Blog - "Tuning In" to the Holy Spirit

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"Tuning In" to the Holy Spirit

Location: Blogs MobiBlog
Posted by: mynextsteps	3/13/2008 3:09 PM
That little "knob" that was given out as a reminder to "tune in" to the H.S. had a very powerful effect on me. Also Ted's examples frequently when he teaches on how he has felt led in various and assorted ways to do certain things - how he hears the Spirit directing him, has also deeply impacted me. I have this little ziploc bag of books I love to hand out at bus stops.....I keep it wedged in between the seats or under a seat. The other day I was noticing that it had a torn zipper part and that some of the books were falling out. I noticed that I only had four books left (out of a box of 250). I flipped the bag up onto the seat telling myself that when I got home I needed a new bag for these four and needed to put in a new order for some more books (Prison to Praise). As I pulled to the end of my street & made a right hand turn, I had the distinct impression that I was supposed to open my car window and toss one of these books out of the window----------now that is just plain 'ol weird, in my book! ha! I stopped right there in the middle of the street and said to God, "what?" "no way, you want me to what?" No traffic, so I loitered with my car right there for several minutes and the sensation was so strong that I really needed to do just that - throw a book out of the car. SO I DID IT! Right there - chunked it right out the window (I picked the dirtiest looking one in the bag)....and zip, out it went. And I went on my merry way, pondering what that had meant - and thinking if anyone saw me they would think I'd crossed the line into sheer madness! Three days later (this was just in February 2008) I'm way north visiting with a friend and get a call at 4 p.m. from my hubby who is at home. He asked me "honey, did you leave a book near a ditch by the park at the end of our street?" I had to think for a minute.....and then remembered that YES, I had tossed a book out....but it was on the other side of the street, not on the park side and was maybe 100 feet from that spot he mentioned. Anyway he told me this young man (27 yrs. old) had walked down to our house and was asking for me (my name & address were in the book). He told Ralph that he had been having some troubles and was really struggling with some things. He decided that he would take a bit of time and clean up around the park area. As he was doing that he ran across this book by the ditch at the park........he sat down and read the whole book, and wept and wept as he realized that God was reminding him to give thanks and praise to God for all circumstances - thru the good and the bad. The book had really spoken to his heart and helped him give over some of his problems to God....... Lesson learned: Don't worry about the little litter problem if God asks you to throw a book out the window??!!! NO - I think truly it is that God can meet your needs any 'ol way He wants to and it might be a bit unusual!

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Re: "Tuning In" to the Holy Spirit	By Anna Johnson on 3/18/2008 2:04 PM
Oh my gosh, I LOVE the Holy Spirit!! How beautiful that you were obedient and that God let you see the fruit of that! I just LOVE the Lord and am so eager for more specific direction from Him to you. Thank you for sharing and have fun living the adventure of trusting God!!! :)

Re: "Tuning In" to the Holy Spirit

By Anonymous on 3/19/2008 11:45 AM

I had every intention of posting a blog a couple of weeks ago when I first heard this message. I have not until this very second when instead of posting a good thing I am choosing to post a bad one. I have in the last couple of weeks tried to desperately fight against the flesh and mantain my integrity no matter what comes at me. I have doen many small kindnesses that would be worthy of a "blog". I have tried to be obedient in prayer and daily readings. I have even been so aware as to notice when I get too proud of these accomplishments. I THOUGHT I was on the right track. I am sure I have been. Yet, isn't it just amazing at how quickly we humans can blow it. Today I lost it with my husband. I told him I hated him. I told him he was selfish and cold. I told him I did not want to be in the same room with him. I yelled and threw a fit. I used to lose it all the time. Name calling, threats, packing up and leaving. And I have left. Many times, though never for longer than a day. But today I failed. I seemed to erase the last month or two of mantaining integrity with just one lost temper and some very painful words. Worst of all, the pride that is swelling in me will undoubtably keep me from apologizing anytime soon as I am sure his will too and we will start back at what seems like the beginning of a very, very long struggle. I am deviating from the purpose of this blog to ask a very important question. I don't have a support system. There is not family to call or friends I can ask for advice. At least not any that would offer any good. So when? When does the good I do finally "stick"? Because this occasional "good" is not good enough anymore.

