Discipline and Button Pushers

It had been my opinion that some people have been gifted to write, and the rest of us are gifted to read and enjoy their gifts. There are also those who have ideas with desire to write and just keep honing their skills.   However, as gifted as some may be, without discipline, writing usually will not not get done. It is my opinion that I fall into the later category and I have allowed the discipline for developing this skill to be replaced by other priorities. Thank you for your grace as I attempt to get going again.

As I pondered these thoughts regarding the written word, thoughts expanded into the words we speak.  We do not have to be gifted speakers to talk; however, to do it well takes effort. To speaking the truth in love might be the hardest discipline for most of us.

An individual could be the wisest, most knowledgeable person around. However, if they are attempting to connect with others they must develop some relational skills to accompany knowledge.  The bible calls this discipline “speaking the truth in love”.  This means we must exercise discernment, empathy, humility, kindness and be peaceable in the character of the Lord God who IS Love.

Of course this can only apply to the children of God, because apart from God, though He loves us, His love is not within us.  Also, without God we do not have His peace, nor the help of His Spirit within us to depend upon.  It is no wonder there are such relational problems and devastation going on around us.  And this is what led me to thinking about how we speak / relate to each other and it being the hardest discipline – in my opinion.

Think about the difference between worldly self-control (controlling ourselves and others to get our desired outcome) and the fruit of the Spirit self-control (controlling ourselves, being obedient to His Ways, through dependency on God and faith in His will for us all). If we join in the work the Father is doing within us, through His Spirit, instead of grieving the Spirit, everyone around us is touched by His power.  No doubt, this is the reason we are constantly being challenged in this area; as well as being the challenger at times. How often are we tempted to do the fleshly / emotional thing, throwing love and, dare I say, even total truth out the window.

We know that God does not spin out of control, nor is He caught off guard.  Instead He uses what is “intended” for evil, for good. God uses opportunities such as these to test us, grow us and if we persevere, as James says, we will be more mature. The end result will be the growth of the fruit of the Spirit to the Glory of God – these thoughts fills me with great joy; how about you?

All this being said, it is not easy to pause when being emotionally challenged; becoming passive is not the goal either. We should aspire to be active in prayer – asking God to work in the silence, the space between and within us and others.  When we do speak, that it is beneficial (truth without drama), and it is His character which carries the truth into the presence of others.  

Beyond these moments we must keep our peace and leave matters between others and their m/Master. Trust that God is so much larger and present than the temporary afflictions we face.  While some problems are truly enormous that we are going through, most of the problems pressing our buttons are the small things; the things we choose not to navigate with an attitude of forgiveness – even if we cannot be in a fruitful relationship with the person (we will dive into this on another day). God is not allowing others to be in control of His will; we should not either.  We can be a child of God with the character of God, no matter who is pushing our buttons.

So today, it is my prayer for us all, that when pressed - we will allow their pressure to be a release button and begin to live liberated in Christ Jesus, our Lord – To Him be all the Glory now and forevermore.

Kisses,

Candace

Scriptures to meditate on – please share any others and your thoughts, experiences etc.

·         Book of James - specific verses of note: 1: 2-4, 12- 14,  4:8,  6: 18-21

·         1 John  - 3:7, 4:8

·         1 Corinthians – 9:23-27, chapter 13

·         2 Corinthians – 3:17,18, chapter 4

 

 

A Real Conundrum

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

~ 1 Cor. 10-12 

You would think that much of my time is spent helping others see their positioning / standing within the things going on in their lives. However, the largest part of my days are actually spent making sure I am positioned and standing......not by my own strength - God help me if I ever feel so secure that I omit this!

Obviously we all have problems, real or perceived. And I am sure it comes as no surprise that it would be unusual for someone to come to me saying "I have a problem; and I am the problem. Can you help me?". Another commonality I find is that most problems are not yet real. What I mean is, the problem that IS real is the panic building in their mind and anxiety in their heart because they perceive they are not going to get something they desire, or be able to prevent an undesired thing from happening. Helping people comprehend that what we think or feel can be distorting reality can be a real conundrum!

Fortunately or unfortunately, I am no different from those I support, when it comes to finding areas where our human nature can override spiritual truths we believe. These distortions in perception are what cause our conflicts - both with others and internally. For instance when a woman comes to me very hurt and conflicted. She tells me she is devastated, heart broken, because her spouse isn't "loving" toward her and she doesn't understand because all her efforts are to make sure they have a strong loving relationship.. But, when I ask her how she is responding to him and she tells me she is stone walling him: hasn't cook dinner and has hardly spoken to him since yesterday. It is obvious there is spiritual, personal and relational perspectives needing reconciliation before we discuss anything else..

Have you ever noticed that we can be truly correct in our truth, but fully incorrect in our standing, or how we carry it out. The conundrum is: how can I be trying to obtain love, working hard toward making opportunities for love and then ending up without "feeling" loved? The problem isn't Love, nor is our biggest problem "how our spouse is acting". The problem is we want something for our self; it is about me, not about them. Do you see that? When we do not get what we want, we will utilize whatever ammunition is at our fingertips to motivate the other person to move toward what we want.. Sadly, God's will is a easy reach to manipulate people. We will discuss this another time.

So how would the conversation go with her, you ask? Usually, I would ask her if she has wondered if her spouse felt loved by her; and not generically, but by her actions. We would discuss how wanting to "be loved" is certainly not the same thing as "desiring to be in a loving relationship". Ending with reading the letter of James, focusing on chapter 4 would be a wonderful place to open up conversations of what she sees happening in herself, her husband, their relationship with God and each other. .

