tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53511411051930486972024-02-18T21:01:38.969-08:00 Petals of PraiseShe who dwells in the secret place of the most high, shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. Psalm 91
Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-26850893495290885052015-10-10T19:46:00.002-07:002015-12-20T18:46:47.030-08:00Grandfather's LeafWeightless, cradled and rocked by a barely perceptible breeze, the single brittle leaf floated downward onto the eagerly waiting loam below. The poor hapless thing cursed to be consumed and converted to compost.<br />
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Over. End of story.<br />
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That leaf reminded me of my grandfather's long ago words--<br />
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"<i>Life is like a leaf, when it hits the ground it's over, there is nothing more.</i>"<br />
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Over. End of story.</div>
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Haunting words.<br />
Words that wrap around my chest like a too tight sweater and constrict my breath.<br />
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<b style="font-style: italic;">"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitied.</b>"</div>
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Each fall, as the trees begin to shed their summer foliage, grandfather's leaf asserts itself in my head as an unwelcome walking companion.<br />
On those evening walks, I pass cozy homes where palpable life pulses from dimly lit family rooms, and soft, amber sprays of light thread the street casting a warm glow across my path.<br />
Seasonal wreathes and colorful door mats whisper <i>welcome</i>!<br />
It's the epitome of home.<br />
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Home, where the lights are always on.<br />
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But it isn't long before the gentle night gives way to the wayward words of my grandpa-<br />
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An autumn wind pushes against my back with rude impatience.<br />
A harvest of dried leaves, caught in the vortex of an Autumn current, frantically scratches the pavement in pursuit of me as if I were the pied piper of lost souls leading them to the afterlife of winter.<br />
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The leaves feel animate and their trailing deliberate. Desperate. Eerie.<br />
I pick up my pace and pendulate my course to avoid the withered foliage but it seems they just match my every step. I find myself praying the dead things relent and retreat.<br />
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Leaf words, one mans hopeless, earthly pilgrimage. A journey void of direction and subject to the mercy of a seasonal thermal that has no soul.<br />
The thought of it makes me feel as dry as the leaves that nip at my heels.<br />
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I hope his words were just a simple musing and not a solid mindset.<br />
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I hope he made it home.<br />
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<b><i>"In my father's house are many mansions...</i></b><b><i>I am going to prepare a place for you. </i></b></div>
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<b><i>And if I go and prepare a place for you, </i></b><b><i>I will come back and take your to be with me </i></b></div>
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<b><i>that you also may be where I am. "</i></b></div>
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I hope he made it home<br />
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<b><i>Blessed is the man...who delights in the law of the LORD,</i></b><br />
<b><i>He will be like a tree planted by streams of water...</i></b><br />
<b><i>whose leaf never withers.</i></b></div>
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1 Corinthians 15:19<br />
Psalm 1:1-3<br />
John 14:1-4Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-8965001948376348082015-09-25T09:26:00.000-07:002015-10-25T08:46:55.997-07:00Womb of the World<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Marcin Sobas photography</span></div>
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Rasped tremolo-<br />
of cricket knee</div>
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soft lullaby<br />
wooded melody.<br />
Auroral anima-<br />
womb of the world<br />
silent sacred<br />
night unfurled.<br />
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Cover me<br />
oh dawning soul,<br />
your barely blue, and gray<br />
Delay delay delay-</div>
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I bid the day.<br />
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Rays slip slow-<br />
horizon creeps<br />
dark contracts<br />
lucent seeps.</div>
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cloud canopy-<br />
illumined mist </div>
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lighted loam<br />
Oh, holiness!<br />
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Cover me<br />
Oh, dawning soul,<br />
your barely blue, and gray-<br />
delay delay delay<br />
I bid the day.<br />
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Pavilion pitched<br />
veil drawn<br />
no man prevents<br />
Gods birthing dawn.<br />
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And then there was light,<br />
and<br />
It was good.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">L. Paddock</span></div>
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Where morning dawns and evening evening fades<br />
you call forth songs of joy.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Psalm 65:8</span></div>
Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-24041223792060637882015-04-03T06:15:00.001-07:002015-10-12T08:27:11.438-07:00He Still Sends Rain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Shrouded by early mornings darkness, I listen to the steady rain.</div>
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It sounds like a rushing river on the hillside before me.</div>
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I am at a loss for words.</div>
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What do I say to Him on this anniversary day? This Good Friday.This dark Passover. How do I pray?<br />
'Thanks' seems to minimize the sacrifice and praise meager in its offering.<br />
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Far be it from me, Oh, LORD, to spit out words of worship and petition.<br />
For even in my most humbled effort I fail to truly comprehend that I am handling holy things with my mouth--syllables and sentences that rise upwards to your sacred sanctuary.<br />
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<i><b>In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help.</b></i></div>
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<i><b>From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him...</b></i></div>
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<i>Psalm 18:6</i></div>
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It is inconceivable to realize my voice travels beyond galaxies and constellations and nebula's and black-holes and time itself. </div>
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That my words arrived in a holy place above-- the heavenly tabernacle, the very chamber of God where angels tread and God resides.<br />
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Did a heavenly hush fall in those courts? </div>
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Did the holy congregation slowly turn their eyes to the sound of words?<br />
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I imagine that awkward moment of charging in tardy to a staff meeting, a wedding, a seminar, or even a church service during the offering of silent, congregational prayer.<br />
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Every head looks up. All eyes on you.<br />
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<i><b>Woe to me! For I am a man of unclean lips...and I am undone!" </b></i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Isaiah 6:5</span></i></div>
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<b><i>Who am I, LORD, that you are mindful of me.</i></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Psalm 8:4</span><br />
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Is it possible the whole of heaven grows fearfully silent, turning its full attention to the intrusion of our prayers?</div>
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<b><i>Such knowledge is too...lofty for me to comprehend.</i></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Psalm 139:6 </span> </div>
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But here I am on bended knee, peering into the forested deep of morning and mouthing morsels for your ears, O, LORD, all the while knowing that as soon as I rise, I will fall again.<br />
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Martin Luther's cry becomes my bewail: "O my sin ! my sin ! my sin !"<br />
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Suddenly the firmament cracks and the thunder of God's voice is heard.<br />
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<i><b>Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice; to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. </b></i></div>
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<i>Job 37:2</i></div>
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And the rain follows then; rivers of life that flow from the Holy Temple.<br />
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What wondrous love is this?<br />
Who can comprehend, who can comprehend this grace gift?<br />
This unspeakable, incomprehensible, unfailing, redeeming, raining love? Who?<br />
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Like a devoted parent caring for a helpless child, you carefully minister to your afflicted children.<br />
Changing our clothes, washing our minds, renewing our hope and tending to this broken temple that houses your name.<br />
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The rifts and ravines of our life course like errant rivulets seeking direction, thirsting for truth.<br />
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Damaged DNA from the garden's trespass are we--<br />
man and beast and bird and dirt and air and tender shoots and flowering bulb and weeping willow.<br />
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All of earth has been fractured by the fall of Eden. Infected. Wounded.<br />
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Earths soil is stained with the sin of it all.<br />
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"<b>For the creation was subject to the frustration" (the err of Eden)... and "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Romans 8:19 and 22</span></div>
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We are webs of twisted twigs reaching broken, upwards, for life giving water.<br />
Tiny, fragile buds on life's branches, we desperately push to break through the hardened bark of this ole troubled world.<br />
