SET A GAURD OVER MY MOUTH, O LORD, KEEP WATCH OVER THE DOOR OF MY LIPS Psalm 141:3

I love this Scripture! In my study of "DOORS" in the Scriptures, this one has moved me. I never noticed this Scripture, not really anyway... although I have read the Psalms over and over again...

I can envision the actual sacred and protective guard that the LORD would provide me. They look heavenly and have loving eyes - eyes that smile at me with joy and cheer me on as I speak love - as I speak truth. They flutter about me playfully and enjoy me as I am in the WORD.

They bring me an extraordinary depth of wisdom. All they do is deeper and fuller - weather it be laughing or revealing wisdom or discipline, they do so in extremes.

Lord I give you thanks for the guard that you assign to the doors of my lips! Lord let me be always aware of their presence, aware of the way the come to guard me - aware of how they are here for my good, for my protection. Let me heed their warnings. I thank you for providing doors over my lips and for the way they guard those doors!

Let them have full charge in knowing when to shut the doors and when to allow them to swing wide open!

O LORD, your doors to my heart and lips are amazing! Shut them tight should what my lips want to say not be honoring to you. Let me always glorify you and bring you honor and praise with the words that come and flow out of my lips. Swing WIDE the doors of my lips as I sing songs of praise and worship, as I lift up my fellow brothers and sisters on the journey. Let me speak words of truth, love, direction to my coaching clients.

Let me speak, hear, and communicate only your thoughts. Let me stay so connected to you Father that I never speak anything that is not of you!

Lord and I ask that I be connected in a lovely and sacred way to my guards in which you provide me. Let me love this guard and surrender to Lady Wisdom. Let me know my guard and appreciate her, because she ONLY has the VERY BEST INTENTION for me. Only wants to see me succeed. Lady Wisdom, is what I will call her... Thank you God! I name her this because I want to be a truly lady in all that I do, lovely in gentleness, lovely in kindness, lovely in self-control, lovely in peace making, lovely in gentleness, lovely in forgiveness, lovely in love, lovely in patience, lovely in goodness and lovely in joy!

AND because of the guard you provide me with, and the amazing amount of Wisdom she will bring me in all aspects of my life I give thanks!

I am praising you my God and King for all of your provision! You think of EVERYTHING, and always take care of all our needs!

Doors, Guards, & Lips,

Kathryn

Prayers Rising...Rising... Rising...

Prayers for each of us as we continue our journey, as we each follow our God-given calling upon this earth. Prayers for each of you as you see God in action, praying that you become a witness in your very own faith story of the miracles of our God, how He moves you to tears, moves you to laughter, moves you to action, moves you... moves you physically, moves you spiritually and moves you emotionally.

Prayers for family, prayers for new life, for my soon to be here grandson, my very first grandchild, prayers for my daughter Kellie Ann as her delivery date is drawing nearer and nearer. Prayers of thanksgiving for my daughter Tabitha rising… rising… rising… Prayers of thanksgiving for my sons-in-law, Prayers of thanksgiving as my wedding anniversary nears and for all the years of love I have shared in my marriage.

Prayers for each of us here reading as we continue on in our very own prayers. Our Lord knows your needs, I am praying that we all find ourselves closer to our Maker with each passing day, that we cling to His love, that we surrender all.... that we walk away lighter each day, walk away brighter at the end of each day. I pray that we are filled with joy because we have helped another in need, knowing that we can make the world a better place each day for those in our circles.

Let us sleep with smiles on our lips, and dreams of love and peace and difference be ours. How I love each of you,how I praise God for each of you... I am blessed to be walking the path with each of you...
Love, Love, Love and Jesus.
AMEN :)
Love,
Kathryn

SACRED LISTENING WOMAN

I painted my "SACRED LISTENING WOMAN" and I don't know if you can see it in this photo or not but I also painted two muted trees "underneath" her face symbolizing New Life and Growth. Her eyelashes are sacred wings...

This is my very first painting using acrylics and I must confess that I didn't feel "ready" to paint on my precious canvas, still needing to learn the way the paint brushes feel, how much to use... etc... so I used my big water color tablet :) Felt safer to start that way for me. In the end I took my Iridescent Gold and washed the entire painting with it. I might have muted the painting too much in doing so. I didn't realize how it would mute it, I thought it would make it more sparkely and shiny. But here it is! :)

RENEWAL OF THE MIND

RENEWAL OF THE MIND

by Kathryn Bonner

What do Mind and Spirit Have To Do With One Another?

"The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can't receive the gifts of God's Spirit. There's no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit-God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, [we have the mind of Christ] and we have Christ's Spirit."

