21 September 2014

beauty here

there is beauty bursting forth
contrast of colour
against red dirt
weaver birds blazing 
yellow feathers and blue bills
jacaranda trees stretch 
lavender blooms against the sky
and the frangipani opening fresh
dripping sweetness
there is beauty bursting forth
here, and something new
being birthed
in our hearts


 

13 September 2014

empty eggshell

Here at the Zambia base, one Saturday each month is devoted to prayer and fasting.

Today is the day.

We gathered corporately at 9 to worship before splitting into smaller groups to declare and pray The Word.  We began with Luke.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”  Luke 18:8-1-8 NIV

We were then given thirty minutes of personal time with the Lord, to pray about the condition of our prayer lives, repent of any prayerlessness or discouragement and ask that He would give us new strength, vigor and perseverance.

I took my chair out into the morning sun, and as I quieted myself before Him I saw my prayer life as an often empty shell.  Like an egg, when there is nothing inside to stand against external pressure the shell will shatter into tiny shards.  Yet when the shell is filled and solid, pressure from outside may crack but not destroy it.

I asked that the Lord would remind me to continually fill myself with His Spirit which He freely pours out to all who would receive   It is indeed my part to drink, my choice, my pleasure.

May I stay ever firm, solid, filled with His truth, His love and His light.

Sandra Heska King - Still Saturday
being still with Sandy


 

09 September 2014

contrite spirits

lessons this week, have run deep
openness and brokenness
religion versus relationship
repentance
mixed with sessions of practical work
serving, cleaning, humble
bringing any haughty spirit low
no room for pride here
learning to love cross culturally
offering all of myself
as my spiritual act of worship
less of me and more of You, Lord
the cry of my heart

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise
Psalm 51:17 NIV

Going through the motions doesn't please you,
    a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
    when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
    don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
Psalm 51:17 The Message



 

03 September 2014

treading the red dirt

our feet are treading red dirt again
the hunger to be here intensified 
as we gazed out the airplane’s small window
“it has been seven years” I whispered to Rick
“yes, far too long’ he replied.
stuffed into a small transport vehicle
we bumped along the road between Lusaka
and Kabwe, and much of our view
matched our memories of Uganda
things are both familiar
and totally foreign 
in ways we did not experience during our last trip
perhaps because then we knew our time there was short
but now we are here
for two years, or more years
knowing that God is asking, encouraging
expecting us to adapt
we are in His hands
as always, walking by faith
but the sight in both glorious
and astounding