The Lion King

This post is a LONG story explaining how I ended up driving to NYC to watch The Lion King on Broadway last weekend for the second time. I say LONG as a disclaimer to warn you…this is going to be a LONG post.

I have been stewing over this post since I started driving to NYC to attend the Broadway show. Father was putting it in my heart and mind…to write it. I had several issues with this post. One…the length of it. Two…the fact I feel stripped down and completely naked sharing the details contained within the post. Three…the details. Lots of little details I am going to share here.

As I do everything…I don’t do ANYTHING until I am 100% at peace about it. That is how I roll. How I have rolled for 30-plus years now.

I called Vanessa this morning. After working through this post for several days now…I was still stuck. I thought she might be able to help me get unstuck. She did.

I figure…the post is already long so why not share that detail too. 😜 🤷‍♀️

For Starters

To begin this story…I have to start two weeks prior to my NYC adventure. For some reason, Father wanted me in Evansville while my granddaughter Mavis was born. I came to town and stayed at Bobbi and Mitchell’s the night before they left for the hospital to deliver. I got the privilege of delivering some food and Mitchell’s laptop to the kids at the hospital after Mavis was born. Grandma got to help. It was satisfying for me. 🤭

While they were in the hospital delivering, I started to feel like I didn’t want to go back to Illinois and live any longer. I had a sneaking suspicion that was Father speaking to me. I did NOT want to go back. Instead, I wanted to stay in Evansville. I knew that was Father because I haven’t been a fan of this city. 🤣 A friend of mine calls it the armpit of America. I laughed every time he said that…still laugh when I think of him saying it. For me to WANT to stay in Evansville…that is Father. 😉 Not Crystal’s flesh.

Father speaks in a multitude of ways. Our feelings are one way. I hate to say that here because using feelings only as a guide is a very dangerous thing to do. I have spent over 30 years working with Father to purify my feelings. After cleaning my flesh up so thoroughly…I can often discern when He is speaking through my feelings. He will also confirm His truth in other ways along with my feelings. I never rely solely on my feelings when I am following Father. My feelings are only ONE puzzle piece I use in a bag of other pieces. All the pieces will fit together nicely when it is Holy Spirit leading me.

This post will give you a multitude of examples along the way.

I called Vanessa and told her what I was feeling Father was speaking to me. My kids hear from Father…I have trained them to hear. As a result, they are part of my team when seeking discernment and confirmation on what Father is saying to me.

Vanessa said…I think you are supposed to travel.

Pinterest

It is like this…there is a spiritual Pinterest board. Father pins little details on that board. It is for YOU…to come back to later and look at those pins again.

Another way to look at it…is Post-it notes. He puts a Post-it note in a spot. One with a tab with the pointing arrow…pointing at a word, a sentence, an image, or a phrase. He leaves it sticking out at the side of the page in the story of your life He is writing.

Another way to look at it…He highlights these items in the story with a highlighter pen. He wants you to pay attention to certain details because they are important parts of the story.

Another analogy you hear me use on repeat…puzzle pieces. He is writing your story and along with the story in written form is the story playing out in movie format. Live…in character. A play…a production…and you are the main character. He is building an image of the story He is writing. See? It is the written word, spoken word, and kinesthetic word (hands-on.) He is the ultimate Teacher…teaching us using the learning styles we need to learn. Audio, visual, and hands-on.

Travel

When Vanessa said I was supposed to travel, I was perplexed…not in doubt…but wondering how that was going to work. We moved on in the conversation…BUT I put a pin in that statement. I had a feeling I would be coming back to that statement. It felt like a truth from Father.

Mavis was born…and I went back to Illinois. Reluctantly…but I went back. I woke up the next morning wanting to leave. BADLY…I asked myself…what am I going to do today. The thought popped up…I wanted to go somewhere and take some pictures. I thought through all the local places to go and they were all a big fat no. Then the thought popped into my head…SOUTH. I need to go south. Now I am thinking Southern Illinois. Maybe I could do some hiking in So. IL.

The next thought was Nashville. NOW I am starting to think this is Father speaking. And…I think He is nuts. I keep telling Him…in this relationship…you are the spender, and I am the saver. He spends money like no one else.

I call Vanessa. Didn’t tell her I was thinking Father was telling me to go to Nashville. BUT…I tell her the other stuff. She said to me…what about Nashville.

Oh, good grief! 🙄

That is Father…I am supposed to head to Nashville.

