In His Whisper

There’s a saying we have in Florida to the effect of “If you don’t like the weather, give it half an hour.” That being said, with Easter around the corner we’re still in the season of the Snowbirds. (Snowbirds = retirees that migrate south for the winter and leave when the plumbagos start to bloom.)

It rained yesterday, then it didn’t, then it did again. Snowbirds make driving during ANY kind of weather more “interesting” but when it rains, grab your popcorn buckets folks. You’ll be there for a while. You also have to make sure you’re more in tune with your surroundings while driving in those conditions. They’re intense!

The two littlest Littles and I were out and about in it running a few errands. Not exactly my idea of a good time. The Smash was a fussbucket and G was antagonizing him. Praise the Lord for squeezy applesauces!!! Ahhh, silence. I admit, moments like this I have to reallllllly focus if I want to hear His whisper. But He is always there to talk.

As I rolled up to a stopped intersection I saw a crusty old bumper sticker on the station wagon in front of me. It read “I’m so gay I can’t even drive straight.” Ok, so I may have chuckled out loud, just a little. The sedan next to it had one of those ‘Baby on Board’ signs. The gas guzzler beside me had a stick family of a dad, mom, three girls, four dogs, two cats, and a goldfish. No, I am NOT making this up. Three very different decals. Three very different messages. All human. As I sat there waiting for the light to turn green, I tried to relate to all three of those individuals. We are all uniquely and beautifully made, we all have things in life that we choose as symbols/labels that we identify with.

It got me thinking… If my HEART had a witty one-line sticker slapped on it for the world to see, to identify with, what would it say? What would YOURS say?

“Jesus loves the little children… ALL the children of the world… Red and yellow… Black and white… They are PRECIOUS in His sight… Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

1 Corinthians 13:12-13 “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.”

Bloom where you are planted.

John 3:21 “But he who practices truth [who does what is right] comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are–wrought with God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence upon Him].”

I write because I feel compelled to share with you what He is doing in my life. His greatness never ceases to amaze me. These words that pour out, they are not my own. They are not my thoughts, they are not my authority. They serve merely as a symbol of my conviction for His brokenness. Jehovah, my Savior. He died. He bore the weight of the sins of every person that has, is, and ever will come to be. He took the debt we owed that had the weight of a penalty not one could ever atone, and He washed it clean. I depend on Him. He is my Refuge when life makes me weary. He is my Fortress when the world gets scary. He is my Father that is desperate for relationship with me.

He saved me. I am no longer a prisoner to my own selfish flesh. I was a raw, broken, sad little girl. The bitterness I carried for so long. The years of inner turmoil that dug into my spirit like blades of sawgrass. The anger I identified with because of past hurts. They’re all gone. He saved me. I am free. I am becoming all that I am simply because of Jesus. I want to spend the rest of my life chasing after Him. I want to grow old (but never gray) living in the glow of His Presence.

Why do I do this? I want each and every person that reads this blog to be touched by Him. I want you all to have lives full of this unending grace. I want your lives to be flourishing gardens of beauty and fragrance that will stretch beyond your greatest imagination. I want this conviction for hope, faith, and love to spread like wildfire. I want the hearts of this great nation to ignite like wildfire. I want this passion to become an epidemic. We can change the world, one wiped tear and bear hug at a time.

I want you to live lives full of joy. I want each and every one of you to live out your redemption. There is so much freedom in knowing that the price tag for eternal salvation is one I could never pay. Nothing I can do can measure to that mark. I can simply be loved, because I am. So are you. Go! Bless and be blessed.

Bloom where you are planted.

John 3:17 For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.

I love outreach. Informal outreach. Relevant outreach. One heavy load at a time. The more I pursue the grief of strangers, the more affirmed I am that outreach is the occupation of my heart. We are all beautifully created in the image of His perfect love. We are all puzzle pieces. No one piece is complete without the rest.

Mark 12:33 “To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

All humanity needs love. Love and sacrifice are repeated over and over and over throughout Scripture. Love God, love others. Why? To make a change, to spread hope, to share joy, to fill needs, ALL to glorify Him.

It’s easy to get caught up in “witnessing” to those that also believe. It can be unnerving to step out and be hope for someone in a dark place. To be a light bulb in a lit room is a tad redundant. Those that need dreams need bold intercession.

