Journals of the Heart

By Brenda Craig, © Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved

Day One, Sunday, September 16, 2007

During soaking worship at church I began to sense the presence of a lion, the Lion of Judah. He was standing as a lion in tall billowing grasses. He was peering at me, beckoning me to come and ride with Him. During this time, I was aware of someone whistling on the worship team and then singing la-la-la.

A sense of freedom flooded through me along with a desire to run through the billowing grass. I sensed the Lion of Judah speaking to me and inviting me to ride.

He implored me to come and wrap my hands around His neck and place my chin in His mane with my face into the wind. Immediately I was there and we were running through the grasses and I began to sing His thoughts toward me.

“Whistle while I work. Whistle while I roar. La-de-da-de-da, La-de-da-de-da.”

“Whistle while I work. Whistle while I roar. La-de-da-de-da, La-de-da-de-da.”

The song continued to flow from my spirit and we continued to run through the grasses. They brushed my legs with gentle sweeps and my face. With chin buried in His mane, I felt exhilarated by the wind. I kept wondering where we were going. I had no sense of destination until I became aware of a stream which we seemed to be running alongside of.

I sensed it led somewhere but had no desire in particular to know. It seemed as if we rode forever, or at least till the worship music changed and moved in a new direction.

I became distracted but I was left with a sense of hope and faith about what the Lord was doing in my life and continued to hum the “Whistle Will I Work” song.

Day Two,Wednesday, September 19, 2007

During my soaking time a reoccurrence of the vision of riding the Lion of Judah came to me once again. Again I was riding through the grasses next to a stream, a river bank. I continued to do this for a few moments then the scene changed and I was riding on the beach in the water’s edge. I sensed the water lapping the Lion’s feet sending sprays into the air. I could see nothing in front of me and was only aware of the Lion moving through the water.

As we ran a large wave began to form in my peripheral vision. I felt no fear as it came ashore and pull us into its swirling motion, enclosing us in a tunnel like place. I experienced no turbulence or fear as the Lion of Judah continued to run. It seemed as if the water tunnel was turning into a portal to somewhere else.

This continued as a cycle and I rode the Lion of Judah on the shore with the waves picking us up through several sequences, repeating as if gathering strength. My soaking session ended with me riding through the portal of water, longing for more.

Day Three, Thursday, September 20, 2007

My soaking time with the Lord began immediately where my last soaking left off, riding the Lion of Judah in this enclosed wave of water.

As we rode, I sensed we began to climb like an airplane would take off from the ground. Only we were running in water like pathway up, up and up until, without any transition, we were in fields of green. Flowers seemed to spring up when we rode by. I was aware of the environment being like a beautiful garden. We hugged the bank of a river, just like we hugged the bank of the grass laden stream before.

Once again, without any transition, the Lion of Judah and I were transported to a beautiful pond/pool if water. For the first time on our journey I was not riding the Lion. He was sitting quietly on the edge of the pool. As I began to swim, I became aware of the beautiful white dress I was wearing. It was simple, made of linen, yet somehow ornate. I swam in and out of the water, swimming under the water with slow motion grace as if I was absorbing ever bit of its essence. This went on for some time. It seemed like a time to enjoy myself.

Time passed and I became aware of two mountain peaks in front of me and the Lord was standing in the midst of them with His feet in the water. He was as tall as the mountains. His arms were the mountains, yet they were arms too and His whole body from the chest/heart down was water flowing into the pool where I was swimming. I could see Him as water and see Him as a person at the same time.

Once again I was on the Lion and we were riding through the wall of water which poured from Him, the wall of water that was Him. It was like walking under a waterfall. We proceeded to ride and in the natural I kept wondering where we were, wondering where we were going.

At this point everything shifted just for a moment. Like a flash I was in the Spirit saw a beautiful luminous path with a bluish glow. It had wooden poles running along the side with ropes in between. I knew it to be a swing bridge similar to those you see running over a creek or from one mountain edge to another.

(Let me be clear, at this point, and only for a brief moment, I was transported into a literal place and I felt the whoosh of the experience in my physical body).

