It's Over!

 Stepping Out in RED Shoes!

- Day 171 –

536 Days 

in RED shoes!

Today it all came to an end.  After returning late last night from Mama Fire's, I found myself enjoying being home in my own private prayer chamber.  I ventured out of my bedroom and into the living room, praying for some random requests the LORD had put on my heart.  It seemed He had me prayerfully tying up some loose ends to be sure they wouldn’t unravel.  Upon completion of that task, I looked up and saw my bedroom door slightly ajar.  

“Shut that door” the LORD said, 

“for that journey is over now.”  

I walked over and closed the door tightly and securely, realizing in my spirit that the Yellow Brick Road was on the other side.  I was home again, and suddenly the door to Oz was shut.  That’s how it happens with such adventures.  One day you unexpectedly find yourself venturing out into the unknown, and just as abruptly, the day comes when it’s all over.

"You can still wear your RED shoes!"   He said.

"But you’ll be traveling a new road.

We're going to the battle field.  

It’s time to operate in your calling."

Right then, I remembered Mama Fire’s words to me.  She laid her hand on my head, only once this past visit,  and prophesied,   

“It is done!  The door is closed,”   she said,  

“ You’ll never cry again about the past.  

It’s time to move forward.” 

It’s funny because I didn’t think much of it at the time.  It didn’t make sense.  I hadn’t cried in ages about my past.  But now, it was a confirmation to what God was doing and it all made complete sense.

I turned from the closed door, and found myself standing in front of the archway to my kitchen.  

“Go on… walk through it!”
God said.  
“It’s a threshold.”  

Obediently, I moved forward through the threshold and into my kitchen.  Strangely enough, I felt the atmosphere change as I crossed over.  Already, a new journey was beginning.  I sat down with the LORD at the kitchen table, took a look at His battle plans and received my new instructions. 

There wont be a blog tomorrow,

but you haven’t heard the last of me.

I‘ll be back.  There will be more books,

and probably more blogs,  some day.

In the meantime, I’m off in my RED shoes to make preparation for a new adventure.  This prayer warrior is heading for the battlefield where she belongs.  Perhaps some of you will come with me.

I covet your prayers, dear rubies.  We’ve walked many miles together, and there’s still more territory to cover.  Watch for me.  I’ll be wearing my RED shoes.

With love,

Gail 

He chose YOU!

 Stepping Out in RED Shoes!

- Day 170  –

It’s not a job. -- It’s a way of life!

As I return home from Mama Fire’s,  I am reminded of the story of David and how he was chosen to be king.  One day, God spoke to Samuel the prophet and told him to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be the next king of Israel. (1 Samuel 16).

When Samuel went down the line of prospective kings, God said no, time and time again.  That’s because God wasn’t interested in someone who “looked the part.”  He wanted someone who was after His heart. – someone who loved Him, completely. 

Then the LORD said,

“Rise and anoint him;

he is the one!”

1 Samuel 16:12

When I think of all these RED Shoe Days in which I’ve looked and listened intently for God, I realize that God chose me for such a project.  What a great time I have each day, walking with Jesus and writing about it.  Many times I’ve caught people by surprise shouting out,   “I Love My Job!  What’s better than this?”

But it’s not really a job is it?

It’s not really a seasonal project.

It’s a way of life: 

Looking & Listening for God

and then testifying about it.

Hasn’t God called each of us to that?

Okay – so scrap the RED shoes if that’s a problem for you.  Pull together your own visual reminder.  What is it that you need to put in place to keep you focused on God?  Do it!

Next thing you know, you’ll be slaying giants with a sling shot;  coming out of the lions’ den unscathed;  parting the Red Sea and leading people to safety;  or perhaps receiving a revelation from God.  Anything can happen!

That’s because God chose YOU!  

He chose YOU to be on His team.

He chose YOU to make a difference in this world.

He chose YOU, so He could show Himself through you! 

You see, I’m not the only one in RED shoes!  God has appointed all of us to walk and talk with Him and testify of it, on a daily basis!

Gail

Road Trip to Mama Fire's...

Stepping Out in RED Shoes!

- Day 169 – 

It’s always a power-packed adventure!

