Can you believe this ‘new” year is half over already?  I can’t!  It seems as though the older I get the faster time flies.  2009 has proven to be the year that will actually produce my first book!  Now it may be Spring of 2010 before it will actually be available, but it has been the events of 2009 that lit the holy fire under me.  There have been a number of things that have happened in regard to me writing my book, one in particular I will share with you.  Whenever I choose to share something it is because I believe in my heart it’s a lesson from God that we all can learn from.  Many of you know writing the story of my parent’s salvation and death has been a project in the making for many years.  I have literally been hounded by My Donnie, my family, my friends and even many conference attendees to WRITE MY BOOK!  I have always known in my heart I am “suppose” to write a book, but there has always been this invisible, unexplainable blockade that stops me. I could list several reasons or as some have said, ‘excuses’ for why I have yet to actually sit down and start writing, but they are irrelevant now - they are in the past and I’m not looking back.  I walked through "The Door" and I am only looking forward to what the Lord promised me is on the other side. 

Let me explain "The Door."  My Pastor, Tim Bourne of Genesis Metro Church preached a sermon a few weeks ago titled, “The Door To Something Better.” He literally used a framed door on stage as a visual for us and the jist of his message as from Revelation 3:20 which states, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me." We know that passage is aimed at Believers who have become lukewarm in their relationship, obedience or walk with the Lord.  God’s waiting for us to move beyond ourselves, our lukewarm circumstances, and move closer to Him…closer to something better. Tim posed this question, “Are you living in the ‘something better?’”  God has something better for you on the other side of "The Door."  And He’s waiting for you!  As we hear the voice of God and open "The Door," He brings to us everything we need to fulfill His purpose in our lives.  We were encouraged to strive to live in the "something better" so that God will be glorified in our lives. Because He is worthy!

Near the end of Tim’s sermon I looked over at Donnie and said, “That door is my book!” He looked over at me and said, “Yeah and it’s closing!”  I almost threw up!  A streak of urgency ran through me and all I could think was that I NEEDED TO WALK THROUGH THAT DOOR!!!  And as soon as this service is over, I was determined to walk through that door because I knew this was one of those times when I needed to do something in the physical to have a breakthrough in the spiritual.  There!  It was decided and I felt so much better for about 5 seconds until the Lord clearly said to me, “Bonnie, if you need to walk through that physical door to have a spiritual breakthrough, how many others do you think need to as well?” 

I knew I had heard from the Lord, but there is always that fear (which should be our first clue) that I was wrong about others needing to do it too.  I battled with God on the front row to no avail.  Walking up on that stage and approaching Tim took so much faith, but I was more concerned about missing an extraordinary move of the Holy Spirit than I was about being wrong.  I am blessed to say my Pastor is also more about extraordinary moves of the Holy Spirit, then being wrong and he had the "The Door" moved down off the stage and invited anyone who was led to physically come forward and walk through "The Door" in order to have a spiritual breakthrough.  We did and God moved, BIG TIME!  Two-thirds of the congregation walked through "The Door."  Band members left the stage and walked through, couples went through hand in hand, and together friends walked through "The Door." Lives were forever changed as people were moved towards "something better."

(Click HERE listen to the recap and follow-up message to this amazing, life challenging sermon.)

The funny thing about this story is that as obedient as I may have been to go up on stage and share with Tim what I believed God was speaking to me about "The Door," I then found myself up on stage and "The Door" was now down on the floor!  I thought to myself, “Hey, wait just a minute here!  That’s MY DOOR, this is MY BREAKTHROUGH and nobody’s going through that door before me!"  So, I beat feet down off the stage and was the first person through "The Door!"  What I didn’t expect is what happened just on the other side.  As I passed over the threshold I felt the Presence of my Lord and dropped to my knees as I heard Him speak to my spirit, “Bonnie, just write! Don’t concern yourself about publishing, literary agents or even how to write this book, just write! Don’t spend unnecessary time getting set up to write, just write! Don’t worry, just write!  Then, as you do, I will open the doors and bring this book to pass.”  WOW!  He couldn’t have been any clearer, I had received my instruction, a clear direction.  No more excuses, it is time as my Jesus so clearly stated, “Just write!”

So, I ask you my dear friends, “What is the "something better" on the other side of “Your Door?”

   As I sit here and think on what to write for the Me & My Donnie article, I realize the biggest thing I have to share has most likely happened to many of you as well!  The economy has brought forth some challenging financial times for us and as a result we have had some major changes occur in our life.  How we deal with changes that are beyond our control is a choice.  We can choose to freak out and worry or we can choose to believe that this change did not take God by surprise and trust Romans 8:28 that tells us that, "God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

I realize I make this sound easy, but trust me I know making this choice can be very hard.  However, no matter how difficult, Truth is truth and as My Donnie always says, “If God said it, I believe it and that settles it!”  To the best of ones ability this motto should be lived out by all Christians!  What we choose to focus on becomes the dominant influence in our lives.  If our focus is always on our problems, our problems will determine the direction of our lives.  Every time we face a new experience, we should turn to Christ for His interpretation and strength.

Many of you may know Donnie has worked as an independent contractor for Land Rover North America as a professional driving instructor for over 20 years.  So far, Donnie has worked only 2 weeks this entire year and in addition to this, my job as Sheila Walsh’s administrator has been drastically cut back due to changes within her ministry that were beyond her control.  I pray this story will minster to you through life changes that have occurred in your life recently and encourage you to turn to Christ for His interpretation and strength.

As I faced these changes my flesh wanted to throw me into an anxiety attack and my enemy the devil wanted to take me places in my mind to fear the future, but with everything I had within me I would not allow myself to go there.  Instead, I gave myself over to the Scriptures, I prayed instead of worried and chose to believe that God just does NOT make a change in someone’s life or business that leaves other people in a wake of destruction.  God is in control and His will is perfect though we may not always understand it!

As a result of choosing only to be led by the Holy Spirit, God has shown us why He allowed these unwelcomed changes to occur and where He is us leading from here.  As I mentioned above, I am finally writing my book.  Because Donnie’s work with Land Rover and my speaking engagements are contractual, I have always felt my job with Sheila was our financial mainstay.  Thus, every time I’d think that I didn't have time to write or to invest in my own ministry and would consider cutting back my time at Sheila’s, I would quickly dismiss the thought.  God has clearly shown me He has done for me what I couldn’t do for myself…He cut me back!  So what about Donnie?  We know for certain God has called Donnie to oversee building Promise Home, the orphanage our church is building in Honduras.  We also know he is to travel with me to my engagements. These two callings make it virtually impossible for Donnie to go and get a 5 day a week job.  Donnie fervently sought the Lord and waited on Him for clear direction.  In God’s perfect timing the “perfect” job opportunity presented itself.  Donnie has applied and is now studying to take the test to become a storm chaser!  Okay, it’s not really a storm chaser, that’s just what I call it!  He is about to become a Certified Insurance Adjuster.  This is a job that is well within Donnie’s area of expertise (construction) and as with Land Rover, he will be an independent contractor which gives him the flexibility to work around his travels to Honduras and my speaking engagements.  You see, just as Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-34 (I encourage you to read it for yourself) and especially verse 34 where He says, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Sufficient for the day is it’s own trouble.”

It is time we all start taking Jesus at His Word and believing that regardless of the circumstances that surround us, He IS Jehovah Jireh our Provider and He will never leave us nor forsake us…Rest in this!