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Wretches of the world but saved by grace for those who know your name.<br />
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Still, you tenderly care. You send refreshing.<br />
You ride the skies to rescue us.<br />
You send grace in spite of our guilt.<br />
You send the rain and remind us that we are yours, you have heard our prayer and--<br />
you are making all things new;<br />
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<b><i>Father, let your teaching fall like rain on our hearts and your words descend like dew on our souls, </i></b></div>
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<b><i>like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.</i></b></div>
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<b><i>And we will proclaim the name of the LORD.</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Oh, praise the greatness of our God!</i></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Deuteronomy 32:2</span></div>
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<b><i>For you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.</i></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Malachi 4:2</span></div>
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*A HUGE thanks to Kent Burgess for permission to use his incredible photo's. *</div>
Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-21178974066121719162015-03-09T07:52:00.000-07:002015-10-07T08:10:18.912-07:00Song of Stairs<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Jerusalem is built like a city</i></b></div>
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<b><i>that is closely compacted together.</i></b></div>
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<b><i>That is where the tribes go up,</i></b></div>
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<b><i>the tribes of the LORD,</i></b></div>
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<b><i>to praise the name of the LORD</i></b></div>
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<b><i>according to the statute given to Israel.</i></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Psalm 122:3-4</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Father,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Watch over our frame,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the temple you dwell</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
this body our home</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
this sinew and bone,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
lest left to ourselves</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to labor in vain</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
use stubble and hay</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
chaff in the wind--blown away,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
then wake up to wonder</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
what happened today.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Watch over our cities,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the souls that swell</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
descendants on loan</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the tribes of our own,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
lest left to ourselves</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to labor in vain</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
water with worry</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
dilute the trek--live the flurry,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
then wake up to wonder</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
what was the hurry.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Watch over our walls</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
our life citadel</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
our heart enthrone</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
your peace to own</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
lest left to ourselves</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to labor in vain</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
with mortar of man</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
like Babel's tower-reaching sky,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
then wake up to wonder</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
just how did we die?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> L.Paddock</span><br />
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>May those who love you be secure.</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Psalm 122:2</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<br />
http://frankandcarystock.deviantart.com/art/Stone-stairs-287281686<br />
1. Psalm 119:13<br />
2. 1 Peter 3:18<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-24979065062669700432014-11-04T05:18:00.002-08:002015-10-07T08:09:25.391-07:00Grace in the Garden<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
Saving. It's all God's idea.<br />
<br />
Before I was formed in the womb, before I put my foot forward on the pavement this very twinkle in time, before I chose that disobedience or that donkey or dropped that word in the room, even beyond the Garden to the speaking of creation into the void, it was all your idea to save. To give grace.<br />
<br />
Today is no surprise to you, it's appointment doesn't change the circumstance of Edens Keening or Gethsemane's wailing or the triumph of Calvary's tree, or my continual need of thee.<br />
<br />
For while I was dead in my trespasses, you were designing my bent.<br />
While I was dead in my trespasses, you were in the wilderness fasting, and praying for me.<br />
While I was dead in my trespasses, you were turning water into wine.<br />
While I was dead in my trespasses, before time and eternity, you died for me.<br />
<br />
Selah.<br />
<br />
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Jeremiah 2:24a Ephesians 2:4Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-47082013844722634282014-09-12T04:41:00.002-07:002015-10-12T08:27:28.760-07:00All that is You<br />
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<br />
<br />
Father,<br />
<br />
I am in awe that you <i><b>humble yourself to look upon us</b>!</i><br />
<br />
More than that, you actually <i><b>walk among us</b> !</i><br />
<br />
How I long to live in the light and life and hope and holiness and peace and truth and forgiveness and mercy and grace and power and glory and majesty and splendor and all that is you.<br />
<br />
I need to touch the hem of your robe now, I need to feel the spark of your spirit ignite me anew.<br />
<br />
I long to be garrisoned within your glory and given that eternal perspective of a distant land-- that place of peace, those holy heights of heaven, and be granted strength for the journey as I keep my eyes on the flame that burns on Sinai's soul.<br />
<br />
Selah<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
Psalm 113:6<br />
Revelation 2:1Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-34788351256441987872014-07-08T12:07:00.001-07:002015-10-09T16:23:56.120-07:00Winters WormIn short, winter depresses me.<br />
<br />
Period.<br />
<br />
I begin to dread it's arrival on July 4th, the date I consider summers mid-way mark- the apex of the<i> all to short season</i> that represents everything green and alive.<br />
<br />
Winter is death and dark shadows.<br />
Winter is grey and cold and sinister and claustrophobic.<br />
The days are short and the nights are long.<br />
<br />
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But this past season, strangely, I didn't want it to leave me.<br />
<br />
It seemed winter had found it's worm-it's anima.<br />
<br />
I felt it behind me, pulling me inward towards its cold soul and wrapping me with the wings of its frigid cloak much like a behemothic seraph might.<br />
<br />
It became somewhat of a protective guardian isolating me from the world.<br />
<br />
I can't explain it. I just felt safe, shrouded.<br />
<br />
I didn't want to leave the confines of its cradle.<br />
<br />
Maybe I needed a sabbatical from the spinning sphere of humanity, a soul rest.<br />
<br />
Maybe I needed my brittle branches snapped, the cold and selfish heart thawed, the dormant faith revived, the obstinate will tamed and the road of righteousness restored.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly before your God</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Micah 6:8</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Maybe Winter needed to have it's way, so that I could heal, and be that gentle spring rain, the new green leaf, that doe of the morning or coo of a dove.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;</i></b><br />
<b><i>The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come,</i></b><br />
<b><i>and the cooing of doves is heard in our land...</i></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Song of Solomon 2:11-12</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
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Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-47240793181911093562014-07-02T07:29:00.000-07:002014-08-29T17:46:47.836-07:00Isn't it just like You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
I bend the knee,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
position hands</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to worship</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
it's bare boned and,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
half-hearted,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
it's skeletal and,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
sparse.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My eyes, they bend away-</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
shifting, turning, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
distracted,<br />
<br />
divided.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Isn't it just like you,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
then,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to turn things upside-down</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
inside out,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to make it all about,<br />
<br />
me,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
instead.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I cough out words-</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
you return manna.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Praise weakly proffered-</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
circles back as worth wrapped</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm found,<br />
<br />
bound</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
by grace.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-52165668757328570442014-07-01T12:07:00.005-07:002014-07-12T13:34:14.332-07:00 White Stone<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>I will also give him a white </i></b><b><i>stone with a new name on it.</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Revelation 2:17</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
