"I want my crown back" and other things I've asked God as of late.

"I want my crown back." I made this rather audacious statement to God in January.

Let me give you the back story. I started the Princess Club in June to teach the girls about our inheritance as daughters of the King of kings and our position in the kingdom of God. I have really enjoyed expanding off of this theme. I actually think I have learned more than the girls ♥

As teams have come down, I have asked the women and teens of each group to become involved in the Princess Club as well. Most teams bring down princess themed crafts or stickers or funny little frilly things. Some times the groups even plan lessons for the girls. It has been great to teach the girls about various kingdoms around the world and how there are princesses of God everywhere!!!

Me and a couple princesses...

Along the way one of my favorite princesses, okay, she's actually a queen, Cindy Schmidt, from the New Life church in Ohio, came on a team prepared to work with the princesses. I love this woman because, well, she's a lot like me. We have a very similar sense of humor and find amusement in the same ridiculous things. She's also been VERY supportive of the club (let's just say she helped coordinate 50 pounds of princess materials to be brought down by the church for the start of the club!!!) She came on a team at the beginning of the club and she happened to come again in January, when I had the club for the older girls. If you remember from a previous blog post, her team came prepared to make jewelry with the teens. We had such a great time!! She also brought me a special charm: a little, silver crown charm on a necklace chain. I LOVED that crown charm!! She called it gaudy. I called it AWESOME!! I wore it that night during the princess club (it's in the picture above). And every day after.

Cindy and I looking very princess-y in front of the church

So during those days I was walking up to Carmen's every day to wash her foot. I would put my crown necklace on, put my bag on, walk up and get Seidy, and head to Carmen's for the morning. I showed both women my crown charm, thrilled to have such a cool symbol of the princess club to carry with me. It was a great way to bring up the whole topic of being a princess of God in conversation as people commented on the necklace. One day on my way back to the house....I noticed the crown charm was gone!!! Missing from the chain!!! The metal loop it was hanging from must have broken when my bag rubbed against it!! I was DEVASTATED!! My crown from Cindy!! I scoured the neighborhood. I retraced my steps carefully, looking for the charm. I called Carmen to see if it had fallen off in her house. I called Seidy to look for it by her house. Nothing. From the poopy street to the high place, I looked for my missing crown. Nothing. For weeks I kept my eyes glued to the ground, looking for my crown charm. For the first few days I asked God to show me where it was. Praying that I would have eyes to see it. Then I heard a message about being bold in bringing our petitions before God. So I was bold. I said "God, I want my crown back." That was it. And I said it every day. For a month. I didn't lose hope or faith, but as more teams came and busyness crept in, I stopped reminding God about my crown every day. I stopped looking down quite as much, hoping to see it spontaneously appear on the road. But at the beginning of the week I reminded him again. Just once under my breath as I was crossing the bridge alone. "God, I want my crown back. Please."

Fast forward to today. Seidy called me last night saying she had a gift for me. Nothing big or special, just something little. I walked up to her house with the ladies from the Portland team who were here. She welcomed us into her home and we visited for a while. She had Sherry, her daughter, grab the gift from her room. I was so excited. I had no idea what it was, but I was excited. I love little gifts!! She handed me a little packet...with a crown charm on a little cord!!!! It was almost IDENTICAL to the one Cindy had given to me!!! I couldn't believe it!! Here was exactly what I had been asking God for months to return to me. And here it was!! I couldn't stop laughing. I told her how she was the answer to my very bold request to God.

My lost-now-found crown charm :)

Wow. I can't stop thinking about this. How awesome is God, right?!? I mean, he really does care about the little things in our lives. And if He cares enough to return my cheap-o crown charm because of my persistent asking, how much more does He care about the big things in my life, too?!? Some times I think we get so afraid of offending God that we hold back from asking him for...anything...big OR small.


