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Heather M. Dixon: Bible Studies & Bucket-List Living for Women with Courage

Learning to Listen When God Tells You to Get Ready

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I was sitting on our screened-in porch listening to the early morning songs of my backyard bird friends when God told me to get ready.

This is my porch. This is where I sit every morning in my robe, cradling a steaming cup of coffee and sucking in a few deep breaths of oxygen to wake my sleepy self up. I curl up on the Target patio furniture we bought on Mother’s Day nine years ago when I was pregnant with my firstborn, and keep readjusting to find a comfortable seat because the new cushions I recently bought on clearance are not nearly as thick as they should be for a comfortable seat. I am surrounded by my Bible, a journal, and a slew of devotional books waiting to deliver a message that always seems custom-made just for me.

When we bought our current home, it was newly constructed and the back porch was not yet screened in. The builders would add it, though, if we so desired and I fought for this. Can we please find room in the budget to add a screened-in porch?, I asked my husband. I want to be able to sit outside and watch our children play and drink sweet tea and count the lightning bugs but not get bit by bugs and laugh with you. Yes, he agrees to make room in the budget for this screened-in porch. I did not dream that this would be the setting for countless conversations with God when I fought for my porch, but the conversations I remember the most happen here. Get ready, Heather.

I am sitting on this porch one early morning late last summer. I’ve skipped a few mornings here because my heart was broken. But this is the week I return and my porch offers up the sweet blessings that are always there, whether I return to it or not.

The cardinal, in his brilliant red feathers, chirps out a staccato warning to the other birds that he was at the feeder first. My husband and son are not awake yet, and neither is the neighborhood. It’s just me, the birds, the breeze, and the sunrise.

I read the devotional message for that day and begin the slow process of turning my heart towards God’s voice. My mind wanders…don’t forget to pick up deli meat from the grocery store today. I reread the devotional. Did I turn in Thomas’ field trip money? Read it again, Heather. I need to edit my playlist for tonight’s yoga class. Focus, girl, the boys will be up soon.

Psalm 119:105 | www.therescuedletters.com

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The morning breeze rustles the pages of my Bible, given to me by my grandparents almost twenty-seven years ago on the Christmas just after my mother died, and I close my eyes. I take a deep breath and with every exhale, one by one, I push away the scattered thoughts running through my mind. This takes time.

I begin to see the words of Psalm 119:105 floating behind closed eyelids and this is where I stay. Inhale. Exhale. Listen.

Get ready, Heather.

Get ready?? Get ready for what? The miscarriage? I know it’s coming Lord…will it be very painful? I’ve only delivered one child and he was brought into this world six weeks early via emergency c-section. I have no idea what real labor feels like. Is this what I am getting ready for? But we already know the miscarriage is coming and I think I’m ready for that. Please, let me be ready for that. Is there something else that I need to be ready for???

Get ready, Heather.

Ummm, okay. Get dinner ready for tonight?? I’m terrible about thinking ahead for dinner, so my family could probably benefit from some extra prep time here. Get ready for the weekend?? Weekends are usually busy. Sure, I’ll find time to take a nap and get Thomas’ hockey gear washed. Okay, whatever. I don’t know what I’m getting ready for, Lord, but I’ll…um…I’ll do my best! Insert furrowed brow and confused face here.

Get Ready|devotion from Jesus Calling|therescuedletters.com
from Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young

I write the two words down in my devotional book and hustle into the kitchen to scramble some eggs for the eight-year old with bed head who just came down the stairs. I go about my day and convince myself that the two little words I heard were not from God, but instead were just the ramblings of a busy mind trying to sort out the to-do list for the week.

The next morning, I return to my porch and follow the same pattern. I hear them again: Get ready, Heather. I hear them in conversation with my husband and friends. I see them in print. I hear them when my son chivalrously opens my car door for me and always asks, “are you ready, Mom?” before he closes it. Words that were innocent before now repeatedly shout at me as I go about the everyday tasks of marriage and motherhood.

Isaiah 55:11 | www.therescuedletters.com

The next morning, I return to my porch and decide I should pay attention. I always question whether what I am hearing from God is from Him or from me. My brain likes to say things. A lot of things, actually. And since we can’t literally hear God’s voice like we would hear a friend’s voice over the phone, I’m never sure if it’s my brain or God who is doing the talking.

