About One Hundred Cardinals

Six weeks already? Surgery is done, recovery nearly there. Read up, rested, and inspired. I had great times with the Lord and He gave me direction. I'm excited to be back and share His heart with you.

Kim, Maria and I need to meet but we knew before my surgery we were going to pull back a bit and see what God would have. I know that stands for all of us. I'm ready to post, but I don't know how often. I don't know what His plan is for all of us. We appreciate your prayers!

The cardinal has been an ongoing theme here at the Narrow Gate Invites. For a season Kim was getting cardinal dive bombs and the message God gave her was to "slow down, it's of the utmost importance."

For me, I read up and learned the male cardinal is a loyal defender. I wasn't getting dive bombed as much as I was watched. During spring and summer the cardinal would perch himself in my sight and just stay for hours. I recognized his call and would miss it if I didn't hear it.

Fall came and I rarely saw or heard from the cardinal. Yet my spirit was all about trusting God. It's been my issue for the longest time. I've cried, been sick, repented, cried more and still I can't say it's automatic when an issue comes up that I'm able to trust God.

Then came Christmas. We traveled to Upstate NY. I saw cardinals in the front yard. Cardinal window decorations. My jaw dropped when I saw Christmas trees filled, filled with cardinals.

He is my loyal defender.

I returned home to find an insurance bill from a claim in 2006. Apparently because our insurance changed in 2008, the hospital refunded the insurance we had in 2006 and billed us. My stomach lurched. Anxiety zoomed.

Actually? Still happening.

Through it all, He keeps telling me He is my loyal defender. My guess is if it takes a million cardinal sightings, He'll do it to get the point across.

He is my loyal defender.

I'm starting to shift my prayer from why this again, how come, why not to...this is your battle. You are my loyal defender. Take it.

I still have to research this and it's hard because it is my name on the correspondence, not Jesus. But He is my loyal defender.

About one hundred cardinals in 2008 told me so.

Julie Arduini is a wife, mom and surrendering writer. Her personal blog, The Surrendered Scribe, shows her writing resume. A graduate of the Christian Writers Guild, she is also a columnist with Take Root and Write. She recently placed 10th in the JournEzine Christmas story contest about the Good News of Bethlehem. Her verse for 2009 is Deuteronomy 11:1-12.

Trusting God as My Defender

Believe it or not, the cardinal sightings for us continue. Last week I received more to the puzzle, something that has been staring at me most of the year, yet I failed to recognize His message for me.

I was in a meeting confessing my double mindedness. I preach a message of surrender and yet for most of this year have held on to anger and mistrust towards God because financially, things did not work out the way I thought things would this year. At all. Instead of praising Him, I turned my back and actually made the situation worse through denial, spending anyway, and just pure rebellion.

As I confessed and repented, the ladies looked at me and smiled. One of them, who also has been seeing cardinals and having them dive bomb her, related her cardinal revelation with me by saying,

"Just how many times do you need to see a cardinal before you realize God is asking you to trust Him as your defender?"

It was so simple and dead on it was hysterical. As we googled cardinal earlier in the year, we learned the male cardinal is a defender and if I saw a male cardinal trying to get my attention once, it happened a dozen times. He dive bombed me at least three times.

And yet my anger and rebellion continued.

All the way home I kept praying the words, "Your banner over me is love and I want to trust You as my defender."

It's a process for me, I know this won't be an overnight change unless God deems it.

But I'm aware now.

He is my defender, and yours. And I really want to trust Him that way.

Do you?

Julie Arduini is a surrendered writer with her own blog, http://thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com/. A graduate of the Christian Writers Guild, she also blogs for the Christian Writers Forum Sundays as the mommy blogger. She is active with FaithWriters and has several writings ready to publish in different books and anthologies in 2008-09. One of the books will be a quote in Kathy Vick's Simon and Schuster/Howard's gift book, "Run Like a Girl."You can also find Julie the third Wednesday of each month over at Take Root and Write with her column, Finding Freedom through Surrender. She facilitates a group by the same name at the sister social networking site, Christian Women Take Root.