In a small way, it reminds me of one of my favorite parables:

Luke 18

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

 ¹ Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’    ⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
 ⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”


While finding my crown was not a matter of justice, it mattered to me. Enough to constantly ask God about it. Enough to get an answer. It makes me even more excited to press in for the big things. Like to see people healed. To see people freed from addiction. To see people over come poverty. To have people's dignity returned. To have people's freedom returned. To have people's joy found again. What do you want to have returned? What has gone missing in your life that you want God to bring back? Are you willing to be persistent in crying out for it? With boldness?

Here are some other verses to ponder:


1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Ask, Seek, Knock- Matthew 7:7-12

    ⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.    ⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 

For the benefit of those not on facebook, I thought I would share an update on the community and some recent prayer concerns. As many of you know, we are officially in dry season. We went without rain for approximately four months. What is normally green and lush during the rain season turns brown and dusty in the dry season. It also makes the community prone to fires. This most often happens from either broken glass laying on the ground or flicked cigarette butts...both of which are common place in the Quebrada where there are many addicts and alcoholics. Needless to say, within the last week there have been two major fires. One on the far left side of the community where almost no one lives and one directly below Carmen´s house. In both cases, no houses were burned and the only damage to homes was extensive smoke damage. In the first fire, it was too far down in the Quebrada for the fire trucks to access, so they basically just let it burn. People frantically threw buckets of water to protect their houses, but the fire basically had to burn out. The firemen were able to drag hoses in from the main road when the fires threatened Carmen´s house. Please continue to pray for Los Anonos as we come to an end of the dry season. Occasionally the field behind our house can burn, too, although praise the Lord is hasn´t in recent history. Pray for the continued safety of people in the event of more fires that they would make it out of their houses safely and not risk their lives for objects. Pray protection over our community!!!

Beauty is more than skin deep

 

Eating Disorder Awareness Month. Barbie has an eating disorder!

• If Barbie were an actual women, she would be 5’9” tall, have a 39” bust, an 18” waist, 33” hips and a size 3 shoe.
• Barbie calls this a “full figure” and likes her weight at 110 lbs.
• At 5’9” tall and weighing 110 lbs, Barbie would have a BMI of 16.24 and fit the weight criteria for anorexia. She likely would not menstruate.
• If Barbie was a real woman, she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
• Slumber Party Barbie was introduced in 1965 and came with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs with a book entitled “How to Lose Weight” with directions inside stating simply “Don’t eat.”

Read that last bullet again... Wow! That message reached millions of little kids who could have gotten the impression that Barbie's secret of not eating is the key to being beautiful, since she has been a symbol of beauty to little kids for generations.

 

 

 

Am I against Barbie?!? Absolutely NOT!! I had several Barbies growing up and enjoyed playing with them with friends. The important thing to remember is having on-going discussions with girls, teens, young women, and even adult women about body image, perception, and beauty. This is one issue many churches and Bible studies aren't talking about. But this is an issue that I could venture to say the majority of women, regardless of culture, language, geographic location, or socioeconomic status struggle with. While our major focus and emphasis should never be outward beauty, but it's pretty hard to love others when you hate yourself. There is something to be said for finding beauty and value in yourself as well as the beauty and value God finds in us, especially as women. It's time to start this conversation again, and it's time to raise healthy young ladies who also know not only that they are beautiful on the inside, but on the outside as well.

 

 

Coming Back to the Heart of Worship

A much needed night out

When you have 6 kids and live in a 9x12 house with only two beds, there's not much space for privacy. Or time alone as a couple. For any of you who have come on teams down to Los Anonos, Costa Rica, you all know who I'm talking about. We're technically not supposed to have favorites, but I have to say this family is one of my favorites here. Alejandro and Verania live up in the Mangoes on the other side of the bridge from our house. The whole family lives in one room in front of Doña Fransisca, Alejandro's mother's, house. At the bottom of the stairs leading to their house is a small, open shack where Doña Fransisca has a thriving business selling handmade tortillas baked over an open flame, fresh smokey cheeses, and other Nicaraguan delicacies.

