Oh, Be Careful

 Oh, be careful... The simple song came to my mind the other day. 
"Oh be careful little eyes what you see.. be careful little ears what you hear.. mouth what you say"

As a small child things that could be of significant damage to my ears and eyes were fairly limited. The radio station that was played on the bus ride to school was probaby the most ungodly thing to assualt my senses. Still, my innocence did not even have the mechanisms to comprehend what was being said.  A strong, God given conscience, and two loving parents who taught, guided, and sheltered, protected me from much of the possible pollution of my youngest years.
But today.. today, it is much different.  

Oh, be careful.

We live in a digital age.  Our brains are just beginning to grapple with the mass of information and content that is avaiable at the click of  button, or a simple spoken command.  Little devices so often clutched in our hands, contain more words and pictures and videos than the most expansive libraries could contain.  It is all just sitting there, waiting to be opened, explored, and interacted with.  We have the world at our fingertips.
I speak most specifically to my fellow females. 

Oh, be careful.

I am reminded of the women spoken about in second Timothy... silly women.. laden with sins... easily captivated by evil men.  And I wonder if this is not a tendancy for us... easily swayed in our emotions.. reading and feeling our way into all manner of things.  And, in this day and age, with a greater access to every conversation and persuasion under the sun.... 

Oh, be careful.

For me, the vast inter-webs are a place I go to most often when I am idle, unwinding, and wanting a break or distraction.  Losing myself in pins and profiles, everything else fades away, as I browse about so and so's life, or this recipe, or that decor idea.  And, these scrolling sessions are the more inconsequential of distractions.  What of all the political opinions, conspiracy theories, causes, and doctrinal persuasions... each sounding more convincing than the next.  Algorithms catch on, and platforms begin suggesting more and more content.. leading me deeper and deeper into whatever particular leaning I am curently pursuing. 
And it isnt long before, YES, that does makes sense. This person is probably right, I should care about this, I should be passionate about that. 

Too easily we can find ourselves completely caught up in things that we read, hear, and see.  We enter in a time of rest, with our gaurds down, and fall under the infuence of many different ideas, ideals, and notions before we even realize it.   We sit on our chairs like the dumbfounded frog, scrolling mindlessly, as the water is beginning to boil.

And, once I have been "awakened"... surely it is my responsibilty to persuade everyone else under the sound of my voice and influence to be of the same mind. 
Share. Spread. Preach. Advocate.
Deeper and deeper and deeper we can go... passion and fear and feeling all intertwined in our pursuit of various truths or lies.

Oh, be careful.

The causes and combinations that can grab us are endless.
Self-love mantras.  Geo-Political positions. Child trafficking. Climate Change.  Socialism. Marxism. Capitilism.  Conspiracy theories. Vaccinations. Black lives matter. All lives matter.  Equity. Equality.  "Justice".  Feminism.  Empowerment. Doctrine. Theology.

The people behind all of these pages and persuasions are not ill informed.  They know how to convince and impassion.  All of them leading with a sense of urgency, as if each issue is THE issue.. and if we dont stand up now, your children... the world... imagine.
If you love Jesus.. you would care about this. 
Their words have the accellerant for our emotional flames.

Oh, be careful.

 An age of digital accessability must be viewed through eyes and a heart filled with Godly discernment.  This is not to say that certain ideas and causes do not matter, but, the response and remedy must be tethered to The Word.  Without the guidance of Gods eternal truth, and His word, there is no remedy. Culture and politics and all of men's grandest ideas, do not hold the cure for societies ills.  It doesnt really matter what the experts say... what does God say?  

The only way we can know what God says is to be students of His word.  Read the Bible, the words are alive and living, study them.  Return to them day in and day out.  The Word has the answers to anything we could ever ask.  It may not be the answer that we want to hear, but the Bible stands as correct, and our wills and opinions must bend.  We are not afforded the priviledge of picking The Bible apart and lifting verses out of context to fit into our narrative.  We must learn to silence our clammering and stammering and say "Yes, Lord." Our families, children, husbands, friends, communities, and souls, will benifit from it. 

