reality blog

WINTER IS COMING

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

Forgive the Game Of Thrones reference please. Today was the first day of daylight savings time. Two days ago it was 75 degrees here and we had enjoyed two more days of Indian Summer in Massachusetts. This morning the dogs were up at 2 A.M. and it was down in the 20’s when I took them out for a walk.

I got a lot done last month towards the winterizing of The Vicarage and the forest gardens, but there is much more to do before the true winter settles in.

There are still cellar windows to be covered in bubble wrap. It’s a new thing I am trying in the cellar to see if it improves the insulation in the dead of winter. This came as a suggestion from my sister who uses it on certain portions of her apartment in the Netherlands. The plastic at the cellar doors also needs to be hung. It was a big help last year with the winter wind.

Most of the leaves are gone now. Just the Norwegian Maples still hang onto their leaves. They light up the forest garden in the early mornings making the light almost magical. I still have some garden areas to prepare for next Spring. I am planning on planting a stand of Jerusalem artichoke out by the grape vines.

And I have plans for a pumpkin patch next year. So there is some cutting and dirt turning to do before the ground seriously freezes. I also have a few more rocks to move into place around the picket fence area before they freeze together in the winter storms.

It was a beautiful fall. Now it is time to get ready for the holidays and the New Year.

SABBATICAL’S END: FOUR BODY THINGS

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

Sabbatical 2024 is over. I went back in to the office yesterday and began setting in motion some of things that are to begin in 2025 and 2026.

I learned many things during this sabbatical. Many of them were for me and my own personal spiritual growth, but here are four things I learned for the body of Christ.

ETERNAL DEFINITIONS: Our church needs to begin living by God’s definitions of things rather than the world’s definitions of things. We need to bring the definitions of words from eternity into the here and now. We need to begin living by those eternal definitions in the here and now.

CORPORATE SELF-REVELATION: The church needs to have a revelation of itself, a revelation of who we are to Christ, who we are to ourselves and who we are to our communities.

Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com

THE NEED TO SEE:  We need to see what is coming down the road. It feels like threads are coming together and we are beginning to see the tapestry, streams are blending in a divine confluence. We need to understand our own small part of the stream, much depends on it.

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

A SEASON OF DELIVERANCE: from OCT. 8….. “The next season will be about deliverance. Like repentance, deliverance is more about what you are moving toward than what you are moving away from. In fact you will never be delivered until you have a firm vision of what you are getting in place of what you are giving up and until you believe that what you are getting is better than what you are leaving behind.”…

From Oct. 28…….”The days ahead are days of supernatural deliverance! The power of the Spirit is going to begin flowing and moving in even more miraculous ways. Generational and ancient strongholds are about to be overthrown, but the ground is going to be hard won. Only the power of the Spirit will avail, no mortal weapons will do in these battles. Yet I counsel you do not look for the dramatic , bombastic, instantaneous deliverances that have characterized the places of so many flashy dreams. Look for the move of small stones. Let there be an embracing of steps that bring compounding glory and progressive deliverance. Expect and do not despise the day of small things. Rejoice in each advance and encourage each other in every setback. Pray the power over each other continually and without ceasing and walk in the Spirit until all that is to be done is done! INch by inch the ground will be won. Do not be afraid!The center will hold until I call you forth.”

I AM VERY EXCITED TO SEE HOW THESE THINGS ARE TO BE BROUGHT ABOUT IN OUR CHURCH.

SABBATICAL IN PLYMOUTH

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I am finishing this sabbatical with three days in Plymouth MA. Amanda and I have travelled the two hours down for our annual Pastor’s retreat.

These last three days have been real rest and relaxation. We chose to be very flexible with the schedule, not demanding of ourselves, that we attend every service or network opportunity.

After we checked into our rooms at the 1620 House we took a long walk along the shore

We both went to service that night and I stayed for the chat connection afterwards. Amanda really needed the rest so she stayed for a little bit, then headed off to her room.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and met some fellow pastors from Lynnfield MA. Amanda went back to her room to rest while I went on to an interactive service on the abundant life. My conversation group was with our new minister friends from Lynnfield, one of Amanda’s Bible college professors and a missionary from Indonesia.

After that Amanda and I met up for lunch at the Lobster Hut.

We took a turn around The Shoppes and I got some goodies.

Then we took a long walk around the Plymouth Plantation

One of the things that pleased me most was I recognized almost all the vegetables and herbs in the kitchen gardens, even some of the more arcane medicinals. Forest gardening is paying off in knowledge if nothing else.

I have spent long hours in prayer and meditation these past three days trying to encapsulate what I have learned this month.

We will leave this place after communion this morning. I have one more day to sum up all I have heard and seen. That will be tomorrow’s work.

TIMES OF DELIVERANCE

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This morning was my last Sunday of sabbatical. I opted to stay in and watch our church service with guest preacher, Carrie Hackett from home.

During a waiting time in the music portion of the service I received a very strong prophetic message from God. Here is what I sensed

. The days ahead are days of supernatural deliverance! The power of the Spirit is going to begin flowing and moving in even more miraculous ways. Generational and ancient strongholds are about to be overthrown, but the ground is going to be hard won. Only the power of the Spirit will avail, no mortal weapons will do in these battles.

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

Do not look for the dramatic , bombastic, instantaneous deliverances that have characterized the places of so many flashy dreams. Look for the move of small stones. Let there be an embracing of steps that bring compounding glory and progressive deliverance. Expect and do not despise the day of small things.

Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Pexels.com

Rejoice in each advance and encourage each other in every setback. Pray the power over each other continually without ceasing and walk in the Spirit until all that is to be done is done! Inch by inch the ground will be won. Do not be afraid!The center will hold until I call you forth.”