Parra Voyages

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Day 1-Discerning God's Voice

This is the first of many entries on a new journey that I am taking. I have such great expectation for what the Lord is going to do that I don't want to forget any of it. For the past month, I have been consistantly walking and praying every morning. Then I come home and get into the Word. It is definitely the most consistant I have ever been in these areas of my entire ever. I told Luis that I am becoming addicted to spending time with God. I actually crave it like a food. I have felt that something amazing was on the verge of happening...I have been experiencing an excitement in my spirit equal to the excitement I felt as a child at Christmastime.

Then, this morning when I woke up, the Lord spoke to me and said "40 day Daniel fast, and I will heal you." Sometimes I struggle with deciphering whether I am hearing God's voice or just my own, but today, I have no doubt. For one thing, I would never tell myself to fast! Secondly, the devil is never going to tell me to do something that draws me closer to the Lord. So, I am taking this instruction and running with it, full force ahead! I believe God is really going to do something wonderful, and I have no idea what it is. What He said is vague enough that I'm not sure if it is a physical healing, emotional, spiritual...maybe all of them! I don't know, but I do know that whenever God heals us, it's an awesome thing! So I researched the Daniel fast online and in my Bible, and stocked up on some food items that will help me stay the course. I do not want to cheat one iota...because I don't want to miss anything God has for me. I bought strange food like hummus, and stocked up on fresh and frozen veggies and fresh fruit. I will be drinking only water, and am cutting out all meat, bread, sweets. Basically I'm able to have fruit, vegetables, nuts and water. Sounds strict and challenging, but I have great motivation, so I know I can do it with the strength of the Holy Spirit. I will try to journal each day of the 40 days, and share what I learn along the way. Hope you read along with me and maybe something I share ministers to your heart as well. If you are interested in reading where this fast came from, you can read about it here, in Daniel 1 and also here in Daniel 10.

Friday, September 23, 2011

After three days of rain and gray clouds, I found my silver lining...

Thursday, September 22, 2011

God's Timing

I am always amazed how perfect God's timing is. He knows exactly what we need, right when we need it. When I was pregnant with Lily, I was so sad that my midwife from Arizona was more than 2000 miles away. She had been such a support to me all through my pregnancy with Jonathan and I just thought I would never find anyone who compared to Edie. Then a friend told me about a midwifery office in Bamberg, S.C., where we met Anna.

Instantly, I felt at ease, and knew that the Lord had everything in order. She had such a sweet spirit, calm voice, and cheerfulness about her. She was never annoyed with Josh, who would love on her, and look over her shoulder as she charted each visit. (He was definitely smitten with Miss Anna!). She quickly picked up on Jonathan's insecurities about losing his "baby of the family" status. She knew my fears of having a baby in my late thirties, and had a way of calming them, even though the risk never actually changed. She was such an encouragement through the entire 9 months.

When it came time for my little Lily to make her grand entrance, Luis, Anna, the nurse and I spent the time (between contractions) talking about the Lord, and all the great things He has done in each of our lives. There was a peace in that birthing room like I had never experienced in my other births. Even as the pain intensified, and the contractions were more frequent, there was a sweet spirit of the Lord that just lingered. It was a beautiful day for so many reasons, and a special friendship formed between Anna and my family.

When I found out that Anna would be leaving the Bamberg practice, I figured that I probably wouldn't see her again, and that she was just a special gift for a season in my life. Little did I know that Anna was originally from Belton, S.C., and that the Lord would moved us, a year later, to that very same town...and what I thought was an end of a beautiful season, in actuality, was only the beginning of a new one.