to behold the beauty of the Lord

The beauty of the Lord comes in all forms.
Yesterday it came in the form of this...


from a family that is growing in dear-ness...actually from the kids. There are 6 kids - 7 and under. They heard our garage sale was a bust and so they raided their piggy banks to contribute $12.56 to our trampoline fund.

Absolutely beautiful!

be blessed

It will take you 5 minutes to read but your heart will know The Great Heart with a little more clarity and you will worship...

http://www.ransomedheartblog.com/john/2008/12/a-christmas-devotion.html

believe

letting this sink in...again
and then thinking about the real meaning of Christmas...

"You are the son/daughter of a kind, strong, and engaged Father, a Father wise enough to guide you in the Way, generous enough to provide for your journey, offering to walk with you every step.

This is perhaps the hardest thing for us to believe—really believe, down deep in our hearts, so that it changes us forever, changes the way we approach each day.

I believe this is the core issue of our shared dilemma. We just don’t believe it. Our core assumptions about the world boil down to this: We are on our own to make life work. We are not watched over. We are not cared for. When we are hit with a problem, we have to figure it out ourselves, or just take the hit. If anything good is going to come our way, we’re the ones who are going to have to arrange for it. Many of us have called upon God as Father, but, frankly, he doesn’t seem to have heard. We’re not sure why. Maybe we didn’t do it right. Maybe he’s about more important matters. Whatever the reason, our experience of this world has framed our approach to life. We believe we are fatherless.

Whatever life has taught us, and though we may not have put it into these exact words, we feel that we are alone. Simply look at the way men live. If I were to give an honest assessment of my life for the past thirty years, I’d have to confess the bulk of it as Striving and Indulging. Pushing myself hard to excel, taking on the battles that come to me with determination but also with a fear-based drivenness, believing deep down inside that there is no one I can trust to come through for me. Striving. And then, arranging for little pleasures along the way to help ease the pain of the drivenness and loneliness. Dinners out, adventure gear. Indulging. A fatherless way to live.

...You are the son/daughter of a kind, strong, and engaged Father, a Father wise enough to guide you in the Way, generous enough to provide for your journey, offering to walk with you every step."

(The Way of The Wild Heart , 22-24)

can you relate?

a kindred spirit, one of "my people", sent this to me...

"Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.



Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.



Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.



Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.



Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.



Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom ."

the journey

The Journey
By Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.

speaking

Have you ever had someone speak into your life in such a way as to cause a "holy disruption"?


...words or "direction" that launched you on a journey with the Father that you couldn't predict but became profound
...an observation that may have meant something in particular to the individual giving it but turns into a vastly deep treasure box when you open your heart to it and the Trinity unpacks it for you
...with you
...for your rescue, the rescue of your heart
...maybe for the hearts of others
...someday

I have.

the sparrow, eh?

How has he demonstrated this in your story this week?
He has certainly shown up in mine.

"But with God, who notes the fall of every sparrow, the events of our lives are thoughtfully and thoroughly orchestrated to bring about our redemption." ~ The Sacred Romance

got this in an email...good stuff

Life is short...
Forgive quickly
Kiss slowly
Love truly
Laugh uncontrollably...

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance.

captured by this in the wee hours...

"Those of us who have been drawn to understand that God is our Father through conversion in Christ recapture the Romance again—for a while... God is in his heaven and all seems right in the universe.

But this side of Eden, even relationship with God brings us to a place where a deeper work in our heart is called for if we are to be able to continue our spiritual journey. It is in this desert experience of the heart, where we are stripped of the protective clothing of the roles we have played in our smaller stories... Healing, repentance, and faith are called for in ways we have not known previously. At this place on our journey, we face a wide and deep chasm that refuses us passage through self-effort. And it is God’s intention to use this place to eradicate the final heart walls and obstacles that separate us from him."

(The Sacred Romance , 126, 127)

...the deeper work
...His present hand and heart
...journey
...transformation
...love

mary had a little Lamb (the Lamb)

Got this news in an email from an friend today and couldn't resist sharing...

"Between church and pre-k, Katie has made some very nice ornaments. My favorite is her colored picture of Mary that they made into an ornament-it is not so much the ornament itself as what she said to me when she showed it to me. She said (in a serious voice), " that's Mary... and that is not Mary who had a little lamb, but Mary who had Jesus." She just want to make sure I did not make the mistake. I loved it! It was so adorable. Now I think on it and smile but also ponder on it, saying " Yes it is not Mary who had a little lamb but Mary who had the Lamb of God. Emmanuel-God with us!"

Amen!