Monthly Archives: July 2013

The Distant Dead

By shellyhuey | Uncategorized , Victory Update

Near our home is a vast cemetery.  From our backyard we can look out upon its rolling green hills. From a distance it looks like a magnificent park.  Perfectly landscaped.  SPACIOUS and SPRAWLING. Trees and shrubs gracefully CASCADE across the slopes.  Truly a façade.  People are surprised when I point out that what they are seeing is actually a graveyard.  The other day while I was hiking past the cemetery, I noticed that eerily daunting machines were traversing across the span of EMPTY lawns.  The biggest and best tractor/lawnmowers I had ever seen.  I stopped to WATCH.  I took the time to see what was ACTUALLY going on. I was amazed how accurately the massive lawn mowers maneuvered around each tiny gravestone.  The driver was so careful that each gravestone was METICULOUSLY groomed.  PATIENT and PRACTICED, he didn’t IGNORE even ONE gravestone.  The cemetery has a full time grounds staff.  The crew never stops.  Every day dedicated workers are out there, uprooting, digging new graves, transplanting, performing their duties.  Painstaking, thankless, laborious care.  No one really SEES them or NOTICES them.  The visitors and loved ones here are too consumed with grief.

Forgive us God, as We the Church, have focused on the church size/building/facility to define the biggest and best landscaping of Christianity, yet typically when the unsaved/unlovely come in, they experience a vast cemetery of EMPTY welcomes.

Forgive us God, as We the Church have forgotten that spiritually dead people that don’t know Jesus are walking all around us.  And sometimes We act like an eerily daunting machine that maneuvers around their groomed lives.  We forget that they stop to WATCH US.

Forgive us God, as We the Church, become IMPATIENT with each other.  So we don’t PRACTICE what we preach.   And we end up IGNORING the ONE reason that we are together as a body… Jesus

Maybe from a distance your life looks like a MAGNIFICENT park.  Perfectly landscaped. And you fear that if someone gets too close, they will see that your life is truly a  façade.

Maybe you have opened up to other Christians about your sin/pain.  And they are surprised.  But they never actually took the time to see what ACTUALLY was going on.  So they hiked away from you.  And now you feel betrayed and alone.

Maybe your life’s responsibilities are full time.  It never stops. You are dedicated.

You are out there. Painstaking, thankless, labor.  No sees what you do.  No one notices you.

You have a full time staff in your life.  It’s called the Holy Spirit.

He doesn’t just want to be a visitor.

He is consumed by grief when you forget He is there.  Ephesians 4:20

He sees you.  He notices you.

You are His loved one.
He uproots your facades and gives you the reflection of Jesus.

He digs new graves for you to bury, cover and heal your sin/pain.

He transplants your hard labor for His glory.

He performs these duties.  And much more.

Once you ask.
Let Him help transform you, into what He already SEES in you.

His Grace cascades down and covers EVERY slope of your life.

So that…
Your life submitted reflects His MAGNIFICENT glory.

Your mess surrendered is wiped clean by His SPACIOUS and SPRAWLING majesty.

Your sins forgiven are consumed by His VAST love.

 

And everyone WILL SEE and everyone WILL NOTICE…

…..HIM….. in you.  1 John 4:9

PRAISE:  We have added several new staff to our business! Thank you for your prayers.  We are still looking for more positions to fill, please pray for the right employees.

PRAY:  We have a project that is requiring us to travel to Alaska.  Please pray for supernatural success with this client.  As this project becomes successful, it will open the doors of new business. (which we need)

PRAY:  As we are aware of the upcoming election cycle for 2014, pray for the potential candidates to be representatives of Gods word and His people.  This state and country need a massive influx of righteousness into a corrupt system of wickedness.

PRAY: For pastors and leaders here in LA County to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Pray against the spirit of division that continues to infect our churches.

 

Questions/comments? Please reply to shellynotw@gmail.com

Nameless Strays

By shellyhuey | Uncategorized , Victory Update

Our home sits near a valley, so we are frequently visited by a variety of local WILD LIFE.  Peacocks, raccoons, porcupines, opossums, squirrels, skunks, and occasional stray dogs and cats manage to wander aimlessly into our yard.  Invading our PRIVATE SPACE.  Most activity is at night, where they think that they won’t be discovered.  They usually LURK around the PERIMETER and eventually the motion detector lights FLASH ON, alerting us to their arrival.  Thank God those animals shrink back into the darkness.

