Seeking balance

Away from the fields

that surround my daily dreams

I breathe to a rhythm

unfamiliar

yet still ordered by my Lord

I do His bidding

move as His feet

and hands

pray for His words

to trip my tongue

It is both dark

and light

here

as I seek a balance

I've not yet found

 

Redeemed from "the dark side"?

I may be one of the few people of my age who has never seen even one film in the Star Wars series, but even I know that Darth Vader was considered a "bad guy".

I sat down with my husband to ask him what he knew about this character.  What he shared was that the character had been a Jedi Knight who went over to the dark side, influenced by the darkness he did indeed become an agent for evil.

Are any of us beyond becoming moved by forces that are less than pure?  Are any of us worthy of judging those who fall?

Our hero, Luke Skywalker could not even believe that someone as "bad" as Darth was his father, not until Darth gave up his own life to save him.

I'm reminded of the words of the preacher in Cowboys and Aliens:

"Sometimes good men do bad things.  And sometimes very bad men do good things."

I need the gavel taken from my hand, for there is only One able to know all the facts and details, only One Who is worthy to judge the hearts of man.

Will you agree with me in prayer, asking the Lord to impart more of His grace into our hearts and lives?

People of the Second Chance ask us to raise our voices for second chances, to overthrow judgement and liberate love. Will you join us?

Glory in His creation

Rick and I spent the Canada Day holiday afternoon wandering about Duck Mountain Provincial Park, rejoicing in the display of God's creative touch.

Each cloud, each creature, each flower or blade of grass, the still or rushing waters, all made by His hand for His pleasure. 

And we, His people, are blessed beyond measure, to walk in His world,  to see and hear, and praise His name.

Yes, we have tasted.  Yes, we have seen.  Yes, He Is good and His glory fills the earth.

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him  Psalm 34:8 The Message

More about the hummingbirds...

Yesterday morning, in the pale light of a stormy morning, in the quiet, the Lord shared another lesson using what I could see outside my window, letting His creation speak:

Let me speak again about the hummingbirds.

The feeder is empty - yet they come again and again - looking for the nectar that sustains.

There is a feeder filled on hte other side of the house - yet again and again they come - because it is what they know.

So I ask, little one, how often do My people return to things that cannot nourish or satisfy simply because it is what they know?  And even when they are dry and hungry they can't think outside the box long enough to find that I Am providing for them in ways they do not know.

You long to be able to tell the small birds to check the other feeder, frustrated that you cannot reach them.

So too do I ache for My children

Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you Job 12:7 NLT

joining today with others imperfect and redeemed in His hands at Emily's

Farming words

For this round of the One Word at a Time Carnival, Peter chose the word farm.

I am blessed beyond measure that eleven years ago God chose to relocate me from the urban jungle of the Chicago Metro area to the rural Canadian prairies.  I write often about the beauty I see and the lessons He teaches me here.

We have been playing with wordles at Tweet Speak Poetry, so today I have chosen to create a wordle from my blog posts about farming life.


Click on image above to enlarge

 And now I take the words from this image to form a new poem:

Another season's
sweat
drops on the soil
seeds scatterd
in the abundance
of rain
pray for sun
something like
trust
knowing God
let go
of fear

Join in the sharing at Peter Pollock's - talking about the word farm.

Saturday morning in May

I woke to a foggy view outside my window as I sat down to my morning time with the Lord.  As I picked up my journal and pen, a hummingbird came to the feeder, but seemed unable to relax.

Here is what the Lord had to share:

Just as the hummingbird continued the frantic beating of its wings until it finally realized it had landed on a perch that would hold it - so too do you continue to strive and fret even though there is rest and safety in My presence.

So I say - come and drink.
So I say - come and linger here.

When fog settles in, and it will, for the prince of the world loves confusion; instead of straining to see and make a way -

wait for Me to bring clarity and light, indeed it will break forth in My perfect time.

And you shall be secure and feel confident because there is hope; yes, you shall search about you, and you shall take your rest in safety.  Job 11:18 Amplified

Incomplete

We are artists here.  Writers, painters, photographers.
There is a drive to create deposited within us by the One Who created all.
We hold our works in progress tenderly, seeds in our hands, in our hearts.
At times we move too quickly, impatient to see the end result.
More often, we are slow, afraid to move, build, breathe, lest we make a mistake.
Fear builds fences, gates, walls of stone, prisons.

