Freewrite Fifteen

Well-Watered Soul

The week of Prayer and Fasting for the church of the valley is concluding today with a big CELEBRATION at our church tonight. I might just go to that and skip this morning. 

I loved the times of prayer. Fasting was harder, but that is because I don't have a lot of fat to lose. So, I felt very run down and lethargic, much more so than I ever have. Usually, on previous fasts, it has been really easy after the third day. This time it got incredibly hard, and by the fifth day, my heart was racing, and I thought that it was prudent for me to break it. It was appropriate since it was Michael's birthday celebration at Izzy's, and we could break it with healthy salad. 

Despite the feelings of sickness and weakness, I thought I was hearing God say NOT to be in charge of an event in April. We were asked to take it over because the other church that usually hosts it doesn't feel like they have the "bandwidth" to pull it off. As I prayed, I sensed that we do not have that "bandwidth" either and that we would have to specifically pull back from what God is calling us to do. I would have to put all the great things God has given me to do on hold, and I really didn't want to do that. George would not be able to leave work to take care of the logistics. So, I sensed a "NO" from God, but I also felt sad that it might not happen this year.

On my last full day of the fast, I arose very early and lit candles all around the living/dining room area. I praise and prayed. As I knelt on the floor God said, "It can be in Seattle with Nate's crew."  

PERFECT! For two years, it was in that area, but it was moved down here because the majority of the people who attended in Seattle were from Corvallis. We also had 3-4 times more people when it was down here in Corvallis; but there is a whole NEW crop of people doing great things up in Seattle that need to hear the people from this great conference!  If we have people here, they can travel up there!

Then, about an hour later, George told me that Nate had posted on his Facebook page that they were hosting the conference!  It was the same weekend that we were supposed to host it. So, my guess is that the powers that be also thought it was a better idea to do it in Seattle. Ultimately, the GREATEST POWER THAT BE thought so too! LOL!

I am happy to have heard from God so specifically.

On top of that, my unreached people prayer times were VERY sweet during this week of prayer. I also was able to pray for the college retreat and pray for and with people in our lovely little ministry.

It wasn't without its attacks from the enemy as EVERYONE I knew was experiencing push back for the increased prayer, but Satan just had to deal with it because WE WERE NOT STOPPING! I knew that I got a little zinger of an attack when I went from total peace on my prayer walk in Glen Eden to total panic when I got a text message that there was NOTHING in our checking account. Turns out George and I had a miscommunication about where to deposit the check for Michael's tuition for Winter term. So, the charge came through, and there was no money there to pay for it. WOOPS.  It is only a $3 overdraft protection fee, but I never get those, and we had the money to cover it, it was just sitting in the wrong account.  All that to say, the enemy exploited that situation until I realized what he was up to! After that, the rest of the week was smooth sailing in prayer.

Even though I felt very lethargic, I realized that I really do not REST that much. The lethargy taught me that I need to take rest times every day. I read a lot, but most of it is listening to books WHILE I work. I need to just rest and read and enjoy stillness. That was another good lesson from the week. 

Oh drat. There is the timer. This has to be enough for now.