You want steel for your spine and strength for your days? Read the Bible!
Lets not be carried about with every wind of doctrine and opinion.. lets drop our anchors in The Word of God and stay there.

I have frequently mused on the unknown benifits that bygone believers enjoyed. 
Today when we want to understand something... google is our sounding board.  Dont understand verse?  Google does.  Wondering what to think about politcs and current events?  Google can help form your opinion!  A secular platform shaping so much of society today.  Certainly there can be benifits, and access to helpful commentary, but an undecerning eye can fall into any number of unbiblical persuasions.  

Let us remember the pattern set before us in scripture and church history. A pattern of  faithful men teaching faithful men, and men leading their wives and sons and daughters in the truth. A pattern of older women teaching younger women.  A pattern of churches and believers meeting together and rebuking, encouraging, and comforting, daily searching the scriptures.  This is the better way. 

Now more than ever it is time to return to the only ground that can never be shaken.  It's time, by the grace of God, to plant our feet on that solid rock.  The causes will come and go, changing and morphing day to day, but He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Men and women void of  Christ will always be chasing something to give thier lives meaning, let's run after something different.  We won't be loved, and liked, and lauded by this world, but thats not the glory we are seeking.  Afterall, unpopular and uncomfortable in the now, are much better than unbiblical in the end.

So, be careful little eyes, little ears, little mouths... your thoughts and words, and searching and scrolling, are not inconsequential.  Your children, your friends, an unbelieving world is watching.  

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3 

What we consume is going to have an impact.  

To The Redeemed

To the Redeemed.

Heads talking.. always talking. Neighbors. Family. Friends. Devices on walls and in hands and in cars, always talking. Constant bombardment on ears and eyes and minds. Believe this. Do this. This is right. This is wrong. Be outraged. Be aggrieved. Feel this, feel that. This matters. Look here.. care about this.  Fear, feel, fight.  Rights. You deserve this.. you should have that.

Everyone knows the truth.. yet we find it so hard it agree.

But there is one thing that all of humanity seems to inately know..  WE DESERVE.

This deservedness inflames such feelings within us.. yes, Yes we do.  And to the untrained ear and unsaved heart, we understand this dillusion.. but to us who are called, to us who are saved,
to the redeemed...

Tell Him... Tell Him, oh citizen, of your rights.  Shout, scream, post... tell Him how much you deserve.  Tell Him of your right to freedom, your right of assembly, your right to bear arms, your right to worship.   Lift your filthy rags toward Heaven and let His all seeing, all knowing eyes behold, and see, and realize, how much you deserve.  How you deserve health and wealth and goodness.  How you deserve people in power who carry your christian agenda and champion you.  Tell Him how you deserve laws and judges to protect you and ensure you never have to suffer like your Lord.  Tell Him who had no place to lay His head how you deserve comfort and tranquility and ease.  Look to His stripes, to His side where blood and water flowed.. Look upon the slain and resurrected Perfect God and Perfect Man and tell Him all that you deserve. 

Tell Him.. Tell Him, oh wife... lament and mourn and groan.  Tell Him how the one He joined you to is not sufficient.  Tell Him how you deserve better.  Tell Him how you want constant doting and love and affection.  Tell Him how you want more support and more care and a deeper connection.  Put your apple down and lift up your hands and cry out about how hard this calling is.   Oh daughter of Eve.... forget about the angry and resentful words and thoughts and actions that have poured forth from you, and tell your Soveriegn Lord how you deserve better.  Let the unlovely cry to be loved.

Tell Him... Tell Him, oh husband.. tighten your fist and grit your teeth.  Tell Him of the constant dripping under your roof...tell Him of the disrespect.. the lack of appreciation.  Shake that fist towards heaven where One sits who reached out and healed the ear of His captor.. Tell Him how she is not enough.  Rage, son of Adam... Tell Him how you toil and work and sweat.. tell Him how you deserve peace and quiet and calm. 

