{"id":1060,"date":"2017-01-26T10:50:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-26T16:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/being-first-class-noticer\/"},"modified":"2019-02-18T10:08:49","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:08:49","slug":"being-first-class-noticer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=1060","title":{"rendered":"Being a First Class Noticer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One of my resource books during this 4-week retreat with God, is Mark Batterson\u2019s \u201cDraw the Circle\u201d. I\u2019m a fan of this author who also wrote two other books I love, \u201cThe Circle Maker\u201d and \u201cIn a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day\u201d. For me to say these books have changed my life says a lot because, quite frankly, I don\u2019t call myself an avid reader. For me to recommend books of any kind is a big deal, because it means I read it from cover to cover, unlike so many books I tackle and get only a few chapters through and it goes to my library, unfinished.<\/p>\n

Yesterday\u2019s reading in \u201cThe Circle Maker\u201d really nailed it for me. I like to think of myself as someone who lives in the moments, is a big noticer of little nudges and signs from heaven quite easily, but Mark Batterson put words to it for me. The chapter, yesterday, was \u201cFirst-Class Noticer\u201d \u2013 someone who is watchful; who keeps watch \u2013 those who see things others don\u2019t see. Mark says \u201cWhen we pray, we become noticers. Prayer is the difference between seeing with our physical eyes and seeing with our spiritual eyes. Prayer turns us into \u201cFirst Class Noticers\u201d. It helps us see what God wants us to notice. The more we pray, the more we notice and the less we pray, the less we notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As I read that, I remembered, specifically, that I NOTICED. Here\u2019s one of the latest cases in point. I was tucked away here in the guest house last week, had been seeking God, praying, reading and all of a sudden there is that noisy, head-bumping cardinal again. This time, somewhat perturbed at him for interrupting my quiet time, I stood at the foot of the stairs and said, \u201cOkay, God and Ron (cardinals often mean a loved one in heaven is reaching out to us \u2013 I like to believe that), what are you trying to tell me today?\u201d Immediately, I sensed I needed to go upstairs where there is a sitting area, game table area, plus a desk and credenza. I walked around the room, just in the mindset of being a noticer, and I stopped in front of the credenza when my eyes fell on something I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen before. Obviously, it had been a gift to my father-in-law from my husband because this is the inscription on a Trinidad\/Tobago $1 bill that had been framed: \u201cDAD, Your prayers are being answered. This represents another missions trip that you have been a part of this year. Because of who you are and what you\u2019ve instilled in me and how you raised and trained me, your ministry continues on. Together we will accomplish much more for God. Happy Father\u2019s Day. Your Son, Ron \u201895<\/p>\n

I noticed. Ron and Dad had been on yet another missions trip together. I took it in. I meditated on \u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d And what seemed like another one of the answers to my prayers for this 4-week \u201cseek and find\u201d time, I took in those words my husband spoke to his Dad: \u201cBecause of who you are and what you\u2019ve instilled in me and how you raised and trained me, your ministry continues on. Together we will accomplish much more for God.\u201d Just because Dad and Ron are no longer here on this side of heaven, doesn\u2019t mean their ministry ended. Their footprints, their legacy, their heartbeats for missions and ministry carries on and they both wanted me to remember that during this season. I threw kisses to both of them and I, too, assured them \u201cIndeed your ministry is carrying on, through our children, our grandchildren\u2026.. and even ME! Thanks for the reminder!\u201d <\/p>\n

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As soon as I finished typing this message last night\u2026.to post today\u2026..up popped a FB post from my daughter on my timeline about my granddaughter heading to Guatemala on a missions trip in June. How\u2019s that for \u201cmy cup is full and overflowing\u201d with God\u2019s affirmations and promptings? Yes, Lord, I noticed! <\/p>\n

Would you like to join me in being a First Class Noticer? I assure you, it sure makes the journey so much sweeter and so much on purpose to keep our spiritual eyes wide open. We\u2019ll see God everywhere we look. We\u2019ll see the image of God in others. We\u2019ll see His fingerprints on His creation. We\u2019ll see God-ordained divine encounters and surprises all around us all the time. I know I did today! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my resource books during this 4-week retreat with God, is Mark Batterson\u2019s \u201cDraw the Circle\u201d. I\u2019m a fan of this author who also wrote two other books I love, \u201cThe Circle Maker\u201d and \u201cIn a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day\u201d. For me to say these books have changed my life…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[473,6618,6619,6620,5202,6621,6622,5249,5250,6623,6624,6625,6626],"class_list":["post-1060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cardinal","tag-draw-the-circle","tag-fingerprints","tag-first-class-noticer","tag-guatemala","tag-in-a-pit-with-a-lion-on-a-snowy-day","tag-mark-batterson","tag-missions","tag-missions-trip","tag-noticer","tag-nudges","tag-prayer-is-the-difference","tag-the-circle-maker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6242,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060\/revisions\/6242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}