The Octopus and Me April 1, 2012

An octopus has eight arms, or so I’m told.  I think they’re called tentacles.

I imagine they operate independently of each other, or else why would there be eight?

God must know why there are eight. After all, He created the octopus this way.

 

I wonder if an octopus finds enough to do to keep each tentacle busy?

Like the octopus, God created me. He gave me the gift of multi-tasking.

Sometimes I imagine how an octopus might feel.

Or perhaps a juggler who is able to keep eight balls rotating in the air without one of them hitting the ground.

 

I used to revel in it.

The accolades, that is.

The accolades for being able to do so many things at one time, and do them all so well.

It drove me to do more… to perform to gain acceptance and a sense of value.

Then the Lord so graciously disciplined me, until I learned I am a human being, not a human doing.

From a place of being, and a place of rest in Him, would my doing come.

Only from His strength would no ball be dropped.

Only from His strength would there be grace to know how many balls to juggle at one time.

 

 

Yet there are days when not all my “arms” are busy and I actually feel frustrated or bored.

And there are days when they are all so busy, I’m not sure how much longer I can go on.

 

I struggle to balance this gift I’ve been given.

I wonder if the octopus ever feels the same?

 

The End.

 

If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light.  Matt 11:28-30 (CEV)

 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)

Ode to my friend Beverly Tabor… October 6, 2010

On Wednesday, September 29^th, my friend Bev accidentally took the wrong prescription medication and had a severe reaction that led her to the ICU. Three days later on October 2nd, 2010 she passed way. Everyone who knew her was stunned beyond belief.

Bev has greatly impacted and influenced my life. She…

•  Drew out my gift of prophecy
•  Encouraged me to operate in my gift
•  Spoke life and destiny into me
•  Even influenced me to try red hair! (LOL)

Bev was always so humble, always so sweet (“Hi sweetie”) and always so inspiring.

Bev and I have a very similar gift mix and I think that is one reason we bonded so much in the short year and a half I knew her.  The below description provided by one of the tests really sums up Bev:

I am someone who stirs people up to dream bigger dreams. I encourage and inspire but I also will shake things up in the house of God. I am ready to change the course but as I call for the battle, I do so in a creative way. I am full of vision, and my sights are set on the throne room. From that perspective I clearly see the way forward and challenge others to follow it. I will challenge others until they see God’s will, something that seems to come very naturally to me. People are drawn to me because I challenge them and because I point them to the throne of God and the feet of Jesus. To me, if people only got the intimacy thing right, the Church would be fine!

(If you knew Bev I know you’re saying AMEN right now…lol)

As I wonder to myself why God would take this mighty woman of God at this time, I am reminded that we exist for His purposes. Our lives are intended to be series of assignments and Bev’s life certainly was an example of that. Her and her husband Johnny obediently went from assignment to assignment, faithfully serving wherever God placed them. And all along the way they planted seeds….

I am certain that all of the seed that God intended Bev to plant in the earth was planted. Every divine appointment was met and each life impacted according to God’s perfect plan.  And now it is time for those of us who were sown into to carry that seed to fruition and let Bev’s legacy continue in the earth. I know that she heard those words: “Well done good and faithful servant!”

Bev’s life continues on in the lives of so many of us. She has had a profound effect on many. And Johnny will continue to sow into even more.

 

The picture to the left shows her husband Johnny worshipping with flags to a prophetic song that Bev loved. If you have facebook you can click here to see a video of his worship: http://www.facebook.com/maryloveslife#!/video/video.php?v=1591966089508

 

And here is a video clip of a class I took with Bev in November 2009 (this is part one, see YouTube for the rest.) In the first clip she talks about how the enemy tried to kill her so many times because of the calling on her life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ublZ8HQeV4  It is true that God protects His own and none of those attempts were successful. God made sure her assignment got done. But when it’s accomplished, it’s time to go home. 

We grieve for ourselves and Bev’s family as we go on without her here. But we rejoice and celebrate as we know she has met the Lover of her soul! So let’s get the five fold ministry in action and do as Bev always said: KICK DEVIL BUTT! (even her business was called KDB…lol) Let’s use our God-given gifts to INTIMIDATE THE ENEMY and EXPOSE HIM!

Bev, I love you and I miss you, but I won’t say good-bye. Thanks to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, I can say “See ya later, Sweetie!”