A few months ago during the daytime, we saw the smallest cat yet.  This little DEFENSELESS creature was so desperate for attention, but was extremely NERVOUS to come near us.  I’m sure Craig and I looked liked evil GIANTS.  We knew that if we started to feed it, it would come back for more.

So we fed it.  We placed a plate of food a short distance from the back door of the house.  Day after day it would come back.  Each day we moved the plate closer to the back door. Eventually, it mustered up the COURAGE to come right next to the back door and eat the food.  It even became comfortable with our presence.   It soon allowed us to STAND near it while it ate.  It was no longer scared.  Then one day, we reached out and touched it.  It seemed to like the attention and love.  At this point, it became apparent that this cat had adopted us.

So we felt compelled to give it a name.  Kitty.

We were already calling it that anyways.

Kitty now COMES INSIDE the house.  Kitty sleeps and RESTS on a special blanket, in a specific spot.  LIFTED up high on our living room couch.  Safe. Secure. Not scared.

Kitty FOLLOWS us everywhere These are tools that have proven track records and have stood the test of time in the hard drive recovery software center. we go.  Kitty wants to be around us all of the time.

DEPENDENT and APPRECIATIVE, not a typical cat.  No longer a nameless stray.

Forgive us God, for We the Church have allowed our homes to become NOT frequently visited by a variety of the local “WILD LIFE”.  Because we value our PRIVATE SPACE over serving sinners and reaching the lost.

Forgive us God, for We the Church, usually LURK around the PERIMETERS of local business, government, schools and media.  We fear discovery and if we are detected, and the lights of persecution FLASH ON, we shrink back.  And darkness settles in.

Forgive us God , for We the Church sometimes act like we are little and DEFENSELESS creatures.  So We remain extremely NERVOUS to confront the evil GIANTS in our culture, become comfortable with their presence and stay at a safe distance.

Maybe we forgot that You called us, named us and adopted us.

Before we were born.   Jeremiah 1:5

Maybe we forgot that You want to feed us daily Your word.  A taste of kingdom life.  Psalm 34:8

Maybe we forgot that You want to love us daily by Your touch. So we can love too. 1 John 5:19

If you feel that you are stuck outside, at the back door of Gods presense…

If you feel that your relationship with Jesus STANDS at a short distance away…

If you feel that you just can’t muster up the COURAGE to come right next to Him…

He already knows.  He knows your heart.  And why.

Just tell Him. He hears you.  He forgives.  And restores.

COME INSIDE His house.  REST in His presence.  He will LIFT YOU UP onto His couch of safety.  He will cover you with His special blanket of security. No longer scared.

So that You…

FOLLOW Him wherever You go.

Want to be with Him all of the time.

Are DEPENDENT on Him and APPRECIATIVE.

Not the typical Christian.

No longer a nameless stray.

PRAY FOR:  Christians here to recognize their ability to become change agents for Jesus is based on HIS ABILITY working thru THEM.   And not just relying on their pastor/leader to do it by themselves.

PRAY FOR:  For the pastors/leaders to know WAR is being waged against our religious freedom.  Their fight begins on their knees in prayer.  Only then they can effectively STAND when engaging our culture, and leading their flocks.  Pray for them to be aware that lines are being drawn in our culture RIGHT NOW that will require them to declare FIRM stands against SIN and for TRUTH.

PRAY FOR:  Christians attending churches that do not stand for Gods complete word as absolute truth, need to be the refining LIGHT/FIRE in the darkness.  We are living in the end times, false prophets and teachers are abundant. We need to not just read Gods word but IMMERSE ourselves in it. MEDITATE on it, APPLY it and DECLARE it.

PRAY FOR:  Our business.  We have many opportunities for new jobs, but they continue to be in a “holding pattern”.  Once again, we need supernatural intervention to keep on track.  This month we downsized our office space.  We are a lean, mean marketing machine!  Pray for Craig and Caleb as they attend the Freedom Fest in Las Vegas.  Craig will be speaking on Saturday.  We need new clients.

PRAISE:  We have had some amazing speaking opportunities recently where we have been able to share our testimonies as well as the gospel.  Pray for more platforms to make Him known!!!
Questions or comments? Email me at shellynotw@gmail.com.