Leah Richardson

Wait for the Promise of the Father…

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, ” you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.  So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He said to them, “It is not for  you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you , and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”     Acts 1:4-8

As 2009 closes and 2010 is ushered in, I am contemplating the word…wait.

What have I been waiting to be fulfilled in my life?  Will 2010 bring a new season?  A new song for my heart?  A new work in my life?  A new and greater empowering that only the Holy Spirit can bring?  Are you waiting too?  It is not for us to know the times and seasons fixed by the Father God’s authority, but if we will wait…

WAIT in  HOPE

WAIT in  EXPECTANCY

WAIT in  LOVE

WAIT in  JOY

WAIT in  PEACE

We will receive power.  His Power.  Power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us.

As Jesus closed out His time on this earth, He said this to His disciples and they were obedient- they waited.

Unknowing, they waited.

In belief, they waited.

They simply waited.

But those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Zechariah 4;6 reminds me that I can not do anything in my own strength, not even wait- Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the LORD of hosts.  So I wait.

Then “suddenly”- without announcement but according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, those who waited received the Precious Promise, the Precious Gift, the Holy Spirit.

There came from Heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind… a breath of life, new life, vibrant life, life like the first breath of a newborn baby- real life to begin again.  And those who waited were filled with the Holy Spirit.  Those outside were “amazed”,” astonished”, and “perplexed”…but those waiting for God’s timing and God’s ways were filled and empowered by God’s Presence.

HOLY SPIRIT come in newness and breathe on us life from Heaven.  Empower us.  Renew our minds and bodies.  Restore our hope and teach us to wait on you.  Wait for you.  Wait in you.

Your  Timing

Your  Ways

Your  Words

Your  Power

The Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit to push us out of Jerusalem, our comfort zone, and into Samaria, where the detestable and unlovable reside, until our hearts long to impact the ends of the earth for your Kingdom.

Lord, take us from a 2009 amazed or perplexed to a 2010 filled and empowered to be the person you designed and created us to be- your custom design.  All for your Glory Lord.

In 2010 and everyday you fill our lungs with a fresh breath remind us…

I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME. Phil 4:13 AS YOU POUR OUT YOUR SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH. Acts 2:17

beginning a new year pondering opening wide the door as I wait for the goodness of my Lord to blow through…    HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!      xoxo    leah

Doors…

Jim and I stumbled across this beautiful little church in Orlando last week while visiting Lauren over Christmas.

I just love what a door represents and have shared many a teaching on the Door…especially Front Doors!

It is the FIRST IMPRESSION, but too often we leave the garage door open and invite those we love to traverse a messy, obstructed path for which our excuses are unending.

It is an ENTRANCE, which leads us deeper, into the heart of the home.

It is an EXIT, by which we remove and edit all the junk from our lives.

It is the POINT, by which we welcome and say our goodbyes.

It is the FOCAL POINT of the front facade of our home that represents a sweet invitation or fenced forboding.

JESUS SAID, ” I AM THE DOOR”.

And He and I invite you to close 2009 with a remembrance of that door.

In 2010, Open the door to your home- wider still.  Open the door to your heart- wider still until our Heavenly Carpenter removes the hinges so that there is NOTHING obstructing the way and a fresh wind can blow in.

The Holy Spirit brings to mind the closed, and possibly locked, door the disciples waited behind after Lord Jesus ascended into Heaven.  Waiting…waiting behind closed, locked doors…afraid.  For today though, I ponder the DOOR. Tomorrow, Jesus’ word…WAIT.

Opening the door in waiting…     leah

Jim and I are visiting our daughter this week for Christmas, so I wanted to wish you a Spirit-filled and blessed Christmas day!  Check back next week for pictures from our trip and thoughts I have been journaling for the new year.

Always remember sweet friends…NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH OUR GOD!!

Rejoicing in His amazing Grace,  Merry Christmas! leah

Pastor Parris Bailey, an anointed woman of God and friend of  mine, wrote this poem that I thought you would enjoy.  Last year she founded Mary’s Song, VictoryFellowship.net/Ministries/MarysSong which has been such a blessing to many young women who were in desperate situations and had no where to turn.

From personal experience of facing distress in her teenage years, Pastor Parris says, “I believe that God uses the things that cause us the most pain and embarrassment in order to bring Glory to God.  I also believe that God loves to fill empty vessels or ones that are base or lowly.  Mary is a great example of that!  She did nothing to deserve favor.  God did everything.  She was so pure yet so impoverished, a woman pregnant but not married.  Martin Luther said, ” You must become impoverished and be completely wrapped up in poverty so that, without any human help, God alone may do the work.”

That is such a good word and deserves pondering over this Christmas eve.

O STAR!

O beautiful Star

How brilliant you are

The place I see you seems so far

Will you hear my call?

O Star, Star Divine

How do you make your face to shine?

If we follow the star what will it say?