There were so many great things that happened on this road trip to Mama Fire’s.  Having seven girlfriends traveling north on route 75, in a van, for ten hours straight, is an experience all in itself. 

When you’re away from home, out of your routine, and for the most part, unreachable, things  "out of the ordinary"  happen with God.  You get to know your team better because you’re all in this extraordinary adventure together in which God is moving mightily.  You end up bunking with someone you don’t really know and come out of the weekend with a new best friend.  You share stories that normally you wouldn’t share, because your guard is down.  You pray with people about things that concern you.  It’s kind of like camping.  The emphasis is on what’s happening, not how polished you are.  No make up or fancy clothes on this trip!  All that got left at home.  As Granny would say…  

“The girls are all mucked in together for the weekend!”

For me, this particular trip was specifically about hearing from God.  On the very first day, God spoke some important things to me that were answers to prayer.  I had presented questions to Him in advance, and BOOM!  He just sat me down, and gave me the answers from His Word.  How great is that?

God also spoke some powerful truths to me in my personal prayer time.  He showed me very clearly where I was in my journey with Him.  He also gave me some specific instructions regarding things He wanted me to do.

On the second day of our visit, a dear sister in Christ was sharing the story of how her daughter was preparing for an important interview.  They prayed together and a powerful Word came forth that  “The job was hers!”  After the interview, the daughter posted on facebook that she had “blown the interview!”   Later when the mom and daughter talked, the mom commented that she was concerned that the daughter’s comments may have offended the Holy Spirit.  The daughter realizing her error, repented and made things right with the LORD.  Sure enough, the daughter got the job, just as the LORD had said.  Even though she had thought she had blown it, she was later told her that the panel she interviewed with was amazed at how knowledgeable she was.  Right then, the LORD spoke to me.

“Gail – I’ve told you some things are “DONE!”

I’ve given you a Word, many times confirming it.

Now, you are to watch your tongue that it

doesn’t speak against what I’ve said,

lest you offend the Holy Spirit.”

I took heed to that Word from the LORD.  If all that, weren’t enough.  I had the most unusual thing take place the next day.  Before this trip, God had told me something very specific that I must do in the near future.  I know it’s God, but like many of God’s instructions, they require TRUST, FAITH and OBEDIENCE.    That said, as I went to lunch after our morning service, I sat at a table with some people I had never met before who were also attending the conference.  I had barely sat down, when the gal across from me said that God was speaking a particular verse to her over and over again, and she was sure that it was for me. 

She went on to recite the verse from memory.  My ears perked up in amazement.  The second sentence of the verse was, without a doubt, a specific confirmation to do what God had instructed me to do.  She’d never met me and she knew nothing about me, let alone the fact that I had told no one about the instruction God had previously spoken to me.  It was a "God-thing!"

Who needs anything else?  Not me, or so I thought.  When I returned to the sanctuary after lunch, a minister delivered one of the most power-packed messages I’ve ever heard on God giving a specific Word,   -- how we must receive it, believe it, hold onto it, stand on it, proclaim it, and water it.  My oh my!  It was as if God, Himself, was speaking directly to me.

“Gail!  Do you hear Me?  

Are you receiving this loud and clear?

I’m going to say it over and over again 

until you receive it!  I know you like confirmations!

The afternoon preacher, under the anointing, proclaimed to the congregation, over and over again,

“God’s given you a Word – You don’t need anything else!

Water it with your words!  And wait for it to happen!

It will!  Oh yes, it will!”

Yes, it was a weekend in RED shoes, far from home, but close to God.  I heard and received everything He deposited into my heart from His Word, in prayer, from the mouths of prophets and from the preaching.  It was an awesome time in the LORD! Being at Mama Fire’s always is.

Heading home in RED shoes,

Gail

"Sticks and Stones"

Stepping Out in RED Shoes!

- Day 168 -

Watch Out!

Incoming!

They say kids can be cruel.  They can say the meanest things.  I bet if we took a head count, everyone would remember the poem,  “Sticks and Stones”   from their childhood. 

“Sticks and stones

will break my bones,

but names will never hurt me.

Call me this.   Call me that.

Call yourself a dirty rat!”