Re: "Tuning In" to the Holy Spirit

By Kendra on 3/24/2008 11:05 PM

I hate it when that happens! I think I have been so good, and then I see that I really haven't, or I do something really wrong. I am grateful that God isn't holding his breath that I'll be perfect any time soon! For me, the key is admitting I'm wrong and letting go (again) of needing to be right. The goal is to stay connected to God--love, patience, kindness, goodness etc. just naturally result from that (eventually). I think it's like pilaties--you're never sure if the internal muscle you're flexing is the right one, and you look like you're just lying on the floor! A wonderful, more mature Christian once told me that I should start praying for friends in advance of a move. Why wait until I didn't have them to start praying about it? Since God answered that prayer big time for me, I have the conviction that friends come from God as much as milk comes from cows . . . You know what they say, "do the next right thing." :)

Re: "Tuning In" to the Holy Spirit

By bilzi on 3/25/2008 10:52 PM

Kendra - loved that parallel to "pilates" the flexing of muscles, hoping you've got the right ones, etc. Also loved the idea that friends come from God like milk from a cow......a sure certain thing. God wants all of us to have a great support system of friends and since we know that is his will - it says if we pray according to his will, we will get a positive answer. The "surrender" part of that however is not coming up with our own time table or details as to how that should happen. But look for his incredible surprises and love as the answers to our prayers come.... I love the connections that happen in the "friend dept." thru the GW serving teams, the moms group, some of the support & recovery groups and the small groups.....so saying a prayer for "anonymous" in those areas - that you'll find MANY MANY....soon! Also - we can be so sensitive and gracious and mercifiul to everyone else who blows it at times and so hostile and unforgiving to ourselves..... remember that each new day with God is truly that - a new day in which His mercies are plentiful~ His forgiveness complete~ and restoration ready for the asking and receiving.....His kindness leads us to repentance. We need to have kindness for ourselves as well.....start there and it spills over to others. We all blow it and perfection only happens when we get to heaven. Someone once said to me "you're only as spiritual as you are at this very moment"; God always is living in the PRESENT - I tend to spend way too much time in the past and the future but when I find God really close, it's always in the present moment! Rick's message on Obedience in this past series "Famous Last Words" had a lot of good things to say about doing things in God's strength and not our own......I need to relisten and fill ma brain freshly with those truths.

Re: "Tuning In" to the Holy Spirit

By Kaylee on 3/31/2008 2:38 PM

This is in response to Anonymous's response on 3/19. Please don't lose hope. The beauty of what Christ did is that even when we mess up again and again, His sacrifice counts for us. You are not alone in your falling down. We all fall down repeatedly. Even Paul admits he keeps falling down (Romans 7:18-20). But Christ is ALWAYS there to pick us back up. I hope that you have a community to support you in this for God intends for us to do life in relationship... if you are not in a small group, I greatly encourage you to seek one. There are also wonderful groups at Gateway to help couples work through issues in their marriage. You can email: StayingTheCourse@gatewaychurch.com for more info. Thanks for your honesty in sharing what you are dealing with. God bless you and your husband!

Re: "Tuning In" to the Holy Spirit

By Friends of David DeBerry on 6/11/2008 8:49 PM

Our small group got a new member who had semi-retired from his job as a very successful PhD chemist and went to seminary. He had come to faith only a few years before after finally realizing he couldn't find all the answers in science. He was with our small group for a couple of years and we came to love him. At some point, he got a vison to put his seminary papers online. They were unique because in many cases, they USED science to explain God. I guess it is knd of like parables for the brilliant, many of whom have a hard time believing in God. He started having medical problems that finally were diagnosed as cancer. During that time, he asked for some help with a technical aspect of the website, so he sent everything to my husband and me and we worked on his issue. In the meantime, he got sicker and sicker, despite our prayers and hope. He passed away only four months after his diagnosis, without getting that webste online. I believe God put that website into our hands so that it could be made available to the public, even though David was unable to do it himself. So by his funeral date, his website was online and his papers live on. It's at www.daviddeberry.com if you would like to read it or share it.

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