Alejandro and Verania's six kids tend to melt the hearts of every team that passes through the Harvest Hands house. Nicol (10), Alexander (8), Antoni (6), Clyde (4), Joshua (2 and a half), and Genesis (17 months) are some of the happiest, bounciest, most trusting kids I've encountered yet in this world. If they're not jumping into the open arms of an American, showing off their salsa skills, coloring, or jumping around like hot potatoes, they are most likely climbing the walls of their house. Literally. They always have huge smiles and love meeting new friends.

Most teams that come down spend time up at Alejandro and Verania's house. Playing with the kids and getting to know the family. David also has a weekly Bible study up at their house and he enjoys taking teams up there. Doña Fransisca always makes some tasty treat to enjoy, too! 

The family at their wedding this past December!!

This past week the Portland, Maine team has been working up behind Doña Fransisca's house. The men of the team have been building a house for Alejandro's sister, Jacqueline, and her three kids. They have made an amazing connection with the whole family. Last night they decided to bless the family by giving Alejandro and Verania a much needed night off...Sans children! The team gave the deserving couple money to take a taxi and go to the restaurant of their choice while the team took all six kids, plus Jacqueline's oldest daughter, Hellen (11) out for dinner as well. What a treat!!!

 Verania and Alejandro got ALL dressed up! 

Verania looked GORGEOUS!!!!

They decided to go to a Japanese hibachi grill.

We piled Alejandro's six plus Hellen in the van. They asked where we were going. When we told them McDonald's you should have heard them squeal and scream!! You would have thought we told them we were taking them to Disney World. Alexander climbed into the front seat of the van with me and asked, "Are we really going to McDonald's? You're not lying, right? God doesn't like liars." I love that kid. Nicol asked if they could get "Cajitas Feliz" (Happy Little Boxes, or what we like to call "Happy meals" ). Again with the squeals and cheering with an affirmative answer!!!

 Upon arrival the first matter of duty was the Play Place!!! Shoes were everywhere. Sweatshirts came flying off. And off they went into the depths of playland.

 Even the babies ventured in...for a short time.

 Bring on the "Happy Little Boxes"

From Nicol down to Genesis there was much rejoicing and munching. Interestingly enough, the older children ate only half of their meals, carefully wrapping them up to take home for a later meal. Thank goodness I always carry a sharpie marker in my bag...carefully labeled names on each box prevented arguments and the eating of other siblings meals!! They chugged their drinks and asked for refills, which they also put in their happy boxes to bring back with them. They were well behaved and polite. 

The team did a great job corralling the kids and keeping track of them in the busy restaurant. It's amazing how universal kids really are. They are all fascinated by the cheap-o toys in those magical red boxes. They can make even a non-Spanish speaker understand their need for the bathroom. And they can make a grown man bend low to tie their shoe laces with the simplest bat of an eye (thanks again, Mario, for lacing up Hellen's 87 million eyelet-lace-up-bright-pink-flowery-boots!!!) After many trips to the bathroom, the play place, and the coca cola machine, we trooped the kids back out to the van.

What a wonderful treat!!! And what a simple way of sharing God's love: with a meal out that otherwise would not be affordable or practical for a family of eight from Los Anonos.

Return of the Princess!!

Finally, after much ado, the princess club has returned!! After the older girls went back to school, my attendance rate to the club significantly dropped, even with a changed time and day. So I decided to continue with the younger girls club. They are much more reliable at coming consistently.

 We had the pleasure of being accompanied by the five queens of Portland, Maine. 

The girls practice their hula hoops before the club started. 
Thank you, Marsha Ames!!!

 The girls listen attentively to the lesson. 

 This time I had the girls decorate their own princess diaries. They really enjoyed writing their names and decorating them with princess stickers.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Proverbs 31:30

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 

For those of you interested in what we learn about in Princess Club, here are my notes, exactly as I talked about them with the girls. It was really fun to hear them think about this topic.

This is the new Princess Club theme verse. (It is easier for the girls to understand and I think it has a lot of value in a culture that puts excessive value on the female body and hyper-sexualization of even young girls.)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

This week's theme was:

Servant Princesses.