Were you called names as a kid?  It seems like no one was exempt from the game.  If you were heavy, it was “Fatso!”  If you were tall and skinny, it was  “String bean.”  If you had big ears, it was  “Dumbo.”  If you had a big nose, you were called  “Pinnochio.”   If you were the class clown, they called you  “Bozo.”  If you were smart, they called you  “Brainiac.”  If you weren’t so smart, they labeled you  “Dummy.”  If you wore glasses they called you "Specks."

Oh my gosh… the list went on and on.  Just writing this out now,  it feels as if an elephant just sat on my chest.  Yikes!  The heaviness of it all!   Couldn’t we have found a nicer game to play?

I know I was called a few names in the day, and I didn’t much like it.  When I was in fifth grade, a sixth grade girl pulled me aside on the way home from school one day.   She said that a boy we both knew,  (who was a neighbor and playmate of mine for years – which I just happened to have a crush on) --  was talking to her and called me all sorts of names.  To be honest, I didn’t even know what some of the names meant, but I could tell by her tone they weren’t very nice.  I just shrugged my shoulders at her and went home.  When I got to my room I closed the door and cried for an entire afternoon.  I never did go around my old school friend again.   Too bad, he was a nice boy.  Not to mention, that all the things the girl said were probably just lies!  But who knows that when they’re ten years old?

The LORD had an interesting talk with me this morning.  He told me that a time was coming in which people are going to talk about me in a not so nice way.

“They’ll say this, and they’ll say that.

Blah!   Blah!   Blah!   Blah!   Blah!

They’ll have all sorts of ugly conversations

and you’ll be at the center of it.

Just remember this…”  He said.

“They can say all they want.  Who cares?

You’ll be living your dream!” 

I love that the LORD has my front and my back covered.  He’s a good friend!

Isaiah 52:12 says…

“But you will not leave in haste or go in flight;

for the LORD will go before you,

the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”

Psalm 118:6 says…

“The LORD is with me;  I will not be afraid.

What can mere mortals do to me?”

Nobody likes to be spoken about in a cruel way.  And being a Christian and an adult  doesn’t always exempt you from the game.  Believe it or not, some are still playing that game. 

Years ago, as a young Christian in ministry, I experienced just such a thing.  Looking back, I’m amazed at how jealousy had enraged a fellow church member and how she released her wrath upon me.  It was pretty ugly.  She almost brought the whole church down with her gossip.  It was a travesty.  At the very least, she caused a church split.  I was fortunate to have church leaders that stood in the gap and prayerfully protected me.

I have to say, I learned a lot from that incident.  I learned to keep my mouth shut and stay under the wing of God.  When I find myself in such a place, I shall do the same again. 

I'll stay close to the LORD. 

I'll remain focused on Him. 

I'll shut my ears to their proclamations.

I’ll hold up the shield of faith!

I’ll remember what the LORD told me:  They can say all they want,  but I’m the one living my dream, with God by my side.  Who cares what they have to say?  Not me.

In RED shoes,

Gail

"The Uglies"

Stepping Out in RED Shoes!

- Day 167 -

Perhaps you know them?

Today I set out on a road trip with some friends to visit dear Mama Fire in Rome, Georgia.  Early this morning, seven of us piled into a van and headed off on the ten hour journey.  While en route, one of the gals mentioned she had a friend who had seventeen kids.  Oh my!  Ten of them, the mom delivered personally -- seven were adopted.

Growing up, I remember there was a large family in our community with lots of kids.  Several of them were enrolled in elementary school, a couple were in middle school and a few attended high school  --  all at the same time!  -- and it was like that for years.   Not to mention, they had cousins in the same town, with the same last name, that also had a great big family.   They were so well known because there were so many of them.

Today I heard the story of a man who was filled with rage.  Rage is uncontrollable.  It usually stems from frustration.   It’s wrath and anger, unleashed.  It’s outrage, indignation and resentment. 

Rage lives in the same house as  Jealousy, Anger, Gossip and Lying.  They’re all part of the same family:

“The Uglies”

They are an unruly bunch!

Troubled, to say the least.

They are rabble-rousers and

you must not sit down with them!

Jealousy is envy, covetousness, resentment, bitterness and spite.

Anger is vexation, exasperation, displeasure, crossness, irritation, irritability, indignation and ill-temperedness.

