This N' That: July 8 & 9

Good Monday Evening, Everyone!

So, it's Monday and I can't get over the feeling that it should be Saturday.  Mondays are really Simeon Saturdays, since Mondays are our day off.  I'm wondering if I'll ever get used to that?

On Sunday, as a group, both Intro to IHOP I & II and Simeon Company I & II attended the 10:45 service at the Forerunner Christian Center (FCF). Starting next week we will be in an usher rotation for one of the Sunday services. Although the speaker was the same for all four services (Fri., Sat., & two on Sunday) the worship teams were different and the message given to the teens on Saturday night was tweaked somewhat for Sunday morning. More on that later.

After service we had a time of fellowship, home-baked goods and fun, with all the Intro and Simeons gathered together in a large meeting room at the Red Bridge Center where the Global Prayer Room is located. In such a relaxed setting, with nothing to do but enjoy each other's company and eat brownies, I got to ask questions and get to know a little more of the story of a number of my Simeon mates. Then, at 4 PM we went next door to the prayer room and participated in a two hour worship and intersession set. I say participated because during one of the times of group prayer - there was prayer at length for the children of Uganda - us Simeon ladies prayed together as a group, me included! We're starting to feel comfortable in this holy environment, so much so that when we looked up we were the last group still standing and praying!

Now, concerning Sunday service: Our speaker was a gentleman named Luis Cataldo, a member of IHOPKC since 2005. He has an amazing life story of what the Lord has done in the lives of him, his wife and daughters, and what the Lord is doing in the earth at this time. I will not even attempt to try to condense what he spoke about. He spoke with humor and a tremendous knowledge of God and the global prayer movement in this day and hour. I encourage all those reading this blog to go the IHOPKC.org website and listen to his message. It goes for just a little over an hour, but he tells it with such good humor and sincerity that I was sorry when he finished, and I actually listened to the message again this morning.

From the website IHOPKC.org, scroll about half way down the main page to More Teachings and Notes. Once you open the tab find the teaching dated July 8 and titled What You Do Really Matters. Yay, God! It's an audio download, which I downloaded to my iTunes page.

THOUGHTS FOR MONDAY:      IHOPKC is meeting my expectations but I've been told, and am coming to understand, that God is about to EXCEED those expectations; that He will actually change them for me. Living in the reality of being immersed in God turns out, so far, to be what I had been told it might be, and also warned, of what it could be. That reality was spoken over me prophetically before I left NY.  That message has also been given down to us from our instructors and staff since arriving in Kansas City. But, truth be told, I'm only guessing at how that looks; what being immersed in God is like. I didn't really KNOW what it would mean for me, both spiritually and emotionally, as I began to lay down my life and pick up His. It's all good but it will not be easy from the standpoint of the flesh.

One of the main downloads (not crazy about the term, but it fits here) I've received from the Lord in these first few days is that I am to BE, and not DO.  I've heard that word spoken to me before, but I continue to be a doer.  On many occasions I've confessed to others that I have a 'Martha spirit'.  The really painful part is just how much I live in the DO, rather than the BE, to be seated at His feet as Mary was, who chose the better thing. And in this season that's where He wants me, seated at His feet.  Holy Spirit has told me that if I do not do one more thing in the coming three months but sit at the feet of Jesus, that it is exactly what He wants and has ordained for me. I am to take on NO assignments except what goes along as part of the Simeon Company internship.

It's only been two days since I received that most recent Holy Spirit instruction, yet I had no idea because I did not KNOW (see above!) how hard this would become. As I proceeded down the list of things I was tempted to DO today, I saw that just about everything I DO for others is really to satisfy my own need to be needed and accepted, to please God so He'll think I'm a good person, not to please God only because of Who He is! Ouch! Yay God, but Ouch!

We have a full day tomorrow, beginning at 8 AM and going until next Sunday. JK!  But in looking at the schedule it sure seems that way. Plus, I found out I'm allergic to something in KC, and I've been sneezing and coughing and blowing my nose for the past 24 hours. Did I say I don't like having allergies, especially since I've never, ever had them before, and I'm old!

Have a great week. Be blessed in Him from Whom ALL blessings flow!

With Affection and His Love,

Kathy