God is not a Church, He isn’t a Denomination, nor is He a Religion
If you can understand the revelation Munroe is thowing out here, then you can understand why no denomination was God’s idea.
Denominations are not of God, they are of man.
The Catholic denomination is possibly the worst because they are prideful in saying they are the first church – and are blind to the fact that they are a denomination. Until we understand there is no such thing as denominations or brick and mortar churches in God’s Kingdom, we will never bring the Kingdom of God into the earth.
But I have faith in the true Church, the organic Bride of Christ, that she will bring the Kingdom of God into the earth in these last days.
Because there is nothing else that will be capable of rising up against the anti-christ in these last days.
It’s time to start reorienting ourselves in God, and bring the kingdom Christ taught and spoke of into the earth. And to prepare for much spiritual warfare when we do.
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.”
John 18
John 18 is one of the most fascinating conversations in the Bible, imo. And realizing what Munroe says, that Jesus didn’t even speak to the religious men who were ‘representing’ God, but did speak to a gentile sinner who was ruler over a kingdom just blows my spiritual mind.
My challenge I’m putting on myself this year is to live a fasted life and pursue the understanding and revelation of this Kingdom God is desiring to manifest into the earth. If I can channel His kingdom through my life, I’m here for it~
Moses struck a rock and water flowed from it. He lifted up his staff, parted the sea and the ocean floor became dry ground. Elijah called down fire from the sky and it burned up people and earthly things – or in other words, Elijah’s prayer manifested a power that was seen and had effect in this earthly dimension. He didn’t start a fire, he called an already living fire down from an unseen location at the sound of his words.
And Joshua. He looked up and charged the sun, ‘Stand ye still!’ and the heavenly body obeyed.
How by scientific calculation can the earth continue to rotate on its axis and the sun remain still? Did the sun move, for this one day through space at the speed of earth’s rotation? Or did the earth turn vertically on its axis so that for those 24 hours Israel was situated as the North Pole, the sun never having to set? Did the earth indeed stop rotating?
In The Beginning Was The Word, Living Word
Can we even begin to imagine charging the natural world by decree and it obeying our word?
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3.21-21
When God spoke, creation listened. Whatever He speaks, His creation listens. ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’ God spoke once and the decree never ceased, but multiplied exponentially.
“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55.11
What would happen if we took God’s words into our mouth and spoke His words out into this earthly dimension having the faith that Jesus had? Or better yet, Jesus said all we needed was faith the size of a mustard seed and we would see mountains moved.
God’s Word Transforms Our Relationship To The Earth’s Rules
Jesus defied physics. He spoke to weather patterns and changed them instantly, leaving His fishermen friends in awe. ‘Have faith in God,’ He continually told them.
Elisha defied physics in the strangest and weirdest of ways. A worker dropped their axe head into the water and Elisha threw a stick and the axe head floated to the surface. God made the human being out of the earth; Jesus spit in a clump of clay and molded it around the hallow edges of a blind man’s eye socket, told him to go wash with water from the lake and there it was formed, a human eyeball where there was nothing.
We think about Jesus reaching out and touching people. Or people, like the woman with the issue of blood touching Him and being healed. But Peter’s shadow fell on the sick and they were healed. The man’s shadow, a simple scientific understanding of how light shining on an object creates a shadow, but the shadow is now imbued with the power to transform ailing bodies.
“As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.” Acts 5.15-16
What Is Going To Mean The Most To Us?
I ask you Church; what are we missing? What’s missing behind the decree that if I spoke today, nothing would happen? What are we missing on our words? What are we missing in our lives, what do we need for our shadows to fall on a passer-by and they immediately are set free from oppression or chronic sickness?
A different focus? Paul said, ‘Covet earnestly the best gifts.’ I don’t deny his wisdom. But he did go on to say the greatest of all is Love.
Might we be missing the only purpose needed to gain the power of the Spirit of God on our lives? That being Agape love? In one fell swoop, love cradles all that is needed to bring the human being into subjection to the higher order of God and the proper alignment with our neighbors.
What else is needed?
Maybe less time in front of a manmade screen and more time in front of God’s living word, learning ancient secrets, words that hold within them, like seeds, the transformative power of a living Spirit?
God is love the Bible says. How can we possibly become anything without total dedication to it, much less if we are trying to embody the idea of God’s Agape love. There is much to learn and much to put away simultaneously in order to take hold of God’s heart in this manner.
Draw Near to God and He Will Draw Near to You
(James 4.8)
God is hiding from us. Not so that we cannot find Him and lay hold of the power to do all the wonders that have already been manifest in the earth, but instead so that we will seek Him for those wonders.
If someone’s shadow could fall on you and heal you, would you accept that as a good thing? Or would you say, no, let me avoid being healed so easily. Would it not be a good thing then if it was our shadows freeing people?
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free..” Luke 4.18
…..’all these thing I do you also will do, and greater things….’
The Question of Purpose Has to be Asked and Answered
But I have to ask myself, why would we seek Him for these things? There’s no need for our sun to stand still. So what do we need? It goes back to love, no? Maybe I’m not thinking it through properly. But what other aim would not be pure arrogance? Doesn’t love cap ego? If our hearts aren’t focused on people, then what are we doing?
And once we determine that, we have to ask: are we making a Kingdom of Heaven decree to change the world for the better? Or to just amuse ourselves.
‘Call those things that be not as though they were,’ and ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven,’ and ‘..all these things that I have done you also will do, and greater than these will you do because I go to my Father.’
It seems to me that those who worked the greatest of signs and wonders were those God called the most humble and the meekest. So then, what can be done? What should be pursued?
This is the funniest thing to hear Myles Munroe deliver this message to the congregation, even the members couldn’t keep from laughing. It’s also dead serious and true. And that makes me laugh:) It doesn’t remove all responsibility from me, the woman, but it certainly doesn’t let the man off the hook either – I like that about God. He doesn’t let the man or the woman off the hook, as much as the man would love to blame only ‘this woman you gave me!’ for all his troubles:)
Life is serious, but sometimes, it’s best to take a step back, take a breath and learn to laugh, even the slightest bit, at ourselves. One of our family sayings is, ‘A family who laughs together, stays together.’ And it works for us.
We’ll live a far less anxious, fearful and offended life if we can let some beads of water run off our backs.
“Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.…” Proverbs 23.10-11
The Man is the Father Figure
Munroe teaches that it is the man who is the father, since the woman came from the man – God formed one man from the dust of the earth and all other men and women came from that one man. God didn’t return to the earth again to create the woman – the woman came out of the man. And since he produced the woman, he is her father in essence. “A father sustains what he produces. If he’s not sustaining what he produces, then he’s not a father.”
So if he isn’t acting towards her as a father would, look out, proverbs tells us that God will take up her case against him. I like that I have a heavenly Protector who doesn’t let me off the hook, but who also defends me against those who would find it convenient for it to be all my fault….Adam…..
We’re all trying to figure this out together and for sure, a little bit of humor goes a long way dear brothers!
