It grieves my heart when the body of Christ hinders more than nourishes itself. Why do Christians and the church place themselves in situations where their actions become a striking example of the Baal prophets on Mount Carmel - slashing their arms and flailing about looking ridiculous seeking some empty, meaningless glory - why do we slash at parts of the body believing that somehow through the mutilation of the body (brothers and sisters), glory might be found?
Why aren't we believing?
Why aren't we praying more?
Why aren't we trusting? Risking? Stepping out?
Why are we playing it safe?
Why all the rules, regulations, etc?
What happened to breathing? Believing?
What happened to BOLD belief like Elijah on Mount Carmel - he believed God would send fire on the altar he had built- to send a fire that if lit by God would prove His power over Baal, the false god people prostitued themselves to - think about it - a request to send fire from the sky. Today that's quite a belief to have - but Elijah believed, and God came through - Elijah believed so much so that he had them pour water several times upon the altar. God came through to honor both the faith of His servant and to bring God's Name glory.
Why don't we believe for things with that ferver and trust God will come through?
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
breathing
How blessed to sense and bare the sweetened breath which pierces my lungs - so gentle, so swift, so full and rich.
Today I sit, and lingering in my heart is a familiar bearing, a romance and delight which is nothing short of indescribable. Mine eyes hold back unexplainable tears of joy, thanks, overwhelming repentance - and the sweet voice of Yahweh calls me.
Closing my eyes I breathe - I can sense Him. My very being longs for His touch and He is near. Oh blessed season of suffering and dryness - of thirst and hunger - failure and trudging - He remains - sure I may not always have a strong sense of His nearness, but as my aunt once told me: "Sometimes when God appears to be silent and you feel as though He is not near, He is preparing you for something."
I know He never left me - He was always here, but oh today, the blessed overwhelming fragrance of Yahweh I have been longing for, floods my soul - it quenches my thirst and fills my cup overflowing. He is my Portion, my Strength, my Shield, Deliverer, my Shelter, Strong Tower and very present Help in time of need.
Breathe my friends - breathe deep - do you sense Him? He is near.
Today I sit, and lingering in my heart is a familiar bearing, a romance and delight which is nothing short of indescribable. Mine eyes hold back unexplainable tears of joy, thanks, overwhelming repentance - and the sweet voice of Yahweh calls me.
Closing my eyes I breathe - I can sense Him. My very being longs for His touch and He is near. Oh blessed season of suffering and dryness - of thirst and hunger - failure and trudging - He remains - sure I may not always have a strong sense of His nearness, but as my aunt once told me: "Sometimes when God appears to be silent and you feel as though He is not near, He is preparing you for something."
I know He never left me - He was always here, but oh today, the blessed overwhelming fragrance of Yahweh I have been longing for, floods my soul - it quenches my thirst and fills my cup overflowing. He is my Portion, my Strength, my Shield, Deliverer, my Shelter, Strong Tower and very present Help in time of need.
Breathe my friends - breathe deep - do you sense Him? He is near.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
life
Life is an interesting journey with twists, turns, and little stops along the way.
Preparation is essential and training a must - so here I find myself in a season of training learning much and exploring lots.
I am thankful for sunshine, road bumps, and opposition - for laughter, adventures, and the ability to breathe.
"The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever."- The Pursuit of God (17)
Preparation is essential and training a must - so here I find myself in a season of training learning much and exploring lots.
I am thankful for sunshine, road bumps, and opposition - for laughter, adventures, and the ability to breathe.
"The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever."- The Pursuit of God (17)
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
ode to my shinny-shin-shins
10 years ago I found a love that required work - hard work - much endurance, pain, perseverance, grace, strategy, thinking, and skill. Hitting the field in 4th grade after the school bell rang - clad in my pink shorts and Franklin shinpads, I was ready to go. Never did I expect this moment and season after countless season to follow that a love for the sport and game of "football" or soccer would be birthed.
In my career I've managed to outgrow 2 pairs of shinguards - and to destroy one. A few weeks ago I found myself injured after repeated trauma to the same area of my shin (basically I was kicked 6-8 times unintentionally by different boys over the span of 2 weeks and about 6 soccer games). The results: 1)a broken/cracked shinguard 2)nearly a broken/cracked leg and 3) an adventurous, disappointing trip to 2 ERs in Canadia only to receive no luck in getting an x-ray.(I suppose that's what you get when you play with boys who know you're tough - there's not a whole lot of mercy given out, even in Bible college - the biggest downfall to this poor philosophy of theirs is sometimes the lack of technical training and skills of the players - lots of our guys play soccer for the first time at BBC - interesting.)
Regardless, I was quite disappointed and pained when I found out my shinguards that lasted me 4 years of highschool soccer and almost 2 years of university were broken. (Trust me, I was kicked pretty hard - surprisingly the first 3 times I didn't even have my shinny-shin-shins on. Whoops!) Clearly this was a sign that I needed to discard them:
One thing is for sure - these shinguards certainly bore a stench of 6 years of play and stains of hard work, not even the finest bleach products or febreeze could remove. Our equipment may fail us, but the game presses on. I guess it's time for some new shinguards.
