Stretching my heart

Late this afternoon the sun finally began to warm the day and I took books, Bible, journal and coffee out to the deck to spend time with my Father. I was pondering the following quote by Zelda Fitzgerald:

"Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much a heart can hold"

With Faith resting beside my chair I had the following journaling conversation with Him:

Lord God, I can feel Your hand squeezing my heart, as if You are softening, pulling and stretching it to hold more. Is it You leading me to the books I'm reading, the movies I watch, all of which leave me awash in tears, sniffling and breathless? Are you planting something new within me or simply watering what You planted at an earlier time? I want to be more like You and less like me Lord.

I created you to be you, little one, but in My own image. You are a reflection of Me, a way for the world to see Me. So, you want to be My hands? You want to be My feet? That is why you are learning to weep, child, for indeed when you lok through My eyes there is much to weep for.

You are right to discern that this is all training for what lies ahead, for the needs are not diminishing, rather growing at a rapid pace. My Father worked through Me when I walked the earth, and now He must work through those I have chosen and called and set apart.

Lord, I've been thinking about what it means to be set apart and doing what I believe You desire of me, but I'm not sure I truly understand.

Study My Word, little one, soak in what I have already said and allow Me to speak new life into old truth. Let Me open your ears as I am opening your heart. You have not set yourself apart, for it is not your task, but Mine and I have called you out, set you aside and marked you as My own long ago.

Now you are unfolding into that destiny. You will learn to weep. You will learn to ache. You will learn to bleed. My tears. My pain. My blood. And I and My Father will be glorified.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" Jeremiah 1:5a NIV

Drops of rain

"Who does great things, and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number. He gives rain on the earth, And sends waters on the fields."

Job 5:9-10 NKJV

The rain began sometime in the middle of the night and I woke to hear the drops falling on the drain pipes. It has been slow yet steady, nourishing the land in ways our man made sprinkling systems cannot.

Rain, a simple yet mighty thing, another work of a wonderful God. Just another reason to worship Him.

Becoming More

For the last 3 years Rick has bought me a fuchsia plant to hang in a basket just outside our bedroom window. They are one of the most striking flowers I have ever seen and I enjoy watching the blooms change in their process of becoming what they are.

At first the blooms look like pale little lanterns, showing little clue as to what they hide within. At this point I need patience to wait for them to begin opening.

The secrets inside begin to unfold. At this stage, the blossoms are unique and colourful. One could be content to have such a flower. Still I know that I must water and wait.. and wait.. and wait, for I know what is yet to be.

Now at last, at the end of July, my fuschia has blooms that have totally developed and unfurled, revealing all of the potential I knew they possessed.

Our loving God looks upon us in a similar fashion. He know who and what He created us to be. He is able to see what we cannot. As we journey on the road to becoming Christ-like He watches and guides us with impossible patience. He loves us beyond measure, but will not let us remain as we are. When we become more than we ever thought we could be, it is to the glory of His Name.

"And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you." Philippians 1:6 Amplified

Have you ever thought that you had arrived at your final destination only to find there were miles yet to travel? Can you remember a time when you settled for less than God's best for yourself? I know that I have.

Today, Lord God I choose to allow You to complete the good work You have begun in me. Today I choose to submit to Your design, allowing You to decide when Your work is completed. Let my life be a testimony to Your patience and love, in Jesus name.

Ripe Fruit

If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.

John 15:7-8 Amplified

Raspberries clinging to branches

rich, filled with juices.

Plucked too early

they are void of sweetness.

Left too long

they wither or rot.

Each one reaches true ripeness

in God's perfect time.

As for me

I am still growing

as I learn to abide

in the heart of Christ.

He helps me to surrender

to the pain of the shears

I am here to bear fruit

for our Father's glory.

Not for me

this sweetness.

Not for me

the ripe juices.

But that other might taste

and see

that the Lord is so good!

Word Filled Wednesday July 29

"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:"Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns." Revelation 19:6

This is a picture we took of rapids on the Nile River in Jinja, Uganda when we were part of the November 2007 Global Build Team for Watoto Childcare Ministries. The waters did indeed roar and thunder and sing praise to our mighty God!

Join Amydeane at The 160 Acre Woods for this weeks

In Other Words - Who Am I in the Dark?

This weeks host is Deborah Shank at Chocolate & Coffee and she selected the following quote for this week:

"We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark- the imaginations of our minds, the thoughts of our heart, the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God's sight. Character is what you are in the dark." Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest

The word consistent keeps coming to mind. Miriam-Webster online dictionary defines consistent as:

"marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity : free from variation or contradiction"

This is my desire, that my life be free from contradiction.

“What you see is what you get.” This is a phrase that is most often used in a negative way. In my quest to live a transparent life “what you see is what you get” is good, and real and true. There may be flaws, look carefully. If you choose to take me, you must take me as I am. Who I am is who I am, who God created me to be, both in public and in the privacy of my prayer closet.

"But by God's grace I am what I am, and his grace shown to me was not wasted." 1 Corinthians 15:10a ISV

I am a work in progress, still raw, with ragged edges. If I attempt to hide those rough spots, I’ll put so much effort into the cover-up that you’ll never really see me, and you’ll also not see Christ in me. If I show you my faith without any of my doubts I betray the truth of a daily walk with my Lord.

I desire to live each moment of my day in a way that glorifies my King, so that a world that is watching will not be given an opportunity to cry “hypocrisy” yet again.

In Miriam-Webster hypocisy is defined as:

"a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not ; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion"

Lord God, I pray that You continue to lead me, guide me and teach me to walk in truth; to remove any masks I may have been wearing to gain the approval of man, for the only approval I need is Yours. Strengthen me to allow all of my imperfections to show so that my life may reflect the work You have done in me. May my life be pleasing unto You, Lord God, in the darkness of my private time as well as in my public life, for Your glory and the glory of Your Son.

Prairie Morning at Rhema Fields

Yesterday was clear and bright and a perfect morning for walking about with Faith at my side (well actually, she tends to run ahead) and camera in hand, thanking the Lord for Who He is and worshipping His marvelous creativity.

Come along and walk with me as I head back home so I can share with you this little bit of heaven on earth God gave to us.

Rick feels closest to the Lord. senses His presence and voice when working in the garden or spending time out ont he land. When it was time to give a name to our property, Rick felt it should be called Rhema Fields for it is in this place that we sense the Word of our God.

"As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?" 2 Samuel 22:31-32

This is alfalfa growing wild along the edges of the road. Rick planted seeds a few years ago in our valley and a cattle farming neighbor cuts and bales the hay in exchange for delicious beef.

See the fresh hay bale in the valley?

Canada thistle is more abundant each year, and perhaps one of the most problematic weeds in our area, and has been a curse since the days of Adam:

"Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field." Genesis 3:17b-18 NIV

but I can't help notice the beauty of its flowers.

Like the unique beauty of the thistle, I pray that we will always be able to see God's hand at work, even in the midst of trials and struggles. He loves us, He loves you! Have you thanked Him today?