My true romance...

I have a confession to make. Here, among friends I can trust, I need to be open and transparent. Today, while  we are talking about romance, I will be brave:

My husband Rick does not have sole ownership of my heart. My thoughts stray.   There is another romance that invades my thoughts, sleeping and waking.  Yes, my mind wanders, in dreams and in visions.

I can see myself walking beside another, reaching out to grasp his hand as our legs step in unison. We are on a windswept beach, or in a meadow, or climbing rolling hills. I look into his eyes and know that they gaze directly into my heart. There is nothing he cannot see and in that knowledge of total exposure comes unexpected freedom. I have nothing to hide. I am simply who I am, and loved despite my faults. He knows my questions before I ask and answers with wisdom and truth. He is the one I come to with my fears and my sorrows. I pour myself out in his presence and he picks me up and puts me back together.

He doesn’t mind that am I married to Rick, in fact, he has blessed our union. Yet he continues to make plans for another wedding. A feast. A celebration unlike any ever known before. He himself will be the bridegroom and his desire is for me to be a perfect, spotless bride.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready Revelation 19:7 NIV

I am awestruck that he would choose me. I am lovesick. This One, this Jesus, has captivated me and He is my Lord.

Who has ownership of your heart today? If you have not given all of yourself to Christ, try it today. You will soon discover that you have more to give to your husband and to your marriage as well.

Joining Peter Pollock and the rest of the crowd where the word is romance.

 

From snow to grow

Snow again covers the ground
birds have returned to the feeders
how can a year have passed so quickly
what lessons have been learned
and have I grown from then to now?

Has my heart expanded?

Is there fruit to not only display but feed
to those who need a taste of Him?

Are there fewer spots, more wrinkles pressed away
as He calls His bride to prepare?

He provides all the nourishment
I could ever need
to grow
to look less like the world that surrounds me
and every day reflect more of Him.

And so the snow
in silence drifts.

While all around me
begins to freeze
may my spirit thaw
and grow.

Joining Lisa-Jo, the Gypsy Mama - writing for five minutes about the word grow

Eat peace

Today Bonnie asks us: What is something new God is asking you to step out in?

My steps out have been steps away, not comfortable or easy, but taken in obedience. This is what the Lord shared about the same thing this morning in our quiet time.

I have held you and sheltered you while things shift and shake. I Am restructuring My church - tearing down to rebuild on the proper foundation.

It was time for you to step out of the war and out of the way, back into the secret place, hidden in Me where I could wrap peace around you.

My church will be like nothing people have imagined - yet it will not feel strange or uncomfortable - you will recognize at once that I Am there.

My house will be a house of prayer for all nations. (Isaiah 56:7)

I Am not looking for a Sunday church - but a body serving Me 24/7.

The church has tried to arise in her own power - it cannot lift itself but instead must release itself into My hands, for only I can lift her up. Only I truly know the design, know the plans and purpose, and have the power.

Do you want your church or My church?

Abide in Me then, while I contruct and deconstruct, My bride on the potter's wheel, molded and shaped. My church in the fire, purified and refined until I see Myself reflected.

Abide in Me. Eat peace. Drink grace.

My love Is. I Am.

That is enough.


Jamming with Bonnie today - come HERE to join us.

sharing with the broken and imperfect at Emily's





Reposting due to Blogger fail May 12/13

Wedding thoughts

Before I turned on the television this morning to see what was happening with the wedding of Prince William and Kate, I spent time seeking the heart of my Lord.  This is what He shared:

Yes, this is a day when a woman becomes a princess and I thank you, little one, for stopping to recall the moment you became Mine.

You chose the highest King and bow before no other.

This woman had months to prepare - party plans, hairstyles and the dress - all must be perfect for the bride.

I have given My bride years.  Year after year after year and I Am waiting still for she is not yet ready.  Her garments are soiled.  She bickers with others in the wedding party.  She wants to write the guest list instead of relinquishing it into My hands.

How long?  How long must I wait?  I have long been ready...

Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.  Jeremiah 2:32 NIV

Storms and a New Thing

We had the most unusual storms last night, unlike any I have seen before.  As the rain continued to fall and the thunder continued to echo this morning I sat with my journal and my Lord:

Lord God, thank You for this most unpredictable weather.  Thank You for showing Your power in the skies.

I have never asked you to have faith in the things you see - but in what you cannot see.