(If you are not sure where you’ll be when you pass away, click on the links below. It’s important you make sure now, before it’s too late. Like Bev, you may not have any warning of the end.)

http://maryloveslife.wordpress.com/2010/06/26/do-you-have-a-problem/

http://www.maryloveslife.org/A-Gift-for-You.html

Alas…I’m Free To Be Me! June 21, 2010

Today is my birthday. And what a beautiful day indeed! It is Monday, and I’m reminded that I was actually born on a Monday.

As I woke to make my morning coffee, I noticed a red bird in the backyard. Not a sight I see every day. Immediately I recognized God’s birthday reminder to me.

You see, for most of my life I was trapped into believing that I was completely unacceptable. As I worked through my teen years and ventured out into adulthood, I used many things to “make” myself be what I considered acceptable (clothes, position, promiscuity, compromise,  gym memberships, diets, alcohol.) I conformed at every turn, being who I thought I needed to be in any situation just so I would be accepted.

Now I’m sure most people had no idea all this was going on inside. But the truth was, I was full of self-hate. Self-hate can be crippling. By all appearances someone can appear to have it together, but internally there is a living hell of thinking you’re too fat, too white, too hippy, not pretty enough, or not smart enough (just to name a few.) The key to this problem is COMPARISON. Because how can you be “too” anything, unless you are measuring it against something?

In January 1999 my life forever changed… I heard and understood the good news of Jesus Christ and received Him as Lord and Savior of my life. Through the following years, the Lord began to reveal this self-hate and take me on a journey of restoration. He began to show me that I’ve been acceptable all along. And it wasn’t because of the clothes, it wasn’t my position or how much money I had, it wasn’t the jewelry, car, house or my physical size. It was simply that God created me JUST THE WAY I AM. Wow. I was comparing myself to the wrong standard. I needed to learn that my standard was not the world or other people, but what God said about me.

I’d love to tell you that I just “got it” that day, but I didn’t. It’s taken YEARS of transforming my mind to see myself as acceptable. One of the tools God used back in 2005 was a message by Jason Upton entitled: Your Life is Meant to Be a Prophetic Word – Destroying the “Man Pleasing” Spirit. (You can download the MP3 here: http://www.elijahshopper.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=DL%5FEL01%2DJU001)

In this message, Jason talks about his gift of worshipping/singing and how initially when churches would invite him to come, he’d sing his songs and everyone would just cheer. He said it almost began to feel more like a performance than worshipping God. Then one day his wife said “When you go to churches and sing, it’s nice and everything, but when you worship at home… that’s where the power is. Why can’t you just do that when you go to churches?” He said at first he thought “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” but then God began to deal with him. He began to recall how people would often sing to “tracks” and before they would sing it, they would listen to the DEMO side. They would try to sing it just like the person did on the DEMO side. God’s people were losing their own identity trying to be like everyone else! Jason jokingly called it “the DEMONIC DEMO side” … lol. Then God gave him an interesting analogy: He said “Jason, I’m looking for a JayBird, but everybody is dressed up like a RedBird because RedBirds are in season and people love the RedBird. Everyone is coloring themselves to look like a RedBIrd but I made you a JayBird and I need you to be a JayBird!”

Jason decided he was going to sing the way God created him to sing and stop trying to sound like someone else. He was going to stop MANIPULATING his voice and his life and be who God made him to be.  He has a song called FREEDOM… and he said now when he sings it there is POWER… because he truly is free.

So he started to let churches know that he couldn’t guarantee which songs he would sing but he would come and lead worship. Today Jason is one of the most sought after prophetic worship leaders around… because he has learned to be who God made him to be, not trying to be like everyone else.

So this morning, on my birthday, as I saw the RedBird outside my window, the Lord reminded me that when I was born He uniquely designed me to be me. He gently reminded me that he has a plan and a purpose for me and if I were to continue to compare myself to others and try to be like anyone else, I could never fulfill that purpose.

I am thankful for the Lord’s reminder today. I am thankful that I am no longer bound to comparison and conformity. I’m not saying those old ways of thinking don’t try to resurface on occasion, but I recognize them immediately now and take them captive to the truth of the Word which is this:

Ps 139:13-16

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Jer 1:5

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…

Thank you Lord for teaching me (and reminding me again today) that I’m FREE to be me, and that I NEED to be me to bring you Glory.

And today I hope that you too receive the message: Don’t dress yourself up to be like someone else… YOU ARE FREE TO BE WHO HE MADE YOU TO BE.

