Joshua 1:9

Over the course of the last 3 1/2 years GOD has spoken to me in so many different ways. The most awesome and special way to me has been when HE has used HIS SPIRIT to communicate with my spirit. And of course when I read and study HIS WORD HE helps me to understand things and renews my mind...which I need all the time! Then when GOD uses friends in my life to speak to me it always means so much. You know, I could go on and on because there are so many different avenues that GOD uses to speak to each and everyone of us. Lately HE has been using something that I really never thought about...just plain old fiction books!

Recently the book I read was called Isolation by Travis Thrasher. It took me a long time to read it because every time I picked it up I only read a few pages and would put it away. It wasn't the type of book I would normally read because there was something, or someone, very evil in it. Let me say that it is a Christian book. The main characters were missionaries that had left the field and now reside in the states. Even though I was having a hard time reading the book something kept drawing me back to it. Finally I bought a new book to read but ended up picking up Isolation again and finished it in one day. When I finally got towards the end of the book I realized what the whole book was really about...Faith. A seven year old kid that had more faith than his ex missionary parents. He knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that GOD could and would take care of them...no matter what evil they were facing. When I finally managed to get to the last couple of chapters I knew why I had to keep reading it. Having faith...no matter the circumstance...is sometimes very hard for me. Even though the story wasn't really true I know there are many Christians...young and old...that have the same amazing, undying, faith that the kid in the book had! I really believe that GOD is the one that kept me picking that book up over and over again.

Now I have started a new book, Rooms by James L. Rubart. Again it is the type of book I normally wouldn't read. This one is not evil just different. From the time I first saw it in the store I was drawn to it. I would pick it up, read the back and immediately put it back on the shelf...many times over. Here is the main description line on the back of the book. "What would you find if you walked into the rooms of your soul?" One man is about to find out. Needless to say the book is now mine and I am reading it. There are so many things about the character that I relate too. The whole premise of the book is how we shut off different parts of ourselves because of things in our lives that caused us pain. The character in the book has not given his life to the LORD yet but...GOD is working on him by opening up the rooms of his soul that the character has shut off due to old hurts. Well...all I can say is...

This is where the light hearted blog would best come in. You know, the one I spoke of last. Talking about the "just plain fun things!" But...it's not gonna happen. Instead...this is another transparent moment for me to share. Even though I am a Christian there are still "Rooms" that I have chosen to keep locked up. Not necessarily because I want to hold onto the pain but because somehow it seems easier. In the book it says this...Your heart is a sacred and magical thing. From it flows the wellspring of life. It's why the wisest man who ever lived said,  "We must guard it above all else. You won't reach it by your intellect. The pathway to the heart is always by the SPIRIT, and the pathway to the SPIRIT is always by the heart." Then a few pages later it talks about how JESUS came for one thing...Too set us free from things that we allow to keep us captive to our old selves...our past life before CHRIST. That's where the renewing process comes in. The renewing of our minds...and our souls. We need to allow the LORD to do this. But...that's a choice too!

I'm not sure where this new year is taking me but I do know one thing...it's starting out to be a wild ride. From my first post of the year, too this one...there seems to be an underlying theme. GOD doesn't want me to stay this year...where I ended last year. There is renewing that needs to happen. I'm sure for some of you reading this that you could use some healing and renewing also. Maybe you need to accept CHRIST into your life. Or, maybe you need to let HIM finish a work HE has started in you. I understand that...sometimes the battle just seems to get the best of you. Don't give up...it is a battle but we aren't fighting it by ourselves.

JOSHUA 1:9
"This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”