Listen to this, it’s just like a man to be completely taken aback by what a woman can do and then act surprised that he’s the reason for all his discomfort. Human behavior, including my own, makes me laugh:
Women Multiply What You Give Them
“Whatever you give a woman, she’ll receive it, multiply it, and give it back to you…..she’ll never give back what you gave to her, she’ll multiply it first. She’s designed that way….if you give her a house she’ll multiply it and give you a home. If you give her groceries she’ll multiply it and give you a meal. If you give her frustration she’ll multiply it and give you……right…….
“So brothers, if you don’t like what your getting, change what you’re giving.
“It’s ridiculous to say to a woman, ‘where did you get this from?’ He’s receiving back – multiplied – what he gave….tell your husband, ‘if you don’t like what I’m giving you, change what you’re giving me.'”
I’ll be sharing much more from Munroe in the coming days, God has opened a floodgate of word through this man of God. Prayer and fasting for sure opens doors, opens our hearts and provides keys to receive from God.
Have a wonderful week all, be free, look up at the night sky, take up journeys~
Featured Drawing: Untitled by Ashley Gatewood, ~2014
What has God given you to do? Whatever it is, no matter how menial it may seem to you, it is tied into your purpose in the kingdom of God. Despise not small beginnings the Bible says. I like that. So we can get busy doing what God has put before us no matter how small, knowing we are building and investing in a much higher purpose for the future.
Be ardent in your work, and you will find God in your cooking pots.
from the film ‘Séraphine’ (2008)
This was first spoken by Teresa of Ávila whom Seraphine requoted.
I like the literary term for ardent: burning; glowing
I like the idea that even through the darkest of nights, if I’m tending diligently to what God has entrusted to me, His glowing fire will be upon my work, be evident in the results of my work, and will light the way of many who are without His light.
And we all know the world is growing darker day by day~
Prayer Is The Honeypot That Reveals Incoming Information
Nothing gets done on earth for the kingdom of God without prayer. There may be people who don’t even believe in God who are fulfilling the plans of God – that’s because there is an intercessor somewhere on their knees praying fervently, being led by the Holy Spirit. I’ve heard it said like this: God will not do anything without us, and we cannot do anything without Him. And isn’t it comforting to know we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
Remember this, what God has ordained no one can stop. It doesn’t matter what it looks like right now. I promise you, He is faithful.
Psalm 103: Bless the Lord all ye His angels that excel at the sound of His word. The Archangel Gabriel is a messenger. So he brings answers, visions, prophecy from the throne of God. I’m sure there are others who do this, and I’m also sure we hear directly from God and I know He speaks to us through other people as well. So there’s no lack of avenues to gain revelational knowledge and wisdom. I like the one below from Benny – he is speaking right into my heart.
Paying the Price: Is God in your Cooking Pots?
If we’re going to pay a price, let’s make sure we are paying the right price for the right thing. People are constantly paying the wrong price for the wrong thing because of ignorance. If you’re not praying, what price are you really paying and is what you’re getting rendering a net gain to your life? If we suffer for the sake of suffering, we gain nothing at all. And we do this all the time, it’s the human condition. ‘Why are you cast down, oh my soul? Hope in God.’But prayer causes the answer to excel to our understanding. THIS is the power of God’s divine word when its revelation becomes known to us through prayer.
Let prayer be your cooking pot for 2024. “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27.13-14
I’ll find my answers in disciplined prayer. Where else? He reveals all knowledge to those who ask.
“…never give up. You pray everyday, don’t miss one day because the day you miss is the day you lose. Stay in contact with God, daily.”
Coupling prayer with fasting and you’ll be on a fast track to God’s heart.
May your 2024 be brighter than ever, burn more fervently for the Lord, and may God dance among your cooking pots, all you beautiful people~
There are certain ministers that in years past have imparted great things to me concerning God and His word. I’ve learned much from them. But there are those with whom God has called us to partner with indefinitely, and those for only a short while.
God, the skillful tapestry Weaver, threads people in and out of our lives at just the right times and seasons. We may have garnered much from those whose thread only remained for a short while, but unless we move where the Spirit moves us, we’ll never grow into the fulness of Christ.
This is why it’s important that ministers not get offended when people leave and move on with other congregations or ministries. God’s people have grown up under your care and watchful attention. Don’t take it out on His sheep because He is calling them to another field to graze.
And refrain from making excuses like it’s the sheep’s faulty hearing; that God couldn’t possibly call them away from one church and lead them to another. Different church ministries offer varying levels of bread as spiritual sustenance. Don’t be offended that someone has outgrown your level. You’ve done what has been required of you in God’s service. This is a beautiful thing; don’t get greedy or covetous.
God’s People Belong to Him
God’s people don’t belong to any one human being, minister or otherwise. His people belong to Him and He will chose who He wants to partner them with. Ministers need not be possessive over individuals in the Body of Christ. We are all one in Christ, not owned, not collected.
John the Baptist understood this and flourished. Until the day he stumbled and was offended. He ended up bound and cutoff. Is your ministry stagnant? Has it lost the life giving waters of the Holy Spirit? Think about this then and ask yourself seriously if you are not offended by those who have left. Then ask yourself why you feel the way you do and what God is saying to you about it. This is important to your growth and the growth of those presently in your care.
Grow up the people God has given into your care. Teach and nurture them in the capacity God has graced you with, then let them go if God calls them. Don’t be caught holding on to what God has asked for. Joshua chapter 7 is a warning for those who, out of ill-gotten intentions, try to hold on to something that God has asked for. Don’t be that minister.
God’s People are the Focus, Not the Size of a Congregation or its Shepherd
I look back on all I’ve learned, such a rich dining table of God’s best teachers in my opinion, some of the greatest I had seen at that time. But after many years the chair doesn’t fit anymore, the cup’s too small and the yard isn’t long enough to stretch my legs
If only ministers would treat their congregations like growing up any child into a functioning adult, I think the Body of Christ would be far more developed, well-rounded and capable of stepping out in the fulness of Christ.
This is only one way that denominations have hurt the Body, it promotes exclusion and possession or collection of God’s people.
God’s people belong to no one but Him. The shepherds are caretakers, not gods to pledge allegiance to. This is how Lucifer fell from heaven, having taken the praise and glory unto himself and corrupting his merchandise.
Be gracious to God’s people, He does not without blessings from those who put Him first in the kingdom. All other things will be added to you, fear not. He is faithful.
I won’t be able to do this subject justice on this little blog – greater books by great Christian men have been written on it. But at least I might be able to begin the process of shifting you out of darkness and into a place far brighter and less difficult. Attachment will have to be dealt with, we love our ‘stuff’, but sometimes those seemingly inane, peaceful looking objects sitting on desks, hanging on walls or slid into bookshelves can bring a continual, negative spiritual energy into our lives that if we knew how it was affecting us, we’d burn it all.
A note: this topic is nothing to broach casually. Not to glorify Satan and the demonic, but he is a formidable foe in our walk with God. If you feel particularly annoyed by these writings, or angered, then you might be dealing with more demonic influence than you might have thought. So beware of yourself and how you are feeling as you read. There is no power greater than God so the Holy Spirit can deliver you entirely and in an instant of all demonic possession and/or influence. Just yield and ask Him to deliver you.
