BRINGING IT

The good news is that your emotions are God’s gift.

Anger tells us to do something about something that has gone south or sideways.

Anxiety is the natural outcome of uncertainty. It pushes us to prepare. But, we are currently uncertain what we are asking. That moves anxiety to another level.

How did I get on another planet?

What happened to my life?

Where does this end?

Could that vaccination Bill Gates is talking about be the Mark of the Beast? The “mark” that determines whether I work or not? Only access to fresh air and food? (Revelation 13:16-18)

Why do all of my edges and margins feel blurred and squishy?

While we are wearing masks and gloves, are blinders being surreptitiously placed over our eyes?

Whose counsel can I trust? Do the conspiracies have any basis?

I think anxiety is the best initial reaction to what we are thinking and asking. If this crisis doesn’t cause us to be a bit anxious we are not paying attention. But while you take your meds prepare.

The TIME magazine people have been publishing a series about science. The Science of Losing Weight, Science of Gender. My favorite is Science of Success. It is helpful. Most of the ink and words busily say that our Emotional Quotient makes the biggest difference.

We are being told to make all decisions based on science. Governors, news people and critics of our government urge us to ignore feelings and obey only the equations and lab-centered speculations. The assumption is that emotions are always out-of-control and never to be trusted or listened to. It is true that our emotions have been vulnerable to error since the Fall in Genesis. Bible teachers and preachers warn us to beware that emotions can be taught and misinformed. Of course! Absolutely! But what are we to do with “go with your gut!”? Love is not lab-driven predictabile or repeatable in controlled tests.

We must listen to the health scientists. “Must” being the operative word. Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil are also scientists who are saying current isolation concerns are not just about psychological deterioration, but will cause the physical body to break down. Dr. Phil is adamant that the current approach is as deadly as the virus. Loneliness is a killer.

I am asking which of the conspiracies have truth enclosed. Our Constitutional government and the free market system have enemies. (Even paranoids have real enemies.) Our sense of self is shaped and maintained by interaction, self-awareness knowing what is and who is safe. Yet, many of those edges and margins have been removed from us. We can become blurred and squishy. (George, don’t go squishy. Margaret)  Let me explain.

Carole and I often ask each other about movies or TV plots, “Is that the way you would have written it?” Yesterday we watched a movie that left the conclusion to us—no closure. We don’t know if the person survived surgery or if the mother ever got the relationship with her kids straightened out. Unsettling!

It may be that I am slightly bent or it may be because of my imagination. I can get lost in a movie or story. (When I saw “Back to the Future,” they had to send a rescue party to get me.) With so much time in front of screens, the possibility of getting lost and losing touch with self and reality is a threat. Therefore, staying in the moment or having lifelines to the moment is necessary and healthy.

A health-care management official says that after this crisis is over we will have lots of health-care workers suffering with PTSD. With opening our country again, I wonder how many will opt to stay hunkered down because of something akin to post trauma. With the forecast that everything will be changed—we will never go back to the old normal, I’m not too happy. I wonder if while the nation was closed for repair, some used the opportunity to remodel it according to their agenda and design. While we were distracted or our attention diverted…? I’m wondering if we will be in any emotional, mental and spiritual condition to find and then fill our places in the new normal.

I kinda liked the old normal, like the woman I’m living with. Carole and I are negotiating with God about Heaven. No marriage in heaven? Whose idea was that? Maybe a suburb where she and I can be together? “Never be the same” doesn’t sit well—makes me nervous. So I’m putting together a plan.

I really want to be a solutionary—a bringer of good news: a plan to keep body, soul, spirit in shape. During another crisis, researchers found that nurses were the most apt of all vocations/callings to burn out. One of our teacher friends spoke of her distress over her students not being in school and the broad scope of what they are missing. It is that commitment and urgency that makes us vulnerable. A health-plan for body, soul, spirit was suggested for nurses. We adapted their outline to our audiences with a seminar, “Closed For Repair,” that we used in a couple hundred settings. Over the next few days, I want to share the updated, printed version with you at Benton Quest House. You will receive notification and link via email and Facebook.

R—Restoration

E—Exercise

A—Attitudes

D—Diet

©2020 D. Dean Benton

Good news & Good News—bringin’ it!

