Let me preface this post with a Scripture, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17) I have a dear friend, who I trust completely, comment on my blog this weekend. She said it was good but basically fluff. Her first statement was, “I think it is superficial.” Ouch. The next was, “You have much more (depth) in you.” Whew! She believes in writing this blog that I may have diluted it to suit the audience. And to be honest, in my life it would seem that I have played to the crowd on more than one occasion. Therefore, I would have to agree. I am allowing my friend’s council to “sharpen me.” So, what you're about to read is straight from my morning time with Him. Yes it is from Him. I hear from God. It’s not in an audible way but in the still small voice that He uses to speak to us all. Remember, to be all-in takes a vulnerability and constant evaluation of just how surrendered you really are…


Recently, the Lord has been dealing with me regarding assumption and justification. Without further ado, here is what He said:

“You are almost 40 and assume you have 40 more!! I’m not saying that you do not---just that you do not know! That alone should help you see! This is all training for you! Even now as you write this before 6am on a Saturday (supposed sleep-in morning) here comes Lane (my middle son)!! It is ALL purposeful and counts for your training! In the last 11 weeks you have chosen complacency…turning days into weeks and weeks into months. Tricia I have created you for more! And the “more” I speak of is swirling around you right now! To look to the future is ok---to glance at it and to expect my promises. They will come! But to know my unending love and to get everyday’s design from me is where I want you to be without worrying about the outcome. This moves you from “Kadesh-Barnea” (the peripheral of Canaan-Deut1:12). You must stop assuming your time of assignment on the earth and justifying your reasons for residing on the fringe of the Promised Land. Stop justifying why you cannot move or looking at the circumstances as a barometer of what the future holds! I alone know! I alone know! I alone! I am! In looking ahead---staring ahead—glazing over into the future you are being stolen from with the gifts that are already at your feet!! Use my promises as praise, not the circumstances as a predictor! Tricia, my sweet love, gather up your senses. Gather up the resources that I have given you. Gather up your abilities---your determination---your friendships---your loves---gather it all up and let it work THIS day! Stop saving it for another day! Stay here in my presence (being all-in). When I give you a short burst of information-- write!! Write consistently as I give, listen to the answer, be cautious, set your flesh down and lift up your spirit for I AM.”

I don’t know if you assume the way I do, but my prayer for us both is to live in this day. Since you are alive and are here in this space and time…enjoy it. Enjoy those around you. I love the quote from William Purkey:

"Dance like no one is watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like no one is listening, and live like it's heaven on earth."



Have a blessed day,
Tricia

     God has placed in my heart a short blog series regarding what it means to dig deep, push through and attain unattainable “in our own strength” goals recently. Remember…To be “All-in” something is to have the courage to go beyond yourself and to be completely submersed in it. The same holds true (actually it is even more the case) for our great God. You will be compelled to do things you never thought possible and reach places in your life that you never dreamed. Jesus said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).

Die Trying

     Recently, as I was thinking about those things in my life that hold me back—fear of failure, fear of man and just plain old intimidation--- the words “die trying” were laid on my heart. The questions began to pour out from heaven…”What if you attempt those things that I have put into your heart and you fail? What if you get up and try them again and people judge you? What if you stand up to speak the things I have given you and the words do not come out the way they are in your head? What if you don’t succeed? What if? What if? What if?” Then, the peace which only He can give filled up my heart and I heard Him say...”What if no matter the outcome you continue to try? Remember Jeremiah 29:11? Plans to prosper you …and to do you no harm! So I ask again, “What’s the “harm” in trying?” What if at the end of your walk here on earth you were still trying (with many successes and a few failures under your belt)? You had died trying! “

     Sweep away the negative from your thoughts and understand this world is where the purpose He put you here for is to be fulfilled and the only true mistake that will be made is if you never try! If you excuse yourself due to fear, if you excuse yourself according to what you define success is versus what He knows it is---then you excuse yourself from the game altogether. You then take a solely spectator role in your own life! Don’t live a life full of fear and miss out on the participation! Keep trying! Keep reaching! Trust Him to be there for you at every point. I promise you as you extend your self beyond the comfortable, beyond the flesh; you will meet Him to a degree you have not yet known.

"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass!" (Italics mine, Psalm 37:5) This Psalm is so beautiful and well suited for a life lived for Him! However, at times in my life the commit part can be so hard on my flesh! When you find yourself all in something there is a level of deep commitment that must go with it! That level must be greater than any of the temptations to stop. It must be unchanging, never-moving and set up like concrete at the bottom of your soul. Many times as we are about to approach the summit of something God is doing in our life, it is in these precise moments that our commitment levels are tested. He spoke to me recently about climbing a mountain and that I was almost to the summit of a refreshing change in my life! However, He also began reminding me that the closer you get- it can become increasingly steep, the air can become dangerously shallow and the need for the supernatural becomes greater with every step! Wow!

