His Ways Are Not My Ways...

Well, last week I wrote of a door the Lord has recently opened in my life.
He has petitioned me to be a worship leader.
I look back at that post and kind-of chuckle.
Oh wise me---I asked the Lord to open a door, I knocked—and He answered.

What I didn’t realize or want to admit last week was that I had a grand picture of what it was going to look like on the other side of that door.

Then, He showed me His picture—and boy was it different than mine.

And then He reminded me that He had been the one that placed this gift inside me.
And He is the one that gave me the spirit of leadership many, many years ago.
And He is the one that placed the desire in my heart to lead worship.

Now I was to do it His way.

His thoughts are not my thoughts.
His timing is not my timing.
His ways are not my ways.
And as the good Pastor Osteen would say, “The enemy fights you the hardest when God has something great in store for you…”

And in the midst of my frustration last week, because He knew I would not be reminded of these things on my own, He sent my many wonderful sisters in Christ to remind me of these things He placed in my heart—and to not be weary.

All of you know who you are, and once again, I feel blessed that He has placed all of you amazing women of God in my life.

One of my sisters said something like, “If He showed you the end of this hallway behind His door right now, you would never take one step through the door. Because what He has in store for you is beyond your thinking, and if you knew the details, you would be too scared to take the step.”

So I will trust that He has gone before me and prepared the way. He is lining up all of the hearts and spirits of people to receive the way He wants me to usher people into His presence.

His way, not mine.

So if you have a dream in your heart that you know He put there--- you must be willing to trust each and every step to Him.

And the only doors He will unlock are those that require you to lean your entire being on Him….

Maria and her family reside in NE Ohio. She and her husband are the parents of two. Their daughter is a person with hemipelegic cerebral palsy.Because of her experiences, Maria provides parent-to-parent support for families involved in her local early intervention program. Her gift for writing has come directly from the Lord since her daughter’s diagnosis. She writes a monthly column entitled, “Special Parents, Special Kids” for the Mahoning Valley Parent magazine in Ohio; and has expanded into Parent magazines in parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. She is also a contributing author at www.mommiesmagazine.com.Maria's first published work is in Jan Ross and Jeanice McDade's Women of Passion's anthology, "Ordinary Women Serving an Extraordinary God". Both Kim and Maria have been selected to have their work tentatively included in Lori Wagner's upcoming book, Quilting Patches of Life, Volume 2.

Your Calling

Monster.com’s latest slogan is “Your Calling is Calling.” These words have been resounding in my soul lately, and as I put my fingers to the keyboard, I’m sure He’ll let me know why.

Can your calling be part of your actual employment? Absolutely.
But the calling I’m speaking of is one that should come to mind instantly—thoughts or ideas that could have only come from Him.
Do you know what I am talking about?

I feel that He’s sending me these words at this particular time, because there’s something that He’s placed in all of us that He wants to make sure we listen to.

His Calling.

The ringtone is one that can’t be purchased to download to your cell phone.

It has it’s own sound. Some of us take years to hear this one-of-a kind sound, while others get used to the fact that His voice is calling out to them for a specific purpose.

However and whenever He’s called you, I’m sure you recognize that His calling is unlike anything you experienced up until that exact moment.

Do you need to hear Him calling, or have you already had the moment of revelation that can only be attributed to Him calling you to do something that He’s placed deep within your heart?

I can only speak from my experience….and I know He’s literally called me to write these words for you.

At this moment.
Right now.

He’s called me to do many things….at first, I thought to myself, “Lord, you’ve already called me to something, call someone else for this! I know many people who are waiting to hear from you to let them know what Your plan for their life is!”
Then He said, “They’re not you. I’m calling you for these two things, and I will give you everything you need to fulfill my purpose for your life. If you’ve truly given your life to Me, you will trust me, and lean on me, and truly rest. I will take care of it. These things are part of my purpose for you, not anyone else.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; those he called, he also justified, those he justified, he also glorified. …..If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:28)


The fact that God almighty in all of His sovereign power predestined me to write these words for you absolutely amazes me. He has things He wants me to accomplish so that His name can be glorified overwhelms me---He’s called me.

Almost four years ago, He petitioned me to write for families of children with special needs. I never wrote anything in my life besides term papers for school. He persuaded me to pick up the phone one day to call the editor of our local Parent Magazine and ask her why she had a woman from another state write in our local magazine about parenting a special needs child.
When I look back on that moment, it was like an out-of-body experience. It had to be God.
There is no logical reason why I did such a thing.
She proceeded to tell me that she never could find a local writer that was qualified to write on the subject.
As I’m sure you already know, if it doesn’t seem logical to your natural mind, it’s probably from Him.

I have been writing that monthly column ever since that conversation.