Tell Him.. Tell Him oh child of God... Kick and scream at the hardships and trials He allows in your life.  Do not be silent before Him who was led like a Lamb to the slaughter..  Tell Him of all you deserve.  Hold up your thimble full of good works and show Him how you deserve a sea without waves, a path without thorns.  Search the farthest reaches of your soul and show Him the goodness that comes from your own humanity.  Nevermind all of the anger, wrath, disobedience, immorality, ungratefulness and deceit... You deserve better.  Look to The One who was crushed under the weight of your sin and tell Him of all the injustice you face.

And when you have finished. Repent..  For, Your Holy God, He sits in Heaven and does as He pleases. (ps 115:3) He works all things according to the counsel of His will. (Eph 1:11) 

Visions of the twenty-four elders casting down their crowns... day and night throwing their rewards down at the feet of Him who deserves it all.  Cherubim and Seraphim cover their eyes and cover their feet.. daring not to even look at this Holy Holy Holy God.  They have an understanding of Who deserves what.

"All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one, to His own way; And the Lord has layed on Him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers in silent, So He opened not His mouth.  For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken." (Is 53:6-8)

How can we look to the cross, and to a Sinless Suffering Savior, saving our sinful selfish stinking selves... and still cry.. I DESERVE.  We cant.. when our eyes are fixed on Him we realize that He is ordering and allowing and working and all things are for our good and His glory. 

Turn off the talking boxes, and turn to Him and His word. Find peace and joy inexpressible in every situation and circumstance as long as you live.   There is not "my truth" and "your truth," there is His truth, and it is absolute.  Take a look at your rotting humanity and realize that all you really deserve is the everlasting burning wrath of God for eternity. And then, with this in mind, all the slight inconveniences we might face from day to day will be but tender mercies... drawing us closer to The Son.

Contentment

Contentment.. these days it seems to be an elusive slippery thing.  For many of us it comes and goes like the tides on the shore. 
When all is right in our worlds and we are pampered and pleased.. when the kids are well behaved and top of their class and your husband gets that coveted promotion.. when the smell of baking chocolate chip cookies wafts from the oven and you’re family and friends are coming over for an evening of hotdogs and laughter around the fire.. we think that’s it.  We sigh easily and Flesh throws his arm around our shoulders and says,
                “Haul that log over here and prop your weary feet up.  Ahh, much better. Isn’t this the life?! Look around, what more could you need or ask for?!”
You lean back and smile big at the stars overhead.. Flesh holds out an object in the darkness and you reach out and pull it in close.. wrapping your hands and heart and mind tight around this cup of contentment. Drinking it down deep your soul belly fills with the faux liquid. 

But what about next week or next month, when your teenage son rebels and insurance doesn’t cover the emergency root canal… what about when your husband brings home brussel sprouts instead of chocolate and you burn Sunday dinner. Where does that liquid that had just filled flow out too when your closest friend moves out of state and you don’t get a call back from that job interview?

Is contentment just like a high?  Does it come and go from day to day, hour to hour, depending on the air and environment that we are breathing in? Is it that heavier liquid that gets weighted down and settles at the bottom, as doubt, worry, fear, and the fight for control form layers above it?  Is the state of our hearts no more than an elementary science experiment? Where the liquids are all dumped in a jar.. and as long as our worlds and days are being rocked and shaken by excitement and activity contentment flows all through.. but when we are left sitting and alone, after all the dust settles and the last car pulls out of the drive-way, contentment disappears somewhere there on the bottom.. once again locked in by the layers above.
Is true contentment so easily lost?
Are the promises, and life made available through Christ hidden and mysterious?! ..slippery to hold on to.. Requiring a tight and unrelenting grip on our part? 
Is contentment an object to be attained or a Life to be received?

What if contentment could be as real and sure as a rock jutting out into the ocean.. unchanged by the unrelenting waves.  What if contentment for you and for me could be like that mountain stream.. always bubbling, flowing, and falling, but never extinguishing. 
Yeah, that brimming cup full that flesh handed you might feel really good in the moment.. but it doesn’t last.   That is a liquid surrounded by sides and a bottom.. there is no external source renewing and refilling.  Fleshly contentment requires doses, one cup every six hours, and best results are found if the doses are administered while the patient is surrounded by the people and things they love.

