Friday, May 31, 2013

#1000 gifts for 2013 - Taking the Joy Dare.


Open my lips lord, and my mouth will praise thee.
Psalms 51:15

I am getting a late start on this mission--counting 1000 reasons to praise in 2013 -- I'm a slow learner. But the Lord has been good to me, so here I go....

#1 A child's laughter rolling with somersaults
#2 Healed bodies
#3 Infinite grace for a finite sinful me
#4 Selfless love of a faithful spouse
#5 Heritage of family 
#6 Bird songs
#7 Winding paths of dirt through wooded beauty
#8 My forest sanctuary
#9 Gentle rustling of treetop leaves.
#10 Gift of adoption, so that she could be my daughter, and ultimately His.
#11 Spirit of God that won't ever let go of me
#12 Scripture that speaks wisdom to my soul
#13  Peace of early morning moments with The Lord
#14 Chocolate. Really!
#15 Opportunity to share Job 31:16b with Co-worker this morning-widowed at 49. Sharing God's awareness of her grief, and compassion for her weary eyes. Revealing to her a Living God who see's .
#16 His sovereign hand-in the unexpected moments of life-even in the secret place.  Psalm 139:15
JUNE 2
#17 Holy Spirit's halting of my use of the word "strive" in prayer this morning, and the reminder that it isn't by might or power that I am delivered from my propensity to sin, walk in obedience, or worship in holiness...IT"S BY HIS SPIRIT!  Zech 4:6   My striving fails--but--His spirit Prevails.
June 4
#18  Gratetful for his presence still with me in the morning-psalm 139:18
#19  Kingsley Dr. and Kalinda Ln.
#20 Aunt vera, her legacy of steadfast faith, and love for creation, that inspires me even today.
#21 The conviction that I too, can be the late night pick-up truck pulling flat-bed trailer and clanging metal on concrete,  disturbing peoples peace with the invasion of my own trailer full of noisy selfishness.
#22 Opportunity to affirm worth, and display Christ, to hurting nephew, and a co-worker struggling with a relational addiction.
#23 yesterdays revelation of Radaph and it's confirmation of what The Lord has been attempting to show me.
July 11
#24 That when I look around at all the hurt, my life seems pretty good.
#25 That god hasn't given me what "she" has because I wasn't designed to have it. I couldn't handle it. I couldn't handle the good of it, and I couldn't handle the bad of it. The good and the bad, they belong to her.









           
                                                       

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Waits for the Waking

I tried
I tried to put an end to the darkness 
the darkness in the depths 
of his recessed soul 
Cleaved, cowering, wedged
between the clefts of despair
Where destruction resides-
rumors of death ripple.
I tried to cut shafts 
into the blackened void of it
a place forgotten by the foot
concealed from the living 
where hand assaults the flinty rock- 
of hopelessness.
Palpable stones
polished with sorrow-
empty eyes.
Nuggets of gold
pummeled with pain-
beautiful mind.
There, 
where no falcon fly's
he dangles and sways
and waits
Waits for the waking.
                                (L.paddock)

But-
God understands the way to it.  He alone knows the dwelling place. 
He has measured the winds of wisdom, and
cut a path for the rescue.
Job 28:23


What is impossible with man
is possible with God.
Matthew 18:27


                                                        
Job 28








Saturday, May 25, 2013

Flowers in the Fescue


                                                       

"What do you want from me", he asked.
"I want poetry. And I want wildflowers from the roadside that say--I thought of you today", I replied.
"We don't have flowers, remember?  It's really only fescue."

***

 But there are flowers in the fescue!  See?  There!  Right there. At your feet. Abundant beauty, lavish color, petals of praise, hidden holiness--see?


Father,
I don't want to settle for the ordinary, common fields of fescue.
While worthy in its own right, you desire so much more for us. Open our eyes that we might see wonderful things in your word, and your world. *
Help us see beyond the grass to the glory of your gifts.
Even more, let us "not want to merely SEE  beauty",  let us actually "be united with it, pass into it, receive it into ourselves, bathe in it, become part of it." (1)
Give us eyes to see the flowers, and then, ears to hear you say--
 I thought of you today!