1 Corinthians 2: 15-16 The Message [NIV]

What do you notice immediately here? I see from the first verse listed here, we have "TWO SELVES" an UNspiritual self and a Spiritual self. Thinking about this causes me to burst with passion here! Which "SELF" do you want to live by? For me, and I'm sure for most of you reading this choose your SPIRITUAL SELF. But wait a minute, let's look at this a bit deeper.... go with me here... If we are to be honest with ourselves and were to answer the question: "What percentage of your daily life is lived through your SPIRITUAL SELF vs. your UNspiritual Self?" What would your answer be? Why is it that our UNspiritual self gets such a hold on us? God has given us healthy minds gifted with the power of choice. So why aren’t we choosing to live more fully into our SPIRITUAL Selves? Do we fear this kind of living? Do we? I think we do, and yet I think we want it, even crave it. Then fear creeps in and snatches it away.

The very next part of the sentence states that the Unspiritual self can’t even receive the gifts of God’s Spirit!!! Oh my gosh! That answers SO much. When we choose not to live as the Spirit leads then we basically have what I will call our “Spiritual Antenna” down. We fail to pick up on the leading of the Spirit, we fail to connect with God, our ears are plugged up, our hearts are hardened, our minds aren’t receiving through the Spirit, or the mind of God. Why in the world do we choose this self, the Unspiritual Self? And what’s more, we fail to see the power, the untapped amounts of real life that we could have. We see it from a warped lens, seeing it as “silliness” as ridiculous, stupid, or absurd. It’s like we voluntarily choose to live a powerless life. A life unfulfilled, disgruntled, and dissatisfied. Why? Why are we choosing this over what is readily available to us? What’s here? What’s the reason for this kind of choosing? I know we all do it, I know we blindly choose it. Is it because we are so used to choosing this kind of living? Are we just not really aware?

Well, we need to be AWARE of what we are choosing. Because once we become aware, then our AWARENESS DEMANDS ACTION. Even doing nothing is an action. We need to be awakened to our full potential to live alive, to live powerful lives. To live into our SPIRITUAL selves. As I become more aware and contemplate the power of the Mind and the Spirit, I become absolutely enthralled, especially when contemplating them coupled together. Once we become aware of the action we can choose we can live awakened lives, with the Spirit and mind of Christ. Why do we want to miss that? What would happen if you were to choose this, for one day, one week, one month, one quarter, one year, ONE WHOLE LIFE? What would be different for you? What would be different for the world?

The passage goes on to say these things “Spirit can be known only by spirit-God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, [we have the mind of Christ] and we have Christ's Spirit.”

What we have here is a gift that has been lovingly and powerfully delivered to us, living within us is both the Spirit and Mind of Christ, IF we choose it.

“Spirit can be known only by Spirit, God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion” ummm ummm ummm… I LOVE this! I KNOW this; my Spirit resonates completely with this. When I am in the company of others who are “Spiritually alive” my Spirit recognizes this in them immediately, I know yours does the same. We together in communion recognize this within each other. We feel and experience the power of the Spirit in one another.

Let me share another Scripture with you. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the baby (John) leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:41

This confirms what the 1 Corinthians passage above is telling us. Spirit can be known by Spirit, God’s Spirit and our Spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive! I love this! --Elizabeth was then at least six months pregnant as v. 36 tells us. She notes the reality that John "leaped" in her womb as an indication of his joy that Mary, who would bear the Messiah, had come for a visit. The Holy Spirit also came upon Elizabeth then making it known to her to greet Mary as the mother of Messiah. The Spirit evidently gave her intuitive understanding of Mary's role. She expressed her blessing excitedly in joyful praise to God and because of the Spirit's propelling.

I have had my Spirit rise with joy when I am with others who love God. It’s amazing the connection (that communion) – we feel when our Spirit recognizes the Spirit in another human being. I have some really deep soul/Spirit connections with some amazing women, especially on the WPPI Team, and together we grab hold of our God-given passions and go! Have you had your Spirit rise with this amazing joy at a Holy Spirit connection with someone? I’m sure you have. You might not have called it that, but I really want you to become more and more aware of these things of the Spirit. I believe we all experience our Spirit’s rise with joy when we are with others who love God! It’s amazing the kind of connection that comes forth, AND the more power we have together in the Spirit, BECAUSE WE HAVE ACCESS TO EVERYTHING GOD’S SPIRIT IS DOING, we have the Spirit living and dwelling within us. We begin to live our lives with more and more of the Mind of Christ; living out our callings with His power, and His will. His will is amazing and truly rocks! We begin seeing the world more as He does and start doing and being and living by the Spirit…

Let our challenge be to live out this verse in our living! Let us choose our God-given SPIRITUAL SELVES! May you live in that amazing POWER today and always!

Doors and More Doors

Doors and More Doors,

Heavenly Doors...

What are the God-given doorways

in your life?

"BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO LISTENS TO ME, WATCHING DAILY AT MY DOORS, WAITING AT MY DOORWAY. FOR THOSE WHO FIND ME FIND LIFE AND RECEIVE FAVOR FROM THE LORD " Proverbs 8:34-35

Have you ever given much thought to the doors that the Lord might be opening in your life? Especially when you wait on him to call you, then as you truly listen to Him and proceed to take the courage to actually do what He asks of you? The LORD God Himself actually escorts you as you take the steps! If you commence to walking with Him you soon will be astonished with the incredible journey He will take you on! For me it has been truly grand!

As I become more and more obedient to Him, to His direction, the blessings just keep coming my way! I have been so busy these last few months experiencing the many doors He has opened unto me! I have been astounded by His abundance and blessing upon my life. All of the Holy Spirit directed connections, the new women He has place in my life and all that we are up to together for Him is huge!

God has so much to bestow upon those who seek Him and seek His will. What perspective do you take as you begin to view the Heavenly Doors? Have you ever really thought about doors and the passageways as heavenly?

Do you choose to stay in the room with your ears plugged and the doors shut tightly all around you in order not to venture out? Does that idea feel safer to you so that you do not have to take any risks?

What would it be like for you if you were to view the word risk and shift the perspective of it? Shift the viewpoint of RISK to FAITH? Faithfully seeing a door as a heavenly opening? What doors are you keeping tightly shut that you know you should be opening? What might be on the other side of the door should you open it?

In the verse above you see that as you listen to the calling of the LORD you will be blessed! I am so amazed at the way He calls us forth to do His work! Until the end of time we must be listening to Him, listening to His voice, His Words of wisdom, His Words of direction, His Words of love. his true desire is to bless us, not to cause us to fear Him or His calling on our lives.

I love the second part of this passage as we are instructed to watch DAILY at His doors. Not just every now and then, or once a month when we think about it, but every single day we are to be WAITING AND WATCHING at His doors, waiting for Him to bless us!

The thought of this is beautiful to me as I begin to become more and more aware of the doors that He is guiding me to walk through each and every day.

Picture the glow peeking through, radiating from underneath the door, beckoning you to come... to draw closer and closer to the door. Laying on your tummy with your face up close to the door, you begin to peer through the opening seeing the lights luminosity and your nostrils take in the smells of fresh air, smelling the sweet fragrance of a magnolia tree! The scent fills you with warmth and hope for the day!

You begin to rise, placing your hand upon the old antique door knob which juts out from the old wooden hewn door - leading to the heavenly places of God, as He calls you forth; you go... you go...

You journey on with expectancy from Him who leads...

On the amazing journey with you,

Kathryn

Taste The Rain...

Taste The Rain!!

It's raining.

I am listening.

Love the sound of the rain...

Wash away everyone's pain...

Allow us to glean and gain...

Thunder whispers...

Thunder roars...

I am listening...

Taste and Flood our veins with love...

Allow us the Holy Spirit's dove...

Heaven here, presence from above...

Taste the Cleansing Grace filling the earth...

Cleansing Grace filling each heart...

Cleansing Grace filling each mind...

Renewal My Lord

Renewal My God

Renewal My King

Grace Raining Down...

Washing away frowns...

Replacing with crowns...

Rain... Rain... Rain...

Tasting...

Listening...

Humbled...

Loved.

GATES & DOORS --- Devotional

"The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, it's gates and its walls." Revelation 21:15

"The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass." Revelation 21:21

Oh Lord, to see the vision of this angel---

This angel talking with John!

I picture this and even can experience it in a seemingly smoky kind of way. I know that this is something extraordinary - yet not to You God - not to You at all.

Gold, glorious gold, the angels measuring rod - obviously yielding powers of You God - with abilities far beyond our earthly comprehension. But you have shown us throughout your Word what power you can bring forth - what amazing acts and mighty power can come through a simple stick - or a staff- even a snake.

So... I know that this Golden Measuring Rod was used in Revelation 11 to ensure protection and here in chapter 21 to be used for measuring.... -- mmmmmm.... mmmmm... I soak in your power and majesty. I soak in awe - and joy- and holy fear of all that you are capable of.

Measure me my LORD - let me grow taller and stronger and more powerful through you to be used for You. Grow me, stretch me, let me "measure up" let me in my own unworthiness take on and be cloaked in Your worthiness. Keep me within the bounds of your Holy Walls and Gates, let me not step outside of Your will or Your protection. Protect me with Your rod, keep me within Your gates so that I remain always focused on You - serving You - through Your power.

Let me have every bit of the power You want me to have through the Holy Spirit - let me be fully surrendered and keep measuring me. Allow Your Angels to speak to me. Allow Your Angels to measure me. Keep the Angels that You assign to me ever present, let me hear their words, let me respond accordingly. Thank you my LORD for Your amazing protection - for Your amazing love and your amazing creation!!

With love and devotion,

Kathryn

(the photo above is an actual picture of my journaling devotion taken by me of these particular Scriptures)