The day with dianne Louise

Job 40:4-5 (MSG) "I'm speechless, in awe—words fail me. I should never have opened my mouth! I've talked too much, way too much. I'm ready to shut up and listen." How many times do I experience this? I would have to say I have lost count. I did it again today. Sometimes we get trapped when people ask for our story. Before we know it we are a victim again, feeling very low and having a totally wrong perspective, considering God had set us free from so much. I think, in fact, the trap was sprung last night when I had to relate to someone who had hurt me badly and not seen a problem with their behaviour. I realised that although the problem had been some months ago I did not trust myself to be too friendly. In fact my mind was rehearsing the story and that is definitely not good. I found myself praying, 'Lord how do I act? I have to love the unlovely but I don't have to trust. What would You do.' Today as I drove home I remembered how the Lord remons...

1 Corinthians 1:7 (MSG) Just think—you don't need a thing, you've got it all! All God's gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. He gives us all things that pertain to life and godliness. The trick is making our requests known to God and trust Him. He knows what is good and right. My challenge is stopping my mind from doing the maths. My mind cannot see how many times. Taking my heart to trusting the One who has been so faithful is my constant task. Letting go and allowing God to be God is such fun, keeping my eyes on Him is so safe and delightful. The above scripture tells us that all we need is right in front of us, it is already there, waiting on God's timing. He is the gatekeeper, He is the source and supply. As I watch Him I see Him walk by those who I have something for, I work with Him and spread the fragrance of the gospel. This is why I am here, I have a purpose. Amen!

Romans 16:26 (MSG) All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the very last letter. We, in Australia, have access to many nations right here on our doorstep. I love buying petrol from a particular station where Indians are employed, I love their sing-song accent, their cheerful disposition. My mum lives in an area of Sydney that if fully multi-cultural, so much colour, Lebanese , Turkish , Chinese , A nglo-saxon , and much more. I praise God for diversity. I have two Chinese boys boarding with me. We have had such fun. They love Mahjong and poker. I enjoy games as well. They have taught me much. We are so blessed and I am truly grateful but my mandate goes deeper. I have to show Christ to these He has given me. If each day I focus on Christ He takes me where He wants and gives me opportunities to shine. Today is the day of salvation! Amen!

Job 40:4-5 (MSG) "I'm speechless, in awe—words fail me. I should never have opened my mouth! I've talked too much, way too much. I'm ready to shut up and listen." I can relate to Job. His mistake was assuming that he knew all there was to know about God and His ways and make a judgement according to that limited knowledge. It is good to be made speechless by an awesome God. I love it when He reveals something new about Himself, or me, for that matter. All things are hidden in Him until He chooses to reveal them. Who can know the mind of God and give Him counsel? Oh How good it is to know that all I have to do is press in to the One who knows, it is His delight to show me the Kingdom. Lord I wait on You and as I do I sense Your delight, You have so much to show me. Greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city (song by Chris Tomlin) A great outpouring is coming, a tsunami of God is coming, He will display His power and migh...

Job 31:14 (MSG) What, then, will I do when God confronts me? When God examines my books, what can I say? Indeed what will I say? I hope I say "Ah! Lord! at last I see You face to face." I already know I cannot defend the indefensless and am looking forward to hearing His point of view. What if He has something good to say? What if He says "well done". That is what I want. That is what I live for. In the meantime I love His presence, His company, His heart, His word. I love His surprises! I love His creation, I love feeling His smile. I love going into my kitchen and knowing He's there. Yes it is odd that I sense Him strongest in the kitchen, maybe He likes food (a true bloke!). I want to dance with my God, visit his universe, ask 'why' about a lot of things, especially creation and 'how'. I am fascinated with His works. You get the impression I love my God? Amen!

Job 28:20 (MSG) "So where does Wisdom come from? And where does Insight live? Job 28:23 (MSG) "God alone knows the way to Wisdom, he knows the exact place to find it. Really knowing God, understands that He is in charge of a few things, in fact a lot. However, so that we understand what we are in charge of, it is good to find His perspective. I must rule my own spirit, take charge of my thoughts, seek Him, obey Him, love Him above all else, love my neighbour as myself, lay down my life, take up my cross and follow Him. Golly! I can't find justify myself, convict others of sin, please myself, live for me, live for dollars. Why where are these? Well they should be at the foot of the cross or in the watery grave of baptism. It seems as I really seek Him, I find me. Today I found a me I wasn't aware of. It was such fun, in fact I quite enjoyed it, still do. In fact I like me, oooh ! Sacrilege !!! How can serving the Lord be boring? Never! Last night we had the final...