First I’d say we have to look at ourselves because often we say one thing and live out another. When it comes to spiritual matters, being congruent and remaining steadfast is of utmost importance. Before we became Christians the devil ransacked us and ignored us for the most part. If you aren’t gaining spiritual territory from him (changing people’s lives for the good, reconciling them to God, saving souls, instilling biblical principles, interceding and pulling down the devil’s strongholds) then he certainly doesn’t know or care what your name is. You’re an unknown ‘son of Sceva’ and he’ll devour you as a lion would.
Without the Holy Spirit, we are simply dark on the inside. There may be goodness there, but often times it’s a reflected light that isn’t congruent or whole. ‘If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!’ Matthew 6:22-23
It matters what goes into our eyes and into our ears. They are portals. So then, what is inside our minds can be complete darkness but we can fake the outside and no one would know differently…for awhile anyway. But God does not mimic, mimicry is the devil’s game. It’s false, superficial and not the Holy Spirit. The photo below represents how we as humans can mimic goodness, but goodness not really be within us. This is a person/Christian who isn’t reading the Word of God, so there’s no real transformation from inside to outside.
Surface, outer dimension: imitate, model, (possibly mimic, denotes artificial or contrived) Changing the outer behavior but not the inner motivations. Can be faked, self-deceiving aspects?
The Devil’s Game
As much evil as we want the devil will provide – of course never for free. The wages of sin is death. And there is more than one way to die. But once we give our lives to God, some extremely complex shifts happened which aren’t immediately apparent. The best way to see it is we shifted from darkness, ignorance, unknowing, to the light which was shed abroad in our hearts – now all the dusty, dark corners are illuminated by Christ’s light and we begin the process of healing our souls/minds. But there’s a lot of residual dark elements that sometimes get overlooked.
The devil is happy to share you with many other spirits and things, especially things that pamper our flesh/carnal nature, which is enmity with God, even after you are saved. That’s why we have to crucify, put to death, the deeds of the body (Romans 8.13). As far as the devil is concerned, the more distractions entering into your being the better. He’ll possess you in a thousand small ways and he doesn’t care what else possesses you, as long as it isn’t the Holy Spirit of God. Demons want darkness and chaos – the more the merrier!
Below is an example of how demonic possession might be represented. Chaotic, uninvited (sometimes willfully invited) habitation (sin lay crouched at your door ready to pounce and you welcome it), multiple gods and sources of motivation, possessed, ambivalent, disunity; overtaken, involuntary animation.
God’s Order, The Holy Spirit Indwelling is Pure and Brings Clarity
On the contrary, the Holy Spirit of God will share you with nothing else because He is pure and holy and no other gods can stand before Him. And He resists the proud, so that even we can exalt ourselves in pride and God will vacate our life by removing His presence. (And of course He will return if/when we repent, stop being prideful.) God does not share habitation, dear people. This is where Paul stated that if one sleeps with a prostitute then that action joins her mind/body with the Body of Christ, and may God forbid it Paul stated.
Same as infidelity, fornication, adultery. And when two people have sexual relations, they open themselves to every channel the other person is also open to. This is why fornication/promiscuity is so destructive. We become one with whatever that is, and it isn’t godly.
So below is another photo that might represent how the indwelling of the Holy Spirit looks. Please understand, it is not possession – possession denotes uninvited or overtaking of the will of a human. Sure, we may invite evil in, but then the demonic takes over. God never takes over and animates us: Satan pushes and shoves, God leads and guides. Possession is the wrong term for the Holy Spirit indwelling.
To indwell, embody, personify – ordered invite, unified integration (Jesus/Logos) Changing the inner motivations leads over time to genuine outer behavior with an integrated purpose and foundation. We become one with God in Christ (John 17.23). Holy and perfect habitation and not shared. The vessel, you and me, must remain as pure, clean and holy as we can manage. The more we manage, the brighter His light will shine through our lives. And no condemnation as we grow into Him, praise God:) Romans chapter 8.
The Holy Spirt Will Not Share Habitation
So God is ready to be reconciled with us, take us to Himself and become one with us, this was Jesus’ prayer for all of us to the Father, ‘I in You and they in Me’. We are all one and it denotes the same sacred bond as the marriage of two, not to be defiled by adultery.
So any other habitation of our vessel (know you not, you are the temple of God?) by demonic energies/entities is defiling that bond, that oneness with God and He will not permit it. Since Satan pushes and the Holy Spirit leads, it will be the Holy Spirit Who is grieved and will ‘remove His presence’ from over our lives – same thing happened to Job. Satan passed through the hedge as God allowed Job to be tested due to his belief that he was righteous in and of himself. But what pathetic righteousness we can muster (Pharisaical) is as filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64.6). God revealed Himself to Job so that he stated, ‘I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now I see You, therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes’.
When God reveals Himself to us there is no escaping our own inadequacies. If we come to know this and humble ourselves before Him we are restored exponentially. Our growth in Him can be thwarted by the entrance of unholy things through our eyes, ears…any of our senses. Purity is important when we reach a certain level in our walk with God.
After Salvation, Residual Demonic Energy Needs to be Dealt With
Negative, demonic energy can move through people, but not only people. There are many portals from the spiritual realm into our lives. One might say ‘I felt something strange’ for instance when walking into a room or touching an object. It’s the same idea as the serpent lifted up in the desert, those that touched it were healed. This kind of energy can flow through objects and also be demonic, otherworldly and dark.
Do you think Mediums, witch doctors and psychics work out of God’s spiritual kingdom? No, they work out of the soulish, demonic realm. Where do you think Satan fell ‘to’? He isn’t in heaven and we know there are levels even of Heaven because Paul stated he was taken up to the Third Heaven…so many, many levels of hierarchy are built into the realm of spirits, both good realms and evil realms. Humans can tap into all of them due to the way we are made – probably something to do with the conscience. Satan fell into the lower realms of the hierarchy since he fell from heaven like lightening (ha, see ya ‘ole dragon), but so did the third of angels he swiped down with his tail. That’s innumerable evil angelic and demonic power structures functioning over us in the spiritual realm.
There Are Multiple Hierarchical Levels In Both Heaven and the Spiritual Realms
This spiritual realm is where Satan works, where his power is and where he has all the influence over mankind. It is not the same spiritual realm God inhabits – remember, the Spirit of God will not share habitation with evil. We don’t see the devil visiting God’s throne in the New Testament – the Son’s blood was sprinkled on God’s alter, Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God, the devil is defeated; death, hell and the grave are no longer our fate. Satan is no longer permitted to enter heaven. Well, he might be part of that footstool Christ props His beautiful feet up on:) And since we are in Christ, our feet also are propped up on that footstool where our enemies reside, hallelujah.
