Dial Up From the Forest

My Dearest Siestas,
I’m still in the mountains and I only have dial-up so I have no idea whether this post will work. I’m going to give it a try. I’ve been up working on Esther since about 7:15 this morning and decided a few minutes ago to take a break and let my mind rest and rejuvenate. I got on-line which itself can be a feat out here in the middle of the forest. As God would have it, I was able to get on our blog and read many of your comments on the “confidence” post. The tears stung in my eyes as I praised Him for you, amened you, and prayed especially for you who I could tell needed an extra revelation of His Presence. I also marveled over the wonders of God’s timing in causing that simple post to be a clear word to many of you as it had been to me. Surely one of the most marvelous mysteries we encounter as a terrestrial creature redeemed but residing so far from Heaven is the prompting of the Holy Spirit. I bet, like me, you have had times when you felt prompted by the Spirit to do something that turned out to be your imagination or an embarrassingly stupid misinterpretation. Or, worse yet, big mistake. Like the time I told a friend whose loved one was in a coma that I felt God had told me He was about to take the loved one Home…and, coincidentally, no sooner had I shared the prophecy than she woke right up. She’s still alive and well many years later and will most certainly outlive me just to spite me. I’m laughing so hard I can hardly keep my laptop still. I don’t know why. I guess because we’re just so danged absurd sometimes, aren’t we?

One of my favorite stories a funny and humble friend of mine told me was about the time she awakened to hear the Scripture reference Philippians 6:13 in her heart over and over. She described how it echoed louder and louder within her like she imagined the voice of God beckoning young Samuel from his bed. She rose to see what personal revelation God would have for her, His dear servant, in that surely profound passage only to find that Philippians ended at the fourth chapter. We both laughed until we cried. I’ve never forgotten the point of that story and have tried since to keep an appropriate measure of tentativeness about what I felt God was revealing to me until it was confirmed or affirmed.

So, aren’t we all taken aback by the wonder that we – stiff of neck and stuffed of ear - really did hear from God on occasion? Oh, the mercy and tenacity of God to make Himself heard amid the clamor and clang of our attention deficit culture and self-absorbed souls! And, oh, to love Him more!


Thank you so much for praying for me to have a fruitful time here in the mountains. God has answered your prayers in a multitude of ways. Not only have I had wonderful times with Him in His Word and am well on my way to meeting my work goal for these four days. He has also greatly refreshed this overheated south Texan with cool forest air, bright yellow aspens, and the warm company of a few good friends who I only get to enjoy here. It’s rainy and chilly today and the only noise right now is the crackling of a fire Keith made a few hours ago before he packed up his tackle box. He trudged through the sagebrush down to the river nearby to do a little fly fishing. Yes, in the rain. He’s a beast. I’m going to study today then later this afternoon we’re planning to grab our binoculars and take a drive to a few of our secret spots in Teton Park where God sometimes puts wild treasures on display for us. Our goal today is some big bull elk. This is the time of year when their antlers are enormous and their distinctive bugling will stand the hair on the back of your neck straight up. I dig looking for wild game as much as Keith. I totally love hunting as long as no guns are involved. God may show us a host of delights this afternoon but even if I only see that handsome, lined face of my rugged man of 28 years on the other side of that front seat, the trip will be terrific.

A few random things before I sign off and hope this blog entry takes:
*Amanda, Curt, and Jackson are going to the State Fair of Texas in Dallas today to eat their annual Fletcher’s Corny Dog (it’s a religious experience for AJ) and to see Boyz II Men.
*When Keith put on his wading boots to fish yesterday, he could not get his right foot in the end of the shoe because something appeared to be stuffed in it. When he turned the boot over to beat on the heel and knock it out, two dead mice fell out on the garage floor.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

I love you.