Romans 13:12 (MSG) The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed . How easy it is to lose heart while waiting, become distracted. I am mindful of the virgins who were waiting for the groom to come with the bride. There were 7 foolish and 7 wise. They all fell asleep but 7 were prepared. God has made promises to all of us and it depends on our faith as to how we are doing. God's promise to me is 'I will restore all.' At this present time that is far from fact. However, because I have Abraham constantly knocking at my door saying 'look at me, remember how long my promised son took', I press in. When we lose heart we go for Ishmael instead of waiting for Issac. I look out across Christendom and see a lot of people saying 'this is far enough'. I am reminded of the Dogwood song 'Keep on walking'. We do not know how fa...

Job 23:6 (MSG) Do you think he'd dismiss me or bully me? No, he'd take me seriously. Job wanted to find God so that he could lay out his case. He knew he had walked uprightly before the Lord and he wanted to know where all the affliction came from. I am so grateful that I have the Lord within and I know where He is, I can go to Him at anytime. Yet although I know this He does not always answer the question. Last night I went with friends to see Julia Roberts new movie 'Eat, pray, love.' Julia did some outrageous things in an effort to find God, in the end she didn't find Him but herself. Her heart was not set on God but resolving her own pain. There are questions unanswered, sometimes forever, sometimes for a long time. It is not that the answers are not there but the seeker in not in sync, not able to hear, not able to bear with the answer, sometimes it would not be good for us to know. When we do not hear directly from Him our experience kicks in with answers...

Romans 12:9 (MSG) Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. I have discovered that God has given me a unique deposit. He gives me those he wants me to love and care for. When I love as He loves it is easy. Romans 12:6-8 (MSG) let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't. If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. When I work in the grace given to me it is easy. Yesterday while I was doing an onlin...

Romans 11:22 (MSG) Make sure you stay alert to these qualities of gentle kindness and ruthless severity that exist side by side in God—ruthless with the deadwood, gentle with the grafted shoot. But don't presume on this gentleness. The moment you become deadwood, you're out of there. How long does it take to become deadwood? Some months ago the hanging shrubs over my fence were pruned. The cuttings have been collected in a spot ready for the green bin, which never has enough room. Recently as the living branches, still connected, began to blossom so did the cut branches. I was amazed that they still had life in them. We in the church will see various ones drift and say 'oh well they have backslid'. We don't, generally, hold out much hope, unless we are smitten with a concern that causes us to pursue or pray. Our God is long suffering and waits. The heat and lack of protection for those branches cause them pain. He knows what will bring them back. My God has be...

Job 16:19-20 (MSG) There must be Someone in heaven who knows the truth about me, in highest heaven, some Attorney who can clear my name. My Champion, my Friend, while I'm weeping my eyes out before God. Ah! my Jesus stands before the throne and intercedes for me, constantly. He knows me by name. Praise God there is one who truly knows us, loves us, stands by us. Job's friends decided he must have sinned and there were not there for him, really. It hurts so much when those we depend on for friendship turn on us, it is as if satan enters their hearts and they change sides. It is under pressure that we truly discover our friends. I discovered there was only one who I could go to. He alone was reliable, safe, always there without reproof. He alone provides, keeps me in the palm of His hand. He alone is good. One of my DCers ( DivorceCare participants) is struggling, he lost his wife and her family, his children, his car and now his job. He has been stripped. He is a brand...

Romans 9:6 (MSG) Don't suppose for a moment, though, that God's Word has malfunctioned in some way or other. The problem goes back a long way. From the outset, not all Israelites of the flesh were Israelites of the spirit. God does not fail, nor is His word empty or void, He always triumphs. I can call myself a Christian but live in fleshly appetites and then rail against God because I reap a harvest of weeds. Reality must rule. If God is my God and in Him I alone trust then He cares for me as one who hopes in Him. In fact my faith in Him releases Him, unfetters His hand towards me. My God desires to bless me but my unbelief holds back His hand. How He delights to be released by faith. When we are told that whatever we bind on earth is what is bound in heaven, He is telling us truth. Yet he waits for me to receive revelation regarding His truth so that we can make music together. My God loves to dance in the freedom He knows not the bondage I own. ever so 'Go Lord ...

Job 10:20 (MSG) Isn't it time to call it quits on my life? Can't you let up, and let me smile just once Job, rightly, assumed God was in control, but wrongly assumed that He had afflicted him. Job was not there when God had His conversation with satan , defending him and lifting him up. When crap happens we can so feel sorry for ourselves and bemoan that we were ever born, we can assume everyone, including God, is against us. How wrong we are! How wrong Job was! If God be for me, who can be against me. If God so loved that He sent His Son is He for me? while we are yet sinners God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Sometimes we need a 'check-up from the neck-up'. Amen!