“Go to the manger”

Where Christ the babe lay

Far away from present danger

Star of amazing shine

Full of holy love divine

Shepherds awoke in the night

There was a great light

They heard the angels sing

Glory to God, Peace to all

Fields and valleys do ring

The news of the new born King

O Star, Shine on me!

Show me this wonderful mystery

In you, his face I will see

From now to eternity

Your shine brings clarity

Bright and morning star

Fairest of ten thousands

Guide me to the distant shore

Where I will be with him forevermore

Until the Daystar comes with healing in his wings.

…desiring to shine like a star in the universe as I hold out the Word of life… Merry Christmas,  leah

Jim, Rudy, our little Yorkie, and I drove around last evening enjoying the Christmas lights in New Orleans. It has rained here for a week, and we are so delighted that the rain has stopped so we could behold the beauty of this city. It feels like Christmas too… the air is crisp and cool. When I see the little lights glittering everywhere I look, I think about how important light is to our lives.  The first thing the Lord created when He designed the universe was light.

Light gives clarity, light overcomes darkness, light heals, light reveals, light causes growth and light brings beauty and life.  An appointed star stood over the cradle in Bethlehem to shine light on the true light that came into the world to bring light to all.  Jesus is the light of the world.  Thank you Lord for shining your light into our darkness so many years ago.   True Light of Heaven bring clarity to our questions, help us overcome worry and doubt, heal our bodies and reveal how we can use our strengths for your purposes, mature us with grace and overflow beauty into every area of our lives. Come Lord Jesus and be the light of our personal world.

Dancing and rejoicing in the light!     leah

Arise and Shine for your light has come!    Isaiah 60:1

If you need some Holiday attire, Holiday flair or you just desire to hang around a wonderful example of someone who practices Biblical hospitality, stop by Eros in Mandeville this week. The owner, Erin (second from the left), effortlessly, or so it apprears, exudes her love for others and her love for Jesus in the midst of everyday life at her shop.  She hosted a book signing for me last week and the delicious food was provided by Catering by Chiqui (chiqui70131@yahoo.com) and precious cookies were baked by Cookies with a Purpose (the purpose- her daughter’s missionary trip to Israel).  If you have ever met anyone who immediately put you at ease, made you feel special and did it all while making the person next to you feel the same way- you have met Erin.  I thought I multi-tasked pretty well…I have met my match!!

The only dress code at Eros is a Smile!

A generous man (woman) will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Proverb 11:25

3906 Highway 22, Mandeville, Louisiana  70471    727-0034   erosmandeville1@yahoo.com

Marcy Gertler, a dear friend and client, and her friend, Diane, stopped in to say hello.

The next generation Interior Designer!  Isn’t she just precious!!

This week, many of us will be practicing hospitality, so let me ask you…what holds you back from enjoying practicing hospitality?

The following is an excerpt from the Practicing Hospitality chapter in my book, Interior Wisdom…….

What stops you from practicing hospitality?  One of Jesus’ most precious miracles of provision is seen when out of His compassion and desire to practice hospitality, he asked a huge crowd to gather on the grass and multiplied the very small lunch of a young boy so everyone could eat and be satisfied.  By simply asking, Jesus can take whatever it is that holds you back from practicing hospitality.  He will multiply the loaves and fishes when it is to His glory and honor and praise.  He will take our stress if we will cast our bread upon the waters.  He will defeat the enemy of perfectionism and the fear of what others will think.  Practicing hospitality becomes a joy and honor when we cooperate as our Savior’s sous chef.  We are accepted in the beloved so we can stop comparing and start creatively practicing hospitality.

Let us combine faith with actions and practice hospitality.  Practice hospitality inside and out:  inside your home and outside your home…inside your heart and outside your heart.  Practice hospitality.  The Lord’s intentions are always good.  He will not ask you to do something you are not able to do.  Until His return we are His hands and feet on this earth…Practice hospitality.

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you brought me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and lodged me. Matthew 25:35 Amplified Bible.

with Hospital Words..   leah

A number of years ago I found this recycled tin manger scene accented in gold leaf paint in a small antique store.  It is one of my favorite things and I have accessorized with it in many ways during Christmas Seasons.  This year, I set it against a backdrop of dried hydrangea and a twig.

The manger scene reminds me not to miss the precious looking for the grand…God came as a mere babe!

The hydrangea reminds me that although the grass withers and the flowers fade…the Word of God, Jesus, remains forever.

The twig, which I picked up in my backyard after  Hurrican Ivan reminds me of how God is my ever present help in flourishing times and times of trouble.

A bit of random juxtaposition to stir creative thought!  What does the Manger mean to you? We must never assume that the random, haphazard order of life is not God’s Divine design. Our sensitivity to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives allows us to experience the Majesty and Holy Sovereignty of God in the smallest of details.

