My Strength

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart 

and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:26

~

The heart shutters at the darker events of its time; shutters and howls in grief for fellow humanity suffering from the varied forms and wretched consequences of trauma. 

A young loved one debilitated by chronic pain or global humanity shattered by ancient battles: in faith  we grasp for the sacred response of fervent prayer.

 Knees bent to the floor, head bowed, hands clasped, whispers wringing out pleas for mercy that can only come from the almighty power of Holy God. 

Prayer re-enacted across the course of our breath filled hours 

is witness to the faith and hope in our souls.

~

Posting photo praise and encouraging words with fellow writers at The Weekend Brew, Still Saturday, Unforced Rhythms, Coffee for Your Heart, and His Story. Click a button below to visit that community’s posts.

Enter Silence

When life is heavy and hard to take, 

go off by yourself. 

Enter into silence. 

Bow in prayer. 

Wait for hope to appear. 

Lamentation 3:28 MSG

Richard Foster writes on the Discipline of Solitude 

and the gifts that this practice offers to the searching heart: 

“There is the freedom to be alone, 

not in order to be away from other people 

but in order to hear the divine Whisper better.” *

Further in the discussion of solitude Foster adds:

“The dark night (of the soul) is one of the ways God brings us to hush, 

a stillness so that He may work an inner transformation upon the soul.” *

Settle into silence,

still enough,

to capture a universe of watery orbs spilled across a single blossom. 

Such moments welcome the Holy whispers of wisdom.

*Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.

Posting with Still Saturday, The Weekend Brew, Tell His Story, and Unforced Rhythms. 

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Spacious Place

Once we have experienced the saving actions of our Lord,
once we have been rescued 
and brought out to a spacious place,
that sensation is expansive. 

Our sense of finally existing with ample security to allow 
our heart to grow again, to fill with the power of love again,
to embrace qualities of trust and assurance once again,
the breath we take in is deeper. 

The chest widens in hungry inhaling of freedom's air
and Christ's promises.

Our face exudes a light that is only derived from the saving love of God.

Eyes glisten with tears of gratitude and humility.
Lips, once captive to pain, tentatively lift at the corners 
releasing the joy of a smile and the long dormant laughter that ultimately escapes.

Praise and prayer slip forth in an unending stream
to honor the Lord God for his abundant mercies!

He rescues.
He restores.
He redeems.

Put your faith in the Lord.
For there is faithful love with the Lord,
and with Him
is redemption in abundance.
Psalm 130:7 HCSB

                                                                              ~


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Winter Sun

There had been only an afternoon’s reprieve from the perennial cold blanket of grey light. 

Lifting my head from the dense novel on my lap, I caught sight of the rays of sunlight that had just splayed across the kitchen wall.  Searching further beyond the shuttered windows revealed the sudden change in the sky newly lit by rays breaking through cloud cover that had hovered for days on end.  

Thinking, “move quick or miss it entirely”, I head to the entry, layering on muffler, cap, hooded coat, zipped past the chin. Track down gloves and sunglasses. Pull the door tight behind me as I walk out in the welcomed sun drenched, cold air. The slap of winter temperatures still catches ones breath but a quick pace soon produces the balance between outer cold and down insulated warmth. 

Cooped up muscles can literally sing when given the opportunity to stretch out in long extended strides. The scents of crisp air please the nose and lungs fill with thirst for all that oxygen rich air.  Eyes protected by UV shades, “I lift my eyes to you..” (Psalm 123:1), absorbing ... appreciating, the Creator’s gift of solar warmth poured out on the wintery earth. 

Its a brief interlude. 

Day’s end arrives early. 

Even as solar beams slip low on the horizon the senses remember heat and light. 

The soul praises Genesis gifts.

~

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Adornment of Inner Self

Evergreen boughs bear clusters of beautiful pale blue berries all through the winter. In twilight their color is accentuated, a heavenly hue. Branches hang low at the point of the berries heaviest abundance. 

Arctic gales blow hard across the months of this season, shearing the blue orbs, spilling them to the ground like pearls from a broken string. The female Cedar loses the tiny bits of her adornment with every gust of wind, every icy freeze, and every pelting rain. 

