Thursday, January 21, 2010
I'd Rather Be...
If I cannot be an are
For a would be is a maybe,
Who is reaching for a star.
I'd rather be a has been,
Than a might have been by far,
'Cause a might have been has never been,
But a has been was once an are.
- Author Unknown
Read this somewhere and thought it was interesting :)
You wait...
it slowly makes its way to my feet..
gently washes over them.
Before I know it -its up to my ankles...
As I confess my adoration to You
My heart is beaming with joy.
In my mind I picture myself
laying at your feet...
bowing down before you- my King.
Meanwhile..the water has crept up to my calves.
But I do not notice,
because I am enveloped in You.
All the world around me...
my kids playing, the tv blaring,
it all disappears, becomes silent.
Because just for a moment,
I am lost in you, I hear you speak to me.
Love sonnets and plans for a future.
Meanwhile, the water has reached my hips.
Still unaware, I proclaim your goodness...
Your faithfulness and kindness.
You sweep me away..
Your peace overtakes and casts out every worry,
every care- the weight is lifted and I'm free.
The water is nearly to my neck..
I suddenly realize it is going to overtake me..
I gasp for air, I'm afraid...
then I catch your glimpse again..
I relax, and release.
I'm free- remember!
You laugh, just like a father would
when you see your child realize she can swim
or ride her bike for the first time.
Fear is gone,
and I float and splash in my carelessness.
Your yoke is easy, and oh
the child-like joy you give to me!
You are living water, you satisfy the needs
in a sun-scorched land.
My eyes open, and here I am-
back at my computer...sitting in my chair...
The water appears gone.
My kids are plying for me, there are house duties to attend to-
and it's ok,
because you have satisfied my soul.
I can do all things.
I am a well watered garden, I am growing and flourishing again.
I get up from my chair -
but my feet leave water marks across the floor...
You never leave me or forsake me.
But You wait for me.
You wait for me to come back again...
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Through the Storm
Job- I keep coming back to you...I find myself clinging to your story. Clinging to the words God spoke to you.
swallowed up
suffering and pain-
surround me.
i am swallowed up.
my heart aches-
it groans within me.
longing to be
touched by You..
this overwhelming feeling
is like a tidal wave..
i'm riding this wave-
trying to keep my head
above the water.
my eyes scower the seas
for a life boat.
scower for a hand
to lift me out.
then i blink-
you descend.
you lift me out-
out of the violent waves,
out of the chaos.
bring me to dry land.
wrap me in a blanket
of peace and calmness.
you descended-
and saved me from the
wild seas within me.
you pat me dry
wipe my face
lift my head
stand me up
and send me off.
I am yours.
And you are mine.
You descended...
or so I thought....
You were protecting me,
surrounding me..
you were the clothes
on my skin.
The air I was breathing..
The life within me.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
what they said...
Young man, young man, your arm's too short to box with God. ~James Weldon Johnson
Let God's promises shine on your problems. ~Corrie Ten Boom
God enters by a private door into each individual. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Remember this. When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold. When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness. This is also the case when people withdraw from God. ~Augustine
All that I have seen teaches me to trust God for all I have not seen. ~Author Unknown
Monday, January 11, 2010
the cry of my heart...
A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out
Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out
"from the inside out" by Hillsong
Thursday, January 7, 2010
And she laughed...
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."
I was reading this yesterday...It is so interesting to me. Sarah was barren for 90 years...and then when she was 90 years old- (and in her words- she was old and worn out and so was her husband)...she laughed at the thought of God blessing them with a baby after all those years. She was so stunned that she laughed at what God told her. But God called her out and asked why she laughed, why she had so much doubt that the Creator of the Universe couldn't bless them with a child just because they were old!?
"Is anything too hard for the Lord??"
Think about that... How many times are we like Sarah and we scoff at the possibility of God doing something miraculous in our lives?
Scoff at the idea of God healing us physically...emotionally...
scoff at the idea of God restoring broken family relationships..split up parents..
scoff at the idea of God using us to change our community, our world...
I know I have laughed about the thought of God doing certain things in my life...maybe not laughed on the outside but on the inside I know I have doubted and struggled...and I am sure I will again...but today-TODAY-- I want to to believe what God is saying he wants to do in my life...no matter what it is. I want to accept it and pursue it...he is a dream dropper...and he is faithful to those that are faithful- so God help me step out and grab life by the handles in the way you are leading me to go.
Help me not to laugh at the thought of the miraculous happening...
Oh and yes...God returned to Sarah and Abraham a while later and saw their son who was indeed born...he was named Isaac.
Monday, January 4, 2010
dry skin
So why am I talking about my dry skin?? Well, I was thinking about it earlier, and I can see how it parallels to my spiritual life. All day long I am giving myself away...to my kids, my husband, my house, my family, friends...etc...all day. And at the end of that day- I am aching for relaxation, aching for refreshment, relief. Just like my hands- after being used up and dried out all day, they ache for moisturizer so they don't crack and bleed(which is very painful). SO I guess what I am saying is, just like my hands, I need to always make sure I am staying filled up, refreshed by the Holy Spirit- by his touch and by God's Word...so that I, myself, do not crack, do not become frail and dried up. (because that is painful as well.)
I have said it a million times...and I will keep saying it. It is my favorite song, it is the cry of my heart...
"I want to be unmoveable and unshakeable, so let my roots go down deep...unmoveable and unshakeable in you. I want to be like a tree, planted by the streams of Living Water. I want to be like a tree, planted by the streams of Living Water. This will be my song God, this will be my prayer. Til the end. Til the end. In the midst of the coming storms, in the midst of the coming blessing, that my life would be built upon the rock, that I would not be moved, not be shaken."
So there ya go...walk away thinking about my dry skin...lol. But remember...Aveeno may have the best moisturizing lotion...but God has living water for the soul.
Isaiah 58:11
The Lord will guide you always, he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.