But Jesus.. He promises perfect peace, and joy and love unending, all the things that we endlessly search for in this world to give us that coveted contented soul.
The Bible says HE is The Vine. 
Unlike a cup full with the surface exposed, vines carry their life and their sustenance on the inside…
So when He {in}dwells and I abide.. those refreshing waters flow untouched, their surface unmarred by environmental circumstances..  For, they are incased in and flow through a Life that is undefeatable and impenetrable.  The waters of contentment that are found in Jesus Christ require the patient to rest, abide, and trust in The One who upholdeth all things. 

So, if you want to keep taking those glass fulls.. then that is your choice. But as for me, I long to drop to my knees beside that stream that ever flows and drink down its endless depths.  I believe that I have access to a contentment that cannot be touched by this world.  And I am in pursuit. 
I have not yet perfectly attained.. and some days the rain streaks these dirty windows and I sit in a quiet house and the layers start to settle. 
Some days I don’t fling open wide the door of my heart to allow Christ's life to flow.. and I get restless and depressed and down. Some days I look at lives around and see them sparkling and shining with excitement and I lay my head on the eager and open shoulder of Flesh and let him tell me how lucky everyone else is and how bad I’ve got it. 

But I know, and firmly believe that it does not have to be that way.  I believe that rain can fall outside while praises are being sung inside.  I believe that I can find endless satisfaction and ultimate contentment in Jesus Christ no matter what the day holds. I believe that I can walk through loss and lack and disappointment with a smile that engulfs my soul.  I believe Jesus did more than provide an abundant and amazing life for me in the here-after... I believe He has made a way for me to experience that even here in this sin-stained world.

So find that untainted water my soul, drink deep and be filled.. Your life, or should I say QUALITY of life, depends on it!

When God Uses Onions

Onions. They really aren’t anything special to look at… little round layers of white thick, wrapped in red and yellow thin. When supper requires several, they leave hands smelling and eyes stinging wet. When planted their green stems rise straight up from there home in the earth, strong and proud.  Fields of green, charming the eyes.  Lush life receiving rays.  As laundry is wrung and strung to receive those same rays, I often found my eyes glancing over to take in their green offering of beauty.  I anticipated the day they would be harvested.. to watch workers bend and unearth the gift.  But as weeks turned to months the tall green began to bend.  Vibrant stalks turning shades of brown as they drooped back to the dirt that had birthed them.  The fields of inspiration took on a hue altogether different, one of dilapidated-dying.  And then one morning I took my place at the rail to see backs bent in harvest. 
And God used ordinary onions to teach me an extraordinary truth.
You see, we humans, with our human eyes and human wisdom.. peer out into a world made with a God mouth and God eyes and God wisdom, and make judgments. 
We declare that which is blooming, that which is vibrant, and growing, and strong, to be beautiful and successful.  Days all sunshine and blue sky, circumstances tinted with rosy.. and we are soaring high in emotion.  The mountains appear all majestic and glorious.  Promotion, top scores, new houses, spouses who dote, abundance in income, perfect children…. It all tastes so sweet. Our steps seem to bounce with ease, heels springing up high.  Praises bubble up and out… we cry ‘GOD IS GOOD.”
And, Amen! He is!!
But what about when streaks of bright-hot lightning streak through our skies… and the wind brings in a storm.  When we glance up at that which had been light, and watch it dim as the clouds gather.  Frantic we run to close the windows… don’t allow that rain and pain to blow through.  Darkness has descended.. this cannot be good.  He lost his job, she failed, sickness, betrayal, kids who don’t listen, downsizing to afford. Journal pages lay with words scattered jagged, pain carving letters deep.  Our strength and endurance is waning.  We grope about lighting flesh candles… trying to bring light.  Words of doubt fly from lips, too which praise now seems foreign.  Our hopes and emotions lie like dirty rags on a worn-out floor. Every way our eyes turn.. everything seems to have a depressing brown hue. We only pray to ‘somehow’ make it through… blindly grasping at the grace which is said to be all-sufficient.  Pats on the back and knowing nods are our only encouragement on this tiresome trek through this seeming valley.
But what if we were on the mountain all along? 
When the clouds roll in where I live… it doesn’t change my location.  I still reside back that long lane at the top of the hill.  All that is hindered is the depth and distance that my flesh eyes can percieve.
And so, I am beginning to think that we have this all wrong.  And that maybe, like the onions… with flesh eyes all we see is the dilapidated dying leaves, when the real treasure.. the true gift.. that sought after prize lies hidden there within the dirt.
Ever feel like there is a lot of dying and dirt covering in your life? Ever look at a situation and see the leaves stooping heavy with rot? 
Maybe the treasure is just beneath, waiting for the proper time.  Soon you will push aside the brown that covers, to discover a round, ripe, reason for it all.
You see, we can’t see.. we are slow too understand and comprehend.  So often in the seemingly dark times in life… God is working, in covering, to craft and birth the miraculous and perfect. 
Lay the seed on top of the soil, where things are always bright, the sun always shining, and the skies always blue… and it will never grow. It takes planting and covering in dirt for real life to spring forth. 
We can’t see the forming and transforming in that hidden place. 
But, God sees.  And His wisdom designed and created it to be that way.
So maybe we.. like the ordinary onion.. need to be planted.. grown up in green, and allowed to wither in brown, for the extraordinary to be birthed inside of us.
Do we want a life of superficial and imagined growth… lying like a seed atop the soil, where everything is always sunny but nothing ever really changes?!
Or, do we want a deeper life?! ..To enter into the darkness and dying so we can witness the mighty workings of our Awesome God.
And when we say yes and embrace the withering required, only to discover what we always dreamed of lies just beneath.. just beyond….  Then, we will be able to say with all confidence that God is good, rain or shine.  We will then know, that though clouds swirl all around… just behind, lie the Glorious peaks, fashioned by our Gracious Creator.
Maybe the key to seeing isn’t changed eyes, or changed circumstances… but a changed mind.
Life look bleak? Situations and circumstances drooping… as the hue of dying spreads?
Wait! Hope! Something beautiful is coming!