Our New Spiritual Habitation Once Saved
We now have to understand that we are ‘seated in heavenly places in Christ’ (Ephesians 2.6), so we are inhabiting the upper spiritual realms, far above all principalities and powers in heavenly places – this is not metaphorical only, this is who we are, restored in God through Christ’s blood sacrifice – we are above all demonic spiritual realms but we still must fight them, ‘the kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.’ This is the spiritual battle laid before us all. The devil knows it. Unfortunately we don’t, so we perish in a thousand different ways hour by hour.
Our mind must be renewed to this new creation reality. That’s what the word does, it renews our minds to better grasp that we are indeed now in Christ above all other hierarchies in the heavens and in earth AND we have received all the power to conquer all these levels – I mean my God! – no wonder He insists on humility and humbleness!! Come on people, understand we are the children of the Judge of ALL creation and we are already pardoned of our sins! This is why the scriptures are so adamant to remain lowly, humble and meek.
Don’t you see? We are above it all.
Okay, that’s spiritually speaking. And it flows into our earthly habitation but we’re still subject to the laws of the earth as humans – until Jesus is flowing through us in such a manner we are able to walk on water and break the laws of physics. And so being here in the earth, we are still subject to all the wiles of the devil, but we can conquer all his fiery darts. We just need to keep ourselves as free and clear of evil as possible.
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. (Ephesians 6.16) And also,
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD. (Isaiah 54.17)
How Do We Triumph Over Evil?
How are we going to fight against demonic powers and principalities if we are also captured by them? Please, think about this.
‘Well it’s just one book, one hobby, one habit, one painting, just one this, one that…..’
It only takes one. Then you die. Slowly I might add, subtly the demonic infiltrates your life like a frog being brought to boil in water.
Satan is a controlled maniac. Absolute chaos, but he’s crafty and can actually plan it. He has a third of the angels to help unleash his attacks – they reign in hierarchies. Come on, keep up with me. Principalities in the air influence whole nations in our realm. Sound crazy to you? Then you’re not thinking broadly or near deeply enough.
The Demonic Can Move Through Objects
Objects are portals. Maybe not every object but whatever we attach to can become a portal to all kinds of evil and chaos. Maybe it’s something like this: we feel an attachment, the door opens, we have a choice, we let what’s on the other side of the open door into our lives, then it moves into us, we become possessed, we act, we die (in a thousand tiny ways).
You have hundreds of portals in your house right now. Some for good energy, light; and some for bad energy, darkness. Do you think you could find these and discern between what is in your house that is evil and bringing demonic energy into your habitation? It could be things you most cherish. If your mind is only partially renewed to the word of God, then you won’t even be able to see what is affecting other aspects of your life.
There is a gift that helps the children of God with this, it’s called the discernment of spirits. Pray God bestows this gift to you.
I’m telling you, people blame misfortune on so many things – and it could be a correct analysis – but they miss ways in which darkness is entering on a daily basis through common objects like books, negative sentimental attachments/gifts/trinkets/tokens, (the demonic loves these types of objects), if someone who is into the occult gives you something….my friend, please understand the enemy is within your walls actively affecting your state of being.
Prove Me
Please think on this and if you are having a hard time accepting it, then here’s something you can do. If there’s anything that you think may be demonic or have demonic energy flowing through it, but you also are attached to it, cherish it even or have an affinity for it, then test out what I’m telling you. Take those things, wrap them up and store them away from you, in a shed or a room where you do not access. See if the atmosphere in your life changes. I’m telling you it will, even your health can be affected by the demonic. It’s negative energy working independent of anything else save for your voluntary invitation into your abode. Test and see if what I’m telling you isn’t truth.
Also, if we want more of God, then less of everything else must be our goal. And I’ll be the first to say, I struggle! We all do, our own wants and needs are prevalent. But at least, try to do away with the blatantly demonic influences. Ask the Lord to help you root these items/objects out, remove them from your place of habitation and watch God move in to fill you even more.
This is a lot of information and I’m not altogether concise in my delivery. It’s a huge topic that whole books have been written on, so maybe I’ll post more but this is all I can do for now. I pray that God takes my crazy writing and conveys it to you in a way that is understandable.
Below is a weirdo story I wrote over the course of the month of November 2020. Each day was written as a Facebook post to my friends so it’s uber casual English. It is unedited and crazy really, lol! But I was also working 8-5 and participating in a writing contest which required 1666.66 words/day or something. So most of this story was written around midnight, in a daze and half delusional…
Just the way I like my stories:)
I miss my days of industriousness. Maybe one day it will come back to me. But enough of my whining~
Anyway, don’t expect much brilliance. Just my fan-fiction take on my experience as a writer traveling to a strange hotel in the mountains during their off-season to write peacefully by myself….that is….
…until this strange family arrived…
Day One
The hotel I’m staying in is totally empty. Do you find that odd? And the labyrinth out front is a bit intimidating. But the Overlook is a SHINING example of posh. Though a bit creepy…
Day Two
The hotel’s security cam caught me out frolicking through the snow last night. So silly, I know. Yes, I’m running with a knife but I thought, if that labyrinth wakes up and swallows me, this handy-dandy knife will get me out of trouble! Now I’m just soaking wet and freezing inside this place – not a soul anywhere down these halls. I think I’ll explore more rooms tomorrow. Too tired now, must sleep…
Day Three
I woke up last night still freezing after falling asleep in front of a cold, dead fireplace. What should have been warming my bones had no fire burning within. I think I might have frozen to death right there, the dead hearth laughing at me, but as luck would have it, I found an axe. Split some wood and voila – nothing like bringing the fire of life back to where it belongs. Thought I’d video myself typing away down there – I’m pretty proud of my fire I built. Going to keep typing, I’ll take some pics later, you know, like I said I would…
Day Four
This place is creepsville! And what hotel paints entire rooms using only one color? There’s nothing inviting about it, no comfort to be found. How ironic. The only warmth I have is that fireplace downstairs – thank God for it. Makes me feel less lonely stuck on this frozen mountain. But…I have something to tell you… I may not be alone for long. I got an email that a family will be coming to stay here at the hotel soon but the snow had delayed their progress. Hope they make it. The storm is getting worse~
Day Five
So our little family showed up today! Jack and Wendy along with their son Danny. I wasn’t sure what to expect but they seem normal enough – maybe just a bit too pleasant, like they’re hiding something. But it’s probably just me being paranoid. All day Jack was completely preoccupied with the model of the maze in the grand hall. And Wendy was just sorta walking, smoking and looking spooked. So I spent some time hanging out with Danny and his toy cars.
Day Six
Wendy and I rummaged through the hotel’s kitchen and prepared dinner tonight. We gathered around the hearth after the meal and I noticed Jack peering into the fireplace with a slightly concerned expression,
“Does the fire bother you Jack?” I said, invading his thoughts.
“Don’t much care for it”, he said.
He swiveled his toothpick around with his tongue,
“Hey Wendy, did you know our hostess here is a writer?” An off-putting grin followed.
“How interesting”, she said, “Jack is a writer too. Why that’s the reason we’re here.”
“So random that we all ended up here”, I said “I’m writing fifty-thousand words in one month.”