It occurred to me this morning, as I used some of the many names of God in praise during my quiet time, to consider what name might be imprinted on that white stone of Revelation for me.<br />
<br />
What will my white stone say?<br />
<br />
Will it tell my story here on earth?<br />
<br />
How will I be known for all eternity?<br />
<br />
In what way will that 'name' be a reflection of who I am based on Gods design of me?<br />
<br />
"Name"; a word or a combination of words by which a person is designated, called, or known.<br />
<br />
Names are influenced by many variables; culture, trends, traditions, personality, and even socioeconomic status.<br />
<br />
<b>It is interesting to consider just how much a part of a person's identity a name really is.</b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Consider some of the names for God found in scripture and how they define Him-<br />
Ancient of Days<br />
High king of Heaven<br />
Son of the Living God.<br />
Light of the world<br />
Chosen and precious corner stone<br />
He who searches hearts and minds<br />
The God who See's<br />
Morning star<br />
Ransom for all men<br />
I am who I am<br />
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob<br />
<br />
Using nature and descriptive personality traits and bent, rather than socially influenced trends that result in benign, one or two syllabled monikers that have relatively nothing to do with the person, the Native Americans employed a similar concept in selecting an eponym.<br />
<br />
I looked up a few just for fun--<br />
<br />
Dances with wolves<br />
Runs beside horse<br />
Lives in the woods-Cherokee<br />
She always plays<br />
Forest water-Cherokee<br />
Stays at home-Chippewa<br />
He laughs-Algonquin<br />
Restless one-Hopi<br />
<br />
Recently, in the midst of an especially difficult time of struggle in my life, The LORD affirmed my worth with a promise from scripture.<br />
I needed the affirmation--<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Daughter of Jersusalem, </b><i>who's punishment as been taken away from you.</i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Zephaniah 3:14</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
When my mother, only 66 years old, was dying from Luekemia, The LORD gave me a very specific promise regarding her eternal destiny and ultimate dwelling place--<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>She who dwells--</b><i>in the secret place of the Most High. </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Psalm 91:1</span><br />
<br />
During a particularly intense season of prayer spent on my knees for my husband, I was given this--<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Bring the Boy to Me</b> M<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">atthew 17:17</span><br />
<br />
While waiting for our Korean born daughter, Abby, God confirmed the fulfillment of His promise to bring my <i>daughter from the ends of the earth...your--</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Seed from the East. </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> Isaiah 43:5-6 kjv</span><br />
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While the above verses in bold are probably not the holy white stone name to be assigned in heaven to that particular individual, it is certainly insightful to ponder ourselves beyond just a title.<br />
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There is one thing I am sure about, concerning that white stone name--<br />
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It will be a fitting description of who we are in the eyes of the one who made us.<br />
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It will be a holy name, known only by me and my maker.<br />
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<b>******</b></div>
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And then, there is the Greatest name of all, the name of Jesus.<br />
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<b>Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:</b></div>
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<b>That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God The Father.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Phillipians 2:9-11</span></div>
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Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-34088999134094273062014-06-20T08:06:00.004-07:002015-01-26T21:48:17.237-08:00The Beginning PlaceI don't know where that soul seed arrived from.<br />
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But the little blue strips tell me it's in there-<br />
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The beginning place.<br />
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Father,<i> thank you for the promise and presence of this new life, please be present during the shaping, sculpting, evolving and....</i><br />
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Pause.<br />
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Isn't asking God to enter the womb and oversee the process a little like inviting an artist to attend his own canvas?<br />
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He is already there!<br />
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In the secret place- The Beginning Place<br />
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Doing what He does...creating;<br />
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He who binds the beautiful pleiades and loosed the cords of Orion.<br />
He who cuts a path for the thunder storm and knows the place where lightening is dispersed.<br />
Who made the behemoth and knows the abode of light.<br />
Who knows the currents of the deep and calls each star by name.<br />
He who has walked the recesses of the deep but now sits seated at the high hand of God.<br />
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Him.<br />
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<i>You, Oh LORD.</i></div>
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<i>At work, deep <b>within</b> in her.</i></div>
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<i>The very finger of god- the very presence of holy.</i></div>
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<i>Dust cleaves...God breathes.</i></div>
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<i>Consecrated crafting.</i><br />
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<i> Knitting together, perfectly piecing,</i></div>
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<i>Sinew meets soul, bone joins body.</i></div>
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<i>A tiny toe, a lip, an ear. </i></div>
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<i>Muscle twitches. Heart beats. Lungs draw amniotic air.</i></div>
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<i>Miracle.</i></div>
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<i>Who can comprehend? Who can comprehend?</i></div>
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<i>Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.</i></div>
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<b>For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb.</b></div>
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<b>I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully (being) made.</b></div>
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<b>My frame is not hidden from you in this secret place...your eyes see my unformed body.</b></div>
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Psalm 139:13-15</div>
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<i>Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are God. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them.</i><br />
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<b>You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Nehemiah 9:5b-6</span></div>
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Psalm 8:8 91:1 Job 38 40:15 Jeremiah 32:19</div>
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<br />Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-90150345997046461702014-06-06T07:22:00.002-07:002015-07-08T07:08:49.848-07:00Upside down handsI grip the slender twin twines attached to the small wooden 2x4 suspended from the garage rafters above and sway my young frame rhythmically until the gentle motion carries me away and into the land of my imagination.<br />
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The words come then.<br />
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And the songs happen while hands hold fast to the braided anchor that rocks me.<br />
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I sing about a high blue sky and birds on electrical wires, dandelions in the grass, ladybugs, and the forbidden kitten hidden in my closet.<br />
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I sing with the angst of a 9 yr. old over a report card.<br />
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I sing about the aging neighbors next door, the brothers that bully, and the roast for dinner.<br />
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My father constructed that course pendulum that lifted me to heights beyond the moment. To him it was just a recreational rig. To me, well, it was my retreat into the clouds.<br />
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Dad will be 83 this August. </div>
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Dad has Alzheimer's now, so they say.<br />
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And just as my tiny hands held on to the ropes and pulled my body back and forth to the rhythm of youth, so now those same hands, aged themselves, will grip tightly to the mind and body of a man rocked by the rhythm of years.<br />
He holds on for dear life, but the cords are frayed and the mind is leaving and the body is slowing and the spirit is sagging and confusion is stealing and the hurt cuts deep.<br />
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My hands and my heart hang all upside down.<br />
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Dad has Alzheimer's now.<br />
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The flickering light of a gentle soul may soon cast it's shadows through empty eyes where:<br />
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<i>"the keepers of the house tremble, and strong men stoop, and those looking through windows grow dim; when the doors to the streets close...and all their songs grow faint; and the grasshopper drags himself along..." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span><br />
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But it won't stay that way for long, all upside down, because-<br />
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<b>You have come to set the captives free, that we might have life and have it more abundantly.</b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Isaiah 61:1 John 10:10</span></div>
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I have had a tremor of bliss, a wink of heaven, a whisper, </div>
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and I would no longer be denied; </div>
