Out of the Ashes

Today, I woke before the sun to the sound of prayers being lifted up at the Hindu temple at the top of the hill. I was reminded of a friend, Amreeta, who when I visited her woke up at 3:30am everyday to prayer to “her God” before they prayed to “their god”.  I was reminded of the need for prayer.  I was stirred and sleepless and I too began to pray.  I decided to dress and leave the guesthouse and try to capture the poignant sounds on audio, but as I went to leave I found I was barred and locked in.  I was reminded of the wild monkeys and leopards, and the need for locked doors. I waited in the stillness of the night.  Through the barred gate, I gazed out over the mountain and saw thousands, millions of twinkling lights of the cities down below. The electricity is so inconsistent here; I think it makes the lights twinkle even more. I was reminded of the millions that have not yet heard, that don’t know. There is a darkness here that needs light. I was...

BAM! And India hits you just like that. The smells, the sights, the sounds, the people. India is and it isn’t. You have and you don’t have. You do and you don’t. I think learning India is about learning each city is so different, each day is different. India is changing and vastly increasing in knowledge and ability and technology.   And in other ways, India is still very much the same as it was years ago. I am not sure there is a norm to be learned, but rather an understanding that there is no norm and learning the new norm is a daily process. I forgot the smells of the polluted air, the oil, the smog, the mildew, the garbage, and the incense burning to the idols.   I forgot the way the smell gets so permanently ingrained in the towels and sheets of the guest homes. I forgot the sights of Hindu temples, colors galore, signs and saris flashing as your drive by the streets. I forgot the men standing on the side of the street urinating, I forgot the...

Sunday began a serious of revelations from the Lord for me. I share this, long as it is, because I don’t think I am the only one that needs to hear it. I was speaking at a church with an Italian pastor. He was delighted to introduce me, because he knew how to pronounce my name. He kept saying it over and over again. It flowed off his lips naturally.   He was saying it with the proper Italian pronunciation.   My family pronounces it the American way.   I thought to myself, “I don’t even know how to say my own name.”   The Lord spoke to me so clearly it was like a loud speaker: “I know your name!”   I heard the song by Israel, “He Knows My Name” I have a Maker, 
He formed my heart
 before even time began, 
my life was in his hands 
He knows my name
, he knows my every thought, 
he sees each tear that falls
, and hears me when I call 
I have a father,
he calls me his own, 
he'll never leave me 
no matter where I go He knows my name
, he knows m...

Again, worship.  Yes, God has had this theme and topic on my heart for some time, over a year now.  I am learning the power of worship as prayer and intercession. I have experienced it in years past. In India during times of intense spiritual warfare and in America during the days when I was really sick and my doctor told me that I was dying, I learned the crushing victory over the enemy that comes through worship. Some of the stories I could share only reinforce in me the effective power of worship. Worship focuses our attention on God. It moves the atmosphere around us. It breaks the chains of the enemy. Worship drives away fear. Worship leaves no room for any one, but God to be exalted. Worship positions us to hear from the Lord. I believe that sometimes God uses worship to sift our minds of the things we are focusing on instead of Him. As we give Him worship, our focus becomes directed back towards God, and here with our eyes set on HIM, we are drawn to His pr...