Wendy’s head tilted to one side and she leaned back in her chair,
“Wow, well I’d say the ashes on my cigarette would sooner fall to the carpet than you finishing your little book in one month honey. Jack is a professional and it takes him years.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I wanted to lean in real close and blow her carefully balanced ashes in her face, but thought, [Don’t do it, just write. Keep writing, that’s all]. I was hoping these two were a lovely couple – now I’m thinking they’re just a lovely couple of creeps and now we’re all stuck in creepsville! I excused myself, the fireplace warming me as I passed by, and retired to my room~
Day Eight
This morning I head downstairs to get some breakfast and find Jack in hopes to strike up a conversation. On my way I noticed Wendy tinkering with the phone switchboard.
“Good morning, playing operator?”
She dropped the headset, “You startled me”, she said, “I’m just trying to get this machine to work. They say another storm is headed our way and I need to call a doctor to come up.”
“A doctor…is someone sick?”
“Oh it’s nothing”, she stopped fidgeting with the wires and looked up, her voice lowered, “Danny said he saw something down one of the hallways yesterday. It scared him so badly he ran into the wall on his tricycle and hit his head. I just want to make sure it’s nothing serious.”
I suddenly felt uneasy.
“Here, maybe I can help with the radio.”
We dialed in some of the channels and got it working. The doctor didn’t answer. I stood up and touched Wendy’s shoulder, “We’ll try again later. Are you sure you’re okay?” I tried not to act too concerned. It didn’t work.
“I’m fine, please. Everything is fine. I appreciate your help but I have to go now.”
Great, I thought, and now I get to go chat-up happy Jack.
I’ll at least have breakfast first.
I turn and head for the kitchen..
Day Nine
(real world Word Count: 17,140)
I was pretty sure whatever Danny saw while playing in the hallways yesterday wasn’t going to be good. What I wasn’t sure of is whether or not his mother was telling the whole truth. But I knew how to find out – the GoPro. It would’ve captured what he saw and recorded it. I’d have to steel myself and search back through the footage.
As I passed through the Main Hall to the kitchen, I noticed the fire I had burning bright didn’t have a spark of life left and had gone dark. The kitchen which was a huge commercial affair, was stocked to feed hundreds staying in the hotel during the summer season. I opened one of the large counter cabinets and found several rows of containers with the words Not Your Average Schmaltz written across the front.
A pan clanged, it was Wendy, “Sorry, I cook when I get nervous.”
Smiling, halfway, I put on the coffee…it just occurred to me, I hadn’t seen Jack at his typewriter.
I hadn’t seen him anywhere.
Day 10
I AM
T O A S T… !!
I mean, I had toast fried in schmaltz with cinnamon and sugar….with my coffee and… Wendy, well I have no idea where she is – slumped over in the sink snoring I think. And Jack — I could care less about Jack right now. He’s probably in that lighted bar drinking with ghosts.
Or passed out.
He’ll be fine…
For now, I’m going to sleeeeeeeeeeep. Except SOMEONE let my beautiful glowing fire die so let me take a minute and stoke the fire and wrap up in a blanket and fall asleep here next to the heat–
THE END
Day Twelve
I woke up warm, the shadows dancing on the brick inlay of the fireplace as the fire rippled across, and then back over the embers in a beautiful dance. Fire is alive. It breathes and consumes. If not cared for, fed and tended to, you lose it. It loses that spark that creates life and you lose the heat. My thoughts strayed to Danny and his vision.
I got up from my nap with the fire, and made my way down the eerie halls of the Overlook. Jack was back here somewhere and when I found him it was just as I had said it would be, he was drinking and talking with ghosts. He was unaware of himself – you know, they get that way – talking to nobody, mad at nobody, in love with nobody. I wasn’t about to talk to him for any reason.
I headed back upstairs to peer into Danny’s world and see what I could find on the GoPro that would confirm Wendy’s story. It didn’t take long at all before I saw it – that dreadful thing that terrified and stopped Danny in his tracks. I knew exactly what it was. I went out of my room, GoPro in hand, to find him…
Day 13 and 14
Real worldWord Count (I fell asleep, lol): 24,634
I found Danny sitting in one of the lounge chairs pushed up against the window. He was gazing out over the snow covered labyrinth in the front court. It’s hard being a kid – stuck inside.
“Hey Danny”, I walked over and sat down on the ottoman in front of him.
“So, I hear you crashed yesterday on your tricycle. Is that right?”
He shook his head confirming.
“I know what you saw”, I said, holding up the GoPro.
He shifted in his seat toward me, “You saw them? On there?”
“Yes. You saw the frightening physical embodiment of the occurrence known as WRITER’S BLOCK.”
A concerned look fled over his face, “Are writer’s blocks bad things that will hurt me?”
“They don’t have to be if you don’t let them. Many adults swerve and bang their heads on walls too when they encounter it, just like you did. So you’re not alone Danny and I know what to do next time you see them.”
“What should I do?” he said.
“Just gear-up and drive your Big Wheels right in-between them! Don’t let ‘em bully you around.”
“You mean I can break through the bad Writer’s Block?”
“Yes buddy, no fear! Don’t let fear stop you from leading your life. Whether it’s riding your tricycle now or creating great and beautiful things in the future when you grow up.”
He stood up with a start, “Alright!” And gave me a big high-five, jumped down on his tricycle and peddled off with purpose.
Wow, if only he knew what he saw was a real thing happening to me in this creepy hotel. The boy was Shining…perhaps he’ll understand that one day.
Day 17
Word Count: 28,758
Days have past – I’ve lost track. It was Jack I was looking for, or was it Jack I was avoiding? I wandered the halls of the hotel uneasily. In the end, I didn’t find Jack at the typewriter. Instead of diligently working, he was studying the maze model again. Not only that, he was rearranging the hedge rows.
“Why the fascination?” I asked.
“I’m just studying this here maze and decided there’s a better way out, so I’m fixin’ it.”
I reached out and touched one of the hedge pieces – it wasn’t plastic like I was expecting. It was an actual plant, a miniature shrub in the pattern of the labyrinth outside. I thought that was a nice touch, a living mini labyrinth.
Every time Jack would rearrange the hedge rows, he was pulling the plants up by their roots.
I turned and left him to his tinkering, but noticed something strange outside through the panoramic lounge windows. As I got closer to the windows I saw huge puffs of snow billowing into the air. The labyrinth was moving violently, like an animal scratching and scraping from inside the hedge rows.
But it wasn’t an animal at all. I looked back across the lounge at Jack. “What in the world—“
When he moved a hedge on the miniature model, the larger outdoor labyrinth was rearranged.
“It’s a recursive maquette…” , I couldn’t believe it.
Jack had no idea what was happening.
I glanced to my right and left to be sure no one else was seeing what I was seeing. It was too late. Danny had seen everything…and much more no doubt.
Day 18
Word Count: 30,509
I watched Danny run off into the recesses of the hotel and disappear into the darkness. I turned my attention back to Jack because Danny wasn’t the only one who saw something through the window tonight. I pressed him,
“The fire went out again in the fireplace”, I said “it was freezing upstairs last night.”
