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"Light dawns in the darkness for the upright...he is not afraid of bad news; his  heart is firm, trusting in the  Lord. His heart is steady, he will not be afraid," Ps 112:4a,7

Dear Royal One, 

     You're the Father's daughter created for and by Him.

     I'm sending this email, today, because you are on His mind. He has not forgotten you; nor has he forgotten that difficult situation you are facing---the one you prayed about so many times and thought he'd never answer, or maybe you just thought he didn't hear. Well, He heard and He is and has been working, even in what appears to be darkness.

     A few years ago, I felt nudged by Holy Spirit to go for a walk every morning on the golf course beside my house and worship---at 5:30. Ugh! Crawling out of bed that early to walk in the dark was not too inviting. 

     Why not worship at home in my comfy chair? I argued.

     His silence in response to my grumbling wasn't a surprise. I knew better than to question Him, when at that moment, all I cared about was satisfying my flesh and making it appear religious.

     So, for a few days, I set my alarm and crawled out of bed to meet the morning in the dark on the golf course. After that initial attempt at obedience, I pressed the snooze button, rolled over and pulled the covers snug around my shoulders.

     "Linda," I thought. "Let's not get too legalistic about this. After all, maybe it wasn't God who told you to walk in the dark at 5:30 in the morning. Maybe it was your own thinking."

     My own thinking? Now that was a crazy thought. I should have known that I would never think it was a good idea to walk in the dark at 5:30 in the morning---not this once cowardly person, who as a child, saw monsters in every shadow. 

     Yet, I won the debate with myself and continued to sleep in---until---that fateful morning when a loud blast from our alarm system awakened me. I jumped out of bed, fumbled with the alarm settings and turned off that outrageous, startling sound, while my husband crept through the house and checked for burglars.

     I stood in the bedroom and awaited his return, my heart pounding. With my back against the wall, my eyes scanned the room and zeroed in on the blinking lights on the clock face. The numbers burned into my consciousness like a cowboy's branding iron searing a steer's flesh---5:30.

      My deep belly laugh shattered the fear that hung in the house like a vulture ready to swoop in and eat the dead carcass---mine. Jesus did say our flesh profits nothing.

     "Okay, okay, I get it." I sputtered between giggles. "It was your voice I heard."

     "Who are you talking to?" My husband stood in the doorway, his brow scrunched "And why in the world are you laughing??" His puzzled look fueled my laughter even more, which caused him to shake his head in total disbelief.

     "Well, I guess I'll be walking on the golf course every morning at 5:30," I spoke over my shoulder as I slipped into the bathroom to grab my clothes and shoes. "Unless you want the alarm system going off at 5:30 every day."

     "Not particularly," he said, "but you need the exercise."

      Huhh! Easy for him to say, I thought,  as I watched him crawl back into bed. 

     If I hadn't been so sure I'd heard God's voice, I would have crawled back in with him and showed him exactly what I thought of his assessment of my physical condition.

     Instead, while he snuggled under the warm covers, I made my way out the front door and started up the hill beside my house. The further I got from my cozy home, the darker the night seemed around me. I shivered a little. A tinge of fear crept up my spine. 

     "Am I safe out here--- alone---in the darkness? Maybe I  made a wrong assumption about the alarm system blaring at 5:30."

     While weighing the soundness of my decision, an early morning traveler, their muffler in dire need of repair, or maybe one of the teenage dragsters who frequented our neighborhood, varoomed on the highway a short distance away. Annoyed at their foolishness, I concluded that at least I wouldn’t be crushed beneath twisted iron and  shattered glass.

     Still  questioning the soundness of my mind, I zipped my jacket in the now unnerving silence, my  thoughts racing with a myriad of imagined and dangerous scenarios ahead as I trudged one slow step at a time up the steepest incline on the appropriately named Mariah Hills golf course. 

     Halfway up the hill, I stopped to get my breath and wondered if my husband was right about me needing exercise. Looking around at the shadows cast by the tiny sliver of the moon, I questioned again the necessity of this adventure. The darkness surrounding me swallowed that thought into a deep taunting pit that screamed how stupid I was; a creepy feeling that someone watched---not a good someone---left me paralyzed in the darkness---frozen---unable to move---barely able to breathe.

     "Ok, Linda, this is ridiculous. Quiet your thoughts."  I took a deep breath and released the tension in my shoulders as I slowly exhaled.

     "Worship." His quiet whisper pressed into my thoughts.

     At that moment the last thing I wanted to do was worship. Running back to my house and crawling into bed seemed like a much better idea. Determined to stay the course, I closed my eyes, breathed deep again and cried out from the innermost part of my being, "Help me, Holy Spirit." 

     After releasing several more deep breaths, a stillness came over my body. I focused my thoughts on the goodness and love of my Creator and thanked him for everything just as it was, a simple and powerful prayer that had helped me through many troubling times.  

     Still with my eyes closed and my thoughts on God’s goodness, a sound rose from within and I hummed one beautiful note into the atmosphere. That note turned into a different note and another and another until they formed a new melody I had never sang before.

     A lightness in my spirit, a sense of oneness with my Creator and protector filled my being when I heard in my consciousness as clear as if spoken aloud.

     "I AM in the darkness, too." 

     I smiled and giggled and continued my uphill journey. By the time I reached the hilltop my heart burst with an overwhelming joy that filled my mouth with continuous praise and intermittent laughter. With arms extended, I twirled around and around beneath the black velvet sky, the sparkling stars above singing their love songs with me to our creator.    

     I sat on a bench and watched the sun gradually rise over the horizon. In the fading darkness its golden rays shone on my face as I listened to the birds and watched all creation welcome a new day.

     For several years I continued my early morning walks in the dark. During those years, if sadness, pain or worries tried to crowd out my praise and gratefulness, I began to thank Him, even for the darkness, because I knew He was working in it to make everything beautiful, even if I couldn't see it at the moment.

     I'm still on this kingdom journey and challenged every day to walk in the Light and keep my thinking in line with what King David said in Psalm 139:11-12. 

       "If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

     He loves us more than we know. Coming out of the world's way of thinking and embracing His love, righteousness and kingdom is a faith journey full of wonderful surprises. 

     You have received  this email because I thought you might desire to walk with me on this journey. 

     I will send a note whenever I hear a thought from our Father that I think might encourage us; sometimes in the form of a parable or a personal story like above---other times, a scripture or whatever I hear directly from the Father. 

     This is not your usual newsletter. There is no timetable or agenda. Whatever and whenever He speaks, I will write.

     We each travel our own unique journey to seek and walk in God's kingdom of oneness and love together with our creator and King.      

     If for some reason you do not want to stay on this journey with me, please let me know and I will remove your name from the list.

BOOK UPDATE: Some of you have read my books in "The Lion and the Butterfly" series and have asked if there is another book coming. The fourth book in the series is called, "A Royal Inheritance," and the research is finished. I plan to write the prologue this week. Creating a novel with our Father is fun, but extremely time consuming. Please be patient. 

    Part of my Kingdom writing journey is to be still, hear His voice and create with Him. Many times, in those still, quiet moments, He opens my eyes to His love for you---my readers. 

     I smile and continue putting words on paper.

     You are why I write. If you are in need of a listening ear, my email and phone number are below.

Love in Christ,