It comes very naturally to me to get words out for “special” parents like my husband and I that need to know they are not alone.

I never wrote any words anyone needed to hear. Some nights I start out with a blank screen, I have a deadline in 24 hours, and within one hour, He gives me up to 800 words that need no editing.
I know that I know that one day all of the themes that are present in my column will be part of a book for special parents.

He is my editor.
He gives me the words and I put my fingers to keys in obedience.

The way I am at the moment.

I thought that since I am obeying every month, I was good to go. He called. I listened, and acted—and I continue to do it, so this must be my calling.

Then, He started to let me know that I should write down all of my thoughts during my time in getting to know Him better, not just words that He gives me for parents.

Now He was asking me to stretch myself and tell the world about my relationship with Him.

Here I am.

The Narrow Gate has opened, and I am obeying….

So, now for sure I thought I had this calling thing all figured out. I went out on a limb with Him guiding me, and now I was OK.

So I thought.

In my True Worship post I touched on the fact that He was calling me to worship Him way before I even knew what worship was.

He gave me the gift of singing many years ago, and without going into a very long rendition of my past singing experiences….I put my childhood dream of singing on a shelf many years ago. I reserved myself to believing I wasn’t good enough, and that was that.

Up until recently.

It has been prophesized over me two times that He wants me to stop being hard on myself and truly worship Him. That women will be broken out of bondages of their past with my worship, and give their lives to the Lord.

Wow.
The sound of those words were very powerful when they were spoken over me, but to see them on the screen just sent a chill through my body.

I’m sure that was Him.

So now I’m in the praying stage. I am searching and praying for Him to give me signs of where and how exactly He wants me to worship.

He is challenging me.
He is stretching me daily.

What is He calling you to do?
Do you hear the tone of His voice?
Have you heard it and have been trying to avoid it because you don’t feel qualified?
He has already qualified you.
He will give you what you need when you begin to obey.


Are you ready to obey?

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Maria and her family reside in NE Ohio. She and her husband are the parents of two. Their daughter is a person with hemipelegic cerebral palsy.Because of her experiences, Maria provides parent-to-parent support for families involved in her local early intervention program. Her gift for writing has come directly from the Lord since her daughter’s diagnosis.She writes a monthly column entitled, “Special Parents, Special Kids” for the Mahoning Valley Parent magazine in Ohio; and has expanded into Parent magazines in parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. She is also a columnist over with Kim, Julie and other writers over at http://www.takerootandwrite.com/ Maria's column is on encouraging special needs familes.She is also a contributing author at www.mommiesmagazine.com. Maria's first published work is in Jan Ross and Jeanice McDade's Women of Passion's anthology, "Ordinary Women Serving an Extraordinary God". The book is available for purchase by clicking on the book image on the right side of this blog.Maria is very passionate about getting the word out to special parents that they are not alone in their journey of raising their special child; and that they were chosen by God to parent their children. Maria welcomes comments and communication as well as invitations for her to speak to your group.

Believe

I heard Christian singer/songwriter Mark Schultz say recently about a particular song he wrote, “Next to the song title it states that it is written by me, but I didn’t write it the words-God did, I just happened to be in the room at the time.”

That’s exactly how I feel about almost every article I’ve written. I don’t have a background or education in journalism or writing, and prior to three years ago, I had never had the desire to write at all.

Until one day He gave me the idea. Almost instantly, I had the desire and confidence to start writing. A “wow” moment like that can only come from God. He not only placed the desire in my heart, He gave me the words He knows people need to hear---and He continues to give them to me month after month, week after week….

Now I’m sure some of you are thinking, “God could never use me, I don’t have anything to offer…He would never speak to me like that.”

Has God been telling you to do something you don’t feel qualified to do?

What is it that you started to do that you know could have only come from His strength and His love, and His guidance? Have you had “ideas” come to you that make no sense to your natural mind?

If He gave you the calling, He will see you through.

He will give you what you need—strength, courage, endurance, peace.

He did it for Gideon.

He did it for me.

He will do it for you.

Trust Him.

Believe.

Maria and her family reside in NE Ohio. She and her husband are the parents of two. Their daughter is a person with hemipelegic cerebral palsy. Because of her experiences, Maria provides parent-to-parent support for families involved in her local early intervention program. Her gift for writing has come directly from the Lord since her daughter’s diagnosis. She writes a monthly column entitled, “Special Parents, Special Kids” for the Mahoning Valley Parent magazine in Ohio; and has expanded into Parent magazines in parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. She is also a contributing author at www.mommiesmagazine.com. Maria is very passionate about getting the word out to special parents that they are not alone in their journey of raising their special child; and that they were chosen by God to parent their children. Maria welcomes comments and communication. If you would like to talk to her, please e-mail her. Our e mail address is in our profile.