Let's take a walk in the garden

This morning I am praying and my beloved stands at the door and knocks and I invite Him and we dance together and my head is bowed low and He lifts up my head and looks at me in the eye and His eye touches mine, I cry.

I cry because I am tired, I cry because sometimes it just too much, too hard, I cry because I don't know why but my heart knows in the face of my beloved, in the face of His love which overwhelms me and I feel safe again, I feel hidden again, I feel protected again.

He makes everything beautiful in its time

We chat and He shows me that its okay to be 'dry', its okay for things to 'die' because there are seasons in our lives and without the dry and without the dying then new life, resurrected in a new way, would not happen. He shows me not to get discouraged by the brokenness, He shows me not to be sad in the dryness but to enjoy the seasons that are necessary in order for new things to come.

He takes me into the 'garden' of my heart.

He takes me into my own garden where some things are flourishing and looking so beautiful, while others are needing weeding and fertilising. He shows me the roses which need spraying and cutting back in order for diseases to die and for new growth to come. He shows me that there are some plants that I have been given that have yet to go in the ground and He shows me that everything doesn't need to be looking good all the time.

That it takes time for things to get planted, for things to get cut back, for plants to flourish, He shows me the grapes that there is so much fruit on them but it's not yet time for them to be picked. He shows me that it takes work to keep the garden up to date but that while one area is looking good another is getting pruned and that is okay. There are times and seasons for the various parts of the garden to grow and to flourish while other parts die off and new things are put in.

He shows me its absolutely alright to be where I am at, He shows me it is the journey of the garden of the heart. And so my heart feels encouraged, I feel the love of the beloved as He talks to me in the secret place. I feel His love and approval in just where I am at in the season that I am in.

So I encourage you, as He stands and knocks on the door of your heart, let Him in, let Him show you the garden of your heart and enjoy walking and talking in the cool of the day, let Him show you new things He is planting and things He suggests that its time for them to die. Let him come into the garden of your heart.

"A man's enemies will be the members of his own household" Matt 10:36

Recently we have been pondering how to deal with situations in our family that don't line up with the word. What action do we need to take? Are we being too harsh? Do we accept the behaviour or be considered by those around us as "too radical" or "too black and white"? "Where is grace in all of this? How do we love the sinner but hate the sin? What about forgiveness? What is the role of discipline? What makes that sin any worse than lying? What is true love? And there are a lot more questions going through the mind in how to work through this and know God's will and desire for the situation and the person. And firstly to say we have not come to any conclusions and are growing and learning day by day in this but I want to throw it out there. In Matt 10:34-39 says "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "a man against his father, ...

"I am ruined for the ordinary"

“I am ruined for the ordinary” A statement that can possibly be to some, come from a place of judgement, or it can be from a place of there is more in the Kingdom of God that I am yet to experience or understand, revelation that I have tasted of something that actually shows me that I have not tasted of anything yet. A place where there is such a contentment and joy in what I have seen and longed to see and yet a revelation that there is way more "beyond what I think, ask and imagine" (Eph 3:20) and one that spurs me on to seek and discover all the fullness that could be ours in the Kingdom of God. When we as Christians see other Christians going places or experiencing things that we don’t understand or perhaps we have not yet moved in, we can either become jealous of that person and judge and bring them down to our level, exclude them from our lives or we can choose to be excited by what is happening and be encouraged and spurred on in the Lord for the more than ca...

Obedience and Commitment are big things in Gods Kingdom

Reading in Acts 7 this morning the story through Stephen of Abraham being told by God to " Leave your country and your people and go the the land I will show you" So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child." As I reflected on this and the journey of Abraham stepping out in faith into a land that he received no inheritance in but a promise of what was to come for his descendants of which we live in the fruit of that, I thought of todays generations in which often is only doing things that we want to do or that will benefit us personally as we live for 'today' not worrying about tomorrow. A sense of if it feels good then do it, if it doesn't then we will move on - perhap...

There is an army rising up!

Are you struggling in your family? Are you struggling with people in the body of Christ? Keep going in love and you will see the breakthroughs you long for. Over the past few months the Lord has been showing me some scenes where the enemy has been trying to attack and destroy families, and so I believe it is a time where we need to be alert of the devils schemes and counter attack with the truth and the love of God. Three areas we ourselves as a ministry are currently contenting for breakthrough in are: 1. the unity of the body of Christ, 2. for whole families to come to Christ 3. for mental health issues to be overcome .... and so of course the enemy wants to come and try and destroy in whatever way He can within churches, within families, in individuals and so I/we need to be alert to the schemes of the enemy. Romans 12:21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." One vision I share with you I ha...

Are you feeling frustrated, discouraged, discontented - then be encouraged to keep going for at the proper time you WILL reap a harvest.

Many are the voices I am hearing of frustration, of when, of what is going on, of disappointment, of wanting more but getting discouraged but the Lord would say, do not give up in doing good for at the proper time you will reap a harvest - and I believe that harvest is not long off. The enemy's tactics are to wear out the saints but I want to encourage you - keep going, don't give up, only believe. In looking at why sometimes frustration etc is there, the Lord showed me that sometimes its because we are looking more at the dreams and visions we have that aren't being fulfilled than looking at the source of our true fulfillment which is only found in Jesus. Philippians 3:7 “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ a...

Kiwi Culture verses Kingdom Culture

The above is the title of a book that I have on my heart. Whether or not it ever makes it there we will see but in the process I want to put some thoughts down and see what it opens up. I grew up with phrases like "God helps those who help themselves" or "Too spiritually minded to be any earthly good". There are many many more that I am sure you know of - I would love to hear them so please blog me about them or Facebook me so I can add them. But phrases like that that we grew up with that actually have become a part of world view and things we base our lives on. Things of our culture that are so much a part of culture that we think is actually a part of the bible or at the very least is no big deal in God's eyes; like sarcasm. I have had to question some of these phrases - "where does it say in the bible God helps those who help themselves?" "What actually is sarcasm and does it build up and encourage people?" etc. Jim and I lived ...

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