The loss does not diminish the value or the character of this tall spire. She extends her branches with or with out their pale blue adornment. Creatures – winged, footed, or slithering perch, burrow, and huddle within its massive frame. Standing sure, standing strong, standing quietly across the years; simply offering the gentler gifts of refuge, shade, and shelter. 

Prudently placed in the flood plain of frequently overflowing creek beds, the voraciously thirsty Cedar absorbs the over abundance of flooding waters following every storm. This towering life quietly serves her divinely designed purpose within the ecological community through the workings of her quiet, unseen, inner life. 

Season after season I walk past her. A guardian at her post. Season after season, God’s creation provides examples for human living. Here, through a living tree, the words of 1 Peter are given roots. Her berries are attractive, yet transitory. Cedar's deeper life contains the greater portion of her beauty and purpose. A living creation to emulate.

Let your adornment be your inner self,

with a lasting beauty 

of a gentle and quiet spirit.

1 Peter: 3-4

*The Cedar Berry tree of the southwest is technically a species of Juniper.

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Time Dawns as Blessed Potential

Time Dawns as Blessed Potential

The present moment, 

the present day, 

the present year –

Present time is always new. 

The arriving minutes unfold endlessly,

gifting us with continuous possibilities.

How do we receive this breath following breath of time? We may chart the unfolding in advance. 

Listing bullet points, planning timelines, orchestrating outcomes. Intent on molding the future. 

Or we may scarcely heed the tick marking times arrival, detachment brooding from an attitude of time as abundant, mere grains of a common resource, unceasing, unremarkable.

At times the arrival is taken out of the grasp of the recipient, spent by exterior demands limiting freedom, overshadowed by grief in the loss of the stolen, quickly spent moment.

Consider the gift that is time, 

among God’s first creations.

Ponder thoughtfully the rolling wave of arriving moments, potent with every possibility.

“Teach us the brevity of life, 

so that we may grow in wisdom.” 

Psalm 90:12

“The chief beauty about time

is that you cannot waste it in advance.

The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you,

as perfect, as unspoiled,

as if you had never wasted or misapplied

a single moment in all your life.

You can turn over a new leaf every hour

if you choose.” 

Arnold Bennett

A Light Has Dawned

We sit with steaming cups of tea,
mine, green with hints of orange rind; 
his, Chai, with rising wafts of vanilla.
Our kitchen window frames a view of blowing, wintery woodlands. 

“Another grey day”,  he says.
It is grey. White grey sky. Dark grey-brown trunks and limbs. Grey-green pines and hollies. Pond waters rippling liquid slate. Even the wood ducks repeat the same color palette.

Against a backdrop of these framed window panes the table candle flickers boldly bright. The Christmas tree glitters, brilliantly casting light far across the room. 

Against the dark and the grey, because of the dark and grey, the power of LIGHT expands its dominion and claims all attention. 

The light of Our Lord arrives in darkness; 
at His birth and in our hearts. 
The flame is eternal.

2

The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.

3 

You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.

4 

For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.

5 

Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
    will be fuel for the fire.

6 

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 

Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9: 2-7

Posting with other communities pondering the quiet, the small, and the Spirit filled. 

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The Proclamations of Angels

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! 

The Lord is with you.” 

Luke 1:28

 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." 

Luke 2: 9-10

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o'er the plains,

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains.

James Chadwick 1862  

(Translated from a French carol by an unknown author)

Hope Waits

Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday of the liturgical year; we rejoice in the Genesis through Revelation accounts of God’s hope for the world. And for the world, because of hope, our faith, our Christian beliefs, will never cease among people. God has taught us hope, promised us hope, revealed the blessings of hope. The sacred texts record the history of hope among the faithful from generation to generation. Our traditions of worship and prayer, our holiest days, nurture hope. We are galvanized by the legacy of hope, thousands of years of hope. Hope fueled by His Spirit persists, endures, and waits. To live with the Hope of God is to experience Hope's triumph.