Romans 8:19-21 (MSG) The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens. Frustration comes because we are impatient yet the above scripture tells us God's way. God has a bigger plan. He is the master builder. He sees where He is going with all this, He knows where we all fit, what we will do and what the result will be. Why be impatient for a less than result? Why not experience joyful anticipation? My son and his wife are expecting another baby, their fourth. We do not know the sex of this baby. They have three boys and would love a girl but won't be upset if they have another boy. Pregnancy is a living example of not being able to instantly order on-line. God forbid that we short circuit this, yet the way things are goi...

Job 6:26 (MSG) You pretend to tell me what's wrong with my life, but treat my words of anguish as so much hot air. Eliphaz , Job's friend has just proved what sort of friend he is and Job is not happy. I have a good friend who is walking through the valley of the shadow of death and he has many who say 'it is this sin that has caused your sickness.' My friend struggles with faultfinding and unfaithful friends. He has the struggle of the circumstances surrounding him let alone the heavy burden of faithless friends. When we are in pain we need a faithful friend, one who does not judge but lifts up the limbs that hang down, who speaks life and encourages, one who is faithful in prayer. To be a faithful friend we need to determine that nothing will deter us, that we will be unswerving in our faithfulness. We have such a friend in Christ and for this I am grateful, to be this kind of friend is to walk in Christ, see what He see, hear what He hears, speak what He speaks...

Job 2:12-13 (MSG) When they first caught sight of him, they couldn't believe what they saw—they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering. It is good to have friends, I have not had a friend 'dump dirt on their head', rip their clothes and sit with me on the ground, it does seem rather funny to me but that is not my culture. However, us women, western women, now how to commiserate and we talk things out, let out our angst, eat chocolate, drink coffee. There have been times when the pain in my friends have been so great that I do not know what to say and keep silent, until they speak. When Job finally spoke he went for it. 'Oh curse the day I was born' stuff. I can relate, that is the sort of thing I hear a lot. Yesterda...

Job 1:20(MSG) Job got to his feet, ripped his robe, shaved his head, then fell to the ground and worshiped: What is my instinct when trouble comes? I usually say 'what have I done? What am I missing?' To worship, now that changes things, we automatically put things in God's court. My times are in Your hands.... blessed be the Lord for He has done great things and I will praise Him. David would complain about the enemy and then he would say BUT I will praise You. By putting things into God's court we leave our enemies no where to go, the destroyer has to leave. Praise You God for You are good and You have everything in hand. Amen!

Romans 5:20 (MSG) All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. Aggressive forgiveness, now there is a thought! I have never thought of forgiveness being aggressive, I like it! I can, at times, be overwhelmed with the power of sin, it grieves me how those I love can be blindly caught in its grip but this scripture tells me Grace has more power. Yes! My Jesus may I see this unfold! For a long time now I have been aware that I have the power to release and power to bind. When there is an altar call at church I pray a prayer of release, I bind unbelief and release the spirit of salvation to go to the lost. I have seen people come to know the Lord because of this action. I wonder if we Christians can be blind to the power of release. Lord today I release Your Grace into my world, go in all Your mi...

Romans 5:3 (MSG) We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us... Yesterday as I walked and talked to the Lord I said to Him, 'I cannot save myself, heal myself, prosper myself, You can, BUT I can praise You, I can go out into battle and sing and I can sing well Your praise because I love to do it.' All day I sang in the spirit, my spirit bubbled over with joy. I can do what I can do. I can love and obey. He can do what He can do, all the rest. Takes the striving out of faith doesn't it? No works, absolutely NO works to earn but works that reveal faith a plenty. True freedom waits for us to enjoy, like little children. My grandchildren must obey me but oh how I love to bless them because I love them dearly. When my grandchildren do what they must, it releases me to do my best on their behalf because I love to do it. Ah! the joy of obedience. Amen!

Romans 4:17 (MSG) We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Wow! I've got it! God so loved Abraham that He gave. God chose to give to Abraham not because he was a great man, he was quite ordinary, he lied twice about his wife being his wife to save his own skin. Abraham was old, childless, living in a tent. He had no place to call home, not like we call home these days. God turned up in Abraham's life and called him to follow. Abraham did, then God said I want a relationship with you and I want to give because I love you. God knew what Abraham desired most, that which he was unable to do in his own strength. God waited until Abraham 'got it' and then the gift came. God loves me. He gave me His Son but now He comes and says 'there's more'. 'All your heart's desires I will give'. Romans 4:16 (MSG) 16 This is why the fulfillm...

