Broken Shards

When I look at me in the mirror, I see the flaws, the cracks, the giant imperfections from those "consequence" days. Those would be the ones where I tried to ram through the wall God put in my way, or tripped over my sin and banged my head on the floor. Again. Every time it happens, I wonder why God doesn't just scoop me up in his dust pan and put me out to the curb. Why He takes such great pains to continue to mend and mold me is hard for me to fathom. I know I'm dust. I blow gently in the breeze, never quite landing, occasionally dancing in a sunbeam but always a breath away from being blown out the door. I'm thankful for His love. I'm thankful that His mercies are new every morning. I'm thankful that He died and made a way for all of us to be whole again. So, this morning, I drop my broken pieces at the foot of the cross. Again. This is my love offering. Use the pieces as You will, Lord, and make them into something beautiful.
Genesis 2:7 NIV
the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

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Wounded Bliss

Anger says hello and winks. It hopes you won't look away, because it has a friend it would like you to meet. It introduces you to Unforgiveness. You go on a few dates, and Unforgiveness asks you for a commitment. "Til death do us part" you say. A few months later this new "marriage" gives birth to twins, Bitterness and Vengeance. You hold them tightly in your arms and love them with your whole heart. Bitterness and Vengeance grow into hurtful young adults, causing pain wherever they go. You can no longer control them. They look for others just like them, and form a gang called Self-Pity. Self-Pity joins up with Depression, Rage, Entitlement, and they are bent on destruction. Bitterness meets someone just like himself, and marries her, til death do they part. Their first child they name Wounded. Wounded never met Anger, but his parents mention him all the time. Wounded runs into Anger who introduces himself as a close friend. Anger says hello and winks....

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

Spinning a Yarn

When my kids were mobile infants and toddlers, they never ceased to amaze me at what they could get into and not get out of. They'd get lodged behind the couch, stuck under a dresser, hung up in a drawer. Then I'd move the couch, duck their little heads under the furniture, or pry their toes from a drawer handle. They were a mess sometimes. So, today when I caught sight of a tangled skein, it was a great reminder to me that God does the same thing for me. The skein was pricey Alpaca yarn.  It was intended to become a hat before there were some, ahem, "difficulties" in the process. Now, it makes a great illustration of my life (and yours). My life is is the tangled mess. Every hour of every day God is working those strands of yarn loose. He is freeing me from the places I have managed to crawl myself into or under. It's not an easy process. The yarn snaps, it needs to be cut sometimes and tied back together, and some places are so knotted it will take weeks to figure it all out. But God is patient, and He lovingly moves me in whatever direction I need to go to be freed from the mess of my making. In His time, the knots come out, the yarn is rolled into a manageable ball, and knotted strings and all, he uses it to make something beautiful. God is not waiting for you to be perfect before you come to Him. All He wants is for you to have the faith to hand him the mess. He'll take it from there.
Ephesians 2:
1 Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. 2 You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God's anger just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, 5 that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms -- all because we are one with Christ Jesus. 7 And so God can always point to us as examples of the incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us through Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Daddy's Watching

We had a children's story during church this morning. Not being one to be able to focus long on anything, I glanced around the church as the story was read to the little ones. Just about every "grown up" had their eyes on the children, with a silly half smile on their faces that said both "aren't they cute?" and "we're so proud". It's hard for us to imagine, but God our Father looks at us like that. He smiles, and listens intently, and strains to see what His children are doing as the story is read. His story. And even if we're not sitting still, or we're playing with our hair, or we're speaking out of turn, He adores us. And even though we don't always "get it" when the Words are read or spoken, He knows our hearts. He sees our heads tilted with listening ears. He sees our eyes focused on the pages. He sees our hands raised with questions. He knows the wisdom will come with growing, and the growing takes time. And He is infinitely patient. Because we are His sons and daughters. His children. 
Galatians 4:1-8 (New Living Translation)
1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves great wealth for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that's the way it was with us before Christ came. We were slaves to the spiritual powers of this world. 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because you Gentiles have become his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you.

Walk This Way

I was driving up the road when in the distance I spied what looked like one of my sons.  Sure enough, as I got closer, I recognized the boy-become-man walking along the road, and I thought to myself "he walks just like his father".

I want that for my life. I want to walk like my Father.  As a mother, I have watched my children grow and change.  From those first mommy sighs of "he has your chin" to more recent cheers for diplomas, and jobs, and first apartments.  I believe God, our Father, does the same.  He cheers us on from our first wobbly steps in Him through all the seasons of life and faith.  He is looking at us, and hoping to see Himself in all that we do.  He is looking to see if we walk like our Father.

What does that mean, to walk like God? Does it mean that I try very hard to make my outward appearance God-like? Do I simply go to church, and say God-like things, and "look like" a follower of Christ? No, I think not.  My children have no clue that I see their daddy's gait when I walk behind them.  They are oblivious to it. It is just part of who they are. They could no more easily change that than they could change their size or the sound of their voices.  I believe that's what it means to walk like God. To follow Him with humility, not thinking about ourselves at all.  To be so focused on Him that we don't even realize that others see His reflection in us.  Praying that today, and each day ahead, brings you closer to that walk.

Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Acts 17: 28 'For in Him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are His offspring'

Genesis 1: 27 "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them."

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Come And Thirst No More

As it poured down rain last night, I glimpsed out the dark window to the front porch. There in the glow from the lights I could see "my poor petunias". "My poor petunias" hang under the eaves, and have only managed to continue living this long due to the generosity of others. Since the "others" were away all day, I can only assume that "my poor petunias" were dry as a bone. Inches from the water cascading off the roof yet they remained dry. It was time for me to go outside, lift the plant off of the hook, and set it out in the rain. I was reminded, once again, that there are people all around me just as thirsty. Thirsting for Living Water. They can see it around them. They can feel the fine mist from a distance, but something holds them fast. Maybe it is sin, or loss, or suffering. They are waiting for someone to lift them up and carry them to the Living Water. They're so thirsty. They're so parched and wilted, and their beautiful blooms are falling to the ground around them. Who will you carry to the water today? They're waiting.

Revelation 7:17 "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Under A Bushel Basket

I am a watcher, and I see what sparks the fire in your eyes and causes your feet to move forward.  I see your passion.  You're the one with the heart for prison ministry, spending your day off with an ex-con and helping him find work.  You are the missionary pointing to that place on the map that I have never seen. You, over there, it's the children, right? The hurting ones who don't know love at home. You put that bag of toys and new clothes on their porch last night.  I saw you, because I am a watcher.  Did you know that this is your gift? Your unique purpose?  Did you know that every time you feel that pull in your heart toward another human being, that you are being obedient?  I wonder, because I see your eyes. I see them look longingly toward the missionary, wondering why you don't have the discipline to save your money to go, too. I've seen your gaze follow the one with the heart for prison ministry, and you wince, and wonder why you don't feel the same?

I have been you.  Looking at the one with the heart for something else, and feeling inadequate because I could only be me, and I have a word for you.......STOP....... stop now.  God has designed you for a purpose.  He has called you to a vocation.  No, not necessarily your job.   It is what you have been summoned to do on this earth, and it is not over there, it is in here.  In your heart.  And while you are watching and waiting for the ability to do something else, your passion is sitting under an over-turned bowl. It is hidden under a bushel basket.  God gave you that gift and it glows with fire. I can see the light seeping out from underneath. I can feel the faint warmth.  When will you release it from it's prison? When will you take that brick of envy off the top and set it free? Because somewhere out there, while you are watching the others, there is someone watching you.  They see your passion. They need your gift.  And they wonder what is taking you so long?

Ephesians 1:15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.