For hidden weeks and unseen months I have been tending something on the inside. I have been growing something that no one else can see. The beginning stages may have had turmoil and upheaval, the temptation to surrender to exhaustion so real, but all the while when no one was watching, I was growing. And now, I'm starting to catch glimpses of that growth, in quiet moments when my heart gets still. So subtle I barely notice at first, but a single flutter can give me unexpected joy. There's life in me.
Read MoreOPHTHE - PT 4
Touch and see.
I'm blind until my fingers run along the edges and crevices of your strong hands and beautiful feet. I'm like that old beggar Bartemaeus until I touch you. I have to get close and feel, to touch before I see.
You have the skilled hands of a carpenter, the kind always hard at work. But not hardened.
And I think I still smell the perfume that washed your feet, yes this must be what the prophet meant when he exclaimed, "how beautiful!". I look up at your face with new understanding in my eyes.
"Surely you carry good news."
[Luke 24:39]
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This is the fourth of a 5 part mini blog series, fleshed out of a particular favorite writing session of mine. Each post is supposed to be short - a 2 minute read or less - and the goal is to cause you to to reflect less on how much is being said, and more to meditate on what is actually being said. Go and read the scripture passages that are referenced at the end. They will draw you into the story that's being told and give you perspective.
Ophthē is the Greek word for "appeared" or "was seen".
OPHTHE - PT 3
I didn't even have to ask.
You've got scars that you're not hiding. (I don't know anyone who's doing that.) You place your hands, open, on the table and I notice the way the light falls across your skin.
I recollect that you introduced yourself long ago by the name, I AM. And I'm trying to comprehend but I'm unsure if this is the same God from that mountain. For a second I see eons in the smile lines on your face as you beam at me and say,
"Here I am. Touch and see."
[Luke 24:39]
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This is the third of a 5 part mini blog series, fleshed out of a particular favorite writing session of mine. Each post is supposed to be short - a 2 minute read or less - and the goal is to cause you to to reflect less on how much is being said, and more to meditate on what is actually being said. Go and read the scripture passages that are referenced at the end. They will draw you into the story that's being told and give you perspective.
Ophthē is the Greek word for "appeared" or "was seen".
KNOWING HIS GOALS
Father, what is your goal for me?
This is a question that will be answered, and answered over again, in quiet moments with Him; in stillness, on soft days, when my heart is up against His chest. It's a question that's going to be worn down like my favorite dog-eared page in my favorite book. Marked with a 'forever-ness' that I don't quite grasp.
Read MoreOPHTHE - PT 2
I'm frightened and in disbelief. My heart distrusts that this is reality. There's no way you could do the things you do and still understand a frail human like me. Thoughts of ghosts and spirits and the intangible cross my mind.
Your friends told me that they once thought the same. Only then, you were walking on the water of a raging sea, not through walls. I guess I don't know how to reconcile the miraculous with your humanity.
With a start, I realize what I need. I look up and speak,
"Show me your hands and feet."
[Luke 24:37]
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This is the second of a 5 part mini blog series, fleshed out of a particular favorite writing session of mine. Each post is supposed to be short - a 2 minute read or less - and the goal is to cause you to to reflect less on how much is being said, and more to meditate on what is actually being said. Go and read the scripture passages that are referenced at the end. They will draw you into the story that's being told and give you perspective.
Ophthē is the Greek word for "appeared" or "was seen".
OPHTHE - PT 1
This is the first of a 5 part mini blog series, fleshed out of a particular favorite writing session of mine. Each post is supposed to be short - a 2 minute read or less - and the goal is to cause you to to reflect less on how much is being said, and more to meditate on what is actually being said. Go and read the scripture passages that are referenced at the end. They will draw you into the story that's being told and give you perspective.
Ophthē is the Greek word for "appeared" or "was seen".
We sit, facing each other. My arms crossed, your arms open. I'm aching for a brave soul to venture beyond this hard, closed-off heart of mine, but I'll never tell you that.
You don't need me to.
I'm hesitant, but curious, and despite trying not to, I'm hoping. Finally I let the words spill out.
"They tell me you can walk through walls."
[Luke 24:31]
DEATH DOESN'T GET TO WIN
I wrote this post on January 13th 2016. Last year had several hard goodbyes, one including my sweet grandma, and even as I reflect on my perspective that day I am blessed by the truth that God has defeated death.
Maybe you have had some battles appear to be lost to death recently. If so, take heart that everyone who is in Christ has been given new life, and that ultimately, death doesn't get to win.
Read MoreBORN INTO LIKENESS
The very first breath ever breathed on this earth was a shared one. The exhale of one meant the inhale of another. A new life began, matching the rhythm, breathing in tandem, with the creator. At first there was just molded clay, a bit of dirt, but then the extraordinary happened. God breathed.
Read MoreNOT BY MY OWN DESIGN
The fact that we exist at all should be the first hint that we are loved.
Sometimes we get so lost in our own heads, we’re busy building our own lives, and we forget that us being here wasn’t even our own idea. So often I try to plan out my life and make it be something amazing, but even then I’m operating on the premise that I had anything to do with me being born in the first place.
Read MoreWORTH THE WAVES
It's always a little harder to trust God outside of the boat.
See the story of Peter in Matthew 14:22-33.
We often find ourselves saying, "what the heck am I doing out here?" as we start to sink. And then when we look back up at Jesus we realize He's the reason we left the boat in the first place and that being closer to Him is always worth the waves.
Read MoreHE CAME
THE BEAUTY OF TOGETHER
Its beautiful, experiencing the love of God corporately. We each come in the room with our own burdens to lay down. We have tired eyes, broken hearts and broken bodies. Some barely have the strength to lift their eyes, others are hanging onto one verse for dear life. Others have learned to sing through the pain. On our own, we won't make it.
Read MoreMEDITATION: JOB CHAPTER 28
Even the most skilled miners and finders can only find minerals and bits of rock in all their caves and crevices. All dirt and worth nothing compared to the sort of treasure God hides.
"But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its worth and it is not found in the land of the living".
Read MoreI WILL BRING YOU BACK
Jacob:
He's leaving all he's ever known behind. He's also leaving behind some pretty big promises. He's supposed to inherit all that land, but now he only has a rock for a pillow. He's supposed to be a father of many generations, but now he's going to a foreign land where he know's no one. He's supposed to receive his forefather Abraham's blessing, but now he's an outcast from his own family.
But God says - "I will bring you back".
Read More