Telling Carole about my early morning dream. I asked her if I appear to have lost my mind, would she tell me. She said she would lure me outside and lock the door. That didn’t help me. So here’s the dream:

I was in unknown territory trying to find my way home. I stole a little car and painted it yellow then took off on back roads to find an intersecting highway that would tell me where I was. I went through several small worn out villages. Nothing looked familiar. Finally I crossed Interstate 79. I asked out loud in the dream, “Where is I-79?” I didn’t know and when I woke I still didn’t know.

I-79 runs south from Erie, Pa through Pittsburgh. Getting to I-79 from Iowa, means I had to take a serious wrong turn.

I can hear doors locking behind me.

I’ve learned to take my dreams seriously. Some are crazy, but this one seemed meaningful. I questioned that when I looked into the mirror. “You look like you’ve been on a long road trip.”

A common background thought among us is that we do not know where we are in all this crisis talk. Don’t know for sure how we got here, where we are in the process or where we are going. It just feels like we are in absolute unknown territory.

We don’t know whose opinion, knowledge and viewpoint is to be trusted. The contradictions are disturbing. The political wars—reminds me of Anne Lamott’s line: “It’s bad enough to make Jesus drink Vodka right out of the cat’s bowl.”

Jeremiah’s words came to mind upon awakening.

Jeremiah 31:21-23 New King James Version (NKJV)

“Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.”

Jeremiah 31:21-23 New Living Bible

“As you travel into exile, set up road signs pointing back to Israel. Mark your pathway well. For you shall return again, O virgin Israel, to your cities here. How long will you vacillate, O wayward daughter? For the Lord will cause something new and different to happen—Israel will search for God.”

Jeremiah 31:21-23 The Message

“Set up signposts to mark your trip home.

Get a good map. Study the road conditions.

The road out is the road back.

Come back, dear virgin Israel, come back to your hometowns.

How long will you flit here and there, indecisive?

How long before you make up your fickle mind?

God will create a new thing in this land….”

Land marks seem important this morning. Today is the firm landmark. Good Friday. Whatever is in question, it is the Cross that is THE landmark. We are God’s children, we are forgiven. The Resurrection is imbedded in each of us—new life and a future. Hallelujah! Out loud and real loud.

My dream makes more sense now. But that little car–you may have to help me with it. Painting it yellow? And I only painted the front half—that would surely be good camouflage: unnoticeable in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

Be safe, be well. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Dean

At Calvary.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVwBKV_OYBc

The grape jelly is ready for Orioles to arrive. Hummingbird feeders are full and the finch food is in a hanging bag specially designed. Finches are beautiful; Zebra finches are fascinating. One book says the male always takes work with him when he sits on the nest.

Our daughter had a couple of finches. The primary job of a finch is to produce more. Her finches got right on that and a baby was hatched. Weeks later, the baby’s feathers began to disappear. First its wings were bare and then torso. Debi called a finch expert who told her the birds build nests with whatever materials are available. If the last brood of kids are still in the cage and there is no other material, the parents will start stripping the young of their feathers to build a nest for the next brood.

If the hunkering in lasts many months, the isolation, self-focusing and boredom puts us at risk of the beak of someone close to you. Due to this pandemic, domestic abuse is on the rise worldwide. Check your beak regularly. Keep track of your feathers. Or as Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 4:32-5:1, the way to defang the isolation :

Be kind
Be compassionate
Be Forgiving
Be Imitators of God

Former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin told the story about a man following a truck hauling pigs. The tailgate opened and one pig fell out. The car driver picked up the stunned pig, put it in the front seat and chased the truck to return the pig. After high speed miles, the pig rescuer was stopped by a highway patrolman.
“What are you doing? You were 40 miles over the speed limit.”
“I picked up this pig and I’m trying to catch the truck that lost it.”
The patrolman told the driver what he was doing was commendable, but he could not put other people at risk.
“What am I supposed to do with this pig?
“I suggest you take it to a zoo.”
The man thought about it and decided, given the circumstances, the zoo was the best thing to do.
Two weeks later, the patrolman pulled up to the man at a stoplight. Sitting on the front passenger seat was the pig—this time with a ballcap tied to its head.
“Hey,” the cop said, “Aren’t you the fellow who picked up that pig on the highway? I thought you were going to take it to the zoo.”
“I did. We had such a good time I decided this week I’d take him to a baseball game.”

Since going to the zoo is out, and with no baseball games to attend we have been asking each other, “What will we do tomorrow?”

Well, I’ve decided to talk to you. Carole is cleaning her closet, baking cookies and taking notes on all things pertinent to Easter, Passover and deciphering what God is saying to us.