The bottom line here is this: When we say we are not being loved, are we consistently being loving? Do we, will we, take a pause to think about Love before we act / react? I do not know too many people who think they won the Spousal Lottery 24/7 , but please do not live as though they did with you or me. We all are standing on shaky ground, even on a good day. But I praise God that He is able to make us stand when we depend on Him to deal with our little self made conundrums.

Remember, it is all in how you look at things; get yourself out of the way and you can see a much larger picture!

I pray to make it through the end of this day without tripping over myself and I pray the same for you. And I ask that we can see from His perspective instead of our small view.


- In Christ,

Kisses,
C

For more on this topic:
What Do You See
Your Doing It Wrong
How Long Can This Go On

© 2018 by Candace Huffmaster

 Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc ®

Without Regret

John 19:38  After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 

Recently I was asked to participate with a Stations of the Cross Gallery, and wanted to share what I learned from the experience. Painting while meditating on scripture always takes me on an adventure, it has a way of pulling their world and mine together on one plain for brief moments.

As I began reading through the scene John created, I imagined the lay of the land, the community, and the crosses in the background. The image began building, and the crosses kept slipping farther away. It was, as if the Holy Spirit was leading me to minimize the cross, with all my worldly thoughts of pain, regret, humiliation and think about Spiritual things: the purpose, the people, the life. I could not see Joseph and Nicodemus clearly until I imagined them paused before heading back into the city gate. Everything around them appeared to continue on uninterrupted. I imagined their emotions were of grief, loss and confusion, which made me so very grateful that we have the written word of God. I thought about all He procured for me to live in the freedom of His love without regret.

For a moment, take pause: Picture yourself as a landscape, would you be a dark cave of regret or as the garden holding His body for a time…..each day, the fruit of the spirit blooming a little more and releasing a sweet fragrance glorifying our Lord and Savior.

It is a Great Friday to be alive my friend….a Good Friday to be saved….My prayers are with each of you, in Jesus’ blessed name.

Kisses,

Candace

                                                           © 2017 by Candace Huffmaster / Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc ®

How Long Can This Go On?

Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.  See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;  that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. Hebrews 12: 14-16

Having been over a month since I have had a moment to continue where I left off, I had to revisit the details of where we were.   If you want to review it click this link.

The first question in the random list was: How long can this go on? Length of time under pressure is indeed one of the first culprits which weakens us enough to take pause, when we are heading toward a crisis.  It isn't the first thing which happens; usually we have made attempts to under gird and manage our discomfort, but we get frustrated and worn out. Reminds me of the Happy Train analogy we use: Our Happy Train is scooting on down the track and at first there is a bump, then a metal sparking sound and THEN a disastrous flailing of bodies and loose objects slinging around the box car?

Most of us can do well with a bump or two.  We are even able to adapt bumps into our everyday life without too much disarray.  However, what happens when we are a bit frazzled from "life" and the ride is bumpy for hours? Add to this: everyone around you being pesky, only to have  the screeching metal sound shrill the airwaves in a grand crescendo!  How would your comfort level be in this moment?

Habakkuk wrote, that it was not of the Lord that we weary ourselves in vain. What does that mean to you? Do you think God desires for us to weary ourselves to the point we are disconnected and tolerating life? What are we pursuing? What are YOU pursuing? Most of us ARE pursing peace....but is it more rightly having what we want, which makes us happy and we deceive ourselves that we are experiencing peace?  Even if we are achieving this goal at the moment and no one seems to be grinding the gears of our Happy Train experience, we must realize we've seriously bypassed one of Gods major train stop.

God allows things to go on so that we understand what is going on.  The reason I went to Hebrews to address this is because in chapter 11, we were given the great cloud of witnesses legacy.   Esau, we are told, sold his birthright to get what he desired to happen.  He may have had peace in the moment, worldly peace, but he was not pursing peace with others; it was only about what he wanted.  Do you think Jacob was on a Happy Train Ride? What about their parents? Were they happy, did they have peace?

The Christmas Hymn, link above, speaks of peace and goodwill toward men.  This is the peace Hebrews 12 was speaking of, not the selfish peace of getting what we want.  Sanctification is the only means of experiencing a peaceful journey through life - How long can it go on till you make it? Till
Christ comes again!

Fortunately, as we begin seeing others and caring about the weight of our own wants upon them, God gives us all the mercy and grace to BE different all along the way.  This year give something beyond a perfect present, give notice to how you have treated others to get where you are and what you wanted.  Give a sincere apology for wrecking their train at times and ask how you might be able to help them find their way back.  If possible.......

When we begin living out the long lives we are blessed with in this way, we might feel less days of "How long can this go on?" and more day filled with " How much longer do I get to experience life?"

For God so loved the world, shouldn't we join in?

Merry Christmas to all and to all a marvelous night,

Kisses,
Candace

© 2016 by Candace Huffmaster / Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc ®

How Could I?

He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. ~ Proverbs 11:29

This past month as I was studying some scriptures, which are common to me, they resonated in a unique way.  In Genesis 39:9

There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

As I was reading through this experience of  Josephs', I found myself thinking more of Adam and Eve than Joseph and his master's wife. I began to compare some things between Joseph and Adam. Of course, before Eve, there were no other human beings in relationship with Adam; nor was it just a household given for Adam to tend and manage.  The similarity is in there not being anyone whom was given more authority than Adam, and his Creator had not kept back anything from him but the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Genesis 2:15:

"Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Both men were tested with a lust through a woman:

• Adam, through the wife his Master had given him
• Joseph, through his masters wife 

As I read Joseph's response I was incredibly humbled:  ....." How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Can we all pause and examine the tremendous gravity of the sins we have slammed against God? 

