We had another meeting.  Charlotte was the speaker, and she talked about how the Lord wanted to do some major changes this year.  Our country is in dire straits.  High oil prices, food shortages, and natural disasters feel as though they are becoming commonplace.  Are we willing--is it worth it--no matter what--to find out and then DO whatever it is God is calling us to do?

It's all about the next generation.  If we don't pray, we won't know what it is God is calling us to do.  We need to not fear, but to live in God's economy.  We need to know what God is saying so we won't just be manipulated by the media.  Holiness is the next "movement" on the horizon!  Lets head up the pack!

Saturday afternoon it was absolutely beautiful.  They feed us well at the ranch, and lunches are generally nice and healthy.  I took my styrofoam container and iced tea out onto the hill by myself.  I really wanted to be alone with God and hear what He wanted to say *just* to me (though I knew everything I'd heard so far was definitely for me, too!)  I opened the box to find a fantastic salad with chicken, crackers and shortbread cookies.  Looking around, I noticed the wildflowers bowing their heads in the breeze.  The Lord said to me, "You see that?  They neither toil nor spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as these.  Do not worry about your life."  Ahhh.  True.  I need not worry.  I ate lunch overlooking the lake and watched the birds fly from tree to tree. 

When I finished, I lay back in the grass.  "What else?  What do You want me to do?"

"This.  Rest.  Lay back and let Me orchestrate your life.  Let Me put it together.  Don't worry."

I had gone to the famous Hot Springs baths the day before on the advice of the dear friend who introduced me to Hettie Lue so many years ago, and getting my makeup done afterward was a necessity since I had to head straight to the ranch afterward.

"Just like yesterday . . . Let Me scrub you, massage the kinks out, and decorate you.  Don't worry about yourself."

Got it.  That was a good word picture, Lord.

"You're exhausted becuase you're not walking in the Spirit--My Spirit.  I want you to rest."

   Check.  I'm not; You're right.  Lord, will You speak to me in dreams and visions?  I so want to see and hear your plans for myself and my family and church and town and state and country . . . for the world!

"Rest and make yourself beautiful by allowing the Holy Spirit to make you beautiful."  Lest you think beauty is not something God is concerned about . . .

"The King's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is interwoven with gold.  She will be led to the King in embroidered work; the virgins, her companions who follow her, will be brought to You.  They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; they will enter into the King's palace."  Ps. 45:13-15

How I want my companions to be led to the Lord!

"Clothe yourself in your strength, oh Zion; clothe yourself in your beautiful garments. . . how lovely on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news"  Isa 52:1,7

I remember going through a time when I really wondered whether any emphasis on beauty was totally ungodly.  I mean, isn't it silly to spend any money or time on making ourselves look nice?  Who cares?  Shouldn't we just wear cheap, boring clothes, never color our hair, wear no jewelry, etc etc?  There was definitely a time in Christianity when it seemed that you could tell who was *really* holy by how ugly they were!  Then I spent some time in the Old Testament.  Wow!  God likes things to be beautiful! Have you ever read His instructions for the Tabernacle?  The fabrics were all embroidered and decorated beautifully.  There were carvings in all the wood--and then they were overlaid in gold!  And lest you think that's only for God's house (kindof makes you wonder about today's warehouse-church thing, doesn't it, by the way???) you have to check out His description of saving Israel . . .

"'Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil.'"  (sound familiar? )

"'I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet, and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk.  I adorned you with ornaments; put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck.  I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.  Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth.   You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.  Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,' declares the Lord."  Isa. 16:9-14

Of course we have such a tendency to take things too far, and we all know people who are beautiful on the outside and a snarly, mean or just plain miserable mess on the inside. There's a happy balance to be found.  We shouldn't spend 2 hours in front of a mirror, freaking out about every blemish, spending all our money on clothes and jewelry.  Hanging around every day with no makeup on, hair pulled back in a ponytail, in your sweatpants and your husband's t-shirts, though, definitely isn't attractive to *anyone* and certainly doesn't inspire your neighbors to want to get to know God!  It doesn't do much for your kids, or your husband, either, for that matter--and how about the effect on your own life?  Hmm.  Something to think about!  My guess is that too often, we carry ourselves around like that when our spiritual lives are messy and out of order; it's just an outer manifestation of our inner selves.  It all starts on the inside--"the King's daughter is all glorious within," remember?

Okay, I'm out of typing time!  Off to listen to the Christ for the Nations album, Glorious, while I get some housework done.  Might as well worship while I work--it's even better than whistling!