The day with dianne Louise

2 Corinthians 7:10 (MSG) Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets. Again we must examine 'bitter or better'. There are times when things comes from left field and hit us by surprise. There are times where we know things are tough and we will get through. Yesterday I had things both ways. I had competed in a triathlon event on Sunday. I struggled but completed it. Yesterday I was washed out and energyless . My mum is visiting so I am obliged to entertain, which is not hard as she is great to have around. My body ached and my attention span was poor. After dinner I suddenly broke out in a rash all over my trunk. It is still there and very itchy. I am not prone to such things and cannot explain it. It is just another thing on top of a difficult week financially. Yet I must tru...

Psalms 73:2-4 (MSG) But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people at the top, envying the wicked who have it made, Disappointment can draw our focus away, when we fail we can measure ourselves against others and while our focus is on others we miss the One. If our head is turned away we miss the glorious sunrise, the majestic sunset, if we are not tuned in and at peace we don't hear the noise of the quiet. If our thoughts and concentration is on our failure and the success of others we are looking earthward and fail to see the glory above. We fail because we walk in our own strength , we fail because we plan wrongly, we are mistaken in our view. I will package my failure and give it up for the reward of peace, I let it go and refuse to let it bind me. I choose freedom, I choose peace, I choose the Way of Life. Amen!

Psalms 71:20-21 (MSG) I've been to the bottom; Bring me up, streaming with honors; turn to me, be tender to me, Does God hear this sort of prayer? Yes from the man who wrote it. He had spent his life in a relationship with the Lord. In the movie ' Eat, Pray, Love', Julia Roberts realised she did not like her life and in desperation knelt on her bathroom floor and prayed for the first time, she wanted out of her marriage, she did not want to know God she just wanted Him to fix something. Nothing happened. When I was 19 I realised my life was a mess, I was in a relationship I did not like but more than that I knew I was desperate for a knowledge of God inside, I wanted to be clean inside, I prayed and struggled for several hours, then God spoke to me. It is not enough to want to be out of circumstances we do not like, it is important that we know we need to be clean inside and want a relationship with the only one who can clean us up. God is not a grocery store or more...

2 Corinthians 5:20 (MSG) We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences .......... One of my favourite stores is Myer, a large upmarket store. Why? They have a section devoted to fragrance and because we all love fragrance we will go there and test their wares. This has the effect of filling the whole store and even the outer court area with delightful fragrance. It is attractive! I have just said we love fragrance. Do we realise how much we love it in our relationships? Why do we like to be around certain people? Each of us carry a fragrance. Are we like Pepe la Pew? a skunk with a repellent fragrance? or like Myer filled with the most sought after, most expensive of fragrance? How is fragrance developed in us? We are squeezed by life's experiences and by choosing we become a most delicate (for women) fragrance or a most attractive spice (for men) fragrance. Our fragrance tells of who we are. It tells a lot about us. Befor...

2 Corinthians 4:7 (MSG) If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. Money, power and glory often motivate mankind. In the deepest part of our heart the truth lies. We may be able to sanctimoniously fool the masses but we do not fool our God. We may not acknowledge Him as our God but one day, our day of reckoning will come and we will stand before Him. Saying 'no I believe there is no one God or we are all God's' might sound good now but what if you are wrong? Shall the pot tell the potter he is not a potter, 'why I crafted myself just by thinking when I was but clay'. Even a little child can see through such foolish thinking. One of my borders took philosophy as one of his subjects, it became evident in his speech. In his effort to become wise he became foolish. Allowing our minds t...

God is already beginning to arise, and His enemies to scatter; let them who also hate Him flee before Him. Psalm 68:1 God is ever ready to arise, but waits for us. We have to 'get it'. Who are we? What do we have in our hand? In whose army are we? What sort of power has the man up front? God wants to dance with us in triumph. If I have already won, what is the problem? Why do I act defeated? Why do I behave as if He hasn't heard me when He has? Why do I assume He is not there or does not care just because He has His own time-line? The vision He gave me is of a happening that is still to come. His slowness is for my benefit. Because He is slow I have to dig deep into faith, because He takes his time I have to trust, my values are being tested, my resolve is being tried. Do I really believe, am I really sincere? Do I really want what He has shown me? Did Jacob really want Rachael? Did Abraham really want Isaac? Did David really want the Lord's plan or his own? Will I...