Joy Water

Some days my day is like a dream come true… no matter the tasks that lie before me.. it looks all bliss.  The day is spent smiling and thanking.. my soul skipping along the shoreline of joy.  Droplets splashing up and running down.. clothes and skin wet with a happiness deep.  A happiness undeterred by a small mountain of laundry and dirty floors.  My soul splashing that liquid delight until everything I do is dripping. God seems so close.. thanks seems so natural.
And then other times… my soul looks around and all seems drought.. the reservoir that was just brimming with joy has evaporated to a mere handful. 
No dancing.. for fear of losing those droplets which soul-hands cup tight to preserve.  The horizon is bleak… no sunlight splitting the sky as it prepares to rise over the day.  All is clouded.. those kinds of clouds that don’t even grace with rain. The day spreads before me endless, drab. The sunshine shines bright without… but inside, Soul decide to pull out that old grey woolen sweater to keep off draft.
Soul-eyes dart… body turning this way and that.. finger poised to point, searching for the one who is to blame.  Somewhere, somehow, someone has blocked the source to this pool. 
And eyes always fall first on the Mr. who made me Mrs. …memory begins to unpack the list it so carefully preserves.  Page after page litters the ground as I am reminded of every wrong, every hurt. 
Conclusion drawn, I open the tap and let water run into the pan as I prepare our morning coffee.  And I also open the tap inside, love and appreciation drain dry… breakfast served with eyes downcast and lips carefully placed in a pout. He glances up wondering at the change that has rolled in… the clouds showing from behind eyelids.  This morning… self service.
By the time he leaves for work, I have successfully invited misery to come and abide among us.  And he slithers in.. delighted at the welcome. 
As the gate locks behind him, I flop on the bed… laundry looking like Everest sitting on my floor.  And I hadn’t noticed before… but it is all looking so old and worn. 
I wash, mechanically pouring soap, scrubbing, rinsing, hanging… it seems the blame bearer didn’t bear away the clouds with him… they still hang heavy. 
Soul with hands still cupped, turns again…. Circumstance, Situation, Position.
Imagine how it would be if they all would just change.  Surely then the water could again flow unhindered.
The cycle gets monotonous. Week after week filled with gaping holes… days spent toiling in frustration.  The Mr. tells a joke and elbows my ribs… asking for the smile to show. 
But misery flicks forked tongue from his place on the floor…
Who is to blame?  Who controls the levels of this joy-water? Where is the source?

