Category: Blog Article

My desire was to go into the hills again but it was wet and muddy so I knew I’d have to stay low today. At first I was alone but as I left the track and headed toward the tree line a man crossed my path. At first he was in front of me and I didn’t think anything of it. He suddenly stopped as if to look at something then quickly swung in behind me.

His actions although subtle caught my attention as no one else was around this early. Why did he want to be behind me? For all of five seconds I wondered about it. Grabbing my phone I did an about face and headed straight toward him as though I was making a call. Something was off and I erred on the side of caution. He kept walking and I didn’t have any fear about him but I was wary.

I hate a suspicious mindset but the days we walk are not without dangers. It was strange timing for me, as I’d been reminded the last couple days about a verse Mat 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” I don’t want to believe there was any danger to me from this stranger but changing my direction didn’t seem like a bad idea in that moment. It was time to think more about the wisdom of serpents.

You don’t really know the strength of your faith until it’s been tested. A security was recently withdrawn from my life in having a steady job with benefits and regular paychecks. It brought me quickly to a crossroads of choice. Do I fear or do I trust? Not much of a choice when you look at the details. Fear brings anxiety, worry and stress. Trust brings peace, freedom and hope.

I had a pair of work shoes I’d bought at the beginning of this job which recently had become so worn I kept thinking I should replace them because it was too noticeable they were no longer appropriate business attire. I put off replacing them I thought for convenience (I didn’t want to have to shop), and financial reasons (I’d wait for a sale), but honestly, I loved them because they were familiar and comfortable.

I made it a point to let go of them this morning. They had been my shoes for a long season which was no longer mine to walk in, and their usefulness was done. I am wondering what new pair of shoes my heavenly Father has in mind for me?

Psalms 84:11b “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly”

I awake to winds blowing harder than I have seen in a while and I feel excitement within. I love the anticipation of change and the newness that it brings. In my office I keep lots of photos and one of them is of a painting done during a worship concert. The photo spoke to me then and more so now because it offers hope.

Psalm 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope

Interpretive dance as defined by the web – a form of modern dance in which the dancer’s movements depict an emotion or tell a story

Whether or not we know it, we all dance, but what are others around us interpreting from our movement? Is our dance evasive, cautious, evocative or even mysterious? Better still, does it offer an invitation to come into relationship, to draw closer still?

A famous Oscar Wilde quote, “life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” In my summer exploration of a nearby city, I stopped to observe quite the opposite in a huge art exhibit. Symbolism can be so telling but we need open eyes and a curiosity to seek answers based on truth.

2 Ki 13:18 “Now pick up the other arrows,” said Elisha. He picked them up. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground.” The king struck the ground three times and then quit.

Questions arise when you look at this art. More questions come when you stand upon this land. Why is a most famous bridge of this city known throughout the world called “The Golden Gate Bridge” when it’s color is anything but gold? What are the answers when you look beyond facts?

An old song I liked years ago sang about, “bring on the night” and this tune still comes to my mind now and again. I don’t remember the words much but the chorus is like a call to arms. I recently heard a conversation where the guy had the ability to echo my own thoughts aloud…..”what are we doing in the night?”

I have an early hours job, so it’s easy for me to settle in to my nesting hours without a second thought to coming out of my home much after the dinner hour. This conversation however challenged me to remember my night owl days and why I used to wander in the night myself. If I had to bring it into focus with just one sentence, it was always about hope of some kind.

Many look for hope in the darkest of places without understanding hope is not in the dark, but it’s in the light. I come back to the conversation where a question posed was, “what are we doing in the night?” Perhaps it’s time to bring some candles into the darkness of night and light up the streets with hope?

I had the privilege of having a five year old girl put her hand upon my shoulder and pray for me this afternoon. Honestly, these are my favorite prayers! I understand what they are speaking is coming right out of the purity of their heart. Inwardly I was beaming with delight as I listened to her words intently. I felt as though the greatest gift under the sun was being given to me

My deepest hunger is to have that same pure heart; to come to prayer without my own preconceived thoughts or opinions. What mighty things to be done when we have the faith of a child. If we truly want to shift our mindsets we just need to spend time in the presence of those still without fear of man or man’s opinions. They have the boldness to speak out the possible to our “impossible” thinking. Their words will change the world as we know it and we should offer them as our own.

The most innocent of children offer trust, acceptance and love. It’s easy to understand why Jesus loves them so.

Mat 18:1-6a (The Message)  At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, “Who gets the highest rank in God’s kingdom?” For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me. “But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t.

I left a large group of people where I longed to stay, but my pumpkin hour was approaching. My husband walked with me and I stopped, asking him to look upwards. The moon was bright over this city, over this home, and there was a ring about it. I wondered at this crown and surmised the angelic host had been dispatched this night for our benefit.

I long for the scales of my eyes to drop to see the fullness of this hour that I, and many others, walk in.

“even though I’m in love

sometimes I get so afraid

I’ll say something so wrong

just to have something to say” *

I am deep into my marriage with my husband, and I understand these words for truth in the many ways I have responded without wisdom. More truthful still, are those words I speak out to my heavenly Bridegroom. How often I have been quick to make a promise I can’t keep, rather than be silent and merely listen to His promise?

* Billy Joel – Leave A Tender Moment Alone

Most fairy tales begin with the line…”once upon a time”….

I don’t live in the era of needing to hope for the fantasy. I am living in the era of a promise delivered.