We continued riding for some time with the vision of the beautiful blue path clear before me. Then, all of a sudden, my beautiful rope bridge came to a dead end where a natural mountain path began. I felt the Lion slow down and began to move with careful steps as He climbed the mountain. I knew He was taking me to a Secret Place on top of the mountain, a place where I could see forever.

I became aware in my spirit of many things such as, many eagles flying, soaring above this mountain in circular motions. I knew there was a very large nest on the mountain interwoven with luminescent threads and feathers. As we continued on I could see a plateau where the nest would be. Suddenly I was not aware of the Lion any longer. I knew I had to retrieve a feather and bring it back with me.

We arrive at the plateau on top and suddenly I am flying with the Lion, side by side. We are soaring with the eagles in the Secret Place of the Most High. Eagles are soaring everywhere. Eagles come and soar over us, overshadowing us as if they are our covering to provide shielding and stealth.

I sense this is my home. It is where I belong. One would expect it to be bright and sunny but it wasn’t. There was such an ethereal quality about it and many shades of blue, from pale almost white to royal dominated the landscape. I soared and soared until I became aware of standing on the plateau holding an eagle?s feather. The feather was like the luminous path, infused with light and seemed to be full of life.

Day Four, September 25, 2007

Reading over my previous entries in “Riding the Lion” I immediately feel myself soaring and once again I am on the mountain with the lion pacing, moving, as if preparing for something, preparing to do something. The time has come to fly again.

In the middle of the plateau like top of the mountain I see an anvil made for forging steel into usable implements. The lion is pacing…pacing while I am dancing with Him. The lion goes to the anvil and stands at the end of it with His face looking in my direction as I dance with the Lord.

I see one of my loved ones lying on the anvil, prostrate and sleeping. The lion opens His mouth and begins to roar. As He roars His mane flows backwards as if it is in a wind of great force. He releases His roar over my loved one and they become red hot like charcoals on a grill. I see things a blackened like substance began to crust over and then fall away.

All the while I am dancing with Him inside a flame like substance. It isn’t hot but seems to be very protective. Once again the Lion begins to pace back and forth. He goes back to the anvil to roar once more. I see a strong man standing at the anvil and he is holding a glowing red sword and is hammering it—shaping it—forging it into a weapon. Back and forth this continues while I am dancing. I see my loved one getting up and they come to enter the flame and dance. I am aware of the eagles flying—soaring— inviting me to soar with them, but I must dance awhile…just a little longer…

Day Five, Wednesday October 31, 2007

As I took time to soak in a time of worship I once again I am standing on the mountain and feathers are falling, music is pulsating through my being and I sense, I see a deep blue pool of water full of ripples moving from the center outward. There is no edge to the water—no beginning—no end.

Drops of water are falling from His hand. Drop by drop they are causing the water to ripple. I sense so much peace and at the same time visions I have experienced at other times are dancing through the peripheral portions of my mind—my spirit. I am wondering which direction to go in and suddenly I am walking on a beautiful path with the Lord.

He is dressed in long flowing linen and His upper portion is covered with a gold breastplate of armor, more formal than warlike. I am holding His hand and we are swinging them like children do when they walk. I am looking over at Him and His hair is very dark and wet. It drips with a dewy honey like substance. I sense it is what was dripping into the pool of water. His face is full of laughter and joy. His eyes crinkle at the sides with lines etched by the many times He has expressed His love toward me. I feel so comfortable here with Him, walking, swinging arms.

I am swinging arms in a flying like motion. We are no longer on the path. His right arm and my left arm are spread out like a bird in flight and we ascend upwards. Our other hands remain connected and we soar up, up, up. In seconds I am flying over a winding river whose banks are flanked by beautiful forest.

I am flying around bends and curves, swooping down and up with the current of the air. I sense the river is coming to an end and begin to descend down this water fall. I am free falling in slow motion through so many myriads of water droplets. I am not connected to Him any longer. Both arms are spread out and water is enveloping me, washing me, delighting me. Pure exhilaration fills me like a child playing in water sprinklers on a hot day. I am coming to the bottom of the falls and He is with me once again, meeting me where the waterfall flows into an ocean.

