How I got so HIGH

sans les drogues...(w/o illegal substances)
this is a bit longish, but SO good, so worth it and SUCH a blessing
My linesister and angel-cousin, Candace Bates, sent it to my line and I think it's the kind of piece many of us have seen pieces of before in forwards, but the entire piece is so powerful and a wonderful testament to the power of faith and endurance
I'm sharing it because it meant so much to me...and like musiq said (1st album, aijuswanaseing) on the final track (title bolded):
"people have a tendency to think to themselves/that they're the only ones going through more things than anyone else/but oh i beg to beg to differ/if you would just consider the much bigger picture/cause then you would see that/most people go through the same things that you do in life/but you'll be alright"

soi figured since Somebody's gonna profit from the sharing, there's no harm
no pressure to read more than 250 words for those of you with short attention spans (lol)
sorry...i had to insert at least 1 joke

enjoy--be blessed...

Soaring Like Eagles
by Mary Whelchel

Monday April 19, 2004
Isaiah 40:31: "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles." How often we've quoted and sung this verse, but I wonder, do we really soar on wings like eagles? And what does that mean, after all?

Did you know that 32 times in scripture the eagle is used as an example of the Christian life? That's because eagles are unusual birds who are born to soar higher and faster than any other bird. And as God's eagles, we are made to soar in heavenly realms.

Eagles always build their nests in the highest possible place for three reasons:
1. As protection from their enemies
2. As a perch for surveying the territory
3. As an energy-saving launching pad.

The Word of God is to us like the nest is to the eagle. It is our
protection—our shield—from the enemy of our soul. The written Word gives you a strategic view of the world around you, shows you where to fly and where not to fly; warns you of dangers out in that big world. When your launching pad is God's eternal Word, you're really able to soar like an eagle.

Maybe you've been trying to soar from the ground up. Been flapping your wings a lot lately but going nowhere? You need a better launching pad. Isaiah begins this 40th chapter by reminding us that the Word of our God stands forever.

Jesus is the Word of God incarnate—the Word made flesh that dwelled among us. He stands forever; His love for us will last forever; nothing can separate us from His love; He will never leave us or forsake us. If you're not soaring on wings of eagles these days, check it out. The launching pad is the Word of God. No other take-off will work.

Have you been soaring lately, or have you been more like a canary, in a cage singing a little tune but not accomplishing very much? Or perhaps like a buzzard, sitting on telephone poles, watching everybody else, eating dead things. Or do you look more like a peacock, pruning your feathers?

Tuesday April 20, 2004
When baby eagle is born, her home is a very soft, secure, cozy nest, high up in a secure place. Mamma and Papa are very good parents, and they make the nest as comfortable as possible for their little one. And there the eaglet happily grows until it reaches 80% of its full body size and weight by three months.

While baby eagle is safely tucked in the nest, getting stronger and
growing bigger, Mamma and Papa soar and hover over her, showing her what eagles are meant to do. But with such a comfortable nest, baby eagle is content to be a freeloader and just let mom and dad take care of her.

But one day Mamma and Papa start behaving very strangely. They don't bring any goodies to eat, but instead they start grabbing hunks of the comfortable down in the nest and dropping it over the side. Little by little, they take away all the warm, soft lining until finally the baby eagle is left in that very uncomfortable, sticky, prickly nest. Why do they do this? Because the eaglet will never fly and soar as long as her nest is feathered—and an eagle is born to soar.

Finally, Mamma eagle does something that seems so cruel to baby eagle. She grabs her with her huge talons and she puts that baby on the edge of a precipice. This upsets baby eagle no end. She is scared to death, as she looks down below.

But Mamma and Papa pay no attention to the baby's cries for help, because they know it's time she learns to soar. She was born to soar, but she doesn't know it yet. They've got to show her what her destiny is.

Is your nest being stirred up these days? Did you ever think that maybe your heavenly Father is trying to teach you how to soar? Deuteronomy 32:11: "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions."

Wednesday April 21, 2004
If you've been born from above, you were born to soar like an eagle. As we saw, baby eagle is allowed to stay in her warm, high nest until she is about three months old and has developed her wings. Then Mamma and Papa start to teach that baby what her destiny is—how to soar. First they remove all the soft lining from her nest, then Mamma picks her up and puts her on a precipice, out of her warm, safe nest.

While Mamma is maneuvering baby eagle to the edge, Papa eagle begins circling overhead, watching carefully everything that is happening. Then suddenly, without warning Mamma eagle pushes the baby over the edge. This begins a free-fall and baby eagle is totally helpless. It appears that she is doomed to be dashed on the rocks below, and she is totally bewildered as to why Mamma would do this to her.

