Living Above the Sun Ministries

Have you ever been in a stressful situation and the only thing that got you through was prayer and scripture? I heard of a English Professor who assigned students in a master of fine arts program to memorize 30 lines of traditional poetry a week. The professor said He was doing them a favor by "giving them an internal library to draw on when taken political prisoner." A poet by the name of Richard Wilbur once said, "If one is delayed in a bus terminal, or sitting in a foxhole, it's wonderful to have an inner anthology to say over, yet again, in one's mind." What if we applied this same theology to scripture? As much as I love poetry, it doesn't have the power that scripture has. Scripture is God whispering in our ear, it is the heart of God revealed, it is a conversation with God. It's wonderful to have an inner library hidden in our heart for such times as waiting in a waiting room, a doctors office, or walking the dog. It's one thing

This afternoon I went to a Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, as I am a volunteer at Presbyterian Hospital in Matthews. It's national Volunteer week, it's always around my birthday. They had 14 flowers like this to raffle off. All through Lunch I was admiring them. Initially I didn't know they were going to raffle them off. At the end of lunch they announced they were going to, and I got my number ready, and I prayed. I said Jesus I really love these flowers, and my birthday is Saturday and I would really like to have some pretty flowers, please let them call my number. 4 or 5 numbers went by and I kept praying. Then finally they called my number! I was so happy! I said thank you Jesus. It's like Jesus gave me flowers for my birthday. He is the perfect lover. His Favor is so sweet. He smiles on me, and gives me extra waves of encouragement. I never get flowers, I am so excited. Happy Birthday to me.

I was thinking about something my Sunday School teacher, John, said in Sunday School Sunday. Many times when we share our testimony with others we are focusing all on what we use to be, and go on and on about how bad we were, then we got saved, and the emphasis is not on Jesus at all. The emphasis is on Satan and his evil schemes. This brought me think about Noah and the Flood. Imagine, Noah writing down his story and putting all the emphasis on the flood. 40 days and 40 nights it rained, he was stuck on a boat with smelly animals, and his family. God destroyed pretty much all of mankind, sparing only Noah and his family. Then the earth got dry, and we were thankful God saved us, the end. The story does not end that way, it ends with Noah giving a sacrifice of praise to God, and God giving Noah a promise. We read this in Genesis (Chapter 8)"Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that

"Jesus said, 'I am the way the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.'" -John 14:6 God speaks to us in the most magnificent ways, even at work, while mowing your grass, any event you could be doing. We just have to keep our ears open to what He will say and when He will speak. Yesterday I was driving over at bumper cars where I work at Carowinds. I was getting yelled at by parents, and I was so aggravated. Each driver in the ring is suppose to drive ONE WAY . I kept hollering and pointing for all the drivers to drive one way, and take note of the posted "One Way" signs, then God spoke to me. He said, "Allison, that's what I do for my sheep, that's what I do for you. I point you in the right direction, I give you signs through my word to show you to turn and go the other way. I shout 'turn around!' when you are going the wrong way. I am protecting you, I don't want you to get hurt, I want you to obey my

"It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works, LORD, how profound your thoughts!" -Psalm 92:1-5 As my Sunday school teacher, John Hurley, read this passage of scripture, my mind could not get past the thought that I am the stringed instrument being tuned by Jesus. Like a beautiful guitar He strums the chord of mercy within my heart. This struck me because I am a guitar player and songwriter, and relating to God in this realm became very real to me. The songwriter does not just slop words down. It is a time consuming process. Our songs and lyrics is something we feel deep inside of us, it is thought out, it has meaning to us, and is personal. So to think that God, the composer and songwriter of ou