As princesses in God's kingdom, we are not called to just sit around on our throne all day looking pretty but not doing anything with our time.

What do princesses in God's kingdom do all day?

What are some things we as princesses like to do?

What do you think God would like us to do?

1 Peter 4:10 "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms."

What are the gifts these verses are talking about?

When you're 8 to 11 years old those gifts are singing, dancing, using nice words, honoring our parents by helping with chores, caring for our little siblings, washing dishes, doing our homework, and studying well in school, doing our best at what we do, and being obedient...That was the list the girls came up with, any way.

We talked through the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet in John 13. In Jesus' time, people walked in sandals, just like in Costa Rica. And what happens to your feet at the end of the day? (You should have seen their pretty little noses wrinkle. They all know how dirty your feet get!!) In Jesus' time, wealthy people had servants who would wash their master's feet. One day Jesus and his disciples were having dinner together and Jesus showed his disciples how much he loved them by washing their feet. How do you think the disciples must have felt to have their teacher doing something that was considered the lowest, dirtiest job in the house? They probably felt pretty small, right? 

Even though Jesus is the King of Kings, he taught us how to love each other: by serving each other. As princesses in his kingdom, one way we can show love to each other is by serving each other.

The queens from Portland then demonstrated this by offering to paint their fingers and toes. The girls were thrilled!!

 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

  ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

  

Of course then they wanted to show that they, too, had learned the lesson and offered to paint the fingers of the queens!! I was so proud of them for thinking to offer it back!!

Then we had the great surprise of welcoming back Ana Laura, my co-leader from the first club, with the newest member of 

the Princess Club: Lara!!!! 

 ♥♥♥Que linda la princesita♥♥♥

Needs in Costa Rica

Team season is now in full swing! We still have 11 teams during the rest of this year. I usually get requests for things teams can bring. At the end of every blog, on my home page, is an up-to-date list of all the items to pack personally for a trip, as well as suggestions for items to donate to our church thrift store and for random other items that are always a welcome blessing. Recently Rodney and Cindy asked Dago, the dude in charge of kid's ministry, for any needs they have for working with the kids. Here is his list (the items in parenthesis are his translation of Spanish to English to help Rodney and Cindy figure out what he meant...some of them are accurate and others were just down right funny, so I included them for mutual amusement....)

Tempera paint
Colored construction paper (cardboard of colors)
Newsprint paper (periodic paper)
Popsicle sticks (lean palettes)
Foam paper...in the arts and craft section, also called foamies
Ribbon
Toothpicks (chopsticks of tooth)
Masking tape
Felt
Play dough/modelling clay (cold silicon)
Magnets
White child sized t-shirts
Fabric paints

Got bus?

Some times I take modern transportation for granted. I have LOVED flitting around in my little Honda Civic while I've been home. Crank up the heat. Blast Jesus Culture out of every speaker. Throw my suitcase in the trunk and nestle my water bottle by my side in the cup holder. I can go where I want, when I want, as fast as I want...well, with the speed guidelines in mind :) It's pictures like this, though, that remind me again how privileged we are to live where we do. Lord, help us not get so wrapped up in our own culture and lives that we forget how blessed we are and the resources you have made available to us. Help us remember other people who live in poorer conditions.

Feature: Kevin

I found this unpublished blog in my archives...I wrote it in April. Enjoy!!

Name: Kevin Jimenes

Age: 16

 Favorite sport: fútbol (that´s soccer for the Americans)

Latest hobby: Crochet. Yup. I taught him to crochet and he´s taken off. I think he´s made 3 hats already.

Favorite thing to do when gringos come: Street ministry in San José

Three words to describe Kevin: Kind, thoughtful, insightful 

Kevin is one of the dudes here in Anonos. He is in high school and taking 19 credit hours this year.

Yeah, he´s really smart. He wants to finish school and go on to study business.