We are flying together again, skimming across the surface of the waters, close enough to touch—close enough to feel the enormity of it all. Yes, I am flying into the vastness of all the ocean holds and at the same time I am somewhere else dancing with Him on the rippling pool of water. I am wondering how I can be in two places at once.

Up ahead of us I see land coming into view. It is a beautiful island in the middle of the ocean. Instantly I am standing with Him on the shore, clothed just as we were on the path with linen and gold. There is another path ahead of me which goes through a tropical forest. He walks ahead of me turning periodically to grin, to smile as if to tease me about what is to come. Excitement about where He is taking me spills over into the laugh lines on His face. The more we travel, the more released I feel. My feet are skipping like a child in a secret garden on a spring day—frolicking totally unaware of the outside world.

The path is suddenly opening up and in front of me I see a beautiful pool complete with a waterfall pouring into it. Sprays of water fill the tropical air and spot the linen garment I am wearing and splash my face with an essence of light. I am in a swing hanging from a tree on the water bank and we are swinging together ever so high across the water with the carefree joy of a child. I feel so beautiful—so loved—so unhurried.

I see a tree house. I see a gazebo type structure on the bank beside the pool. Its roof is made of canvas and the four sides are made of a gossamer type fabric and it is moving in the breeze. The fabric is beige with interwoven threads of gold light. It seems to radiate light.

There is a small wooden table inside with a chair on each side. The table is adorned with a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, a stick of butter and honey. The honey is in a bowl. A dipping stick is in the bowl and is covered with the thick substance. In front of one chair there is an unfolded blank scroll with an ink jar and quill. I feel compelled to go in and sit. There He is setting in the chair with the scroll. He is beckoning me to sit down and sup with Him.

I know each item means something. He wants to eat with me. He wants to write on the scroll so beautifully unfolded and laid out on the table. I can see His ring with which He intends to seal what He will write.

He pours the wine into a bowl and the butter now sits liquefied in another bowl. He picks up the bread and breaks it. He is dipping it in the wine, then the butter. He picks up the dipping stick and lets the honey drip onto the bread. He hands it to me and I eat from His hand and honey drips down my chin.

The scroll has drops of honey, wine and butter from where we ate from the broken bread. We are chatting like one would around a meal at a fine restaurant—casual, with laughter and fun. I taste and see that He is good, so very good. There isn’t a thing about my life unnoticed by Him as I set here among His tropical garden.

I feel a burden in my heart. It seems impossible in the midst of this moment but I long for those I love to know this beauty, to share this meal with Him. I sense He is writing about my life, our life. He begins to sketch out the days of my life and I know I will see them in unfolding ways in the days to come. How He wants me to just enjoy Him.

I see a baby grand piano in the midst of the trees and my friend Jamie is there playing, worshipping the Lord and He stands as if to invite me to dance. Suddenly, I am dancing with Him on the waters and ripples are flowing outward to all those I will meet.

My dance with Him is the wine, the honey and the butter…the broken bread. My dance with Him drips His life, His essence into the lives of those I touch. We are dancing, dancing, dancing. I feel myself soaring and once again I am on the mountain with the lion pacing—moving as if preparing for something—preparing to do something. The time has come to fly again….To Be Continued

Day Six, Friday November 9, 2007

I see nothing now but a lion’s face and His eyes are intense and determined. His mane is moving in response to the gaze emanating from His eyes. Tears are visible somewhere in the depths of His gaze, like looking at some kind of holograph or 3D image. I am not sure if they are tears or drops of liquid life. His face is turning from the normal brown and gold of a lion to this white iridescent color with flecks of pinpoint colored light moving within it. His gaze is more determined and forceful. He will have His way…I must believe…I must know…He will have His way…

Day Seven, Wednesday November 28, 2007

So many visions popping in my spirit, all the places I have been are moving like snapshots through my mind, my spirit with no stopping off place, no direction. Faith is building a reminder of His Word spoken, His visions imparted. I am in deep soaking and a horse, the face of a white horse is here so close to me I could touch its face. The breath of its nostrils is emanating into the air releasing particles of light falling like drizzling rain. I am on the mountain, desiring to fly, to ride the lion.