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all things proceed to a joyful consummation. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2</span></div>
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<b><i>For I the LORD your God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help you.</i></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Isaiah 41:13</span></div>
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1.) Ecclesiastes 12: 3-5<br />
2.) T.S Elliot, <i>Murder in the cathedral </i>(New York: Harcourt, 1963), 70</div>
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Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-53225678524121422032014-05-13T07:45:00.000-07:002014-06-08T16:52:22.731-07:00TabernacleIf you know me at all, you know there is no other place I would rather be than deep in a wooded enclave, alone, in prayer. Nothing can settle me more than the life and peace I find in that natural sanctuary.<br />
This is where I rest, heal, renew.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. </i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2 Corinthians 12:9</span><br />
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REST <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"> 1</span><br />
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The Greek translates 'rest' in this passage as 'Tabernacle'.<br />
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Tabernacle;<br />
To spread a tent.<br />
To <i>tabernacle over</i>, to cover.<br />
To <i>superimpose a time, place, order.</i><br />
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To <i>occupy</i> as God did in the old testament tabernacle for the purpose of protection and communion.<br />
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I can scarcely wrap my head around this glory- God covering me with the canopy of trees and, more profoundly, himself.<br />
Hiding me in His secret place for the purpose of communing with me, protecting and advising me.<br />
Superimposing his divine and eternal plan, place, time, and order for my current weakness, trial, and trouble.<br />
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<i><b>Such knowledge is too wonderful to me, </b></i></div>
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<i><b>too lofty for me to attain.</b></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Psalm 139:6</span></div>
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1.) Strong's expanded exhaustive concordance of the bible, Red letter edition. James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001. Number 1981.</div>
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2.) Psalm 91:1</div>
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<br />Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-26994956558379135442014-05-02T19:40:00.000-07:002014-05-13T08:10:31.721-07:00Stay here and pray with me.<br />
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She annoys me. I can almost clock when the call will come...Friday afternoon, just shy of closing.<br />
It's been an arduous day. I just want to be finished and go home but, she knows this, and so the timing is deliberate-- call at the 11th hour and it will be easier to sway the narcotic from my hand; the panacea she desperately needs for the emotional pain buried under the guise of physical illness.<br />
But compassion wins out, and I stay, and carry a sister with the comfort and encouragement she secretly seeks. <br />
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<i>Don't hang up, but in the spirit;</i></div>
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<b><i>Stay here and pray with me.</i></b></div>
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I pass him everyday on my way to work.<br />
I guess his age to be about 16 though it's clear there is an impish innocence within.<br />
Standing on the corner, backpack slung over his shoulder, father protectively near, he waits for the bus that will transport him to a place of cafeteria cliques, hallway hecklers, bathroom bullies, locker room pranksters, impatient instructors and the ever existent, impenetrable circle of peers.<br />
A place he won't fit in.<br />
Will the academic microcosm be kind to this gentle, special needs boy-man today?<br />
Please God, let someone be brave enough to claim him as friend!<br />
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<i>Don't drive away, but in the spirit;</i></div>
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<i><b>Stay here and pray with me.</b></i></div>
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My second story window gives me a birds eye view right smack into the family room of our neighbor across the street. Her husband died just recently; she's only 50 something.<br />
I occasionally catch a glimpse of her walking the same linear path through a dimly lit house in the late evening.<br />
Alone.<br />
No one to even bring her a cup of cold water.<br />
I ache for her.<br />
<br />
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<i>Don't pull the blinds, but in the spirit;</i></div>
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<b><i>Stay here and pray with me.</i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
How is it I somehow envision God spiritually and tangibly absent until he is summoned?<br />
As if it were me that happened upon the scene first.<br />
As if it were my idea to pray.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>Is it really about us petitioning God's presence, or God calling us to enter into His?<br />
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<b>******</b></div>
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<i>Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.</i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew 18:20</span></div>
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<i>He took care of them on EVERY side. </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2 Chronicles 32:22</span></div>
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<b>Stay here and pray with me. </b></div>
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Matthew 26:38</div>
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<i><b><br /></b></i>Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-6801365640189557222014-03-30T08:18:00.005-07:002014-04-29T05:07:43.071-07:00Those Eyes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>"...One problem we modern readers have with the Bible is that we read it as we did when we were children. Our storybook Bibles split the text into short morality lessons, so we assume that's how we should read the text as adults. But it's actually not meant to be a collection of simple children's stories. It's a sophisticated, epic saga with a complex, interwoven plot". <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span></b></i></div>
<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></b></i>
<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></b></i>
The bible, an epic saga of salvation where we find ourselves woven into the written word and known by name.<br />
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<b><i>I have called you by name, you are mine.</i></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Isaiah 43:1</span></div>
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<b>Those eyes.</b></div>
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They draw me in, I am mesmerized. I sense a peculiar intimacy in the pools of prayer taking place within and wonder, <i>just what has him so intensely contemplative?</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvaJPmdCUATefFSSPdtLLodOI2AGRJuVK7fQ7QB5MwZswY6lmXHs__28HbgcGbac3YDsodun7_1gBweYuSdNtTY63nFbPQjRT8yOeozJMY2qgKBCg6wzawemg4oBwY4OovgXonRAHAFQL/s1600/christ-in-the-desert-18721-e1276316336416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvaJPmdCUATefFSSPdtLLodOI2AGRJuVK7fQ7QB5MwZswY6lmXHs__28HbgcGbac3YDsodun7_1gBweYuSdNtTY63nFbPQjRT8yOeozJMY2qgKBCg6wzawemg4oBwY4OovgXonRAHAFQL/s1600/christ-in-the-desert-18721-e1276316336416.jpg" height="290" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><i><b><br /></b></i></i>
<i><i><b>While we were yet in our sins, Christ died for us.</b></i></i></div>
</div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Romans 5:8 </span></i></div>
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<br />
Could it be that 'certain sin' we covet, coddle, pamper, and pet today incited a holy zealousness within Christ that day for an ardent intercessory plea for mercy to The Eternal One on our behalf ?<br />
<br />
Is it possible the serpent slithered up close to Jesus' ear, sneered, and hissed--<br />
shes'ssssssss not worth it?<br />
<br />
Was my name brought up in that ancient wilderness?<br />
<br />
Was he beholding my face as he prayed?<br />
<br />
Was he hunched and heavy in prayer for me that long ago moment in time, knowing full well the choices I would make today?<br />
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<b>Father, I pray for them. </b></div>
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<b>Holy father, protect them by the power of your name, </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.</b></div>
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<b>I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, </b></div>
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<b>so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them...</b></div>
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<b>Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>FOR THEM I SANCTIFY MYSELF, THAT THEY TOO MAY BE TRULY SANCTIFIED.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">John 17:911,13,17,19</span></div>
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******</div>
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O LORD, forgive! O LORD, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because we are your people and bear your name.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Daniel 9:19</span></div>
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<br />
I am convinced he took each of us with him into the desert those 40 days and prayed for us by name.<br />
<br />
And, I imagine, as the hot sands of our sin burned the soles of his feet, the heat of his affection for us seared his soul with a sold out conviction-<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>You're worth it.</b></div>
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May you read that epic saga again today as it is meant to be read, a personal letter of love to you.</div>
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1)WALKING in the DUST of RABBI JESUS, Lois Tverberg, pg 150</div>
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Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-53971491942954537062014-01-28T05:02:00.001-08:002014-04-12T06:35:52.546-07:00The Banks of Babylon<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Psalm 137</b></div>
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On the banks of Babylon I knelt,<br />
by the rivers of sin I sat and wept</div>
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when I remembered Zion<br />
when I recalled my youth.<br />
