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Have you ever heard of wearing a mantle? Jesus said the Holy Spirit was upon Him because God called him. The calling comes first; then the Holy Spirit gives us the power to walk in that calling (Acts 1:8). in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was given to people selectively but thankfully for the New Testament we are all called to the same ministry as Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). My great gram was was anointed with a mantle by God. It was displayed in her service to giving a room in her home to those that had no place. Her special gift was in the flowers she grew on her corner lot on Main Street that gave incredible beauty to her little town. My gram was anointed by God to wear a mantle to be in a light of in His service to the women of her neighborhood. They were drawn to be with her as she fed them her time, her food, her love of Jesus. Her special gift was in creating layettes for her churches sponsored missionary. My mother wore the same mantle. Her special gift was in her feeding not just food to all but in written words in a newspaper column and various Christian magazines. I wear a similar mantle. My special gift? In time I or others will look back and say “oh it was this” or “it was that” and then we will know. I see signs that my daughter wears one. It will be interesting to watch it unfold upon her and take the shape of the Cross as well. We all found that the mantle is heavy, maybe our cross, definitely our gift, and its worn with love for Jesus. Its our gift to Him to serve.

I came across a statement saying “Jesus did not come to save us but to restore us.” Hmmmm… my curiosity is piqued. So I read up on it. “ This I know… Jesus helped EVERYONE and ANYONE who came to Him. And to those who had no use for Him… He moved on from. “No one comes to the Father except through Him.” We are saved only by Gods grace when we repent of our sins to Jesus to bore them. In return… He lived His life as we should by living His life as a servant. His death and resurrection was to pay the price of OUR sins. Why? To save us from the Father. Ohhh yes! “…He is the One who is owed. He is the Sovereign we have rebelled against, the Father we have disobeyed, the friend we have betrayed…” from Daniel 9. And it is God who restores unto us out of mercy, compassion, love. He loves to hear, Psalms 51:12, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” coming from us as we grasp in ourselves just how Jesus lived for Him. So we can be beacons of His light for “them.” I love pondering with the Holy Spirit.

The angst of the prodigal son story arises upon my path again today. Its a bane to many parents. Shakespeare included this global trauma in his play The Tempest where Miranda is surprised that a noble woman like her grandmother could give birth to an evil man like her uncle Antonio and stated “Good wombs have borne bad sons.” This same phenomenon persists, evil? I am not so sure but certainly not biblically honoring “thy mother and father.” Has it always been like this? Is this why the honoring is included in the Ten Commandments and is also addressed in the Chapter of Luke? Luke, the physician and the reporter, of the New Testament writes of The Parable of the Prodigal Son. The young son takes off with his inheritance and squanders it in reckless living and then returns home to his forgiving father. In telling of the story there are key parts that get overlooked; one; even though the request and the reason for the financial request surely grieved the father, he didn’t argue with his son’s desire, he conceded to it. I believe he exhibited faith in his child. And second; the father did not chase after the son, did not impose his desires upon him, and the son, when in dire straights, made the first move in returning to his family. The first move in contrition after such a big bravado is an important character reset. It is a form of dying to self. Ephesians 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And third, the father ran to meet him putting aside what transpired, an act of mercy so that his son didn’t arrive home defeated, but knowing he was wanted. And fourth… there will always be the one who who cries “not fair!” when witnessing the power of forgiveness.

I was reading the Dennison Forum about whats behind the reasoning for God’s word calling us to “trust in the Lᴏʀᴅ with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5) Our understandings are tainted by our experiences and we fall prey to “philodoxy” which means the “love of opinion,” while we should strive for “philosophy” which means the “love of wisdom” And this brought back to my mind of a true story of two men in a bar arguing over whose truck was better, a Chevy or a Ford. The discussion got so heated that one kicked over his chair and stated, “when theres two opinions and yours is different than mine then yours is wrong!” When in doubt, go with scripture. “The fear of the Lᴏʀᴅ is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 110:10). To “fear” God is to revere and serve him in recognition of his omnipotence and holiness. This is the foundation to wisdom. The smart ones trust His opinions over their own. His opinion is always the last word on any subject. In Matthew 6 He even eluded to the woes of vehicles… where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal… 😉

I was asked “If Van Gogh was a genius, why wasn’t he recognized as such when he was alive?” I thought about it and finally answered them. “It is a fairly simple reason that happens over and over. The majority of people do not recognize greatness when it stares them in the face or pokes them in the eye with its glaring beauty. It is far more common, and “common” being the operative word, that people focus more for others to see them with a “look at me! look at me” noisy persona. Look at President Kennedy. Hated!! Detested. This Irish Catholic would doom us all!! President Reagan and his horoscope seeking wife with her need for new plates. Now both are historic in their saving deeds. Even the words spoken by Jesus to his own people in Nazareth were scoffed at because to them he was just the kid down the block therefore without authority to preach to them. Now Mother Theresa… a lowly sacrificing sister to the poor. Made worldly great by one Royal person who took an interest in her. That and that she appeared more lowly in life than she truly was. Her greatness was no threat to ours. Because we have one chance at life, we are driven by our esteem to make it count, to be remembered. This drive pushes folk to be so narcissistic that they have to be told what great is. God knew of this flaw about us. Even He had to proclaim “Greater is HE (Jesus) that is in you than he (you) that is in the world. And yet we were worth it to Him.” Love is an amazing thing. So is hindsight. ~Denise Dahlheimer

