31 December 2015

storms in the mix

BEND
was the word I heard 
as 2015 dawned
I should perhaps 
have received it
as a warning
for the year would bring
fierce emotional storms
that tossed me about
tested and strained me
till I was certain
I would snap

but the God who creates the storms
also calms them
and there is always
a new season waiting
on the other side of the clouds

We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; 
we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do;
 we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; 
we've been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. 

my word for 2016
has not yet been revealed
when I know
I'll share

23 December 2015

Christmas Word

This word from our Lord - first given to me in 2011 still rings true in my spirit today.

In the quiet, in the waiting, I have been listening for what the Lord would share:

Even as a tiny baby I Was and Am big enough
to hold and carry all that concerns you.

This then is the magic of Christmas.

Your worry for My peace.
Your grief for My joy.
Your bondage for My freedom.
Your wrong for My right.

In all the unwrapping of gifts,
do not forget this divine exchange.

Now thanks be to God for His Gift, [precious] beyond telling 
[His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift]! 

 

12 December 2015

morning drive

the traffic jams we fight
each time we drive to town
have let us weary

yesterday, with intention
we turned the opposite direction
heading off on our first adventure
solo on African soil

after reaching our desired destination
an organic farm and butchery
and filling our cooler with fresh cut
unbelievably priced meats
we continued further
scanning the roadside for the furniture stalls
we had been told about

a road sign caught my eye
a high end hotel/safari lodge
we turned to discover it was a three kilometre drive
down a bumpy road
we were free and unscheduled
and needed a bathroom break
so we continued on

a friendly gate guard welcomed us
we explained we wanted to inquire
about a future holiday visit
"sure sure Mama" he smiled
"of course you are welcome Bwana"
he waved us through 
where another sign informed us
we had yet another four kilometres to travel
ruts and ridges and dust
but all worth it
once we stepped out into His glory

the hotel was beautiful, luxurious and steeply priced
far beyond our budget
but we were able to wander the grounds
to spy antelopes and monkeys
stretching car stiff legs

the road back to the highway
stretched dry before us
and as always
the return trip seemed shorter

we didn't care
that we hadn't found the furniture man
that will be a reason
for another drive
another day

 

07 December 2015

inside out

we have shifted
to another new home
in Zambia, here
a view from our dining room
to the enclosed veranda
where we are bringing the inside out
or the outside in
which seems only fitting
for our life these days
driving on the wrong side of the road
summer steaming rain instead snow
dawn rising when back home friends ready for sleep
just a shadow of the Kingdom
where last will be first
giving to gain, dying to live
ever a bit of a bumpy ride
but eyes fixed on Him

Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on [a]so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 Amplified