~

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I Am the Gate

Wait for Hope to Appear

Leaving the house behind I turn my face into the blustery winds, crisp with the promise of fall, sharp with urgency; willing the force of cold to burrow through my mind and sweep out every shred of worry clinging in the corners. I whisper to myself with kindness, “Breath deeply”, wanting to hasten the air’s cleansing properties through my heart and lungs . Fall’s shifting nature spills a brief shower of rain in the midst of the afternoon’s shining light. I step under dense, overhanging trees until the weeping cloud drifts on. Walking on, step following step, breath following breath easing the mind to emptiness, working the chest to fullness, purposefully leaving space for holy presence and peace. 

The Good Things of Your House

I'm joining the STILL SATURDAY community and the beauty that is gathered there every weekend. Select and click that button below and wander over for more photo-scripture pairings and thoughts on stillness. You will be encouraged!

He Heard My Voice

I love the Lord,

for he heard my voice;

he heard my cry for mercy.

Because he turned his ear to me, 

I will call on him as long as I live.

Psalm 116:1-2

~

"How does the Lord turn His ear to me?", one might ask.

The ways are countless and the occurrences numerous. Perhaps such 

would be seen in the kindness offered by a passing stranger, in the assurance heard in sacred 

hymns and songs of praise, in the scripture passage that shines brighter than every other word 

on the page, in the mental image that suddenly emerges {from where, you may wonder},  

or in the words of surprising wisdom from a child or your loved one. He has been refining 

your attentiveness to these mercies ever since his spirit first entered your heart. Remain alert. 

Engage the Lord's presence through prayerful intent throughout your days. Notice how He 

turns His ear to your praise and faithfulness.

~

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September Learning

September, a month traditionally associated with learning, did not disappoint.

School agers, educators, grad students, continuing ed adults, ballet, piano, even fall Bible study classes; nation wide, students of every phase and form, returned to endeavors of gathering knowledge. 

And then there are also those life long pursuits of deeper understanding and those serendipitous new ahas! that spark our daily lives.

Hence, this community of writers gathers over at Chatting at the Sky to rattle off what we’ve learned, some pearls of wisdom, or just plain whimsy that tickled our brains this month. Below, my notes on new wisdom and whimsy...

THE WISDOM:

I watched...

Seriously, with great admiration and learned the magnitude of courage, sacrifice, intellectual warfare, and God sustained determination that accompanied President LINCOLN’s passage of the thirteenth amendment that abolished slavery in our nation. I know this stunning movie  debuted last fall but its bound to be a classic worthy of every American’s attention.

I studied...

GIDEON, a moving Bible study that portrays human weakness as key designed to open something God has in mind specifically for you. Our weakness is meant to unleash the strength of God in our lives. Our weakness is the key God uses to unlock the door to His power. Gideon is written by Priscilla Shirer.

I read...

“...that when you pray, you are not starting the conversation from scratch, just remembering to plug back into a conversation that’s always in progress.” Anne Lamott, 

THE WHIMSY:

Husband taught me...

about Any List an app on our phones that allows us to share our grocery list. So honey does this mean you’re going to the grocery store?

Finally found the answer to...

Why God Made a Dog I promise, these photos and poem will make you smile.

And...
there was surprising personal learning that burst all around me during recent travels, and there was learning offered humbly through the stories of people whom I’m in prayer with, and there is learning that falls like rain as I walk in the morning.

This learning thing, its really very closely aligned with blessings. There is SO MUCH that comes our way that shapes our character, corrects our narrowness, expands our horizons, clarifies our insight; all that certainly qualifies as God’s good grace and blessing.
                                                              ~

Are curious about previous LEARNING posts? Just for grins here's the lists for July and August.

Jars of Clay

Wandering among the results of a potter’s wheel brings to heart thoughts and meditations on God’s words. Words proclaim God’s people created from clay; as varied in shape, size, form, hues, and glazes as the pottery stacked in the artist’s yard. God’s people as fragile, as prone to chipping and susceptible to damage as every vessel made from earth’s malleable substance. Like earthenware, we are strengthened by a kiln. Through the kiln of life’s struggles and pain our Lord fashions our character, reveals our spiritual gifts, and builds our faith. We are God’s creation. We are made and remade for His purposes and His glory. And as such we are filled. Here, this is where we diverge from the ordinary, empty vessels found in a potter’s yard. Our divine creator filled us with the gift, the treasure of His Holy Spirit. No empty vessel are we. No. Fallible, breakable, yes; but treasured beyond understanding, blessed and gifted beyond deserving. Designed to serve our Lord and equipped to do so by the abiding power of the Holy Spirit. 