I get off the phone and sit down with Him. In my mind…I can’t afford to spend the money. BUT…as I thought through how I felt about staying in Illinois…it felt like death to me. If I stayed…I would die.

He said to me…do you want life or do you want death. I said to Him…life…of course.

His response…then you can’t afford to NOT go.

It was worth the expense…so I packed my clothes up. Threw some food in the cooler and left within the hour.

Moving

While in Nashville, Father shared with me that it was indeed time to move out of Illinois. He wanted me to move back to Evansville. I was starting to feel like it was time to say goodbye to my old way of living and move into a new life. A new lifestyle. I believed that was going to include traveling. That was part of the puzzle.

Once I got back to Illinois, I started packing my stuff up immediately and transporting it to Evansville. I put all of what I owned into an 8×10 storage unit…not having a clue where I was going to live. Just being obedient to follow Father’s lead. It is how I have lived the last 30-plus years of my life. Keeping in step with Holy Spirit…step by step. Oftentimes, not knowing where I am headed. It is a radical way to live. 🤨

Boundaries

I am a firm believer in healthy boundaries. I have them…and I am pretty clear about them with people…especially if they start crossing lines with me they should not. One example I have used before on this blog…if someone is trying to deter me from being obedient to Father…I will give them ample warning they are treading on dangerous territory with their arrogance. If they continue to persist in trying to divide me from Him…I will cut the head off the snake in a heartbeat. I prune them out of my life and gladly so. No one comes between Father and I. No human being is more important to me than Him. Anyone who knows me well at all…can attest to that truth. Some learn this truth the hard way.

Boundaries are important to me…and I taught them to my children. Since they are how I live…I respect other people’s boundaries. The ONLY time I will cross a person’s boundaries is when Father commands me to. Otherwise, I won’t cross them. I have way too much respect for boundaries to do that to people. I want mine respected…so I respect others. This is pertinent.

While discussing the birth of our new family member, Mitchell decided…he wanted at least one week alone with Mavis before the family could come and stay over. He wanted time to figure the dad thing out with a new baby. For them to get settled in before the family descended on their home.

Great plan! Super proud of my son. This allowed everyone to start making plans on their calendar when they could come for their visits.

Knowing this…I knew me staying at their house was not an option. My move to Evansville was within the week post-birth time. I have nowhere to go.

I get a hotel room for two nights.

Court

For two months now…I have been waiting on an approaching date with a judge. I knew I was supposed to stay at the hotel until my date with my lovely judge.

The morning of my court appearance, I checked out of the hotel…having no idea where I would be staying that night. I went to court…got my business taken care of.

When I got to the truck…I called Vanessa. 🤣 I kid you not…we talk all day long. Either by email, text, or talking on the phone. The conversation never ends.

I feel like I am at a Y here. Trying to decide which way to go with my life. Do I go out on my own and get a job in the world? Do I wait for Father to do SOMETHING? I have a dear friend who lives and works in the town where my courthouse is located. I planned to stop in at her work and see if she could hook me up with a job and a place to live. The woman knows thousands of people…literally. She is a politician, and her connections are unlimited. I knew she could hook me up.

As I was processing all this with Vanessa…she said AGAIN…I think you are supposed to travel. I think it is time for you to start traveling, blogging, and vlogging.

Oh, good god…good grief! 😵‍💫

I said to her…how is that going to work. To me…I knew I had to have the money first before I started traveling full-time. We talked through some ideas.

Before we were done, I was convinced…it was time for me to start the business. That was WHY I was sitting at the courthouse. 🤣

They both said they felt comfortable with me staying with them for a short time…not sure what that length of time was.

I was ELATED. I had a place to stay at least for a short period. We moved stuff around in my old bedroom and I settled in for the night. I was one happy clam. 😜 Having a place to lay my head was exhilarating. Takes so little to make me happy. 😂

Morning

The next morning, I woke up and my first thought was…what am I going to do today. I decided I would see if my buddy was available to go shoot some photos with me. I have a friend who is a hobby photographer like me. We like to find things to take pictures of while catching up and hanging out together. I shoot her a text to see if she has the day open to hang with me.

Father says to me…IN A LOUD EXASPERATED voice…you CAN’T stay here…this is NOT your home!!!!

WOW!!! Well…ok then. Goodness, gracious!!! In an equally exasperated tone of voice…I said…then you are going to have to OPEN up my home for me. I have no other place to stay. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️😳

I had to go to Kentucky today and on the way back…I heard…you are the most frustrating, stubborn woman…who is too smart for her own good at times.

