November 2008 – Page 2

November 18, 2008

Dusty Harp

Written by Bobby Burgess

My dusty guitar is in my hands, and as I strum the mistuned strings, I think of David in Saul’s court. To soothe someone full of anger and hatred, possessed perhaps by an evil spirit sent by the Lord to torment him; what skill he must have had in his hands.

Barrrummmm! No, that’s not a real chord. My cat doesn’t seem soothed. If David misplayed his harp, would Saul have achieved a look of indifference on his face? It was said of David that he was skilled with his instrument, and how it must have been beautiful music to relieve someone of their anguish for a while.

Clunk! Hmmmm. Did David smack his harp against a table now and then? The cat looks up. Does he seem to desire to hurl a spear in my direction? No, it seems not; the birds in the window are his mind’s prey.

What did David’s music sound like? The soft rain of notes falling in suspended and seventh chords, longing for peace in the house of the King? Were they sounds of joyous major scales, resounding the past triumphs of home and battle?

The cat doesn’t care much for either, and yawns as he watches the leaves outside. I’m glad I have a chance to practice on him before I must come before the King and explain my errant talents to him.

1 Sam 16:23 Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

November 18, 2008

What Are His Special Dreams?

His son lay upon his chest resting. Going deeper into his special dreams I wondered what he sees when his eyes are closed. Is he already free in his mind and I don’t recognize it because I am expecting him to be like other little boys?

What is autism?

November 16, 2008

Hungry Hearts

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“Everybody’s got a hungry heart.” The first time I heard this was on some radio with Bruce Springsteen belting out a tune about leaving behind the old to search for something new. Of course his lyrics clearly spoke of how he was looking for this something new in the existing culture and a tangible reality he could see.

What I see is beyond this world’s ability to comprehend. Our hungry hearts recognize the need to be reconciled with “something more, something so much greater” than what we are seeing and living today.

Matrix déjà vu….it’s time to leave the grid and live for the promise even when it means to feel pain, to experience loss and to sacrifice our comfortable existence.

November 15, 2008

All Of Me

How I long to be close to your Presence

I drop to my knees unasked but willing to be humble

You command my respect captivating me with tender mercies

Who am I that You would want to know me

Who are You but hope and salvation

As tears run down my cheeks You capture them

I think the bottle must be full enough

When will I see You

I desire more of You

You are asking for more of me

I give up myself finally

All of me

November 14, 2008

Do You Mime?

The lights dimmed and the music with its backbeat was turned up. A hush came upon the audience and we all looked to the spotlit stage. Dancing out to the front of the stage was a young man whose age I could only guess to be in his early teens. His face was painted in white make-up with dramatic expressions and upon his hands were white gloves giving accent to his dark suit. He moved to the rhythm of the song while lip syncing the lyrics. Using his body, he gave full expression to the words he wanted to share as having great importance. I didn’t know the song but I recognized the idiom. A second young man joined him upon the stage and they danced in unison, each trying to express the deliberateness of our inner cry for love.

This precious gift of dance and expression is often referred to as “miming”. Thinking back on this performance draws my attention to how so many people “mime” their way through life in one way or another. Without words we express ourselves. I am sometimes tempted to spell out the obvious but this time I just want to leave the obvious for others to observe. With refreshed eyes, try looking at our neighbors, our loved ones and especially ourselves.

Written definitions of “miming”: To act out with gestures and body movement. To portray characters and situations by gesture and body movement. To ridicule by imitation; mimic. To express or describe something in actions or gestures without using speech.

November 13, 2008

He Will Cover Me

“He will not expose me, but He will cover me because He loves me.” Anonymous quote from a dear friend.

I hang around people who have a deeply personal relationship with the Lord and because of it they often have sound words of wisdom. I was recently chatting about areas of healing for those open wounds some of us still carry and how gracious our heavenly Father is to offer healing but first we must trust Him with our hurts. Funny enough I got back two emails about onions and layers peeled back. One of them, I hadn’t even mentioned a word to; another of those “weird” moments to capture my attention. As I wrapped their warm words of comfort around myself I was reminded of an even greater promise……

Jer 29:11 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.

November 13, 2008

Take “Me” Out Of Myself

The week is half gone and at the beginning I felt as though I were loosing my semblance of what I consider to be sanity. These days that is nothing more than being outside of my peaceful zone. I have become so used to living in this peaceful presence I don’t often know how to behave on the outside of it. All I want is “back in”.

I have learned how much of being in this presence is really up to me. The more I whine about my situation, the more I plunge myself into “self-pity” mode and well, let’s be honest, “self-centeredness”. I become the grand dame starring in the play about…..you guessed it, “ME”.

I had a chance to get away from myself this afternoon and the easiness with which I accomplished that feat still makes me grin. I merely took myself out to the park and started talking to people who needed to know they are cared about, even by a stranger such as myself.

November 12, 2008

Corrupt Hearts

“A simple virtuous soul sees evil in nothing, for evil exists not in things but in corrupt hearts.” Saint Therese of Lisieux

November 10, 2008

I Went Out Half Naked Forgetting My Armor

Ever have days where it just felt as though something went left but you can’t figure out where? I actually felt as though I was hanging by a thread to my sanity and my peace of mind. I made it through the day but about the time I hit the freeway something just seemed to break. Incredible waves of sadness were upon me and I couldn’t put my finger on a single reason for why.

I tried to fight it alone for a short while but past experiences reminded me I am not here to do anything alone. Swallowing my pride for the umpteenth time I reached for my cell phone and called a warrior. I needed help for this battle and it was beyond my ability to speak over myself. She reminded me I had gone out today half naked, forgetting some of my armor.

Eph 6:11-18 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

November 9, 2008

Let’s Sing Right To Him

“I don’t want to talk about you like you’re not in the room

I want to look right at you I want to sing right to you….”

These are worship lyrics that struck my heart with resonance. How many of us are going through the motions when we profess to be worshipping? Are we merely mouthing the words because we know them or are we truly singing them out from within like we mean them? What if we could really see with our natural eyes the face of our Lord Jesus as He looks back at us? Would we ever stop singing once 3 minutes is up where the song is supposed to stop or would we take the song back from the worship band and carry it ourselves for as long as our Lord continued to look at us with His great love?