<br /></div>
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Now, on the poplars of confusion<br />
I hang the harp of my heart, </div>
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the fickle chords of errant inclinations.</div>
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My captor, desire,<br />
has asked for songs of obeisance and sacrifice.</div>
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My tormentor, delusion,<br />
has demanded songs of joy saying; Sing! </div>
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Sing songs of 'you deserve happiness'<br />
and 'Didn't God say...?'.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But how can I sing songs while in a foreign land,<br />
this land of carnal captivity?<br />
Where is the happiness<br />
in chasing worldly tributaries?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
How can I sing when my first love<br />
has become my last choice?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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If I forget you, O Jerusalem,<br />
If I forget you, O God my saviour-<br />
the lily of my valley, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the Garden of my God and,<br />
the calling of your holy covenant,</div>
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may my right hand forget it's skill,</div>
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may my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth</div>
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if I do not remember you,</div>
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if I do not consider Jerusalem-<br />
The mountain of my God,<br />
My God himself;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
my true home</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
my true heart</div>
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my one desire</div>
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my highest joy.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
SELAH<br />
<br />
*****<br />
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<b><i>You shall have no other Gods before me</i></b>.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Exodus 20:3</span></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b><i>You have forsaken your first love.</i></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Revelation 2:4</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<b><i>"Come now,</i></b><br />
<b><i>let us reason together,"</i></b><br />
<b><i> says the LORD.</i></b><br />
<b><i>"Though your sins be like scarlet</i></b><br />
<b><i>they shall be as white as snow,</i></b><br />
<b><i>though they be red like crimson</i></b><br />
<b><i>they shall be as white as wool.</i></b><br />
<b><i>If you are willing and obedient</i></b><br />
<b><i>you will eat from the good of the land."</i></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Isaiah 1:18-20</span><br />
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Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-37463045776230922912014-01-15T16:11:00.003-08:002014-05-22T06:05:10.758-07:00She Weeps for Two<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Death is not a Diminuendo...It is the Etude of Eternity.</b></div>
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<i>Life has a way</i>....<br />
<br />
That's what she said,<i> Life has a way</i>...<br />
<br />
What does one do with words like that?<br />
<br />
Those words, like a crescendoing elegy, beat with the arrhythmia of life on the keys of my heart and left me murmuring a mournful duet for the two husbands she has lost and weeps for.<br />
<br />
We buried him then, right there on that swell of land over looking the lake.<br />
<br />
And after the bugle moaned it's dutiful taps, after the flag was folded and placed in her upturned palms, after epitaphs rang and tears wrought warm and memories flowed fluid, we buried him.<br />
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<i><br /></i>
<i>I never thought you could love someone again like that, but you can.</i><br />
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That's what she said, <i>I never thought you could love someone again like that, but you can.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
What does one do with words like that?<br />
<br />
I suppose we learn to live in the Sacredness of The Now;<br />
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<b>Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life...</b></div>
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<b>Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew 6:25,34</span></div>
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<b>Seek first the kingdom of God</b></div>
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<b>and His righteousness</b></div>
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<b>and everything else that you need</b></div>
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<b>will then be given you as well.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew 6:33</span></div>
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<br /></div>
And then, we live life.<br />
<br />
We "<i>dance it, sing it, cry it, feel it on our skin and in our bones"</i>. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span></b><br />
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May we all acquire a passion and pleasure for life as you did, Gene.<br />
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May you find comfort in the arms of your savior now and know the true passion of Christ in all His glory.<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
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<i>*****</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
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<b> I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">John 10:10</span><br />
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<b> Life has a way....</b></div>
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1. Sue Monk Kidd,When the Heart Waits (San Francisco:HarperSanFrancisco, 1990) p.22<br />
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<br />Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-23919384587724658732013-12-29T18:59:00.000-08:002014-04-29T05:21:43.239-07:00TAKEN<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>He established it as a statute for Joseph, when he went out against Egypt, </b><b>when we heard a language we did not understand.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Psalm 81:5</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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I had to stop and re-read that passage several times,<i> </i>mentally review the chronology and genealogy of the Old Testament story<i>. </i></div>
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When did Joseph ever <i><b>go out</b> <b>against</b></i> Egypt?<br />
He <i>went in</i>, (more appropriately he was TAKEN in) but when did he <b><i>go out</i></b><i> <b>against</b></i> Egypt?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1</span><br />
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The question then becomes; Why would God take Joseph into Egypt, via the vehicle of famine, for the purpose of rescue, only to have it become a 40 year call to bondage? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2</span></div>
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And what does that have to do with us today?</div>
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As one reads the Exodus events, it is clear that the divine plan of God was in play;<br />
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<b>You intended to harm me, </b></div>
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<b>but God intended it for good to accomplish what now is being done, </b></div>
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<b>the saving of many lives.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Gen 50:20</span></div>
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We have all been taken down to Egypt. And if you haven't yet visited Egypt, I guarantee you will at some point in your life.<br />
<br />
There will be a pit you are buried in. One that in your own strength you won't be able to crawl out of.<br />
<br />
<b>In this world you will have trouble.</b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">3 </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
Parent will fail you-<br />
Brother will betray you-<br />
Friend will disappoint you.<br />
God will seem silent.<br />
<br />
The enemy will accuse you--<br />
and jail your heart if you let him.<br />
<br />
Dreams will die and hope will fade.<br />
<br />
The multi-colored robe of your reality will be bloodied with the muck of this world.<br />
<br />
<b>But take care! I have overcome the world</b>. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">3</span><br />
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Wherever you are in life, God has brought you in.<br />
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Wherever you are in life, God will take you out.<br />
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The next time you're tempted to question your circumstances or the seeming unfairness of life or lot, consider the truth that nothing in God's design is accidental or random.<br />
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<b>There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Ecclesiastes 3:1</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<b>For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.</b></div>
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Jeremiah 29:11</div>
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1. Exodus 6:6, Psalm 77:15, Deuteronomy 9:29. The united kingdom of Israel experienced a division of tribes in roughly 975-586 B.C.<br />
The Northern Kingdom, Israel, was also referred to as "Joseph" or "Ephraim. Most likely, then, <i>going out against Egypt</i> was a reference to the whole of Israel and the Exodus, not a personal insurgence of Joseph against Egypt.<br />
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2. Genesis 15:13</div>
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3 John 16:33<br />
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Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-38204337584308552602013-12-26T15:31:00.001-08:002014-01-15T18:16:07.483-08:00The UnwrappingThere are no happy children's voices under the tree this morning.<br />
<br />
No heralds of "Santa Came."<br />
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Giggling 'good mornings' and 'Merry Christmas' are yesterday for me.<br />
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Only this:<br />
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Empty chairs and, untrod stairs- </div>
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Silent night and, muted morn- </div>
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Presents stacked, but </div>
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not tattered or torn.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I suspect it may be a little like this for God in His celestial chambers right now--</div>
