When you hear the quiet, still voice of the Holy Spirit screaming in your ear, the peace of God envelops you. Game on.The moment you hear from God it seems Satan attacks. He wants to steal that peace, veer you off the course God laid out for you, and seperate you from the Joy God has given you.
At the beginning of the week, I was struggling with the fact that a friend of mine's daughter was going to college, something I had always wanted my children to do. But the dream had waned as I struggled just to get my kids through High School. The older kids went off and made other choices and so did I. I bought the ranch. Now I was no longer in a position to fully fund their college.
With rising fuel expenses and numerous repair bills piling up at the ranch, I was feeling great heartache over not being able to pay for my son's tech school. He is a gifted mechanic and impressive welder. Tuesday morning my soul was overwhelmed with grief about not being able to pay for his school and then compounded by the "what ifs" if my other children would have decided to go to college, and a little self-indulgence about how much traveling and financial freedom I would have without the ranch. Before I got into too much turmoil over it, I stopped to pray about it. So glad I did!
In the quiet, still voice the Holy Spirit started unfolding God's answer to my prayer. The first thing I found was a career webpage about welding and a mechanic's career path and how very few of them go to college. The path of choice is an apprentice program where they learn on the job. When I got home, my son told me about a program he had found for a certificate at a lube shop he was interested in. He is also checking into other programs offered at body shops that would allow him to use the welding skills he learned in High School. Okay-- Thank you, Lord, for that reassurance.Soon I had an opportunity to be reminded about the acheivements my other children were making. Amanda was explaining to a friend about her career path in Law Enforcement and how excited she was about it. She doesn't know this but I had turn away and wipe away the tears because I knew over hearing that was God saying-- hey I promised to take care of your kids. Lennon is enjoying traveling and touring the world (I do mean the world: Hawaii, Japan, Pennsylvania, Germany, and the not so popular one, Iraq). He is enjoying his travels and his job will open up many opportunities for him if he chooses to get out of the service.
So having been reassured that my kids were doing fine without a college fund, God in his quiet, still voice continued to yell at me. We had an excellent week at the ranch. Shafina's owners have been out working with her and training her to show this fall at the American Royal. Carol's been practicing her Parelli levels and I actually posted on Jazz (this means a lot of things happened I won't go into detail at this point). We have had several open ranch days at the ranch this month and it has been such a blessing to see everyone coming out and enjoying the horses and the retreat. The ranch has blessed so many people this spring; fishing, camping, and horsing around. On Monday Night I let Satan take a stab at my soul, but . . .
On Tuesday, On Wednesday,
On Thursday, On Friday,
On Saturday, and On Sunday
. . . God continued to show me glimpses of his plans for the ranch and blessings that he will pour out on those who are drawn here. I am so grateful to be a part of it and for everyone who has and are making this dream come true. Sunday, as we cooled off in the shade from an afternoon of fun in the sun, we had an opportunity to talk about more spiritual things. We shared stories of when God spoke clearly to us and witnessed how quickly Satan tries to take those moments from us. When God speaks to you write it on your heart, remind yourself of it often, share it with others boldly, do not let Satan take from you the Holy Spirit's Quiet, Still Voice You Once Heard Loudly - - - think on those great moments often.
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.(Philipians 4:4-9)"