WTF??? 😳 🤷‍♀️

I had no idea how to respond to that. Still don’t. 🤯 🤔 Left me speechless. STILL.

Routine

After He so rudely disrupted my happy-as-a-clam mood, I moved into my usual morning routine mode while waiting for my friend to text me back. I go to YouTube. Always check my newsfeed because Father and I speak to each other there…daily.

He pops up a video for me. I have this thing for Tom Cruise and James Corden. Love their videos. Killer funny to see what adventure Tom gets James into. SO…this video comes up of a clip of the two of them together for James’ last show. Of course, I am going to watch it…I love their adventures…as Father knows very well. That was the purpose of Him placing it there.

As I am watching the video, Tom and James did a small part in The Lion King as Timon and Pumbaa. They start to play the beginning of the show…where Rafiki starts singing and then the giraffes come out on stage. MAN…that gives me chills. This show is mind-blowing amazing. The artistry of the costumes…incredible. The way they use fabric…so creative. Then the puppetry combined with the body movements…so so good. My favorite is the heads of the animals. They stand above the head of the person but when they bow their heads, the animal head comes down on the arch and ends up in front of their face. Genius!!!!!!! Smarticles!!!!!!

SO…I am watching this video and I am transported back to NYC on the fourth row with Hannah watching this show and having chills all over my body. I cried through parts of it. It is just so so good.

While I am watching Tom and James…I am paying attention to my reaction. It HIT me like a ton of bricks…I had to go to NYC and watch the show again.

Incredulous

I was stunned…almost speechless for a few minutes. Unbelievable. I said to Father…you seriously want me to go to NYC and watch The Lion King again.

Sure thing. That was His response. You hit the target girlie. Right on the bull’s eye.

Incredulous!

He said to me…do you want this to come to completion. You have to finish what you started. You have to complete the circle of life.

Hannah came to mind. We started the circle of life together. She was there with me when I got my wings.

I felt like I was supposed to ask Hannah if she wanted to go back with me.

Choices

After I got off the phone, I felt like Father was saying to me…you are going alone. I thought that…so I asked Him…why did I just call Hannah then.

His response…I wanted her to have the opportunity to finish the circle of life too. She started it with you. I wanted her to have the opportunity to get back in and complete the circle.

As I have previously mentioned in other posts…I have lived in the purifying fire for 30-plus years now. The more purified I get…the closer I get to Father. The closer I get to Father…the hotter the fire gets. In order to get close to Father…you must be cleaned up. Purified. The closer you get…the more of your flesh gets burned up. The point is for you to disappear and for Him to appear. For you to reflect His image…not your own.

Since my fire burns hot…those around me either get burned up in the fire…or step away from the fire because they can’t take the heat. The heat is painful.

My fire got too hot for Hannah. The pain got too intense for her. She chose to forge her own path…go her own way. We still loved each other…but I kept moving up the mountain while she chose to hang back at the level she was comfortable with.

In His loving kindness, Father was giving Hannah the opportunity to get back into an intimate relationship with Him. Hannah had chosen religion. It is an easier road to walk. Follow the rules and by all appearances…you are good.

Tonight

Remember the tonight pin? Bobbi saying, I think you are supposed to stay here with us tonight? I had a suspicion that the next night I would be staying somewhere else. I was right. 🤨 Sometimes you have to read between the lines…and the things He is NOT saying with the words He IS using.

After I got off the phone with Hannah, I remembered a vision I had seen as I was waking up. It was the meat I had purchased at the grocery store the day before. NOW…that is a puzzle piece. Knew right what He was saying…cook the food and head out.

I sent my friend a text saying…NEVERMIND on the day of hanging and taking photos…Father has other plans for me.

I hopped in the shower. With that out of the way, I started cooking my food. Mitchell comes out and now I need to sort out what Father wants me to do about the vehicle I am driving to NYC.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, Father had me give everything away. I signed my truck over to Mitchell. I became homeless. Penniless. Lovely way to live. 😩 Humbling…living in the Wilderness is NOT for the faint of heart. Only the tough survive. Think Joshua and Caleb.

Truck Woes

To back up to another pin…the day before…after my court date and hanging with Bobbi and Mitchell…Mitchell needed a driver to follow him to Indy. Well…I am here…why not?