I cannot begin to imagine what Adams ability to comprehend a never before seen or felt truth might have been; nor would I attempt, beyond this point, to compare these men's actions and intent.  However, this one thing I have extensively thought about: How on earth did Adam and Eve so casually disregard, seemingly,  how great God is and how inconceivable it was that He would bless them with such splendor and authority - of course at the same moment I reached the end of that though, immediately, my mind envisioned my own reflection many times over, instead of them.

My (our) God is SO great, has blessed me (us) so very much!......How could I ever do wickedness against Him or His precious Son? How can I bare to grieve His Holy Spirit which abides within me, sealing me till the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?   In closing, I beg of us all to see the lies of the tempter, realizing no one or thing is off limits as a pawn, and respond as Joseph: speak the truth of our Master with great respect and appreciation.  Also, no matter how long the trial assaults us, even if day by day as was the case with Joseph, that in the end when the evil will not flee, we will! 

Most importantly, it is my prayer that through it all we will believe every word the Lord has spoken is truth; knowing in His perfect timing all will happen just as He states.  May we all be weak, yet courageous in Christ, that God alone may be seen as our Might.

Sending Peace and Love in Christ,

Kisses,

Candace

© 2016 by Candace Huffmaster / Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc ®

My Goody Bag Stinks!

I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness. ~ Ecclesiastes 7:25 NLT

As a child we are taught what to do and how to do it.  It is our parents, or those with whom we are placed helplessly, which form the mesh of moral fiber upholding the weigh of every thought we conceive. It is out from this generational goody bag where we must begin to discern: What goodies do I want from this gift bag or is really a goody bag at all.  The truth is most of the stuff we have in our pretty cellophane  is nothing more than a mess of broken feelings, opinions and knowledge which have little to do with God's truth. They are memories formed out from good intentions, and possibly, usually, good intentions gone wrong.  The fact is, usually when we rely on a goody bag without holding it accountable to God's good ways, it is more of a trash bag in need of being separated into waste and recyclables.

At some point the child becomes the next generation and they are accountable for the gift bags they extend.  This maturity / wisdom begins with a grown up perspective: Just because "something" brings me happiness does not mean my feelings are aligned with God's will: if a person, place or thing is really good for me and trust worthy. Neither does it mean that our feelings of unhappiness are accurate in whether something is truly good for us or not.  The point is, just like a child, instinctively we do what we believe will make us happy.  And what makes all of us happy is to have people around us who enjoy us, see how special we are and won't ask too many questions which make us squirm, or shake us up.

This is where we left off:

Without being shook, we will never realize we can be shaken.  If we do not know we have a need, we can not ask for help.  When we do not need help, we never look up for God.  And with out God we are mere mortals......and mere mortals come to an end in this life. 

Let's merge these two tracks: When we are doing what we believe to be good, even expected and we are not receiving the appropriate outcome, it creates confusion. It is as if someone is holding out a "goody bag" but there does not seem to be any good thing within it.  Or maybe we feel that the bag is being withheld and given to others, when it rightfully is our turn to have a grab.  When our happiness gets interrupted our happy train comes to a halt; because a train cannot run on two tracks. It is at this intersection we must pause and ask: what is the truth here, which way should I pursue. This verse from Jeremiah is a KB cornerstone:

This is what the Lord says: 'stand at the cross road and look,  ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls'.  But you said,  'we will not walk in it'. Jer 6:16

Usually we do not pause, we go full steam ahead till something causes a major road block.  God calls it a stumbling block, the narrow path which we and all our goodies cannot pass through.  He lovingly warns us that our words and actions must equal, or we are not being honest with Him, others or our self.

What happens when a persons words and actions do not equal?  Well......it hurts others.....and it hurts the relationship.  It changes everything: them, you and the good that God had planned for you; because you are not asking what the good is and generously giving it.  We hide these things even from our own heart, we allow our heart to become deceived; we harden our hearts to our unrighteousness, paint it pretty, talk it up and point it out with a bit of flair.

If we continue down this path, it will soon become hauntingly ugly.  Our efforts must become dedicated toward: deflection, manipulation, creating a distance between the sweet relationships and activities God has blessed us with.....if we want to continue to believe we are doing what He considers good, that is.  As long as we are doing something good and can give honor to God is it really manipulation, are we really withholding or stealing their goodies? Is it really something another person should speak up about?  What about those who might be benefiting from our motives and who do not really question why they are receiving a goody bag, should it be given elsewhere?  Is it their place to question a gift?

We will pause here for the day, I pray for wisdom and discernment in each of our lives.  May the grace of God and His Righteousness bear witness to each of us this day.

In Christ, Kisses,
Candace

© Candace Huffmaster 2015, All Copy Rights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc°

Not Again, Are You Kidding ME!

This expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.   ~ Hebrews 12:27

As you know it has been almost an entire month since I have been able to pause and post.  Each year when the school systems release their students, it is reminds me of a race: the starter shooting his pistol and the runners fleeing their mark for the open lanes. Never-the-less when I do return it is always with matured comprehension of what I felt was already understood.  This year has been no less insightful / challenging.