May the Lord bless and keep you

(c)2020 D. Dean Benton

Hannah, our granddaughter, is 21 today. The words below are from the Postlude of my book, ON MY FAMILY WATCH. The ebook is available free to you during this COVID-19 crisis. Go to:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/DDBenton/

Scroll past the profile to the list of my books. ON MY FAMILY WATCH can be found there.

A short time before our third grandchild, Hannah, was to be born, Deborah’s blood pressure pushed the doctor to admit her and induce labor immediately. It was Easter weekend. We had a Sunrise service, a Sunday School seminar and a worship event scheduled. Carole has insisted on occupying the waiting room when her grandchildren were being born, so I drove to do the meeting alone. We thought Easter was a good day to give birth. You know—the day she came forth from the womb.

I called the hospital between Sunday School and church to chart progress. As I walked out of the church office, a man asked how Debi was doing. In my fogged state I said, “They are inducing pregnancy even as we speak.” He looked at me and said, “Oh, I think they are well past that.”

The organist hadn’t finished the postlude before I was in my vehicle on the four-hour trip to the hospital. The deal was, “Debi, I want the pushing, screaming, sweating over and a kid produced before I get back.” Well, it didn’t happen. The doctor said we were hours away. We decided I should go to the house, feed the cats, let the dogs out and take a nap. I’m not too great in the delivery room! I would rather opt out than pass out, so going to the house sounded like a good idea to me.

We prayed together before I left. Some weeks before, I felt instructed that we should talk to and about Hannah using her name. On that Easter afternoon, I prayed for Hannah’s journey through the birth canal. I spoke to her by name and told her she was going to be all right. It felt odd to pray like that.

When my chores were finished, I stretched out in the recliner and settled into a deep sleep. Suddenly, I was wide awake. An indescribable loneliness in my stomach had awakened me. I knew I was about to lose someone. I ran to the van, drove two blocks before the tears started to flow. I began to intercede for Hannah and Debi. I drove three or four miles before sobs and tears forced me to park. I prayed like a woman in travail. I applied the power of the blood of Jesus over the infant and mother. I denied Satan access to this child. I groaned and allowed Holy Spirit utterances that were more like moans. Perhaps a half-an-hour passed in prayer before the burden lifted. I drove on to the hospital feeling absolute victory and relief.

When I got to the hospital, I was informed there was a problem. They rushed Hannah to neo-natal ICU. She was premature, had come down the birth canal in the wrong position and was having a difficult time waking up. Several hours later, the specialist assured us Hannah would be fine. She awoke. She indeed came forth. We celebrated the victory! The constricting shell was not large enough. The emerging had been difficult. Breaking out of the shell usually is.

The Easter when she was four, Hannah told her mother that she was going to be a preacher, teacher and singer.

Palm Sunday 2020, Hannah is a junior at University of Kentucky majoring in music and math. Happy birthday, Hannah.

Carole and I are happiest being with children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews learning from them and listening to their insights and laughter.

(c)2020 D. Dean Benton—wonder, writer, witness, husband, father, grandfather

God knows science!

Apart from the faith-based networks and programs, I have not heard the words “pray” or “prayer” in reference to the Covid-19 pandemic on all the discussions about Covid-19.  In an earlier age, leaders would have called us to prayers. Presidents and governors called citizens to prayer and fasting in crisis times. I suspect some leaders are avoiding “pray!” to avoid being charged with “…doesn’t believe in science.” My concern is an implication that, “We and the scientists have got this.”

Update:  Our daughter said President Trump has called for prayer. I’m gladly corrected.

One of my favorite leaders in the NBA (whose family numbers 19 kids—biological and adopted)—said, “Don’t forget the Lord is in still in control.” Out of a good heart he said, “Just stay close to the Lord during this time.” I know what he means, but I’m not sure how a biblically illiterate world will understand. We have declared that Jesus is Lord. Is God in control? That is a legitimate faith-statement. We cannot forget we have an enemy who busy seeking to “kill, steal, destroy.”

We are inventorying our pantry and water supplies. (Peanut butter is on sale at Fareway for 99 cents—limit two.) We discovered we still have several gallons of water we stored for Y2K. The fresh part of fresh drinking water may have diminished. Some things are just not adequate—but we do what we can. I can assure you that…

GOD KNOWS SCIENCE.