I see myself flying on the lion in gentle swinging motion. We are flying to this portal, this tube of light and now I am on a white horse riding, riding through this portal, this tube of rotating colored light as if moving through time with the intent to arrive at some destination….Where are we going? What are we doing? Slowly the vision fades. I am left with the moving of His spirit in me as if my whole insides are shaken, rearranged somehow…will I come back here to His portal to ride with Him like I did on the sea of glass before the throne. The place where He rode up beside me dressed in His gold breast plate. Oh to be picked up and be carried away with Him, to ride with Him…to wear His rainbow garment of living color…to be cradled in the arms of His power and authority…Lord, come and let me ride with You…

The vision continues as I persevere and press in, I see myself lying on a hospital bed in a well lit room. I am connected to some type of transfusion machine. I know He is transfusing new life into me. The old me and any bitterness of soul is being cleansed by this new infusion of Him. I am resting in Him, laying it all down to receive all I need.

As this is transpiring, I see myself lying against Him at the Table of the Lord. Butterflies are being released from Him and they are entering me where my back rest against Him. They are entering and moving through me coming out the other side. So many beautiful butterflies coming out of me in beautiful shimmering colors of blues and purples. They fly out, dispersing themselves in a fan like procession, growing, growing—flying, flying—my heart is weeping for I am only a woman…who can be this in this place with Him…only because of His blood can I be here…my burdens, they are His. I cannot be here and hold on to anything or anyone. Revelation is unfolding in the days to come.

The lion has brought me to these places. He always appears and then I am with Him to experience the fullness of intimacy, to know Him in the fullness of His suffering. He is transfusing me with truth, life, light, understanding, revelation, wisdom, hope, faith, power to decree a thing and see it come to pass, redemption from the past. It is His concoction made especially for me as I lie on this hospital bed. Angels surround me. Angels corral my family within the confines of His saving grace. He is patient and worry has no power here. Fear has no hold for He is in control. Angels minister in this place. They are dressed in beautiful garments with red crosses on them…heavenly nurses here to do His bidding. All the while, His wings, so large they have no beginning or end, overshadow me and all that concerns me.

In this place of shadowing I see a nest of eggs. He is hovering over me, the shadow of His wings cover me. Graciousness, goodness, mercy and love envelope me in an incubator of divine destiny. I wait here for the fullness, the revelation, and the completeness of His timing. He hovers over me and I hover over the eggs—the eaglets of revelation to be given because He knows I will share all He is doing. I sense He knows this and it is why I am here. Regardless of my failings He loves me for He has seen the motive of my heart and said, “It is good!”

I hear Him though I cannot see Him. His words are being infused into the fabric of my being. He says,

“I want this for all the sons of God. I have a concoction made uniquely for each one. I have divine destiny. Tell them to come up here where I am by faith and receive a transfusion and be changed. Tell them it is free…tell them I am not partial and that I am not limited by their failures, their sin or the lies of the past…tell them I am not limited by their weakness…tell them to close their eyes for a moment and say yes…for it is all I want, all I need. All I need is a yes…I will do the rest…for I am God and there is no other.”

“Tell them nothing is impossible with Me. Tell them I am not confined to time or circumstance. I work continuously and the more they come to My table the more aware of Me they will be. Tell them to come and recline at My table and simultaneously many other things will be taking place while they rest against Me. The time has come to Behold the King. Tell them this. Tell them to focus on Me and not on the power of the evil one. Tell them to displace him by beholding ME. Tell them to come and ride the Lion. Tell them I am waiting”

My desire to proclaim this is overwhelming, though I know there is so much I do not know or understand. He bids me to be faithful in the little things and all else will follow.

Now I not only hear Him but see Him. Even when I am doing mundane things, going about the issues of life this process, this transfusion, is taking place in the spiritual realm. I am in Him. He is in me. Time has no power or ability to separate us in any way. This is the revelation that is coming in to fullness. The eyes of my heart are opening to the understanding—to the deep and intimate knowledge of God…to the mysteries and secretes of His heart which He is revealing…He is granting me a spirit of wisdom and I receive by faith for He has made the way. The door is open and I enter in…to be continued