The Feast of GOD

Hummm… the jet engines send me further into the deep blue of night. Flight attendants bustle and I am amused by the two technical men behind me. My seat partner is deep into her summertime novel and smiles a knowing glance as I stifle a yawn..

*Sigh*

..all this cramped air. I nibble my cinnamon biscotti to sweeten the blithe pungent roast of coffee, and there it is in the twenty-fifth chapter of Isaiah: this exciting dimension of now, that it is about God bringing glory to Himself and us trusting that salvation.

Cities of ruthless nations will revere You. For You have been a defense for the helpless,

A defense for the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat..

The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,

And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

The LORD has spoken. Death gone. And HE is that feast. God invites us to feast. The flesh and blood, for all people and death swallowed up, and all these tears wiped away by the hand of God. Because He declares it so. The Lord, HE is God.

And it will be said in that day, ”Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation (verse 9).

And so I know. Again. But more this time. WOW-ed. GOD IS full of Awe, grand awe. Our waiting is nothing in light of HIS saving. Because HE is God. If nothing else proved in my life I want to say, “Wow GOD”. As worship and as testimony.

God is the Best. So we are glad. And we are in Him; in His salvation.

So as I peer through the misty fog and blinking landing lights, I reiterate the lesson; HE IS my God! So.. I am not. But HE is. HE is the one bringing salvation. It is His Salvation. Ours because He gives it to us in giving Himself.

Yes, “I AM”.  So I can declare with Isaiah,

O LORD, You are my God ; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name ; For You have worked wonders! (verse 1)

Disciples, Part II

Matthew 10 Instructions to Disciples

• Go preach, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 
• We need to be wise, not violent. 
• We are as sheep in the midst of wolves. (If we look only at temporary things, we will feel hopeless and maybe even silly.)
• Men will take advantage of and betray us. 
• The world will hate us because of Jesus. 
• Fear only Him Who destroys both body and soul in hell. 
• God misses no minute detail.  
• If we claim Him, He claims us. 
• Jesus brought a sword, and it divides asunder.

The Tender Mercies of Our God

There is something so tender and humbling about our experience of God.

“Behold, we count them happy which endure.

You have heard of the patience of Job,

and have seen the end (purpose) of the LORD;

that the LORD is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” (James 5:11)

When going on looks hard, look back, and remember. The Lord is trustworthy. How many distresses has he brought you through?

Thoughts Today

It is difficult to sort through feelings, but I want to remember these times. Times of waiting and much angst in the background. These times of loneliness coupled with adapting to another new place with exciting new people. I love it. These experiences have stretched me, made me gasp and long for deeper communion with God. They expose my lack of self-motivation. I preferred solitude, then I loathed it, now I come to savor it again.

There is so much loveliness in the real, practical disciplines of the Spirit. I have never mastered them, but He has Mastered me. There is contentment, in either abundance or emptiness. This is the context we exclaim “I can do all things through Him Who gives me strength!” My circumstances are good instructors, but it is my experience of Father in this- and this- situation. Lean on the Spirit to do the gospel imperatives. It is rather important and humbling to remember how far, and in what ways He carries us. Anxiety says “We’re all gonna die!” Faith says “Yeah, but My Father has resurrection power!”

What is it that gives me hope for the future? This is the posted note I am pondering. I know the Truth, but why does it take so long to soak into our hearts? At various given moments my hope can be in other points of time. I have Hope for the future because I have Hope today.

My husband and I are at peace about the future, but these tangible things are unsettled. We find comfort in the fact that though we plan our way, the Lord directs our steps. It is exciting to dream what to do with these lives and these wild possibilities. We have our wants, but so much more a firm knowledge that His will is the best, and that our best life is not now. It is that expansive, eternal life we are living in Christ, or rather, He is living in us.

Pondering with degrees of awe:
How does God take the little things I am doing today and make them matter, for His glory?

How Can I Keep From Singing?

My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth's lamentation,

I catch the sweet, though far-off hymn

that hails a new creation

Through all the tumult and the strife,

I hear that music ringing.

It finds an echo in my soul.

How can I keep from singing?

No storm can shake my inmost calm

while to that Rock I'm clinging.

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

What though my joys and comforts die?

I know my Savior liveth.

What though the darkness gather round?

Songs in the night He giveth.

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

a fountain ever springing!

All things are mine since I am His!

How can I keep from singing?

Robert Lowry

Free Verse of the Will

Whether or not our wills are free, they are ours, and they are weak.
Stubbornness is our only power of will.
Of whatever use our wills are to us,
They rarely affect much good to our souls.

