be Blessed,
Terri

BTW...To Post A Comment Click On The Word Comments Below Where It Shows Comments Count.  I am working with Blogger to get the comments shown below the posts.  It isn't working for reasons no one can explain yet.

Hello Ladies...

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get started on this journey, no pun intended ;-).  This week we are looking at the cage of Responsibility.  I am not going to try to add some kind of enlightenment here because Mark Batterson has done that very well.  This Blog is for us.  For us to share how we are doing on this journey, to support each other as we encounter challenges, to laugh at ourselves, and to be in AWE of the work God is doing in each of our lives.  This will be a safe place, because you and I are the only ones who get to see it.  This Blog is closed to the public.

Please, remember the covenant of the group, what is said in small group, stays in small group.  Remember, too, to be nice to each other.  We all have issues and I know when we go through studies like this that confront us and challenge us to take risks, it can bring out some ugly stuff.  Let's all promise to keep our big girl panties on and remember it isn't personal.  I am so grateful we are on this adventure together.  I will be praying for you by name.

Week 1 

The Cage Of Responsibility

This week let's respond to the questions on page 18 of your member book.  Pay attention to the things that answer those questions throughout this week.  Share them here.  You may have tons, you may have one.  Let God show you which ones are of him.

I can't wait to see how God will reveal your passions!

Be Blessed,
Terri

****PLEASE NOTE!  THIS BLOG IS NO LONGER PRIVATE FOR WOODLANDS CHURCH JOURNEY...IT IS STILL A PLACE TO SHARE BUT KNOW THAT WHAT YOU SHARE CAN BE READ BY ANYONE ON THE INTERNET THAT WANTS TO READ IT****