Rejoice in the Light!

So the women hurried away from the tomb, 

afraid yet filled with JOY, 

and ran to tell the disciples. 

Suddenly Jesus met them, 

"Greetings," he said. 

They came to him, 

clasped his feet and 

worshiped him.  

Matthew 28: 8-9 NIV

Easter blessings and joy to you who visit here today!

Lisa

Thorns and Tears

Settling small. 

Circling inward,

with hushed reverence during these hours between the cross and the rising. 

Considering the grief stricken love and strength shared by women of faith as they supported each other at the foot of the Lord’s cross,

 as they comforted each other beside His grave. 

Considering the darkness within the tomb, the great relief of quiet, the covered form, and the heart that was still.

Yet, soon, behind that stone,

 within that darkness, 

arrived the sacred presence and the resurrecting power of our Almighty God. Within that darkness God reached out to restore our Lord to a new, transformed life.

While the night remained dark, Angels kept vigil, waiting for the women, prepared to announce God’s Risen Son.

Faith believes in unseen miracles even in the darkness of tears and thorns.

Faithfully awaiting the dawn Easter,

Lisa

Son of God

From noon until three in the afternoon

 darkness came over all the land.

 Matthew 27:45

When the centurion and those with him 

who were guarding Jesus 

saw the earthquake and all that had happened, 

they were terrified, and exclaimed, 

“Surely he was the Son of God!” 

Matthew 27:54 

Being Made New

"... be made new in the attitude of your mind; and put on the new self... " Ephesians 4:24

Quiet all distraction. 

“We blossom just as trees blossom, but we cooperate so much less. While trees lean into the approaching seasons and submit themselves to the will of nature, we fight the richness being made of ourselves ... Too many ... events crowd our consciousness for our own ripening to occur. We are distracted from the matter at hand: another soul being brought to maturity.”  Julia Cameron The Sound of Paper

Lean into being made new.

“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received... so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ... to be made new in the attitude of your mind; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4: 1,12-13, 23-24

Become worthy of the call to new life.

Stand in the Light

Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD. Is. 2:5

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. Is. 60:1

In the stillness of end of the week repose, the heart fills with sorrow as I ruminate over the struggles that were placed in my ear these many days. The struggles of others, whispered across tiny chips that translate human thoughts into printed soul stories on hand held and lap filled screens. It matters not that we have moved beyond the breath whispered telling from voice to ear, that wondrous science enables the telling of each story. 

Struggle is still the message. 

Sorrow is still the burden. 

Every listening person will still hear the wailing hearts of humanity in bondage, of crippling pain, of  sons suffering and daughters  lost, of lives in darkness. 

I reach deep into my faith to individually respond with all that I know of my Lord’s words and promises. Striving to bring some hint of God’s miraculous light and hope to eyes that have been crying, to minds that are wrestling, to lives that are breaking. To continue to honor the knowing by carrying the story into my days through repeated prayers and acts of support on behalf of each hurting heart. To claim the strength and assurance of God’s light for all, myself included, I stand for those who struggle hourly to rise beyond all that grips their lives. 

Here at the end of the week, in today’s stillness, I reach beyond the darkness and determine to STAND in the LIGHT.

I would be honored to read if you have wisdom you can share about ministering to those who struggle? How do you balance your emotional and spiritual strength in the process?

In faith,
Lisa

Savor the Wonder

"We book our days from morning to evening 

and then wonder why they lack succulence and savor... 

I do better being here when I try to be here consciously. 

To see the same world with a stranger’s eyes. 

To walk my neighborhood streets as a visitor might, with a sense of wonder." 

The Sound of Paper by Julia Cameron  

~ 

A six point, white ruffled collar surrounds the yellow face of these early spring risers. Persistent crowds of cheerful petals punctuate the earth all across our region, even though they’re met with freezing rain and crisp wind chill. I marvel at the strength in seemingly fragile stems and velvety blossoms. Their emerging growth joins the smallest hint of buds on our trees. There is the promise of nature’s gathering force for the coming wild splurge of full fledged spring. Intent not to miss the season’s birth, not to miss the closing of winter’s rest, I walk against the freezing wind to allow my soul to savor the wonder of God’s ways.

In Faith,

Lisa