Gossip is a scandalmonger – a busybody – a muckraker.  She gets her nose in other people’s business and stirs things up, creating havoc. 

Lying is untruthfulness -- fibbing.  It’s falsities and white lies.  It’s dishonesty, deceitfulness – it’s one who  “tells stories” and continually misrepresents.

Heed the Word of the LORD:

“Stay out of UGLY conversations, lest you fall in.”

Don’t’ be fooled, though.  The Uglies are a friendly bunch, so to speak.   They’ll welcome you with open arms.  They’ll initiate you onto their team without hesitation.  They’ll give you a t-shirt with your name on it and the family logo.  If you prefer a baseball cap instead, it’s yours!

Psalm 1 is our scriptural reference.  Don’t sit in the counsel of the ungodly.  Get up and walk away.  Find something else to do.  Find another crowd to hang with that encourages you in the ways of the LORD.  Find a family that reflects Christ.  There’s a saying…  You are who you hang out with.   Are you an Ugly?

Psalm 1

“Blessed is the man who does not

walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners or

sit in the seat of mockers. 

But his delight is in the law of the LORD

and on His law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season and whose

leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked!  They are like chaff that

the wind blows away. 

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.”

Always careful where I plant my feet, in RED shoes!

Gail

"A Mouthful"

Stepping Out in RED Shoes!

- Day 166 -

  

Have you puked on anyone lately?

Recently, while in the prayer closet, God put a dear friend on my heart and revealed to me that there was a stronghold in her life that was the result of a mistake she had made decades ago. 

Sure enough, my friend had gone though a rough patch for a season and had made some bad choices that eventually became public knowledge.  That’s when things got ugly.  Everybody was talking – family, friends, neighbors, church people, co-workers, even people that didn’t actually know her from Adam, threw in their two cents. 

Everyone had something to say!

• “Did you hear about her?   
• You know she did that, right? 
•  Oh my!  How could she do such a thing and call herself a Christian, no less.   
• Shame!  Shame! 
• There’s no hope for her.
•  She’ll never amount to anything now! 
•  I know I can’t support her.”

Then it got worse.  People began to label her.  She became one of  THOSE  people.  She was put into a category and labeled – tagged – marked -- branded.   Like  Hester Prynne from Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter,  you would have thought she wore  a big letter on her chest, because when people looked at her they only thought one thing.  

From that point on, people defined her by her sin.

Wait a minute!  Didn’t Jesus say,

“Let any one of you who is without sin, 

be the first to throw a stone at her?”

(John 8:7)

So why then were so many casting stones?

Of course, that short season of her life was miniscule in comparison to all the days of her exemplary life, past and future.   She repented and moved on to bigger and better things, staying on the straight and narrow with Christ, but many people never moved on with her.  To this day, they’re still talking.

"That’s what needs to be pulled down.”  the LORD said.

“Over the years, that verbal vomit has encrusted itself

on her mind.  All the things she heard and over-heard

people say about her,  all those thoughts and opinions,

gossip and conversations, words that were spoken –

some to her face and some behind her back – they went

out into the atmosphere and adhered themselves to her

creating a stronghold.  

Chisel it away with your prayers, Gail!

Break it off!  Pull it down!  Dispose of it!”   

said the LORD.   “Let’s set her free!”

For days on end, I entered the prayer closet, on my friend’s behalf, chiseling away at that cemented mindset .  I was flabbergasted at the size of the project God had assigned me to.  It was as if she was encased and imprisoned by the rubble of an earthquake. 

It took me forever, to find her and free her.

Every day, I prayerfully pulled down the layers of rebuke, gossip and judgementalism and heaved it onto the back of the Holy Spirit, who carried it off to a faraway place.  Take note:  This wasn't my friend's sin.  She had long confessed and repented of that and God has forgiven her.  This was the debris heaped on her by people having ugly, hateful and condemning conversations about her.  That kind of residue takes a long time to clean up.

Psalm 103:12 says...

"As far as the east is from the west, 

so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

After seeing, up front, the inhibiting effects of the verbal vomit of people, I know that surely there must have be times in which I must have spoken stupid opinions out into the atmosphere around me. 