The Bible says that “Too many worries lead to nightmares, and a fool is known from talking too much” from Ecclesiastes 5:3 and what is interesting is that these two scenarios are combined in the same verse. I dreamed of my little sister last night. How unexpected! I had just been talking about her this past weekend about our fun shenanigans growing up and how grief is forever. She came to me in a dream looking bright, just as tall, just as beautiful, and quite fit and with a message that I would feel better if I lost weight. True enough and I marveled at her caring. Was it caring? No. It was a trap. The message… while true enough but a fairly generic one to send to a menopausal woman. Insert eye roll here. Unexpected though? I think not. I had opened a door with my words. Evil was listening and now betting my grief against believing the word in Hebrews 9:27, ““Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” ‭‭ When I awoke I was filled with sadness as her passing was now relived again and that the evil one thinks me so slow witted that I could be duped in my now weakened state as it attempted to dredge up the grief from its safe place to where I could be manipulated. But even weakened, I know from many conversations and experiences with God… God will not use the dead to relay his message. He is a God of life. This was not a Holy Spirit encounter either as the Counselor is all about - and only about - pointing all attention to Jesus. The message directed my thoughts to myself. What it didn’t bet on is that I am so over me.

When we began our new adventure we were led to take uprooting us from a very happy contentment… we prayed on it. We had been praying the prayer of Jabez for about 4-5 months and indeed our territory was being enlarged. But grew by leaps when we asked God to enlarge His territory within us. And then the writing drew itself out on the wall to move… we prayed on it. The home became a house. It sold in 3 days at full price. Then the construction of the new house began… we prayed on it. And we buried a bible in dedication to God in its foundation. Then rains came and work ceased for about 9 weeks. We prayed on it. When the weather cleared… the appearance of the workers resumed. Some brought their demons to work with them. Some embraced the beauty of the place while others literally hated being there. The “haters” made it personal. Speaking to them resulted in my being the recipient of snarky arrogance. Simple questions irked them back to reactions of the childhood torment where the younger sibling ate cereal too loudly. I prayed on it. It got worse. Work ethics slipped. Work attitudes slipped. The ugly spirit of offense tried to reign as king but there is only one King of this place, King Jesus. And heres the thing… Du and I are supposed to build this place. It was put on our path to do so. Just as the Devil was not challenging Christ’s ‘sonship’ in His desert time, but his service, it challenged ours as well. Why? Who are we but mere mortals? Because ”the Devil can live with the idea of ‘saved people’ – but not with the idea of saved people living for the reason for why they have been saved.” And it took a big swing at us this past week. We got stronger. And we retaliated by not retaliating. We held our peace and let God take it on. And He did. And He will continue His good work. 🎵 this I know for the Bible tells me so… and I have witnessed it over and over and over. If you are experiencing distress, chaos, attacks… its not at you. Its at you were called to do. Its becoming beautiful. The good will be celebrated, the bad moved on from, and all will still belong to God. If you are experiencing distress, chaos, attacks… its not at you. Its at you were called to do. quote from https://simplymobilizing.com/what-makes-the-devil-really-mad/

My dad said “the first hundred years are the hardest” and aint that the truth. I learned from my mom to counter the hard days with my favorite blessing and bedtime prayer… May the LORD bless you and protect you; may the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD look with favor on you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 To move on up the road with this treat everything you do and give as a free gift to exemplify Gods free love. We are to be known as Christians by the love that offers a no strings attached kind of love. And we are to practice on our own first and until we get it right. Then we can expand. This is the order of things to achieve His peace and happiness. Now go find two good things today and report back what they are were. Scissors cuts strings. 😉

How has art opened your heart? For me… for a while I denied my art. Then I got the call from God to be what I was born to be for in the area of painting for Jesus I was one of the 99. And then!! It’s like the song Drift Away says … And when my mind is free You know a melody can move me And when I'm feelin' blue The guitar's comin' through to soothe me Thanks for the joy that you've given me I want you to know I believe in your song Rhythm and rhyme and harmony You help me along makin' me strong…" I am at last at home in my soul. And then!! It’s like the song Drift Away says … And when my mind is free You know a melody can move me And when I'm feelin' blue The guitar's comin' through to soothe me Thanks for the joy that you've given me I want you to know I believe in your song Rhythm and rhyme and harmony You help me along makin' me strong…" I am at last at home in my soul.

