God's Heart

God is good

Of this be sure

His ways are just

His motives pure

His love holds fast

Our flailing soul

When it seems

We've lost control

Our heart as gold

Refined by fire

More precious than all

That we desire

And His heart

For us is strong

To lead us all

To heaven our home

What We Will Face

What we will face
Can't be foretold
No promised bliss
As we grow old
In life are trials
That we will face
As we learn to lean
Upon His grace
And trust the One
Who gave His all
That we will stand
After we fall
That joy and peace
Do not depend
On conquering that
Which we contend
That choosing love
Is always best
And at our end
He is our rest.

I wrote this in honor of my friend and co-worker who lost her husband at the beginning of this year and is facing the holidays for the first time without him. Today was his birthday.

Out of the Grey

Out of the grey and drizzly day
The rat-a-tat-tatting on the roof
Inside of my darkened home
I fell so dreary and aloof.

Though I do not come this way
Willingly by conscious choice
So it is as I face this day
I must stand and raise my voice!

For I'd rather that, out of the blue,
Feel joy and great anticipation
Of what this day could possibly bring
Upon my further observation.

For is this not, as each before,
A day the Lord has made?
And won't He take this mourning
Giving me dancing as a trade?

So I will step out of the grey
Into the light of God my King.
And I will choose to stand and shout
And dance and jump and laugh and sing!

Today I Listened

I was working out at the gym today listening to my I-pod to Vicky Beeching singing "Listening". (Please note, I deleted my youtube links so I don't infringe on any copyright laws. Please feel free to search for them yourself.)
And I decided to listen.

What I heard God asking me was, "Did I come to judge or did I come to bring life?"

So off to Bible Gateway I go and enter in the search "give life" and "come judge". Look at John 6:33 and John 10:10. Also John 12:47.(It's important for you to see for yourself and not just take my word for it.) My conclusion is Jesus came to give me life.

So now comes the question, "Why did God ask me that question?" I have been judging my walk lately and find I am coming up short in the time with God department. I have also been judging my life and find the physical body department is also demanding much of my attention. And because I am judging myself, I assume God is judging me as well. And obviously I must be such a disappointment and I need to be changed.

I'm not specifically sure about what he means by bringing me life, but I think he is talking about focus and perspective. I am focusing on issues, he is focusing on the bigger picture. I think he wants me to know what he has for me is life giving. It is free and abundant and overflowing! It is not a downward or inward look, it is an upward and outward look.

Lord, Jesus, take my chin in your hand and lift my gaze to you. Help me remember your good and perfect gifts are what you desire to give me.

Haunted

What an appropriate subject for this month of October.

If you read my last post you know I am going through some struggles with tendinitis or specifically lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow.) As I have been going to physical therapy two to three times a week over the course of the last month I find myself bringing up the subject that I at one time had Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a very debilitating syndrome with muscle pain throughout the entire body. I began to realize that I was being haunted. If you think about it what does being haunted mean? Isn't it being harassed by the spirit of someone (or something) who (that) has died?

I may have had Fibromyalgia, but I was healed from it by the power of God through a healing service. I haven't had it since that time over 13 or 14 years ago. Yet every time I have an aching muscle or even go in for a massage I allow it to haunt me. I speak of it as if it may be lurking somewhere in this house which is my body.

I began to think about what other "spirits" I have allowed to haunt me. What parts of the "old man" that were put to death in Jesus Christ, do I have wandering the halls of my mind, harassing my thoughts. I think its time to take account and exorcise those "spirits" and be free from their influence. What's dead is dead and it is the truth of Jesus' victory over death, over sin, and his rightful authority over disease - it is this truth that sets me free.

Compare - Compete - Compassion

What brings me to these three words? I have been working through an injury the last few months and I have noticed how people respond to my situation, and in turn, how I respond to their response.

We, in general, have learned that we should have compassion for those who are hurting or less fortunate than ourselves. But how do we express that? In my experience it looks like comparison. I say I'm on light duty because of tendinitis and you say I have had that, or I have this or that. And what was meant to be compassion now feels like competition. And what does competition do? Now I have to be on the offence, or on the defense, and  all I really want is to be done with the stupid pain and get back to taking my health for granted.

I think I must add a fourth "c" - Complain! So now that I feel I'm in a competition as to who has it the worst, I must begin the "woe-is-me" saga and with it be labeled a whiner. I therefore have lost the competition altogether and am feeling alone and unsatisfied.

I'm not sure I know how to get compassion, let alone how to give compassion. I'm sure I will learn. In the meantime I will try to suffer quietly and not complain. I know I've exaggerated slightly just to reveal the feelings behind the words, but I'm guessing you may know what I mean.

To Breathe

Genesis 2:7

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁷ Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.

John 20:22

New Living Translation (NLT)

²² Then he (Jesus) breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit."

Inspire comes from a Latin word that means to breathe into, or simply to breathe. So we are born inspired and we are reborn inspired. We are inspired from God and by God.

Here I am, Lord, at your feet,

Breathing in the life you've given.

Breath of God, breath of life, 

Reaching deep within my being.

All your glory set before me,

With awe and wonder I am stricken.

All my heart and soul I give you,

Holy Spirit, gift of heaven.

(http://www.biblegateway.com - I use this webpage for looking up scripture, it is an invaluable tool.)