(heartlight.org)

The past few weeks have been an amazing time of revelation and growth; however, I must confess that the weeks prior were a real struggle. A mentor and friend told me, "This is all about faith, Kim. It is all about faith." Faith . . . confidence and trust in God. Did I really have it? Did I really believe and if I did was it to the fullest or just halfway, you know 'playing it safe.' At times it felt like an isolated mountain climb. A time where I could either choose to keep climbing even though my footing was slipping and the top looked too far away or a time when I could have started on my descent to the what looked like 'green grass' below. I chose to keep climbing. I reached out to friends, mentors, and my husband crying for help. My friends listened and encouraged, my mentors told me to read my bible, and my husband said, "You are just like the Israelites! When things are not going your way you whine and want to go build a golden calf. You keep forgetting all that He has done for you." Ouch!!! He was absolutely right. So I started reading, continued reaching out to others around me (I can easily isolate myself), and sat in awe of the stories of Daniel and Esther. I admired Daniel's faith as he lived in a pagan world. Mordecai and Esther taught me about prepartion, timing, patience, faith, and importance. I became so engrossed I did not want to put my bible down. In the meantime, the visits from male cardinals surrounded me.

Throughout the summer I received e-mails from Julie concerning the cardinals in her yard. Another friend also told me that Joy kept seeing a male cardinal. I had never experienced something like this before and honestly I thought, "Are they really making more of this, come on!" And then a male cardinal visited me. In late July we went on a last minute getaway to SC. One morning while sitting on a very, very small screen porch drinking my tea a male cardinal flew up next to the door and sat on the banister. He looked right at me and chirped for a very long time. I giggled and asked him what he was saying. He continued to chirp and eventually flew away. When we came home I started seeing a male cardinal in our backyard. Then the diving began. When sitting outside or taking a walk around the block male cardinals would dive only a few feet in front of me and swoop to the opposite side. This happened day after day. One day while driving down our street a male cardinal swooped in front of my car, I slammed on my brakes, it furiously fluttered and then flew away. My children in the car claim that there was nothing there. I shared my cardinal encounters with Julie, did a little research, and sent it onto Joy. She responded with her interpretation and her recent accident. Honestly I thought her interpretation was good but it had to be much bigger than that. The next morning I took my children to school (something my husband does 99% of the time), encountered an unexpected detour which caused delay, pulled into an area which I rarely use, and after my giggling children got out of the car I slammed into an oversized cement curb. When I put my car in reverse I could hear my front fender being ripped apart. Okay God, I got it! Slow down and pay attention. It is of the utmost importance. I started thinking about Mordecai and Esther. They took it slow, paid attention, it was of the utmost importance.

Male cardinals, His word, mentors, close friends, a spouse . . . all tools He used to reveal Himself to me once again. Looking back I had two choices, give up (which looked more appealing at the time) or press on. Frustrated, disappointed, and with tears in my eyes I chose to press on and once again it was all worth it. Amen!!!

Kim

Disclaimer: My writing on what Joy and Julie experienced and shared is to the best of my recollection. Any errors I have in thier interpretation is my own.

**On October 11th I will be leaving for a nine day trip to Romania. Two other women and I will be ministering in Oradea and a very remote gypsy village. Please join us in prayer as we prepare for our trip, keeping in mind the words revealed through the male cardinal. More details coming soon**

Of the Utmost Importance

It didn't take long, but already we have an update on the "Dive Bombin' Male Cardinal". If you have no idea what I'm blogging about, read this post first.

Before I could even publish the post about the cardinal, Kim and Joy both experienced very similar dive bombing cardinal experiences while driving. With the previous information about cardinal meaning "of the utmost importance" and that in the past the cardinal has been used symbolically as a sign of God as our defender (if we'll let Him), all three of us were still in the dark on the true meaning of the cardinal in our lives.

Monday things started to shape up. Joy shared that this summer driving she's also experienced feelings of almost backing into things that weren't there, etc...On Monday she has no explanation but she was driving and suddenly in the back of a car. She's fine, the car, not quite totaled.

Just so you know, the ministry her and her family are involved with, Real Living Ministries, in the last month had major direction and favor. God is doing something with the Real Living Team and they will be meeting a very hungry need in the community for the glory of Christ. Ever since that direction became clear, it's been one spiritual attack after another.

Post car accident for Joy, she felt "of the utmost importance" was to slow down. It would be easy to go so full steam ahead for the Lord that we leave Him in the dust. I've done it. Joy knows God's plans will go forward, but in His time and way. Without knowing the details behind everything going on in Lakeland, she drew wisdom in thinking saying yes to the Lord does not mean a trade off. Dying to self doesn't mean we lose our marriage and kids, that is never God's plan. Joy feels now by slowing down she can not only clear from Him and allow even greater things to happen through obedience, but she'll also have her focus on Him to deal with the circumstances around her. I know for me, I can get so lost in the serving, I forget everything else and it is a cost. A cost this week I realized I'm not willing to pay. I want it all, not a trade off. To Joy, she felt the cardinal was a divine warning to slow down, and that message is now of utmost importance to her.