In my career I've managed to outgrow 2 pairs of shinguards - and to destroy one. A few weeks ago I found myself injured after repeated trauma to the same area of my shin (basically I was kicked 6-8 times unintentionally by different boys over the span of 2 weeks and about 6 soccer games). The results: 1)a broken/cracked shinguard 2)nearly a broken/cracked leg and 3) an adventurous, disappointing trip to 2 ERs in Canadia only to receive no luck in getting an x-ray.(I suppose that's what you get when you play with boys who know you're tough - there's not a whole lot of mercy given out, even in Bible college - the biggest downfall to this poor philosophy of theirs is sometimes the lack of technical training and skills of the players - lots of our guys play soccer for the first time at BBC - interesting.)
Regardless, I was quite disappointed and pained when I found out my shinguards that lasted me 4 years of highschool soccer and almost 2 years of university were broken. (Trust me, I was kicked pretty hard - surprisingly the first 3 times I didn't even have my shinny-shin-shins on. Whoops!) Clearly this was a sign that I needed to discard them:
One thing is for sure - these shinguards certainly bore a stench of 6 years of play and stains of hard work, not even the finest bleach products or febreeze could remove. Our equipment may fail us, but the game presses on. I guess it's time for some new shinguards.
desperate snow removal
Most traces of the long, harsh northern maine winter the county endured over the past few months have vanished - the occasional white flek will catch the corner of my eye and I find myself cringing saying "Ah, why!?" and counting my blessings of living in Sussex most of the year and having spring start in the end of March instead of the middle of May. However, like all circumstances there are a few exceptions, one of which is our neighbor's yard. The other day, upon returning from the highschool to pick up my youngest sister, I caught sight of my mother doing this:
Jessica's mouth dropped opened as we both errupted into laughter at the sight of our mother in shorts, with an ax and bright orange snow shovel demolishing the bank by Mr. Phil's house. I suppose she wants no reminders of the 7-8 months of winter they had - then again, who could blame her?
Jessica's mouth dropped opened as we both errupted into laughter at the sight of our mother in shorts, with an ax and bright orange snow shovel demolishing the bank by Mr. Phil's house. I suppose she wants no reminders of the 7-8 months of winter they had - then again, who could blame her?
Friday, May 02, 2008
What's in a puddle of ice?
Lots.
Yesterday afternoon I went downstate with my Mom to spend some quality time and to do a little shopping. When we were out for 'lupper' we were at the Olive Garden and little did I know what would unfold before my eyes. A cook set up his little stand beside our table to deliver the pasta Mom and I were sharing. There I sat, eating my yummy breadstick as our nice waitress walked into the room to give another table their drinks. Fleeing the room, the cook rammed into our waitress causing her to spill to giant cups of soda on the ground. Ice cubes splattered over the floor and what's even more interesting - he didn't apologize. He had nearly swept her feet from under her, and after a polite asking from the waitress the hurried cook grabbed the glasses and left the room. Embarrassment hung on this young lady's face. We asked if she was alright and somewhat shaken she said she was. After she'd left the room, my eyes zoomed in on the icecubes. A tugging in my heart told me I should probably help pick them up. However, I became too caught up in evaluating how I would go about picking them up and where I would put them when I was finished...so I sat, hesitating and then in a few minutes my opportunity had vanished just as quickly as it came. I know, I know, it's just a bunch of silly icecubes, but I asked the Lord for opportunities to be Christ before leaving for our little trip and yet I didn't acknowledge what my eyes had seen as a clear opportunity.
Pondering the situation on the drive home, I concluded that rather than hesitating and planning, when I am prodded, I must simply DO. I don't have to travel 6000 miles to be Christ's hand extended, it can be in a restaurant helping a startled waitress pick icecubes out of the rug. God doesn't ask for our ability or inability, he asks for our availability - I wasn't successful in this opportunity because I made myself unavailable when I decided to analyze rather than to trust Him and to act. I think as Christians, we do this a lot...I pray the Lord will bring more opportunities as I continue to work on this area of my life...let's keep our eyes open friends for moments to be Christ to those around us.
Yesterday afternoon I went downstate with my Mom to spend some quality time and to do a little shopping. When we were out for 'lupper' we were at the Olive Garden and little did I know what would unfold before my eyes. A cook set up his little stand beside our table to deliver the pasta Mom and I were sharing. There I sat, eating my yummy breadstick as our nice waitress walked into the room to give another table their drinks. Fleeing the room, the cook rammed into our waitress causing her to spill to giant cups of soda on the ground. Ice cubes splattered over the floor and what's even more interesting - he didn't apologize. He had nearly swept her feet from under her, and after a polite asking from the waitress the hurried cook grabbed the glasses and left the room. Embarrassment hung on this young lady's face. We asked if she was alright and somewhat shaken she said she was. After she'd left the room, my eyes zoomed in on the icecubes. A tugging in my heart told me I should probably help pick them up. However, I became too caught up in evaluating how I would go about picking them up and where I would put them when I was finished...so I sat, hesitating and then in a few minutes my opportunity had vanished just as quickly as it came. I know, I know, it's just a bunch of silly icecubes, but I asked the Lord for opportunities to be Christ before leaving for our little trip and yet I didn't acknowledge what my eyes had seen as a clear opportunity.
Pondering the situation on the drive home, I concluded that rather than hesitating and planning, when I am prodded, I must simply DO. I don't have to travel 6000 miles to be Christ's hand extended, it can be in a restaurant helping a startled waitress pick icecubes out of the rug. God doesn't ask for our ability or inability, he asks for our availability - I wasn't successful in this opportunity because I made myself unavailable when I decided to analyze rather than to trust Him and to act. I think as Christians, we do this a lot...I pray the Lord will bring more opportunities as I continue to work on this area of my life...let's keep our eyes open friends for moments to be Christ to those around us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