His eyebrows raised up in this unsettling expression, “And just what did you want me to do about it?”
“It’s just that I had plenty of wood on it to keep it burning. I was just curious if you knew why it went out. That’s all.”
“Let’s you and me get something straight”, he pulled himself away from the maze and set his gaze directly on me, “for as long as I’m in this place, there will be no fire burning — ever.”
I slowly began backing up, past the dead, cold fireplace. Jack was moving toward me with a madness in his eyes. At that moment, the whole fireplace lit up in a blaze of fire. He turned around completely spooked.
“What’d you do! How did you manage that?”
“I’m going to tell you again Jack, don’t put my fire out — ever. I was here before you came and I’ll be here when you leave. But I’m sure you understand that time waits for no one.”
I felt a certain pity for him, in a way, but at the same time I know what he did and I know why he’s here. He doesn’t, yet. But I think it’s time he learned. When you play with ghosts, you’re liable to get burned.
Day 24
Word Count: 37,105
“Jack!”
Wendy’s cry broke Jack’s concentration, turning his attention from me to his wife. She was sobbing, looking at a large stack of pages neatly situated beside the typewriter.
“Put that down Wendy”, his tone was icy, “what have I told you about always snooping around my things?”
While the two of them were engaged, I made haste to strengthen my fire. I began moving everything to the hearth that could be consumed and then threw it into the flames. Chairs, end tables, decor – anything that could be burned got tossed in. It was glorious! The flames lapping out around the edges of the brick facade…
A smile spread across my face.
Suddenly I heard Wendy scream. I turned to see her swinging a bat at Jack (the woman had no clue about grip). I could hardly believe it when one of her swings actually cracked over his head and knocked him out – his body falling limp to the floor.
My God, I thought, she actually landed a blow.
Wendy grabbed his ankles and drug him into the kitchen. I went over to the typewriter to see what all the fuss was about. On the table was Jack’s manuscript – if you want to call it that – over a thousand pages that were all identical. In the typewriter a single page half completed that read the same as all the others,
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
Madness.
My fire had reached the wooden mantel and it was starting to burn. Wonderful, I thought.
It was time to have a chit-chat with Wendy. She was just as guilty as Jack. Danny knew it and I knew it. It was time to give her what she came all this way out to the Overlook to find…
Her dark forgotten memories…
Day 27
“You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you.” ~Aslan
I’m not sure how long it took me, but I found her, completely distraught…
“Who are you calling Wendy?” I said. She jumped at the sound of my voice.
“Stop sneaking up on me! And go away, I don’t need your help.”
“Tell me who you’re calling…is it the Doctor again?”
“Yes, it’s the Doctor. I need the Doctor, Danny has—”
“Put the phone down Wendy and look at me.”
“I can’t! There’s no time—“
“Look at me…”
She slumped over, grabbing the headset and pulling it slowly off her ear,
“But…maybe this time. I thought surely if I called sooner…”
“We both know the Doctor isn’t going to answer,” I said.
Wendy finally looked up and said, “I know no one is going to answer. Because you’re the doctor.”
Tears were flowing down her cheeks.
“I know what you came here for,” I said, “I felt you calling me long before you got here, but it isn’t going to change the past.”
“Jack and I came here to be with Danny. We miss him so much. We didn’t mean for this to happen,” she said, sobbing.
“I know, shhhh, it’s okay…”, I reached out and began to stroke the top of her head with my cold, ghostly hand. It’s not easy to manifest, and near impossible to console the living.
Wendy felt the chill of my touch and started shivering.
This wasn’t going to be easy…but it was time now…
Danny stepped out from the shadows,
“Hi Mommy.”
“Danny!” Wendy reached for him.
“He’s not real Wendy,” I said.
“But he is and he’s here and we’re taking him back with us, Jack and I, that’s what we came here for, to get Danny and take him home.”
I leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “What you came here to do was let him go.” There was an anxious quietness that settled over her.
“You brought the memory of him here, that’s why he showed up when you and Jack came to the hotel. But you never interacted with him or talked to him at all. Your presence here stirred my memories and that’s when I remembered the events of that night. Now I know why I’m here. You called me here.”
“I don’t understand anything anymore,” she said, “I’m just so tired of the guilt.”
“All those years ago you placed that emergency call, to me. When I arrived here during the snow storm, you told me Danny saw a terrifying vision down the hallway and bumped his head, but you lied. He did see the vision, but he never ran into the wall and he never bumped his head.
“In actuality, Danny was already terrified from the vision of the twins and when he read the word ‘reDrUm’ on the mirror before bedtime, he was so scared he ran out of the hotel and into the freezing night heading straight for the labyrinth. But he lost his way and when Jack tried to find him, he also got lost in the dark.”
Wendy looked at Danny standing in front of her, “I’m so sorry baby, mommy is so sorry.”
“Danny froze somewhere in the dark corridors of the labyrinth. Your husband was chopping down hedge rows with an axe, searching everywhere for him. But he was too late. And you had already called me. When I arrived, I knew something terrible had happened. Then you and Jack panicked.
“Jack didn’t mean to…we wouldn’t have hurt you!”
“But you just couldn’t see how to get out of it, and I knew about it and there was no way to prove to anyone what really happened. So you killed me and had Jack remove any trace by throwing my body into the fireplace.
Wendy was shivering, unable to hold back her tears, “I don’t know what else to do, I’m just lost. I want the pain to go away but I fear I’ll never be at peace.”
Danny manifested and reached out for his mother’s hand, “Let’s take a walk in the maze. It’s okay Mommy, I promise we’ll find our way out.”
I gestured to Danny and without opening my mouth or saying an audible word I told him, “You’re father rearranged the Labyrinth. All the passageways are different.”
He unzipped his backpack and pulled out my GoPro, “I know, I took a picture of it with this, so I won’t be getting lost again.”
High-five.
“Smart boy. Take good care of your mom. Remember, look for the hanging triangle at the end of the twelfth hedge row. I’ll get the timing right, don’t worry. We can do this.”
He gave me a smile and led his mother out of the room.
“Time waits for no one,” I thought, “I better get moving”…
Day 28
Word Count: 44,988
Had I reached Jack sixty seconds later it would have been over.
Timing is everything.
The very best of things can be the worst if the timing is off. And the very terriblest of things can seem perfect….when the timing is off.
That’s what this whole thing is about really, timing. You see, Wendy and Jack here are just plain outta sorts because they’ve been living in the past for too long.
So they come out here to this hotel, unwittingly call me (talk about ghosts from the past) and now I’m here – just trying to get some writing done – and in order to find some peace, I’ve got to sort out their misery. Because I’m not a miserable ghost.
I’m a happy ghost. And a utilitarian one at that, when I need to be.
I find Jack, however, in a not so happy place because let’s face it, Wendy is over it. When a woman gets mad, it doesn’t matter how she holds that bat, you gonna get hurt.
I looked all over the kitchen for Jack. He was nowhere. Except I hadn’t checked the large commercial freezer in the back. Yes indeed, Wendy put that man in the freezer. Karma – you keep putting out my fire, somebody is going to freeze your ass….
