Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Passports

Sometimes I feel brave enough to rub shoulders with the unfamiliar.
So I take a step of faith, and find myself wide-eyed, realizing that God so freely hands us passports to new territories if we will only open our hands to receive them.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9

Sunday, March 28, 2010

A Mother

Her love is soft like velvet.
Her words are a sweet perfume.
Knowing she has today,
she embraces her child with visions of tomorrow,
as she showers her little one with grace and truth.

"Her children stand and bless her." -Proverbs 31:28

Friday, March 26, 2010

A Million Different Pieces

When we come to God, He finds us broken in a million different pieces.

Left alone, those pieces stay fragmented.

But if we let Him, God takes each piece in His hands and puts them back together so that little by little, we begin to look the way He originally intended for us to appear: like Him.

Are you putting the pieces of your life in God's hands? Or do they remain shattered and untouched?

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." -Genesis 1:27

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Setting Sail

There comes a time when we must take up our anchors and set sail on the open seas to navigate through uncharted waters.

But sometimes our anchors get rusty. They have been buried in a watery grave for too long.

Perhaps the time has come to cut the line?

What are the anchors in your life that keep you bound to familiar waters, preventing fresh winds from catching your sails?

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Love at First Sight

When I met Jesus for the first time, face to face, I was surprised that my previous ideas of him were so far from the truth. I had always pictured him to be powerless, glazed over in a stained glass window. But it was not He who stood powerless and void of life. It was me.

I thought of God in his holiest of holies, as one who could not be approached by me because my place of worship did not land me in a Sunday morning pew, but in a Friday night bar stool. But God was not unapproachable. I was.

So it came as a complete shock when He approached me, penetrating my heart in such a powerful way.

It was love at first sight.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." -Deuteronomy 6:5

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Got Routine?

You may know how to find a diamond in the rough, but do you know how to find beauty in routine? I realize that for some, routine is spelled m-o-n-o-t-o-n-y. And for some, routine appears when you turn the computer on again, or when you change another diaper, or when you take the next semester of classes.

So how do I find beauty in routine? First, I realize that this is the day the Lord has made and if God has made it, then something somewhere must have beauty. So I choose to look for it, but I also ask God to reveal it.

Does God need to uncover some beauty in the midst of your daily regime? If so, ask Him to refresh, recharge, renew your perspective!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Hands of God

Sometimes I feel myself slipping through the cracks like part of me is not solid, but liquid, ever conforming to that which holds me. So if I am held by the hands of God, then I can remain still, for his hands are unchanging.

I however am changing.

Sometimes I let myself fall into the hands of a stranger, whether it be a difficult circumstance or a funky state of mind. Yet I always manage to slip through those fingers.

And still fall right back into the unchanging hands.

Thank you God for staying the same, even when I do not. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
-Hebrews 13:8

Who or what is holding you today?

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Control Freak

Have you ever wondered if you really are a control freak dressed up with degrees, a good career, and a happy family? I have. I admit I am sometimes guilty of wearing a cool facade while below the surface I am treading water to stay afloat in a sea called control.

I recently shared my perfectionist tendencies with a sister in Christ and she threw me a life line when she pointed out that perfectionism really is about having control. When we are drowning, we cannot rescue ourselves.

What kind of sea are treading in today? Perhaps you should take it to someone who can throw you a life line?

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." -Proverbs 27:17

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A Cinderella Story

The body of Christ, as broken individuals, ought to come together like puzzle pieces to make up the greater picture: Christ's bride. We are made spotless and pure knowing that one day the Bridegroom will return.

I realized my identity as His bride about a year after my own wedding. I stood in a church service, engaged in worship when an image suddenly flashed before my mind. It was an image of myself standing in a dirty, tattered and torn wedding dress. Then immediately afterward flashed another image of myself in a sparkling white dress, followed by the words, "This is how I see you. Now remain in my love."

You see, I bounced back and forth like a double minded person realizing that in one moment I felt loved and accepted by Christ, while in the next moment I felt unworthy to even stand in His presence.

But the truth tells me that "as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you" (Isaiah 62:5).

Monday, March 8, 2010

The Time Traveler

I recently met a woman covered in the scent of grief as she spoke in memory of her mother and husband. I listened, inhaling the aroma of her sadness. It smelled familiar, and yet unfamiliar. Like a perfume I know I have smelled before, but could not identify the name. Still, it clings to her, musky and bold.

She did not cry. Her eyes did not even tear up. She spoke matter-of-factly as if her loved ones were standing beside us. Their memories so real, they almost appeared at the sound of her voice.

She lives so much in the past that I was not even sure if she knew I am from the present. Like a time traveler, her reality remains stuck on yesterday.

Still, I breathed her sorrow in while listening to her stories.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

My Independence

Somewhere between being a girl and becoming a woman, I bought into the idea of living independently. And while independence can be good in certain contexts, it can also be detrimental.

As a freshman at Penn State I spent my nights socializing at fraternities. "This is Leaha. She is an Independent," the frat brothers would introduce me in this way to point out that I was not affiliated with any sorority.

Now, so many years later, I still find myself living up to that label. But independence can come with a price. Often for me, independence is spelled
L-O-N-E-L-Y.

You see, independence clashes with community. Like siblings they rival with each other, unable to get along. So while I crave community, I often default to independence. For me community is the sibling I don't naturally seek out while independence is always eager to play.

1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another..."

How about you?

Friday, March 5, 2010

No Coincidences

There are no coincidences with God.

Whether divine appointments that delight us, or terrifying moments that frighten us, God is not surprised.

But while He is not surprised, we may still feel alarmed, whether in fragile moment or in brave moments.

How do you find rest in God's all-knowing presence? Or have you yet to find rest?

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
-Romans 8:28

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

This World

Sometimes this world leaves me feeling a little flat. I am not blue, but I am not yellow either. I am just playing it safe when I want to play it savvy. I am resting in what's predictable, when I want to be waking to what's powerful.

Maybe I'm stuck on what seems too familiar.

When the world tells me to wish upon a star, I need to pray to my Savior. When the world tells me it's good karma, I need to cling to the One who is good. And when the world calls me lucky, I need to call myself blessed.

But everything I should call familiar, this world calls foreign.

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
- 2 Corinthians 4:18