Inviting Him into our journey doesn’t release us from responsibility or dismiss the role of health care workers and scientists.

We are praying against the virus, praying for all the scientists and praying for government leaders.

The root word for corona is the same from which we get “crown.” That might suggest there is a spiritual component. Fear is satan’s prime tool and seeks to make it our response or knee jerk reaction. So we pray against such a reaction. God is not the author of chaos or confusion. Life, not death, is His thing.

Stephen Mansfield issued his “Seven Thoughts On The Crisis.” Number seven is “Utilize your community.” That is a stark concern. Isolation and social distancing are key actions in fighting this virus. However, isolation by itself will cause serious health—physical and mental—problems. “Staying in touch” is foreboding, forbidden and healthy. The wise closing of churches is also removing our support systems. After cleaning your devices, use them to stay in touch and to hear God’s message.

I have a benediction to my children and grandchildren when they leave our house or sign off an email: “Lock your doors, use your seatbelts and don’t sleep in the subway—and have fun.”

Now to the serious stuff. Spring training has been cancelled, March Madness has been cancelled. No sports on TV. Is this the beginning of the Great Tribulation?

Be safe, be careful, be blessed.

Psalm 91

Dean

“This is a brutal and gnarly time to be a human.”

John Eldredge

We have a small birdhouse that served as home to a small, loud singing bird for a couple of years. He/she found better digs last year. The lease was picked up by sparrows. During the winter, a sparrow built a nest in the tiny house.

Several days ago, three grackles visited our yard and feeders. One perched on the front rail of the little bird house, looked inside and began tearing the nest out. The resident sparrow sat on top of the house and watched, but largely outsized he did nothing but pace. The grackle tried to get in, but was too large. I wondered if there were chicks, but this is not nesting time. Finally the home wrecker seemed satisfied and flew away and hasn’t been back.

Yesterday, the sparrow was sitting on the corner of the railing and obviously grieving, mourning—head hanging. I don’t always know what birds are thinking, but discernment of spirits was not necessary. That bird was hurting and discouraged. After a bit, she or he climbed into the house. Within a few seconds, another sparrow entered the birdhouse.

I don’t know what was going on inside. The couple may have finally gotten a room. But it was like discernment—I sensed that second bird just went in to be company for a grieving flock member. Or to help straighten up the place. It all happened in a few seconds. I don’t want you to think I’ve slid into bird-brain-ness. It sure was a Kingdom moment, for Carole and me.

An adult friend has recently received racial harassment. I had to question what “race” he is. He really is one of us. His skin is beautifully brown. I had never thought about that—he’s part of our extended family. I don’t know how to help him resettle his house.

These really are gnarly days to be a human—harder yet to live out Kingdom humanness. Even the best-intentioned words can sound trite or undo-able.

The coronavirus is a challenge. A preacher said that “corona” comes from the root word we also get “crown.” He seemed to know what he was talking about. (?) That pastor thinks it is a demonic agent to grab power and attention. How do we respond and react Kingdom-ly? Pray and wash our hands? Keep your hands off your face! Good advice and a tools to avoid illness.

I read that on average we touch our faces 23 times an hour. I can’t think without my left hand holding my head up. When I fret, I prop up my forehead with all my fingers. As I pause between these paragraphs I hold two fingers against my face. President Trump said he hadn’t put his hand on his face for a month—“…and I miss it.” A simple directive. Have you tried?

Paying attention for the drooping head is a Kingdom act. Eldredge says given the brutal time in which we live, “Feasting and celebrating are acts of spiritual warfare.” The mean birds—whether human or fowl—are about tearing things down. God’s Kingdom is about empowering, encouraging and building up. All possible when you sit with someone whose life is in shambles or headed that direction.

Kingdom living is the primary focus. I’m reading “The Gospel of Jesus as Simon Peter told to Mark.” I’m also focusing on Psalm One and asking what does it mean for me in a brutal, gnarly world?

“…Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come, The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news, (Mark 1:14b-15).

©2020 D. Dean Benton—wonderer, writer, witness

G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) author, humorist, lay-theologian and futurist.  H.G. Wells told Chesterton’s widow that his only chance of going to Heaven was that he (Wells) was a friend of Chesterton.

From his classic book “Orthodoxy”

“Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient masters of religion were quite equally impressed with that necessity. They began with the fact of sin—a fact as practical as potatoes. Whether or not man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing. But certain religious leaders in London, not mere materialists, have begun in our day not to deny the highly disputed water, but to deny the indisputable dirt. Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.”

