Calling out those lying enemy kings: Lessons learned from my friend Hezekiah

Last summer, I had one of those rare (for me) write-everything-you're-thinking moments. I was reading about ancient kings in the Bible. Often a kind of yawn-fest, but the story of King Hezekiah just jumped out at me.  I wrote and wrote and wrote. Too many distractions out there for me - too many what-ifs and should-ofs.  Here's a snippet... 
I hope you enjoy!

So often I've struggled with questioning God. 

I know I am sinful

and ... 

I know I am nothing without God. 

The point is, 

     He is God.

He has forgiven me and He decides when I need correction and guidance. 

Not some dumb enemy king. 

But for some reason, when that enemy starts nattering at me I listen. 

When I take my focus off of God’s word 

       or don’t pause throughout my week to hang out with Him 

then I get turned all around. 

I don’t know if it’s 90 degrees or 180 

    but I’m not heading the right way. 

Just like what happened to King Hezekiah, my ancient new friend, who was surrounded by other kings and their lies, we're surrounded by ideas and ideologies, doubts and fears. They are the ones who lie, deceive and destroy. Just like Hezekiah, they get my attention, way too easily, and way too often.

That I bother to give them an audience at all, astounding

That’s where I go wrong, and that’s where God gives me an out. 

And that’s when I love Hezekiah the most.

Sure, he was discouraged, had felt fear and maybe even abandonment by his God. 

But, in the end, none of that was true. *You really need to read the story... 

God sent a prophet, a very wise man. His name was Isaiah 

and he was sent to King Hezekiah to help clear his confused and fearful heart.

Thank you God for friends, counselors, mentors and pastors,

and for the great writers out there 

who help clear our cobwebs of faith. 

So often, what we feel or think is a trick in itself. 

My feelings and too much Kathy-thinking is a dangerous slippery path. 

Truth is what matters, 

and the truth for Hezekiah was that he served the “God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim...(He) alone is God over all the kingdoms of the earth. (He) has made heaven and earth.” 

The prophet Isaiah had heard from God. 

Isaiah obeyed and went to see the King, 

assured him that God had heard the king’s prayers,

and that God, Himself, was calling out the lying kings that surrounded Hezekiah.

So here we are. I'm calling out those lying kings in your mind and heart. If you have ever found yourself in this same struggle with the nattering ideas and accusations that fill your head, stop right now. Whether it's a 180 degree turn or a mild 90 degree shift

Focus on Him. 

Spend time with Him.

Read the Bible, 

Listen to Him, 

    and The Truth.

I'd love to hear from you ... 

*You can Read here 
II Kings 18-20 (HCSB)

I have a confession to make ...

Chatty Kathy circa 1969ish

My nick name as a baby? 
Chatty Kathy (don't laugh) 
  It was the 60's
       there was a doll
            yada yada....

Okay ... this is my blog so I'll be the first to admit that my whole 50+ years of life I've struggled & fought to control how much to say, 

or when to say it 

or if I should even say it at all. 

But thankfully for me, I'm not alone....

Some of us are more chatty then others (see adorable picture of cute 60's baby).  

It doesn't seem to matter how it's being communicated - computer, phone, iPad, or that gaping hole in my head... ahhh!!!

(I've already typed, deleted, typed some more, deleted some more...)

Yet there's more to this personal confession...

I Love Zingers!*

There - I said it

Zingers are awesome,

Zingers are amazing, 

    attention-getting 

        rushes of adrenaline!
They're bursts of you're-awesome-cause-you-said-that morsels of delight. 

Whether it's short-lived or not, you know you agree, there's something really seemingly amazing about laying it out there, tellin' it like it is, just keeping people informed, you're welcome!

But oh those you-won't-believe-what-I-gotta-tell-you moments?
Sometimes, 
No!

Very often!

They're told at the risk of saying way too much my friend... You know what I'm talking about.

So every day,

    every blessed day 

        and multiple moments in each day, 

I work on reigning in that tongue of mine, like a stinkin' horse in a corral

Every day, I attempt to control my fingers while typing. It seems I work very hard to wear out that ol' delete button on my keypad.

I could practice counting to 10 first 

or maybe say the alphabet backwards

 ...in Hebrew 

(FYI I don't know Hebrew)  

before my index finger posts that morsel of wisdom, 

or it presses the no-return Send button

And texting! oh my!  

Emoticons (cute smiley faces, various colors of hearts, piles of poop) aren't enough people, they don't fix everything... I've tried.

With one single sentence 

~I tell myself~

I could become the self-proclaimed coolest person in the room, on Facebook, on Twitter... on the whole dang internet!

Finally. That zinger high...

Such a crash.
"no one else has the guts to say this so I'll be the conduit of justice"
has resulted in a lot of face-palms and whincy faces over here

It's like this, it just becomes an adrenaline rush, but kind of like jumping out of a plane without a parachute on.
Not good, people
not good at all!

So let's strap on that parachute my friend. Together we can do this. We can kick this Zinger addiction.

You're next ... 

How often do you find yourself jumping without your chute on? 

*zinger - a word or phrase that makes others gasp; makes their mouth drop open; makes their eyes tear up; gives the zingerist the illusion that they are the coolest one in the room

Invitation to a LoveFest

I read this verse (again, for-the-first-time) a couple of days ago. 

Mind - Blown 

An invitation given to Perfect Love

A LoveFest that all Love relationships are judged by.

Sheer perfection.

“…the one who loves Me will be loved by my Father. I also will love (Kathy) and will reveal Myself to (her).”   

No - my name isn’t in the original text.

Try it.

Put your name in there.

It’s personal. It’s for me. It’s for you. It’s for our today.

I have had a life-long belief that Jesus loves me. Even when I turned from Him, chose to not love Him in return, I never doubted.

But this!

This brings home so much more. The Father also loves me! I'm part of the conversation ... Again. Blows my mind!

Let’s break it down ...

   the one who loves Me

Me = Jesus the Divine, who freely came to this earth, through a messy birth canal, into a stinky dirty barn, living in all of the physical limitations, emotions, sadness, hormones, grief, loss

(Don’t worry, He never loses His sovereignty - He is God.

Another one of the mysteries of the Almighty)

We need to remember how much He gets us.

Thirst, hunger, passion, and at times, outright exhaustion.

He Gets It!

  will be loved by my Father.

my Father = the One Who created us for the simple fact that He wanted to. 

  Kathy WILL BE loved by my Father!

     It’s a Promise

     And He can’t break promises because He is God

And it keeps on going, my friend

  I (Jesus) will also love Kathy ~sigh~ and will reveal Myself to her

Myself = The Holy Spirit, the Comforter

God the Father, Jesus the Savior, revealed to me (to you)

with me

everywhere

all the time

in all circumstances because He said He would be.

Jesus lived life full, never lost sight of His purpose, the why He came to live among His creation in the first place. And when It was finished, when it was time for Him to go and prepare our Forever Home, He didn't leave us alone. 

“In a little while the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live too. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.” (‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭19-21‬ HCSB)