ICO 6 - Listening, My very public confession.

Today we were taken on this very short journey by Major Widiawati Tampai (ICO Staff Officer) all about listening prayer.

Now I know about listening to God, I try to do that.

And before you cast judgement on this blog, - do you personally listen to God enough ?

NO.. do You ?

So....Here's a confession, I dont listen to God enough.

I am choosing to change that right now !

As we sat and contemplated the words of Widi today, good solid words, that one might expect to hear in a place like this, I became aware again of Gods voice speaking into my spirit.

Now line that up with the book I am currently reading "Simplify" by Bill Hybels, and a few things are screaming at me about my private spiritual and personal life.

I get it !!!!

and feel like saying to God you dont have to yell....

but then some of us yell at Him all the time when we are praying dont we ?

when things dont go our way ?

when we dont get what we want ?

I think sometimes I have been guilty of thinking God must be deaf or something and cant hear me unless I yell at Him, (well stop ranting... ......... )

He is quietly yelling at me.

and I hear Him and feel called again to sit down with Him and just stop and listen, and in these next few days I will get plenty of time to do that, while we have a 24 hour prayer and fasting time.

....................................................

The ICO experience is one of great privilege, and blessing and I feel myself changing deeply on the inside, I sense again an excitement in my ministry calling that I had allowed to be snuffed out. (stupid)

I am awakening to a new desire to serve God.

I am sensing change, maybe not just in me, but in those around me also, at my church, my family and my friends here... and also a sense of things not remaining the same in my little world.

The truth is that if I keep doing what I have been doing then I will keep getting what I have already got ( from FB today).... but think about it, if we are not hearing God anymore, is it He who has stopped speaking or us who have stopped listening ?

If we are losing in life, failing at every stumbling block,perhaps we need to find a detour around the blockage, to change things up, find a new road to travel, set a new GPS destination.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes that life is the "same old same old " ? well its never going to be any different if we keep doing the same old things the same old ways.

(Well DERRRRR !!!!!!, spoken with attitude !)

If our spiritual life is dead and boring, lost power, lost focus, doubt God, lacking in zeal, lacking in passion...it isnt God who has changed my friends...it is us.

..................................................

I confess today that I am not the best Officer on the planet.

I confess today that I am a sinner. That I have been saved by Jesus Christ. (It is still, all about Him)

I confess today, that I have made mistakes, that I am imperfect.

I confess today that Jesus Christ is My Lord,and once again I choose to serve Him for the rest of my days.

I give Him my heart, my life and my abilities, and ideas, and thoughts, and relationships, my desires, my hopes, my limited skill....

and I know this one thing.....

YES, He requires one thing only of us... it is our availability !

and it is not determined upon ability, but upon availablity - our time, our energy, our being.

AND I HAVE PLENTY OF THAT TO GIVE.

No one can question, or criticize a persons availability, they may try and criticize our ability or talent or skill or lack of it... but God sees our heart and looks for our soul motive. In that area, I am free and I win and I am loaded with opportunity and possibility.

Because He has my heart and I am His.

..................................................

Finally, can I say I am homesick ?

in each ICO session, each Zone around the world presents a session on our zone.

For me it is SPEA. (South Pacific East Asia )

and in our prep today, we just looked at a video of Australia. " I am, you are, we are Australian ", and I miss my country and my family, enormously.

will be home soon.... and oh what a day it will be.... just catching up with my family. I love them so much. they accept me for who I am, they know who I am, we have done life together for years, we have laughed our heads off together, and we have cried our hearts out together... they accept me warts and all ( and I have a few).... they support me, and hold me, they love me.

there is nothing like, being loved by someone.

..........................................................................

so... I am gonna go do some listening... and hear what my master and Lord is saying into my heart for the next stage of my life...

and friends,

the next stage of our life, is the most important.

 

I dont know what the future holds, but I do know who holds my future.

 

 

 

 

 

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