Of what do we wish our wills were free?
Of what nature are they? We were glorious,
But we are wrecked glory,
And there is no boasting there.

The will to do good is present with me,
But how to perform?
Sin governs against the law of my mind,
Flesh fighting a willing spirit

But thanks be to the Deliverer,
Who cried “Not this will,
But, Yours, LORD!”
Your desires, intentions, Your fire.

And He gave us power to be sons of God
not of the will of the flesh
nor of the will of man
but of GOD.

Romans 7, John 1:12-13, Matthew 26:39-42

The Life of Disciples

Jesus calls us to deny everything else to be His disciple. Nothing compares to the privilege of learning from God Himself. All my thoughts and energy are upon my Master. Nothing else can monopolize my time. Do I want to know Jesus enough that nothing in this world distracts me?

"So likewise, whosoever of he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33).

Sometimes I list my priorities with God first, followed by the sundry duties of life. Maybe it is more correct to rate Him as my only priority, with all other duties and obligations fulfilled in that one pursuit. As a way of life instead of another space on the list. 

          1. Following hard after my Father, (and because of this)
                   a. be a good wife, mother, daughter, friend, sister-in-Christ, etc 

because Jesus says that loving my neighbor is very much like loving God (the greatest commandment). 

We have responsibility to all people, whether to continue discipleship with other believers, or call unbelievers into it. Christ is the only Master. “I am the vine, you are the branches. Apart from Me, you can do nothing”. Without Him, we really are helpless. Anything my flesh aspires will rot or burn. In Him, even the gift of a glass of water is rewarded. 

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26-27).

If anything else in my heart could call me away from Christ, I am not worthy to be His disciple. This is sober business, brothers and sisters. Is He all I desire? Have I tasted and seen that He is good? He does not need flattery, if I do not know my need for Him, I am not one of His. This is how I know that I know Him, when I lay claim to nothing else. This is a hard calling, but He will complete His good work. His purpose is to bring many sons to glory. And is it unreasonable of Him? He is only removing the desires for these things so we will not be disappointed. In time, all these, our father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters, and, yes, our own lives, will be taken away. And what will we lose? Nothing really, we are heirs of God!

"The disciple is not above his master: but everyone that is perfect shall be as his master" (Luke 6:40).

The Business of Writing Words

Writing is sober business. Are my thoughts worth sharing?

Do my words speak life or death? Do they teach the ones who listen? Do they comfort the feeble-minded? Warn the unruly? May I never speak an empty word.

Writing is much like cooking. I use the raw ingredients of words, season them with grace, and present them to the partakers. I want you to savor the idea, to wince at the peppery truth, to delight in the harmony of flavors. I want you to taste and see that He is good. I want to lay out the cloth napkins of love and invite you to my table so you know you are welcome at His.

I wish to compose and garnish these words in a way that says Friend, you must listen! Do not stop with my words. You will be hungry for other meals, for novelties and sustenance. Go on, search the libraries of truth, but do not pass by the stories written on hearts, the ones too raw to scratch out in ink. There is a Word too supreme, too awesome, and much too enjoyable to miss. This Word is etched on hearts of flesh. It is printed on paper and shouted in the heavens.. Oh, don’t miss Him. The words, the bread and wine, the milk and honey, they all exist for Him and because of Him.

So I will put pen to paper and cursor to line, only because He sees, and I want to bear witness.

A Beautiful Day at the Coast

This was many weeks ago, but it is always fun to share photos. 

Back in January, when hills were still green. 

Pretty shell, glistening in the sun.

Notice the pattern in the sand, tide receding.

Gorgeous blue sky, with airplane trails.

There is something so comforting about power under control. 

Waves breaking on a shoreline. A flaming pile of wood in a fireplace.

Isn't that what meekness is, strength under control?

Maybe I do not understand the beauty of self-control, temperance in the Spirit. 

Pink Camilla.

Fragrant Angel Trumpet.

Hello!

Rejoicing in Mercy

Many of the Psalms howl for judgment and sometimes I cringe because they seem unorthodox. But the beautiful thing is David implored God to act, because His holy name was disgraced. The world is full of injustice and David knew vengeance only belongs to the Lord. Sin needs dealt with and only God has the right and the power to accomplish anything. He Himself is Just and the Justifier (Romans 3:26).

How does "mercy rejoice in judgment"?  Even in the ways God tells us to judge, we must show mercy. Mercy is not absence of judgment, but application of it. Our Father did not choose to ignore our sins but to do away with them in Christ .  "Judgment will be merciless to the one who has shown no mercy..." (James 2:13).

