Why "Dancing in the Lily"

Why Dancing in the Lily? My sister was praying and she saw me dancing in the spirit. I was worshiping the Lord with all of my might, I would bow low and then lift my hands in praise and adoration. She asked the Lord, where I was at because it looked like a gigantic bowl. The Lord took her up above the bowl where I was worshiping and she saw that I was dancing inside of a lily. She heard Consider the Lilies playing, and the Lord said that whatever I put my hand to on that day, that he was going to bless it. If I seek his face and continue to put him first in all things, that he was going to give me the desires of my heart. When she came to herself she called me, and said that whatever I was doing, that the Lord was going to honor it. At the time that she called, I was working on my memoirs.

It is only a reminder that God is faithful and that if you pray,

he will answer your prayers in his will and time.

He knows the plans that he has for you, and he will do it.

Living life sometimes includes dealing with delays and distractions. Never give up.

Keep pressing towards the mark, and the Lord will go before you.

Consider the Lilies

Written by: Joel Hemphill

Verse I

Consider the lilies they don't toil or spin

And there's not a king with more splendor than them.

Consider the sparrow they don't plant or sow

But they're fed by the Master who watches them grow

Chorus

We have a Heavenly Father above

With eyes full of mercy

And a heart full of love

He really cares when

Your head is bowed low

Consider the lilies and then you will know

Verse II

Now may I introduce you to this friend of mine

Who hangs out the stars and tells the sun when to shine

And kisses the flowers each morning with dew

But He's not too busy to care about you.

The Child You Were Then

Lives filled with pain and uncertainty
Come to my classroom every day.
Will the children be forever lost
Or will they struggle and find their way?

What about the laughter in the halls?
Does it hide the tears that go unshed
Until the still of the night in a secret place
When they're finally alone on their bed?

Through the pages of book and time
We find ourselves reaching for something more
Shall we lose our place and find
That we wander but find yet another closed door?

If we focus on just today
The moment we're given in hand
Will the breath of life that we breathe
Restore and strengthen us again?

In every room of every school
Lives and wills will be changed
Will they be forever broken by too hard rules,
Or will teachers find compassion to mend?
Children who are hopeless, crippled, and sad
Who may not ever have both a mom and dad
Who look to you as their only friend
Even in defiance of the rules you won't bend.

What will you do when their tears finally fall
Give a shoulder for them to cry on, when they call?
Help them to tear down the walls that they frantically build
That shields them from the hurt, the pain, the guilt?

For every child, don't be too quick to judge
The color of their skin, clothes, or hair.
Inside protecting walls that they build
May be the soul of a child who greatly fears.

Embrace today, the challenges you face
Don't take it for granted--you're abundantly blessed
When you look at that child who's in your care,
Remember how you found your way, and just be there.

Stand

Stand

Fiery trials rage in

Mountains you must climb

Your constricted praise

condemns you day after day.

Victory after victory slips past

you each time you pray.

Sorrow is the company you keep

Pain is your relief,

The rains tease you

in your time of drought, but

there's never enough change in

the wilderness nor in your pangs of doubt.

When you're discouraged and your hope begins to wane.

and all the world's mocking becomes too much to take;

You doubt God's promises and your shield of faith breaks

When living takes the life from every joy

that you have left

Lift your hands and STAND.

Stand still and know that He is God.

Stand therefore with your loins girt about with truth.

His grace is sufficient; his promises are true.

You'll see his glory, soon, if you faint not.

Peace, Be Still

When the storms of life cloud my vision
And I can't seem to find my way,
When I struggle, Lord, to find your amazing grace.
I travel day to day, and cry through the night,
And lose my way on life's road,
Knowing that every day there's a heavy load
To bear. I know that you're faithful when I pray.

Keep me Lord in your care when I struggle
to climb the highest mountains.
It is then that you rain down on my soul
The rivers of Your anointing flow;
I know that you can restore my peace.
Sometimes I fail, Lord, but help me to know
That it's through the doors of my praise
that you'll lead me through my shame
and show me Your light.

Keep me, Lord, in the power of your might
Hear my cry, when I call your name in my darkest night.
Oh, Lord, Your will be done.
I know that you'll speak peace be still to my storm
I know that you'll show me light in my darkest night
I know that if I'm willing to be tried by fire
That I'll come forth as purest gold.

Wild Iris Ties

Mama reels between the wreaths
Of Irish roses and sympathy cards
as she leans over to kiss Daddy
thirty-eight years goodbye.
I thought about how Daddy had always said
He'd never be caught dead in a monkey suit and tie.

As I sat there waiting my turn to say goodbye
I remembered Daddy teaching
Chris how to climb over the rusty gate
to pull cattails from the ditch
rich with sludge and crayfish.
"Look, Mom, here's some cats' tails, just for you!" he'd said.

Michael, wanted to give me flowers
so he picked dandelions.
Daddy told him to watch as he blew on them
until all he had left was a fistful of stems.
"Dandy lions ought to be free," Michael said.

Alisa, barely two, drew a permanent magic marker
smiley face on our rented kitchen cabinet door,
"See, Mommy! 'miley face!"
I was upset because we'd have to paint, instead,
Daddy gave me the Sunday comics to frame it.

I found a cracked pickle jar to hold the dried brown cattails;
A chipped milkglass vase to keep the hand-picked
dandelion stem bouquet.
I trimmed the Sunday comic strip border and
the smiley face smiled permanently.

Then, Mama brushed the lint from Daddy's tear-stained tie
I thought, "Don't they know, he prefers to sleep on his side?"
But, as I looked at him, sleeping, it dawned on me:
I may never get to see them again,
And they'll never get to say goodbye.

December 1986

Making Time

Not enough time
We are swiftly closing 2009, and my desire for 2010 has not changed: I want to get more organized. It seems that no matter how much I declutter, purge, categorize, pile, sort, sift, manipulate, turn in disgusting circles, get desperate for change: I still need to get organized. I used to think that if I had this size plastic container, or that file box, or those colored files, that my life would somehow, miraculously become functional and efficient. But, alas, this is not the case. I discussed it with the Lord, actually, I whined and complained to the Lord would be more accurate, about not having enough time to do all the things I needed to do. I proceeded in giving him my to do list and as the minutes ticked on, he listened. When I was quite finished and knowing that the Lord could wave his majestic wand over my dilemma and fix it. (hold the mayo please) I stopped praying.
Divine Revelation
When I looked up at the time, I had divine revelation, there are only 12 numbers on the clock and the minute hand goes around twice for every day. It never varies, it goes in the same direction taking one second at the time. No matter what happens, all over the world, there are twenty-four hours in a day. So, why is it that some people have it all together, and others struggle with managing time?
Priorities
The only thing that changes are our priorities. If something is important to us, we focus on it and nothing can deter us away from completing it. I get distracted on the small things that gooble away my valuable time that can't be redeemed. Remember, the clock hands move forward always. When I try to juggle too many things, I end up dropping things that are important to hold on to. I have learned to hold on to the things of value and take care of those things first. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God..." With the remaining time, I can work on the other projects in my life.
Just for Today
I will seek the Lord in the morning, making time to be in His presence before I start my day.
I will take care of business and do it as unto the Lord.
I will trust in the Lord and lean not to my own understanding.
I will have confidence in the plans that the Lord has for me and this ministry, always moving forward one second at the time.

Making time is not something that we can do, because the Lord has already done that, now we must use his creation of time for his glory.