The Kingdom Way to Breathe...

I have been encountering God in the deep lately.  

As in, literally, in the deep... 

And the irony is not lost on me. 
You see, I have this fear of deep waters. I'm not sure where it came from but I have always battled a fear of water. 

I LOVE the beach and find peace and rest on a shore - whether it be ocean, inlet, or riverbank... but take me out to where my feet won't reach the bottom, well... (Cue "Oceans" song here...) I'm not a fan.

I get a little twitchy with a case of side-eye and I may hyperventilate or be prone to desperate bouts of praying in the Spirit (--which spirit, it's hard to tell.)

I am so aware that I am not in control and that I am being forced to trust. That whole sense of adventure and play evaporates like good intentions on a slow, sunny, summer afternoon!

So the fact that He is calling us out into the Deep... well, it stretches me --but I can never say no to Him! 

Oh - I can want to... but He's just so convincingly Good...


All of that to say this:

A couple of weeks ago, during a worship service at a conference, I found myself gasping for air and wondering why it felt as if my lungs were filling with water. 

And then this happened: 

As posted on facebook - because that is how grown up's process things now:

"Last night during worship at Worldcast, I had a vision/experience that I wanted to try to find (brief) words for. Imagine if you will what it looks and feels like to dive down into deep water... that feeling of just breaking the surface and then being immersed into a completely different atmosphere. You have to hold your breath and the time you can spend there is limited. During worship I had that same sensation but instead of me jumping down, the 'water'/atmosphere was coming down all around me. I could feel the break over my head and to my shoulders and then it would lift. I felt like I needed to hold my breath because it felt heavy and thick like water.

I heard God whisper, "I AM the breath in your lungs... (Referring to one of my favorite worship songs) but I am not Oxygen, I am the Living Water and you can breath me in. I am teaching you how to breathe differently in this atmosphere because this is what it feels like to bring Heaven to earth."

I began to breath deep and was getting a little frustrated that it would only go to my shoulders! "I want to go all in, Lord!" I cried out. He said, "Lift your hands, and dive!" and suddenly it felt as if I was being pushed up from one realm to another... birthed into the Kingdom, so to speak.

We are called to shift the atmosphere and to release heaven on earth but there is coming a time, and it is now, that He will teach us a new way of breathing so that we can stay immersed and saturated, wherever we go!

For the King and for His Kingdom..."

As I typed this out on facebook, I was reminded of a vision I had back in 2011. I had to rummage through stacks of journals to find it but find it, I did!  Way back then, you know-- five years ago, this is what He showed me:

"While spending time in worship, I saw myself dancing. At first I thought I was just seeing vivid colors but I then realized that I was dancing under water. Gravity was not holding me back and I could flow and jump, twist and leap and spin, without any hindrances.  It was so beautiful, graceful, and peaceful.  Then I saw myself back up on the waters' surface, floating.  I appeared to be stranded in the middle of the ocean and in the natural, it seemed dangerous and hopeless with no land in sight. However, if I would just dive down deeper, things looked totally different. The surface of the water is all that separates two worlds: the natural (where Fear rules and reigns) and the spiritual (where Peace and Grace embrace you.) From the perspective of the natural - Risk looks like opportunity for failing, but from the perspective of the spiritual, Risk is Grace in motion.

The other thing that stood out to me is that the surface is SO thin. It's such a small barrier that separates! There is a way to break through that is smooth, calm, and graceful... or you can dive in, crashing the surface where you feel pain and create a disturbance. Both ways get you below the surface, into a different world, but one is more powerful and it depends on your perspective on which one you think that is! It made me think of watching the Olympic Diving competition.  So much focus is on form and technique -yet a lot of the score is dependent on the Splash created (or lack thereof) when they dive through the surface into the pool.  The smaller the splash, the better the dive!

Fast forward back to last week. 

Lately, my Honey and I have been praying for dreams as we drift off to sleep.  You know, as in the book of Joel kind of dreams.  I experience visions when I am awake, but seldom remember any of my dreams.  But we decided we wanted to experience more and so you know the drill. You have not because you ask not and all that jazz. 

So we started asking.

And last week, I woke up after a very short, very vivid dream and thought: "Alrighty then... here we go!"

This is what I saw in my dream:

I saw three distinct scenes, one after another with simply a bright flash of light in between.  

The first scene was from the shoreline, looking out to sea. Suddenly, I saw two whales breaching in the horizon.  They were close enough to see, but I was on the sand, and they were in the deep.  I immediately thanked the Lord for letting me see them! They were incredible... such a wonder and beauty to see!

{Flash of Light}  

The second scene was seeing myself swim with dolphins in a closed in area. They were so playful and fun! Again I immediately thanked God for letting me swim with them and experience such wonder and joy.

{Flash of Light}

The third and last scene was seeing myself in scuba gear and deep sea diving down in the Deep.  It was magical and so full of color and vibrancy... everywhere I swam, the sea life followed and surrounded me. Again, in breathless wonder, I thanked the Lord for allowing me to experience this... to be surrounded by such wonder and beauty!

{End of Dream} 

I woke up and asked the Father what it meant right away.

He said, "The Kingdom is at hand... it is all around you.  You are free to experience any and all three of these scenes! Signs and Wonders can be experienced far off, safe on dry ground... in a secluded, secured area, or you are invited to dive down deep and learn a new way to breathe.  Wherever you go, signs and wonders can follow!"

Well, I don't know about you but I know about me.  

This is the cry of my heart! Not that I would chase after signs or wonders. 

No. Not that.  

But that I would chase after HIM, and signs and wonders would simply flow out of that... that they would follow me as I follow Him!

On Sunday, during worship once again, I had a simple flash of a picture... we were singing O The Deep and I saw a Mama Duck with all of her babies in a row, single file, behind her.  She stopped and gathered them to her side, lining them up on either side of her and with her wings outstretched she led them to walk WITH her, by her side... and she led them over the edge into the deep.

I think maybe Jesus is trying to tell us something, you guys!

I think maybe He really IS calling us out into the Deep.  But He is going with us... He is by our side...and He is teaching us how to breathe underwater... how to fill our lungs with Living Water and how to function in a way that we remain saturated with His Kingdom Presence wherever we go.

I can hear Him calling... 
"Just Jump! Dive in deep and you will land in My loving arms and I will fill your lungs with a new kind of air and I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know!" (Jer 33:3)

P.S.  I'm linking up with these lovely writers:

Kelly Chripczuk  for #SmallWonders 

Holly Barrett for #TestimonyTuesday

Kelly Balarie for #RaRaLinkUp

Lori Schumaker for #MomentsofHope

Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory