“What if we sang instead of asking? What if we took an hour a day, a day a week, a week a month, a month a year and worshiped instead of asking? What if we were people who were so sure of who was fighting for us that we stopped asking and sang, prayed out God's character, spoke out a verse and let the questions rest? What would my life look like? How would this change me? “
Read More“I have been afraid of pruning because I have allowed myself to believe the bad press God gets in our culture. I have been afraid because I have believed that God is cold, unfeeling, mean, cut throat and brutal. And in these times, in the times when God seems to be more mysterious in his workings, I hold onto what He told Moses about himself, "The LORD, the LORD is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands.." (Exodus 34:6-7) I believe it because this IS who he is.”
Read More“When we fix our eyes away from ourselves and our troubles and focus them on Jesus we see the one who gives us peace, the founder of our hope, who rules over all of heaven. We see the one who loves us just as we are, in this very moment, in all our desperation.”
Read More“When this all started a few weeks ago - I desperately wanted someone to blame and I frantically searched for the reasons this all happened. I wanted to know how I had taken such a wrong turn. How did I end up here? How had I exhausted my body so significantly that it needed a serious break? How could I let this happen? I should have been more aware, I should have been more on top of whatever it was that was happening.”
Read More“But we can’t give up. We have to continue going back, continue waiting, continue to trust that God will speak and will come again. We have to believe in the goodness of God even when we cannot see the evidence for it. We have to trust that He is who He says He is. “
Read More“But Jesus knows about the “stuff”. Whether or not we show Him, whether or not we try and clean our feet before we talk to Him. He knows. He knows all about the callouses and bruises on our skin, the deep cracks in our heels and the scars, and the dirt under our toenails. He knows about the smell of our feet and our imperfect bodies. He knows the same thing about our hearts, minds, and spirits. He knows about the things we believe make us unlovable. And He is trying to show us that He loves us even there. “
Read More“This is what happens when I practice resurrection. It spreads well beyond my own act and creates shalom. Things feel a little more whole and bellies a little less empty. It opens my children's hearts to the wonder of creation and most importantly - the joy of the Creator.”
Read More“Nouwen uses the image of a steam bath to describe the life of the Spirit within us. The only way to keep a steam bath hot is to keep the door shut and every time the door opens heat will escape and the fire will eventually go out if you are not careful. And so it with us- each time we speak we open the door to the Spirit’s inner fire and only through regular silence can you hope to stoke our fire.”
Read More"Over Easter I reached #1000 in my thankfulness journal. Around #800 - I found myself contemplating what would go in that future significant slot. I had a dog-eared journal filled with many precious moments and memories over the past year but this one number seemed significant. 1000."
Read More"Our little science project has been a good reminder to me that new life is both wondrous and messy, ugly at times. In 2 Corinthians, God tells Paul that His strength was made perfect in Paul’s weakness. Scripture points to the reality that as we walk faithfully through our own new birth into Christ-like people and face our own messiness with God (it must always be WITH God) - that we might just outwardly appear to others the way pregnant women do. Pregnant women, though in the throws of pain, discomfort and living in a body that feels a shadow of their former selves are stunningly beautiful. "
Read MoreThese voices and feelings of despair that we feel are in fact places God wants to be with us.
Read More"The problem, I have realized, about praying safe prayers is that it keeps God small. Small enough that I feel like I can control him. Small enough that He can neither surprise me or disappoint me. It keeps Him falsely manageable. It keeps God at bay and un-wonderful. Just a little distant but also weak. It keeps my relationship with him polite but not intimate. Safe but not exciting. Tidy but not messy and transformative. "
Read More"February. Am I right?!?!?!?!"
Read More"Instead of accusing Elijah...God feeds him. Instead of reasoning with him...God gives him something to drink. Instead of chastising Elijah...he keeps him safe while he sleeps. In this tender, raw, and exposed moment we see God's kindness so gently displayed. "
Read MoreI have always loved that the term "Ordinary Time" exists because that is what so much of life is - regular, normal, neither high nor low ....ordinary. The time when people ask what is new and your answer, "Oh nothing much."
Read MoreAnd we find this rest in God ALONE. We will find true, nourishing rest in no other place. This is a statement of truth and not a dream or an ideal. It is a hope but also a statement of fact.
Read More"It turns out that I have very few moments of measureable rest in my life. The app for my watch tells me almost every day, "You have almost no restful moments today. Stress consumes your body's resources. If you are stressed for long periods of time, you may become exhausted."
Read More"Jesus' strength and ability to bring God's promises to fruition in the world and in our own lives is not just a story of the past but a reality of today."
Read More"Maybe, like me, you are coming to these last few days before Christmas and finding yourself wishing this month had looked differently. Perhaps this month was more like a fast than a feast. I have good news for you and for me. This is why Jesus came."
Read More"Come, holy wind of God, over the mountains of our lives, I pray. Do not tiptoe or whisper, but roar, laugh, melt. Take over the town. Alter our plans. Breathe into us again the breath of life that is exhilarating, joyful and open to grace."~ Maxine Hancock
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