These days the culture begs us to be real.. raw.  Lets all admit it… life really is the doldrums. Its unavoidable.  And the more real and honest we can be about our failures and shortcomings and humdrums, the louder the applause.  Patting each other’s backs as we sit in the barnyard muck.
But is this the truest reality to be had? Is that all?
The best we can do is to all admit how hard life is? ..and look out across the desert.. hands held in solidarity??
Could there be more?

Soul-eyes glance towards the horizon… maybe the answer lies there.  Soul-hands stuff themselves deep within the grey wool sweater wrapped round, as the journey across the barren begins.  Fingers lock around something metal, cold.  A key, what is it doing here? This sweater is kept safe… always preserved for days like this.  Who could have slipped a key into this pocket deep? 
The journey seems long and tedious… it takes all Soul’s effort to put one foot in front of the other… sitting on the shore had seemed so much easier.  This is taking effort. 
But without effort the purpose of the key would have remained a mystery.  Soul could have never discovered the walls that held joy-water captive…
You see, there are doors on that dam. Ingratitude, comparison, pride, and jealousy shutting them tight.  The joy-water… the presence of God is stopped.. the flow cut off.
 A choice bringing drought, and a choice again allowing refreshment to flow.

This misery.. these clouds… this lack of joy and peace and God-nearness, cannot be blamed on another.   I alone hold that key. 
The saturation I experience in my days hinges on my choice.
Joy-water can be an ever present reality if I want.
I read of persecuted Paul… it seems he had springs unceasing.  He chose Christ… He chose thanks… He knew His end would be glory forever.  These temporal things were not allowed to deter his focus.
And aren’t we encouraged to run this life-race looking unto Jesus who for JOY, endured?!
Jesus who saw mocking. Jesus who saw scourging. Jesus who saw crushing, and cutting off, and death.
And, Jesus who saw beyond that all.

What am I going to see today? Sure there is laundry high, dishes dirty, babies sick, bills looming, and children needy. But is that all I will choose to see?  Will I stop there and let the clouds begin to form as water recedes?
Look UP… look higher… See Him all glorious.  Breathe deep His grace as you begin another day on this planet that is quickly passing.
[Don’t allow the temporal to steal a gaze eternal.]
We can have souls sitting sullen, or souls dancing in delight.
The choice is ours…. Am I going to allow the joy-water to flow today?

Whom shall we Serve?

Flip on the television to find painted faces passionately sharing and declaring….
     ISIS has done it again, heads rolling red on beaches in the Middle East…  Raping innocence and sewing it back together…. daughters and sisters and mothers for sale.
     Babies being torn from the warmth and protection of their mother, cut up, and shipped off for “research.”  Babies that can feel… babies developed and full of potential.. humans a unique destiny to fulfill in this world being dissected.
     Little boys, limp and lifeless riding the waves to find their rest on the beach.  Boats full of helpless and hopeless cries.  Souls searching for a refuge from pain and turmoil and chaos.
     Palestine and Israel trading flying fire that leaves blood running and empty seats at the supper table.
     Men and women and children made by the hand of the Master.  Skin tone appearing different to the eye, all beautiful and unique, Created with CARE and THOUGHT.  ….Feeling less. And Rioting. And fighting. And slaying with their tongue. And toppling the cars of their countries defenders.
     Little boys and little girls being raised with no concrete in the foundation of their lives and identities.  Filled with uncertainty.. not hearing from parents and teachers and peers that they are to walk in their GOD given femininity or masculinity.  Left wondering whether they want to be called Jim or Sally.
     Parents, tipping the bottle up to catch that last drop of slow death.. and desiring to create with the ones they created.. turning members that were meant to console into instruments of pain.. missing meals, plays, programs, and those important games because of the love of that elusive green. The two who created the little ones who fill their home, abandoning and forsaking.
Obama and Trump and Clinton and Carson and Jubilee and Cord.
Christians being killed. Jews being killed. Arabs being killed. 

