The Family Table...

There was a soft setting of gentle anticipation as the children sat and waited. Something they had known of, but never been a part of was about to happen. As the time drew near questions spilled out and gentle anticipation became excited curiosity.

"Do we go up?

and I stay here?

Is that bread?

Do we use wine?

What are they doing?

Why are we praying?

Does everyone eat?

Will everyone drink?

Why don't we use wine?

Can I have the one in the plastic container?

Why do we wait for everyone?

Can I eat it now?

now?

What about now?

Can I have more?

When will we do this again...?..."

And as we ate the bread, and drank from the cup, a deeper sense of community was known in this believers heart. A sense of sharing the load that others carried; children, elderly, pain, joy, hands opened, heart raised... Pondering all this in ones heart... feelings of complete satisfaction, of surrender, of being known and desiring more. A passing of the torch, a telling of the story, a story of a God redeeming all things in His time. Of a God loving all He has made, ALL he has made. Ancient wisdom, eternal wisdom, childlike faith...

A parents heart could not be filled more than in watching her children participate in the body's act of obedience with the Lords Supper. Taking in Christ Jesus; body, mind and spirit. A light switched on this week as this believer sat with family doing just that. A seal from the Father himself. A resting of His Spirit, dwelling in the midst of us... in each of us.

The Family table. Unity in the Body. Seal of the Spirit on whole families. Whole families in the body. The body sealed and anointed in the ability to do all of this. As the Father makes us each whole, boy girl, mom, dad, family, the body, and to the world. Being filled to be spilled out. Such beauty brings this believers Spirit to humble praise.

a hush from the father

In the beginning she looked as any young lady would in a youth group. Shoulder length curly hair, the innocent smile, a gentle quiet spirit.

Man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart.

"Do you think I could get baptized here?" as the question hit at a public time, and in a fleeting moment this sinners heart passed over the beauty and wondered how long she would actually keep her feet wet in the youth group... let alone be baptized. Wait a bit, she needs to hear, she needs to know before such commitments can be made.

God looks at the heart, and man asks.

She stayed. She partook. She asked questions and gave answers no one else held. Her eyes quietly fixed in wonders only the fathers hand could point to. This sinner asked to see more... a reflection of Jesus, a turn from the wrong, a moment to catch the breath. This child asks, and her Heavenly father always answers.

Man asks God, God gives revelation.

"Are you still wanting to be baptized? I could do that with you at the river this summer if its something you..." and before the sentence was out, she was in... I had but a moment to hold the tears, a moment to cherish it in my heart, a moment to allow my heavenly father to gently place his index finger over my lips and hush the startled cry in me.

God gives revelation, in a burst of fresh air man must respond.

In an intrusion of questions weather or not this sinner was qualified... whether this sinner was worthy, whether there needed to be more, more done, more given, more earned... and yet grace softly blankets my dry heart anew every morning. 

In a burst of fresh air man must respond, and God smiles.

Reminders of a distant shore...

the sunrise

a child's uncontrollable laugh

fresh spring rain

a word from a friend

the matching passage

a skipped heartbeat

revelation download

recognizing Jesus in 

another persons eyes

answered prayer

accepted act

new family member

another goes home

forgiveness given

forgiveness known

love known

knowledge felt

heart eyes wide open

wisdom found

grain of sand

apple if His eye

I love your reminders of a distant shore...

 

__________ Gods chosen woman, set apart, on display for His glory.

“We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.” (1 Samuel 8:20)

This was in regard to Israel wanting a King... Israel, Gods chosen people, set apart, on display for His glory. "We want to be like the nations around us." Being set apart for Gods glory doesn't look like being like everyone else. If you look and act like everyone else how can God display His greatness through you?

_________ Gods chosen woman, set apart, on display for His glory.

Israel wanted not only to be like the other nations around them, but to be judged based on the same people driven needs and principles. Judged by the world. No love, no foundations, no truth, however you feel, there you shall be judged. Lead into battle on what basis? Personal gain, selfish ambition, at what cost, for what?

I will take my chances being judged by a God who spun the world into place, created the laws of physics, and sent His son because of a love for his created ones.

_________ judged by her Maker.

Having people lead you to do battle is a bad idea. Into battle on what basis? Personal gain, selfish ambition, at what cost, for what? My God fights battles for me; lives ahead of me and guides me into all wisdom so the fight is not mine. He chooses which battles to engage in and which ones to let die. I will not follow others to fight battles that are not mine.

_________ chooses God to be her warrior.

"they" rejected Me, not you

Some of our deepest hurts come from being rejected by others. This morning I read "Do everything they say to you," the Lord replied, "for they are rejecting me, not you." (1 Samuel 8:7) I then asked God to show me the area's I reject Him in... He spun it and said this...

"they" rejected Me, not you... My best plan for them with you in it, they rejected, not you."

This changes many things for me... In Sam. 7:3 Samuel tells the people of Israel to rid themselves of any false gods, I asked God what things I have put in place of Him. God shows me, then gives me my out by telling me this no longer needs to be a struggle because "they rejected ME (being God) not you (being me)"

We put things in place to protect ourselves from being hurt when quite often the hurt belongs to God; Is between God and the offender. It was never ours to carry or to avoid. Take a good hard look at some of your protective layers, and ask God which ones need to be placed back on Him. Things have less to do with us than we would like to believe, even the bad things. Thank you Father for redeeming all things in your time!

Relationship struggles

"Everything is created inside of relationship, and is an expression of relationship. This is a God who has never been alone-- The Trinity has never done anything alone, and has never been without community. Not one person of this relationship is diminished or absorbed, and all Truth begins and ends with Jesus and relationship he has always had with the Father and the Spirit."
(William Paul Young)

Struggle with relationships? Me too. The world takes that which is meant to glorify God and twists it to distract us from that which really matters...adding to the chaos of this world. Today I am challenged to love the unlovable, for I too am often unlovable; to extend grace where is has been extended to me, and to look at the standard in all relationships (Jesus) and ask what I can I do in this moment to glorify my Lord in this relationship? Today, I challenge you to do the same.

In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
(John 1:1-5)

"Give up the hair straitener" He said...  and so I did.  I had been looking for something, and since I had been so heavily convicted on my minor obsession about body image it only made sense...

Lent had already started, and apparently it was all the rage to just let hair be hair in the "glam" industry, so why not? 15 minutes less in front of the mirror would be time well spent elsewhere.

But giving up the straitener lead me to more pressing questions... questions not of outside appearances but questions of the heart.

Was it because of my rebellious nature that I needed to straiten and not allow curl, lighten and not allow dark, or tighten and not allow a little bulge?  (I wont expand on that last one)  "You always want what you don't have" another culture lie sifting its way into the church. Could it be that I was telling God what he had given me wasn't good enough, tall enough, long enough, high enough for me to not only survive but thrive in this world?  And even deeper than that... What was it about the real me that was unacceptable, and to whom?

Ok, the closer you get to 40 the more comfy you are in your own skin, but at the same time, listening to this deeper nagging in me lead me somewhere.  Yes, I was wounded, but who isn't? (Poor victims of others teasing each one of us are) It really struck me as I talked to Him about it...

Is all I have given you the way I have given it to you really enough? Enough for what? What you are asked to do, day by day, moment to moment.  I laughed out loud as a picture of myself in heaven with crazy curly brown 80's hair passed though my mind...  Enough, more than enough. We sing it, but do we live it?  Our build, our eye colour, our nose, lips, cheeks, yes even wrinkles.  In this world.  As physical beings, mortal bodies.

Is He more than enough for you today?