Amazed.  A term that illustrates the difficulty of expressing in one English word the wide range of startled emotion, wonder, astonishment, & awe.  Daily I am reminded of God's love for me.  For us.  For you.  He is the Lover of your soul.
Throughout Scripture we find that our God is a seeking God. He is a pursuer. It isn't  that He is unaware of where we are or what we are doing, but in the sense that He seeks communion with us.  How is it possible that He would choose something so weak, broken and imperfect as the object of His delight and pleasure?  In His Word, we are told that we are dark, yet lovely (Song 1:5), we are told that we are sinful and gone astray (Rom 3:23), yet we are called the pearl of great price (Mt 13:45). It is He who woos us to himself, like a lover enticing us to draw close enough to feel His breath, hear His whispers, and enjoy the depth of His love.  Simply put, He delights in us.

In today's Monday Musing, I reflect on the many ways He has wooed me to Himself.  I am amazed of His mighty deeds. He calls me to draw near. ~ Sherry
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​​The sun quietly hides behind the moon for a split moment in time and all creation responds.  The crickets and frogs begin to sing.  Ants stop their hurried movement then race back into the mound.  Humans applaud and release emotion through sighs of awe and wonder.  “It was a beautiful sight,” was described by so many who visited the peak points to observe the eclipse.  Beauty.  Expected.  Planned.  Anticipated.  Amazement! 

​Nature has a way of amazing me!  I love to look out over the evening horizon at salmon pink skies full of heavy indigo clouds, outlined with splashes of cantaloupe orange and deep violet.  Setting sun.  Reflections.  Canvas sky.  Intense color.  Magnificent art.  Amazing! 

​Gazing into the forest and at the grassy fields leading up to it, a quick movement jolted my attention to a brown swamp bunny feasting on breakfast provisions from of our Creator.  I watched his long ears dance from position to position, attentive to every sound.  Wiggling nose.  Wide-eyed.  Alone.  Undisturbed.  Beauty.  Quiet.  Admiration!

​Above I’ve heard rhythmic sounds of sea gulls over head and the waves lulling peacefully as the wind blows the strands of my hair across my face.  I dig toes deep into the thousands of tiny granules of cool sand.  His thoughts of me outnumber them.

​Winding along a mountain road, I stop to put my feet into the river.  The shady banks provide the right atmosphere for a cool rest.  The water is living as I step in and sit on a big rock out in the middle.  The rushing stream carries away old sediment and ushers in newness.  My furled brow is eased with this amazing white noise while the tension in my muscles seems to release.  You have given thought to this and have provided what my heart yearns.

​I am awestruck that you would care for me in this way.  Your marvelous works are breath-taking as I pause to observe the wonder of you.  Glory.  Majestic. Comforting. Cool breeze. Rest. Marvelous. 

It is in nature that my soul breathes.  It is also in beautiful music and art.  I especially love this picture that was chosen for our upcoming retreat.  It speaks volumes as I place myself in its scene.

To me, it portrays all emotions of the Bride of Christ.  Her face is pointed upward as she takes in the breeze off of the ocean.  Mighty and vast.  As she gazes at the brewing storms, indicated by the darkening clouds, she spreads her arms out in total surrender.  Abandoned from all worries and anxiety, she turns her back from the focus of daily life.  I imagine her exhaling deeply, relieving the stress from her weary and worn body.  She has prepared herself for her groom with a beautiful white gown.  Pure.  Unstained.  Fitting.  Lovely.  

She takes in the warmth from the breaking sunlight.  Bright. Radiant. Hope. A new season approaching. 

Her position is high upon a terrace.  Below are crashing waves.  She has been lifted from the shifting sands and rocky shore.  Her feet are placed firm and steady upon a foundation of stone.  A place where dancing is made easy and laughter has returned.  

She is as high as the outstretched branches of the tree.  No longer shaded by it but able to reach forth and easily partake of its fruit.  

In total surrender, her heart pounds.  Ready for the next step.  A passion to move close to her lover.  Enthralled. Sought. Wooed. Captured. Embraced. Forever. 

Kathy and I personally invite you to attend our "Awaken to the Pursuit of the Bridegroom" retreat September 30, 2017.
Come, pull away.  Let Him reveal Himself to you again in a magnificent way.  Can you sense His Holy wooing?  Release yourself in total surrender to the One who loves you perfectly.  Wholly.  Passionately.  He calls, "Come away by Beloved."  Won't you respond?
You can get more information on the details of the retreat by Clicking Here.

