Out of The Ashes!

If there is one thing that I have learned, over the last six years, about the Father, is that He will bring us to the place He wants us, to fulfill His call and purpose in our lives. Hill Country Thoughts – My writing and Coffee Cup Ministry was birthed out of the ashes of what look like defeat!

Life came forth because Our Father brought me through the furnace of affliction and He is in the process of taking what was birthed in the ashes, brought it out of the fire and is polishing it, putting on the finishing touches so that when He is through that which will be seen, will be the Christ within, that others will see the reflection of that new life, that new creation.

I want to encourage you my friends today, to not turn back, do not flee from these times of going through the fire, for when you come through you will be able to look back and see from where you came, to where you are now and that time of mourning will be turn into joy, that the reflection will be the Lord, That we are in a place of knowing Him and not just about Him.

He is bringing us to a place of intimacy, to a place of walking and being one with Him on a dailly basis!

Blessings my friends,

Writing for the King,

Paul

As I look back, today, June 5, 2009, and it is good to look back at times, who would have thought that sitting at Isaacks Restaurant, in Junction, Texas, in 2004, in a booth drinking a cup of coffee and reading “Moving God Moving Mountains by my friend Luanne Hunt, would forever become in my mind, my Isaack’s moment, that sitting there I would experienced the presence of the Lord and the beginning of Hill Country Thoughts, A Coffee Cup Ministry!

I was utterly in awe and aware of my Father coming and fellowshipping with me, right there, right then, that my Father and I had communion.

We never know where God will meet us. For the Apostle Paul, it was on the road to Damascus, for this Paul, it was sitting there at Isaack’s in a booth. It was a breath taking experience.

Reading Luanne’s book was a blessing to me and I know that it will be a blessing to anyone who reads it. For me it revealed the Heart of God, the importance of ministering to Him and the fruits of such a relationship.

It is as I have shared before, when we learn to listen to the songs we hear, or the words that we read, as we really listen, the Lord will reveal Himself and we will be forever changed.

It is a book that you will pick up and re-read over and over and see a different aspect of our Heavenly Father. It is a book that will put you in touch with the heart of the Father. It is a book that honors our Father, that it is all about Him and not about us.

One of the things that spoke to me was when she talked about our gifts, our talents that He has given us, that they are meant to be shared: “Even if the Lord has blessed you with many gifts and talents,

They’re not meant to bring us fame and fortune or exalt us to a lofty position in the world’s eyes. They’re not meant for us at all.

What? I’m not supposed to enjoy the gifts God has given me?

Yes, you can enjoy them, and should. But they would mean very little if we kept them to ourselves. Surely the Lord enjoyed designing the earth and all the wonderful things in it. But His work was not complete until He shared it with all of us. Had He not created man to revel in His glorious dwelling place, it would have remained empty.

Our gifts and talents are also empty works until they touch another’s soul. They are blessings that bring others joy, satisfaction, comfort and healing. They are reflections of all that God offers to every individual. This is why painters and musicians are so willing to go penniless in pursuit of their artistry.

Something about their sensitive natures lets them see the priceless, spiritual value of their work and how transforming it can be to those who come in contact with it. The need to express love through their art is what drives their very existence.

So it is that God has this same need. We are His masterpieces, created to expose His intense love for all mankind. It’s humbling to think of ourselves in this way and gives us a whole new perspective on why we exist. We are magnificent creatures, sculpted by the Master, for the sheer purpose of bringing His beauty and light into the world.”

Right there in Isaacks, in 2004, like a bolt of lighting, I began to see, to understand that the Creator of Heaven and Earth, our heavenly Father, see’s us as His masterpieces.

It was literally breath taking. It was a revelation of my Father that I have never seen before. To realize we are created for His pleasure, to fellowship with Him.

To be literally caught up with the thought of the Lord, as she shares in one of her songs, is transforming, life changing, awe inspiring, a revelation that will never let you go back, but will cause you to pursue Him, to pursue Him with your whole heart, with your whole being.

This may not make sense to some, but this is the way the Lord brought it to me as I was sitting there in Isaacks. I know, I truly know, even this day, Friday, June 5, 2009, that I am doing what I have been called to do and I have an excitement and an anticipation within!

That it is not something that I am trying to bring about myself. I feel as a birthing is taking place. I know that is an unusual term for a man to use in reference to what he is experiencing but I am filled with an expectancy and I feel like my heavenly Father is pleased and that He, this day, at this moment and time is reminding me that I am right where He wants me.

It has become like a consuming fire. A new passion has been re-birthed, that I am learning what it truly means to be born again as the Lord meant it!!

It is all about the Lord, always has been and always will be and the awesome part is that we get to be part of what He is doing and that too is awesome.

And I know, that I know, that on this day, June 5, 2009, sitting here at Starbucks, that I am right where the Father wants me, here in Smyrna, Georgia, and like my Issack”s moment, that the Lord has taken me to a new level in my walk and relationship with Him and it continues, a consuming passion to follow after the Lord, knowing that what He begins, He will finish.

This is what He wants for all of His children, for us to pursue Him, with our whole being, totally, completely, knowing that this day, we are walking with Him into His purposes, for this day and time.

Let us be His masterpieces, let us be used for what He created us for, to reflect Him!

Till later,

Paul

Are You Contagious?

Yes, that’s right!

Are you contagious? Do you have something that others want or do they flee with they see you coming?

Do they see in you the rest, the peace, the comfort that comes from knowing the Lord or do you reflect the attitude to them that if that is what a Christian is, then thanks, but no thanks, I am much better the way that I am!

Sad to say, most Christians, including myself have been so heavenly minded at times that I have been no earthly good.

