The journey continues.....

A song was posted on FB yesterday by a friend and I added it to my wall. It was called "I'll walk by faith".

Yesterday when I heard it I began to praise Him by dancing and singing. Its my goal to walk by faith in all that I do.

This morning I woke up thinking about a mission class I took when I was a student at Northwest Christian College in the early 80's.

One of the books we read was "Peace Child" by Don Richardson and I remember sharing this book with people in the church I was going to appalled over the idea that people were told they could accept Jesus in their throat because their culture believed that the center of their being was not their heart but in their throat.

As I think back and I'm made this comment before with people in my age group and those a generation before: The spirit of religiosity played a good role during those times in the church. The family dressed up for church, walked in together and shared together, never letting the dirty laundry of the home life enter the doors because they believed that it didn't belong in the church building. Yet I remember every Sunday hearing the minister talk about what was going on out in the world and no one would budge even if it was happening in their own homes. It was more embarrasing to admit to someone that the trials you were facing were the same as someone else in the church.

However over the years with the Jesus Movement the church as a whole has changed. People are entering that have dealt with sins of drugs, alcohol and sex and are being forgiven. People are opening up their hurts and pains and letting others comfort them and its no longer a thing of keeping up with the Jones as people are pulling together to help one another.

I've talked to people that are around my age that grew up in the church, but fell away. They don't see that the church has changed as they remember what it was like 20 to 30 years when they were younger. They see the church as judgemental and that they don't belong.

It means that we have to do what we need to do outside of the building. If the Christ we are worshiping in the building is also outside working in us it is a much more powerful sermon then can be preached at the pulpit.

As I work with seniors who have fallen away from their faith, very few understand the term of "relationship" when refering to Christ. They remember a God who was not there for them when they needed Him.

So the journey continues in finding ways to share Him to others, while seeking new things about Him. Showing a Christ that will change the mindsets of people who have never really met Him for who He is.

Prayerwalking is good for the soul

About five years ago when I was starting another 50 day journey, God told me to walk the streets of my town for the next 50 days.

First thought I had was that I needed rain gear as fifty days without rain is pretty much unheard of in the fall season. Although Indian summer hangs on until late November, it still does get rather chilly for a walk.

I was working at a local toy store and a couple of other places at the time so the prayerwalking fit in with my schedule of walking to work in the mornings and having my hubby pick me up when I got off work, which was usually a half hour after I was done and so I would prayerwalk the port.

I did go through most of the streets during the fifty days and also through out the year prayerwalked our churches in the area.

As I started this project of praying over homes that I was walking through God showed me several things to pray for. In my neighborhood there were four drug homes. There were also homes that were in bad decay and needed much repair. My neighborhood was prayed over beyond the fifty days. In that time frame three of the drug homes were gone and the people moved to other areas. ( The fourth disbanned early last year).

Homes on our area that were in decay were getting new face lifts and new homes were put on the lots where the homes were falling apart and beyond repair.

But I know that God was working inside the hearts of those in the homes and that was what He was more concerned about.

There were businesses on the main Hwy that I prayed over, walked the parking lots including a motel where I was asked to leave as I was making the owner nervous. Granted having a woman walking around the parking does tend to make people nervous and I understood that and left.

Months later he was arrested for drug manufactoring.

One day I was walking the neighborhood where our library sits. I went to work later that day, and a pastor came into the toy store and knowing I am a believer told me that he had just left the library where he was able to obtain one of the rooms for a church service!

Yes I know I am a bit quirky at times and people do look at me funny when I do something because God told me to. But as a friend pointed out a few weeks ago at a prayer time, "I knew it wasn't Satan telling me to come to church late!".

So this was on my mind today as I was thinking about our church's 21 day fast between now and Easter. As I was trying to think of what to add to the fast I'm already on I realized I have a large list already of things I need to take out of my life if not for 21 days, for the rest of my life.

So, I'll be out and about again for the next 21 days.

God bless.