3 John 1:5 “Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you.” 

Strangers. See that?! And what exactly are we called to do for these strangers?

Psalm 105:1-2 “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.”

We are supposed to share His love with them. His love that proclaims we are not owned by man. Only His love can satisfy our souls and leave our vessels full. That is the message of Truth that we are to share with this heartbroken world.

Matthew 25:35-40 “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

The least of these, He says. Synonyms of the word least are: bottom, gutter, trivial, unimportant, lowest, feeblest, poorest, last.

Whatever we do, for those. Whatever. A sandwich, a pair of shoe laces, a bottle of water, a sick visit, a hug, a kind word.

Seriously, Father? Let me get this straight… I could plant a forest to save an endangered species of tree frog, but giving a homeless family a warm meal has greater impact in the Kingdom? You bet. Our PTA could build a bigger library for our already privileged children, but witnessing to women in strip clubs pleases Your heart more? Yes. Ohhhhh, ok. Now I get it.

All those things are good. The intention is there. The fight is lost though, if it isn’t a fight for salvation.

There are times that I miss an opportunity, when my reaction is delayed well beyond what it should be. Those that know me best have seen me chew on those instances over and again. I have a hard time shaking those missed chances for fellowship and compassion. They stay with me, like a white hot branding iron on my heart. I am imperfect, but that’s ok… It’s ok for me to be imperfect, to screw up. His love spills out all over my life like a bucket full of hot sudsy mop water. It washes me clean. His love is new every morning, and His faithfulness is great.

I really enjoy hugging strangers. Really really. On sidewalks, in malls, and grocery lines… I hug cashiers too. If I am willing to listen, to act on an opportunity, the blessing out measures the effort. Every. Single. Time. As long as my heart is open and my ears are clear I know, that it’s in His whisper.

Bloom where you are planted.

Luke 5:32 – “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Here I go again. Looking to challenge the old mindset and laws of the Pharisees. Christianity. It’s such a dangerous word. To be Christ-like. Is that even possible? I’m gonna go ahead and say no. We can follow in His footsteps, we can have relationship with Him. There’s a reason Christ has such a powerful impact. It cannot, nor has it ever been duplicated. God’s ONLY son. Therefore as “Christians” aren’t we supposed to be something different? We are repentant sinners. We are STILL sinners, just sinners with remorse seeking restitution. Does this separate us from the world in which we live? Maybe by our choices, but our core is the same. Does that mean that we are without any new sins once we’ve accepted His blood? No. Where, please show me is the idyllic Sinner’s Prayer in the Word? Where is the formula that shows what we get for His ransom? Christianity is the leading force driving the lost from the church. Treading on shaky ground here folks.  Jesus didn’t waste his breath on those that would not receive his love. Nor did he spout endless debate with those that were “above” the law. God’s law is of perfect love and acceptance for all. No one is above His judgment, yet He ushers us in with a heaping good-faith gesture of grace. His grace alone is what brings our hearts nearer to Him. There is no condemnation for those that choose grace over death and emptiness. There isn’t time to be afraid of judgment. The judges of this world are clearly not qualified because they cannot see beyond political viewpoint, color of skin, financial kickback, sexual preference, and the list goes on and on and on. Jesus didn’t waste his time in the courts. It was spent with the prostitutes, the diseased, the condemned. What the world sees as unfit and unlovely, He sees as beautiful and full of value. I’m not sure I want to be considered or gauged as being Christ-like. That is such a tall ivory tower to fall from. I want people to see me as a girl that longs for intercession, as a nomad on a journey. I want the world to share with me in joy of a love so perfect, from such great sacrifice that it oozes from all who are brave enough to taste it. There is nothing you can do to earn His love. You already have it. Right where you are. Bloom where you are planted.

Go forth and hug a stranger!

There’s a pasture directly across the street from my neighborhood with a herd of cattle constantly grazing. Like a postcard sits a beautiful barn, weathered fence posts, shade trees, two deep blue ponds, and grass that bends at the will of the wind.

I don’t know if you’ve ever watched cattle and their behavior, but for as far back as I can remember, I’ve felt bad for them. They always have their faces toward the ground. They aren’t spending their lives looking around, soaking it up, and enjoying everything that God has made for them. These cows have such a beautiful home. What kind of life is that? They’re missing out on all of it.  It occurred to me, maybe there is more to this than meets the eye.