Some one told him the best decision to make for schooling would be to learn English and get a business degree...then learn Chinese. With Spanish, English, and Chinese, one could be a very successful business man. So that´s Kevin´s plan. He could totally do it.

Kevin also has a servant´s heart. Whenever there are teams, he is the first to come help and the last to leave.

He remembers every name of every person that has come on every team.

And he askes about you. If you´ve been on a trip and your church is coming,

he will ask about people and if they´re coming back.

He definitely makes an impression on people.

Fun tidbits about Kevin:

He calls me ¨Mi gigante¨

which means ¨my giant¨

So I call him ¨Mi enano¨

which means ¨my dwarf¨

(Even though he´s only maybe 3 inches shorter than me)

When I asked the youth group who was the strongest guy in the group, the majority

nominated Kevin.

How to pray for Kevin:

Pray that Kevin would continue to grow in Christ.

Pray that Kevin would continue to resisit and stand firm all the temptations for drugs and alcohol that surround his community.

Pray that God would continue to give Kevin dreams about who he is in Christ and all that God has instore for his life.

Pray that Kevin holds firm to all the promises God has for him.

Music of the heart

"Come, thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace."

This is the opening line of my favorite hymn. It is a line that struck me again this morning. Did you know the Lord sings over each of us? Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) says:

"The LORD your God is with you,
   the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
   in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
   but will rejoice over you with singing.”

What must that song be like? I believe the Lord sings a different song over each of us. The Lord rejoices over each of us with our own unique song. A love song. A victory chant. A battle march. A poetic ballad.

What the Lord showed me a while ago is that we also each have our own unique song that our hearts sing back. Psalm 84:2 declares, "My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God." This isn't a new concept to the world, either, even though it may not understand it fully. There are plenty of songs that talk about singing the song in your heart.  

There are also some cute quotes about the song in our hearts. My favorite is:

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart 

and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

If you stop to think about it, I actually think this quote has a lot of truth to it. Have you ever had a friend that just got you? A friend who completely understood you from the beginning of your friendship? Some one who seems like he or she can read your thoughts before you say them? Some one with very similar tastes and preferences, thoughts, ideas, and beliefs?  Maybe this is because as our hearts sing, we can pick up on the songs of other people's hearts, too. We are meant to live in harmony with each other. Just maybe this is more true that we think. Hmmm...Lots to think about.

 

Ephesians 5:19
speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

Psalm 30:12
That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Psalm 108:1
[ God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory. ] A Song, a Psalm of David. My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul. 

 Psalm 108:1
[ Psalm 108 ] A song. A psalm of David. My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul.

When the Lord says "STOP!!!"

I have been in the states on a Visa run/family/friends visiting-staycation since last Friday. Wow. What a whirlwind tour! I have really wanted to see EVERYONE while I'm home. I got in Friday night late (there was high winds in Ohio and Indiana that killed like 30 people and delayed my plane by a bit over an hour). I had the joy of seeing my best friend, Liz, who "happened" to be in Findlay from Cincinnati for the weekend ("happened" is kind of like saying one got fat by reading the labels of the chocolate bars. It just doesn't work like that. I know God had his hand in that timing!!!). After a quick lunch I drove up to Michigan in time for Kasey's 30th rock-tabulous surprise birthday party ♥♥♥ AWESOME ♥♥♥ What an amazing time to see friends, completely surprise Kasey, AND totally get to remember the good old days and roller skate the afternoon away!! Right from that I was swept away by some of my favorite people in the world to hang out at Rockwell's for the evening and just sit and talk. I was so blessed to see so many good friends and really feel their ♥ and encouragement. 