I’m amused by his frequent use of the word “modern.” At the end of the 19^th Century! Moderns at the turn of the century—pick any one right after the most recent—are about disputing all that has preceded them and inserting their own wise suggestions.

“And the moral of the story is…”

“Son, how did the day with the substitute teacher go?”

“I liked her stories because they had no morals.”

There is no moral to this story. Well…other than to ask who the “modernists” of 2020 are and if they lead to inevitable ends like, “For the earth to survive, humans must become extinct.”

For a further look into the Jesus Follower named G. K. Chesterton

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=GK+Chesterton&view=detail&mid=557FB4F241F57EAAB4C4557FB4F241F57EAAB4C4&FORM=VIRE

©2020 D. Dean Benton—writer-wonderer-witness

(Hannah, you are right.)

wondering:

Did John the Baptist wear his clothes of camel hair into the river to baptize people? Did the crowd complain about the lingering smell of a camel-sized wet dog?

wondering about my decision:

Sitting in chiropractor’s waiting room. Waiting rooms are where armies of germs hang. I had determined not to pick up a magazine. Who knows who has been flipping pages with diseased fingers. Two kids, ages 6-8, enter. Overactive is a good word. Climbing on chairs. The girl announces that her younger brother never showers. He responds with nasty words that young siblings enjoy using. I started it all with my, “Hi guys. How’s it going?” The girl came to sit next to me and engage me in conversation. She reminded me that she and I are alike—“We both have to wear glasses.” Then she picks up a magazine and offers it to me. Moral dilemma! I told her my glasses were dirty and I wouldn’t be able to read well. She tutored me on glasses hygiene.

The lady said, “Dean, room 2.” I excused myself and the girl held up her hand—to give me a high five. Hard choice! Dilemma! Dilemma! My priority was to affirm those kids, especially the kid who selected me to be her friend. I looked at her hand and saw (gift of discernment) exactly 11 million germs wanting to get on me. I used a diversionary move. Wondering if I should have sacrificed my health and touched her hand? I still don’t know, but I sure don’t feel good about my decision.

seeing and wondering:

Looking into the deeply gray day, I recall a southern writer saying, “The problem with Yankees is cloud cover. Anyone going that long without seeing the sun undoubtedly needs a front-end alignment.”

wondering and hearing:

The man Jesus healed in John 5:1-15 had been an invalid for 38 years. When Jesus healed the man, the Greek word therapeia is used. Heal—therapeia—the foundational word for “therapy.” Teacher Rick Remmer says this is the Greek word used 90% of the time to describe Jesus’ healings. He also says that therapy suggests cooperation with the therapist is required. That is why Jesus said things like, “Stretch forth your hand.” “Get up and get going.” The result is healing—cooperating with the healing and healer which is the act of faith.

Remmer says the enlarged meaning of the word “whole” means he got his life back. “Do you want to be whole?—Do you want to get well?” “Do you want your life back?”

I’m wondering how old the man was. Was he 38? Had he been an invalid all his life? Or, did he remember when he could walk and care for himself? Was he an invalid resulting from a work-related injury? If he was an invalid from birth, getting his life back meant he would only be a younger version of his dependence on others. Jesus was offering the life/purpose God originally planned.

I’m wondering if the invalid saw himself as invalid?

I’m wondering where I can find a front-end alignment.

©2020 D. Dean Benton   Wonderer, Writer, Witness

The Pew Forum which tracks culture and social trends in the USA sought to find who and what Institutions do Americans trust. Who Do We Trust? July 2019 they published their research. Americans trust…

Author & speaker Stephen Mansfield reported this to ask if there is a crisis or an extremely close election, who or what institution will provide leadership? Who would the American People trust to provide answers and solutions?

At the center of any Democratic Republic is the ballot box. Peaceful transition following a free election sets our Republic apart from the non-free nations and governments.

Congressman Adam Schiff said that unless Congress removes Donald Trump Americans cannot trust the outcome of the 2020 election.

Scientists…83% of Americans trust scientists most.

Military           …. 80% (+/-)

Clergy                  61%

Journalists       .…55%

Business leaders…43%

Supreme Court     38%

Politicians…       36%

Newsman, journalist Bret Brier asks,

“So does this mean voters should never trust the vote anymore? They can only trust lawmakers to decide when a President crosses the line to get kicked out—& What qualifies to kick out that President? And only those lawmakers can do it? Not voters? Ever?”

