the melody

my muscles, joints

do not agree with the cold

every fibre aching

as I cried out

this is how the Lord responded

when the pain sings

listen to the melody

and find Me there

in the low notes

the long wails

staccato beat

you will hear My voice

draw your strength

from My presence

do not allow the pain

to speak words of exclusion

or disqualification

you are always welcome

in the secret place

come away

abide in Me

not nomads

hours run into days

days into weeks

we move along, driven

by rhythms uncountable

surely it is time

to settle, pause

end these nomadic seasons

yet the Lord reminds me

your true home is in Me

but I do give your earthly body

a place to settle

a base of operations

a centre from which to reach out

your most important job is love

before all, in all and above all

love Me first

without Me you will not have

the ability or capacity

to love those I place before you

allow My love to work through you

ever in place

the page has turned

we have arrived back in Canada

as I try to breathe

in the strangeness this morning

the Lord was waiting for me

before I could pick up my pen

if you know you are in Me

in My hands

then even in the rapid fire changes

you need not feel out of place

you are where I have you and hold you

in Africa, In Canada, anywhere

your home is in Me

stay here, do not move

without Me

where could you find more safety

or more peace?

Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. 

[Live in Me, and I will live in you.] 

Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself 

without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, 

neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.

John 14:4 Amplified

psalm 26

psalm 26

rejoice for the sun rises

and here am I while many

did not awake to see this day

broken wide open in glory

the safety of Your promises

sheltering me, driving me

comforting me, filling me 

with courage to shout 

Your name, proclaim 

Your majesty

and walk again 

into the newness 

of life in The Light

all of my nothing

Thursday morning gathering

at the widows centre

I spoke about surrender

women with challenges

looming large

unreachable, impossible

Esther, Mary, myself

and each one with me there

listening, nodding

acknowledging weakness 

we can do nothing

but that doesn't leave us

without hope

for our Father

looming large

can do as He wills

this is good news

my brain knows it

oh, but my heart

anxious, aching

wants what it wants

to feel in control

and able

return to step one

as often as necessary

arms flung wide

Lord, I can't...

I am the Vine; you are the branches. 

The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, 

for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

John 15:5 Amplified

 

Photosynthesis

I woke this morning with the word photosynthesis on my lips.  "How odd" I chuckled as I shared this with Rick.  I hadn't been thinking or dreaming of plants so it seemed strange indeed.

I sensed perhaps God was trying to tell me something and a Google search lead me to wikipedia where I read the following:

Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy, normally from the sun, into chemical energy that can be used to fuel the organisms' activities

Normally from the sun?  What about the Son?

Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life. John 8:12 Amplified

He Who Is light gives me the energy to do all that He asks of me.  I find great peace, rest and the freedom to be still in that simple and  profound truth.

 

needing to be still with Sandy

abiding with Cheryl

 

Father's glory

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, 

ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 

This is to my Father’s glory, 

that you bear much fruit, 

showing yourselves to be my disciples. 

John 15:7-8 NIV

May we bring you glory Lord, on Father's Day and all days

 

singing in the Sunday choir with Deidra

 

In the secret place

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High

will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

This I declare about the Lord:

He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;

he is my God, and I trust him.
Psalm 91:1-2 NLT

in the quiet with Sandy

abiding with Cheryl

 

Ending. Beginning.

What we call the beginning is often the end. 

And to make an end is to make a beginning. 

The end is where we start from. 

T. S. Eliot

I am closing a door.

I am opening a door.

The pattern of change continues.

Day follows day.

God leads, waits.

My part is to follow.

waiting in the quiet place with Sandy

and abiding with Cheryl

 

lines no eye can see

The pattern

leads side to side

back and forth

where halls stretch long

alike in their design

nothing to direct the eye

or spirit upward

where peace dwells

 

yet my heart has learned to follow

lines no eye can see

winding to the secret place

where home abides for me

seeking the stillness with Sandy

abiding with Cheryl

Nearer than we think

He does not ask much of us, 

merely a thought of Him from time to time, 

a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, 

sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, 

at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present,

He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles 

to take solace in Him as often as you can.

 Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; 

the least little remembrance 

will always be the most pleasing to Him. 

One need not cry out very loudly; 

He is nearer to us than we think. 

Brother Lawrence The Practice of the Presence of God

linking with Sandy as I pray for her rapid healing and recovery

abiding with Cheryl

 

I want a real meal

Emily's post today shouted bold and quiet
the cry, the ache in my heart
I don't want to serve a Walmart Savior

I hunger for true communion

a lavish feast

I don't want a meal

of McJesus

a pre-packaged, heat it quick

microwave relationship with my Lord

I have no use

for a drive through window

I want to make my home

in Him

make a home

for Him

less of me and more of Him

none of me and all of Him

this is my prayer

this is the song my spirit sobs

counting myself among the broken redeemed with Emily

 

Setting the rhythm

As I opened my journal Friday morning the Lord shared His heart:

Let your words
be the song I sing
Allow Me to set the rhythm
and the melody will carry you
back into My presence
back into that resting place
where all creation begins

Do not step out ahead of Me
Do not lag far behind
Allow Me to set the rhythm
and keep to the beat

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 

Galatians 5:25 NIV

seeking stillness with Sandy

living in Him with Cheryl

 

Place of rest

Word from Thursday morning:

You dreamed of moving 

into a new home with bigger beds

and surely I tell you 

that I will bring you into a place of rest

not rest that will numb you 

and lull you into inactivity

but rest that will restore and rebuild, 

body, mind and spirit

rest that will equip you

to accomplish all I set before you

 

at the point of stillness with Sandy

and in the abiding place with Cheryl

 

He will catch us

Trust is the basis of life. 

Without trust, no human being can live. 

Trapeze artists offer a beautiful image of this. 

Flyers have to trust their catchers. 

They can do the most spectacular doubles, 

triples, or quadruples, 

but what finally makes their performance spectacular 

are the catchers who are there for them 

at the right time in the right place.

Much of our lives is flying. 

It is wonderful to fly in the air free as a bird, 

but when God isn't there to catch us, 

all our flying comes to nothing. 

Let's trust in the Great Catcher.

Henri Nouwen

Soaring, surrendered to the wind of His Spirit, 

trusting His everlasting arms.

 

Soaking in stillness with Sandy

abiding with Cheryl

 

Composed of one thing only

The snow itself is lonely or, 

if you prefer, self-sufficient. 

There is no other time 

when the whole world 

seems composed of one thing 

and one thing only. 

Joseph Wood Krutch 

and in that one thing only

I am yet not alone

I am silent in the secret place

abiding 

let it snow

Quiet in the stillness with Sandy

abiding with Cheryl

 

A way in...

 

Because He first asked me

I can ask, seek and knock

praying every day

to climb inside

there abide

Joining L.L. Barkat for something sweet.