christmas

you know... I haven't  been that great at keeping up with God lately. And recently, i've been sick for a while...like..."13-days-and-counting" a while... I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, i've got cabin fever, and it just never seems to end, but you know what? That hasn't stopped Christ from touching me during this holiday season.

Yesterday I finally picked up the bible (first time in a while)...actually, it's a devotional/bible called "God Sightings". It's the whole bible but they cut and paste big passages so you get to read some old testament, psalms proverbs and new testament each day. It's really quite neat! I opened it up and read the first day, which happened to be the creation story and the birth of Christ.  Suddenly my mind clicked, and I realized how pointless this season has been for me so far. I was beginning to dis-like Christmas. Really, this this is a time to celebrate how God re-created a way for us to be with Him; how we were always meant to be with Him...

God touched me that moment, and I began to think about where I was at. As I prayed, I could sense God's grace coming down to me. Then He started speaking to me. He told me to take a hot relaxing bath. light candles, and just relax.
Sounds alright right? wrong! I have an ear infection, and getting my head wet seems like the worst idea ever! especially when the ear is so plugged that I've been hearing 2 tones (one in one ear, and another tone in the other) for the last couple days. But I did it anyway, and decided I would just keep my head above the water. (for most people that's not an issue. but I'm short and my feet don't reach the end of the tub, so naturally my head is usually in the water!)

as I was in the bath, I had a "give up" moment with God. I spoke the lyrics to a song my old youth pastor used to sing.
"Lord I'm tired,
so tired from walking
lord i'm so alone.
Lord the dark is creeping in, creeping up to swallow me
I think I'll stop, and rest here a while.

This is all that I can say right now.
this is all that I can give
this is all that I can say right now
and that's my everything.

Didn't you see me crying?
didn't you see me, standing here
wasnt it you i gave my heart to?
wasn't it you who said you'd always be here

and this is it!
this is all that I can say right now,
this is all that i can give
this is all that I can say right now
and that's my everything"

There's a third verse... but I'll just fill in some details first. As I spoke those words, really meaning them, I could really sense that Christ was near. I also sensed the warfare in the room and began praying to defeat that warfare. Once that was done, I listened to Christ and He was speaking to me. He was telling me how much he loved me, and that he wants to heal me. He wanted me to put my head in the water...

Obviously I thought he was a bit crazy, but then i got a mental image of the leper who had to dunk in the dirty water 7 times before he was healed. That would have been even WORSE than this (in terms of physically making your symptoms worse) Jesus also put mud on a blind mans eyes...like that should help anything... So with that in mind i said "alright you crazy God! Here goes nothing"

long story short, later that evening I could hear clearly out of that ear!  Christ began telling me other silly things like "you will sleep through the night tonight" (ya right) and "you are going to have energy to clean tonight" and "you will feel well enough to work out tomorrow, but you shouldn't" All of these things have happened. He also told me "you need to start covering your mouth with every cough and disinfect high-traffic spots"...this morning I see that I have pink-eye (due to my antibiotics) and research that it spreads through coughing and touching things like door knobs etc... Pretty crazy God eh?

Now for that last verse...

"I didn't notice you
I didn't notice you were, standing there.
I didn't notice you were crying too.
I didn't know that it was you washing my feet

and this is all
this is all that I can say right now.
this is all that I can give
this is all that I can say right now
and that's my everything!"