After years of dealing with similar situations, and / or the same families, over this stretch of time, I have come to realize, the crisis is not usually with what's happening, but rather with the individuals thoughts in the midst of what's happening. (Do not confuse this topic with making a safety plan and leaving an abuser. click the Emergency or The Cause Is Love tab on our website for resources.)

As we have discussed often: Usually God does not change our circumstance or environment; he changes us in the midst of a troubled and chaotic world. Think about how similar events continually happen to us.  But our frame of mind, attention and environment will be altered in someway every time; much like the movie Groundhog day.  Each nuance creates an opportunity; the opportunity we run off the mark for is our choice.  God is mindful, merciful and gracious to not allow temptation to overtake us; but we will have another time, if necessary to pass the test. (1 Peter 1:6)

God lovingly put obstacles in the middle of our pathway.  These are not because He is mean or angry with us; it is to train us up in the things we can not know otherwise.  His ways are not of this world; which means He must find the way which refocuses our attentions toward His kingdom.  Obviously, we can have knowledge and think that is enough.  But without unpacking it and trying it out we only get to know His words; not the person who said them.

Without regular diverse challenges, we humans have a tendency to become too confident in the assessment of our own proficiency.  Without knowing it we go rogue as we try to make it to God.  God never intended to make it difficult or dependent on our own abilities to cross into His Kingdom.  He sets multiple challenges to give us practice, stretch our faith and trust muscle. It is in the challenges where we realize our natural frailties.  If we become weakened to the point of shaking, God just may be given an opportunity to show off His supernatural capabilities. At least that is His will in our time of need.  

Without being shook, we will never realize we can be shaken.  If we do not know we have a need, we can not ask for help.  When we do not need help, we never look up for God.  And with out God we are mere mortals......and mere mortals come to an end in this life.

This is enough for today; God rest our souls in His peaceful presence, both now and forever.

Kisses,
Candace  

© Candace Huffmaster 2015, All Copy Rights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc°

And As For Fame.....

 God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, Father of Glory: I call out to You on behalf of Your people. Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance.  Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power. ~ Ephesians 1:17-19

This morning I was looking for a scripture the scripture which speaks about God's plan for bringing all people together as one: connecting, interlocking, destroying divisions, harmonizing.  But then I realized my focus was about to skip over one thing.  My heart, mind and soul were in gear, however my Spirit was imploring that I take pause, linger awhile and pull my sights back in toward Him.....Christ ......alone.

We rightfully love the inclusion, the gracious empowerment of our eternal inheritance and the fellowship of our body, His church.  But today, again rightfully, He deserves my devoted attentions. He humbled himself, left his home and the comfort of joy filled serenity without end.  He entered with no great welcome by the masses, He exited as the masses screamed "Jump down" "Save your self" and "We have no king other than Caesar".

I thank God, for His divine plan and willingness to fulfill His good pleasure.  For empowering Jesus to not think of him self and jump down.  I praise Christ for the glory he brought His kingdom and for enduring to the end, shifting the paradigm.  So today, instead of jumping up in excitement, I will abide in the space of His precious presence. Knowing that my King gave up all His treasures so I could enjoy "my life".

Thinking about all this I was reminded of one of my favorite songs back in the 80's, King for a Day.  The inserted video is actually of an Argentine commercial, (it is like a mini sci-fi movie) and the only sound in it is the Thompson Twins song.  After listening to the song, I see why it came to mind, Christ may have only had one, one taste of what a worldly king receives, being praise by his public.  But what they did not see was his desire to give them so much more than any earthly king was able to give.  I pray that those shouts of Hosanna were carried in his heart as he entry into His eternal reign.   For those of you who are my family in Christ, could you please join with me in praying the Paul's prayer listed in the opening.  I thank God for each of you, and that we are called as One, in Christ.

For His glory and righteousness,
Kisses ~ Candace

Thompson Twin - King For a Day Lyrics Link: http://www.lyricsdepot.com/thompson-twins/king-for-a-day.html

© 2015 by Candace Huffmaster

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc°

Just Between Me and You

picture from pintrest

Some days I really get a good laugh at myself.  Anyone that knows me very well can vouch for this statement: Not just anybody could deal with being inside my head. What lead me to such a random opening for our topic, you might ask?  Thanks for the lead in......

I was doing my morning thing: reading emails, drinking coffee and making notes for work all while conversing with God, really praying in my head as I went about and making more notes.  Suddenly, I stopped dead in my tracks as if I had an epiphany.

Putting everything down, I walked out onto our screened-in-porch asking, how can I hear you, that just does not even make sense. And yet...I know I do.  Of course, I did not wait for an answer; we all know I talk way too much.  Continuing on I asked, "does everyone hear you like this( itty bitty pause) and if not why?" Seems like a reasonable question, right?

He very quickly spoke up, I'm sure for obvious reasons.  And now I know how Peter might have felt after addressing a few of his great questions to Christ.  What He said was this:

"That is really no concern of yours, now is it?" " What do you think you would do with that answer?" " Do you think I would want you to be able to tell another person exactly what "their relationship" with me should look like?" " It is personal" "If they want to know, they will simply have to do the same and ask me their self; won't they."

It was as if I felt him pat me on the head and grin sweetly, letting me know He was not disturbed by my questions, nor did He want to make me feel as if I should not ask another.  Instead, I felt as if He prompted it for another "teachable moment".

