i LOVE ...

Because I love your commands more than gold, 

more than pure gold,

and because I consider all your precepts right,

I hate every wrong path.  

                                            Psalm 119:127,128 NIV

Sometimes I value other things more than what You say - what You've called me to, Jesus.

Why is that?

Is it because I don't really trust that you have my best in mind?

Is it that I don't want to wait for You to do it Your way?

Is there another reason? 

Show me areas in my life where I really am wearing this necklace close to my heart. Show me why.

Speak to me there.

Work in my heart so these verses are true in my life. 

Garbage Day!

All week long we package up the filth...the dirty, the rotten, the dead and the broken.  It sits, waiting for that glorious day when the garbage man comes in his big green truck and takes it all away never to be seen in our house again.

 Thank you Jesus that we don't have to wait once a week (or sometimes 2 if it snows) to give you all that  smells of sin or garbage in our lives.  

When we bring it to You...You take it and You get rid of it.  

David says it the best in Psalm 51:1-3

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

He speaks again in Psalm 103:12

As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Thank you Jesus!

And thank you too for garbage day....it's so nice to live in a place where we have that service!

Starting Today...

It's been too long since I stretched my heart out on this page...

The Lord...stirring something in me...brings life and truth and vision to upcoming days...I anticipate...
Revival.

I wrote on the last page of a journal this morning...something so nostalgic for me in that feeling of seeing final words written there, and then the closing of the book.

  So I re-opened it and flipped through the recorded notes of my heart.  Happy to be passed some of the things I walked through on my journey but also intrigued by places that I was at, places that I want to hold on to and remember, that I don't want to forget.  Oh how the Lord meets us like no other.

So here it is...a prayer written from early summer...remembered today...re-spoken...whispered to the Lord again.

"Lord, will you continue to blow soft your Spirit on the embers of my heart, on my husband's heart, my kid's hearts...fanning a flame that hungers more and more of you...unsatisfied by the empty pleasures and temptations and illusions of happiness that this present world suggests.  No, Lord...would it be that our hunger runs raw and deep for You--a love that satisfies, a trust that defeats fear...pure and holy.  That our family...a home full of imperfect people, could love you, grow closer to you...not fazed by illusions, not distracted with mirage--but could see You and be steadfast, confident in what is sure, what is true, what is beautiful...trusting, fearless, Divine inspired, Spirit directed, Truth focused and Graced Lavished.
I want this.  I want it for my marriage.  I want it for my kids.  I want it for our family and multiplied by generations.
And fear says to me, "What pain will we have to endure to have what I want, what I ask?"
Is pain the only way?
It seems...you ask for growth and it comes only through pain...so fear talks and it seems easier and less frightening to just ask for blessings and peace.
But I want Joy too.
Joy in the present and joy in the Presence of my Beloved Saviour.  Joy in obedience.  Joy in trusting, even when I feel afraid.
I want sweetness in the moment, anticipation that when I look at you Jesus, and look into your precious eyes for the first time, that I can look at you without fear, without shame, without regret....just joy.
I want more of you Jesus.
Breathe your Spirit of Life into me today.
Can I take just one day at a time?
  It's hard to look sometimes beyond today when the fear of the unknown future in these circumstances seems to loom in darkness up ahead...but,
I think I can do just one day at a time...

Lavished in Grace
Focused on Truth
Inspired by your Heart
Directed by your Spirit
Choosing to Trust you in Confidence
Free from Fear

Starting Today.

His Name

It seems like these past few days I've been reminded over and over how powerful God's name is. Whether through songs or the theme at a prayer night or through verses... it just keeps showing up.

God's name is the most powerful thing. Ever.
He is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Healer, Redeemer, Pursuer...
So many names to describe the all-powerful One who created each of us.

These two songs really spoke to me and reminded me of God's incredible name:

Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
'Cause nothing has the power to save
But Your Name

(Paul Baloche)


At Your name, the mountains shake and crumble
At Your name, the oceans roar and tumble
At Your name, angels will bow, the earth will rejoice
Your people cry out

At Your name, the morning breaks in glory
At Your name, creation sings Your story
At Your name, angels will bow, the earth will rejoice
Your people cry out

Lord of all the earth
We shout Your name, shout Your name
Filling up the skies
With endless praise, endless praise
Yahweh, Yahweh
We love to shout Your name, oh Lord

(Phil Wickham)

May you experience the power of God's name today.

A Prayer for 2012

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; 

let them ever sing for joy, 

and spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may exult in you.

For you bless the righteous, O LORD; 

you cover him with favor as with a shield. 

                                                                          Psalm 5:11-12


Full featured double rainbow in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Photo by Eric Rolph

Crying for a Christmas

These are the lives of the rearranged
Scattered souls who've been displaced
Nowhere else to turn
Like Bethlehem we have packed the place
Human need fills ever space
No room at the inn

Still God found a corner,
Made a bed down in the hay
Could he reappear, make his advent here
Will he still draw near today?

My world is crying,
Crying for a Christmas
Some way to know for sure –
That our God is with us
We could all use a sign
A little glimpse of divine
For a world that still cries for Christmas

Feeding trough on a dirty floor
Unimpressive welcome for
God's Almighty Son
Are we as blind to incarnation
Daily proof of our salvation
Love's already come

We are not abandoned,
All alone in our despair
He who once came down, he can still be found
Every when and everywhere

Jesus you are here, Jesus you are now
Jesus you are here, Jesus you are now

My world is crying,
Crying for a Christmas
Some way to know for sure –
That our God is with us
We can all be the sign
That his love is alive
For a world that still cries for Christmas

(Scott Krippayne Lyrics)

"They say that Aslan is on the move"

I am embarrassed to say this. As a teacher and lover of English literature, I am embarrassed to say this. I am reading through the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time. I stayed clear away from the books as a child. Despite growing up in England, I knew very little about C.S. Lewis. Not knowing much about him, and knowing that one of the characters in the books was a witch, my innocent, yet very misinformed mind decided that I would not read them. As an adult I have stayed away from them as fantasy is not a genre that I enjoy reading.

However, my husband once had me read the section in which Aslan is killed by the witch to a Sunday School class that he taught. Since then, I've been curious.

So I have begun my journey into Narnia, and I am enthralled. Realizing that the purpose of this blog is very different than that on my class website, on which I would rant on and on about literature, I will talk only of one thing: Aslan - an allegorical representation of Christ.

There are two phrases, specifically, that have captured my attention and spoken to my heart.

The first is when Aslan is playing with Lucy and Susan after he comes back to life. Joyful at finding him once again full of life, the children run after him in a loving game of chase. In this description it reads, "and whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind" (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Chp. 15). I love this picture. It reminds me of the joyous affection that Jesus has for us, but also of the power that is within Him.

The second phrase gives me hope. It is uttered after Narnia has fallen under the influence of the witch. Aslan had seemingly vacated the land, allowing her dominion. All have suffered under her reign. Even nature bore the heavy burden of a never ending winter. But there is hope: "Aslan is on the move" (The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Chp. 10). Rumours of Aslan's return are whispered throughout Narnia, and creatures and nature alike start to imagine a "thaw".

I often feel as if we are living in a time of winter; a time that is characterized more by regression than growth. But Jesus is on the move, friends. It is not a rumour and it needn't be whispered. Jesus, the thunderstorm, is moving. Winter is losing its grip on Narnia. There is a battle being waged; the outcome of which we already know. Victory, we know, belongs to Jesus.

I thank you Jesus, that you are "on the move"!