Poses I will never attain…

Retrieved from Cora’s Holy Yoga journal, “…I think there are poses I will never attain.  As the week progresses I take each pose one more step.  The same way I am called to walk with God, get me out of the way and take one more step in faith. Then, I have to take a breath from the Spirit.

I have to get rooted and plant myself firmly engaging the muscles (of faith).  I have to bring my limbs into alignment with my middle with Christ as the center.  Then, I take my focus or gaze to the correct position.  Moving slowly and breathing into the pose, not getting ahead of the breath (or Holy Spirit).

I began to place my shoulder where it should be.  Then, I can begin to work my leg and knee into place.  It is behind my back, over my shoulder.  I reach across with my hand and gently pull the right foot up, but pushing the heel away from the hip.  Before I know it, I am praising God that my back is straight as well as the right leg!

The girls around me are cheering their encouragement and cameras are flashing! Praise God!”

Note: The picture was a little early.  The leg actually went all the way behind the head while touching the opposite shoulder.

The Rainbow of Truth

Suffering Breeds Purity in the Promise

Cora and I saw this rainbow outside a previous house we lived in from a previous life.  Notice the double rainbow.  It was an awesome God Spot.

It is tough to catch a full rainbow in a camera lense.  When you do, it’s usually too far away to really produce the impact you feel by being there. I prefer my rainbows to be up close and personal, just like God.

The rainbow is a sign of new life.  I don’t think you can fully appreciate the significance of the sign without having experienced the suffering that produced it.  When God invented the rainbow, it followed a worse kind of painful suffering by God Himself.

Consider the pain you might feel from total destruction of the the things most dear to you.  From the pain, God produced the promise.  God promises to love.  We must choose to accept His love.  Will you?

“When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth”.

Who am I, Lord?

“Who am I God, that you are mindful of me?  You created this incredible universe and yet you would choose to dwell within this body, this human temple?

My spirit is over whelmed.  My human mind boggled.  My grandson, Luke might say, ‘I am flabbergasted!‘ “

-excerpt pulled from Cora’s worship journal at Holy Yoga retreat

Cora Heading for the Mat

I dropped Cora at the airport as she headed on the adventure of a life time.  She was headed for the COD Ranch outside of Tucson.  I thought that the name was appropriate.   Ha!

I look forward to her return and the sharing of her impactful week away.

It’s not cool….

In my religion it is not so cool to talk about demons and such.   I know it’s ok in some other religions, but many times believers may lose focus on God and focus on the demonic side of things.  That’s not good.  God wants our eyes on Him.

I haven’t blogged in a week.   For those who know me by sight or by “lurking”, that is unusual and you’d have to ask, “what’s up?”.  Up until a few hours ago, I’d have to say I didn’t know.  I was just incredibly depressed.  It has been coming on for a week.  The depressing spirit steadily getting worse.

My bride called today from a Spritual retreat she has been on for the week.  This was during the same week I have been falling into a deeper depression.  I’m sure she will share how significant the presence of God was for her, but for me there was an incredible battle going on and I was losing.  I am normally an incredibly optimistic guy.  I have very seldom seen the glass half empty.

Then, this afternoon it all made sense.  The Word says that when we marry, we become one.  It makes sense to me that if my other half is experiencing a Godly Spiritual high of a life time, I might experience an attack from the dark side.  Obviously, most anything goes in the spirit world.

I have been praying that God would restore my joy.  I was losing the battle.  Last night, I found the Bible on audio.  You can go to link:  http://www.thebibleproject.com/displayimage.php?album=12&pos=0 and listen to a guy read the Bible.  I let it play most of the night as background to my sleep.  I figured the power of God’s Word would be good even in my sleep.

Cora just called to share what an incredible Spiritual adventure she has been on and she would be on her way home this afternoon.  Oddly, in God’s timing my depression broke about an hour earlier.    I look forward to Cora safely arriving home and appreciate God’s grace on us in the good times and bad.