I had all the right religious words, all the right phrases, I would never complain and when asked I would put on my most religious face and say, everything is ok, when I was in such turmoil in my life and I was afraid to admit that I needed help, you know, after all I am a Christian.

But over the last couple of years I would say the Lord has allowed me to have a real wake up call in my life and I am learning to know Him all over again, to truly get to know Him as my Lord and Savior and learn to spend time with Him, in the word, in prayer and in His presence.

I learned to let the Lord know what was going on in my life [He already knows ] but He likes it when we come to talk to Him and then listen.

And I think one of the things that the Lord has been teaching me, is that He wants us as Christians to live our life in Him in the world, to be real, not to put on our “religious faces” but to allow Him to use us where we are, that others will see in us the Living Christ and sense His presence and want to have that same peace and rest in their lives and that they see that we are living in the real world, dealing with real problems.

That our life will line up with the words that we speak and the life that we live, and that we are what we say we are!

Again, are you contagious or do others flee when they see you?

Till later,

Paul

Originally shared July 2004

Write From The Heart

Write from the heart!

Words written from within, words from the hearts of those who have been broken, that have been crushed, that have walked the paths that others have! Hearts that have been wounded, that have been touched and have felt the grace of God, whose hearts have been mended, restored and caused to beat again. Hearts that have been healed, taught to forgive, to let go, to restore.

To cling to the master surgeon, who has removed the stony heart, the heart that was dried up, that through the new life, the blood of Christ now surges within, bringing restoration, hope, life that restores, rebuilds us. That makes us pliable in his hands, to be pens used by the Holy Spirit to express the heart of the father, that will touch those wounded in life, who are crying out, why father, why?

For it may be at a time such as this that you are called to lift your pen, your heart, to the Master Author and say, “Here I am father, here I am, use me this day, this hour, this moment to touch the heart of someone who needs hope!”

Hope that has been birthed in you!

Lift your pen, raise your brush, sing your song, be the instrument of God this day, to touch the hearts and lives of others, that they will be drawn to the father, through his son, Jesus, and know the hope, the life changing hope, of Christ within, who changes the hearts of the wounded and causes them to beat with life again!

Till later,

Paul

Reflection

“Your life was designed to be a mirror that reflects all the best things about Him to the world around you.”

I am re-reading “The Air I Breathe” by Lou Giglio and the above quote from page 19, of his book really touched my heart, opened my spirit and reminded me of the events of the last five years and how the Father has taken every bit of that which I have gone through, to reflect to others, to family, to friends, to those I meet everyday, the amazing peace, the rest, the hope that we can have, when we simply stay focused on Him.

That in the midst of the storms and in the battles of life, that we build a relationship with Him. That we can truly praise Him, that it is not simply a cliché, but a reality that is birthed within, as we yield to the Father, to the Lord and the Holy Spirit.

It is that hope that touches the lives of others because they see the reality of it in our everyday life. It is not theory, it is real, it is written on our hearts, it enables us to walk with Him, to build a relationship and intimacy with Him, with others, with family.

We are no longer what we where, we are becoming more and more like Him. As we yield to Him, we are being transformed, being changed, becoming a mirror, that reflects the Christ within.

Is it not time to reflect that reality, the reality of the Lord, not so much by words, but by the life that we live, at home, at work, in the marketplace.

Let your life reflect outwardly what the Spirit of the Lord is doing inwardly!

Till later,

Paul

Here I am Father!

There is just something about an oil lamp that stirs in me a desire to write, to express, to put forth words that are being written upon my heart, that turns my heart towards home, to hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, that bids me come higher, to draw closer and be one with the Lord and drawn into a time of intimacy with the Father!

Of filtering out all around me, the noise of the day, the worries of the past, the cares of tomorrow and being wooed to a place of quiet rest, to a place of saying “Here I am Father!”

Then we can say “Take our hearts, take our hands, take our being and mold us, shape us, create in us a new heart, a new mind, a new purpose, to be all that you have called us to be, a light, a candle, a lamp, a flame, burning for you.”

“That in the burning, all that is not of you is burned away and what is left, is a life reflecting you!”

“Rekindle in the hearts of us a desire to know you, Father, not just about you, to draw strength from you. Help us to follow you, be light unto our feet, guide us on a sure path!”

“Fill us with fresh oil, each morning, fresh manna, from you, from your word, let us shine forth and give glory to you in all that we do, that we might share the reality of who you are, not so much by the words we speak but by the life that we live!”

Let us burn brightly for Him,

Till later,

Paul

Yes Lord!!

Just a quick update for everyone!

This is the view from my new apartment in Smyrna, Georgia, 8th floor at The Smyrna Towers!

What an awesome sunset! To see the beauty of God’s creation and to just sit here at my desk and look out the window, and to see this, was breath taking.

After nearly living four years in small rooms, it is nice to finally have a place to call home, a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bath and storage area. To have a place to invite others over.

I will be sharing over the next few weeks the adventures of the last three to four months and how the Lord has open so many new doors, from a place to live, to a mission trip to New Orleans last week, that totally amazed me as I watched how the Father, took nine men, molded them, shaped them and prepared them for this adventure.

There are stories to be told and I will be working on them.

I ask for your prayers as I begin to adventure back into writing, to blogging, to sharing from the heart.

That the Lord will take what is written to encourage, exhort, to lift up and remind others, that each of us has a purpose, an opportunity to touch the lives of others if we will simply allow Him to use us!

To simply to say “Yes, Lord!” These two words will take us on a journey with the Lord, with our Father each day.

To paraphase, I believe, St. Francis, “Share Christ, speak if you have too!” Let our lives so reflect the Lord, that it draws others to want to know more about Him.

Thank you for your prayers, a lot has happen and there is a lot to share, a new day Dawning [pun intended ]

Till later,

Paul