A Holy Hush Before the Grand Show Begins

A Holy Hush Before the Grand Show Begins

The Daily Practice: To discover beauty and truth within the mystery of an ordinary day and to craft the experience in words.

It's March and all around me it seems there is a holy hush before the Grand Show of Spring arrives!

I wanted to enter into the holy hush – I wanted to be like a child, standing in awe and wonder of the beauty all around me, in the simple ordinary things.

Life is often so full of stress that it's good to move in the opposite direction, and to view the world as a child might. We're designed to live in a state of awe and wonder, like little children so naturally show us.

It's easy to spin off track, in the race to get everything done. So, today, I walked around my backyard and used my camera to help me to slow down, to really SEE the mysteries right in front of me.

This is my 20-minute zig-zag tour of the backyard, trying to peer at it with the eyes of a child, the one I so often ignore in my adult busy-ness. Join me?

It's quite entertaining to watch the birds precariously perch upside down and perform all kinds of aerial acrobatics to pull out these rich sunflower seeds.

Not a single person, plant, animal, or mineral is the same, and my mind can barely comprehend the wonder of it all. This yucca is wide open, and the wind has already blown away the slim, black seeds that its bloom pocketed.

It's good to open our souls, to release the seeds of our hopes and dreams… to trust the Wind of the Holy Spirit to bring new life in places we could never dream or imagine.

Beauty is healing, even in the smallest plants and animals… like this spikey treasure!

Juniper berries, I just discovered, are used for medicine!

They make good digestive aids and help to reduce inflammation.

I'm making a note to myself, to learn more!

Please don't make me touch that snow!

One woman shared with me that as a child she used to make her shadow into all kinds of shapes.

As for me, I loved to watch my shadow stretch until it seemed a giant!

What does all the snow beckon you to do?

Think as a child again.

Let your innocence be restored.

Snow angels, snowmen, snow forts!

Spring is around the corner, the Grand Show of LIFE!

Give your body some love – explore your backyard through the eyes of a child.

What might the little child in you love to do today?

The Avengers are Arising

By: Susan Deborah Schiller

With millions of Christians around the world, who have been given all authority on earth and a commission to "go" and set things right on earth, where are the real avengers? Why is the earth still burdened with inequality, injustice, and pain? 

Why are we so prone to blaming the victims instead of avenging them?

I ask myself, "Sue, are you contributing to the chaos or are you bringing justice, peace, and righteousness to bear on the darkness in your territory?" What do I see, both in my inner world and my outer world? Is there peace? Abundance? Rest? Or lack of money and time, stress and anxiety, fear and shame?

I want you to know that not only is God going to rescue you, but He's going to turn you into an Avenger – a Champion – in so doing. He wants you to have JUSTICE! 

Last year I awakened in the middle of the night hearing a voice say, "Some people think I don't intervene and rescue them, when in reality I set in motion a plan to save every family and individual on earth. It's called "The Avengers." I began to read in the Old Testament of our Father's plan to protect the widows and orphans and to avenge the deaths of innocent men, women, and children while also protecting the rights of the accused.

Every tribe had their own "hit man" who avenged the injustices that happened on his turf. Cities of Refuge were created to protect the accused and every man, woman, and child could feel reasonably protected.

In James 1, we read of God's heart once again in the language of "true religion": The Christian who is pure and without fault, from God the Father’s point of view, is the one who takes care of orphans and widows, and who remains true to the Lord—not soiled and dirtied by his contacts with the world. – James 1:27

God showed me that even in a dark world where hearts have grown cold, He has a plan to set the world ablaze with His Love extended through you and me!

This isn't the kind of Love that shows up for church duties and stretches herself thin to volunteer in a multitude of church activities. No, indeed not! It looks more like the Calvary charging into the fray and shooting arrows of Truth into the darkness of despair and freeing hostages. It's violent!

It's a love revolution; nevertheless it's a war and we need Champions and Heroes who take up sword and shield. Our sword is built line-upon-line on the Truth. Not the Truth we have received from teaching, but the Truth we have implemented and experienced as Reality.

This is my reality, from a personalized Scripture in Isaiah:

^1-4 “Take a good look at my daughter, Susan.

    I’m backing her to the hilt.

She’s the one I chose,

    and I couldn’t be more pleased with her.

I’ve bathed Susan with my Spirit, my life.

    She’ll set everything right among the nations.

She won’t call attention to what she does

    with loud speeches or gaudy parades.

Susan won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt

    and she won’t disregard the small and insignificant,

    but she’ll steadily and firmly set things right.

She won’t tire out and quit. She won’t be stopped

    until she’s finished his work—to set things right on earth.

Far-flung ocean islands

    wait expectantly for her teaching.” (pronouns and personal nouns changed by me)

And Isaiah 61 –

^1-7 The Spirit of God, the Master, is on Susan

    because God anointed her.

He sent Susan to preach good news to the poor,

    heal the heartbroken,

Announce freedom to all captives,

    pardon all prisoners.

God sent Susan to announce the year of his grace—

    a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies—

    and to comfort all who mourn,

To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,

    give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,

Messages of joy instead of news of doom,

    a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.

Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness”

    planted by God to display his glory.

Susan will rebuild the old ruins,

    raise a new city out of the wreckage.

She’ll start over on the ruined cities,

    take the rubble left behind and make it new.

I've seen these "ruined cities" in my dreams! I know God has a plan – to give us a bright future – in the face of destruction. It's a new American Revolution, as each of us rejects the fear-based world and chooses to live a love-based life. I wrote about this Revolution in "A Love-based Life".

What if this call is for ALL of us? Can you put your name in Scriptures that God has highlighted in your life? And then live those Scriptures? Be a doer of the Word?

Psalm 45 is added to my sword: "Be here – the king is wild for you, Susan. Since he's your lord, adore him.  Wedding gifts pour in from Tyre; rich guests shower you with presents." Her wedding dress is dazzling, lined with gold by the weavers;  All her dresses and robes are woven with gold. She is led to the king, followed by her virgin companions.  A procession of joy and laughter! a grand entrance to the king's palace!)  "Set your mind now on sons – don't dote on father and grandfather. You'll set your sons up as princes all over the earth. (pronouns and personal nouns changed)

The King is Wild about YOU!

You can take the Scriptures God has given you and insert your name into them. You can speak those words until they solidify and become a rock solid foundation.

You won't ever be afraid again.

You will be on the OFFENSIVE team! You will be an AVENGER!

We RUN to the battle!

We know our promises. We know our identity. We know LOVE WINS. This is the attitude of an avenger.

We live 1 Corinthians 13. It begins with the way we wake up each morning, giving thanks and praise for the simple gifts of life. And then simply doing something for someone else, like giving a smile, sharing a ride, having coffee with someone lonely.

Maybe it looks like spending our hard-earned dollars on locally produced products instead of feeding industries that exploit and enslave people in the third world. Maybe it's growing our own food, sewing our own clothing, and living a simpler lifestyle.

Maybe it's walking to work instead of driving an expensive car. Maybe it's bringing bags to the grocery store instead of taking home gobs of plastic.

Real avengers aren't academics teaching theory; instead, they are real people intentionally and purposefully living their dreams out loud, being authentic whether they are behind closed doors or speaking from a podium.

What does it look like for me? It means giving survivors of sociopathic abuse a "bouquet of roses instead of ashes" in the form of listening to their stories, believing them, and giving them a platform to share their stories. I help survivors to rebuild their lives on a solid foundation of Truth and Beauty.

I help you to see yourself as God sees you, as a King who is madly in love with you, as Father's beloved and favored child.

What can you do with this terrible, swift Sword?

With the Living Word, we fight for our homes, our loved ones, and for our land. The land you are standing on is yours. Wherever your feet step – that's your territory. You stand by speaking and living the Truth.

"Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses – Joshua 1:3

We live in Now. "The difference between Now and Wonderful is Education," God once explained to me. It's easy to say "some day…". Some day I will be free. Some day I will use my gifts. Some day I will follow my dreams. Some day when I win the lottery, I will ___ (fill in the blank). When I retire I'll have more time to ___ (fill in the blank).

The Time is NOW. What are you putting off for "some day"? What is the deepest desire of your heart? Saving the world begins right there.

To live as a Champion, you must prepare, train, and follow through. So what if there is torture in the training? So what if there is pain, grieving, and death?

God's training us to LAUGH in the faces of our enemies.

He's grooming us to grin in the face of disaster.

Enough with the Bible studies! Off with your head! This is a time to follow your heart! That's the core of your being. It's where God resides. Your identity is your very soul, and your soul is meant to guide the work of your hands, to generate income, to create beauty out of chaos!

Not your head.

   Not your degrees.

      Not your diligent studies. 

If the headwork worked, would our world be dying as it is today?

"Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight….." Proverbs 3

There is power in our words. It's God's story and He wants to SHINE through our wounds. His glory is filling the whole the earth, and it SHINES through our STORIES!

• I want to help put you on track to a restored identity by telling the stories of your childhood.
• I'll help you create "I AM" statements, to rewrite your future by using your past as a compass, guiding you into a better future.
• I challenge you to ponder the recurring themes of your life, digging for the treasure, discovering your life mission and message, within those very themes. 

I realized getting my life back was not just for me. Like you, like all of us, God was inviting me to arise, to step up and become a Champion – an avenger.

The Bible calls it being an overcomer, who by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of her testimony, overcomes the wicked systems and people of the world. It's our inheritance – it's how we're designed – and it's not just for a few, it's for ALL of us!

God is bringing us all Home – it's a Malachi 4 reunion. It bridges all gaps… race, religion, gender, and creed. This is what I live for… and I welcome you to join the revolution. Write to freedom, and let's go HOME!

Be you. Live free. Tell your story.

With all my love,

Sue

Susan Schiller knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming, interactive memoir, "On the Way Home," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she learned to navigate to freedom and fullness.  

Today Susan helps people write their life stories, unearthing the treasures of their past and sowing them into their future, creating new family legacies.

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Tagged as: Choosing Love Today, Deborah White Dove, Getting Your Life Back