Distractions

I’m coming to find out that there are many types of distractions thrown our way when God is doing things in our life.  One such distraction for me is health.  Thursday night a cluster headache sent me to bed early.  I was fine when I woke up Friday morning but by 7:30 I was calling to cancel a doctor’s appointment and heading to bed, this time with a migraine.  Nausea overwhelmed me and the only thing that could bring comfort was eyes closed, dark room, lying vertical.

An entire day was wasted.  Interaction with my girls was limited throughout the day.  Most of my interaction was asking for water refills and tomato soup.  I had put a roast in the crock-pot that morning for barbecue, a quick potato salad once the headache had subsided to normal levels and dinner was done.  This migraine kept me from reading God’s word and the very important last chapters of the book I am currently reading.

Another distraction this week was the stolen information from our debit/credit cards.  Earlier in the week mine was compromised and then today we noticed another odd charge and it turned out to be on Matthew’s card.  A half hour spent on the phone reporting the fraudulent charges and canceling the cards.  More distractions.

It’s a pattern that I have learned to recognize.  I don’t know if I would call it a test of what I have just learned and started to apply, however, that is how it feels.  I just think that the enemy of my soul doesn’t like to see a closeness redeveloping with God and so he does all he can to distract me.

This is where keeping every thought captive to Christ comes in.  I can’t say that I wasn’t angry that both of our cards, just days apart, were basically stolen.  I was angry.  I can’t tell you that having a migraine and a stolen day didn’t make me sad, it did.  However, instead of throwing a tantrum, I held those thoughts captive, held the reactions in check and dealt with them calmly.

I think that is what we are supposed to do.  Instead of fussing and fighting over these things, we are supposed to say,  “Well Lord, there is nothing that I can do to change the circumstances so please work through me to stay calm and know that you have it all in your hands.”  I am praying for a clear head today, without any pain, I am praying for the energy that I know I will need and the patience that will get me through.

Distractions are a part of life, it’s what we do despite them that will make us stronger and more capable of dealing with them.

Can You Hear Him?

The saddest thing I could have imagined to come along in this period of growth for our family happened last night.  To have my daughter exposed to the teaching that God’s nature has some how changed and that He doesn’t speak to people anymore, well, it broke my heart.  It not only broke my heart for her to hear it and have such a conflict in her soul, but it broke my heart for the man/men who believe that is true.  It broke my heart to have my girl scoffed at when she bore witness to what is happening in my life, what has happened in hers.

This morning I received a verse that I believe was sent from God to reassure me.

Hebrews 4:12 (AMP)

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.

Oh what a powerful reminder that God is indeed alive and active and He speaks.

To say that He doesn’t move that way anymore, says that His nature is not the same, that He has somehow changed.  Isn’t that exactly what the enemy of God would want us to believe?  It would be easy to kill, destroy, distract, maim, and completely keep us from our glory by making us believe that God is not the same.  To believe this is just like Adam and Eve in the garden.

Genesis 3:1-5 (AMP)

Now the serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit from the trees of the gardenExcept the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die,For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity.

If we ascribe to things that our culture, denomination, school, peers, and sometimes even family, say about God, we could be buying into a lie of Satan that is meant to destroy our relationship with God.

Not all of us hear God in the same way, but if we are listening we can hear Him.  We have to be aligned with Him and desiring to hear His voice, even if that means that we have to change.  If we aren’t in this relationship with God to change, what are we there for?  If we are in it for some sort of benefit or because we think that God is a fairy or genie, we are in it for the wrong reasons.

Read about the lives of the disciples after Christ ascended, they weren’t rich in wealth.  They left their homes, families, and friends.  They embarked upon a mission to tell the world about Jesus.  They were stoned, beheaded, hung on crosses, imprisoned, beaten, spit upon, feared, reviled, and in so doing they were blessed with hearing from God, being led by His Spirit, and coming to know their Savior more intimately because they were experiencing His walk.  They delivered people from demons, healed the sick, spoke in tongues, and moved by the Spirit’s prompting.  They didn’t become perfect, but they definitely heard from God.