In this season of my life, I am in the thick of raising four small children. As you know it is God’s most beautiful gift…but there are also those times in which it entails school lunches, crying babies, dirty diapers, sibling arguments, spilling of milk and even the occasional part- time plumbing all before breakfast!! I am here to tell you that I have actually felt like the air is absent in some of these moments!!! I have been stretched, pulled, shoved, overwhelmed, overburdened, and generally on the verge of mental collapse at times!! The “strict training” that I am finding myself in seems nothing short of what an athlete in preparation for world class event must feel like. But thank you to my awesome God for reminding me that the summit is SO close! I am almost there and these are proving to be the normal emotions that go with it! They do not necessarily indicate a weakness in your walk but an opportunity to let Him take over. They test your commitment! They test your resolve! They test your ability to continuously hand it over to the One who made you!!!! And if you are anything like me---you sometimes withhold the everyday experiences from God and just include him only in the life-altering ones! Obviously He is the God of the breakthrough, but He is decidingly the God of the (daily) breakdown as well!!!!!! He doesn’t ask us to do any of this without His hand in ours. So you see, the supernatural is not just reserved for the last step of a powerful testimony! It is in EVERY step up from the valley to the top and especially the final moments of your journey where the ascent has reached levels way, way, way beyond human capacity and endurance.

Recently as I shared this summit experience with dear friend, she sent me an amazing psalm she had written that day! God is so wonderful to confirm and affirm us through our friends just at the perfect moments. This is called the psalm (sacred song or poem) of ascent...I have found myself professing this as a make my way toward the top. So whatever leg of the journey you are on to Gods best for you life, I pray you tuck this poem in your pocket, commit every step to Him, trust His leading and watch Him bring it to pass!

Entering His Presence---A Psalm of Ascent

You alone are God – above You, there is no other!

          

Before You . . . There was none! . . . You alone are beyond description!

You are set apart – Holy - like no other!

You are All in All! The Alpha and Omega – beginning and ending!

The Creator of all that was, all that is, and all that is yet to come!

Yet, You are my God. You are near me.

You are my Father . . . Abba God!

You love me with an everlasting love. You are always for me.

You have plans for me and they are always designed for my good.

You are my covering. You have placed a banner of love over me.

You are my cleft of safety - my courage.

How can I fear with You walking beside me?!

You are my deliverer and my desire.

You are both my fortress and my hiding place.

You are my promise maker and my promise keeper.

You are my rock – my shelter – my security!

You are my shield, my stronghold, my strong tower, my strength!

You are my ever present help. You uphold me with loving arms.

You are my truth. You are the voice I must turn my ear toward!

By your grace, I will not remain as I am, but will continually pursue You.

I will not allow idols that tempt my life to overshadow You!

I will not be only a God-Watcher – a spectator student of God –

But I will be a God-Chaser – a Disciple – a favored Daughter of the Most High!

All the days of my life . . . as long as I have breath . . . I will follow hard after You!

by Sue Caldwell 9/25/2010

Take a look at this picture for a moment, no really, take a look at it! Try to feel the warmth of the sunshine on your face, listen for the water tapping at the edge of the pool, take a deep breath in...Can you smell the freshness of the air and the breeze gently blowing an ever so light mist across your face? Can you hear the tall pines popping and cracking with every gentle sway? This is a small, practical example of what it means to be "all in" to something...to be fully present in it where your senses are responding. It is a place where you are consumed and honestly connected to it. When we take a vacation or if you have ever been on a mission trip for example, it seems easy to have the experience of being all in. It is the place where your purpose stands alone ---where distraction and compulsion to "do" don't drive your every action.


“I know, I know”, your saying "sure those moments are great but they are not reality!" Reality is the daily grind...the push and pull to please people as well as to be chained to your adult responsibilities. It means giving of yourself sometimes until you have nothing left to give. It is what happens when youth escapes and career, family, bills, stress, cell phones and obligations take over. This is why I believe, youth looks so good to so many people and why it has been categorized as "the best days of your life" because as such--- none of the reality of adult life exists. I don't know about you but I certainly do not want to live 80 or so years and only have had 12-18 of them be my "best" ones!

Since I was very little, I have heard the phrase, "There is just not enough time in the day" ring in my ears and eventually it became engraved on my heart. In the last few years, God has been helping me come to terms with this concept. You see, He did not play a terrible trick on us by putting only 24 hours of time in a day when we really needed 32! God knows this present age life that we live in... He knows the hurried pace and He knows the temptation...He also chose you "for such a time as this". He knows that you can handle it and you can make the daily, hourly, sometimes moment by moment decision to live in the here and now. "I discipline my body and bring it under subjection." (1 Corinthians 9:27) This is a deliberate decision---a conscience choice to let your Creator guide you through this life and not just succumb to its pressures. Keep in mind this is not some new-age power of the will or yoga breathing technique; it is simply keeping your mind on Him. “Remain in Me and I will remain in you.” (John 15:4) As we walk with God, we take on His attitudes, His principles, His thoughts, His perspectives and his heart. I promise as you do this you will react differently to your life...you will see more clearly...you will appreciate those around you more and you will be able to withstand the trials of life to a greater degree.



As I write this, I obviously don’t know where you are in your life right now or what aspects of yourself you have surrendered to Him (if any). My challenge for myself and for you is to let go of another piece or maybe the first one for some of you. And let him begin to invade it, soak it, saturate it. My prayer for this blog is that eventually as you release more and more over to him your days may be plagued with less chaos and less of an out of control lifestyle. You might just look up and find your entire being in him. “He must become greater, I must become lesser.” (John 3:30) You might just find yourself ALL IN!