We too are works in progress,  in the Father's hand, clay on His potter's wheel
for He, even He, takes time and care to perfect that which He creates
He is jealous for His glory and will not share it, so that He alone is the Perfector

What we shape is incomplete, by His design
we are not meant to finish the work
but in submission, in surrender, bend to His plan

So I rejoice with the others here in the imperfection of our works
as offerings of worship
and the fire that drives us on.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong 
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV

Stop by Emily's to join us, the imperfect


Jamming with Bonnie today about perfectionism

He, not me...

Image via Wikipedia

This week we finish Book II of Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis with Chapter 5 - The Practical Conclusion.  Here Clive writes:

This is why the Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good.  They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or - if they think there is not - at least they hope to deserve approval from good men.  But the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him.  He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it.

Any good in me
is not me
but He
Who loves me.
Yes, this is
my heart's confession
yes, this is
what I know of truth.
It is not me
that shines
but a mirror
of His brightness
but oh, underneath
that light
what goodness grows.

Jason is hosting us this week at Connecting to Impact.  Come join us as we journey on.

Living in love

To celebrate our anniversary as man and wife, I share words I wrote eleven years ago:

Wedding Day Thoughts

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him"

1 John 4:16

Today is the day I shall be joined in marriage with the partner God has chosen for me. He is all around me and all around Rick and all around all who choose to love Him.

Rick & I are but living works of God. He has watched us from the beginning. Learning to walk, learning to fall, learning to stand and try again. He let us choose so many partners, all of them wrong, but each with lessons to teach us.

He has, in the way only He can, led us here to the moment when we will stand side by side and become one, joined each to each and both to Him. What a waterfall of blessings! What an awesome God we serve!

Father God, as I take this new step, let me always recall who composed this symphony. Let me always thank You. Let me always praise You. All glory to You, all glory to Jesus, all glory to the Holy Spirit that fills, and fills and fills me today.

April ends

Rick has seedlings growing in his basement planting room.  The yard was beginning to turn a welcome shade of green.  The mornings dawn fast and evening light lingers long.  Tomorrow we welcome in the month of May.  And just when we thought it might be safe to think about Spring...

Who says our God has no sense of humour?

We lost power in the storm at 3 this morning as did most of the towns surrounding us. I Recalled that many have been moved out of their houses due to floods, and more lost everything in storms down South.  So as I sat missing coffee and heat, assuming we might not be restored for days, I chose to thank God for our home.

I also remind myself, again and again - I chose to live here.

The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.  Isaiah 55:10-11 NLT

Half the Church - Carolyn Custis James

I have recently completed reading the words of Carolyn Custis James in her new book Half The Church - Recovering God's Global Vision for Women.

I agreed to read and review this book for Zondervan with some trepidation, for indeed the debate about women and the church rages hot, as the author explains:

Since the late twentieth century two polarized groups - complementarian and egalitarians - have defined the evangelical landscape for women, particularly in the West.  The debate between the two groups creates a fault line that runs straight through the body of Christ.  Evangelical churches, denominations, and individuals have taken sides.  It is a cause of profound division among us.

Instead of taking one side or the other, James attempts to present a complete overview of the issue.  What most connected with my spirit was her cry for those so often forgotten in the debate, women from outside our Western world.

Bringing these women into this discussion changes everything.  In our culture, the church has tended to concentrate on a tiny segment of the female population - a narrow, prosperous, protected, well-educated female demographic located in the comfortable midsection of human society.  The prosperity we enjoy shapes both the questions we ask and the answers we embrace.  And we - both the women who are asking and the Christian leaders who are defining the answers - are clueless that this is happening.  We can ask questions like, "Do I plan to use my college degree or set it aside?" and "Should I be a stay-at-home mom, or work outside the home?"  But for the rest of the world, these questions are unimaginable luxuries.  For them, education is a lifeline that promises a better life for a woman and her children and will doubtless benefit her community.

Working outside the home is not an option where grinding povery exists and there are hungry mouths to feed.  Everybody works.  Our cloistered discussions about God's purposes for women and the resulting infighting that ensues among us leave women elsewhere in the world scratching thier heads.

No matter what side you may find yourself on today, you can find insight and truth in James exploration.  You may find that God moves your heart in ways aligned with the beating of His own, and that, indeed, makes the investment much more than worthwhile.

I received this book free from Zondervan. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.