I bring the camera to my eye and strive to frame the large number and variety of pottery in the viewfinder, praising all the while that I am among God’s multitude of wonderfully made people. 

~

And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. Is. 64: 7-9 NLT

~

18 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. 5 Then the Lord gave me this message: 6 “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. Jeremiah 18: 1-6

~

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:6-8 NLT

Strength in the Stillness

Their strength is to sit still...

For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; 

In returning and rest 

shall ye be saved; 

in quietness and in confidence 

shall be your strength

Isaiah 30:7, 15 KJV

A lone chair, pulled away from the gathered seating at distance. Pulled closer to the water, closer to the pouring  sounds of the fountain’s spray, closer to the trees lining the shore. Seperated from chattering voices mingling about. Botanically hedged in and away from boulevard and path. A single seat. A momentary respite from restless going about. A miniature sanctuary under green boughs. A   chance occasion accepted to settle alone along the shore. To notice glory. To whisper gratitude. To seek Holy Spirit’s assuring presence and to recall the Lord’s restoring words. A lone chair; a call to quiet retreat, a return to rest. 

~

May you, faith filled visitors 

to this corner of online STILLNESS, 

happen upon your own 

quiet call to weekend rest. 

~

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Follow the Bird Song

Luke 13:18-19

 18 Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? 19 It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”

Mark 4:30-32

 30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

Matthew 13:31-32

 31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

~

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Rest

Return to rest, my soul, 

for the Lord has been good to you. 

Psalm 116:7

 Familiar melodies, meaningful refrains 
fall from the tongue, from long ago memory. 
Dearly loved hymns seem to stay in the mind's folds. 
Even if unsung, dormant for a time, they rise. 
Memory holds them 
though much else will diminish.
Words for the soul.



 Be Still My Soul, a well loved 19th century hymn 
sung here by the lilting voice of Leigh Nash, 
settles my heart in quiet reflection 
and joy filled praise. 
Click here to enjoy the music. 
The lyrics below...

~

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change, He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future, as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know

His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,

And all is darkened in the vale of tears,

Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,

Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.

Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay

From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord.

When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past

All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise

On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;

Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,

So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.

Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine

Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Author: Catharine Amalia Von Schlegel 

Composer: Jean Sibelius 

Tune: Finlandia

The Hushed Voice, The Gentle Whisper

A spirit glided past my face, 

and the hair on my body stood on end. 

It stopped,

but I could not tell what it was.

A form stood before my eyes,

and I heard a hushed voice...

Job 4:15-16

~

After the earthquake came a fire, 

but the Lord was not in the fire.

And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face 

and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

1 Kings 19; 12-13

~

From L.B. Cowman’s Streams in the Desert, A.B. Simpson writes on June 30...

“This ‘gentle whisper’ became for me the voice of prayer, wisdom, and service. No longer did I need to work so hard to think, pray, or trust, because the Holy Spirit’s ‘gentle whisper’ in my heart was God’s prayer in the secret places of my soul. It was his answer to all my questions, and His life and strength for my soul and body. His voice became the essence of all knowledge, prayer, and blessings, for it was the living God Himself as my life and my all.” 

Fall Fresh On Me

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Daniel Iverson

~

Eyes seek the canopy overhead.

It shimmers with transparent green.

Branching limbs reach heavenward, 

botanical veins silhouetted against the sky.

Airy currents softly brush leaves and skin,

both uplifted to face the light.

The unique brilliance of overcast skies

intermingles with layers of deep shade.

In the whispers of His forest sanctuary

a grateful voice praises,

a longing soul listens,

a believers heart worships.

~

Hoping you find His Spirit 

in your quiet places this weekend.

Lisa