I say to Mitchell…ok…I am going to head out to the Camry while you are finishing up here. He was in a hurry to get to Indy. I was ready to go. When I sat down in the Camry waiting on him, I looked over at the truck. I noticed the front tires looked bald. 😜 In fact, I got out of the car, walked over to them, and looked at them. It was a PIN Father pinned to my spiritual Pinterest page. I made a mental note to myself that the tires needed some attention, then dismissed it. It was a minor thought. Clueless as to HOW much attention they needed.

I walked back over to the Camry and out Mitchell came to get in his car. Off we went…flying to Indy.

Fast forward to me cooking my food and Mitchell is walking into the kitchen. I feel like Father is saying to rely on Mitchell to guide me on what vehicle I am to take. On my recent trip to Washington DC, I rented a vehicle. This time…that didn’t feel right. I started sharing with Mitchell I had to go to NYC…today. I needed his opinion on the vehicle situation. The truck has 300,000 miles on it. She has been to a lot of places with me. She is my friend. Been a good Chevy Colorado.

Mitchell said he would change the oil in it and check it all over. He also consulted with Donovan. Then he comes in and he announces I am not going ANYWHERE in that truck.

My response…WHY?

His response…to pull out his phone and show me the photos below. 🤨

Tires

He is HORRIFIED at my tires. He then educates me on how I should be checking my tires regularly. Mitchell can’t understand how I have not had a blowout driving on those tires. I proceeded to tell him…I just got back from Nashville, TN driving on those tires…along with multiple trips back and forth from Illinois and Indiana.

He was baffled. 🤣

I told him…it is like my daddy always used to say…the good Lord is smiling down on me. 😍

Father takes care of me. I told him…He had YOU to take care of the tires for me.

Ok…then I got serious. I told him…listen I HAVE to go to NYC TODAY…so we have to figure this out. Do I rent a car? Am I supposed to take the Camry? What?

He was triggered. I saw it while I was watching his eyes…his facial expressions, his body posture…listening to not only the words he was saying but the tone of voice he was using…along with the cadence of his voice.

I said to him…you are triggered. Now…I need to know why. What are you feeling and thinking and why? I need to discern if this is your flesh…or if Father is using you to guide me. You gotta share your thoughts and feelings so I can discern what Father is saying here.

His response… he and Michael were going to go shooting through the afternoon. If I take the Camry…then he has to go get tires put on the truck instead because it wasn’t safe for him to drive to work on Monday. He said it wasn’t safe to drive across town to the tire store.

Unity

Ok…so he is triggered. It was his flesh fighting Father’s Spirit not Father speaking.

Mitchell felt peaceful about me taking the Camry. Bobbi shared…she thought I was supposed to take the Camry in the beginning, but she kept her mouth shut because she felt like Mitchell needed to come to that conclusion himself. Father put all three of us on the same page.

That is how Holy Spirit works. He is the unifier. He will ALWAYS unify everyone who is listening to Him.

After a nap, I woke up early Sunday morning…like 1 or 2 am. I purchased my Lion King ticket for 3 pm that afternoon. The first time I saw the show, I got Hannah and I seats up front. This time, He wanted me farther back. He was going to show me the bigger picture of the purposes behind His creation of The Lion King. It is a story of the tribe of Judah. The house of David. The Lion of Judah. Deeper still…Christ’s house. Christ as The Lion King. Christ ruling and reigning. The truth…reigning supreme over the land in place of lies, deception, destruction, devastation, and death. The story of life. The completion of the circle of life.

The first showing was to see the little details…lots of little puzzle pieces…this time…to see the puzzle in its entirety. So much to it…super complex. Complicated. Mutli-faceted. Father is the great recycler…layers of meaning in every little detail.

Continuing…she says to me…your outfit…is doing it for me today. Your hat, your glasses, and your hair…is that naturally perfect outfit that you didn’t plan. It just happened. 🤣

Such a great analogy for such a nice compliment. I laughed and thanked her. She said…I love your hat. It looks good on you. Your outfit is naturally spot on. I then asked her…but don’t you like my hiking boots too??? 😂

One of the waitresses told me she loved my boots and asked if they were Columbia boots. I said…yes ma’am they are. Love them.

The Lion King

It is time for The Lion King to take His place as King over the land. It is time for Him to step into His rightful place as King and reign now. It is time for the truth to be revealed and the truth to reign supreme.

It is time for the King to build His empire. Time for Him to step into His destiny. The time of His coronation is here.