Last night I showed you signs in the sky you have not previously seen - unusual clouds and colours.  And I asked you to drive in and under them, to capture them in pictures - for indeed I Am doing new things in these days.  Mark the date 1 July 2010 as a day there was a shift.  Mark the date eventhough you do not yet have knowledge.

A new thing I promise - a new ways through the storms ahead of you.  New ways to pray.  New ways to worship.  New ways to walk in My love.

And a fierce as the battle appears - know that you are safe - for as you set yourself apart for Me you have my victory - however it comes.

My bride is in My arms - held close and secure - it is a safe place to die.

So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.  Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. Colossians 3:1-4 The Message

Creativity Boot Camp - Full Bodied

The word prompt was full bodied. Click on image to enlarge.

God, me, baseball and the church

I grew up in the Chicago metropolitan area, north side, far north side. That friends, would make me a Chicago Cubs fan. It also might explain part of the learned pessimistic anxiety I wrote about in yesterday's post. When you ride with the Cubs you hope for the best while expecting the worst, that way, you're never disappointed.

I admit that I was just a casual fan, without much real knowledge of the game, so it surprised me when Jesus spoke to me about His church using baseball terms. It would make sense for him to talk to Billy Coffey this way, Billy lives and breathes baseball, but me? I guess He is proving His Word:

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:27 NIV

So here is the journaling time I shared with my Lord:

Thank You Lord for Your everlasting presence in our lives. Thank You for speaking to Your bride in words and visions and scriptures. Today I choose You again Lord. I choose to serve no other gods. What would You like to say today?

I see a baseball diamond and You Lord are playing every position, both infield and outfield.

Yes, for I Am the only One Who would be able to Be all places, all things at all times. I Am that big and that powerful. As for you, in your world, you need each other. For you can only play one position at a time - one pitching, one catching, one for each base and so on. Your role may change from time to time as abilities and talents shift, but I have gifted you each for your area of service, to function with the help of others. Can all be first basemen? Are all called to left field? But let each one serve where they have been placed.

Think of the beauty and timing and intricacy of a triple play - each player focused on the task, aware of each other, moving with precision to accomplish what seems impossible.

My church can be like such. if you follow My lead, work as your part instead of attempting to be the whole. I created you to need each other. Together you can equal so much more than your scattered parts.

As each draws closer to Me, learning to practice My presence, so too must you practice the presence of each other to learn how to live and move and have your being together as one body. Think again of the baseball team - they only function well because of hour after hour of practice. Actions and reactions become almost automatic. They don't think "catch now throw" rather the body just moves. So too will My church operate when you learn to function as one.

You will see victory upon victory, even facing teams that seem impossible to beat.

You will be My mountain movers, filled with power by My Spirit. A team of those united in and by My Name. Unstoppable for My glory.

Holey - not holy

Image by retro traveler via Flickr

My heart and my spirit sense that the journaling session I had with the Lord this morning is something He wants shared, for He was not speaking to me alone, but to His beloved bride.

Good morning Lord, thank You for the continuing restoration of my physical well being. I come to seek Your heart this day. What would You like to say to me?

I see You holding up a large cloth, like a sheet and it is filled with holes of various sizes, there are more holes than there is cloth. I know before You speak that You want me to recognize the cloth as Your bride, Your church.

And then You say “each hole is someone who has left My body, walked or fallen away, out of hurt or disgust.” And I see the pain in Your eyes and the longing for a bride that is healed and whole. You fold the cloth carefully and hug it to Your chest, showing the love You have for the pieces of cloth between the holes, those that remain. “If many more leave, there will be nothing at all to hold My bride together.”

I knew we were far from being without spot or wrinkle Lord, but I am saddened at the desperate state you’ve shown me. I am in tears.

that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish Ephesians 5:27 NKJV

Turn to Me. Turn to love. Turn to truth. Rid yourselves of bitterness and envy. For truly My Spirit walks among you to lead you in My ways – if you but open your hearts. Every new soul builds the Kingdom, and this indeed is good. But every soul, once a part, that chooses to turn away, leaves an opening that the evil one longs to fill. What then shall you do? If one does so choose to go – as you continue to pray for them, draw closer to each other to repair the empty space.

I will knit you together in a tighter fashion in these days if you will allow Me.

Oh Lord God, may we be pliable threads in Your hands. We have failed on our watch and let the gaping holes remain. Choosing instead to stand firm in our own ways.

At times it is good to “stand” little one, and I call My people to “stand” often. But be ever listening, and prepared to move when I say “move”. Sometimes only the tiniest shift can move a mountain.

Love. Listen. Learn. And leap forward.