I have a small group of friends who have prophetic dreams and they are prayer warriors. they are aligned and waiting to hear the voice of God.  I have one who is an interpreter of the things that are happening in others lives, she is a prayer intercessory, deliverer, and all around brilliant star in God’s arsenal against the enemy.  She has interceded on my behalf and spoken words over me that could only be given to her by God.  My favorite line, that she delivers often to this little flock of sheep is, “Ask Him”.  That’s all we have to do, just ask, and then open our minds and hearts to hear Him speak.  It’s not hard, it’s not magic, I can’t explain it, but it happens.

For some it’s an image and then we have to dig into His word, that is alive and active, to see what that image is leading us to.  Sometimes it’s an image, a word, and an audible sound in our being, that points us in the direction we should go.  It only happens to those who are willing to believe that God is big enough, that God doesn’t fit into our image, He doesn’t conform to what our finite minds can understand.  In fact, for a long time I bought into that lie that God doesn’t operate like the bible tells us He does.  Then when it happened to me, I thought I was crazy, and then I found out that I was being called out of craziness and into a part of life that is fuller, brighter, and way more cool than putting God in a cracker box.

He is beyond comprehension and if He wants to show up in wings or give us the wings of eagles and the feet of mountain goats, guess what, HE CAN!  I don’t want you to think I am taking that too far or lightly, by any means,  like I said before, He is not a fairy or a genie.  I want you to know that God is able to do more than we can imagine, more than we can comprehend, but we have to be willing to allow our minds to go there, to be free from the distractions of our enemy, we have to be willing to allow God to be God and to learn what I believe He has empowered each of us to grasp, command, and be.

Not all believers are wired to hear Him the same way, but we are all wired to hear Him.  We have His Spirit dwelling within us.  We have His Son’s precious blood covering us.  We just have to stop restricting Him from being who He is.  Jesus is a gentleman.

Revelation 3:20(AMP)

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me.

He knocks, and waits patiently for us to answer.  He’s knocking, He is calling, He wants to communicate with you.  Can you hear Him?

Cedar Plank Salmon

I am pretty traditional when it comes to cooking salmon.  My normal method is skin on salmon filets, season with salt and pepper, cook skin side down in butter and olive oil until desired doneness, remove to a serving platter.  Add the juice and zest of two lemons, plenty of fresh chopped dill, 1 tbls of cold butter, swirling it in, cook until slightly thickened, pour over the top of salmon.  I usually serve it with some sort of potatoes {roasted or mashed} and steamed asparagus {with or without hollandaise sauce}.

Trying something new…well, we will eat just about anything in this house.  I mean why not something new with fish?  However, the recipe struck me as a little barbequeish (I realize I just made that word up, it’s the only thing that fit in my mind) and it hit me that it might be a better rub for steaks but, why not, let’s try it!

The Rub

1 Tbls brown sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp ancho chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Mix that up and put it to the side.  I should have said this earlier but you want to really soak those cedar planks well!  The instructions tell you an hour but ours nearly burned to ash before the salmon was done cooking so before I use them again I’m going to soak them a really long time.  In fact, they are in the sink now getting ready to be the cooking bed for chicken later this evening.

You will need 4 good-sized salmon filets (There was some beautiful fresh, wild caught, sockeye.  YUM!) with the skin left on.  Don’t worry, you won’t eat it, most of it sticks to the plank.  Rub that salmon with the desired amount of rub and allow it to just hang out in the fridge until your grill is good and hot.  350° hot, I heat mine to 400° because it loose temp fast when you open the lid.  Now, when the grill is up to temp, place the cedar planks, that have been well soaked, on the grill for 3 minutes with the lid closed.  Turn them over, plop on your salmon, close the lid and grill for 12-15 minutes.  We had to put out several fires during that time.  I always keep my water squirter handy.