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Summer is a great time for weddings!  And along with the hustle and bustle of preparations, venues, family dynamics, travel, and celebrating with the bride and groom, there is always an opportunity for reflection! If we are married, our hearts are tenderized as we reflect on our very own vows that we made to our spouse.  Sometimes we reflect on our music, colors, and the funny things that seem to happen before, during and after the ceremony.  As we approach our upcoming Restore Retreat in September, my mind is continually focused on it's theme as I continue to study and prepare for "Awaken to the Pursuit of the Bridegroom." We hope that if you are in town, you will join us. I'm sure that today's blog will speak to you as most all of us can relate to dancing at a wedding reception!  Today's Monday Musing is from one of our guest writers here at Restore Ministries, Margaret Kemp.  She has a heart for writing what God speaks to her during everyday moments of life.  It is my prayer that you will prepare your heart for "Dancing with the Spirit." -Sherry 

I once took ballroom dancing classes at Ric Seeling’s Dance Studio.  Ballroom dancing is different from the type of dancing we did when I was a kid.   In those days, the dances required no physical contact with a partner— I could basically “do my own thing.” Line dancing was also popular; to line dance I had to learn certain steps and perform a routine, but there was still no physical contact. Well, in ballroom dancing, one partner—almost always the man---has to lead, and the other partner has to follow.

I was not exactly one of Ric Seeling’s star pupils.  My first problem, he said, was that I was trying to lead.  And even when I wasn’t actually leading, I wasn’t following either.
     
“You have to trust the lead,” he’d tell me. “But you want to analyze it.  You keep thinking, ‘Where’s he taking me?’ ‘Why does he want me to go there?’ Just trust the lead and keep moving in that direction until you feel the next lead.”  “Wait for the lead,” he’d tell me.  “Don’t try to anticipate the lead.  You may think you know where your partner is going to lead next, but he may do something entirely different.  Wait for the lead!”  Ric had certain terminology that he used to teach, and I was such a slow learner that he made me write down the terms.

First, there was the “Bubble,” an area of proximity to your partner. To understand the lead, you have to stay in your partner’s Bubble. If I got too far away from the Bubble, Ric would say I “went shopping,” (off doing my own thing.)

Next, I had to leave my fingertips “available” to receive directions, especially during turns.  If I let go, or if I grasped too tightly, I couldn’t receive the directions and wouldn’t know which way to turn.

​He had to remind me to keep my chin up—to keep looking up and stop looking at my feet.
“Where do your feet go? Down!”  he’d say.  “Your feet know where to go.  Just keep looking up.”

Recently I was reading the daily lesson in Kathy Drake’s “Come unto Me” Study where Kathy compares the Spirit-filled life to a dance. Kathy wrote:

“A great dance partner can be trusted to lead you in joy, beauty, and grace if you follow his steps.  The Holy Spirit is not only the greatest dance partner of all, but He is also the choreographer.  He created the steps and knows how to lead you through the dance of life.  But you will have to learn to follow His lead.  It may take some practice to get the steps right, but if you listen carefully to His instruction and learn to rest in His embrace, you will know which way to go.  He can be trusted.”

It occurred to me as I read this that maybe I have trouble following the Holy Spirit’s lead just like I had trouble following the lead in dance class.

​To follow the Holy Spirit’s lead, I have to stay in the Bubble…to stay close to Him through Bible Study and prayer. When I take time to quiet my heart and sit in the stillness, away from distractions, God speaks. He may use His still, small, inaudible voice—words that I hear clearly in my mind, though my ears hear no sound. He may send thoughts that can only be from Him because they are saturated in goodness, peace and holiness. I may feel a prompting, and urgency, a nudging towards some good work. A memory verse may pop into my mind. Or sometimes, as I’m reading a passage of Scripture (maybe one I’ve read dozens of times) I gain new understanding. It’s as if little light bulbs are flipped on in my brain as the Holy Spirit enlightens and illuminates the Word. I know I have heard from Him when His communication leads me to acts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

     Sometimes I tend to “go shopping,” though; I wander off in search of other things in life to delight, to entertain, to motivate, to fulfill me. But those things never satisfy for long, and I come away feeling empty.

     Sometimes, I don’t leave myself available to His leading.  I may choose to cling to His Hand, enjoying my Bible study and prayer time, but refusing to go anywhere with Him. I may simply be unavailable, unwilling to follow Him and participate in the work He’s doing in the world. He may be nudging me toward a particular ministry, a particular good work, a particular act of kindness, yet I don’t go.

     Sometimes I get ahead of the Holy Spirit. I think I know best, and I go off in my own direction, making decisions without first praying about them.  I tend to try to do things in my own power, to stop looking up to God.

The dance of life would be so much easier, so much more graceful, if I would stop trying to tell my feet where to go, so to speak, and instead allow God to direct my steps and give me the ability to do what He asks me to do.

The patriarch Jacob was a man who desired, I believe, to do God’s will, but he seemed to have trouble allowing God to lead. Even before he was born, God planned for him to inherit the blessings which should have gone to his older brother Esau. But Jacob, whose name means “grasps at the heel,” or “he deceives,” didn’t want to wait for God’s lead.  He got ahead of God and schemed to make things happen.  First, he convinced his brother to exchange his birthright for a bowl of soup.  Then, when his father Isaac was blind and close to death, Jacob impersonated Esau and tricked his father into pronouncing a blessing upon him---the blessing that should have gone to Esau, the firstborn.  He had good intentions, but he anticipated God’s lead. All along God had planned for Jacob to have the birthright, but Jacob thought he had to manipulate circumstances to bring that about.
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God had to teach him to stop trying to make things happen through trickery and just to trust.  Jacob was lonely, discouraged, dejected, suffering the consequences of his schemes and deception when God gave him the vision that we call “Jacob’s ladder,” angels ascending and descending a ladder that reached to heaven.  Jacob needed to stop looking at his own circumstance, stop looking at his own abilities, stop trying to figure out how to make things happen, and start looking up to heaven. 

Just when we think the dance with the Spirit is going to be smooth and carefree because we’ve mastered a few basic steps, God has new patterns for us to learn.  Jacob spent a lifetime learning to let the Holy Spirit lead.
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Jacob’s dance with the Spirit was fraught with missteps and poor timing because he tended to rush headlong into decisions without first consulting God. Later in life, when Jacob had to finally face his brother Esau, Jacob did pray, but only after attempting to find his own solution. In a state of emotional turmoil, he divided his family into two groups, reasoning that if Esau attacked, at least one group would be safe. Genesis 32 tells how Jacob poured out his heart to God, confessing his unworthiness, admitting his fear, and reminding God of His promise.

Then Jacob proceeded to select gifts—peace offerings—to send to his brother.  Poor Jacob! He still believed that it was up to him to take the lead, to devise his own plan.
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That night Jacob sent his wives, children, and possessions across the stream ahead of him.  Jacob was left all alone, and that’s when he and the Lord had their own pas-de-deux. Well, it was more like a wrestling match than a dance, but the result was that Jacob realized his dependence on God, yielded to God, and changed the way he related to God. And, as an indication of the drastic change in Jacob’s life, God changed his name to Israel, which various sources translate as “he struggles with God,” or “God’s warrior” or “God prevails,” or “soldier of God.” His new name was a reminder that he struggled with the Almighty and finally learned to follow God’s lead.

​I’m ready to end the struggle, to RELAX and to trust God’s leading.  I’m ready to enjoy the graceful, exciting dance with the Spirit.  I’m ready to go where He leads, believing that His choreography, His plan, is the best plan.  Wherever we go together, I know I can rely on Him to strengthen and support me. I don’t know whether the music will be soft and tender or energetic and fast-paced, but I’m ready to trust that He will give me clear direction, if only I will wait for it.  I know that if I follow His lead, the dance will be beautiful, joyful, and elegant. How about you? Are you ready to dance?

For His Glory,
Margaret Kemp

CLICK THE PICTURE for more information on our September 30th retreat.  Won't you join us?  

God left His heavenly throne and became man - the Incarnation. The simplicity and beauty of Christ’s birth never ceases to amaze me. Had He come in grandeur and splendor, He would have been an unapproachable object of wonder and awe. But Jesus chose to enter our world the way each of us comes, as a weak, helpless, miraculous expression of God’s Divine love.
Nothing is too hard for God; no sacrifice too great.

What then can we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
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In His glory, God reached out to meet us in the frailty of our humanity and the fullness of His deity.
It’s a mystery that none of us can ever fully comprehend.

We must choose to bow in faith at the revelation of the depth of love that the Father longs for us to know. 

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Jesus wants us to understand that He is not only for us, but He is with us - Immanuel.
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With us - when the challenges overwhelm us,
      when the pain and failures of the past haunt us, 
            when the loss in life consumes us, 
                    when we wonder how we will pay for the needs of our family,            
                         when we desperately need to know some answers, 
                                  when we simply need love to hold us
                                         when we are just so weary...He is Immanuel - God with us.                                                       

I am praying for God to give me deeper revelation and insight as to the significance for my life
that He is Immanuel - God with us. Will you join me in that prayer?
​It's personal, transforming truth for my life, for your life and for those we love.

Grateful to be His beloved,
Kathy

Resources: photos pinterest, Living Water by Kathy Drake

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