Jesus values mercy more than sacrifice. Are we the same? Do I rejoice in the parable of the vineyard workers whom all received the same payment at the end of the day? Do I identify with the elder brother of the prodigal son, maybe feeling insulted? In the issue of judging or not judging people, do we see the preciousness of the cross? We must always remember the cost of grace while demonstrating it. The church must grieve with Christ over the seriousness of disobedience. What does grace demand of us? Grace is not power to continue sinning!

"Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy"! (Matthew 5:7). 

Wisdom in Proverbs

If you seek understanding like hidden treasure,

You will find the knowledge of God

But fools despise wisdom and instruction

There is no fear of God before their eyes.

I called and you refused

I stretched out My Hand and no one paid attention

You neglected my counsel

And mocked my instruction

If you turn at My reproof,

Behold, I will pour out My Spirit on you

I will make My WORD known to you

But no one understands, no one seeks after God

They spurned all My reproof

And would not accept My counsel

So they shall eat the fruit of their own way

And be smothered by their devices

I will laugh at your calamity
I will mock you when your dread comes

I will not answer when you call

Because you hate knowledge

How long will naive ones delight in being simple-minded?

How long will scoffers delight in scoffing?

How long will fools hate knowledge?

The waywardness of the naive will kill them

And the complacency of fools will destroy them

Because they did not choose to fear GOD.

Seek the LORD while He may be found;

Call upon Him while He is near;

Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts

Let him return to the LORD,

That He may have compassion on him

Let him return to our GOD

For He will abundantly pardon

A wise man will hear and increase in learning

A man of understanding will acquire wise counsel

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Romans 3:11,18

Proverbs 1:5-7; 2:22-32

Isaiah 55:6-7

Selfless Liberty

"Almost every contemporary proposal to bring freedom into the church is simply a proposal to bring tyranny into the world" (G.K. Chesterton)

Theoretical argument says these liberties are not sins, but God says what ever is not of faith is sin. The person who proceeds without faith is a sinner. So blind faith is not faith at all. Faith is acting on principles we understand by living our life in the fear of God. Accordingly, we should not live for ideals outside God's revealed Word. These things weigh us down, make us tired for the race.

Extra-Biblical liberties are almost always about things, more doing, more about ourselves, evenly nobly enough, about what we are accomplishing in God's kingdom. We can die for others, cast out devils, and end world hunger, but we must do these things with His heart and His permission. Any arbitrary human use of power is cruelty. People are either enchanted or disgusted by it. In either case, no one is free from serving themselves.

The kingdom of heaven flourishes when men lay their lives down. Forgiveness moved by love is the chief power of the church, the ministry of reconciliation.

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things pass away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, Who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

It is ludicrous to invent superior ideals for God's church. Forgiveness requires humility. Only when we see God, are we humbled. Humility does not demand liberty, rather it pursues the fulfillment of God promises. God has all glory whether or not we give it to Him. But we can share that glory. He is the glory in the church and the church finds glory in obeying her head.

There & Back Again.

(The abridged version)

One day, not many weeks ago, we put all our things in the car (again) 

and drove to the other side of the United States (again).

A bridge in Baton Rouge. And, yes band-aids drying on the dash.

A generous two inches of water sloshing in the back seat tends to create many wet items.

And a disgruntled transmission.

Many majestic protruding buildings of Dallas.

Funky-cool conservatory-style building of Dallas

Bridge in Dallas. I thought for an horrifying moment we drove to St. Louis.

Intersection somewhere between Dallas and Amarillo.

Cadillac Ranch,

Spray paint graffiti!

Like, in the mud, on cars.

And, quite naturally, we had to sample the local brew.

mmm darkside skittles...

It's a sign! I am sure of it!

Many more miles of brush and sky and road and him and I....

THEN. A giant crack in the earth!

A GORGEous, breathtaking one.

a.k.a. The Grand Canyon

And people are actually dull-witted enough to believe the Colorado River is the master.

Unbelievable.

Then it was all over.

We drove several more hours, spent a morning apartment shopping, and unloaded all our belongings-thanks to Dad and Mom F. 

Sunday

We went exploring Sunday afternoon. 

It was our anniversary and I wanted to see more of Miami. 

We drove down to the design district. No galleries were open and the streets were quiet. 

Wynwood Walls is a small graffiti park betwixt two cafes. 

It was fun to meander through the paintings and guess what the artist wanted to express. 

Most of the art was not signed so I do not know to whom credit is due.

This was hilarious.

He rolled her across the lawn whilst she squealed with delight 

and, I suspect, some measure of terror. 