Anyway, I drug him out before the icy cold air sunk down under his skin and zapped his blood vessels. That would have been the end. But I needed to…well, warm him up a bit.
I scooted him over (yes scooted, he was like a block of ice) and situated him in front of the large cabinet, you know the one. I opened it to reveal all those jars, row after row of ‘Not Your Average Schmaltz” that had been shipped from Germany.
I don’t know how many cans later – thank God there was an automatic commercial grade can opener attached to the end of the counter – he was ready to be rolled.
Are you tracking with me?
So another glide (yes, glide this time, not scoot, because rendered goose fat is greasy – but great for frying French toast) and we were at the hearth, in front of that glorious raging fire. There was a large mound on one side of the fireplace which consisted of ash and charcoal, the half burnt remains of tables and chairs, and it had cooled to the touch.
Perfect for a second layer, I thought, will stick nicely to the Schmaltz.
I rolled Jack into this heap of charcoal until he looked as gray and ghostly as the snow filled night sky.
Pulling one of the embers glowing brightly out of the fire, I touched him with it. The calm orange flame tracked swiftly across his insulated body, across the coals stuck to the Schmaltz underneath, and glowed peacefully – I’ve never seen anything like it.
It was mesmerizing to watch-
Like when you see someone who is chilled from the inside of their soul all the way to their fingers and toes and then something touches them, causes them to regain hope, maybe smile, maybe catch a glimpse that yes, there will be a better day soon – the timing is in God’s hands.
Kinda beautiful like that.
Then Mr. Cantankerous started to wake up.
“What’s…th,th,this? What’s happening to me?”
“Just warming you up Jack. Consider it the same as a Shoney’s 3am sober-up call with an endless coffee pot served on the table. It’s time you wake up and face reality.”
“I’ve come here for my son,” he said.
“You’ve come here to be free of your guilt concerning your son and to help your wife let go. You still have a chance Jack, don’t waste it.”
If it’s possible to describe a man’s sense of being at the moment the icy exterior breaks, the shards impairing his vision fall away and he can breathe freely again, I would do it. But instead, know that he and I looked on at the marvelous spectacle of pyro-engineering that was his charcoal covered body with a layer of red-hot fire quietly rippling across it.
Perhaps though, more importantly was his own sober, warmed up heart finally catching fire and the cold emptiness that once was his place of loss, melting away. I only could hope that he would know and understand how to fill it from this point forward….because the clock was still ticking and Danny was almost entering the twelfth row of the labyrinth with his mother…
“I need to find Wendy..” Jack muffled. It was hard I’m sure trying to speak through a layer of goose fat and a layer of charcoal across your face.
“Indeed you do Jack. Indeed you do”…..
Day 29
“Yet God does devise means, that His banished will not be expelled from Him.”~ 2 Samuel 14:14
Jack left me to admire my fire, which was growing more powerful by the minute and with good cause. He headed through the snow to the maze and hopefully to find Wendy.
After stealing a moment with my flame, I walked over to the maze model in the corner of the room. I peered down into the hedge rows of living plants and spotted both Wendy and Danny walking together through the snow-covered pathways. They were getting close to the final hedge which was a dead end, except for a small hidden door the size of a child that was cut into the hedge where the path ended. It was hidden because it was covered in snow. I was going to take care of that minor detail for Danny.
I walked to the other side of the Living Labyrinth and started pushing it, ever closer to the fire. I had to make sure I got it just right-
–timing is everything.
Meanwhile, the moment Jack had stepped into the snow, steam from the burning coals on his body started to waft upward and it didn’t take long, with nearly three feet of snow, for the burning embers to be quenched as the goose fat melted away. He pretty much got washed in a steam bath and shed his skin, as a manner of speaking.
He reached Wendy and Danny at just the right time.
“Dad!”
“Hey son! Come give me a hug, I’ve missed you.”
Danny ran over and wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck. It felt good for a father and son to reconnect. Jack held on for a good long while.
“Are you ready my boy?”
“I’m ready Dad.”
Jack looked up at Wendy, who had been enjoying the time spent with Danny walking through the maze and her expression turned down.
“Wendy,” Jack said softly under his voice, “We’ve got to do what’s right for Danny. It’s time, and we can’t afford to waste anymore. I’m right here, I’m not going to leave you.”
She wiped a few tears away and bent down to Danny’s eye-level.
“Where will you go?” she asked him.
“Well I’m going up there I guess,” he said, pointing up, “You’re okay with that right mommy? When it’s time you can come to, I’ll build you a house there while you’re away!”
Wendy wiped a few more tears from her cheeks and smiled.
“Okay baby, you do that.”
She gave him a hug with her whole self…
Then Danny said, “So you have to go over to the red triangle and pull it.”
“This one on the end, here?” Wendy walked over and looked at it, then gave it a tug. “It’s frozen.”
“Here let me try,” but Jack couldn’t get it to budge either, “Now what?”
~~~~
Back in the Great Hall, I pushed the maze across the lounge floor and positioned it as close to the flames as I could without actually catching it on fire. And that was just the delicate nature of it; I had to be careful that no embers accidentally caught it on fire.
As soon as the heat from the fireplace blew over the Living Labyrinth, the cold icy snow where Jack, Wendy and Danny were waiting began to melt. The red triangle also thawed out and Wendy was prepared now to pull it.
She thought for a moment of all the memories, the good times, the growing pains and all-in-all there wan’t anything she had regretted not doing. She felt full, it wasn’t superficial, it was knowing that we’re all imperfect and that forgiving herself was the key to keep on living now, while she was apart from Danny. Because life isn’t only about suffering the loss, it’s about making good with who and what is left when everything else is gone. Life is about living, and she was ready to let go of the hurt.
Jack had walked over to where she was standing and rested his hand around the back of her neck, “You got this darlin’, if you can swing a bat and plum knock me out, you’ve got the strength to do this.”
The snow had melted enough to reveal the door, once hidden, at the end of the hedge row. “Look!” Danny said pointing to it.
Wendy pulled back on the red triangle and with a satisfying clank, the mechanism began to open the door.
There was a warm glow that at first dawned around the edges as the door slowly opened, revealing a much brighter ‘other side’ that seemed to sparkle against the blue frosty night inside that Living Labyrinth. All three of their shadows cast long down the corridors by the glowing influx of light.
“Bye Dad! Bye Mom! I’ll see you when you get here!”
They waved good-bye as their son bountifully crossed the threshold of the once hidden door, from the coldness of the night and into a warmer brighter place, at the not-so dead end twelfth hedge row. Wendy and Jack looked at each other when it was all done and felt a little warmer and a little brighter too. Somehow, for once, they both understood that everything was going to be alright.
Day 30
Total Word Count: 50,807
I advanced the typewriter forward twice and typed the words ‘THE END’ at the bottom of the text. I gathered all the pages of the story I’d been writing for the past 30 days and tucked them into my briefcase.
After putting out the remaining embers in the fireplace, I gathered my things and went out to the front entrance of the hotel to wait. The driver would be here soon. Today, I’m going home. What a great place to find some peace and write while the seasonal crowds were away. I will have to write the hotel management and pass along my thanks for the opportunity.