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CLAIRIFICATION:

Within a short time of posting this I had someone email me and they were somewhat confused by some of what I stated above. I want to clarify (for FREEDOM sake) that there is 100% ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG with having nice clothes, cars,  jewelry, having gym memberships or even dieting to lose weight. It was not my intention to  indicate these are sinful such as promiscuity or compromise. The reason those things were WRONG for me, is because my identity was in them rather than God. They had become idols in my life and my motive for wanting these things or doing these things was TO MAKE MYSELF ACCEPTABLE. This internal motive is what made them wrong for me. Today, these things are not wrong for me because they no longer define me.

In 2003 the Lord told me to stop wearing any make-up. I was devastated! I thought make-up made me acceptable. If anyone ever saw me without it, I knew I’d be rejected for sure. Now here is a perfect example: GOD IS NOT AGAINST MAKE-UP. He was against what it stood for in my life.  After two weeks of crying out to God I finally obeyed and wore no make up for 18 months. Wow. What freedom I found internally. Not until I knew that I was acceptable WITHOUT it, did God release me to again wear it.

So I pray that this brings clarity and freedom to anyone else that may not have clealy understood the message within the message. It’s all about being FREE on the inside, doing things with the right motive, and enjoying the external things in their proper context.

~Blessings to you!~

Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth…. March 26, 2010

I’m sure most of you have heard this saying, but have you ever really been sure what it means? The source of this idiom is unsure, but the terminology refers to the fact that as horses age, their gum lines recede making the teeth appear longer. Therefore by inspecting their mouth one could tell if the horse they were receiving was of value. The expression “long in the tooth” comes from the same reference and refers to one who is aging.

So for us, this saying actually means that if you are given something, you should be grateful for it and not be critical of it by examining it too closely and question the value of it. You should be thankful for it and not wish for something better.  The Apostle Paul could have used this term in his first letter to the Corinthians when addressing spiritual gifts.

While Paul’s letter addressed many issues in the Church of Corinth, I want to focus on a problem regarding spiritual gifts; namely how we tend to “look a gift horse in the mouth” and look for evidence of whether or not our gift is valuable…

In Chapter 11 Paul said:  1 Cor 11:17-18 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it…

It appears some were thinking of themselves as more important than others.  He also knew they were doing what they thought to be right.  After all, they truly loved God, but had been led astray. So before addressing this issue, Paul needs to convince them why they should listen to him instead.

So he says, 1 Cor 12:1-2 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you, that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Here Paul is basically saying: When you were heathens, you were taught to worship voiceless and mute idols who had no power to give you guidance or endow you with gifts… he says they were “led astray…however they were led”… they were led by their pagan priests! But Paul makes it clear to them that those priests were not speaking by the Spirit of God…and he can prove it:  “for no one speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus is accursed”… (in other words “Jesus is an imposter”)… and that is exactly what the pagan priests were saying. So to ensure they knew his message is valid, he tells them “also no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit”, in other words, he’s saying “you can trust what I’m saying, because I call Jesus Lord and the fruit of my life has proven this. You can know this message is from the Spirit of God.”

Now that he’s established his credibility, Paul goes on to say: 1 Cor 12:4-7 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries {administrations, service}, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects {workings, operations}, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. In other words: the Spirit manifests in a variety of ways through various people to perform various service and accomplish various results.  And the gifts are for the benefit of the COMMON GOOD, not to promote themselves.

He then tells them the various gifts of the Spirit.  And afterward he clarifies: 1 Cor 12:11  But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. God has given each of us gifts according to His good pleasure and we must stop comparing ourselves to others.  All the comparison was causing division and confusion. This is not what God intended.

This is why in Chapter 13, Paul lays the foundation. He indicates that regardless of all these great gifts any of them may possess, they will sound like clanging symbols if they have not love. He paints a beautiful picture of love and how to operate in it. He reminded them that while prophesying, tongues and knowledge will fail, love never will. He tells them to put their childish ways behind them and operate in love at all times. It is clear that their recent competitive behavior was not displaying love, but instead causing disorder and division.

Paul then opens Chapter 14 by joining the topics of Chapters 12 & 13: “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts…” (Notice he states “pursue love” first.)  And a little further into this letter, in 1 Cor 14:26-27, he says: How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. It appears they were all trying to “one up” each other by trying to show whose gift was most valuable. Paul then goes on to explain that God is not the author of confusion and gives instruction on how to operate in their gifts in an orderly fashion.

We must stop comparing ourselves to each other and stop trying to promote our gifts to try and get recognition or position. Instead we need to recognize that our spiritual gifts were given to us specifically by God and they are not just intended to be used in an official capacity. They are, in fact, to be used in our day to day lives as we witness Christ to the world… on our jobs, in the grocery store, or to our neighbors.  They are bestowed for the salvation and sanctification of others! No gift is more important than another and we should not look a gift horse in the mouth by criticizing it and trying to estimate its value. The fact that it is a gift from God means that it is valuable BEYOND MEASURE!

