What your walking out labels you ?

     Labels ? They have been at the center of arguments for ages. Labels that people place upon others,  upon situations. Labels set in a pre determined thought of what to expect and what to wait for.  Like many of the people in this world have come to hate labels. Do not label me, do not think you know me that well.
     All that changed last night. I saw something in someone who shared their heart and my perception of labels have changed. Labels aren't that bad. They tell you what is contained, delivered and available. They tell you of warnings and cautions. Sometimes these things are helpful and needed. To recognize the fruit of someone or a situation is gift of discernment. Why not appreciate it instead of rebel against it. Of course we only rebel against it when it is revealing our own character in an unattractive light . (People, we are such a trip!!)
       A man named Shawn Borelli quoted this last night "When you walk in love you become a giver". Several years ago I would taken this statement and argued it because i would immediately assume he was speaking of material items, most likely money. I once had a love for money that ran so deep that it made me deny even the truth of the word if it required me giving something away. I was delivered from the twisted fleshy disease in my bathroom while in the tub thinking I was about to have a heart attack. It took God many years to work it out of me , but thank goodness he is the type of God who does take the time to work it out without forcing us, beating us or punishing us. He is so merciful.
       Last night when I heard Shawn say this I experienced it in such a new light. I no longer felt a need to defend my position over my money. I was free to hear the words without a label. I was free to identify the real label. God's label. A giver . A giver of Life. When we walk in love we become a giver , God allowed me to see the entire heavenly reality of this statement.. When we walk in love we become a giver, a giver of life. I want this label. I want God to smack that all over me , again and again. What an Honor to know that by simply walking in love and obeying what he asks, we become a giver of life. Our words, our actions, our gifts, even our money becomes bigger than just some item or some paper , it becomes the vine. It becomes living water. It becomes that seed.
     Seems so simple this concept especially for me who is a seasoned believer. Yet I am experiencing it for the first time with better sight.  I was not labeled by my flesh and it felt so good. It feels so good. I know I have had my heart washed and cleansed by the Savior. It still has a ways to go but Praise God that I can see my own growth and can celebrate in a deeper quieter way. I find value in my own life . This is a good thing. I am standing in agreement with my Lord that I matter . I am important. I am a giver. And because I walk in the love of Jesus , I am more than a giver of money , time, items, I am a giver of life. It is God that takes the things I am willing to give and supernaturally touches them and life on the receiving end is enhanced, encouraged, uplifted, sang over, adored, honored, and healed.

The Flower That Could

the cement is long and goes on and on
house after house, block after block
the cement is long and goes on and on

the smell of the lives lost lingers in the ground
the waste of the people lost, leaves smells

the tears they mourn because they cannot even cry
hopeless is after the last tear

the ones who own keys to the doors that line the cement
they unable to see the dirt that has become a home
this place is what gives him the ability to own
a place for his waste

we all have a reason to look away
that's just today
but if we look really hard at not searching~~ through looking....

breathing is an act of opening up and taking in
turn your eyes into your lungs and begin within

there are so many flowers all around
flowers that come up over night just like people in the chance

what has a more beauty a flower or a person

could it be they relate to the other's soul
one helping the other to not feel so old

what if we could be the flower that could
even though the cement is long , the flower finds a crack
it pushes up thru  the smallest opportunity
to blossom it's beauty, in the length of on and on
yet its green hums and it's color sings
a different tune than the smell of the land


if a soul were to be a flower
we wouldn't count the keys of the doors that line the street
we would push pass the keys and find the heart
the original birth of the key in the door

the flower that could is sometimes  weak
but with just enough time it gains strength
it never rushes itself into panic
it knows its purpose and with caution never abandons

the flower that could brings with it invite to life
never alone and rich in price
valued and adored by all who know
the miracle of a Son that allowed her to grow

the flower that could lives its entire life with a purpose
sometimes the purpose is not the celebration
the beauty of flower has encouraged
has found itself on stage
and because of its simple beauty
i shall not be afraid
but yet i shall be like it
put my feet  in the dirt and take a grip

I am the flower that could

So Easy to Judge

    Praise God ! My computer is doing well. I have missed blogging. Not sure where to start. So much has been going on that I want to run back and write about. I have been learning alot lately. It seems as if my perspective has changed once again. My life is a class room. God is using my entire reality to speak. It is so amusing. I could spend all day by myself and never feel alone. God is so ever present. He is speaking. This I know. He is speaking to His People. If you pay attention folks are hearing and speaking about HIM> Praise God.
     What I will write about is my God diagnosis of judging. I am guilty. I have always had compassion for the unloved, unwanted, ugly, mean, lost people of this world. I was using this gift as my own little trophy for being a good Christian. Wow. I was only trying to wear my gift in the flesh and that right there was the complete opposite of operating in the gift. Although I do realize that the steps through that tunnel were divine as well. If we can't identify the problem we can't fix it. God has clearly identified the problem and now together we can change it. I judge people. I judged that if you were doing worse than me I would help you. If no one else would , I would. I judged the people that placed themselves above me. Maybe I was the one who placed them above me, according to money, social circles, status. Either way it was upon my judgment.
      In recent events I  found myself judging a couple that I know from church and my husband knows from work. I was finding myself feeling irritated by them even though they are not apart of my life. How could they expect so much for so little. They have earned none of this. They should just be grateful . Walking around irritated by the blessings they are receiving and the joy in which they celebrate ? Really , Julie? (Yes I speak. or type to myself) That is what the Spirit convicted me of. He said to me Julie, You missed it. I missed the mark. I missed the Glory of the Story. I missed my own dose of  Joy in seeing an absolute undeniable act of God. It is true they are getting more than they deserve, but so am I. According to the Glory of Grace we all are. Shame on me for sacrificing the joy of the Lord so I could judge some one's joy. I compared their joy to their effort  and I found them guilty ,of coming up short in the effort department. Lord forgive me. Open my eyes so that I may see. I accept the things that will come out of me will be unclean and ugly just like this was... But praise God that you have not left me this way~  So I back off the judging and suddenly I am not irritated anymore. Thank you Lord.
       The amount of Spiritual growth that has taken place in my life recently has increased my value in the simple things. I am finding peace in a long day . I am not panicking about things as much. I am increasing in self control. I am lifting my heart higher than my hands as an act of worship and the first things i lifted up the Lord were my hands. I now lift both hands and heart. I am excited for the next chapter in this journey of ours as we prepare to leave for PA. I am closer than I was but yet still a long way to go. I am a work in progress.