Psalms 62:1 (MSG) God, the one and only— I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not? Why not indeed. I am being perfected in patience. He will have his way of that I am sure. My last border has gone and I am alone. I have invited the Lord to fill my house with Himself and He has. Although my circumstances don't look good I am at peace and I praise Him for He is good. He is my provider, He is my companion, He is my wholeness, He is my blessing, abundance, my prize. All good things come from Him. Amen! 'In darkness in trial my soul shall sing of Your goodness, You kindness, my offering of praise my God never fails, my God never fails '(song).

2 Corinthians 3:14 (MSG) and they didn't notice. They didn't notice it then and they don't notice it now, don't notice that there's nothing left behind that veil. My beautiful Lord is not hidden anymore. He is here, right here. Even if I don't sense Him I can turn my attention to the space in front of me and He appears. We have to allow our spirit to experience spirit and not lock it into flesh or soul. Yesterday when I was sharing Christ with my border he found it hard to believe what I have just said. Wow how grateful am I that I know Him face to face, even in difficult times He is here and I am blessed. I do not have to feel blessed, I do not have to feel healed, I do not have to feel love, for I am all of these. To put a veil between me and God is foolish because He isn't in a box, He cannot be contained behind a door or a curtain, He is here. Christ paid the price to release the presence of God from isolation and He will not, cannot be isolated, He ...

Psalms 57:2-3 (MSG) I call out to High God, the God who holds me together. He sends orders from heaven and saves me..... This morning I awoke with a sense of completion of having arrived and I wondered at what it meant. I had to take one of my borders to his plane, he was finished at Uni and was leaving for Hong Kong. I had been successful in having him come to church only once, so why was this feeling there? I should be mourning but no I was elated. On the way to the airport he opened up about why he was not looking forward to his trip. He was taking it with a born again friend of his who had been on his case. We got talking about what born again was and how he needed a revelation to receive. I then knew that this was the day of salvation for him. What joy I felt as I drove away from the airport, today is indeed the day of salvation for this young man. Praise God! What a joy to work with the Lord of Salvation, to be a part of bring a young man to Christ. As I was praising the...

2 Corinthians 1:12 (MSG) .... But it wasn't by any fancy footwork on our part. It was God who kept us focused on him, uncompromising . My God is constantly saying to me 'watch me'. He is training my focus. He is wanting me to know He is my deliverer, He is my supply, He is my sustenance, He is my answer. Both good and bad can distract and when we are distracted we lose focus and wander. When I wander I am caught in the snare of the fowler , if I am where I should not be then I am in danger, traps are set. The paths of the righteous are straight, He has made the path, it goes where He wills and the path is the best place to be, it is worn and true. The footprints on it say 'this is the way'. The pleasant looking places are distractions the fearful woods, dark and ominous are distractions, there is only one place to look, straight ahead. There is light, there is industry, there is peaceful contentment, He is there. I remember Frodo going through the bog on the ...

Psalms 52:8 (MSG) And I'm an olive tree, growing green in God's house. I trusted in the generous mercy of God then and now. I have only God who will save me. I have many friends and lovely family but when the chips are down in health and finance the safest place is God. My God is interested in me being like an olive tree in His house, full of life and wholeness being a blessing to all. He wants me to live out of the wells of salvation not my flesh or running to the world for answers, for provision. I love to garden and when I have plants that do not flourish I look at why. Do they need new soil, fertilizer, moving, pruning, more water or sun when I have looked at all these and still they do not flourish I pull them out. My God is the gardener and He is tending to me, I am in good hands, I am safe with Him. I don't plan on being pulled out, my roots go down too deep, my branches are too wide to do that. I am here for the duration. A good garden is a blessing, a reward,...

Psalms 49:4 (MSG) I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise, I solve life's riddle with the help of a harp. I love the poetry in this. I solve life's riddle with the help of the harp. To hear wisdom we have to be still, music does help at times. I love my hammock, that is where I go to reflect, be still. I know that when I be still something good happens. Love the sound of water flowing. I have created a little fountain in my garden near my hammock, flowing water is God's music. My inner being is becoming stiller and stiller and I love it, it is so peaceful. I pray the Lord loves this place as much as I do. Yesterday after my ride I went to take the grandchildren to the park, Myer asked if we could go to the big park and said 'nanny I know the way.' He delighted in being our guide, except the last fork in the road foxed him. As we neared the park I began to have violent stomach cramps that proceeded to vomiting. Here I was with three little children and...