In the past, I hid the fact that I conversed with Him as if I was "just thinking to myself".  But then I realized, how wise it was to no lean on my own thoughts. Heavens knows where the originating source of some of THAT came.  After all God does strongly warn us not to lean on our own understanding - to cast down high thoughts which come against His truth and many other things. (search the archives if you want to go down that rabbit hole)

Anyway, what I think is most important to take away from all this is not exactly what He said; but I assume knowing me well, He knew me and my many words would say this to you:

Do not allow anyone else to determine your relationship with the Lord, or tell you what His love feels like to you.  Do not allow anyone elses experience limit what the Holy Spirit has going inside of your life.  Instead, tell everyone what is real to you, where God shows up and says I am here for you.  Believe instead that He is thrilled, delighted and knows exactly what is being developed.  After all it is personal; He created you and perfectly formed you to relate with Him, based on His designs. And He will carry on that relationship in the way that best fits who and how YOU are - He does not expect you to understand how to perfectly relate with Him.

Maybe it was not just me He wanted to talk to about that - if it was, as always now the whole world knows my silly questions.

Be Free to Be.....just BE....
Kisses,
C

© Candace Huffmaster 2014, All Copy Rights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc°

What Did You Hope To Gain From That?

I am not an advocate of guns, but the scene from Face Off really does help tie together some of our topic pieces.  We are continuing to study discerning what is in our midst, as God expects us to do:

 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

As a boundary for this, we are leaning on these verses from our studies: 

Jeremiah 17:9, 10 The heart is deceitful above all else and desperately sick, who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."  

As we have discussed many times: everything we exert any emotion, time, energies toward, we are attempting to gain something.  What we do not always do is take pause to get a heart beat....a pulse..on what our hope is...what we hope to gain.

The problem is, if we are disguising our intent we become like that character; it makes for a stronger cover.  This is why God must search our hearts and test our minds.  He must expose things so that we have an opportunity to come to our senses.  At first, He will sit us down for a private screening, just between Him and us. When we continue for too long, we can be certain that in time there will a very public exposure.  

The longer we refuse Him, the deeper the Holy Spirit grieves within us; remember He lives within us and never leaves, even when we ignore His presence. The more the spirit grieves, the more grief we become burdened with. Satan takes this opportunity to fuel our fear and we become tormented by things which are not real.  If we believe the words of Christ, His peace will bring us back to our senses.  This is what Christ meant when He said not to fear because He had over come the world.  

John explained to us in 1 John, when He said we are not of the world, we are of Christ - He (Christ) is our confidence.  It is not that we love God so much, or believe perfectly: it is because He loved us before we ever had opportunity to reject Him and He sent Christ on ahead to be the only appropriate sacrifice for our rejection: 

 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as He is, so also are we in this world.  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.  

We fear because we do not want to be exposed for what we really intend to gain.  It is our intent to be victorious,  ergo we strive.....and seek out ways to get it.  Overtime, it just becomes habit and those habits become dark layers, veils, curtaining off His glorious light shining our way.  These are not new things we are discussing; but a continuation and a preface to what we will be studying.  I will let Paul close out and set up where we are going: 

Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling  you these things? and you know what restrains him now....so that in his time...he may be revealed.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so till he is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed......whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is ...the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan..with all power and signs and false wonders and the deceptions of wickedness for those who perish.....because they did not receive the love of the truth....so as to be saved.
And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, (who are those, the ones) that took pleasure in what God disapproves of.  

So what do we do, since we live around a bunch of delusionionalists? Most of the people close to us should have heard the truth if we are serving well.  We are warned about chasing after a rebellious person and how they will turn to ravage us when we get in their path.  But do not fear....if it be God's will to keep me here we will surely continue on :)

Because He love us!
Kisses,
Candace

© Candace Huffmaster 2014, All Copy Rights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc°

When It is Worse Than Expected

Columbia Pictures

As I was studying the letter Paul wrote to the followers in Corinth, 2 Corinthians, one verse specifically begged me to slow down and explore its depths:

You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections ~ 2 Corinthians 6:12



Paul was speaking from his heart to people he cared a great deal about.  He was appealing to their renewed conscience, asking them to pause and really think beyond what they felt.  Just as Christ did when he said, "if you have ear, hear".

Recently we studied situations where God told His children to stop focusing on the threats, as if they were really going to happen.  He did not say to be passive either. When I first studied this, immediately a movie scene popped to mind. Many of you may not have been old enough to remember the movie "When a Stranger Calls".  It was one of the last psychological thrillers I watched on the big screen.

In my mind was the scene where Carol Kane was receiving a call from Sargent Quinn revealing that they were able to trace the location of the person threatening her was enough to make me question if I ever wanted to even answer a phone when I was alone again.  What made it so terrifying was the fact that when it was traced they found out the call was not coming from outside her locked doors, but from within the very house she was in.  Paul was stating: the threat is not outside, here where I am, it is inside, with you....inside you.

God said we are "His House" and He abides in us.  We are not alone in our house, but God is not the enemy.  His heart is opened wide to us and He implores us to realize exactly what Paul was stating. For us to  be able to fully understand the content, I felt it behooving to study the original Greek words translated into English.  The word restrained was translated from stenochoreo, meaning: to hem in closely - cramp, distress.  And splagehnon was translated to affections; which is defined as: an intestine, bowel, inward affection, pity or sympathy.

I began this study back in April, and today as I was reading my notes, it was not the movie scene which popped to mind:  While on vacation I had a stomach bug which was excruciating, no doubt the experience must still be fresh in my mind.  Immediately upon reviewing this I vividly imagined a severe intestinal virus.  It is something inside of us, even though it came from our environment; then it wreaks havoc on our whole body - hopefully not on those near us.