We visited this swell, nerdy coffee shop, Panther Coffee. They roast their own beans in store, and have every single coffee-brewing gadget my exploding mind could imagine. Their cold brew was exceptional. My husband had a latte with real vanilla syrup. I then realized not only how pathetic is Starbuck's coffee, but how much sugar they use. I digress, but that was good coffee. You have my recommendation. 

. . .

Then we went to a gas station in Coconut Grove. We went inside this same gas station and there was a wine cellar and a superb little tapas restaurant. The doctor my husband is working with recommended it. We shared Ensalada Rusa (Russian salad), Chorizo Tentación (a Spanish chorizo, blood sausage, and botifarra dish), and Empanada de Langosta (spicy lobster).

We had a grand time. The morning worship service was great, got to witness a child dedication and all the women received roses. "Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised" (Proverbs 31:30).

At Home

The gorgeous sunset as seen from Harding Avenue, Miami Beach. 

Florida is our home now. Apparently, next month it will be Bakersfield. God's dreams are always biggest and best. He arranges the strangest detours. Usually it is for our protection, but what are the worst case scenarios? Death or famine, sickness or sorrow, temptation or distress? There really is not a worst case speculation for the one who loves God. In all these things, we are more than conquerors because He still loves! If His love is guaranteed, then my heart is at rest; any place my body may be is in the very presence of God. Oh how He loves us!

"Irreplaceable" Synopsis

Focus on the Family's movie Irreplaceable excellently portrayed our need to fight not only for the family unit, but it being redeemed. Skewed understandings of how sex, marriage, parenting and children correlate are a pervading problem. Focus on the Family, thankfully does not focus too much on the perfect family, but the real Savior. We must esteem God's values as most precious and worth sacrifice. He gave us these human interactions as display of His nature. Want to get an idea of His love? Look at the tenderness in a mother's touch, the strength of a father's character, the commitment of marriage- love unconditional. One cannot deface a master painting without consequence. 


Creator God designed and it is beautiful. But it looks like failure: adultery and divorce, abuse and abortion stare us in the face everyday. All our relationships stink of self-interest and rebellion. The fundamental problem with ideals is executing them with our deceitful hearts that never tend toward truth. Without seeing Jesus in all our relationships, they fail. Truth must take hold of our hearts and quite literally climb down inside us and overhaul the whole system. There will always be miserable, hurtful relationships on earth, but for the one who sees God every situation is another sighting of Him. God has impossible ideals for the family; that is why He comes and does the dying and forgiving and loving for us.
See the preview here:

"Extol Him Who rides on the clouds, by His Name Yah, and rejoice before Him. A Father of the fatherless, a Defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land" (Psalm 68:4-6).

So for the one who hates Christian ideals: I am sorry that we spend more energy defending positions than sacrificing and being misunderstood. We can live with your disgust and scorn, it helps us identify with Christ but know that we are His body and He feels every insult and denial of His goodness. One day you will see God and know He answers to no one and you have no rebuttal because He is perfectly good. Everything we need to know about Him is demonstrated in Christ and He is awesome.

My Bucket List

1. learn to play the piano
2. read the Bible chronologically in its entirety
3. see the sunrise over the Mediterranean
4. attend a Piano Guys concert
5. visit church history places in Europe
6. sleep in a castle
7. have some sweet kiddos
8. OWN my faith
9. fall madly in love
10. go kayaking again
11. take a traditional photography class
12. to witness the return of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior!
13. go sailing
14. read the LOTR trilogy
15. visit a spa
16. ride an hot air balloon
17. attend a symphony orchestra
18. fillet a fish
19. visit Westminster Abbey
20. stay at a bed and breakfast
21. sleep on the beach
22. float in the Dead Sea
23. visit the Eastern Hemisphere
24. master soufflé
25. picnic on a seaside cliff
26. learn fresco painting
27. learn another language (working on Spanish)
28. take up oil painting
29. go camping with my husband
30. keep a proper herb garden alive
31. enhance my math skills
32. continue memorizing Bible chapters
33. can salsa again
34. smock a baby girl's dress
35. maintain a crazy-organized desk & calendar
36. make Beef Wellington
37. be brave

Ambiguity of Language

This book.

It is a fun read in a my brain-feels-like-mush sort of way. Hitchings quote to ruminate, "All of us, besides using language, comment on it, and we complain about others' usage far more than we applaud it. Where language is concerned, some are engineers, but more of us are doctors" (p11).

I have several agreements and arguments but I will take my seat as someone who has read all of 23 pages.

WORD OF THE MOMENT:
swev.en [swev-uh n] Noun. A vision, dream
Origin: Old English swefn, akin to Old Norse sofa to sleep, Latin somnus, Greek hypnos sleep