Lana Vaughan

It’s grey, cold and raining outside my window this morning. The calendar says June but the sky says “not so fast”.

I had planned on emptying out my craft cottage today to re-organize, take inventory, clear clutter and most importantly make room for my favorite teen to have her own work bench.

Planned…

As I sit here on the verge of my 50th birthday that word is screaming at me with all the force of 49 years of unexecuted plans. Unfinished projects, letters never sent, phone calls never made, dreams left among the clouds. Planned…

They say if you want to hear God laugh tell Him your plans. Today as the rain falls my heart doesn’t hear laughter but the sound of tears on my window. Not of regret but of “less than…”

The “what ifs…” take the place of thunder in my rainy day. Where I live it is very rare to get the drama and passion and unexpectedness that comes with thunder and lightning. But the “what ifs…” flash through my mind and the sound that exploded at their passing is my heart dropping.

Today, more than usual, the questions without answers seem over whelming.

Do you like to learn or do you just like to know?

Or are you content to let others learn and count on others knowing?

If you know someone who knows does that make you want to know?

I know…

This morning I realized I have beverages that go with certain activities.  When I first wake up in the morning and when I am working in my office, a large cup of coffee is close at hand. When I am reading or journaling or writing, a hot cup of tea is close by. It often gets cold before it gets finished because I get so wrapped up in what I’m focused on. Dinner is often accompanied by a glass of good wine. I find it slows down the whole dinner time and the focus shifts from eating to dinning. Fast food gets washed down with a Diet Coke. Diet Pepsi if I have the choice. 

But…when I fire up my Logos program and

dig into the Word it is water.

A large wine glass full of

clear cold water that I want.

As a deer pants for water….

What are you doing today?

What are you drinking?

What are you longing for? 

The following was an email I received this morning. With the appropriate permissions and notations I am using my blog today to “forward” it to you.

What has God already said yes to that you continue to question?  As I pondered this question, I realized that many times I continue to argue my point with God when God has already said yes.  So what is He waiting on?  Why doesn’t He do what He promises immediately?  Could it be that He is waiting for me to believe and to worship?

When the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, they cried out to the God of their fathers and the Bible says, “and God knew”.  (Exodus 2:24)  He knew they wanted to be free.  He knew the situation they were in and the oppression they were under, and He knew their deep desire to return to a place where they could serve Him.  And His answer was “Yes!”  They were in fact seeking the will of God and we know that when we seek the will of God His answer to His will is always yes.

So how did it come to be?  God sent them a deliverer.  His name was Moses.  Although Moses was reluctant to fulfill the call on his life, he went to Egypt anyway and shared God”s plan with the elders of Israel.  The people”s response was amazing!  The scripture says, “And the peoplebelieved; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.” (Exodus 4:31)  In other words, they hadn”t seen anything change yet.  Their circumstances had not changed one bit.  They were still slaves in Egypt.  But despite the overwhelming odds before them and the very strong opposition that surely awaited them – they choose to believe God and take Him at His word.  They confirmed their complete trust in Him by beginning to worship Him for what they knew He would do.  In fact, they worshiped as though it was already done.

So I ask again, what has God already said yes to in your life?  More importantly, what”s stopping you from believing and worshiping Him?

“And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”  (1 John 5:14-15 emphasis mine)

The time is now beloved.  This promise assures us that prayers said in faith according to His will are heard by Him and that we already have what we are requesting.  Let”s have confidence to believe Him and to worship Him today.  Though we may not see it with our natural eyes yet, by faith we can believe it has already been accomplished in the supernatural.  Amen!

Be Blessed!

© 2012, Mary E. Banks Permission is granted to forward this e-letter (and it’s greatly encouraged) provided the © copyright notice and contact information are included. Thanks! 

and neither are you?

This is the question on the front of the new book by John Lynch, Bruce McNicol and Bill Thrall.

Authors of the ground breaking Bo’s Cafe ,The Cure takes a fresh conversational look at who God is and who we are.

About 25 years ago I started examining what I believed because it was what I had been taught and what the Bible actually says. I found a lot of things didn’t match up. About that time I was introduced to Kay Arthur and began systematically asking questions. Eight years ago I was introduced to a ministry out of Colorado and through it to an amazing group of people who have become close friends even from great distances.

It was through one of these friends I was introduced to John Lynch and the challenging questions the Truefaced Ministry was encouraging believers to ask for themselves. I’ve read all of their books and listened to many of the podcasts. They don’t offer answers as much as they offer and encourage good questions.

So today I’m asking their question…”What if God isn’t who you think He is and neither are you?” How much would that change your life? Are you open to even considering the question?