The Heavenly Father’s details were also a juxtaposition… baby Jesus was born of a humble virgin in an obscure place, yet Wise Men journeyed to meet him and the Heaven’s opened to celebrate him.

In the 6th month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee name Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.  And the virgin’s name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!  But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you  have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be not end.    Luke 1:26-33

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And the angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear not for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:7-14

A Cradle in my Heart…
Oh Star that stood over Bethlehem’s cradle that blessed night, shine brightly and boldly into my life with your everlasting light.

The Surprise, the deep joy and rejoicing by all, because of the sure promise, the Blessed Hope, that lay quietly in an obscure stall.

As I ponder all the sacrifices, for me, sweet Jesus, you have made.  I humbly pray- Help me, Holy One, to live with a Christmas heart each and every day.

leah

New Orleans is so beautiful during the Christmas Season with tiny little lights sparkling and the smell of evergreen in the air! After my book, Interior Wisdom:Designing your Home and Heart for the Lord, was published, we put our home on the market and it sold quickly.  So quickly that we don’t have a front door to decorate this Christmas season.  So I browsed through my photos searching for my front door from last season.  With most everything packed up awaiting a more permanent place to lay our heads, I enjoy remembering…remembering the season past and the journey of the previous year.  So many decisions and choices…so much to learn from those decisions and choices too.  A good year, a blessed year, a beneficial year.

As a custom interior designer, I am reminded, especially during Christmas, that we are all custom-designed by God! Each one different, each one special and each one on a journey to find meaning and purpose amid what often times seems like chaos and confusion.  I can remember my inspiration for Interior Wisdom so clearly.  Sitting on the floor of my design studio in Destin, Florida surrounded by a sea of fabric swatches, furniture cut sheets, client notes, sketches, floor plans and the like, God dropped this thought into my mind.

“This is the way I started too.”  In the beginning God. God started with a blank canvas and created a beautiful and bountiful universe full of light and hope.  He designed something special from nothing.  He carefully and thoughtfully considered all the details of life, your life and my life, and set it all in motion.  In the beginning God…

As you decorate your home this Christmas season, I encourage you in your creativity to remember that Good design and Beauty were His ideas first.  Need some help?  Just ask.  He is waiting all the while behind the scenes to help, counsel and guide.  He came as a babe in a manger, but He sits in the Heavens upholding the universe by the power of His Word.

Each year I add one special ornament to our collection.  Since my Christmas tree is a “minature” this year, I was delighted to find this wire Angel with little beads and a Holy Spirit Dove placed at the heart.  It reminds me that the Holy Spirit lives in my heart and desires to help me with my life…every detail of my life.

A minature tree with a small angel celebrating a BIG creative God.  Emmanuel, Christ in us, the hope of glory!  I have been pondering… what if we decorated our lives on a daily basis with a Christmas heart.  What if we decided that this year was the year that we permanently etched the true meaning of Christmas across our hearts?  What if we reminded ourselves that we can start each day with a blank canvas and ask Jesus to paint beauty and light and holiness into our lives.  What if we made our decisions based on eternity?  What if we lived…in the beginning God.

Lord, help us decorate our homes and hearts with “Christmas” all year through.

lighting up my world for Christ,     leah

Sisters…sweet, sweet Sisters in Christ Jesus! What a wonderful time with old friends and new ones as we celebrated our most precious gift this Christmas Season.  I am continually amazed at the connection we women have with one another when our Faith is the common denominator.  I have been in meetings, celebrations and events where there is another commonality, which connects and is great fun.  But the depth of the connection and the love for this tie that binds is a deep, deep well.  We are Sisters who have gone to the well carrying many a load and found the One who has forever changed us and filled those deep wells of sorrow, regret and doubt with living water of joy inexpressible, peace surpassing our human understanding and a deep abiding satisfaction.

Jesus is that Living Water that cleanses, heals, connects and binds for eternity.  When we drink from that well, He promises us that we will never be thirsty again.  He fills us full to overflowing with His unfailing love, which continually spills over to all those He places in our path…especially our Sisters!

Thank you for a wonderful memory I will always cherish.  As we held hands in a complete circle around the room and with one voice sang one song to the One that came to this earth to give LIFE and LIGHT to all mankind, my heart sang too.

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Sharing Interior Wisdom at the Women’s Ministry Christmas luncheon for the First United Methodist Church

My precious personal assistant Marcy Boutz

My precious friend and client, Stacy Evans

Frances Blount shares a funny Christmas story

Sharing Interior Wisdom at Beverly McNeil’s Signature Gallery in Destin, Florida

Sharing the gift of Interior Wisdom with my Bible Study buddy, Kat

Thank you Lord for stepping out of Heaven, shedding your glory so you could walk among us and weave our lives together like a beautiful tapestry.  You are an amazing God!  Hear our prayers- help us and counsel us day by day as we desire to live a life worthy and pleasing of you! Let our light shine for you and we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

God bless us each and every one! leah