 {  Famine. War. Starvation. Slavery. Injustice. }
 
But you know what I just read? 
I read of a people steeped in sin.  Completely given to themselves.  Legs flying fast, as they chase after satisfaction to stuff deep into the hole in their heart created for The Creator. 
And then I read of a vision of the throne and the elders and the four-living creatures… and there, in their midst, stands A LAMB, as if it had been slain. 
And beloved, is HAS been slain. 
It’s precious life flows red through all of time… beckoning us to come and be drenched in its depths and step out whiter than the snow that falls soft.
 
There is the sound of keys ringing through the corridors… and we rise from our position on the floor and drag our chains to the door… fingers, wet with filth, wrap themselves around the bars.. faces marked and marred by tears and pain and hopelessness, press tight to see who comes… ALL BRILLIANT He is.. and as he passes each cell, ears that have only heard whispered lies, hear the sound of doors long shut, flinging open.. and chains falling. 
Cries of triumph! Voices singing praise!!
And He is coming… and HAS come for you. 
An invitation and opportunity for a life in the LIGHT.

And will this just become another story?  Something that tickles our ears and causes us to nod our head as we turn back to the headlines?! 
Is WONDER and AWE and FEAR that used to be reserved for our Savior going to be given to another?
Will we allow ourselves to tremble at events that take place on this globe and forget and forsake the One who BREATHED galaxies.. and holds them in the hollow of His hands?

“The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.”  Psalm 46:6

The battle for affection and attention of heart, soul, and mind, is real.
flanking us on the left are soldiers clothed dark… eager to establish fleshly fear and anxiety… spreading doctrines of negativity and foreboding.  They have mouths full of words and minds full of ideas.. but execution and solution is nowhere to be found.
BUT FIX YOUR EYES AHEAD… see them coming, shining all glorious.  Their Leader with arms spread wide, revealing the love scars in His hands. Can you hear their unified invitation?? Promises of LIFE and liberty, wisdom and counsel.  Their ranks move in Holy fear…. And carry within their very beings, The solution.  Clothed, armed, strengthened, and filled, they follow their King… songs of victory already on their lips.

Satan is real, his demons actual, and their combined affect realized.
People are hurting and dying. 
They know his darkness in a very real way… we The Church will not be of any help by joining in his exaltation by discussing his work and focusing on his affects.
LIGHT expels darkness.. spiritually and physically.

God give me a heart that will beat faster for You.  A mind that will be consumed and distracted and obsessed with You.. and Your word.
May fear, and awe, and wonder be saved for Your worship.

And then..
with eyes fixed on You, a heart filled with love found in you, and a mind overtaken with Your truth..
 maybe THEN I can go to them.. ..and invite them to come, stand at the bars, and HEAR you coming down the corridor.. that they may experience that weight falling.. and step out into the Reality of Freedom in You.

let us Consider >>>> CHRIST JESUS.