                                                                           

Lord, I want to see!
Luke 18:41
                                                                   
                                                                                 


*Psalm 119:18
(1) C.S. Lewis "The weight of glory" in The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses.





Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The Dare

She dared me, and I'm not one to refuse a challenge. *

She dared me to count my blessings, even in the midst of the mud, mire, and mess of daily life--

"Authentic thanks is always for all things. To bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving means to sacrifice our understanding of what is beneficial and thank God for everything because He is benevolent. A sacrifice of thanks lays down our perspective and raises hands in praise anyways-always.  A sacrifice is,  by definition, not an easy thing--but it is a sacred thing."


As a child, there were many dares. The competitor in me wouldn't let me refuse. Plus, being the only girl out of four siblings, well, refusing a dare just wasn't an option.

Ever.

Many a summer I would perch on the high dive at the local public swimming pool.  Toes curled tightly around the distal rim of the board, deep end of the pool reflecting a drop of at least 10,000 feet-or so it seemed, I would engage in a verbal tug of war with self--You can do it!.
Defying defeat, I ultimately accepted my fate and took the plunge of death to the thunderous applause of my cheering friends.

Around the age of 10 or 12, I attended a weekend girl scout camp with my troop.
Late in the evening of the first day, when darkness had settled as an eery blanket over us, one of the girls in the cabin swore she had seen a ghost floating in the field between our cabins and the bathrooms. Of course, we all had to use the facilities before retiring for the night. But no one, NO ONE, would brave the black, 50 yard sprint to the bathroom across the field. The image of young girls huddled in terror, and taunting SOMEONE GO FIRST,  must of entertained the leaders to no end.
Guess who excepted the ghostly gauntlet and led the way to restroom reconnaissance?  Yep, Me!

And so, I have accepted this new and different dare-- find cause to praise, in ALL things ;

Last month was a stellar month for me regarding door frames and knobs. They have not been my friends.  And so, once again, my magnetic affinity for door knobs found me hung up by the pocket of my bathrobe and whip lashed back into the door frame.
She said, "Hurry makes us hurt".  A profound insight considering my natural bent is to bustle.
I paused, resisted the urge to swear, and whispered, Thank you, Lord, for the reminder to slow down, to savor the moment. 

The bagger kept slamming my groceries into the cart. Eggs chucked in the bag with canned goods, bread buried beneath the gallon of milk, greeting card shoved up against the condensation of an ice cream carton. Sigh.
Thank you God, that this man has been given the strength and years to still be here on earth. That he can still find constructive labor and social interaction. Make me aware of my own propensity to treat people like groceries. Help me be gentle, respectful of their fragility and uniqueness.

It was my ONE day off for the week. I needed the peace and relaxation BAD and preserved the date with all the ferociousness of a mother bear. The day came and birthed blue sky. The woods were rife with song of sparrow. A balmy breeze drifted softly over the hill. My book and chaise beckoned my presence. Oh how I had eagerly anticipated this day.
But the neighbor? Apparently he took the day off to power wash the house. Really?
Thank you Father for drone of electric motor rather than detonation of bombs in war torn lands. Thank you for freedom to chose our activities rather than be subject to tyrannical rulers.
Thank you for the occasion to pray for those who persecute me.


Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will praise Thee.
Psalm 51:15




*Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, devotional.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

For This Child I Prayed

For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me the petition for which I have asked Him.
1 Samuel 1:27



And I did. Like Hannah, I prayed. I prayed for my children, and "The Lord granted me what I asked of Him". They are a treasure-trove of answered prayer-- blessings too rich to wrap with words that defy description of the miraculous gift of life and laughter.

Is there anything more profound than a parents petition of prayer for the child?
Consider the prayer of Jesus, below;
Father,
"I pray for them, and all who will come after them. Protect them by the power of your name, so they may have the full measure of my joy within them.  Sanctify them by the truth of your word. I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world."     John 17:9-24

We pray for our children, He prays for His.
Consider yourself prayed for by the one who loves you with an everlasting love.  :)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Your Will.





                                          Father,
                                                Simply let your will be done,
                                                for who am I that I should beseech
                                                with words that wrap a will
                                                according to my want.
                                                                                Selah




Matthew 6:5
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling and think you will be heard because of your many words. This then, is how you should pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
the will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive others.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.