Your word, Lord, your word will light my path.

On a whim nudge from the Holy Spirit, I decide to look up all the verses in the Bible that include these two words: get ready. As it turns out, I’m not the first person who has heard those two words from God.

I take my son to school and then spend the better part of the morning back on my porch reading through all the verses that I found and their chapters that tell the story of God instructing His people to get ready. Most of the verses revolve around preparing oneself for some sort of battle, physical or spiritual, or both. Knowing what we know now, it gives me chills when I think about how gracious our loving Father is, to have prepared me for what was to come.

Your word will not return to you empty, Father. It will accomplish all that you have planned for it.

At the time, however, I simply ask my husband and a dear friend who is a fierce prayer warrior to pray over these two words, to pray that I would be able to discern God’s voice on this above anything else.

And then I dig deeper into the chapter of the Bible where the words get ready first appear: Joshua 1.

And I listen.

Read the next step in the story here.

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Live with Courage

  • On repeat.
  • Stream of consciousness for today: I flew on a plane. I survived flying on a plane. I had little issues flying on a plane (except for probably a ruptured eardrum, but that's another story). I can fly on another plane. I CAN GO BACK TO PARIS. And spend my day walking through this charming street market and come home with every kind of cheese and these perfect little grapes. Today is a good day.
  • I'm showing my age here, but remember playing records on your record machine? If you're not old enough to remember, just google it;) My first record was a Mickey Mouse exercise routine. Anyone surprised by this? Ha! . Anyhoo, you place the record onto the machine and drop the needle into a groove to get it playing. And as long as the needle stays in that groove, the record plays on. Unless...your brother is playing football in the house and his aim is off and his ball knocks the needle off the record. The needle scratches and the song is over. . My brain is like that when I am struggling with anxiety. . It's stuck in a groove and I need a needle scratch. So I've got to trick my brain to think in a new groove. To do that, I start pointing out obvious things around me. . The carpet is blue. The sun is shining. My shirt is wrinkled. We are out of milk. . However many basic and obvious things I've got to point out until my thoughts settle, I keep doing it. . But I don't stop there. . Then I open my Bible and start filling my brain with verses that settle my heart. It's a new groove pattern and it works to calm my breathing and shift my focus on Him, instead of my anxious thoughts. . Someone mentioned a comment in an earlier post this week about listening to music also. What are some of your favorite songs to listen to when you are anxious?
  • The customer rang the bell from behind the counter. I hustled to the front from the back of the bakery. The manager had taken off that afternoon and I was the only one in the little sweet shop. Expecting to help the customer choose a cookie or a cupcake for an afternoon treat, I was shocked when she asked for her daughter’s birthday cake. . We had no birthday cakes that were decorated and ready to go in the freezer in the back. I checked again, just to be sure. No. No decorated birthday cakes. I apologized profusely to the mother while my brain furiously tried to come up with a suitable solution. The bakery’s owner had forgotten to decorate the cake. . I was the cookie baker. This was my role. Arrive early. Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs. Add flour and seasonings. Roll, cut, spoon the cookies onto the baking sheet and into the oven they go. And repeat. Newbie baker that I was, I had not graduated to the cake-decorating role as of yet. But the frazzled mother was standing in the bakery on her way to Sayer’s fourth birthday party. I could not let her leave empty-handed. . Twenty minutes later, I emerged from the back, covered in powdered sugar and pink icing. Sayer would have her birthday cake. That was the day I learned that I had a bit of talent in the cake-decorating arena. . Sometimes, we are prepared for the unknown and sometimes we are thrust into it blindly. Either way, we would be wise to recognize when it’s our turn to take the lead. If we’re listening, God will tell us when it’s time. . With God’s guidance, we must chart our own course. You must be solely and exactly who God designed you to be, and not someone else. God has designed and equipped you to do a very specific job at a very specific time in a very specific place. . Chin up if you are facing a new task today. I'm rooting for you, always. . #readystudy