Papa, hovering overhead, never takes his eyes off of her, and with perfect timing he swoops down with incredible speed and spreads his huge wings beneath that baby eagle before it is dashed to death below. You see, an eaglet cannot fall faster than her father can fly.

Are you in a free fall? Do you feel as though you're going to be dashed against the rocks and destroyed? I want you to remember that your Heavenly Father is hovering over you, watching you every minute, and I want to absolutely assure you that your heavenly Father can fly faster than you can fall.

This process is repeated time and again until that baby eagle realizes that by spreading her wings and catching the wind current, she can soar like Mamma and Papa.

God wants you to know the joy and freedom of soaring, and once you get the gist of it, you won't ever settle for anything else. It may sometimes seem like a painful flying lesson, but you don't want to miss the joy of soaring. Remember that the eagle rides the air currents while the other birds are flapping their wings. She flies effortlessly, because she learns how to soar on the wind. And as God's eagle, you don't have to flap your wings. If you will, by faith, spread out those eagles' wings, they will carry you on God's Wind, His Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:24: "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it."

Thursday April 22, 2004
Eagles—the Bible tells us in several passages that we are to soar like
eagles. We're not supposed to squawk like chickens, or gobble like
turkeys, or twirp like canaries. We're supposed to soar, so we've been learning how eagles learn to soar.

It can be a painful process, as that young eagle has to be pushed off a high precipice and start a disastrous downfall. But Papa eagle is always hovering over her, and he never allows her to be dashed against the rocks below, because Papa eagle can fly faster than baby eagle can fall.

Doesn't that encourage your heart—to know that your heavenly Father will never allow you to be dashed against the stones, because He can fly faster than you can fall.

There's another eagle fact that is encouraging. Do you know what an eagle does when it is being chased by an enemy? Well, unlike any other bird, the eagle has two sets of eyelids, and one works like sunglasses. Therefore, the eagle can fly directly into the sun when a predator bird is in hot pursuit. As soon as the eagle flies into the sun, using its special sunglass eyelids, then the enemy bird is blinded by the sun and loses the eagle in the blinding light of the sun.

What a beautiful reminder that is to us of how we can escape our enemies. You are aware that you have an enemy of your soul, satan and his demons, who are dedicated to keeping you from soaring. They know you're God's eagle, but they don't want you to soar because when you soar, you are effective for Jesus. So, that enemy will come after you in various ways—through discouragement, through failure, through sin in your life, by convincing you that you'll never be able to soar. Is that where you are?

All you have to do is fly right into the Son of God, get as close to Him as you can, stay in first love with Him, and don't take your eyes off of Him. Your enemy is blinded by the righteousness of the Son of God, and when you stay close to Jesus, you can escape the temptations and the flaming arrows of the evil one.

People will disappoint you; circumstances will go sour; your dreams may crumble and your hopes may be dashed. But I can absolutely, positively guarantee you that Jesus will never fail you. Never, and if you'll fly right straight into the Son, you will have victory over your enemies, and you'll soar on wings of an eagle.

Friday April 23, 2004
Isaiah 40:31: "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." I'm glad to know that God is able to renew my strength, aren't you?

One of the most astonishing characteristics about eagles is the molting process they go through. About mid-life eagles experience this unusual chemical change in their bodies, and the time of molting begins. The eagle will seek out a secluded valley and sit for hours and days there with her head down. One by one she starts to lose her feathers. Her talons become brittle from digging in the dirt. She loses weight; she can no longer soar. Hope is dead; her strength is gone.

Suddenly she hears familiar sounds above her. Slowly she raises her head and sees that her fellow eagles are there flying in formation above her. They begin to drop food all around this lifeless eagle in the valley. When the forlorn eagle starts to eat, she gets stronger. Gradually her feathers grow and eventually she is able to fly and soar again. Her strength is renewed.

And as the eagle's strength is renewable, so is ours. They that wait on and hope in the Lord will renew their strength. And then they will mount up with wings like eagles. This is our promise from the Lord our God.

Notice that when our strength is renewed, first we mount up on wings. Then we run, and then we walk. Before we can walk and run in this everyday world, as ambassadors for Christ, we need to mount up on wings like eagles, and soar right into the Son of God. That's where we find the power and the patience and the perspective we need for walking and running in this world.

I want to encourage you that God can renew your strength so that you can soar like an eagle. No matter how hopeless it looks, God is able to renew you. And if you know some fellow Christian who is in that valley right now, maybe you can be one of those encouragers who drops some meat to them, shows them God's love and helps them to renew their strength.

I hope to see you soaring!

(Mary’s book, Soaring on High, gives more spiritual insights from the life of an eagle. You can order by calling 1-800-292-1218 or online at www.christianworkingwoman.org)

lovelovelove and peace...and flight