As a footnote:  For those of you who suffer from depression.  My heart goes out to you.  It is a scary and painful place to be.  Seek after God and trust His promise that He will supply all the needs of those that love Him.  There is joy on the other side.

Improvisational Symphony

Listen to the “Improvisational Symphony of the Holy Spirit”.  I am speechless.  If the thought does not make your spirit heart skip a beat, i’m sorry.

Quote by Pastor Jeff

911 Emergency Vehicle #37

I was awaken by the sounds of a couple of large trucks and startled to see flashing red lights outside my bedroom window.  It was a fire truck and EMS vehicle.  They were heading to a house a few doors down the road.

After my adrenal stopped pumping, I began thinking what if they had been coming for me?  What if we had an emergency service for the total man?  You know, an emergency service for body, soul and spirit.

Civil services do a pretty good job of caring for the physical part of our body.  There is a fire house in almost every neighborhood with highly trained people to deal with just about any emergency your physical body might encounter.

But the body is only 1/3 of the total human being.  What about an emergency vehicle for the spirit?  What about an emergency vehicle for the soul (emotions)?

Who are you going to call? Will you get a busy signal?  How will they respond?  Are they trained?  It’s a thought worth considering.  Am I qualified to help another person with any part of their body, soul and spirit?

A Radically Different Life

“Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different”. by Mark

How’s that Willie Nelson song go, “On the road again….” Even Willie knows that life on the road can be radically different. Pray for Willie and pray for someone close to you that needs to hear with “joyful urgency” that life can be radically different.

God bless and enjoy the moment!  Today is the day that the Lord hath made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Live Above the Chaos

I like pictures in my blog. Pictures communicate. But the picture in my mind and if painted on canvas would be incredibly abstract and vulgar. There would be nothing recognizable, but you’d know everything there.

Live Above the Chaos

Suppose every event, every emotion, every spirit being and every other unquantifiable negative thing had form and shape. Imagine what it would look like. Imagine the look of greed. Imagine the look of selfishness. Imagine the look of ill placed love.

Now imagine all these forms at your feet. God has uniquely blessed and allowed you to rise above the chaos. He has forgiven you and elevated you above. I use the word chaos, because I can’t think of a word that justly describes the ugly alien forms piled high alive at my feet.

I know that any one of the forms would want to reach up and pull me down. Pull me back into the yucky smelly mess below, but oddly none do. They realize it is God that has elevated me above the chaos of life. It knows it impossible in their own power to grab hold of me. The effort would be wasted.

They patiently wait. They know it’s likely, one day I may lose sight of God and then they will welcome me. For the moment they find pleasure in living with others who choose to stay. Those who reject the faith required for God to elevate and live above the chaos.

Live Above the Chaos

Incredible God Spot!

God Spot in EPIC Proportion

Some of you know that Cora and I lost pretty much everything in my business collapse last year. The year that followed has been a challenge to say the least. Because of the dynamics in our life, God on a daily basis reveals His Sovereignty.

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Others of you know that God touched Cora’s heart with a love for Holy Yoga. She has been practicing the disciplines of Yoga based on Christ’s presence for about three years. Recently, she discovered God leading her toward the challenge of being certified as a yoga instructor. More specifically, as a Holy Yoga instructor.

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The cost of this certification with travel and fees is about $3,000. For some, that is not much. For others, it is an unimaginable amount. With last years collapse, it was impossible for us. The impossibility did not slow Cora down in the least. God put it on her heart and God would provide.

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It has been nonstop God Spots. Last week during leadership summit, a niece of ours stopped by with round trip tickets to Tucson where Cora will be getting her final certification. Then, a friend stopped by and dropped off a check for $500! She said, “God told her to do it”. Others have also contributed toward Cora’s certification. The God Spots just keep coming.

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Cora leaves next Monday on the 18th to spend a week in Tucson. Pray for her safety and health. Pray for the witness she will be as a “grandmother” embarking on a new youthful ministry.