There is one Spirit, but a diversity of gifts, a diversity of ministries/serving opportunities in which the Spirit operates, and a diversity of workings/operations/effects/results of our gifts. God distributes the gifts/endowments/enablements as He sees fit to accomplish His specific will.

And while the church in Corinth thought more highly of themselves regarding their gifts (and we certainly see that today as well with people vying for the pulpit and for position) I think often today there are many who don’t believe they are qualified to be used by God, even if they recognize their gifts. Perhaps they have “messed up” and no longer feel qualified.

So I want to encourage you by reminding you of Peter:

He walked on this earth with Jesus for three years. And Jesus said: Matt 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. NKJV

Yet Matt 26 tells us that in the 24 hours before Jesus was crucified:

Peter Dozed off (Matt 26:36-37, 40)  – He fell asleep after Jesus asked him to pray!

Peter Doubted (Matt 26:51) – When they tried to arrest Jesus, Peter drew his sword and cut off the soldiers ear. This was God! He clearly doubted Jesus’ ability to defend Himself! Now on top of the first let down, Peter gets corrected by Jesus: Don’t you think that I can’t pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?!!! … Wow. I don’t know man. If I was Peter, I would have felt sort of stupid after this move. Think about it… HE’S GOD! And for some reason Peter thinks he has to come to His rescue????

Peter Distanced Himself from Jesus (Matt 26:57-58) After they arrested Jesus, Scripture says that he followed from a distance. Wouldn’t you if you had just let Jesus down TWICE!

Peter Denied Jesus (Matt 26:69-74) Three times! After saying earlier that he would die with him, now he’s denying even knowing him!

But yet we know that God did indeed use Peter to build His church. So how could he have possibly been qualified? In fact while Jesus was being crucified, Scripture gives no indication that Peter was anywhere around. He probably felt too unworthy to even be at the foot of the cross. He undoubtedly was off having his own personal crucifixion for having messed up and letting Jesus down.

We have to recall that after Jesus rose from the grave and the angel appeared to Mary at the tomb, he said: “… go tell his disciples and Peter, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” I believe Jesus had the angel say “and Peter” because He knew that Peter didn’t consider himself a disciple anymore! (and neither did the rest of the disciples I’m sure… you know how church folk are.) 

BUT GOD…. yet if we look back just prior to Jesus telling Peter “you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church”, Jesus asked the disciples a question:

“Who do men say that I am?” So they said, “… John the Baptist, … Elijah, and others …Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  He said, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”THIS IS WHEN JESUS SAID: I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock* I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

When Jesus said “On This Rock”, he was referring to the fact that Peter had just acknowledged Jesus as the Christ!

The Only Qualification:  Genuine Salvation By Grace

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you my friend are qualified to be used by God.  No matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been, repent and receive forgiveness… and then forgive yourself. Begin to seek out your giftings and learn how to operate in them and let the Lord use you to further His Kingdom on earth!

If you have not received Christ as your Lord and Savior but would like to know more about this, please click on this link: http://www.maryloveslife.org/A-Gift-for-You.html

BE ENCOURGED!

BE EMPOWERED!

BE FREE TO BE WHO GOD CREATED YOU TO BE!

I want to close with two testimonies of using your gifts in the middle of your day to day life.  While both of these stories involve the gift of prophecy, it doesn’t matter what gift you have. You can encouage people, serve people, pray healing over people, teach people, give to people, lead people or use any gift God has given you RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR EVERY DAY LIFE!

A friend posted this on Facebook recently:  She was at the hairdresser getting her hair done when the Lord gave her a word for her hairdresser. She prophesied to her and the Spirit of God fell heavy upon the entire salon…. all the women in the salon were laid out on the flood under the power of God and she was able to minister and pray with each one. They worshipped and prayed together, PLUS she got her hair done! God is good! You never know where God may want to use your gifts!

The second testimony can be found here in a previous blog entry of mine: http://maryloveslife.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/are-you-tuned-in-or-are-you-missing-opportunities/

May you no longer compare your gifts to anyone else…

May you no longer think more highly of your gifts than you ought…

May you no longer believe that you are not qualified to be used by God…

May you be tuned-in to God daily and be aware of opportunities to use YOUR gift in the midst of your busy day!

God bless you all!