9.16.2013

"Here Comes Heaven"

I recently ordered the book Here Comes Heaven by Bill Johnson and Mike Seth. I have been reading it with Ellie almost every night. Ellie is 6, this is a good age (FOR US) to start reading this book. It is a little "deep" for Izzy (4) to follow, but Ellie is really loving it and learning so much. Truth be told, I am inspired and learning so much as well. She is not ready to do a lot of the journaling in the book- but I am so glad we are starting it. It is one of those books that you could do multiple times and learn something new each time.

Here is their summary of the book:
You can bring Heaven to earth by using the talents and gifts that God gave only to you. Your heavenly Father wants you to be the best you can be!
As a child of God, you can live an exciting life of miracles and blessings beyond your imagination. As you discover who you really are through the love of Jesus, your greatest adventure will end in Heaven on earth!
You are on a royal mission to find the keys to the Kingdom of God. Those keys faith and prayer will transform your heart, mind, and spirit by unlocking the riches of Heaven and shaking up your world!


This book is a new way of thinking for me, I did not grow up as a "charismatic". I would love to be more of a charismatic! I want to care more about what the Father thinks of me than what my neighbor thinks of me. I want to bring Heaven to earth! I want to see signs, wonders, miracles. I am such a work in progress- my heart, body and mind do not seem to match up yet. Some people make it look so easy- it is in every fiber of their being and it seems like every word they say is straight out of the Father's mouth. I would love to live like that..more heart, less head- more Holy Spirit, less Jenica!

I grew up in a Presbyterian Church and attended a Lutheran School and the "Holy Spirit" was not a regular topic we discussed in school or church. I absolutely learned about "the trinity" (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) however the main focus was "ask Jesus into your heart to get to Heaven". That is awesome: no Jesus=no eternity in heaven, it is SO important and JESUS is so important! However, I want my girls to know the power and gift of the Holy Spirit ALSO. I find a lot of Christians get a little uneasy about The Holy Spirit and the only conclusion I can come to is that The Holy Spirit is not a regular "topic" for youth in a lot of churches. A lot of churches do the "church talk" really well: perfectly answered questions, perfectly folded hands, bowed heads, closed eyes, routine prayers, precious Bible songs- all delightful. However, it has occurred to me recently that the reason we teach our children these "actions" is more about self-control than about worship. I looked at myself during my quiet time recently and thought, why am I still folding my hands? My posture before The Father is closed hands...I want my hands open to whatever he has to show me, give me, teach me...after 34 years of closing my hands before Him I am retraining myself to open my hands before Him. And you know what...it takes effort. I think "closing the eyes" is also optional, I personally like to close mine in a group setting because my flesh is easily distracted- but you know what- open those babies up if you want to! A lot of us are so routine in our prayers that we forget to envision ourselves before the throne of God seeking him and WORSHIPING! My goal is to not pass the "routine" on to my girls but to give them the foundation for the RELATIONSHIP! I love Ephesians 1:13-14 "And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ—you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory." The Holy Spirit is our "down payment" on our Glorious Inheritance and we shy away from talking about it...that is Satan trying to steal our earthly gift: living on earth as it is in Heaven...in relationship with Him!
SO, this book, Here Comes Heaven is such a great tool for me to teach the girls something that, honestly, I am trying to learn and practice myself. I want them to live life as daughters of the One True King, I want them to know that their Father is flawless and nothing is impossible with Him and I want them to know that His spirit lives IN THEM, which means nothing is impossible on this earth! I actually have tried to read other Bill Johnson books (When Heaven Invades Earth is a good one) and a lot of it is over my head if I am being honest, so I would actually like to walk through this book myself and learn through the eyes of a child. Jesus told me if I want to enter the kingdom of Heaven I need to become like the chid (Matthew 18:1-3) so I will not feel bad about that! 

Thanks for hanging with me on a topic that I CLEARLY need a lot of work on.. isn't it amazing that we can study The Bible and walk with the Lord for so many years and still learn something new EVERY day! (pssss that is the Holy Spirit at work!) 

Here is a little "taste" of the new Bethel Worship CD "Tides" I am so inspired by their worship- some of the songs they sing are spontaneous- this is one of them. Literally inspired by the Holy Spirit! Amazing! 



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