My great uncle Theron was a cattle rancher in the small town of Idabel, Oklahoma. He had so many heads of cattle. The little bit of exposure that I’ve had to ranching is that all you have to do is call the cattle and they’ll come home. All my uncle had to do was honk the horn of his old pickup truck and they would come. They would come to their master.

With all this in mind, I now think that there are two ways to look at cows. They are either missing out because they’re not taking the time to enjoy the world, or they are focused on what God created them to do which is head down, being focused on the task at hand and being fed, and then when their master calls them, they come. They come to him. They’re living out their calling. Is it possible that even the creatures of the earth can hear His whisper? How often do we take the time to step back and observe the natural world around us and witness the hallelujah of birds singing in trees? What about bearing testament to the glory of a line of ants marching?

Let us be not focused on worldly pleasures but on His calling, His beautiful charge for our lives. Let us live fully and wholly in Him. Let us not waste our lives on things that have no true value. Let us make ready for the sound of His voice, so that we may know it and can run to Him unabashedly when He calls us home.

Now when I drive past the field, I see worship. How now, brown cow? I am thankful. I am present. I am listening.

1 Corinthians 7:17 – “Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them…”

Isaiah 64:8 – “And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay and You are the Potter. We are all formed by Your hand.”

My Bestie and I bought our family’s new home in July. It has most certainly been an “interesting” adventure we’ve gotten ourselves into. Since this summer, the property directly across the street from us has also been inhabited by a new family. (I must admit, I still haven’t gone over to introduce myself yet. I’m kind of a hermit in my personal life.) Well, these poor folks must think they’ve moved in across from furniture smugglers or SOMETHING! I can laugh about it now, but I probably wouldn’t have had an ounce of chuckle for you a month ago. We’ve practically run the entire Bay Area Craig’s List out of our house. I’m eclectic. My family is unique. Our home is hodge-podgity.

So, He is the Potter. Round and round and round on His wheel… >Smack!< Do-over. Round and round and round on His wheel… >Smack!< Do-over. Round and round……… Ah-haaaa! That is exactly right. Perfect in design. Still flawed in spirit, but workable. Malleable. Useful. Beautiful.

I love how the verse says “And yet…” It implies that all regards considered, we are still in His hands. His perfect vision for our lives in mind at all times. He is both yesterday and tomorrow. Wow.

This weekend it decided to rain. If you’re not familiar with the weather in my neck of the woods, allow me to enlighten you. If you don’t like it, give it half an hour. This was also the same weekend I decided to post another sofa-esque piece of furniture online for sale. Delivery promised upon receipt of payment from sale. Thursday evening I had promised the new owner of our “old” piece (that we’ve had for about three months) delivery after Bestie got home from work. We got the Littles loaded up into the truck, the diaper bag, the bottle, two juice cups, snacks, water bottles for Bestie and Me, and a partridge in a pear tree. Bestie then flipped down the tailgate, and we walked into the house to load up said piece of furniture. Cue the neighbors opening their garage door to hang out for a bit. (I think I waved, maybe.) We carried the couch the twenty feet out to the truck and wouldn’t you just know it started raining! “Well THIS is just AWESOME!!!” In the house went the couch. Bestie back out to the truck, and Mommy ran back in to lock up the house. Not-So-Bestie decided to lock the doors to the truck, because he’s so darn cute and funny. We went out to eat instead. A new barbecue joint, Mommy looking like a drowned rat. Friday night’s delivery attempt was a success! Again, cue the neighbors outside… playing basketball in the driveway… watching our whole sideshow all over, like Groundhog Day.

He is the Potter, I am the clay…. Round and round and round.