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 (MSG) It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! I have been living with guilt for the longest time and thinking it was right, that it kept me in perspective, Ha! Lies damn lies! I have passed guilt, it is on the sidelines, rotting away, covered in mould. Guilt is a friend of death and sin. Sin tells us we are guilty but if we have sinned, praise God, when we confess our sin we are forgiven. Two nights ago we had a young uni student, a friend of my borders, come to visit and stay for dinner. We got talking, as you do, and Christianity came up, forgiveness came up. I could tell this young man did not know Christ and his view was that of a judgemental God. I recognised this and told him of my relationship with my God, that as I confess my sin I am forgiven, as ...

Psalms 44:17 (MSG) All this came down on us, and we've done nothing to deserve it. We never betrayed your Covenant:....... This is mistaken, immature moaning. I've been here but have realised my God is always here, just because my enemies come in like a flood does not mean he has left. It depends what I look at, if I look at Him all is good, if I look at circumstances and measure myself against them I moan. My bible tells me 'if God be for me who can be against me'. Is the word of God true? Yes! Then I believe it! As I progress towards my goal, if I am fearful and looking around I am in dis-ease, I lack peace. However if I stay focused on Him, all things work out for good for me who loves Him, all things, all things. By doing what I have planned to do, I move past all that comes against me, I must keep moving. Amen! Our God is marching on and I am in His army.

Psalms 42:1 (MSG) a white-tailed deer drinks from the creek; I want to drink God, deep draughts of God. What a beautiful picture, a white-tailed deer drinking from the creek. Yesterday when I walked my dogs we went by a freshly filled wetland area, I could hear the frogs happily croaking. My dog Emma loves water, she went in, as far as I would allow, she would have swum, and then she drank the fresh water thirstily. My God is my water source, alone it is He. He is my strength and supply. It takes awareness, a concentrated effort to bring my mind into focus at times and when I do He is there, waiting. Sometimes we can be consumed with the thoughts in our minds, but they are not the source of life, only He is. Even excited thoughts, good thoughts are not the source of life, yes they may feed my emotions but my spirit needs to drink from Him. He alone is fresh, pure, fulfilling, sustaining. refreshing. He is not just a pool, He is a relationship. Amen!

Psalms 41:12 (MSG) You know me inside and out, you hold me together, you never fail to stand me tall in your presence so I can look you in the eye. As I watch my son father his boys I am reminded of my Father. His love never fails, is ever constant. My Father's eye is on me, watching, smiling. He looks to see if I have learned His ways, will I walk in the freedom He gives or struggle to believe it is mine. When I do fail, he does not walk away but patiently picks me up, dusts me off, His love convicts me and I turn to Him. 'Sorry Papa, let's do that again.' My son teaches his boys to control their emotions, when they want to let fly he tells them 'hands', they know. They hate it, to sit with hands together, while emotions are raging and not able to let fly is extremely difficult but effective. I am one grateful Nan. My God teaches me, 'hands' as well. I have been struggling with pain lately, pressure all around, but I am learning to focus on Him an...

Psalms 37:31 (MSG) His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins; his feet are as sure as a cat's. Psalms 37:37 (MSG) 37 Keep your eye on the healthy soul, scrutinize the straight life; There's a future in strenuous wholeness. Last night I had 3 visitors come to church, one was healed, the second convicted to read his bible and connect with God, the third enjoyed herself as a Baptist would let loose. The message was on allowing the Word of God in, to meditate on it, abide in it. It was a great message. I love the verse from Psalm 37:31. His heart pumps God's word..... this is a living, active relationship, this is strong and powerful. There is a future in strenuous wholeness. Strenuous wholeness, what a phrase. As I have been consistently keeping to the programme with my training I am aware that I am becoming strong. In my work life I have gotten over the guilts and pressed through wrong thinking. I am applying for jobs continually and receiving respons...

Psalms 34:18 (MSG) If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath. Yesterday I met a man who is struggling, he had been handled roughly by church leadership. This man had moved from another state to be here because he believed the word of the pastor. The pastor gave his word too quickly and did not glean enough information. When the rubber hit the road the man and the pastor parted and the man left the church. He is all alone in a foreign place without support. This happens too often because innocent believers think 'he's the pastor, he is wise, he must be right.' Wrong! The pastor is a man just like us and he has his own set of flaws. We have to be accountable for our own walk. We have to find the mind of the Lord for ourselves and the pastor will merely confirm what God is saying. This man is hurt but will be OK . He needs friends. I encouraged him to come back to church and make frie...