Nothing done to Jesus changed who He was. Not stubbornness, not willfulness nor spite, but because He was born for a reason… “to testify to the truth…” per John 18:37 You too were born for a reason. Ask Him what it is. Embrace it.

A writing assignment … “I wanted to give up so many times, but I didn’t.” Is the challenge. “I wanted to give up so many times, but I didn’t.” I couldn’t. In having endured tremendous and multiple griefs over the years, I found that mine, as others, ministry’s are birthed in our pain. Pain… has a divine purpose. One, to know the mercy of God. And two, to share His mercy out of our innermost self; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control which all rise up pushing us to become a purposeful vessel for Christ. No, I will not give up. My faith has been through enough that it is now a given to believe Jeremiah 29: 11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I have stories to tell that others need to hear for we are in it together. 🌹

Its been a struggle moving away. When I realized I had spent too much time as Lots wife did in looking back, I tried to repent of it and seize each day but that too was a struggle. I wasn’t sure why we were here but here is where we are. And then God used a day where I missed my daily bible reading which caused my tracking to reset to zero. Then as I saw the literal 0, He impacted me that I, us, our life, our plans, etc are all now at 0. Not in restarting, nor starting over, but completely empty and finally in His total will. whew! Zero… not a bad thing for it reflects the infinite potential and divine creative capacity. I read that “Zero is also a symbol of wholeness, representing the full cycle of life. It invites you to explore the vast possibilities within you, encouraging you to step into the infinite potential that resides within your soul. It stands for spiritual awakening, new beginnings, and the potential for spiritual growth.” Even as I am still uncertain where this all leads this I know… it will be interesting. btw… now that we have tweaked the many build issues and have put our stamp on the project … it is finally most def home-worthy 👍

Church shopping in our new area has begun. Last night we attended Ash Wednesday services in a town not to far from us. The church was originally built in 1906 - yay! my style! - and then rebuilt in 2007 and where beautiful it evoked the new and modern. Modern… new, not timeless, latest, present day, yah-da-yah-da… Uncertain now I walked to an empty pew, save a momma and her little girl at the other end, and looked about. The entrance hymn began and we were joined by two little boys who at last found their momma. Songs were sung that I have never heard before, children fidgeted, babies cried, I couldn’t hear the gospel readings, and I prayed. Well I tried. My thoughts were all over the place and kept going back to our last church of 20 some years, the Cathedral. Ancient. Original. Faith set in stone. Tissues always needed as my heart and soul was touched beyond this world. Children played, babies cried, but I never really “heard” them. Literally bumped by a child back to the present by a typical little one, I moved a bit to give him more room. Momma noticed. Shoot!! Now I am embarrassed that I embarrassed her. I suddenly felt old, very old. The kind of old that generates the “get off my lawn” persona. I saw it. I felt it. I prayed. I asked for help. And the Holy Spirit rose up and pinged my memory of once being a young momma taking two little ones to church paralleling the scenario that no liquid container is truly empty. There is always that last unpredictable drop that spills out regardless of how long you hold it upside down proving again that no one can fix normal. Children are children and the recycling container gets wet. And then we were asked to give the sign of peace to our neighbors and as I turned and smiled to momma, an even bigger smile peak out from behind her extending a little hand just as the grammy in me stepped over the crone and I said “well hi!!” and shook her hand. oh and yes we sure did get smudged! Everyone walked out looking like firefighters. lol! The ashes? Palms from the last Palm Sunday; blessed, burned and mixed with incense and holy water representing an outward sign of our repentance and accepting Christ’s forgiveness.

Lighting up the unfiltered cigarette, she said, “He who lives trusting dies betrayed is the cattle call for those afraid to live before they die” as she emptied a half can of Aquanet on her hair so the wind wouldn’t mess it. -Denise Dahlheimer Why do we think its okay to believe what we are told? I was drawn to write on the simplicity of ones belief system. And how is yours? I just came off a reminder lesson that even as Jesus seeks out the 1, the rest of us 99 matter just as much to Him.

Moving and building when most should be retiring. Not in The Plan for me. yep. This is not my first journey. Yet this particular journey has been more difficult emotionally than ever before, and yet not spiritually as my spirit is being taken to a whole new level. I know that if I relied on my feelings I would succumb to despair. My curiosity though on how this all turns out will not allow that, nor will the track record of successes that God has built up within me. The devil has been working overtime to make it just as miserable as it can but God is taking those people it used and parting them out like the Red Sea all while showing me the nuances of the liar. I cannot see around the corner but this I know… God is making an entrance into my life like never before. This journey is in The Plan. If you are in it with me… God bless you. If you are merely an observer… God bless you. If you are being used by the evil one to cause chaos in the project, and in my life… God bless you. For “…nothing will be able to separate us (me) from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our (my) Lord.” Romans 8