For Dad

He was and is, simply the best.
Perfect? No. ..And willing to admit it. 
There were seasons in life where he was less appreciated than others… but looking back, I see all bliss. My memory reminds me of only his strengths.
It’s hard to even know where to start, or what to say. 
The impact that he had and continues to have on my life is monumental.  I wouldn’t be half the woman I am today is it wasn’t for the man that I call Dad being in my life. 
When we talk about top Dads… this guy is the tip of that top… He is the cream of the crop.  If dads were to be compared to deserts… he would be a molten chocolate cake with a scoop of ice-cream slowly melting on the side…  the warm, dark, chocolatey-goodness getting all mixed up with cool creamy vanilla… you know, the one that makes you take tiny bites so you can linger a little longer.
He is the kind of man that shapes his generations unknowingly, through years of words and actions and time-spent. 
A dad that always had a knee ready for the little girl that had fallen in play.  His work-roughened hand would dry the tears and he would tuck me in close, his beard was tickling my face, until the sobs subsided.  Someone who could come home from a hard day on the farm to wrestle with brothers on the dining room floor, or revive his tired bones to play a game of knock-out. 
I always anticipated the sound of his tires on the gravel! There was a certain security that always came with his presence.. A leap in my spirit at the thought of fun that was to be had. 
He had a routine… after taking his shoes off, his first agenda was to find his dearest wife (my mom) and give her a kiss.  I never remember a day when I did not see love between my parents, and it built a sure foundation in my life from a very young age.  Commitment and steadfast-staying love was exemplified, and I took a firm stand upon the belief that it would always be that way. 
There was never a doubt… and for a little girl.. That is HUGE!
Sure there were days when we saw tears run down her face.. And saw him busy himself in the garage.. But sooner or later I would look out the window to see them talking on the porch.  At night we would fall asleep to sound of laughter floating like music through the floorboards from downstairs. After God, my mom is first to him.  His best friend, his sounding board, his closest confidant.  There weren’t nights-out with the boys or weekend fishing trips.. Instead there were grocery trips with just the two of them.. And walks in the evening.. And discussions in the kitchen that kids weren’t invited to. 
He showed us that she mattered.. That she had priority.
Every night, everyone scrubbed from a day of play or work, we sat in the circle of chairs in the living room and listened to him read The Word.  Chapter by chapter, year after year, our minds created files about {who} beget {whom}, and blood flowing from bulls and goats.. And how that wasn’t sufficient so---Immanuel, God with us.   Then we would all kneel and listen as he talked to his God… sometimes the amen leaving mouths open with the sounds of sleep. 
There was always church on Sunday.  Lots of girls got to take paper and pens in their purses… but all I had was a hymn book and bible. I never thought it was fair.  But now I say thank-you for that discipline of soul.  Wisdom had taught him that little ears and eyes absorb far more than is accredited to them.  How blessed I was and am.. To not only hear of the Power of the Cross… but to see it lived out by the two in whose care I was entrusted.
He was always there, present, and participating in my young life. Supper was around a table.. Food and communication and love filling soul and stomach.  WE WERE TOGETHER.
And we laughed.. And we still laugh.  A lot! Life was not easy.. Finances were often tight.. And there was stress from work and life… but we learned to take it easy.  There were corny jokes… and handstands in the dining room.. And antics at Walmart.. And bananas in shoes. It kept life Alive.
He knew how to have a good time and how to discipline a soul that needed direction.  One thing I so appreciate about him is the commitment he had to helping us learn right from wrong.  There were consequences for actions.  We didn’t always get what we wanted, but we got what we needed!  And when there is a father that is disciplined enough to discipline… souls are saved from destruction.
My dad raised a family that loves Jesus, and serves Him with their lives… a daughter who knew what to wait for in a man, and sons who know how to love their wives.  He might not have bank accounts and houses and property to bequeath us when he leaves… he will leave an example.  Padded pockets have never changed generations.. But, purity of heart. 
He doesn’t take his place in the front of rooms and crowds… that has never been his thing. 
He doesn’t chase after recognition and prestige and worldly applause…
For he is far too busy chasing after his God.
He taught us that service is the greatest thing.
Instead of spending Saturdays at the stadium or office… he could be found in the yard… or garage.. or at Marsh, taking his two elderly aunties shopping.  In the winter we would all pile in the van and go shovel driveways and sidewalks, so that grandpas and grandmas could stay safe and warm. 

And that my friends…. Is what we need more of.
We need more fathers.  Dads committed to the discipline and discipleship of their children’s souls.  Dads who take time to pray and read The Word and discuss the things of God.
We need more fathers.  Men are committed to understanding what it is to learn and love and nurture and give from their God.

If we want strong churches.. We need strong families!

We need men who are committed to Christ-given masculinity.  Men of valor, courage, honor, and strength.
We need women who are seeking the fullness of their Christ-built femininity. Women who are gracious, and giving, and compassionate, and kind.
We need Husbands given to love; and wives committed to respect.
We need fathers who are willing to lay aside their suit of self and put time, and energy, and TIME into their families.
We need mothers who will sing praises to their God as they change dirty diapers and clean the floor and wash the dishes.
Households inspired and shaped and led by The Word and The Spirit.

Happy Early Birthday Dad!!  I couldn’t have asked for better.