Psalms 33:18 (MSG)Watch this: God's eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. I trust You Lord. As you bring me through a time of testing Your eye is on me, Your voice says 'You can do this, use my strength inside of you'. I am again facing rejection and this time I praise You, You are the main event, You are my focus. It is You who gives me room, it is You whose opinion I value. It is You who accepts me, it is You whose praise I seek. I bless You Lord, You are good and Your love is toward me. Amen!

Psalms 31:24 (MSG) Be brave. Be strong. Don't give up. Expect God to get here soon. God is already here even though our circumstances say they have the upper hand. satan and his minions have always been noisy but that does not make them right. Being brave is a choice. I can feel sorry for myself or pick myself up off the floor and speak courage. I have to set my heart to the course ahead. It is the diligent stickability that will win the wreath. Strength comes as we choose brave choices, our character becomes stronger. As we disciplining ourselves to do right time after time we are building on Christ. Sickness attempts to take our focus, look at me it calls. I can stop and look and become infected or look ahead. What am I? Who am I? I am a victor not a victim. I know that every time I want to achieve in sport sickness comes alone to deter. I have practised pushing it aside and do what I had planned to do, amazing I still live! It is the same with work. The 'you can...

Psalms 26:8 (MSG) 8 God, I love living with you; your house glows with your glory. When you live with someone you have a real chance to become intimately acquainted. I have two borders and a year on know their weaknesses and they know mine. I also know their strengths and they know mine. Living with God I understand that He is not fazed by anything. Things that come along to trouble me do not bother Him because He really knows them and is not going to lose sleep over their antics. A state of emptiness in me is an opportunity for abundance with Him, He has all I need, He is health and healing, He is repair and wholeness, He is success, He is victory, He had overcome for me, I need not stress. In fact He is my shield, He is my protector, He is my Yes and Amen! and I live with this guy, how cool is that. Lord I look at You, I choose You as my answer, You are my verdict. Amen! Best of all, I get to share His glory!

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (MSG) I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. In winter I hibernate, don't like getting up early and don't like going out at night. It is a struggle to maintain my physical fitness in the pool and on the bike, yet I do walk and run. When the weather warms and I want to go out I begin to train again yet there is lost ground. It takes longer to get back to the fitness I had before winter. In spring I do more, I work out at the gym as well. My spiritual life cannot afford to rest. Yes there are intense times of seeking God, pressing in for more of Him but there cannot be times complete carnality. In physical fitness there is me, doing it for me. In spiritual fitness there is He and I. This is relational stuff....

1 Corinthians 8:2-3 (MSG) but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all. Yes! I see the fruit of proud mind times and know as much as I enjoy it, in the flesh, it is arrogant and boastful and my heart smites me. In this chapter to the Corinthian church Paul is talking about having the humility to not offend a weaker brother or sister by our 'freedom'. Each time I choose the mind games I choose to rob steal and destroy. Each time I humble myself and wait, I see a fruit of righteousness. I am learning to wait, it is an odd time of seemingly nothingness, I cannot sense God but I discipline myself to wait in the emptiness and lo out comes a work of God. Perhaps He is allowing me to see Him at work. in the beginning the spirit hovered over the void. Voids are what God works in, it is His workshop, it is sooooo quiet in there, no tools, but that's where the miracles live. A...

Psalms 21:2-3 (MSG) You gave him exactly what he wanted; you didn't hold back. You filled his arms with gifts; you gave him a right royal welcome. My God has given me what I prayed for, souls. I spent the day mindful of tonight's 'Surviving the Holidays' DivorceCare meeting. I have been praying for a shift in attention of those in need and they are having them. Last night the unsaved woman cried out to God to reveal Himself. Tonight after the session I invited that woman and the man who I knew had drifted from the Lord, to church Sunday night and they said 'yes'. Last night I had another friend come to church and she met grace. Bring it on Lord, give me more. Give me an abundance of souls. Amen!

Psalms 19:7 (MSG) The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. Last night I was privileged to see this in action. I invited a dear girlfriend to church. She was raised in a strict sect and ran away from church as she knew it. As we drove home after church she said 'I feel this is a gentle healing for my life.' My Jesus had brought her home. How He loves her and wants to bless her and flow through her. We had an excellent African preacher, he was good. He preached the word and only the word. He had us repeat scripture after him but best of all He revealed the grace of the New Testament. My Jesus and my friend will walk together now and my joy is full. There are others, they are hovering in the shadows and I long to draw them in. They have been broken by life and mistreated by people but Jesus is the healer. Amen! Tonight we conduct Surviving the Holidays at DivorceCare, there are lost and hurting...

