About

 December 2011

Dear Friends,

   This is a step of obedience that has not come easily.  Please allow me to share briefly a little background.  For many years the Lord has filled up my journals with many inspiring, hard, challenging (stepping all over my toes) words that I have known are for me first, but not only for me.  And for years, in moments of prayer and inspiration, He has called me to get these words out of my journal and allow Him to multiply them as He speaks to others’ hearts through them as well- to pour out what He has poured in. 

In those inspiring moments, I have said ‘yes’ many, many times and then immediately come down from ‘the mountaintop’ and proclaimed, “That is the dumbest idea I have ever heard!”  Along with that proclamation comes the age old question “Hath God really said?”  and thoughts like ‘surely I have not heard Him right,  I have nothing to say, who am I?, what if they only make sense to me?, maybe later when I can truly, consistently live by these great words.…and many other excuses.  

And then there have been times when I just couldn’t stand it anymore- His words were burning inside of me- and I even made it my New Years Resolution to send out a newsletter about 12 years ago (a newsletter because it was before we had email!)……but I gave into the fear and the excuses.  I did finally send out emails for a few years and then let life overwhelm me and stopped. 

                
 From my journal –January 4, 2007:

  “Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, ‘Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much?’  God never coerces, neither does He ever accommodate His demands to human compromise, and we are disloyal to Him if we do.”-  Oswald Chambers quote

                                (I began to be convicted of the sin of omission.)

Forgive me that I have chosen the easier, simpler way- the way of doubt- ‘hath God really said?’ so that I can lull around and rest in disbelief and not have to do anything about what I feel like You have been telling me.

  May this be a year of purity and growing in holiness.

  May I seek You first and all these things (purity and growing in holiness) be added unto me.

  May personal domination of the Holy Spirit be my goal.  May You have more of me- that there may be less and less of my flesh living each day.

  And then the hard part:  where You speak in the quiet moments of inspiration, Holy Spirit, help me to actually act, put into practice…

  Because the enemy immediately lies to me with the lie, ‘that’s dumb’.

  Help me to, all year long, resist that thought and ACT on truth.  Live it out loud.

                 So here we are, and  I do pray that these deposits that God has made into my life will touch you too in a meaningful, life-changing way.  I pray that He will use these to challenge you as well and draw you more deeply into His life-giving Word.  “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword” Hebrews 4:13 and “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16

I pray that God will speak to you and that you will take the time to meditate on it and see what He may have you do about it- may we not be hearers only but doers of the word.

Spend much time with Him.

                                                                                                                             Traci Shinnick