I had purposefully made no set plans for my time in Grand Rapids, knowing things would fall into place, while also feeling the Holy Spirit tell me to just rest. Just rest. Just rest. Well, the beginning of the week went by in a whirlwind...breakfast with one friend, brunch with another, shopping for those few things that can't be purchased in CR. I stayed at Tanya's house and had a WONDERFUL time making her family rice and beans, playing piano with her daughter, Toryana, and chatting until the wee hours of the evening (ok, like 11:00. But still, for me that's late!). I was still hearing the Holy Spirit tell me to rest, but I still wanted to see everyone and not miss out on anything. ♥


True to form in my rush to get to Michigan I may have forgotten something. My razor. Phew. Thank the LORD it is winter in Michigan and as the rules apply, pants and long sleeves cover a multitude of unshaven hair. Overshare? Maybe. But there's a point to it. I asked Tanya if I could have a razor to use. Ok, even in Michigan I can only take scratchy underarms so long. She had one of those great razors that have the disposable blades on top that you can pop on and off and change. She lent me the handle and a clean blade. On Wednesday morning when I was packing up, I felt the Lord tell me to take off my blade and take it with me. Weird, I know, but I have learned that obedience to the slightly weird that the Holy Spirit asks me to do is still much better than having to repent later. 

This is Sue in Costa Rica just a few weeks ago!!

My next destination was Bill and Sue Golder's house. They came on the last team from Grand Rapids just this February and we had such a great time! I was tickled pink when they invited me to stay with them while I was home. I planned on staying the night Wednesday with Sue and Claire (Bill was out of town and going to get in late), having breakfast with another friend in town on Thursday morning at one of my favorite restaurants, and driving down to Indianapolis to stay with my brother right after brunch. It was all set. 


I woke up Wednesday morning and as I was laying in bed saying Good Morning to the Lord I heard him softly say "STOP!!" That's all I heard. Just "stop". Instantly I knew what it meant. Stop. Stay where I am. REST. Don't go running off again. Take time. Shoot. BUT GOD!!! I have breakfast plans! What am I supposed to do?? I have my day organized!!! I already told Sue I was jetting early, what if they're not expecting that?!? But okay, I will be faithful. I will be obedient. I will stop.  I texted the friend I was supposed to have breakfast with. She's amazing and I just told her the Lord told me to stop. She texted back and she understood. I walked upstairs and Bill and Sue were having coffee in their front office. I simply said, "The Lord told me to stop. I hope you don't mind, but I cancelled my plans and would love to spend the morning with you guys."  Sue was THRILLED!! She was like, "REALLY?!?!? I selfishly prayed this morning that your plans would change. We would love to spend more time with you.". HA! God is so good. And funny. I teased Sue she's really lucky that God heard her prayer so quick. Sheesh. I wish all my prayers were answered that quick. ♥

What a relaxing morning! We sat and visited over coffee and just had wonderful, life-giving conversation. Sue asked me if I wanted to go to the gym with her for a bit. YES!! I LOVE the gym! Uh-oh, one problem. Those legs I had been hiding behind jeans all week? Nasty. I asked Sue if I could borrow a razor. Yup. You guessed it. She had the SAME handle that Tanya had. Either Tanya and Sue have been the victims of clever marketing by the razor company, or God knew exactly what he was doing. I told her the story of what the Lord had told me at Tanya's. Once again not only was it a confirming word to me that I wasn't crazy about the razor (ok, take that with a grain of salt, I am a bit crazy) but it was a confirming word that I was obedient that morning in cancelling my plans. I was exactly where God wanted me to be. It also lead to a great opportunity to encourage another woman at the gym and share Christ's love with her, too. And the best part was, I got to rest with some awesome people!


So what's the point? Some times God uses really practical things to speak to us. Some times he uses weird things to confirm that he was, in fact, speaking to us. Have you ever thought you were supposed to do something, but you didn't do it and then later in the day something came up and you wished you had done it? Maybe it was to put something in your bag, but you didn't put it in there, and later you needed it. Or maybe it was to shut something off and you didn't, and it ended up causing a mess. Or maybe you did do something and later on in the day you were really grateful for it. Some times that can be the Holy Spirit speaking into our lives, leading and guiding us in all our ways. The next time it happens, take that split second to think about it and see if it was actually the Lord talking to you. You never know when a razor blade can confirm that the Lord really just wanted your obedience and have you exactly where He wants yo to be.