Saturday evening I was able to contact a few people to go and look at “new” couches, so we loaded the gear and Littles back into the truck. Beautiful day! All was most certainly well with my world. We drove the seventeen miles to the first location. It was “meh” at best. Back into the truck. Four miles down the road. Wait! They live on the SECOND floor?!?!?! Oh, I don’t know about this! Bestie parked the truck and I went inside alone to either yay or nay it. I couldn’t help but notice the clouds starting to roll in. “Lord, please please please not right now. Please!” Into this Lithuanian woman’s apartment and there beset the most beautiful lusciously plush olive green rouched velvet sofa I’ve ever seen. HALLELUJAH!!! But, still on the second floor. She wouldn’t come down on price but offered to help bring it downstairs. Fine.by.me. They loaded it into the truck, huffing and puffing all the while. I grabbed the rope, crammed the cushions into the cab of the truck (the Littles played “fort” all the way home) and tied that beautiful piece of delicious smoothness down into the bed as quickly as my fingers would fly.

“And yet…”

Less than five minutes from home it began to drizzle. “Lord! NoOoOoOoooooo!!!!” (Anyone else talk to God like this?)

I always carry scissors in both vehicles. I read a horror story about a child strangling on a seatbelt once and well, now we both have scissors. The scissors were out and ready to go. As soon as we got home I would viciously cut through the rope and we would haul tail to get this job done. Once and for all. We pulled into our driveway. Cue the neighbors garage door opening. Just as quickly as it started, the rain stopped. Seriously?! “Thank you Father. I am blessed. I am listening.” We got everyone unbuckled and into the house and set back out to bring our newest purchase inside. Yes, the neighbors were definitely watching.

The sofa was inside and so were we, safe and sound. Out of nowhere the house flashed and a boom of thunder cracked somewhere very close by. Within minutes the rain against the house sounded more like an old dishwasher running. Deep breaths.

You see, this beautiful new addition to our family’s home is a lot like myself, or how I think Isaiah meant to convey the message of the clay and the Potter. Back and forth, back and forth. Round and round. Round and round. To have the right piece, the right setting, the right texture, color, size, and shape. It took a LOT from Craig’s List. Multiple transactions. Frustration. Crazy weather patterns. Everyone’s schedules correlating. A budget and a product within the boundaries of a means. This beautiful olive green velvet sofa, it’s me. It’s where it belongs. It’s where it’s celebrated. It’s where it’s loved. It’s where it’s appreciated. It’s where it can serve it’s true purpose. It’s where it’s beauty can shine. It’s where it can bring joy to many.

Yes, this too, this couch. Even so simple, is in His Whisper. If only we can stop to see, and to listen with our hearts. Now, what am I going to do about those neighbors???

“Surely Your goodness and mercy will cover me. All the days of my life, they cover me. What if we really lived like that?” ~ Jason Upton

(Seriously, isn’t it just loverly? Ahhhh.)

I try to live my life without regret, because I know that God’s grace covers a multitude of things that I could never forgive myself for and so I look at life with a perspective that never includes self-mutilation. I do however have one regret. I regret not listening to God, when I knew that it was Him telling me very clearly to do something and giving me an opportunity to love on someone when I had the chance to. That, I do regret. And now I don’t have the chance. I don’t have the chance to thank this person for the impact that they’ve had on my life. They’ve gone to be with Him.

Look at the account of Jonah and how God knew His will and plan for his life and Jonah was like “Meh. Not so much Lord, I think I’m gonna go hang out with these guys on this boat and take a nap instead.” It took literally being swallowed up by a sea creature and then dumped on the beach somewhere, after being vomited up did he finally say “Ok God. I gotcha. I’m listening.” How many times in our lives are we guilty of not listening or not following or saying “Maybe later” to not follow Him when we know clearly what His instruction is? Ouch.

If only I could hold that sweet hand one more time and smile into those eyes. I’m thankful for the example of the conviction I saw walked out daily and as a child being unaware of the significance of mentors, I see now what works through faith look like. Being a follower and a lover of Jesus and His salvation is something to be admired.

Jonah 2:9 But as for me, I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation and deliverance belong to the Lord!

