Extra...Ordinary

I grew up in Oklahoma. Many times, while growing up, I heard a word pronounciation that didn’t quite sound the same as it did anywhere else in the world. For example, extraordinary can oftentimes sound like (pipe in southern drawl here) extra-ordinary. Being a word searcher, I looked up the definition of extraordinary, and it was defined as “going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary.” Then I thought, the opposite of extraordinary is ordinary, which is defined as, “of no exceptional ability, degree, or quality; average, of inferior quality; second-rate.”

In 2 Kings 2:13 Elisha took up the mantle of Elijah. In order to take up, receive, seize, or carry away the mantle- Elisha had to operate beyond the realm of ordinary. In order for us to take up or seize the extraordinary, we must let go of and release the ordinary.

I had always heard that Elisha had received the mantle of Elijah. But I recently dug into the study on this subject. It wasn’t as if Elisha was going through life and suddenly “Woop! Oh look at that. The mantle of Elijah just fell on Elisha!” Elisha lived an exceptional life.  At least that's the word that pops into my mind when I think of his dedication!

Last year, my good friend Therese Chester, wanted to go to a prayer conference. She gave me all the reasons why she couldn’t go. She said:

• It’s a long drive.
• I don’t have the money.
• My family here may need me.
• I like to drink coffee and if I’m out of town, I won’t have coffee.

My husband said, “MimiT! If you want something different, you are going to have to do something different. Now, pack your thermos and GO!” She did pack her thermos, and she went. As a result, her life was changed.

I used to not be so excited to “seize.” Please allow me to explain. Growing up I felt very out of control and at the same time, very controlled. In my early 20’s, I bought myself a very nice planner. I believed my planner would make me more efficient and in many ways it did. However, in many ways, it locked me and those around me into a prison of schedules. When we first got married, I remember yelling at my husband over an appointment he missed. I screamed, “Once an appointment is written in the planner…it cannot be changed…abide by the planner!” In those days, I could’ve written a blog on the “Confessions of a Lister.” I’m often teased by family members that “even my lists have sublists." 

It's important for you to know...they are exaggerating slightly. My lists used to have sublists, but they don’t anymore. {Smile}

Recently, on a Saturday, my husband took my small children for the day so that I could have some down time. I had planned on organizing my garage. During my organization, God said, “Hezakiah” several times. About the third time He said, “Hezakiah,” I thought, “Who is Hezakiah?” I mean, obviously it is someone in the bible, but who was he and why did God keep saying it to me?

I had a plan for the day. I was going to read my daily bible reading, and then clean my garage. I even said, “Lord, today I had a plan to do my daily bible reading, which is now done. So now I’m going to clean my garage.” He said, “Lay your lists aside, and ask Me every day what to do.”

Rick Renner recently posted on Twitter, “A person who is content to live an average, run of the mill, non-productive life will never be mightily used of God.”

I believe Luke 14:18-20 can be summed up in what I refer to as, “I can’t- because I have to wash my cat syndrome.” I enjoy studying about powerful women in history who made great impact on their world. And in that study, I learned that none of them entertained an “I can’t- because I have to wash my cat syndrome.” What if…

• Harriet Tubman continued to slave away
• Rosa Parks gave up her seat
• Esther stayed home
• Anne Sullivan refused the challenge

To operate beyond the ordinary, many times we have to forgo washing the cat, i.e. reject our normal schedules. If there are too many things on our list of things to do, there will come a time when we have to reevaluate what is on our list, and seek first His Kingdom.

If you want something different, you are going to have to do something different. Now, pack your thermos and GO! Do something you’ve never done before! 

Light Be!

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” {1 Peter 2:9}

In 2010, I was given a gift from Pastor Melissa Harris. It was her book, Streams of Living Color: The Light of His Glory. Some of us are a little slower than others, and it takes a bit longer for information to sink in. I had read the book. I enjoyed the book. I did what she recommended in the book. 1 Samuel 15:22 speaks of obedience. There have been so many times in my life when I have been blessed because of obedience…even when I didn’t truly understand why I was doing what I was doing. I highly suggest obedience to godly counsel, even if your brain (soul) is not completely wrapped around what you are doing.

In Streams of Living Color, she writes about speaking “Light be” into situations. From her book, I gained the knowledge that speaking “Light be” meant more than what was apparent on a surface level...and more than I could wrap my head around at the time. Even so, I was obedient in speaking “Light be” into situations as she suggested in her book...although my head had not caught up with my heart.

Fast forward to almost a year later. I was sitting in a church service where the pastor was preaching a message that should’ve brought the house down. The message was great. He was preaching with great passion. And something hit me. I wasn’t able to respond as I should have responded, because I didn’t “get” what the pastor was attempting to relay to us. It occurred to me the pastor was preaching the message from the place of experience with God! I didn’t know what "it" meant exactly, but I wanted “it” because I could tell by the pastor’s passion in preaching the message, the pastor had “it.” I prayed, “Oh God, my Father, please bring me to the place where I understand the pastor’s "passion.” 