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All heaven waiting with baited breath for the children of God to wake in wild eyed wonder and race to<br />
to the tree for the festive unwrapping of regeneration.<br />
<br />
From cradle to Calvary, creche' to cross, there is grace and peace, healing and redemption, mercy and belonging, under the tree. All wrapped in the holy linens of labor's love.<br />
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I wonder, what does God see when he looks down from above--<br />
<br />
An unwrapping of the grace-gift that never occurs?<br />
The miracle of Christmas jilted and shunned by blasé interest?<br />
<br />
Oh what celestial sighs of sadness must accompany the rejection.<br />
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Day's drag on, years go by and The Grace-Gift waits. </div>
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Heaven's breath hitches.<br />
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Time aches and eternity longs. </div>
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<b>Eternity isn't too long to wait for a child. </b> </div>
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Open your gift!<br />
<br />
<b>For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--</b><br />
<b>and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God...</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Ephesians 2:8</span></div>
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Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-25049286025303318582013-12-21T21:26:00.002-08:002013-12-26T14:58:11.009-08:00Sing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
I struggled to join the symphony of voices, the choir of Christmas carolers in the sanctuary, but singing words of worship felt a little like pressing hard against the wind.<br />
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<i>"Hypocrite! How can you even move your lips, let alone mouth lyrics of praise when you are steeped in sin as you are?"</i><br />
<br />
Justly charged! The accusation successfully stifled me.<br />
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Oh, a punctuated strain escaped here and there but mostly it was a forced effort, a weak and guilty lilt of pseudo-sacrifice that left my tongue slumped in sorrow for the sin-bullied joy that ached for freedom.<br />
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Still I sang on, my will to worship weak, but prevailing. <br />
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And then it happened.<br />
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Praise offered to Him becomes the promise returned--<br />
The Covenant of Christmas;<br />
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<b>To us a child is born, and by His mercy we are saved, </b></div>
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<b>not by things which we have done, </b></div>
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<b>but by the renewing of the holy spirit.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Luke 2:11*Titus 3-5</span></div>
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To sing, worship, pray, and proclaim the Good News isn't dependent on how well we perform in 'doing life'.</div>
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It is the commitment to believe and persevere in spite of the fact the only thing we have to offer is a broken and contrite heart and sin-diseased bent.<br />
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<b>Amazing love, how can it be,</b><br />
<b>that thou my God</b><br />
<b>would die for me!</b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Surely He</i> <i>surrounds us with songs of deliverance.</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
For song is the love language our soul knows best.</div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">
In the end, it's always God that does the giving. That does the singing. That does the bringing and the beckoning and the blessing. </div>
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Oh pious and pitiful people that we are;<br />
<i>If your sins are many, what does that do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2</span></i><br />
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We offer up refrains by rote, void of true vision and He returns it as the canticle of Christmas--Advents love story reaching down for us!<br />
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A spiritual tug of was was taking place in the pew that night.</div>
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God, impelling my sin-bullied spirit to sing, and the enemy trying to silence me with a false focus on self and sin instead of where it aptly belonged--on the grace of God.</div>
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<i><b>It is for freedom you have been set free! </b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>again by a yoke of slavery.</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Galatians 5:1</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>SING!</b></span></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Did you know that Noel is a french term that can mean Carole, or song?<b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">3</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
Did you know praise silences the enemy? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">4</span><br />
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Selah</div>
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1. Psalm 32:7<br />
2. Job 35:6-7<br />
3. Noel-Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Wikipedia<br />
4. Psalm 8:2Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-87532197968698861552013-11-27T20:33:00.000-08:002013-12-13T00:03:23.797-08:00Dining with Diety<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">With The Early American Tradition of a Thanksgiving meal upon us, I thought taking a look at Eastern Customs might be a beautiful and thoughtful reminder of why we gather at table to give thanks. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">The following, unless otherwise noted, was taken from the book, Sitting at the feet of Rabbi Jesus. 1</span></div>
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<b>Nowadays we tend to think of meals merely as times for refueling our bodies. Breakfast is an Egg McMuffin behind the steering wheel...lunch a vending machine candy bar...dinner a lean cuisine. In our rush-rush world, many of us dine alone or while doing something else. </b></div>
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However, in ancient eastern tradition this isn't so. The dinner table was considered the family altar.<br />
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The home itself is considered a little sanctuary where God can dwell.<br />
Within the home, the mother and father function as priests, bearing witness of God's presence to their children.<br />
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Every Jewish meal is supposed to be a time for discussing the scriptures.<br />
When three eat at one table and bring up words of [scripture], it is as if they ate from the table of God, blessed be He!<br />
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Perhaps that was why Jesus was invited to dinner so often--he could always be counted on for a fascinating discussion.<br />
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At one point in the evening, the father reads proverbs 31 to his wife, to extol her virtues and then prays for her and blesses her.<br />
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Joachim Jeremias notes an additional observation to the significance of the Shabat meal.<br />
"In the east, even today, to invite someone to a meal was to extend an honor, an offering of peace, trust, and forgiveness. Jesus' meals with sinners weren't merely social events or just signs of his empathy for the lowly, though he was compassionate. 'The inclusion of sinners in the community of salvation, achieved in table-fellowship, is the most meaningful expression of the message of the redeeming love of God".<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> 2</span><br />
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Each time Jesus ate with sinners, he was revealing the kingdom of God. <br />
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<b><i>You prepare a table before me...</i></b></div>
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<b><i>you anoint my head with oil;</i></b></div>
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<b><i>my cup over flows.</i></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Psalm 23:</span></div>
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Baruhk atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha-olam,</div>
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ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz.</div>
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Blessed are you, LORD, our God</div>
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King of the universe,</div>
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who brings forth bread from the earth.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> Jewish Shabat prayer.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">3</span></div>
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<b>Food for thought:</b></div>
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* Jesus said, I was a stranger and you invited me in. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">4</span></div>
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It isn't too late, ask God to show you who he might have placed before you, even at this very hour, that could be blessed by the sharing of your holiday gathering.</div>
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* During the meal, go around the table and take turns having everyone affirm each individual with an attribute they admire.</div>
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* Consider adding a <i>Sulha</i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">5</span> component to the meal.<br />
* Read some of your favorite bible stories or verses.</div>
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1. SITTING AT THE FEET OF RABBI JESUS, How the Jewishness of Jesus can transform your faith,</div>
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Ann spangler, Lois Tverberg, Chapter 10, At table with the Rabbi</div>
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2. Joachim Jeremias, New Testament Theology (London:SCM, 1971), 115-16</div>
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3. <b>Shabat</b>; Hebrew for Sabbath, meaning to 'cease'. A time of ceasing from labor, according to the Bible. Jews observe Shabbat from Friday sunset until Saturday sunset.</div>
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4. Matthew 25:35</div>
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5.<b> Sulha</b>, a meal of reconciliation. Take time to offer a long overdue apology before the meal. According to the tradition of a Sulha meal, once the first bite is taken, the offense can never be brought up again.</div>