Romans 3:28 (MSG) We've finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade. He sets the pace! Peace be still! He alone is God! Our lives do really get in step with others as we let Him set the pace, and as we yield to Him we are in harmony with Him. Yet when He is stirring us up to faith then we go to Him and plead our case, insisting that He hear. It is important that we realise it is He who stirs us up, not we ourselves. I am awake early seeking the Lord for His abundant road, I want the God of 'more than enough'. It is no longer enough that my needs are met, it is now, 'God I want to see You as the 'God of Abundance'. I want to take from the storehouse my abundant blessing. May You be glorified! Amen!

Nehemiah 10:28 (AMP) And the rest of the people—the priests, Levites , gatekeepers, singers, Nethinim [temple servants], and all they who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who had knowledge and understanding— Under Nehemiah and the priest Ezra the people had been taught the word of God and brought back to it. The people had to let go of foreign wives (and I suppose husbands) and purify themselves as a holy nation. The Part of the above scripture that stands out is 'all who had knowledge and understanding'. I can have knowledge but not understanding. Knowledge without understanding does me no good and I will continue to walk in my own ways. As a Christian, as I have understanding, I want to walk differently. As the word of God is revealed to me I desire to walk in it. I take down my foreign gods of worldly attitudes to getting, giving, attitude, conflict, pride, health, etc Us Westerners...

Romans 2:7 (AMP) To those who by patient persistence in well-doing [springing from piety] seek [unseen but sure] glory and honor and [the eternal blessedness of] immortality, He will give eternal life. Patient persistence challenges us, rebukes us, calls us, courts us. Our God is patient and faithful. As we study biblical history He patiently chastened His people to lead them back to Himself. My God has worked patience into my life and now I see Him woven like silver thread throughout and rejoice. Maybe because I am a girl and like sparkly or maybe because I am a lover of God and love to know He is so with me. While spending time with the grandchildren I sang to them 'have patience, have patience don't be in such a hurry, when you get impatient you only start to worry, remember, remember that God is patient to, think of all the times that He's been patient with you'. (Old Bullfrongs and Butterflies song-I think) My granddaughter would look, and listen. Her brother ...

Nehemiah 6:16 (AMP) When all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us feared and fell far in their own esteem, for they saw that this work was done by our God. Sanballat and Tobiah had tried every trick in the book to stop Nehemiah from completing his task of rebuilding the wall. Some of us are called to rebuild a wall in the Kingdom of God and the enemy comes against us to dissuade us. The reason the enemy comes is in verse 16 above, his day of fear is coming. Completing something Godly causes the kingdom of darkness to quake. I have been given a task by God and the enemy has tried to destroy me from the outset. I am here to restore lives, take back territory and grow the Kingdom of God. Nehemiah speaks to me about not being dissuaded , standing firm, encouraging the troops. God's word to me has been 'He will restore all that has been taken'. My God is a God of His word. My experience is training me to know, really know, 'if God be for me who can be aga...

Nehemiah 4:2 (AMP) What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things [at will and by themselves]? Will they [try to bribe their God] with sacrifices? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned? A critical spirit comes from an arrogant spirit, fat and lazy. It does not know God intimately nor does it seek Him. Sanballat was a tool of the enemy and only served to cement the Jews as one and his purpose to fragment failed because God had sent Nehemiah, the son of encouragement. Give me a sunny disposition any time as opposed to a fault finding dark attitude. Fault finders are unhappy, grumbling, malcontents. Encouragers see the silver lining. I choose to encourage and not pull down. What can I build? God gives me lives to impart life to, speak health to. I must use what God gives me. He is the master builder, master craftsman. There are enough forces pulling down and destroying, my job is to build and ignore the ...

Romans 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you jugde the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things. How easy it is to pass judgement! We either do it, or are tempted to do it at every moment of the day. We judge what we do not understand or cannot relate to. More often we do not have the full facts. Often we are offended and have our knickers in a knot. We start the process as soon as we can talk. I have 5 grandchildren, and all of them, without exception do it as soon as they can talk coherently. My youngest grandson, Archie, is not quite two but in the next year he will have made the grade. I just spent 1 week with my daughter's children and they were constantly annoyed with one another about some slight or upset. At one time the eldest, Chloe, was going to 'dob' when mummy came home because her brother had done something unforgivable . I had applied the thumb screws...