Month: May 2008

Toby Mac sings….

The dream is fading now I’m staring at the door

I know it’s over ‘cause my feet have hit the cold floor

Check my reflection, I ain’t feeling what I see

It’s no mystery

Whatever happened to a passion I could live for?

What became of the flame that made me feel more?

And when did I forget…

That I was made to love You

“When the world is running down

You make the best of what’s still around”

The Police -when-the-world-is-running-down

Here we are listening to news stories of oil running out, global warming with the polar ice caps melting, extinction of unique species every 20 minutes and catastrophic disasters happening all over the globe.

The unprepared mind may want to panic, but don’t! There is a plan and it’s a good one. A manual exists so you can be prepared for all emergencies. It’s often referred to as the “good book”. We even have a Shepherd to guide us and He’s prepared the evacuation route ahead of time. The path may get narrow and even uncomfortable but don’t fret, He is the way, the truth and the light.

Isa 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.

My husband unit hacked up our gorgeous tree this afternoon in anticipation of a visit from the “tree police”. Now mind you we had no idea these persons even existed until we got an unexpected ticket posted on our door a couple years ago. They actually threatened to fine us for our tree providing too much shade! In their speak they felt our tree branches hung too low. Now by our measurements a semi-truck would have had to drive right next to the curb to have been hit by these low-hanging limbs so I refused to trim the tree. Even sitting atop a horse on the sidewalk you wouldn’t have been hit by these things so I blew the “post-it” ticket off.

A week later we came home from work to find another “post-it” attached to the front door of a brighter color and with more forceful language. They had actually scheduled a date they would return to inspect our limbs and fine us if need be! I was disturbed that our city was paying this busybody to go about our lovely neighborhoods and ticket home owners for their shady limbs.

My reaction was of course one of rebellion! I was ready to take on this “Tree Gestapo” by posting a huge sign on my tree trunk with the words “persecuted” on it. The husband unit felt it would be wiser to trim the branches and not get the ticket. I tucked my wee tail of defiance between my legs out of respect to “the man” I love for the greater good of household peace.

I have a dark side I have not shared with “the man”. As I helped him chop up our lovely branches yet again this year I keep my eyes pealed, waiting to see the “Tree Gestapo” tagging another home. One day I will identify this city employee and I will pursue him in the love I am taught. For every limb he has made us chop away I have a seedling for his own yard. In my heart I want them to be healthy seeds but one can never tell where a weed may find its way in.

A morning dawn brings promising new light and unknown possibilities. Every day we live our lives with an expectation of something greater than the day before. When was the last time you looked up at the sky and truly enjoyed the blue tones? Have your eyes open to all….See the woman who hungers to be acknowledged that her existence matters. Help the man whose arms are tired. Hug the child who is sad. Feed someone who hasn’t eaten today.

Be the light of a promise delivered. Be His hands.

Matt 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Like any story told it is easier to convey thoughts without speaking at all simply by sharing a picture. For that purpose we enjoy art of all sorts. Things inexpressible for words come alive in color, music, sculpture, smells and a thousand other things I myself cannot express.

Not everyone likes to read. Some of us are simply wired in ways to enjoy our other senses. As a writer it is often incomprehensible to understand others not enjoying a written story. Mine is an imagination where I live inside my own head. For everything I see outwardly I can change and manipulate inwardly to make a thousand varied stories based on my senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. A gift for sure but not one I can claim as the ‘end to all’ for expression. I enjoy the artistic expressions others have that don’t even come close to my own understanding. All I can say is “beautiful”!

I can write about the flowers I saw but nothing would beat seeing them, touching them or smelling them. The master of all art is brilliant! Thank you Lord!

Memorial Day is here and as we sit at home relaxing or enjoying our barbecues with neighbors and friends I want to remember those who have given all they have. In some cases this has been lives laid down. Seeing caskets still coming home with flags of our nation draped over them never gets any easier and like most, my first reaction is to want to ask for our sons, daughters, brothers and fathers to all come home to this land of freedom. It’s a common reaction not to want those we care about come into harms way.

The bigger picture is to see our freedom is not paid for once only by past generations but it continues to be a fight we must endure. We must be willing to stand guard always for the liberty of those not strong enough to fight for themselves. This freedom we fight for is not spoken of on the nightly news but it is a fight to the death and I speak of death to our spiritual voice.

Our freedom and pursuit of knowledge is key for healthy living. I don’t deny I get twisted up about those who would use our freedom to push evils onto ourselves and our children but I am one who believes in the bigger truth that light overcomes darkness. The absence of light breeds hatred, contempt and a lonely emptiness. All the ills of the world come from darkness. Darkness lacks freedom to pursue our hearts; it keeps us in bondage to death.

The good news is that darkness cannot penetrate light. When you turn on a lamp at night and open a window into darkness, did you ever notice it’s not the darkness that comes in but it’s the rays of light that go out overcoming the very depths of blackness.

I like to think of each and every soldier we send into other nations as possible lights for freedom; to shine as torches into closets of darkness, sharing new understanding that others don’t have to live as captives but can come into places of liberty. They can emerge from darkness to follow light and live in hope.

From Isa 61:1…..”To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;”

Big game hunting is tricky. I have never been one eager to kill but it’s time to shoot the enemy lurking around family and friends. I suspect he’d like to take me down too but being the cowardly sort he will instead come at the ones wearing less armor in this day. They haven’t yet equipped themselves fully to start hunting but they are preparing their own gear and will soon take the offensive. In the meantime I have a job to do and that is to guard and protect those I care about.

1 Peter 5:8 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

“I like red.”

“I think blue is best.”

Each painted what they felt to be the perfect color, one over the other.

Purple was the result, a royal hue was born.

His ways are many and He weaves our differences together, making a colorful tapestry for the bigger picture.