“Father God…  Forgive me of my error.  Forgive me for the times I’ve ignorantly lent myself to the opposing team and been a part of building prisons around people’s minds.  From this day forward, sensitize me to the nature of the words I speak.   Let my conversation be forever positive, encouraging and uplifting!  May You be the one who speaks through me, and may I bring my personal opinions to the toilet to be flushed before they contaminate the atmosphere and condemn those who really need to be loved more than ever before.  

Proverbs 18:21 says...

"The tongue has the power of life and death,

 and those who love it will eat its fruit."

Yes, it's sad when people make big mistakes -- but don't we all?  Don't you think the Body of Christ needs to move more quickly and efficiently towards restoration?  I do.  I want to be part of the Love Patrol that reaches out and supports those who have slipped.  I want to love them and help them get back on their feet, not commit them to life imprisonment.

In RED shoes,

Gail

God will use you...

Stepping Out in RED Shoes

- Day 165 -

The Question is...

Will you flow with Him

or oppose Him?

It dawned on me that God will use you one way or the other:

He'll use you as an example of how Divine Partnership works.

 -  OR  -

He'll use your mishaps to knock others into alignment with Him.

You can either move with God and go with the flow.

-  OR  -

You can push against the current.

Saul of Tarsus, (before he became known as The Apostle Paul), was knocked off his horse by the LORD on his way to Damascus to apprehend Christians and throw them in prison.  (Acts 9)

Acts 9:5 NIV says...

"Who are you, LORD?"  Saul asked.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."  He replied.

The KJV says it this way...

"And he said, 'Who art thou LORD?'  

And the LORD said, 'I am Jesus whom thou persecutest;  

it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.'"

NOTE:  A goad or prick  is a pointed stick that was used for urging on a team of oxen.   

It was as if the LORD were saying to Saul...

"Saul!  It's me... Jesus!  I am the LORD.  

Why are you coming against me?

You're only hurting yourself by fighting me

 and resisting the plan I have for you."

At the time, God was moving powerfully throughout the land, building His church, and there was Saul -- someone, mind you, who loved God, but was erroneously and zealously moving in opposition to what God was doing.  After this divine encounter, Saul repented and yielded himself whole-heartedly to Christ and well... we know the story from there.  He ended up writing most of the New Testament.

Of course we all want to be the apostle,  the disciple,  the follower of Christ that God uses.  We all want to be found  moving with God, not against Him.  Who in their right mind wants to be the obstacle in God's way?  Not me! and not you either!  But it happens.  And you know what?  God uses the obstacles too!

I can think of many such cases.  For example, my ex-husband used to say to me,  "God put me in your life to make you the Woman of God He wants you to be."  LOL  You know what?   He was right!  God used his mishaps, short-comings and the like to continually teach me, mold me, and guide me into deeper places with Him.  He  used every single one of them.  How uncanny is that?

On other occasions, God has used people who were blatantly wrong in their actions to work something important in me.  I'd bring those people to the LORD in prayer, only to have it all backfire on me.  In their wrong doing, God would ask me to do something right.

Wait a minute!

What's wrong with this picture?

How did this turn into an occasion of repentance for me?

Really?  I'm not the one in error here!

But the LORD used the circumstance to work something in my life that would bring about a maturity in my faith that could only come out of a conflict situation.  I obeyed His instruction every time.  I didn't always like it.  In fact, it was often humbling, but I went with the flow because God asked me to.  I trusted there was a reason for it, and that it was in my best interest.  Looking back now, that was always the case.

God never wastes an opportunity for us to grow.  He loves to see us go deeper with Him and mature in the faith.  It's a blessing to Him.  Even so, I'm thinking...

I don't want to be the OBSTACLE that 

God uses to mature you in your faith.  

No!  I'd much rather be the one God 

uses as an example for you to follow.

Let me be an Ambassador for Him --  

"Follow me as I follow Christ!" 

 NOT   

"Don't do what I do -- Do what I say!"  

(That's such a cop-out!)

What about you?  Are you a "FLOW-er?"  Let's come into agreement on this one.  Let's kick off our RED shoes, pop on our floaties, jump in the river of God together, and move with the current of His Spirit.  Amen?

Gail