Below is a quote I saw today on FB that speaks to the truth of unity in the Body of Christ. I think Christians are not realizing that God is moving outside of the church/noun/place. This next move of God will not be contained or defined by the church building sitting on the corner of Main and Broadway. And this shifting of His presence from inorganic to organic will continue until we are free of the ‘structure’ we’ve created as a mental image falsely defining who and where God is, and instead begin to embrace the truth that God is free of our manmade structures and died to dwell within us, His chosen temples, not those temples made by man’s hands.
“For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” 2 Corinthians 6:16
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16
This is part of a continuation of signs I am seeing outside of the church doors: God moving through men and women who were formerly atheists or agnostic but who have come to know Jesus. These individuals are at different levels of their walk with God, seemingly nomads functioning under the anointing of the Holy Spirit in spite of being outside the church’s rigidity and formality of manmade doctrines; this, however, not in any way disqualifying them from being used mightily by God but by some irony of God, they are being used more so than those within the church establishment. Why would God not choose a vessel, one only He is able create to dwell within, as opposed to a manmade, inorganic structure that simply has not been chosen by God as a place of habitation since Pentecost?
People, not structures, are chosen by God. He will use anyone willing to yield their vessel, their mind and body, to the work of the Lord. I think many members of the church, church leaders especially are completely missing the move of God. Behold, I’m telling you He is doing a new thing…and here we are completely blind to it.
Facebook post (quote not cited, so unknown author):
“The body of Christ is God’s instrument in this earth to promote His kingdom purpose. In order to fully fulfill this, however, we are to be “one heart, one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel” (Philippians 1:27). Unity and harmony in the body of Christ should not be a question mark. It is the will of God. Unfortunately, we see the body of Christ constantly at odds with one another. Denominational differences are magnified and small wars are being fought in the body of Christ. Even more than that, in the local church environment, we see people taking pot shots at each other all of the time.
We need to realize that unity is one of the most basic truths about God’s will that nobody can misunderstand. Unity is vital. All believers have enough in common to be joined together because we have Jesus Christ. We have the basis for resolving challenges that face this world. We have to stop focusing on our differences and focus instead on what we know the world needs: Jesus. That’s when dramatic change comes to this earth. That’s when revival, awakening, and outpouring will come.”
-unknown
My thoughts were as follows:
…[this] points to something that is clear as day to me: God is not going to use a church/noun/place. He’s looking for His body in the earth today, the Church/noun/person. For whatever reason, there are many Christians who don’t agree with this, but there’s not much I can do about that. Until we understand that the Church is actually the Holy Spirit living within us, in unity, as one with God and Christ and each other, the Protestants will continue to denominate in vain. God always calls those He will use OUT of the greater whole. Gideon’s 300 men in Judge’s 7 is a type. ““There are still too many soldiers,” the Lord told Gideon…'” Be prepared for God’s move to happen outside of the church/noun/place. And one MAJOR confusion Satan will use is ‘unity among all religions’. This is antichrist in nature for God remains pure, not mixing with any other gods, not mixing salt water into spring water.
I’m unsure how the church remains blind to this truth. It’s like we say the words but don’t act out the reality. ‘yes we are one with Christ, the Holy Spirit lives within us’ but then we continue to denominate and say only ‘our church/structure’ will be the one chosen. No, no….God is leaving the church/structure behind. He didn’t die on the Cross so we could go back to temples in the desert where only priests could go into the holy of holies.
No.
Christ died on a Cross to make you and me and all Christians, His creation, His very own holy of Holies. This is the promise. This is what was delivered to us. This is truth. And God is getting ready to manifest this truth.
Went hiking this past week with some friends up in Red River Gorge. The day was perfectly sunny, coolish wind and the views were amazing. Here are a few photos I snapped along the way, hope you enjoy:)
The fall colors matched my dear friend’s backpack so well, I had to take a snapshot.
Copperhead Snake…they are no joke, poisonous but are happy to stay off the path and in the brush. This one had a friend off to the side which we failed to notice. Bad move on our part!
Moss is so interesting, I could dive into this little wonder here…
We stopped in to Sky Bridge Station for a delish meal. Nothing there is bad, yummy~
Back into a Painting Mood
The cooler weather gets me in the mood for reading and painting. I’ve been writing most of the year and I’m ready for a break. Maybe a few more submissions and I think I’ll tackle a painting that has vexed me for a decade. Just cannot figure out what it wants to be. So, gonna have to just dive into it. It will likely end up a completely different painting…it’s been 10 years since I last touched it. That’s part of the fun, I never know what these horses are going to do…
36″x42″ Acrylic on stretched cotton canvas
Take care everyone, hope you have a delightful week~
These past several weeks have been productive. I decided awhile back that it was time to move into a larger home, so I’m focusing on a few upgrades for this house before I sell. Finally the deck is finished, the landscaping completed and the shower retiled.
Mike did a fantastic job! He is the best at what he does and wow, an incredibly hard working carpenter.
I need to stain the deck now but I’m thinking I may hire a professional to do it. I don’t want to ruin it!
The shower tile was also completed.
Halloween Fan Fiction Stories
I think I shall do a small October story series this year on the blog. It’s a fan fiction story I wrote for fun in 2020. It is a retelling of the film, The Shining. There’s no magazine or online publication I’m aware of that publishes fan fiction. Or I couldn’t find it. So I might as well share it here.
The problem is, I want to post each small portion of the story throughout the month but this makes anyone coming to read at a later date view it backwards. Oh well, not sure how to manage that, lol.
Professional Publication Headwinds
Speaking of stories and publication, I’ve been working on submissions for the better part of this year and at least seven months back in 2021. I knew the landscape was quite dicey as far as ideology and political affiliations went. Some of the larger magazines I think are less concerned with pushing a political narrative though they will kill a story if it is a radical activist who wrote it (and it will be the publisher/editor who decides what side of radical that is).
So needless to say, they check blogs, social media and previous affiliations. I was worried about this for most of 2021/22 so I stayed off social media or was anonymous. It was exhausting to be honest. Now, I just post whatever I choose to post, share my thoughts on matters and get on with life.
What else can one do?
Sometimes you just have to give up being accepted in order to gain some small amount of success. The landscape politically, culturally and spiritually is so divided, I just gave up on it.
What really bothers me though is this: now I’m not sure if I’m being rejected due to how bad the writing is or due to my political and spiritual beliefs/affiliations. Ugh….
Future Focus
I’m still submitting but I’ll also submit to some of the Christian sci-fi magazine publications as well. I’ve found a few these past couple of months while using social media sites. And I always have the novel I’ve been randomly working on. Once I get bored of submitting to publications and writing short stories, I’ll switch back to the novel.
Another focus will be finding place to live that’s a bit bigger. And it’s a difficult real estate landscape out there right now. Prices are crazy considering all the interest rate hikes. My price range seems to be a sweet spot for inventory so for now it’s OK. But I’d say in 2024 things will likely change.