Who do we trust? Who do you trust? Which of the institutions can we trust to provide wise leadership? Socialism/Communism says the government only. Democratic Republic says,

THE PEOPLE!

In every society there are 7 Spheres of Influence:

1. Family (household and social sphere)
2. Religion (including church sphere and spirituality)
3. Education (k-12 and universities?)
4. Economy (business+finance/science and technology)
5. Politics (government sphere—all three branches of government)
6. Media
7. Celebration (arts+culture/entertainment/sports)

If you do not see them in that list, you will need to place the military and medicine.

If The People do not trust any of our institutions—the institutions that speak for us through representation—to whom do we turn for public leadership we trust?

If I were conspiratorial I would wonder if there is a planned attack going on. (Re: Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis) First destroy faith in institutions and then sow doubt as to the worth or the trustworthiness of voting–bomb the ballot box.

Friends will say, Trust in God. I do—that is where my primary trust is placed. But God has placed us on the Earth and made us stewards, given us dominion. That means God’s Kingdom People are to be influencers (not controllers) through our individual voices and institutions.

Rebuild The Trust

Reference: Who Do We Trust, Stephen Mansfield, Stephen Mansfield Podcast.

©2020 D. Dean Benton—I am Dean. I take responsibility for this message.

My preceding blog, Receive and Steward Your Future, needs clarity. A man in a seminar thought I was talking about profit when I talked about prophet. He thought the seminar was about investing in the market. No, it is prophet—an integral part of Jesus’ Kingdom. Segments of the Church understand and organize leadership around the 5-Fold Ministry which comes from Ephesians 4:12-13:

The purpose of the five-fold ministry is, “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Apostle Paul says God has blessed the church with Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers. Most scholars tend to list the last two in this list as “pastor-teacher.” They recognize that they are separate offices, but connected. Pastors teach, but not all teachers, pastor.

Two kinds of prophets: one foretells what is going to happen. The second forth-tells. Much like a mentor or a very good coach. There is more to say about this, but I’m centering on the forth-tellers who ask questions and make observation such as, “Have you ever thought about being an accountant?” Or, “I see in you a gift for teaching 4^th-graders. Does that resonate with you?”

“You can speak in tongues, but I want all of you to prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14.)

A prime example is found in Princess Diana. Minutes after I posted the first blog in this 2-parter, Carole and I watched NBC’s Ann Curry moderate and interview several people close to Princess Dianna.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/princess-diana-remembered-1037081155672/

There is no doubt that the negative “prophets” in Diana’s childhood and then in her marriage are linked to a horrible life. She was called “thick” by her family. She was Abandoned, Abused, Forsaken by her husband and Betrayed. Notice in the videos  heavy bangs over her forehead and eyes behind which she appears to hide. It was not until a speech mentor volunteered to help her learn how to speak in public that she heard a “prophet” speak positive descriptions and words into her in a way she grasped. Notice her hairstyle and lifted chin, thereafter. Few people will deny for any of us that such negative appraisals will damage us long term. I’m talking about intentional speaking our “future” into us–not palaver, but real assets not immediately visible to us.

You do not need credentials to speak into someone’s life. I don’t know if that speech coach is a Jesus follower, or if he is filled with the Spirit. He is a human speaking into another human. (The limits of this needs more thought.)

We are at the big question: What if no one “speaks into you?” What if you have no neighborhood prophet who invests into your future?

Esther Fleece Allen was a fast-rising leader with Focus on the Family. She had been adopted as a child, abandoned by her father. Twenty-years after that total abandonment he reappeared unannounced and began to stalk her. She collapsed under her early life abuse and the negative input as an adult. I don’t remember hearing about any earth-moving encounter for her. She found healing and guidance through Scripture and interaction with God The Father.

Type Catalyst Podcast 540 Esther Fleece Allen into your computer search engine for the interview.

I’m thinking that most Jesus Followers are best served in finding our next season. Prophesying a legitimate encouraging or instructive word is not an attempt to control. I think it is an important Kingdom function.

Author and marketing guru, Donald Miller, asked Carol Aebersold, creator of “Elf on the Shelf,” if she felt this was her calling. She replied, “For this season of my life, it is.”

For This Season, It Is

©2020 D. Dean Benton—writer, wonderer, witness