The Cookie Nudge...

Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given-and you will receive even more. -Mark 4:24 (NLT)

It's 12:45pm on Wednesday and God has asked me to do something. I'm sure of it. He spoke through a friend encouraging me to do something that anyone else would likely see as trivial and nothing to get worked up about. But I want to puke and back out of it, claiming that I didn't realize that was him speaking.

And then I hear a reply. "If I can't trust you with the little things, why would I give you something bigger?" is what he's whispering. So I'm going to do it. I'm going to walk to a random woman's house who I've only met once and give her cookies, because that is what I think he wants me to do. Sigh. I'll check back in and finish this post when I get home...

All right, 2:00pm and I'm back home.

I decided that I should walk because it was forcing me to be more committed to the crazy thing I was doing. If I drove, it'd be much easier to just keep driving and back out. The entire time I was walking, I was praying. Praying that it wouldn't rain, praying that she'd actually be home, praying that I'd actually knock on the right door and not meet yet another stranger in my quest to follow this nudge that was scaring me out of my wits. Haha.

Anyway, we found the right street and then found the right door. I took a deep breath and knocked. I could hear movement inside, so I said one last prayer (please don't let her think I'm a loony stalker!!), and the door opened. She smiled and I held up the cookies, mumbling something about making them and walking them over...

I thought I would feel more uncomfortable about it all, but as soon as she was outside and thanking me for the cookies, it felt normal, natural, like exactly what God had asked me to do. And it wasn't as hard as I'd made it out to be in my head.

And that got me thinking. How many things have I missed out on (that could be just like that) simply because I was afraid to take the steps to get where God was asking me to go?

Here's my challenge for you and me today: The next time God asks you to do something that scares you, just do it! He knows what he is doing!

Following the Nudge...

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.Don't assume that you know it all." -Proverbs 3:5-7 (The Message)

Almost a year ago, I listened to this sermon:

Does God Speak To Me? from LCBC Church on Vimeo.

Ever since the first time I heard it, I've wondered what my life would be like if I listened to every nudge I received from God. Sadly, I have not listened every single time over the last year. I'm not sure I could even say I've followed them HALF the time. And I wonder now, what opportunities I've missed out on and said no to...

Part of the process of following them, is actually pausing long enough to hear them and I can't say that I've done that. It seems to me that we most often pause when we are going through something difficult or stressful or just plain scary.

This past October, I entered the unknown and decided to try to follow all of them. And making that decision lead to some major life changing events. But before you can hear about the end, we'll have to start at the beginning.

Have you ever felt a nudge from God? You know, that feeling like there's something you HAVE to do. Some call it intuition, others a "gut feeling." Whatever you call it, God gives them to you for a reason, even when they feel silly or pointless. Well I had a silly nudge back in October.

Seats are hard to come by at our church at the 11am service. So my husband and I tend to save them early and one of us "babysits" them. Lol. This particular Sunday, a good friend of mine was at church for the first time since the birth of her new baby girl. Now I LOVE newborns. LOVE them. Seriously. But I felt like I should be the seat babysitter this time, so Shaun went to find them and cuddle that cute bundle in my place.

And it was good that he did, because I got to have a great conversation with a dear friend of mine who I hadn't seen in months. If I'd ignored the nudge and done what I wanted, I would have missed out on seeing her and it would have changed the course of the next several months. But that's a story for several posts over the next several weeks. ;)

Another nudge I've had recently was starting this particular blog. Now I've blogged before, don't get me wrong. I've run a biggish one for a cloth diapering store, I've submitted posts to other people's blogs, and I've even had one other one about my kids that I didn't keep up with. This one is scarier to me somehow. This one isn't about what I have to say; it's about following the nudges I get from God and seeing where they take me. And the unknown is always scary.

I'll end with this as it's been a song on my heart for a long time now. In case it doesn't work, it's "Never Alone" by the Barlow Girls and you can also listen to it here: http://www.barlowgirls.com/

http://youtu.be/x8QubLxJI54