Autumn

Pumpkin patches, nutmeg & cinnamon, leafs turning colors... yup! Fall seems to finally be here. Well as much as it is going to be in Northern California. The pic might not reflect it that well, but we have definitely have some fall-landscape going on. I'm enjoying it!

Seasons are really good when we learn to enjoy the nuances of them. Right now I'm in an amazing season, and the colorful surroundings just highlight it all the more. It's not that there haven't been any challenges, but it's easier to face them when you're at the right place, at the right time. There's such a deep sense of peace in my heart just from knowing that; I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, come what may.

I'm learning all kinds of things, I'm using and growing in the gifts that Papa has placed in me, I'm part of an amazing community, I am free, I am loved; I am speechless at the goodness of God and how much He knows my heart. I used to think "God's goodness" was completely mysterious, and you had to figure out what it meant in each circumstance. This has been a time of realizing that while I may not understand the full extension of God's goodness, it is quite literal. He knows my heart, He's redeemed it, it matters to Him! How awesome is that? He cares about the things I care for... A lot of times even more than I care for them. wow!! He is so good!! God is so good! God is so good!

The Blue Box

One of the things I really enjoy is art. Performing arts, plastic arts, art history all have taken a special spot in my hearts since I was a child. I took painting lessons growing up, and really enjoyed it. ...But it never occurred to me that the arts could be used for "ministry" until a few years ago. Then I started to hear about prophetic art and really liked the concept. If only there was a way that I could get activated in using the technique that I had learnt with the prophetic that Holy Spirit had in store for me? I wondered.

I had painted landscapes and basic figures, but I felt there was more to it. I just didn't know how. I experimented with a couple things as you can see on the pics made with color pencils (my thing is more oil paintings and pastels, but I tried). Coming to Redding one of the things that excited me was being able to somehow get involved in the arts and grow in it. So I signed up for a short course on "Supernatural Art". Today was my first class and it was fun!!! 

The speaker had a word of knowledge about "blue box", a couple people shared what it meant to them, and I remembered that growing up I put all my painting materials in a blue box (they're still there at home in Mexico). She prayed over us for a release "out of the box", a time where all creativity would flow like it did with Bezaleel (Exodus 35) when he was filled with the Holy Spirit. That's it! That's what my heart identified with!!! I always thought of myself as more of a craft girl, rather than an artist... the difference being artists are creative and craftsmen only follow patterns or things they see. But I've realized I was wrong; Papa put creativity in me and He is waiting for me to partner with Him and use it. I'm excited for what will come out of this season of activation and experimenting, I'm excited for the prophetic and the supernatural side of this ability that I had already been working on... I'm excited for the growth and the learning experience that I'll get. The colors, the brushes, the styles, the textures need to come out of the box... out of the blue box.

A Simple Prayer

I don't have much to say today. This has really been a blessed season and I'm enjoying it to the fullest. My heart is sincerely overflowing with thankfullness... and then some :). Yay God!!

The word that keeps coming to mind is surrender; which is what this pic says for me;

Today I came across this prayer, called "The Franciscan Benediction", and I wanted to share it, I'm definitely praying it over me, but with as all good things I cannot keep it to myself, so here it goes:

May God bless you with discomfort

At easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships,

So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger

At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,

So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears

To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,

So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness

To believe that you can make a difference in the world,

So that you can do what others claim cannot be done,

To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Yeah! 

Merchant of Souls

Yesterday a friend and I went to the showing of the documentary "Nefarious; Merchant of Souls". Honestly I didn't know what to expect at first. I knew it was about human traffic, I knew it was going to be heavy, and I was honestly hoping it was well made.

I was blown away! Not just by the high quality of the material, but more so by the weaving of the issue it conveys. Sexual slavery is a real issue, and as embassadors of the Kingdom, we cannot afford to ignore the reality of it. "Nefarious" tells the story of the journey of Benjamin Nolot and his crew, as they travel through four continents unveiling the deep layers of this horrible crime. As a true abolitionist and a true believer, Benji does an amazing job at bringing both awareness and hope to the situation. Watching the film stirs anger, despair, grief, hunger for justice, and in the end the realization that the only hope is Justice Himself; Jesus Christ.

I could say much, much more. There is so much to be said about the subject, about Christian documentaries, and causes, about Kingdom justice and how to bring it about. But I rather let you experience this film and feel, and see for yourself all that I saw and experienced. So watch it if you get a chance, go to their website (www.nefariousdocumentary.com), help bring awareness... and as you do, ponder the words of slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce,

“If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.”

... and become an incurable fanatic.

Saturday

Time, and dates and all those fun calendar things are always a mystery to me... I love how time goes by, and many times I live in these peculiar tension of feeling like the days fly by, yet the time goes slow. Sometimes  the former season feels miles away. Today is one of those days where I feel like the Alabama summer, and visiting with my family in Mexico was so long ago, like I've been living in Redding for longer, certainly for longer than the actual 25 days that have gone by since my arrival.

Today is Saturday! Slow going, cooler weather, background music, chill Saturday! Finally things came together and I have a place to live, a bed to sleep on, a cell phone to communicate with... it finally feels like I live in Redding, Ca... It's wonderful and new, yet it already feels familiar. I'm still in awe, ever increasing awe, of Papa's care and ways; to bring me here, to put everything together, to provide for everything. This has been such a season of discovery, and it's only getting started! The feeling of being exactly where I need to be is so relieving! It enables me to enjoy every minute of the day, every person I meet, every project that begins, every miracle that invades... It takes a day like this to sit and soak it in; yay God, yay Saturday!