I believe this is a large enough bit for one day - think and pray about this.  We will move on soon enough.

Have a wonderful weekend; my prayers are that we each realize: in Christ we have a new mind and are able to be transformed now.  Please pray for understanding and the ability to change the way you act to align with  the Holy Spirit indwelling you.  Or to have the Spirit of God come in and make a home with you.

I pray this for all who believe and trust in the Lord,
Kisses,
Candace

© Candace Huffmaster 2014, All Copy Rights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc°

Just Turn Around, It's No Big Deal....Yet!

But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of him who passes by and returns; and no oppressor will pass over them anymore.....For now I have seen "with My eyes".  Zechariah 9:8

I took a pause from moving forward with our study, recently so that I could really study the old and new testament and take pause as I explore.  To recap, the verse below has been our focus:


The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; in the last days you will clearly understand it.  Jeremiah 23: 20, 21 

God's truth is not vague; He tells us all have turned from His ways.  Even the disciples who were most intimate with Christ and literally walking with Him serving / witnessing fell away, just as Christ told them they would.  God himself is at the helm of all things, in control of all powers, and making allowances as He so chooses.  Obviously, having all the data of what is going on around us, then scrutinizing all movements and knowledge prior to moving, is not what should be our motive for security in going, is it?  When I read the words "For now I have seen with My eyes" my heart leaps and I feel safe.  My God knows everything and will show me the way if I will be willing to wait, listen and follow.  

I know if I pass Him by, it really is no big deal; He knows my limitations and where He is still working on correcting what I misunderstand.  Man....that really allows me to relax a bit.  "After all, He is the one who formed me, teaches me and guides me." And He will not turn back until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart.....and in the perfect time.....I will clearly understand it!"

Please take a moment to read Selah,  Seen With My Own Eyes, today and prepare for the next leg of our journey.(click on the blue underscored words to open the link or visit http://hischildbelieves.blogspot.com )

With Love, in Christ Jesus Himself,

Kisses,

Candace

© Candace Huffmaster 2014, All Copy Rights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc°

Emergency Responders

"The rain came down, , the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house........"

As we have been processing the thoughts of our realities verses God's reality and all man being subjected to futility, we have all been bombarded with hazardous weather conditions. This reminded many people of the absurdity of self protection and how dependent we truly are upon His supernatural intercession during times of helplessness.

Of course, when things happen God's words flood in to my memory and verses begin to align with conditions in our midst.  When the verses from Matthew chapter 7 came to mind, I had to pick up my bible and jump into it:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (24-27)

Much of the time, when reading the verses in the past, my focus was drawn to wisely building a house on a good foundation.  Maybe it was due to the weather conditions, but the big opening scene, I saw this time from God's word, was the storm rolling in.  And as the local fire station alarms went off again I got it: This life is all about our responses to the things which come toward us!

• How will we respond to what rains down on us?
• How will we respond to what rises up around us?
• How will we respond to the forces that blow against us?

This life beats against us, that is the truth. Do we have the wisdom to know when to move, where to enter and the strength to stand till the winds are gone?  Fear of the unknown is always there; what are we up against? Which unknown will we lay down to? We know we cannot stand forever and we will be overtaken by an unknown from time to time.  No one is invincible; if by nothing else there will be death for us all.

If the gateway to the unknown we enter is a mystery of God, we may trust that He is for us and willing to uphold us through all things.  The Lord desires to share His victories with those relying on His undying love; that does not mean we will never be afraid when entering the unfamiliar or out of our control.  Fear however is an unmerciful lord, desiring to grieve us and steal anything which resembles a hope of a future; yet many will muster up all the strength they can to pass through this wide open space. 

When the storm clouds roll in....who is your Lord? When the rivers of life begin to rise up.....what traits will you employ? When the winds swirl in chaotic formations....who is the Master of your thoughts?  While there is no storm on our horizon here this day, maybe we should pause and think about these things.  

As the storm was rolling out this past week, the ice and snow were melting and the winds were whipping the moisture back home, my family and I had a conversation about how we all respond to natural catastrophes. We felt that this brings out virtues of Godliness toward others which should bring a bit of shame and humility to our "Christmas" attitudes. 

As the children of God and followers of our Lord, we should be standing at every street corner sprinkling salt (and this time it could be literally along with some sand or cat litter!) and showing others a guiding light.  If we are His body, and we are to be out in the world why do we keep all our salt in the church? Doesn't that make us more like one of those salt licks that my grandpa used to have in his field? Shouldn't we be out responding instead of expecting all the urgencies to come running to us?  And what about our lights? Aren't we rather hiding it at times under the bushel of the church roof?  

Just things I think about often.....and thought I would extend the invitation to have your thoughts merge ;)

Kisses,

C

Copyrights Reserved ©Candace Huffmaster 2014

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc.®

Should A Perceived Inflection Reflect On Them?

 Today I was having lunch with my husband and we were conversing about misreading others when communicating through emails, texts, letter and what-not. From many conversations I have had with others over the years it is not a new thing.  The overarching theme of my studies, research, group topics and now personal conversations appear to harmonize on this: How important it is to NOT impose our own thoughts onto others and especially to demand it be their truth because we see it.

Has anyone ever taken something you've said out of context and used it to support something you do not agree with? I would it was not purposeful, simply their honest interpretation; none-the-less they misrepresent you, aligning you with other things.  In order to properly interpret what someone has written or what their true meaning is when speaking, we must have an understanding of who they are.  We can superficially know language, inflections and perceive an environment however, these things alone can lead us to superimpose our own ideals and take the other person "out of context" to who "they really are".