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Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-63319606315133219652013-11-24T17:51:00.000-08:002015-12-12T08:52:17.369-08:00Thankful<br />
I saw it out of the corner of my eye as I walked past.<br />
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The tiny package of holiday paper plates with their bright orange rim and proud colorful turkey captured my attention as it was slowly propelled along the conveyor belt. Trailed only by a few other sparse items, it made its journey towards the waiting bagger.<br />
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I never saw the person behind the products;<br />
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Recently abandoned?<br />
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Newly bereaved?<br />
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Relocated and alone?<br />
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Aged and forgotten?<br />
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Young and neglected?<br />
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Deeply depressed, swallowed in darkness?<br />
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Why only 6 small paper plates?<br />
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Party of one or table for four?<br />
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One thing was for sure, whoever they were--I never looked up to notice, they weren't celebrating on the same scale I was.<br />
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Oh, I suppose the scenario could be different than what I imagined; the holiday table hosting a pair of ecstatically happy and newly married soul mates, or two peacefully settled empty nester's, or the recently re-employed father of 10, or a family of first time home owners all gathered to celebrate an evening of thanksgiving and blessing.<br />
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But my bent tends to lean towards the negative.<br />
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Which always makes me grateful for the positive.<br />
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It's just how God and I wrangle and roll.<br />
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And so, I refuse to grumble about-<br />
the mess, and expense, and time and chaos and work,<br />
And instead choose to be grateful for-<br />
the large and healthy family that is worth the sacrifice and inconvenience.<br />
And the reminder to pray--<br />
for the less fortunate.<br />
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<b>The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;</b></div>
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<b>surely I have a delightful inheritance.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Psalm 16:6</span></div>
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I have a goodly inheritance, LORD. </div>
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It is your generous gift to me. </div>
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I am blessed, and kneel before you with thanksgiving.</div>
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<br />Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-38003698933494727512013-11-22T17:00:00.000-08:002013-11-23T11:53:01.316-08:00The Assignment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>The Parable of the Bags of Gold</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew 25:14-28</span></div>
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It will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.</div>
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After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. </div>
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The man who had received five bags of gold said, <i>'Master, you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more....'Well done, thou good and faithful servant, said the Master.</i></div>
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The man with two bags of gold said, <i>'Master, you entrusted me with two bags of gold.</i></div>
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<i>See, I have gained two more....'Well done, thou good and faithful servant, said the Master.</i></div>
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The man with one bag of gold said, '<i>Master, I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you. Then the master took the one bag of gold and gave it to the one who had ten bags.</i></div>
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"I wonder how God feels when we are not faithful with abilities He's given us. Honestly, He's our Boss and, in a way, He is on an out-of-town assignment. He has asked each of us to oversee something in His kingdom, according to abilities He's given us. Each ability comes with an assignment." <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> 1</span><br />
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Two questions come to mind here,<br />
ONE; what are my abilities<br />
TWO; who is my assignment<br />
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One of my spiritual gifts is showing mercy.<br />
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<b><u>The Gift of Mercy</u></b><br />
<u>Description</u>: The ability to minister comfort and healing through acts of kindness to those who are suffering.<br />
<u>Characteristics</u> : Feelings oriented, patient, sensitive, empathetic, cheerful.<br />
<u>Cautions</u> : Do not neglect your own family as you help others. Allow others to show mercy to you also. Do not be critical of others who do not help out with the needs of others.<br />
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<u>My Mercy assignment?</u><br />
*Quit indulging the selfish nature that insists my spouse was designed to complete me, he isn't. Only God can fulfill that role.<br />
*Quit focusing on his negative character traits as a mistake in design or marriage material.<br />
*Show him mercy through small acts of kindness, and affirm his unique bent intentionally created for God's perfect plan.<br />
*Be intentional in pointing out his worth as I see the LORD at work in his life.<br />
*Die to self. It's not about me. Reaching Samaria starts in the home. One soul at a time.<br />
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*****</div>
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<i><b>You are not your own, you were bought with a price.</b></i></div>
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<i><b> So glorify God with your body!</b></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1 Corinthians 6:19-20</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i>So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around-life and place it before God as an offering. </i></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Romans 12:1</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The Message</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Get the chalk! You have an assignment. </span></span></div>
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#YESIDO</div>
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1 Renee Swope, A Confident Heart, pg. 146<br />
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<br />Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-7067526162916907492013-11-14T19:22:00.000-08:002013-11-15T03:51:08.390-08:00When She Falls<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>Though a righteous woman falls seven times, she rises again.</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Prov.24:16</span><br />
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<b>If God in His elation </b></div>
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<b>made me,</b></div>
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<b>who am I</b></div>
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<b>to challenge His creation. </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1</span></div>
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#Iamnot...insignificant</div>
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<b>We are not 'just clay blobs thrown randomly on God's pottery wheel to look like whatever we will. </b><b>We are fashioned in the image of God, each person is the Master's own self-portrait in physical form'.</b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2</span></div>
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#Iamnot....ugly.</div>
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<b>God see's beyond who we are to who we are becoming.</b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">3</span></div>
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#Iamnot...hopeless.</div>
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<b>In the room of Grace...I am 'Christ in me' on my worst day, in my worst thought, during my worst temptation.</b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">4</span></div>
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#iamnot...a failure<br />
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<b>Sometimes it is hard to tell whether you are being killed or being saved by the hands that turn your life upside down.</b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">5</span><br />
#Iamnot...forgotten<br />
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<b>For most of us, there are many seemingly adverse details of our lives that will not be changed regardless of our efforts or our prayers. They are simply part of God's plan for us.</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> 6</span><br />
#Iamnot...purposeless<br />
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<b>And it will always be good because love knows no other way to be. </b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">7</span><br />
#Iamnot... condemned.<br />
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<b>All things work together for good.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Romans 8:28</span></div>
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1 unknown<br />
2 L. Tverberg, WALKING in the DUST of RABBI JESUS. pg. 184-185<br />
3 Renee Swope, A Confident Heart, pg. 125<br />
4 J. Lynch, B. McNicol B thrall, THE CURE pg. 61<br />
5 M. Yaconelli, Dangerous Wonder, pg 134<br />
6 J. Bridges, TRUSTING GOD,pg. 179<br />
7 N. Nordeman, LOVE Story, pg 7<br />
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<br />Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-88678095827166399042013-11-07T04:40:00.000-08:002013-11-16T14:30:56.111-08:00 #WhoIAm<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>But as many as received Him, </b><br />
<b>to them He gave the right to become children of God, </b><br />
<b>even to those who believe in His name.</b><br />
John 1:12<br />
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I made the call and found myself speaking with yet another woman requesting STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) testing. </div>
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My breath hitched as I prepared to ask the sensitive but necessary questions;</div>
