Sunday Scripture

"God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name. Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, moon and stars mounted in their settings.

Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?

Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden's dawn light. You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.

God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world. " Psalm 8 The Message

When violence hits home

For six days it laid, submerged in water, inside our washing machine. I'd put it in to soak after promising to work wonders using my many years of laundering skills. After all, it is his favorite shirt. Our son, that is.

A mixture of mud, blood, and grass stains eclipsed the once crisp clean blue checked cotton material. I've laundered all of those things out in the past. Just never all at once.

Soaking seemed to be a good place to start. In addition to helping to loosen the stains it provided a quick way to get the soiled shirt out of our sight. I'd forgotten it was there until I began my pre-weekend housework.

Lifelines aren't always long

I'm not really much of a blogger. I've tried to be but, in all honesty, I'm long winded. Finding a way to communicate my thoughts in a manner which is short and concise just doesn't seem to be part of my natural make-up.

I am a teacher. Teachers talk and also use words to provoke others to share.

Many of the people that I know just write blogs. They don't take the time to read others. I'm not someone who just writes blogs. I also enjoy reading them. Most of the time I leave comments. It only seems polite. Besides offering encouragement is a part of my make-up. It is something that I find easy to do. When people bear their souls it takes courage. I like to let them know that I appreciate what they've said.

Nursing a dream

I've nursed many things over the course of my life. Some have actually been people like my son, husband, or another family member or friend. At times, I've nursed myself back to health with long seasons spent administering intravenous antibiotics at home. I don't missing those days, months, and years. They were a lot of work.

There have been occasions where I have nursed grudges before graciously letting go. Other times when I've nursed hurts while the Holy Spirit administered healing. Sometimes the hurts belonged to others. At other times they were my own.
Currently I am nursing a dream. This is actually new territory for me. Don't get me wrong. I've had many dreams. God has even allowed some to come true for which I am very thankful. Yet this is the first time that I recall actually having to nurse a dream.

Come and dine

Several weeks ago God began to deal with me about taking a break from social networks. Other than the fact that it would include a period of no less than 21 days I received very little information regarding what might expected.

All this left me a bit unsettled. I am a person who likes to have a plan. I also enjoy the sense of satisfaction that comes with setting and reaching goals. I like to know what is expected of me. In short, I am a bit of a control freak. Because of this I sought God, in the days leading up to my targeted date, for more details.  Each time I came up empty. I found the silence to be unnerving. 

A few days ago it seemed only right to let my friends on Facebook and Twitter know that I would be taking time off. Several people had concerns and contacted me privately. A few questioned the validity of what they began calling this "fast." That actually proved to be helpful as it caused me to return to God for additional confirmation. He quickly provided it. I hoped that a plan would unfold but it didn't. All I could come up with was 21 days.

Christmas Presents or Presence

"You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your Presence."

Acts 2:28

When I was a child the weeks before Christmas were very exciting. Our house was decorated beautifully and smelled of freshly baked cookies. We spent time with family and friends and, of course, participated in the yearly Christmas program. Then, on Christmas Eve, we were almost sick with excitement (and a few too many cookies) as we waited for Christmas day.

Bedtime would come and my parents would hurry us off to bed reminding us that we needed to go to sleep so that Santa could visit. After all he only traveled at night and if he did not come we would not have any gifts to open. We would try to stay awake just to hear or catch a glimpse of this jolly old man; who somehow managed to keep all the children of the world’s addresses and requests straight and deliver everything in one night.

@stickyJesus review

"It's jaw dropping: People now spend over 110 billion minutes a month on social networks like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Some are ranting. Some are raving. Almost all are revealing their hearts and minds as never before. This historic social shift is a dream come true for big brand marketers, political parties, and just about anyone who has something to say. So how do you-a Christ follower-navigate the noise, dodge the danger, talk the tech, and speak life and hope into the online space? You get sticky." via @stickyJesus

So, did your jaw drop? Despite being actively involved in ministry, both online and offline for two decades, mine did.

What I learned about God from a fish tank

Recently, while attempting to straighten out the pile of books that continues to mysteriously grow in our closet, I came upon a small book by Jennifer Kennedy Dean called Pursuing the Christ. I’m not sure how long it has been in there but the layer of dust I cleared from the cover leads me to suspect it’s been awhile.

It’s a gift size book that features a collection of 31 morning and evening prayers for Christmastime. At least, that is the subtitle that is listed on the cover of the book.

No Gift to Bring

"And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh." Matthew 2:11

One of the things that I enjoy most about the holiday season are the annual Christmas programs which I began watching as a child. I am sure we all have our favorite one and, for some of us, it may be hard to choose. One I personally relate to is "The Little Drummer Boy."

Deeper Still

In less than 24 hours I’ll be gathered in a convention center with thousands of women. I won’t know a single one of them. Yet we will all have something in common. Our motives might be different, our beliefs varied, our backgrounds diversified, etc. but each one of us will have taken a “time out” from our lives to spend the better part of two days focusing on Jesus. Why? Because of a desire to go deeper still.

The event
I’m going to attend Deeper Still event which features teachers Beth Moore, Kay Arthur, and Pricilla Shirer. I’ve never met any of them. Most likely, in this lifetime, I never will. But then again, for me, this journey is not about people, places, or things. It is about an insatiable desire to understand more about the Living Word—Jesus. I want to go deeper still.