People make assumptions based on their own life history, bits of information and belief systems; yes, we all have some form of a belief system in place.  We must realize that applying additional context to what another states has more to do with our own motives, thoughts and very little to do with them. Otherwise we would pause and allow others to speak for themselves to reveal who "they are"; instead of giving them our persona.

Why do we communicate anyway? Have you ever just parked on that thought?  Needless to say I have!  It all boils down to one thing for me: to relate with others! If I did not care to have intimate relationships with people I would simply shut up!  But I do....so I don't ;)

The reason I thought about all this was God, of course.  God does not have a form for us to be drawn to His appearance.  He uses words to tell us what He looks like and not in terms of vanity, but the depths of the real person.  We must have a relationship with the bible to properly read His intentions, otherwise we will take Him "out of context " based on our own thoughts; that is all idolatry is.

God ends the bible, in Revelations, telling everyone not to take away from or add anything to what He has said: His character and identity.  He does not desire for us to project a false image out there for others who are just getting to know Him or may not yet be interested.  He would like the opportunity to reveal Himself to them through those of us who know Him intimately, by way of seeing us walk with Him day by day.  When they believe we see Him, hopefully they will pick up His life story - His love story to all mankind.  He will woo them into the same relationship page after page and journey with them too.  After all who in the world can resist our Lord!  

Let me tie it all up real pretty for us: 

The bible is not a book it is a relationship with the Lord God Almighty and He is mighty real.  Don't take my word for it.....those are His words!  I think of His relationship with Peter and how I know Peter believe in the Lords faithfulness, yet Christ said "O you of little faith" to him.  Peter still had some thoughts He needed to cast down, as we all do and will continue to.  God knew how difficult it would be to move from needing to hear Him say to us " o you of great faith " into "O You of Great Faithfulness " and with being able to see Him and cling to a flesh and blood human form it would just be to difficult to get us there. Well, that's my opinion.

I thank God for His Divinity; I do not even have anything else to say....today anyway ;)

Kisses,

Candace

Copyrights Reserved ©Candace Huffmaster 2014

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc.®

Go! And Don't Look Back!

Yesterday we were speaking about "Getting Back in the Saddle".  It is all well and good to brush our self off and get the leg up there, but where would we go if we did not have solid directions.  Most of us would giddy-up just to get away from anyone who might be able to rib us about our fall.  But when our sense of self was restored......what would happen to us?

We are told that the Lord is always with us to show us the way out.  Somehow, someway, mightier than any illustrated action hero God always shows up for His children.  My studies caused me to pause and prayerfully ask: But what about all your children Dad? 

If the Lord says move, will you know to ask Him "Where to?" Will you realize that He said move? Will you desire to gather "things" prior to hitting the road?" We are fortunate that the Spirit of the Lord is not just near us, as it was for those prior to Christ Resurrection, He is even in us.  Some of us still need to see and hear from a physical source, like Lot for instance:

Genesis 19:17 And it came about when they had brought them outside, that one said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountain, lest you be swept away."

Isn't it ironic that Abraham's nephew was named Lot and the reason for him being in Sodom and Gomorrah was a lot of stuff? God did not rescue Lot's stuff though, He delivered Lot because He remembered Abraham.  Lot's wife however did not want Lot or the Lord as much as she wanted "things". 

God does not need our things to provide for our future.  He gave us what we currently have through a variety of means.  He can and will continue to accomplish caring for us, as HE chooses best.  We need God, but in our comfort of His gifts we diminish the relationship.  We usually, unless pushed see our selves as "self preserved", with a helping hand from the "big guy". We choose to see that we did it and are sustaining, building, giving etc from our own "good things".  Of course we throw God's name out there to "share" in our glory - it IS the right thing to do after all.

God, however, sees "stuff" only as a means to be seen, to get peoples attention and focus.  He is all things: all matter is nothing but particles of His fullness. He desires us to see HIM, not His THINGS. When we see everything through the heart of the giver, we have the real gift: Appreciation of the Lover.  This is why He gives away the right to control us: He wants us to HAVE freedom. 

Freedom is not obligated or entitled, it is compassionate, patient, gentle with those who are still maturing.  God is not reactive to our bad behaviour.  He protects us by not changing His truth.  We need to see the material things, whether they be physical items or daily experiences, in order to know that God is Exactly as He tells us.  When we "come" to know Him, we will know to be listening for Him within all these "things".  Then we will hear Him when He speaks to us; then we will wait on His direction because we trust His Love for us.

Look around you and see how much He love you today.  But realize that His best gifts will not be found in the material items.  His BEST stuff is the love that lasts forever.  So look up, open your mouth and praise Him.  I believe at that moment you will see Him in someone He placed right in front of your very eyes ~ What a beautiful Thing.

Forever in the Lord God ~ Kisses,
Candace

Copyrights Reserved ©Candace Huffmaster 2014

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc.®

Remember Me....Please...

There is no way I can tie all our points up in one pretty little gift today.  But the studies I have been doing are leading me deeper upon our past studies and He is rocking my world! My excitement is hard to wrangle in, but I will control myself  and put out just a pinch of it today ;)

We talk about our thoughts ALL the time in group, in our daily relationships and more rampantly virtually.  We publish them in books, ink them into our flesh, sing them into the air and scream them at strangers (well, it is true :0)  So now, let's pause and BE mindful.......

