The Inanimate Object

Be still and know that I am God…..a famous verse.

What does it really mean? I get the opportunity to search this one out on a regular basis as my character is continually refined. I am a woman of action, meaning I don’t like to sit still when I see something needing to be done. This puts me smack in the middle of God’s sights for teaching me a better way. Just as I get moving in my own strength, a situation will set me in a place of stillness.

There I be….wondering at the lesson again? Frustration can try to take me to task, however it’s better I set myself to understand the heart of my Father rather than why I can’t move forward. I feel like the inanimate object while I wait, but I’ve learned how to sit upon my hands pretty good.

The Hour I First Believed

Amazing Grace has been sung for decades and sometimes its powerful message gets lost in the routine of our having memorized the words. I keep considering the lyrics “the hour I first believed”.

In recorded healings of Jesus’ day there was a nobleman who came to find Jesus, begging him to come back to his home to heal his dying son. It’s interesting to make note of Jesus’ reply. “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.

When the man returns to his home a servant comes to tell him his son is doing fine. The nobleman asks what hour it was that he began to get better. Once it’s confirmed to be the exact hour Jesus had spoke to him, the man’s entire household believed.

As I ponder “the hour I first believed”, I realize how much my own life has been changed and transformed. I have yet to see the signs and wonders they saw in the days Jesus walked the earth, but I know we will. Until that time, I count it a win to live by faith. Daily I see my prayers answered simply because I choose to believe.

A Horse Is A Horse Of Course

I thought the horses to be gorgeous. One was tan with a white mane and the other speckled white with a gray mane. Standing beside them was heady as I laid my hands upon their necks. Stroking them, I could feel the powerful muscles beneath my fingers. Even their eyes were expressive and I desired to linger, wanting to absorb this rare beauty. I refrained from trespassing upon the bounds of grace these riders shared. Stepping back I thanked the riders for allowing me such privilege to touch these creatures.

Days later my computer was attacked by a Trojan horse which I isolated before it could plant itself. The coincidence made me wonder about Psalm 33:17 A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

Horsepower has always been a measure of power and strength. In our western culture we tend to use the phrase relationally to engine power. The internet is ever on guard for Trojan horse attacks to gain access to personal information. Once the intruder has gained access we become vulnerable.

These viruses are aptly named from Greek mythology. In the legendary tale of the Trojan horse; a city is penetrated by means of a gigantic wooden horse containing warriors who attack while it sleeps.

Makes me wonder about the areas I may be relying on my own strength….

He Desires My Pure Heart

My stomach flipped as though filled with butterflies. The sensation is familiar to me now and I am drawn to sit quietly with the one I love. As I feel His love wash over me I am broken. Nothing must I do except receive. Here I wait for the whispers of a heart so intimate it easily overwhelms me.

Closing my eyes, I let the tears fall without restraint. I recognize how they again cleanse my heart of things I don’t fully understand. Trusting the lover of my soul, I yield myself in submission to His touch. He desires my pure heart.

Son 8:5   Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved

Deeper

The weather was holding and I made my way to the back side of the small lake when my phone started to ring. A friend shared that I had been on her mind so much, she’d been praying for me and wanted to share words of encouragement. I listened carefully as she eventually felt the need to share one word specifically…Deeper.

I had still been walking as I listened, but rain had come and it was getting heavy very fast. The journal in my pack was all in ink and would streak pretty easy so I made way to some cover with picnic benches. It was good to be stirred by my friend’s heart and hanging up I thought about her timing.

I had been meditating the better part of the morning and seeking the deeper things of my Father. Her word reminded me of a favorite verse I often give thought to….Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.

I sat still for a long while enjoying the wild geese and birds all about. Listening to my Ipod I found the perfect song for this moment. Stepping out from beneath the covering into the pouring rain, I turned my face upward to live out what I was seeking.

I wanna go, I wanna go deeper

Take me deeper in You…

Rain rain rain on my face, on my face

Fill me up, fill me up until I drown *

* (Deeper lyrics from Deluge)

Sing A New Song

Sing A New Song

More than once I have listened to fascinating teaching based on everything in matter having a certain vibration. Literally a song. When you take this teaching into account with what we know about “string theory” it’s interesting to understand the correlation.

I am no scientist so I can only offer an over simplified explanation for “string theory”. Just imagine the fundamental building blocks for everything in creation being manipulated into something else by vibration.

Gives a whole new revelation to the Word which encourages us to “sing a new song”. If matter can be manipulated and changed based on vibrations than just imagine what it is we can do with our praise?

Psa 98:1  Sing to GOD a brand-new song. He’s made a world of wonders! He rolled up his sleeves, He set things right.

Psa 96:1  Sing GOD a brand-new song! Earth and everyone in it, sing!

Psa 33:3  Invent your own new song to him; give him a trumpet fanfare.

Critical Thinking

The idol

If you’ve ever sought higher education, there can be requirements for critical thinking. Being a woman of logic, I understand this concept. Being a woman of faith however challenges me to understand I can’t critically think my way into heaven. My intellectual prowess isn’t always helpful for walking in my faith. Truth be told, I find it a great hindrance.

I can pretty much bend my thinking to anything I want it to be as long as I avoid truth. Once truth comes into the picture I have to relieve myself of idols and distractions.

It’s easy to understand why history is replete with stories of the peoples who served idols. They were semi-critical in thinking. They understood logic to mean they should serve a god who could be seen and touched. What easier way to come to grips with this dilemma than to create one?

What’s Your Dream?

A line from the movie Pretty Woman, “What’s your dream? Everybody comes here; this is Hollywood, land of dreams…”

The setting is brilliant actually. A street person is asking this question of all who pass by. He’s asking a question each are in the process of trying to live. The movie set may be fiction but the facts are real. The whole world is captivated by a place that makes dreams into a visual reality, at least for a brief time on film.

As I get the chance to listen to more people, I find a lack of dreams. It’s not that they don’t still have them, but it’s more they feel a need “not to get their hopes up”. This is so dangerous to ourselves and to our society. When we live cautiously (and I don’t mean carelessly), we become fearful of doing those things that are outside of the box. We quit stretching to be innovative or inventive. Basically we quit being exciting and fun. We become obsolete!

No one need move to Hollywood to live in the land of dreams. We merely dare to dream again. Dreams birth ideas, hope and excitement. What we do with those dreams is where the reality begins for each of us.

Moment In May

The month of May has been surprisingly cool but I haven’t been complaining. I donned a coat and left early to see the morning come to fruition in a place I could find solitude and beauty in the view. For all the ways I try to be alone, it’s never loneliness I seek.

Finding a place to sit upon the hillside, I looked again over a city I love. I could feel my eyes tear up for reasons beyond my natural understanding. Removing my sun glasses, I looked into the distance of clouds. Seeing a sole bird soaring without effort I merely watched this figure feeling the wetness upon my cheek. Eventually it dripped down upon my shoe.

I had a journal with me and opened the pages to try and write. What few words I could put in ink didn’t capture the truth of the moment I was living. Each time I’d look away from my efforts, the wind would whip in gusts to turn the paper. I finally closed my book, realizing I needed to just capture the moment for what it was and not try to write about it.

What’s My Motive?

“What’s my motive?”

Ever watch a movie where you see a scene depicting an actor asking this question? It’s a reasonable question for their profession. They are merely playing characters pretending to have connections, with no investment in real lives.

The scary part of this thought? Our reality is literally scattered with actors.

Rom 12:9  Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.