Get Ready for Reset.

Tally-Ho! - 48" x 32", Acrylic on canvas, Elise Ehrenholz, ©2024. Private Collection.

If you've been on social media at all there's a meme of a crazed looking guy smoking a cigarette standing in front of a wall plastered with articles, red lines all over the place. You know the one. It's a nod to those that you see in movies when someone in the search of the truth opens up the door to an unexplored room and there is a massive gasp by the people who have just discovered it. Usually there is not hint of the original wall with extensive pieces of red yard connecting articles together with tacks. And this particular meme, with the character played by actor Charlie Day, well he looks wild in the face and well just a teensy bit overworked. He's obviously put a lot of thought into that wall. It sounds bonkers, but I think I get him, you know. It's like he's saying, "See!" with an expectation that others who look at the wall the same way just might just see it too. That might be a big ask. Well, at least he put himself out there. All conspiracy theories aside and in all seriousness though, I believe we are on the edge of something we've never seen before. There is something from God "on theme" as it were. This is often how God speaks to me about something that isn't in the Bible. And if that's too much of a stretch for you, I guess you need to ask God if that is actually true at all. For me, it's become something I can't ignore. So what do I do when I start noticing what I call "themes"? I write them down. And I pray and I wait. I ask God for clarification. Usually I say something like this, "God please keep talking to me about what Your talking to me about." And also, "Please don't let me be deceived." Both excellent prayers because the devil roams around for someone to devour and he mascarades as an angel of light. This is why you should always pray about and compare to the Bible what people say to you in the name of Jesus. That means everything. Sometimes even though it's well intentioned, it can be off the mark. That being said know that whatever I write about on here is carefully and thoughtfully gone over with God in all the appropriate ways. I don't take this lightly. I'm certainly not in it for the money. And there is a risk that when I share these things, you might also start to get worried about me, like I'm starting to go off my head. Trust me, I've considered that. So that's the risk. I might lose my reputation a little. Oh well. My heart is that I always want to share what I feel like God is saying to me and to bring a timely encouragement. There is always an encouragement there from God even if the "Word" as they say is a hard one. That's where I'm sitting today. With a hard word to share with a proverbial wall of newspaper clippings on the wall behind me.

A little while ago I felt such a burden for an old friend that I messaged them and told them that they were on my radar. I felt like there was a message for them from God, so I gave it. And while it's been awhile since that evening, that word that I gave them has not gone away. It's still on my mind and it feels like it's gotten confirmation for a greater audience. I was thinking of that very moment the other day and then I read my daily devotional book. The Scripture was this, " A furious squall came up." - Mark 4:37. The word I gave my friend in another province was to be prepared for emergencies and that the word "Squall" was foremost on my mind. Yesterday, while I was pondering it all, an environmental warning spontaneously came up on my phone, "Squall Warning." And here I am now sharing all of this with you.

What is the definition of a squall? Oxford Dictionary defines it this way; "A sudden violent gust of wind or a localized storm, especially one bringing rain, snow or sleet." I think this is a heads up from God that a squall is on its way with not only the warning of its potential to be quite dangerous, because they are, there is an emphasis on the suddenly part. Suddenly the environment shifts. Suddenly it won't be situation normal. Suddenly you won't be able to see as well. Suddenly you will have to respond. And that's the clincher right there, that word respond. And that is what we will need to do as the world around us changes because there is a vast difference between reacting and responding. Reacting looks very emotional while responding takes in the facts and then keeping as calm as possible walks through the situation with a prepared plan. This is the heart of emergency planning, and if you've been following me for anytime at all, I believe and have said before, that we need to be prepared for emergencies. Have an idea of what to do ahead of time. Know what you need to have as supplies in your home. Know who are the people you can call for help and vice versa. It's not going to work to be an island. You are going to need a community, we always do. How big is this squall going to be? Big enough for me to be telling you about it. Is it going to be a literal squall or is it a metaphor for something else? I think there is potential for it to be both. Either way our expectations on what everyday life is going to look like are going to have to shift. We need to brace ourselves.

About a week ago I had a picture in my mind's eye of a globe. In the Northern Hemisphere the borders of the countries in North America and Europe were moving in such a way that made their borders blurry, shifting horizontally with a sort of a digitized delay. It was like I was watching a screen that was having difficulty holding a static image. I believe we are on the threshold where the world stage is shifting to something we have not seen before. We need to be ready for things to go sideways. I don't think Western civilization is going to ever be the same after that. I've been hearing the word "reset" a lot lately. It feels like part and parcel of it all, mirroring what is happening in real time. Just like how World War I changed the world forever, this bubble that most of us have been living in is bursting. We will have to let it go. Grieve it quickly because it's not hard to see that war is coming and what is old is passing, has already passed away. And if you, like me, are one who is used to having the world operating in a certain way the next part of history is going to be a rude awakening. It feels like the air is being sucked out of the room already. I know, I'm right there with you. My Mum once told me, "You don't know what war is until it comes to your country." What a sobering thought that is. Reset. Reset. Hard Reset. Seismic Reset.

So where is the hope then if this is what is coming? If this is what is on our doorstep? A squall? A New World Order? War? Firstly, a squall is short lived. Powerful, but short lived. Let's keep that foremost in our minds. This chaotic period will not last forever. That being said, how do we walk this out without losing our minds, descending into panic, and losing hope for better days? I think this is the challenge in this next season, to keep a positive vision despite circumstances, not letting the negative completely define us. It helps me to know that I am alive at this point in history not by accident, but by Divine design. It helps me to know that God sees me and concerned about me. It helps me to know that it is God who fulfills His purpose for me. And I want to believe that everything, even challenging things, that happen to me can be reframed so that something positive can come out of it. Is that possible? I'm not totally sure, but I believe in the indomitability of the human spirit. And I believe that God can make us brave in the face of great opposition. Human beings are after all, by nature, resilient. Difficult things will happen in this season. It will be inevitable. The winds of a squall literal or metaphorical are no small thing. No matter what though, we can keep a vision for a brighter future because life has a way of getting through a tight spot. Jesus did and He keeps championing us on.

The wind that blows can never kill

The tree God plants;

It blows toward east, and then toward west,

The tender leaves have little rest,

But any wind that blows is best.

The tree that God plants

Strikes deeper root, growing higher still,

Spreads greater limbs, for God's good will

Meets all its wants.

There is no storm has power to blast

The tree God knows;

No thunderbolt, nor beating rain,

No lightening flash, nor hurricane;

When they are spent, it does remain,

The tree God knows,

Through every storm it still stands fast,

And from its first to its last

Still fairer grows.

-From, "Streams in the Desert" by L.B. Cowman, first published in 1925, p. 35, 36.

"And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?' Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm." - Mark 4:37-39.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountians be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn." - Psalm 46: 1-6.

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"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”- Romans 10:9-10

Keep stretching your hands out to God dear hearts. Pour your heart out like a waterfall to Him. The road has surely been rough, but we are mighty in Him. Praise you Jesus. You did it all.