Psalms 18:19-20 (MSG) He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved—surprised to be loved! God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. I am continually surprised by the Lord's love. He is new every morning. His love is there when I err and repent, ever forgiving. I place my pieces, all my pieces before Him and He makes me new. I have to give all so that I am made completely new. If I held back a piece or two there would not be a complete lump of clay for Him to work with and He would wait for all. Perhaps that is why He is slow to act, from my perspective. He waits patiently for me to give all. What will He make? A surprise I'll bet. Thank You Lord! Amen!

1 Corinthians 6:12 (MSG) Just because something is technically legal doesn't mean that it's spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I'd be a slave to my whims. How easy is it to be caught up with doing for the sake of doing? I need this so therefore I will do that, I will help myself out. My financial world is about to change so I thought I would fix it. I have spent two days endeavouring to fix it only to have the Holy Spirit wake me with the conviction He had it in hand. I had hurt the Lord by my running around, I had said 'You sit here God while I play God'. Sorry Lord! There are times, definitely, when I need to act and these are times He is stirring me up to act. There are times when I move out from Him and do my own thing. I cannot be a slave to my whims but have to walk in His ways and keep my eyes on Him. He has not let me down, He has always come through, He has never failed. I suppose I am learning the ...

1 Corinthians 5:7 (MSG) Our true identity is flat and plain, not puffed up with the wrong kind of ingredient. Paul, here, is using the illustration of 'yeast' puffing up. Jesus Himself talked of the effect of yeast being bad in our lives. We do get tempted to see ourselves with all kinds of 'puffed up' illusions, we may be winning in business, a sale, a relationship and suddenly in our minds we are the greatest. Keeping our feet firmly planted on the ground is important and knowing that the blessing comes from God, our salvation. It is He who gives me power to become rich, it is He who goes before me making straight the path. Yes, it is He who made me, but it is also He who holds all things together. Amen!

Psalms 10:16 (MSG) God's grace and order wins; godlessness loses. A s much as we might think we have something, we are onto the road, excited about our life if it is not in grace we lose. Something great if it lacks a Godly purpose is suspect. Why do I want this? Why do I do this? Why do I think this? Just because I feel good about an event, a relationship, a thing, does not mean that it is right. Smith Wigglesworth used to say 'don't follow feelings only follow the Word of God'. God's word is where I find Him, God's grace is bound in Christ. The word says that Grace and Truth are found in Jesus Christ. God's grace, rarely sought, is where His spirit dwells. As I write this He is here saying 'yes'. He alone is good, He alone has the answers, He alone fulfills. Amen!

Psalms 7:9 (MSG) .... You get us ready for life: you probe for our soft spots, you knock off our rough edges. Lord You know where to dig, where to look for what You want in us. I am grateful for soft spots that resonate when You call. My inner being loves You Lord and I delight in having You knock off the rough edges, I have them I know. Yesterday I was helping a man with his finances and he told me I was very opinionated. I said "yes, especially when God in me rises up and shouts 'You are better than this'. He is a christian who had allowed himself to get in a mess. Oh God You are good and Your mercy endures forever. Mould me I pray. amen!

Psalms 5:3 (MSG) Every morning you'll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend. Others may ignore me treat me as nothing but You are all I seek! Your honour is higher than the nod of men, Your smile worth all the treasures of the earth. Each day I seek You, You are my life force, my heart, my all. You go before me, You open the way for me, You light my path. Thank You Lord! Today I watch for Your fire to descend, consume me with You Lord! Use me for Your glory, give me an abundance of You. Amen!

1 Corinthians 2:16 (MSG) Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit. Finding God's mind requires us to be 'walking in the spirit'. If I need to find His mind I have to be walking according to scripture and His ways. When I behave like a victim, in my mind or speech, I take myself out of the spirit and into the flesh. I have to say to myself 'what does the word say?' I have to make the word of God the highest authority. Christ's thoughts, were although He was the Son of God He came to do a job, He came to redeem us back to the Father. I have a job also. When I walk in that job all else pales. This life is not about all that is wrong with life but all that He is doing. His vision is life, His thoughts are powerful towards me. I choose life. I have the mind of Christ living inside of me, I can access that mind and wal...