  • On my mind this morning: . If we’re waiting for things to be perfect, we might miss out on the things that would bring us the most joy today. How many times have I wasted an opportunity for blessing because I was unwilling to deal with imperfection? Having an incurable genetic disorder has taught me that I can’t afford the luxury of waiting for all the pieces to fit perfectly. I live in the broken and life is *still* precious. The world will move right along and we might miss the sweetest parts of what's before us if we aren’t willing to get our hands dirty. . Every day, you and I wake up with things that are broken, imperfect, and ugly. If we trust Him, God promises to transform it all. He’s not just working on the broken things around us, He’s also working on the broken things in our hearts. Day after day, baby step after baby step, one divine brush stroke after another, He is redeeming and refining every detail of our story, until the day when we’ll stand perfect in His presence. . Take the risk this week. Say the prayers. Step into the broken. Give all your imperfect things to God and trust Him to work. He wants to bring you joy.
  • I’ve often read through the four Gospels, arriving at John’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry and feeling like I had landed on foreign soil. There is a heaviness to it, a profound way of thinking about the magnitude of who Jesus is, one that you encounter in the very first verses of John. . Tozer describes it this way: . “Any man or woman really sensitive to divine Truth discovers there is truly a kind of spiritual suffocation often felt in the attempt to wrestle with the opening verses of the gospel of John, or with the opening verses of Genesis, for that matter. No man is really big enough and adequate in his own faith and experience to try to expound for others these key Bible passages.” . I typically wade through John 1:1-18 and stop there. Then I start over and repeat the process until my soul is satisfied with the awareness that there is a mystery to Jesus about which my frail human mind will never fully understand. He was not merely fully human and fully God, teacher, friend of sinners, rescuer, Savior, and determined pursuer of my soul. He was the Word made flesh. Constant from the beginning and the source of life for all. It’s with this awareness that John wants you to absorb his account of Jesus’ life. . If you find yourself wrestling with what you read in the Bible, sit with it. Don’t fear what is difficult to comprehend. Remind yourself that Scripture tells the story of a Savior who has dominion over your life because He has dominion over all of creation. Let it be a comfort to rest in this truth. . Where we are not, Jesus is. What we are not, Jesus is. Who we are not, Jesus is. For today and everyday, this is enough.
  • Here are three quick steps I use to press pause on anxious thoughts: . Step 1: Find a new groove. Trick your brain into thinking about something else by pointing out obvious things (the carpet is blue, my shirt is wrinkled, we are out of milk...) Step 2: Read the Bible. Step 3: Breathe deeply. I trust you, Jesus. . I repeat that process as many times as I need to throughout the day. And for me...it works. I hope it does for you too. . What tangible tips do you use to manage anxiety?
  • I hate flying. . I hadn't done it since my carotid artery ruptured - not just because I'm afraid of flying. But also because my body is pretty wonky and I never know how it will react to new situations post-carotid surgery. . But this time last week, I did it anyway. In the few hours before my flight left, I cried, I forgot things, I sweated buckets, and I ate half of a cheeseburger. Normal Heather would have eaten the whole darn thing. . Facing our fears is tough. But God often calls me to places of fear to remind me I can trust Him to get me safely through it. Maybe your faith journey has been like that too. . On the other end of that flight was a wonderfully sweet gathering with fellow Abingdon Women Bible study authors to collaborate and encourage one another on how to do women's ministry well. Know what we talked about? You. . Because our goal is to serve you to the best of our abilities, to trust God where He is leading our ministries, and to follow Him without question. We showed up with tattered Bibles and generous hearts and we left with the keen awareness that God was on the move. . 👉Here's why I am sharing this with you today: . Courage matters. Stepping outside of your comfort zone matters. Stepping into where God is leading you matters. Yes, it's hard and yes, I would rather stay under the covers than step foot on a plane. . But you and I agreed a long time ago to live by faith, with courage, even when we don't like what's ahead of us. And maybe you're facing something that feels terrifying today too. . Do it. 👊 . Do it knowing that God has gone before you and that you aren't alone. Do it knowing we'll high-five each other at the end of this day. Do it knowing that your life and your voice matters to this world because God has work for you to do. . Put two feet on the floor today. And know that I'm rooting for you, always. . PS - if you aren't following these amazing women already, you'll want to remedy that. They're tagged, go find em.