Lifestyle

My mind is always going. Even when I sleep, it rarely shuts down.

If I doze for ten minutes, nine of them are filled with dreams - movement.

A full nights sleep can yield a dozen or more dreams.

It's been this way since I can remember.

When I was a small child, my dreams were of things yet to come; my waking moments spent walking and talking with Jesus.

He spent the days "being" with me and spent the nights sharing things with me.

As an adult, each twenty-four hour period is a combination of both.

My adult life hasn't always been this way.

There was a time when I closed my eyes and ears to Him.

It was only a few short years, but they impacted my life greatly.

During those years of closing Him off, I had to learn things "the hard way".

It was a long, arduous process.

Since purposing to remain open to Him I have grown by leaps and bounds.

Life hasn't been "easier", but my sanity has been kept in tact; the thirst of my soul has been quenched.

The day I purposely removed the barrier which I had placed between Him and me was a day of great rejoicing because by then, my husband was on board with me. In fact, it is he whom Holy Spirit used to get my attention! Oh what a gracious Father we have!

That was the day we purposed to follow Him.

 "One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.  A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets.  He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men." From Matthew 4 & Mark 1

I wish I could say that we immediately left everything behind as these disciples did, but for us, it was a bit slower process.

"When John’s (the Baptist's) two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus. Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them. They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”  “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.  Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus.  Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ"). Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”).  The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.”  Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown. Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.  As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”  “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”  Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” John 1:37-49

Perhaps we were a bit more like Nathanael. Only our reasoning was something like,

"How could forsaking all the world has taught us and following Jesus possibly be the best thing to do? What about all the responsibilities we have. What about..." blah, blah, blah

Having gone through "the desert", endured a Job-like experience, and shared in the sufferings of Christ, we can honestly say that this is the only way to live.

Christ has the Victory and He has promised those who follow Him Victory as well.

It may or may not look like your idea or perception of Victory, but the Victory is yours none-the-less.

There is no fear for those who are in Christ Jesus because He has already won.

So have we.