Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Blended

Some claim to carry an old soul in their youth, but not me. I have a blended soul-one that is slightly broken, yet slightly mended from the years when life invited me to live out loud...until God quieted me with his love.

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
-Zephaniah 3:17

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Aiming

I don't want perfection, but I still aim for it. And my mind gets flighty. So I aim for wisdom instead of perfection in hopes of landing in a better place.

"For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it."
-Proverbs 8:11

Monday, August 29, 2011

A Higher Ground

I took a walk down a street flooded with demands; demands for my time, demands for my energy, demands for pieces of me. So I tip-toed around those demands until they rose so high that my feet got wet. And I doubted I would ever find dry ground again. But then the sun came out and dried up a path for me to walk.

Are you drowning in the demands of your day? Perhaps it is time to find a higher ground.


"Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust."
-Proverbs 4:26,27 (The Message)

Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Pursuit

Freedom found me in a place where legalism left me choking on my religion. So I let go of the ones holding my hand, and held onto the one holding my heart. Now I can darken the doorway of a place in life where I haven't been in a long, long time.

How about you? Are you pursuing a religion or a relationship?

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
-2 Corinthians 3:17

Friday, August 26, 2011

Unknown

The fear of not being known drove me to find ways to become known. But sometimes the quest to be known can be exhausting. So I tell my need for community to come calling another day. And I find satisfaction in just being unknown.

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens...
a time to plant and a time to uproot"
-Ecclesiastes 3:1,2

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Holes

Loneliness leaves all the bare places in my heart exposed, the way potholes lay open in a worn road. On most days, my heart feels worn and widely traveled, but not today. Today there are cracks that lead to open spaces with no one here to fill them. But when the people have come and gone, the Lord reminds me that he is always here to fill in the holes left behind.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified...for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
-Deuteronomy 31:6

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The Pledge

Sin carved its name deep in my tree. It seemed for a moment as innocent as two different initials pledged to each other in the center of a hand-carved heart. But nothing really is very simple when it involves any matter of the heart. So I took my love to another. I took my love to the One who carved his initials on another tree, pledging his life for mine.

"...For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
-Jesus (Matthew 20:28)

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Discovery

Regret turns my stomach sour so much so that I feel like doubling over. And I walk around, wounded for a while until I can gather the strength to tuck the past away in my pocket. And when I finally try to stand up straight again, I reach for help only to discover the cross.

Have you found forgiveness and healing in the cross?

"Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins."
-Psalm 51:1

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Story

It is important for us to live life not only for the sake of ministry, but also for the sake of story. And in doing so, we see that ministry emerges in the midst of story. In fact, the best ministry surfaces.

What is the story your life tells? Have you allowed God to enter into it, or do you keep him at a distance?

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..."
-Hebrews 12:2

Friday, August 12, 2011

A Thief

Busyness is a thief that stole from me, leaving me empty handed. It reached deep into my pockets, pulling nothing but sweet time and leaving me less than whole. The trouble is that time is something I cannot replace, so now I refuse to let busyness steal from me again.

What is a thief in your life?

"To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory."
-Isaiah 61:3

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Wellness

I found wellness today in the familiarity of the four walls I call home. And as I take a deep breath in, contentment swirls around in my lungs. For a season, I breathed an air of discontentment as these four walls wore me down with their demands. But after some time away, I feel a call to greater concern; a call to caring more deeply. To manage my home is not enough. I must invest my time, my energy, my resources and my heart, regardless of the cost.

"Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
-Isaiah 40:30,31

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The Revelation

I am trying to find a place where I belong. Some call it a niche, but I call it a place that is well with my soul. Still, wellness is hard to define, much less discover. So I pick up a pen to put on paper the place where I believe God created me to be. Because in the end, I don't want to look back only to realize I lived a life intended for someone else. A niche never found would be the same as a life filled with a false identity. And that, to me, is simply tragic.

Then the LORD replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.
For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come
and will not delay."
-Habakkuk 2:2-3

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Traveling Necessities

I packed my suitcase and thought I would travel light. But as I got farther into my journey, I realized that lighter may not always be better. So I stopped momentarily to add to my bags things like faith, hope and love. Now when opportunity knocks I am ready to hop on board this train called life.

"Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13

Monday, August 1, 2011

Something Solid

Every once in a while, when life seems stale, God opens a window to let in a breath of fresh air. In doing so, he reminds me to live by the Spirit and not by man. For when man tells me to trade something solid for something that shines, I remember that though things may sparkle, they may not always fulfill. And as God opens the windows of my life a little further, his Spirit reminds me that my treasure cannot be traded.

"...but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
-Matthew 6:20-21