Walking down Lincoln Avenue in Portsmouth, I am struck by the beauty of the day forsythia, tulips and daffodils, bright sun, warm breeze and the freedom and privilege I have to walk in a healthy body, through a friendly neighborhood, of my own volition. I think about how much I take for granted, and how easy it is to feel centered and content when life is easy, flowing, and conflict free.
Posts tagged as “inspiration”
I have counseled individuals, couples, families and business partners for the past 35 years and authored eight published books. Every individual Ive worked with has had some abandonment wound to heal, and most relationship problems stem from abandonment wounds.
This is a question that most people grapple with from time to time and it has largely been on my mind this past week.
"And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, 'Where are you?'" (Genesis 3:8-9)
You and I can return to the "garden". We can walk with our heavenly Father in the (yes,) "cool of the day", which can be anytime we make a decision of our will to set time aside for communion with Him.
"On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves."
Isaiah 62:6
Recently I was given an opportunity through which the Lord reminded me about aspects of intercessory prayer which I had forgotten. Perhaps you have been in the place I was and can identify. I admit I am a slow learner when it comes to spiritual matters and need repeated instruction to get it to "sink in."
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
So begins one of the most familiar old hymns--one which is most likely remembered because of its use as an "invitational song" at the close of many traditional church services. Whether or not you know this hymn, you probably are not familiar with the history of its authorship and the story behind its writing. At least, I know I was not.
"When you get this concept into your mind and heart it will totally revolutionize your life." That's just the way the Lord said it to me. And just what is this revolutionary concept? His all-consuming, unconditional love for me. (And each of you can say the same.)
I'm sure that, like me, if you've been a Christian for any length of time you've had moments when the hair stood up on the back of your neck; when you've gotten "goose bumps"; when the arrangement of events have led you unmistakably to the conclusion that HE HAS SPOKEN. But I realize that what I really want is not these encounters which may come only once in a lifetime if at all but, instead, the regular, intimate relationship with God that Adam and Eve had with Him in the Garden.