budding new

beauty lives in the fading

as edges begin the slow 

curl, hiding brown decay

full glory has passed

but here, waiting

life is budding fresh

as the cycle continues

so too must I trust

the new thing

that will outshine the old

while my frayed edges

crumble in the breeze

just beyond

April soon will slip away

the rains retreat, to hide in a place

we will not know, umbrellas 

useless now, tightly furled

so too our season in Africa

tumbles towards its end

leaving bumps, scratches

bruises, time alone can heal

yet there, just beyond reach

not quite in focus, waits

an outburst of new

glory unfolding, certain

as life

I show you specified new things from this time forth, 

even hidden things [kept in reserve] which you have not known. 

They are created now [called into being by the prophetic word], 

and not long ago; and before today you have never heard of them, 

lest you should say, Behold, I knew them!

Isaiah 48:6-7 Amplified

new wells

quiet, still and listening 

if I wait for the time of sharing

He Is always faithful to speak

perhaps it is time to dig new wells

go in the way I will lead you

there will be living water for you

in unexpected places

ways you have not thought of

I Am your God

do not follow any other

He moved away from there and dug another well, 

and they did not quarrel over that one; 

so he named it Rehoboth (broad places), 

saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us,

 and we shall be prosperous in the land.” 

Genesis 26:22 Amplified

 

fresh start

God, make a fresh start in me,

    shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

Don’t throw me out with the trash,

    or fail to breathe holiness in me.

Psalm 51:10-11 The Message

 

celebrating Sunday with Deidra

 

opening doors

I never would have

dared to swing wide

the door, exposing

private messes better left

unseen

but as change 

draws near

old will bow 

to new

and freely now

I display before

dirty, cracked

faded sad

all the better

to reveal the glory

after

letting truth hang out at the bar with the poets

 

bursting out

Be alert, be present. 

I’m about to do something brand-new.

It’s bursting out! 

Don’t you see it?

Isaiah 43:19 The Message

 

joining Deidra and the Sunday chorus of praise

Not yet?

I have felt ready
impatient
tired of the tight, dark spaces
of hiding

I am something,
someone new
shaped by His hand
and His will
the old has passed away

and yet
and yet

there is more to be done
He whispers

and shields me
holds me
His cover of protection
at once both
chains
and comfort

wings stretch forth
drying only as quickly
as He will allow

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new  2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV



Joining the broken but loved with Brian at Emily's today


 

Freshness in the ancient ways

Bread rising, baking, cooling on racks
flowers, sweet and vibrant
citrus oil from fresh cut oranges
all fill a house with the warm scent of fresh

and we hunger

We are a people easily bored
seeking new without a moment to absorb old
crying out to the Lord for a fresh word
a change of direction

This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’ Jeremiah 6:16 NLT

May we find our delight in the ways He leads us
as He seasons this new season
with His Spirit
always fresh.

Joining Peter Pollock and the rest where the word is fresh