A time a restoration...

These last 5 weeks have flown by! It's been a long time, yet a time of great reflection and restoration. Over the last 5 weeks I've had the opportunity to really get back to the basics of life...what is important...tons of prayer...defining what God desires for my life...vacation...prioritization...reading...soul searching. Did I mention it has been an amazing 5 weeks? God has been working in my heart as I have taken the focus off of so much distracting stuff in my life and placed it on nothing but Him. It really helped being away for 2 weeks on vacation. Although it all started a few weeks prior to vacation as I started reading an awesome book called Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala. I am not finished reading it yet as I have taken my sweet time absorbing all the God is speaking to me about through it. Prayer is such a gift to us and it is something I have always felt gifted by, but this book brings to light the huge, immense power God allows us to have through prayer with Him. Our prayer life cannot be some mechanical exercise, but a real calling out to God with passion for whatever needs you are praying for. Needless to say, I L-O-V-E this book and would encourage you to read it, it will bring true Fresh Wind and Fresh Fire for the amazing God we love and serve.
On top of reading this book the week prior to vacation I began a Bible study by Beth Moore called "Daniel - Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy". Obviously we are studying the book of Daniel and is a faith building study of prophecy and it is teaching me how to shine for Christ in our modern culture and let me tell you what, I have been blessed and challenged by this in depth study. It has opened my eyes and provided quite the awakening, it has allowed me to see the way I have allowed the world to reshape me, when He is the Potter and I am His clay. Hence the 5 week break...I needed some time to react to all that God is saying to me as I have allowed so much of the world to keep me busy, not necessarily with bad things, but I want the best things. When I talk about busy things I'm talking about things like the internet, which don't get me wrong isn't "bad", but I truly was allowing it to take time away from Christ that was unnecessary, instead of doing my daily reading or other important things, because the world says if your not connected at the hip with the WWW your not "in" the know, well, obviously I am still connected and will use it as a connection tool, but I won't be allowing it to consume every waking hour, anyway, that is just one of the many things that I have been blessed by. SO,again, another wonderful opportunity to learn and I would invite you to read with me the book of Daniel and see just how he called on the supernatural knowledge and understanding of Christ and received just that as he took a stand against the modern culture of his time that Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, was creating. It's awesome to know that we too can call on that same supernatural wisdom and understanding and receive it just as Daniel did and shine like never before in the presence of our Heavenly Father and every person we come in contact with. If you are competitive and like to be different (I am talking Godly here) , what is the greatest challenge??? Conforming to the same world everyone else is or shining the amazing light of Jesus Christ and stepping out of the box on His behalf...rejecting the flesh, walking daily with the Spirit. I read this and had to close with it...the way to avoid getting burned by the world is the bathe in God's presence. So true!!!

God, I thank You so much for the restoration and clarity You are allowing me to experience and for the tools You have provided. Thank You for these obedient writers, who are living their lives for You and inspiring people like me. I pray today for Your supernatural knowledge and understanding God and I pray that we will hunger for Your presence and will all get down on our knees in true, humble, obedient prayer to You and I pray that the importance of prayer would resound throughout our church and community and reign in our lives. Thank You Sweet Saviour and Sovereign Lord....