Rescued

Transparency found me tangled up in a crowd, trying to find the truth. So I hid my face in my hands until I could find my way through. Even though the crowd felt thick and I felt thin, I just knew that disappearing in the depths of the majority is not what I have been called to do. So I rest now in the fact that I have been rescued, especially after not really knowing for so long that I was lost. And I embrace everything I know to be true about myself by matching it up with the truth of God's Word. "'For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.'" -Ezekiel 36:24-26

Ministry in Real Life

Recently, God released my heart to resign from ministry as a profession in order to remain in ministry as a lifestyle. So I am taking off my ministry mask to reveal a more realistic me. Now the truth can be told with each expression that crosses my face since I actually have a smile that not only looks less plastic, but also feels less perfect. So when ministry in real life gets messy, I can better reach the bruised and brokenhearted. After all, I cannot get deep in the dirt if my heart is clothed in khaki, but I can clothe my heart with the comfort of an old cut off pair of jeans and dig deeper for all of you to see all of me. "For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland (Isaiah 43:19)." How do you do ministry in real life?

This Train

My life is a steel train rushing full steam ahead. Sometimes I feel as though I am a passenger en route to a clear destination, and life is full of meaning and purpose. Other times I feel like a box car child, running alongside the train, trying to hitch a ride. And then there are times when I sit in the comfort of my seat from the confines of the train station, watching my life go by. I love the days when I am traveling on to a place where mountain tops collide with the sky instead of running to catch up or sitting in a lonely, stale room. Where are you today? Are you on board this train called life? Jesus says in John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Success

Some say success is found by discovering their destiny while they wait for destiny to come dancing on their doorsteps. But I say success is having a hearty goodness handed down from heaven that heaps our lives full of blessings, giving us a heritage we can dish up into the lives of our children. To me, success means leaving a lasting legacy that glorifies Christ. What does success mean to you? "Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse]." -James 1:17

Weight

Can I carry multiple loads on the tops of my shoulders? Or do I shift them around so that they balance on my back? The weight of indecision either grows heavier by the day, or I just don't feel as equipped to shoulder the load. So I let the weights fall off my back to give myself a little rest. And as I take some time to just be still, I remember there is a better way to manage all the weight I've been carrying around. Jesus says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good--not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne (Matthew 11:28-30)." What do you need to do with the weight you have been carrying?

The Prize

Competency calls, telling me I can make it in life. So I climb higher, like a champion claiming her prize. Only, I don't want the obvious sort of prize made from silver or gold, instead I want the kind made by the One who makes all things beautiful and new. This world offers the types of prizes that I can touch or taste, but God offers the prize of new life. What type of prize are you striving for? "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."-1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Tropical Treeline

My view is a tropical treeline that in some ways reminds me of a Gustav Klimt piece of art with swags of Spanish moss loosely dangling over patchy green leaves, pushing their way to the front like children crowding together for a picture. In other ways, the treeline resembles the lacy hem of a dress as the triangular tops stand neatly sewn together. Who can create such a magnificent piece of art framed from within the outline of my window? Who can sew together a more beautiful garment of greenery? It is the Lord and He speaks loudly with the trees as his megaphone and the vast blue sky as his arena. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." -Romans 1:20