Kim leaves a message Tuesday. She took the kids to school, something her husband usually does. She parked a different place. Kids were laughing. She pulls away and gets caught on a small slab of cement. Gone is her fender. The timing and cost on this could not be any worse.

When Joy and I shared the slowing down---of utmost importance, it struck a chord for Kim too. I'm sure she'll blog about it here (hint, hint), especially to clear up anything I got wrong! But God has given such vision and favor right now, and there is so much Kim could do with it. Today we realized without proper alignment, steps, and relationships in place, it would be easy for this to take a turn the Lord doesn't want.

As soon as I got Kim's news, I gathered the kids and we canceled in agreement any plan the devil (defeated one) has against any of us and our families. I asked for divine wisdom and resources to help me have His senses as I go about my day for Him. I asked that for all Kim and Joy have sown into the Kingdom this summer, that the Lord would reap and restore the finances needed 100 fold for these repairs.

Slowing down---of the utmost importance is obviously resonating with each of us. For me, stepping out more in writing, encouraging others in marriage and finding freedom through Christ made me feel like I was fighting a Leviathan alone in the forest. This week I realized I'm not fighting that beast, God is. I am in a forest, but not alone. It's where I'm protected by my Heavenly Defender. And in Jesus' name I don't have to move forward in Him and lose everything, including my sanity. I just know for me, I need to slow down. It's of the utmost of importance.

By the way, on my way home I think out of the corner of my eye I saw a cardinal flying off as I drove. Joy had to put on the brakes to stop for two cardinals who were in the road not flying off. Kim is still seeing the male cardinal.

Slow down. It's of the utmost of importance.

Disclaimer: My writing on what Joy experienced and shared is to the best of my recollection. Any errors I have in her interpretation is my own.

Julie Arduini is a surrendered writer with her own blog, http://thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com/. A graduate of the Christian Writers Guild, she also blogs for the Christian Writers Forum Sundays as the mommy blogger. She is active with FaithWriters and has several writings ready to publish in different books and anthologies in 2008-09. One of the books will be a quote in Kathy Vick's Simon and Schuster/Howard's gift book, "Run Like a Girl."
You can also find Julie the third Thursday of each month over at Take Root and Write with her column, Finding Freedom through Surrender. She facilates a group by the same name at the sister social networking site, Christian Women Take Root.

Dive Bombin' Male Cardinals

Remember my post about the blue heron?

Apparently this year, the male cardinal is the new feathered friend God is using to speak to my life.

It started in the Spring. There was a male and female that every day for weeks would visit our yard and chat. I don't mean just sing, I mean they would position themselves at the right angle so I could see them. One time they were so close they were on the deck and just talking away. To me. I'm not kidding.

One day I was pulling in the driveway after an odd act of obedience at Starbucks and the cardinals greeted me and flew with me until I parked, and I didn't see them for about a month.

This summer, it has been all about the male cardinal.

There was a male cardinal following me both times I was in Upstate NY. There is a male cardinal in our neighborhood that is often in our yard. I believe three times a cardinal has dive bombed me either while I'm driving or walking.

I am convinced this is a God message for me.

What's funnier, is it isn't just happening to me. Kim is experiencing the same thing, and so is a friend of ours, author Joy Chickonoski.

Our research so far has yielded the distinct ardinal call, which to some sounds like "pretty". This would be a good message as I know I struggle with self esteem issues. We've learned that the male is a defender and guard. That's a good thing to know as each of us are moving forward in ministry to places, people, and situations we've never known. There is a saying "new level, new devil" and for me, it's accurate. I hunger so deeply to know the Lord more intimately and each step forward seems like another blast into the wilderness.

Kim shared that the word cardinal, from Wikipedia, means:

The word cardinal comes from the Latin cardo for "hinge" and usually refers to things of fundamental importance, as in cardinal rule orcardinal sins.

Both Kim and I were both reading about Daniel and without the other knowing, wishing he were around to interpret this cardinal thing for us. I believe in His timing, we will know, and it will be good. This I know because He is good.

I just am thankful so far the dive bombing cardinals are not leaving me any messy presents!

Julie Arduini is a surrendered writer with her own blog, http://thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com/. A graduate of the Christian Writers Guild, she also blogs for the Christian Writers Forum Sundays as the mommy blogger. She is active with FaithWriters and has several writings ready to publish in different books and anthologies in 2008-09. One of the books will be a quote in Kathy Vick's Simon and Schuster/Howard's gift book, "Run Like a Girl."

You can also find Julie the third Thursday of each month over at Take Root and Write with her column, Finding Freedom through Surrender. She facilates a group by the same name at the sister social networking site, Christian Women Take Root.