Mindful means to bring to remembrance or be reminded; to recollect or admonish.  God tells us to know that He is mindful of US; He sets the memories of us up as memorials -they do not change.
Christ asked us to remember Him...we are not going to elaborate on this point today.  But whenever I hear the Tim McGraw's song "Remember Me" I cannot help but hear Christ pleading with us to remember Him...... That makes my heart sad that we do not remember Him as He IS and what He did to allow us to be ABLE to know Him as He is known to our Father. (Here is a link if you want to hear the song) 

For today though, we are applying these truths to understand how our memories and thoughts affect our life / peace in our moments and relationships:

God tells us "His peace surpasses all understanding" and He / Christ left us His peace; but WE must choose if we will cling to, or seek, comfort which soothes our dis-ease or the peace of Christ and His righteousness that "settles" all things within our midst.  It might be squirmy uncomfortable at times to go through these moments instead of stopping to be comforted.  However, if we persevere, press on to this goal, all things will be resolved, "as far as it depends on us". 

Another side of these thoughts is our understanding of His truth; how we are taught or think we, our self are to "Keep OUR Peace" as if peace can be ripped from our clutches and stolen.  It depends, the peace WE generate through comforting our self CAN be stolen from us.  But not His Peace, because it is not generated by US.  So if we catch our self fighting, defending and screaming "Get Away From My Peace!" then we might want to settle down and .......Remember Jesus; listen to His pleading, grieving, holy Spirit.  "Please.......Remember....Me....."

The truth is, when we are in the clutches of these moments, we need to mindful that we have entered the flesh and blood battle ground; the coliseum as we often refer to it.  His peace is not "up to us" to keep; He Keeps US in His perfect peace who trust in His faithfulness! Remember, our study of the Psalms where we meditated on how the holy spirit desires to lay us down in sweet rest for His glory and name sake?

When we allow Him to care to carry out His desires for us we allow the room for all supernatural contenders to fight the real fight.  We also allow the ministering spirits to come in and care for us.  When the way is cleared, through Christ who goes before us, all opposing Him must flee! He ushers in liberty, but not a liberty that we could even begin to comprehend how to achieve; it is supernatural. The only natural thing we may do is join with the Power that reckons all things to Him and His Righteousness. He alone uphold and carries us through all times past, present and into eternity...

Be mindful of your thoughts, actions and words because our words are power.  They are for reminding, admonishing, rebuilding, rebuking, remembering and calling into place what lies ahead. Remember: people get wounded or healed, encouraged or burdened by them.  We get to chose them...who will you serve with yours? Who will you bring to remembrance and serve with yours; just know you have to sit down and eat the meal with him / Him.

For the Glory of His Kingdom and the power of His name which completely accomplishes His will, I pray we chose life, always!

Kisses,
C

 

All Copyrights Reserved ©Candace Huffmaster 2012

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Inc.®

The Work of OUR Hands

This journey we are all on,"just living our life" as some say, is where the majority of our focus is spent.  Obviously, these conversations will be continuing long after each of us have moved beyond these days we are traveling; because we did not start them, we joined in with an ongoing conversation.  This life is no more than the jaunt within our eternal sojourn.  I truly, prayerfully wish that we could perceive the deep relief which should accompany such a mind set.

We have been pondering peace: God's peace, the peace Christ called "My peace".  When we do not choose to keep His peace; we choose to do the comforting our self....our way. We live in a society which takes pride in doing things "Our Way"; we give accolades as if people are incredibly original.  God reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun and that while He did create each of us uniquely and individually, all things are common to each of us corporately. 

Coming full circle with our conversations over the past few weeks, today we are speaking about denial.  This is not going deep, for obvious reasons.  I simply desire for each of us to have some information enabling us to discern our ways - with out condemnation.  Denial is a survival mechanism.  It is in place to help us bear up under perceived pain or threats to our psyche, in order to find comfort.  Some individuals have chosen this tool and become so proficient with their skills set, that they are no longer even aware when it is being employed.  The reason it can become a favored "go to" item is because it temporarily helps this person bear up under perceived pain and have a bit of comfort, even if it causes larger destruction down the road.  Usually it is chosen as a protector of the persons well being when anxiety, conflict or trauma producing situations are thought to be ensuing.

 As we have been studying the ways we slight God of His rightful place as protector over us, I was reminded of the women contrasted in Proverb 14:1:

The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish woman tears it down .....with her OWN hands.

 

 How often are we in denial that the wreckage of our moments is by others, God or "an act of God" tearing down our life.....it is by the strength of "Our own Hands!".  During our discussions about the House of Cards we touched on this same topic; remember this:

 A little golden nugget about emotions:  They build a house of cards around the one real piece of the puzzle which they are concealing.  We build these false images layer upon layer to protect the vulnerable piece; as well as our stage presence.  Often, we really do not realize we do this.  We might catch a glimpse of it, but it passes so quickly we believe it is the masquerade.  Then every once in awhile, God will gently allow the winds of change to blow toward your magnificent construction and hit …just one card……and quickly they all collapse into a one dimensional array.

 We will be building up from these thought, but today - If only for today, may we BE people of peace: extending peace, keeping peace, abiding in peace.

 And maybe.....just maybe, as far as it depends on us many people will get a glimpse of something so beyond our natural human form that they will HAVE to take pause and ponder about GOD.

At least, that is my hope; if only for this one day :)

 

Kisses,

Candace

©Candace 2013, All Copyrights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly, ™