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<i>Has it been at least 2 weeks from your suspected exposure?</i></div>
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<i>Are you experiencing any symptoms?</i></div>
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I scheduled the appointment for her and then offered my sympathy. I apologized for the pain HE had brought into the relationship and shared that while my heart broke for her, unfortunately, this particular situation was a common call for me to receive.</div>
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She paused, then. <br />
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Several seconds of awkward silence ensued followed by a heavy sigh...</div>
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"It wasn't him"<br />
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"It wasn't him?"<br />
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Her confession carried a heavy remorse that nearly brought me to my knees.<br />
She emanated a shame so intense that the magnitude of it was palpable on my end. It was clear she was struggling to find reconciliation for her now damaged character and her marriage.<br />
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Misery her master, her wounded worth was suffering from the after-math of seeking significance in misguided places. </div>
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There has been much conversation on my P31 bible study lately <a href="http://proverbs31.org/" target="_blank">http://proverbs31.org/</a> regarding doubts and fears and failed attempts born of desperation that drive us to find fulfillment outside of God.<br />
Almost all of the chronicles focused on the innocent as victims--childhood abuse, dysfunctional upbringings, mental illnesses and various addictions.</div>
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I couldn't help but think, <i>what about those who suffer because of deliberate choices?</i><br />
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<i>What if suffering is self-induced, a consequence of a willful disobedience and wrong decision?</i><br />
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<i>Would we still qualify for the same mercy--the same affirming salutations and encouragement?</i><br />
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Do those who have caved to the sinful nature deserve to ask, as did Gideon;<br />
<i>"Why has this happened to me"?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Paul would speak from a personal perspective; <i> I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Romans 7:15 NLT)</span><br />
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David, considered by God to be a man after God's own heart, knew the ache of sexual sin.<br />
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Eve had front row seats to the satanic scheme that causes us to question God's loving provisions--<br />
"I bet Eve was content with what she had until Satan got her to compare herself to someone who had more." The tempter convinced her that something was missing in her life and that the forbidden fruit would make her 'like God'. A foolish comparison indeed, but all comparisons are."<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> 1</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
Bottom line? We've been had. We have fallen for our enemies schemes!<br />
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<b>I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's schemes, </b></div>
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<b>your minds may somehow be led astray </b></div>
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<b>from your sincere and pure devotions to Christ.</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2 Corinthians 11:2-3</span></div>
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<b>SCHEMES:</b></div>
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Schemes; translated in the Greek as methodeia". </div>
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Method; "the following or pursuing of an orderly and technical procedure in the handling of a subject".<br />
(Doesn't THAT just make the hair on the back of your neck bristle!) </div>
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<b>"Satan's scheme is to subtly transfer the deep devotion the believer has felt to Christ to a mortal instead."<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2</span></div>
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<b> "There's been a conspiracy against God's plan since before the Garden of Eden." </b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">3</span><br />
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<b>"Up there, beyond the clouds, where no human eye could see, there was a scene enacted that heralded no good for [our] prosperity."</b><br />
<b>Satan watches and considers. </b><br />
<b>The eye of malice is very quick to perceive a weakness.</b><br />
<b>He has lynx eyes." </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">4</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
Our enemy peers at us with those lynx eyes and hisses lies and doubts into our hearts and heads; <i>You blew it, your not good enough, your weak. You have failed, you will never conquer this. Your testimony is tainted and God can't use you now. </i><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
When I am tempted to question God's acceptance of me in light of my bad behavior, I recall with gratitude the reassuring truth that God remembers our frame--Dust. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">5</span><br />
He gets who we are. He understands the forces at work against us and realizes we are prone to sin and quick to fall. <br />
Still He loves us. Always loves us. He understands why we do what we do and yet lovingly pursues us in rescue.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
Whether by volition or victimization, God's mercy and compassion are unconditional, unfailing and eternal. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">6</span></div>
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His grace is offered without judgement or condemnation to ALL who have received Him and believe in His name. <br />
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<i>"<u>For the sake of His great name the LORD will not reject his people</u></i>" <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> 7</span></div>
<b>God's faithfulness is not based on what we have done, but on His GREAT name.</b><br />
<b>The same mind who knew in advance you would become one of His children also knew in advance you'd fall for a deceptive scheme of the evil one. Still, He says you were adopted with pleasure." </b><br />
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"Forgive us, our father, for being attracted to the pleasures of sin, to what appears to be full of ecstasy and satisfaction but is, in fact, empty and stupid. Thank you for bringing conviction, for pointing out our rebellion. We need that reminder every day, so that we might invest ourselves in that which endures. Thank you for the relief that comes with being forgiven and the peace of mind that accompanies a clean heart. Finally, thank you for your mercies, new every morning, and Your grace, needed every day." <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">8</span><br />
In Jesus name, Amen<br />
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<b>Who AM I? </b></div>
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<i> I AM who God says I am.</i></div>
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<b>#WhoIAm</b></div>
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<i>You will also be <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">a crown of beauty</span> in the hand of the LORD, and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">a royal diadem </span>in the hand of your God. </i><i>It will no longer be said to you, 'Forsaken,"...But you will be called "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">My delight is in her</span>,"... For <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">the LORD delights in you</span>... "The <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">holy</span> people, the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">redeemed</span> of the LORD;" And you will be called, "Sought out, a city not forsaken." </i></div>
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Isaiah 62:3-4,12</div>
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NASB</div>
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1 Renee Swope, A Confident Heart, pg 105<br />
2 Beth Moore, WHEN GODLY PEOPLE DO UNGODLY THINGS, pgs. 91, 44<br />
3 Chuck Swindoll<br />
4 Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon on PRAYER & SPIRITUAL WARFARE, pgs. 493, 501<br />
5 Psalm 103:14<br />
6 Psalm 51:1-2<br />
7 Beth Moore, WHEN GODLY PEOPLE DO UNGODLY THINGS. pg.121,1 Samuel 12:22<br />
8 Charles R. Swindoll, Insight for Living, <i>Forgive Our Trespasses</i>, Nov. 5, 2013<br />
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<br />Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351141105193048697.post-8437666314278329882013-10-23T19:27:00.000-07:002013-10-23T19:27:40.231-07:00Imagine #priceless<div style="text-align: center;">
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That your every tear was accounted for, </div>
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numbered, and listed by scroll <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1</span></div>
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That your every prayer was like incense,</div>
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and kept in a golden bowl<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2</span></div>
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That thoughts of you outnumbered the sand,</div>
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every hair on your head counted and planned<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> 3,4</span></div>
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And the one who gave each star a name,</div>
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has summoned and called you just the same. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">5,6</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> L.paddock</span></div>
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Imagine it true--</div>
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for He careth for you!</div>
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1 Peter 5:7</div>
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<b>You are precious and priceless in His sight.</b></div>
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<b>1 Psalm 56:8</b></div>
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<b>2 Revelation 5:8, Psalm 141:2</b></div>
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<b>3,4 Psalm 139:17-18, Matthew 10:30, Jeremiah 29:11</b></div>
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<b>5,6 Psalm 147:4, Isaiah 40:26, 43:1</b></div>
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Linda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14011108217784079399noreply@blogger.com2