The recipe that came with the cedar planks said to drizzle honey on the top of the salmon.  For the love of your taste buds, SKIP that part.  YUCK, just YUCK!  Otherwise, it was good.  I could see us using that rub on pork loin, chicken, or steaks.  I doubt my family will ask for the salmon that way again.  They really like the classic way better.  My market did have some beautiful whole trout that I would love to cook on cedar planks.  May just have to try that out too.

Tonight we are having chicken breast, marinated with my favorite marinade, Stubbs!!  I am going to cook them on the cedar planks and see how we like that.  Then I might even try the other recipe that came with the planks, Pork Tenderloin with Asian Style BBQ Sauce.

Happy Grilling!

*Fire & Flavor was the brand name on the planks, they had the two recipes on the inside of the label.

Choosing the Captor

I finally got some clarity to what was going on with me this weekend.  Clarity I needed to have and an attack on my spirit that needed to be taken care of.  As I’ve said before, when God is doing healing and taking care of old wounds, Satan will be right there to attack, kill, and destroy what God is doing.  If it were up to our enemy we would be withered and useless, as God is healing the withered hand, my enemy is looking to damage the foot.  When we are going through a process of healing, we need to be mindful and ask for protection over what God is doing.  Our minds are full of dark caverns and there are some scary things in there.

On Friday morning I woke up angry, really angry.  By the time Matthew got home that evening I was inconsolably angry.  God had healed a place of tenderness in my heart and then thoughts were planted in my mind that I didn’t deny or rebuke, instead I allowed the enemy to torment me with them.  I allowed him to attack my even more tender places with lies that left me angry with someone I love.

Why is that?  Why am I constantly trying to overcome things like this?  I believe it is because I have held on to the lies that Satan has told me, I have allowed them to become a ridiculous part of me.  God had brought other things to mind that I needed to go deeper into with Him.  I didn’t ask God to protect those places and I really should have.

As I am waking up to the daily struggle for my heart to remain close to God, I am also seeing in how many ways I can be attacked by my enemy.  Innocent things, innocent people.  I would rather focus on the goodness of Jesus and not the battle for my heart, but I can’t close my eyes to that battle either.  Closing my eyes to it has put me in a place far from where I should be.  And so, I have to focus on both, not equally, they both need my attention.

Prayers for peace, for protection, for a distinct closeness, and for the time to go to the throne room when things are revealed to me, immediately, rather than waiting.  If I have to wait, I pray for the reminder to pray for protection over those things.

The tender places are no less tender today, but today I have approached them with prayer.  I am thankful for His goodness, His grace, and I’m praying that if I injured my family with my moodiness and angry, hurt, words; that they will have the grace to forgive me too.

Poop Muffin or if you rather, High Fiber Muffin

So, after having gastric bypass 4 1/2 years ago and being very faithful about drinking my protein, I discovered that taking in that much protein, and not being able to fit very many high fiber veggies in at meals, caused the dreaded constipation and sluggish intestines.  So around the inter-webs a marvelous thing could be found.  It’s a  recipe for a poop muffin to help you, well, to help you go.  I find for most people who have had gastric bypass, just one muffin spread out over a day works wonders, and it doesn’t taste half bad.  Make sure to get in plenty of water too!

Poop Muffin

1-serving

You will need 1 microwave custard cup sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine 1/4 cup flax-seed meal, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 egg, a pinch of salt, and a sweetener of your choice.  This could be a packet of Splenda or other cook-safe sweetener, or 1 tsp of molasses.  You could even use agave and just play with the amount to get it to suit your taste.  If you don’t have a sensitivity to sugar, use it.  After mixing it well, pour it into the custard cup and microwave for 1 minute.

Allow to cool completely and enjoy.  It really is the best tasting way to get in that fiber, plus the protein of that one egg!