Dry Bones Breathe!

This weekend is going to go down as one of wildest ones in quite a while. I love it! What satan tried to make a lousy weekend, that basically shattered my plans, is turning into one of the greater blessings. While in the midst of this great joy, I am aware that I may have lost ground with someone who is struggling very deeply, because I dared to share my faith. I posted on Facebook that Jesus is not just the answer, He is the only one, and my life has been a living testament of His power in times of weakness.

And so my day began....  Yet...here I am! Alive in every sense of the word. Pain is not my enemy, nor is fear! My enemy is a toothless, old lion trying the suck the marrow out of my life. Well, this ole gal is tired of that stuff, so when he sends a "friend" to try to slow me down, it doesn't really work as he'd planned. Even when immobilized I can sing, praise, and pray! If I fall asleep, I can dream! I had a strange one last night, but I know the visions are returning. Warnings come in dreams.

Yesterday as I was catching up on my Bible readings I paused at Acts 4: 32-35: "All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need." (italics mine)

That's been my philosophy, and I've tried to teach my children to have the same values. My daughter literally gives people the last can of food in her pantry or the shirt off her back. She has a wonderful spirit of giving. People pity her sparsely adorned home, empty pantry, and broken refrigerator absent of food. But she brightens up a room with the love of Jesus, and she can pray for you with heart and soul. She literally lights up the room. I pray everyone has an opportunity to meet her one day...for all she is not, she is so much more.

My family is broken, as is their mother, but we are surviving the snares laid to trap us and brings us to ruin. In each our own way we are facing the tremendous adversities, the adversary who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But as matriarch of this family I will have none of that! My Abba Father has promised victory, and He doesn't lie! There's a song by Matthew West that puts it nicely:

Mended

How many times can one heart break?
It was never supposed to be this way
Look in the mirror, but you find someone
You never thought you'd be

Oh, but I can still recognize
The one I love in your tear stained eyes
I know you might not see it now
So lift your eyes to me

When you see broken beyond repair
I see healing beyond belief
When you see too far gone
I see one step away from home
You see nothing but damaged goods
I see something good in the making
I'm not finished yet
When you see wounded, I see mended

You see your worst mistake
But I see the price I paid
There's nothing you could ever do
To lose what grace has won

So hold on, it's not the end
This is where love's work begins
I'm making all things new
And I will make a miracle of you

I see my child, My beloved
The new creation you're becoming
You see the scars from when you fell
But I see the stories they will tell
You see worthless, but I see priceless
You see pain, but I see a purpose
You see unworthy, undeserving
But I see you through eyes of mercy

Ya know, there may be many things that trouble me, conundrums as I call them, mixed feelings and crazy thoughts that boggle the imagination or lack thereof of people, but my Constant is my faith in my Abba Father. He's the real deal.

Election is Tuesday, my mother's birthday, and I plan to honor her memory and my Abba Father by voting for the one I feel tries to honor God. Whoever that is, that one will need the prayers, not the criticism of God's family of believers. True believers who bend their knees in prayer before they dare to utter a word against anyone. We all fail miserably short, but we keep trying by our great example of Jesus, the true unoffendable one who has sacrificed everything!

Many times I get criticized or misunderstood, because I miss church. I love my church, and I support it, yet at times I need more than any human institution can provide. My spirit longs for much more of the presence of God that I have never felt within the walls of a church. I need God's great dance floor where I can come alive and worship Him freely, without concern of offending some stuffed shirt who thinks you have to kneel to pray or bow to a picture of Jesus on a wall. No, my Jesus is alive and real! And, He loves to dance like David did...kick up His heels to dance the River Dance or enjoy the rhythms and beats of my Africa that I love! And I know He worships His Father with the sounds of Hillsong United, even though they're dressed in everyday clothes, have dreadlocks, and some are overweight though with wonderfully deep and robust vocal cords. Spirits alive! I come alive! I am alive! Even when I am having my worse chemical imbalances, migraines, or whatever satan tries to throw my way, I am alive with the music, the heavenly music heals and restores. It's magic! It's heaven! It's Jesus!

So as we ready ourselves in prayer, thought for the great election day, perhaps the lyrics of Lauren Daigle's song Comes Alive will rattle a few bones:

Comes Alive (Dry Bones)

Through the eyes of men it seems there's so much we have lost
As we look down the road where all the Prodigals have walked
One by one the enemy has whispered lies then led them off as slaves

But we know that you are God, Yours is the victory
We know there is more to come that we may not yet see
So with the faith You've given us we'll step into the valley unafraid

(chorus)
As we call out to dry bones come alive, come alive
We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones come alive

God of endless mercy, God of unrelenting love
Rescue every daughter, bring us back the wayward sons
By Your Spirit breathe upon them, show the world that You alone can save
You alone can save

(chorus)
As we call out to dry bones come alive, come alive
We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones come alive

So breathe, Oh breath of God now
Breathe, Oh breath of God
Breathe, Oh breath of God now breathe
Breathe, Oh breath of God now breathe
Oh breath of God
Breathe, Oh breath of God now breathe

(chorus)
As we call out to dry bones come alive, come alive
We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones come alive
We call out to dry bones come alive

Oh come alive