‘Tis the Season! For family, baked goods, tinsel, the scent of spruce, twinkling lights, the story of a babe, and gift giving. Wait. What? Hmmm. That doesn’t sound exactly right. Not to sound blasphemous but I’m calling “Bull!” on the whole thing this year. What gives, right? Nobody likes a buzzkill, I know. Maybe it’s that we’re in a new house this year and I never got around to unpacking my decorations. Maybe it’s because we’re so technologically advanced with Skype and whatnot that we celebrated a week early with the Grands. Maybe it’s that I’m desperately digging for something genuine to cling to. I put my biggest Little on a plane this past Saturday to spend a week (and change) with her dad. Right before grabbing the flight attendant’s hand to walk down the ramp she turned and hugged me with tear-filled eyes and said “Merry Christmas Mama. I love you.” Come on now!!! Who can walk away from that without at least a few pulled heartstrings?!?! We had our family of five’s “Christmas Morning” that same Saturday. Kids really don’t care. My Bestie suggested (so incredibly in awe of his reverence to Him) that we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. So we did. Then the wheels started turning. Ready for this?

Christmas is NOT some calculated commercialized pomp and circumstance thing that is preempted every July. Christmas is NOT about having a Clark Griswold nuclear meltdown that puts Chernobyl to shame. Christmas is NOT about some ridiculous elf telling your kids to “Be good, Santa is watching.” Not saying it’s all bad, not saying I don’t like having my kids’ picture taken with the fat man every year, simply saying it’s ALL irrelevant.

Christmas is about reflecting on a life event. A Light event. It’s personal. Nothing about the birth of Christ is commercial. Mary didn’t get a complimentary bath robe, anti-slip socks, a year’s supply of diapers, a turkey sandwich at three in the morning with a low-fat peach yogurt and a bucket of crunchy ice. She was in a barn, with livestock, and feces… Cow poop, sheep poop, and (if you’re a mom, let’s keep it real) probably some of her own poop. NOTHING about that night of intense labor with a scared-stiff new daddy that most certainly had not gone through Lamaze classes can be romanticized. No matter how hard one might try.

Christmas is a simple word. Christ-mas. Christ was the Annointed one. Mas is a suffix and derivative of the word maesse, meaning festival, feast day, or mass.

So does this definition make my perspective wrong? I really don’t think so. I think a celebration and time of worship and prayer filled with thanksgiving is spot on. This transfiguration of my heart though has given me a real motivation to dig a little deeper into the Word.

Isaiah 49:6

6 He says, It is too light a thing that you should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors [of the judgments] of Israel; I will also give you for a light to the nations, that My salvation may extend to the end of the earth.

Luke 1:74-75

74 To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our foes, might serve Him fearlessly

75 In holiness (divine consecration) and righteousness [in accordance with the everlasting principles of right] within His presence all the days of our lives.

John 1:9

9 There it was–the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illuminates every person.

Christmas is a personal faith-based decision to believe. Accepting it and it’s truths is a direct reflection of Christ’s saving us from our own iniquities. The “Light” mentioned in John is His. It’s our choice whether or not we will accept the Truth. Christ died so that we might love and serve with Him as the Prize, fearlessly. That’s all I need. I’ve come too far to still be all that I was before He freed me from myself. He’s my Savior, my Love, my Father – I ain’t NEVER giving that up!

For each of us, may we be filled with reflection of the Anointed Celebration of His light this season. Be Merry!

It’s a dangerous thing my friends. Before I even begin my rant on this topic, let’s dig a little into scripture to see what He has to say about it, shall we? 

Ecclesiastes 6:9  “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of the spirit.” 

Isaiah 5:18 “Woe to them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope.”

Psalms 4:2 “O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? How long will ye love vanity and seek after leasing?”

So I think biblically speaking, it’s pretty clear about the nature of our human hearts. There are eighty-seven passages of scripture that send warning to both Jew and Gentile regarding this very simplistic form of idolatry. That’s a lot of repetitiveness, if you ask me. Ok, got it Lord! We are however, called to be beautiful. Not necessarily the way society interprets it though. Not with ornamental things, the “braiding of hair” etc. We are beautiful like women reflecting Proverbs 31 and Ephesians 5 (for the wives.) Being spiritually charged, not driven by fleeting physical appearance is what makes us the most holy. Holiness IS beauty. We are smothered in a world of (not that I’m judging at all) glycolic peels, Botox, lipo, implants, and the list just keeps going. Does any of that really make us any more lovely/loving/lovable? I’m afraid not. It may however, make us look younger… Temporarily. Please remember though that He is the creator of all things, and He makes ALL things beautiful, in His time. 

Psalm 139:14 “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.”

He is the Potter, we are the clay.

Many Blessings!