Category: Blog Article

A false sense of security tackled me today and took me out at the knees. Where I had been standing tall, with one motion I found myself flat on my back wondering, “how did I get here?” The conversation at hand had me checking myself over and over. “Did I deserve this feedback or am I being led astray to undermine my confidence?”

I probed the circumstances to get as much information as possible, but without all the parties present, I was left with only verbal accounts and hearsay. I sat in the defendant’s chair and it was time to speak. Honesty left my lips. I acknowledged room for error. I could do better.

Phil 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Inspiration is a needed tool in our lives on a daily basis. Without inspiration to draw us into actions of worth we would become a people without imagination or creativity. If all I ever see is the same thing day in and day out, how can I possibly learn to desire more then what I can see? I’m not talking about unhealthy desires, but real desires of the heart to be more then we are today.

It’s the inspirational lives of one another that cause our hearts to be moved out of our lethargy and into action. It’s the stuff that movies are made about, why books are written and tales shared all over the world in news and internet chats. Before you can inspire someone with your own actions there is a price to be paid. You must actually take a risk to get out and do something.

How about motives? Will you still be willing to help another in an act of inspiration if you knew no one would see you do it? Yeah, it’s a risk to get out and do something, but it’s character to want to do it without reward or recognition here upon this earth.

Quietly I sat in a row of chairs to watch more than I could see with my eyes. The bridegroom was calling forth his bride to openly confess her love. With dove’s eyes she focused upon her faithful and true one. Fresh flames rekindled the covenant of long ago. A promise remained; the kiss of intimacy upon lips softened by love.

Generations past and present were redeemed. The banquet table was set and now the guests were welcomed to partake of the feast offered under the banner of love.

As I await the rising of the sun, I hear the song of swallows through the open window. Their voices join as one in unison to carry the same tune. They hear a frequency and share it with the world who have ears.

With eyes closed, I lay my head back on my chair and hum with them. I have swallowed my heart. I grow feint with waiting. Your left hand cradles my head and Your right hand encircles my waist. I lean my head upon Your chest as tears of longing fill my eyes. A love song pours into my heart.

The nearness of You lingers like a fragrance….

We are living in an hour of power and yet most of us don’t have a clue about it. Nothing breaks my heart more than having a brother or sister ask me for prayer and as soon as I am done, they open their lips to let loose with doubt, or to say something opposite of what we just finished praying for.

So far I have maintained, but I have to be honest, it takes every ounce of self-control not to pounce on them in love. I just want to push those silly words right back into their mouths. For now that’s just a visual I get in my head while I am standing there trying to fathom what they don’t know about the power of prayer. This is usually when I am gently reminded, I once walked in that place of doubt too. Now it is my responsibility to stand in the gap holding up their little faith by adding to it more faith and let the Lord do what He does best.

Mark 9:24  Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

“Just Do It”, three simple words strung together but drilled into people’s heads over and over through the power of media and marketing. These words are synonymous with a name brand Nike, but before this large corporation chose to make this their creed they were words that meant something in conversation.

We often get together with our friends and listen to their dreams but how often do we go the next step and encourage them to make that dream real? How often do we tell them, “just do it” and then come alongside them to help make dreams reality?

I can only imagine our heavenly Father listening to us lament over and over about how we wish we could be doing this or that. Knowing how much the Lord loves us, you can just picture Him shaking His head at us while we dream and He’s saying, “Just Do It”!

Now is the time to look for the positive in this negative environment. If you watch the news for even two minutes you will have your fill of fear and defeat before you even realize what’s being poured into you. We have to remember however the news is merely a report of “today”, it’s not the truth of “tomorrow”.

Let’s contemplate what that means in the deeper places of our hearts. No one can survive without hope. We are designed to continually drink from a place of hope. Without it we die. Every one of us has met someone who has given themselves over to the lie of “today”! There is a word in our vocabulary we should look at closely. We need to know it because it’s time we live for “tomorrow” and the truth of what is to come.

ANTICIPATE….to feel or realize beforehand; foresee, to look forward to, especially with pleasure; expect, to deal with beforehand; act so as to mitigate, nullify, or prevent, to cause to happen in advance; accelerate, to use in advance, as income not yet available, to pay (a debt) before it is due…

An electricity in the air is giving us fair warning an explosion is coming. It reminds me of an electrostatic charge. I am not a scientific type by any means, but I was intrigued by a basic definition….the electric charge at rest on the surface of an insulated body…

Let me entertain you with my thoughts. I live in the body of Christ and yes it can be kind of insulated, meaning we don’t get out enough into the world around us to share what dwells within. The power of God will not be contained……

The night hours passed quickly and I arrived home late. The house was dark but I could hear our guests sleeping as I walked to my bedroom. I hadn’t yet met them since we were on different schedules but I felt peaceful, accepting they brought something good with them into our home.

I snuck under the covers to lie beside my husband and listened to his gentle breathing. My mind was full but now was not the time to wander in thought. Now was the time to appreciate the love which lay beside me. His was comfort without words; mere presence. He reminded me of the quiet times I spent with my Father and I was still.

Dynamite can be quite inert in its natural state of rest while fresh but as movies teach; when left to sit too long these sticks of fiery explosion can begin to crystallize. Leaking their explosive materials out in high concentration they become an unstable factor to the environment where the slightest temperature variation in a wrong direction becomes “the scene of movement” so to speak.

I would encourage all of us to look about us, so we can identify the “sticks of dynamite” who dwell within our circle of friends and family, even co-workers. What fiery explosion is dwelling within the person you love or come into contact with? Is it a holy fire or one of destruction?