Beginning Monday, November 7th, the Out of the Woods mini-reading event will begin. Monday through Thursday of that week, a new part of the story will be available each day at LisaHeatonBooks.com.

If you are signed up for my emails, all four parts will be delivered directly to your inbox. You can still sign up for that now by sending your email address through private message.

I’m excited to have a new story available, even if it is in short story form. I always enjoy your feedback, so once the story is available, I would like to know your thoughts.

Until next week…
Lisa

As I wrap up my fall blog series, I will leave off with a future note, of what’s next for me as near as my limited vision will allow me to see. After falling away, falling back, and falling in love with Jesus, I find myself falling forward toward an unknown future. Many doors are ajar all around me, and I find myself waiting in breathless expectation of what God might do next in my life and ministry. It’s exciting, and honestly, if I didn’t know God and trust Him fully, I would likely pee my pants out of sheer terror. I did just say that.

Recently, I read the account of the ten lepers and how, once they were healed, only one came back to Jesus, “praising God in a loud voice.” (Luke 17:11) The moment I read it I realized I always want to be like “the one.” (It’s not lost on me that my last blog used “the One” in regards to Jesus.) That one man in the story recognized what had happened and praised God for it. Certainly the others recognized what had happened, but they likely went back to their homes and families and eventually back to life in general. The miracle eventually got lost in the shuffle of a busy life.

All of us who have received salvation have been healed of our sin problem. Praise God! Most of us have been healed of much more, like abuse, sickness, shame, and a long list of other ills. Sadly, we typically only hear the few praising God for it – at least for very long. These days, the loud Christian voices we hear are fighting and complaining and belittling. If only we were that loud in our praises of what God has done in and for us, the lost might see us as more than a people to avoid. I’m just saying…

That’s what I want this future I’m falling into to be about, praising God in a loud voice, giving thanks for how He has healed and transformed me. I never want to go back to “life in general” lest I forget what’s happened to me over this past decade. Maybe even more than how He has healed me, I praise loudly for how He loves me for who I am and where I am, relentless love that hasn’t given up on me and never will. I plan to never stop telling of this crazy and unimaginable love He has for me. Once you know love like this, how can you?

This morning I heard a song that I like, The God I Know, by Love and the Outcome. Here is a brief line from the song:

I Want You To Know The God I Know
Oh, You Gotta Know
Oh, The God I Know

Now that I’m on the well side of healing, I want you to know the God I know. Oh, you gotta know. I can’t stop praising in a loud voice. People think I’m weird because of it. I totally see the looks on faces when I hardly ever shut-up about Jesus. But truthfully, I consider weird those who have no desire of loudly praising God after tremendous healing. Even if not healed of anything more than your sin problem, you have cause to praise God – yes, with a loud voice. Do you?

That’s where I will leave you today: Have a conversation with yourself – a quiet one is suggested. Then pray about it. Are you praising the God I know? Do you even know the God I know? The One who saves, heals, and restores? The One who loves unconditionally and for no other reason than He is love? I want you to know the God I know. Oh, you gotta know. Oh, the God I know. Enjoy the song.