Less than a month later, on August 14, 2011 (3 days after Pastor Melissa's birthday)- after close to a year of  confessing and speaking and declaring, “Light be!”…Light came into in my life! Light went from head knowledge to heart knowledge and now Light IS!

That Sunday morning, we had almost made it to church on time, praise the LORD! On the way to church, my husband and I had shared some “intense fellowship” in the car. My youngest had thrown a tantrum in the parking lot because I refused to give her gum…after previously using ice and my finger nail to scrape her gum off my new car seat just a few weeks before. I found myself thinking what I had thought so many times before. Why did I even come to church today?

Yet, there I was in worship service, trying to shake off the events of my morning and having a really hard time doing it. My youngest was still pouting over my refusal to allow her to chew gum. I don’t even want to know what my countenance looked like to everyone around me! I just closed my eyes and tried to worship. My mind was in a battle flipping back and forth between what had happened that morning and where I was trying to “go” (worship). 

God brought to my remembrance the time years ago when I was walking with my kids and dog, and another dog didn’t like my dog being so close to his yard. The two began a dog fight…barking back and forth, but not going to do anything more than bark at one another. In that situation, God spoke to my heart and said “There will be many dog fights, but keep your focus on me.” Knowing that, I determined that I would worship no matter what. I closed my eyes and lifted my hands...and I felt a yank from one of my kids on one side. I shooed her away. I was determined to worship God! About three seconds later…the kid on my other side yanked on my clothes and I shooed her away, too. I figured that since we were in a church house full of people, someone in there could handle my kids, or they could just handle themselves long enough for me to praise my King!

In pressing through, God gave me a vision. At the time, I believed the vision was only for me. In it, I was walking in a dark tunnel on train tracks. At the end of the tunnel was Light. 

Not a light, The Light. 

In the vision, I started running to The Light. 

It wasn’t a small flashlight. 

It wasn’t a headlight from a train, like you would see in movies. 

It was The Light. 

His Marvelous Light! 

The Light that changes peoples lives, heals bodies, mends broken hearts, restores financial peace, breaks all bondage, and renews our vision to the point where we have more than we can ask or think! I ran toward The Light, and I was changed forever. 

At that point I remember sitting down in my seat. A woman in our congregation had a word from the Lord, and once she started speaking…it hit me, the vision is not just for me, but for The Church! I walked to the front of the sanctuary, thinking I was in control and composed, as I was most of the time. We were sitting in the back, you know…where we would be safe from any of the “stuff” that goes on at church sometimes. Don't get me wrong. We were always blessed when someone was set free and laughed or cried uncontrollably, or yielded to whatever God was doing with them. We just didn’t want any of “it” to spill over onto us. After all, like I was saying, I’m quiet and reserved and very controlled.

The truth was, to even lift my hands in service was like a total "free for all" in my head! When I reached the front, the Pastor handed me the microphone and everything was going well. He patted me on my shoulder and LIGHT BURST FORTH! I couldn’t even speak, I was frozen- and could feel myself falling on the pastor! My head was screaming, “Get off the pastor!” I squeaked, “I knew this was coming.” Earlier that week, a friend had just spoken over me that God was going to touch me as He never had before. 

I said, “Wooooooooooo.” He answered, “Woo is right.” When he said that, I burst into laughter that exceeded any laugh I'd had before. Okay, I’ve seen people laugh uncontrollably and be “drunk in the Spirit.” And I had decided that whatever God wants to do with them…that’s fine, but that’s just not for me. Ha ha ha! I laughed and I laughed and I laughed. Then his wife touched me, and in retrospect, she was probably trying to get me off her husband! (Of whom my husband later said, “You should’ve seen Pastor, he didn’t know what to do with you!”) I said, “Yeah, I didn’t know what to do with me either!” As soon as she touched me, it was as if electricity grabbed ahold of me and I shook. It felt like a convulsion. I’m not sure how long it lasted, it seemed like maybe 3 or 4 seconds, then it stopped and I told them of the vision I'd had.

Once I told the vision, I opened my eyes and looked out among the congregation and I could see from some of their faces that they didn’t get it. They didn’t “get” the awesomeness of God's Light! The Spirit of God came over me, along with the feeling that I had to wake them up. I began to run back and forth, shouting, “Get up! Get up! It’s The Light! You gotta get IN The Light!” I still was fighting a battle in my head, thinking “Stop screaming at these people, most of which you don’t even know!” But as the Lord overshadowed me that day, people all over the church began to gladly receive what God had for them.

You see, when He calls you into HIS marvelously Beautiful Light, you won’t even care who thinks what about your behavior. When God sets you free from yourself, you are free indeed!