Untethered: One More Gate to Heaven

The first leaves loose their moorings, sailing gracefully from above.

Slowly, they spiral and slightly tilt. 

Cast off from the tethers of elm or oak, pecan or maple, released in a brief and dazzling flight. Spread wide, kite-like, captured in a crosswind, they sweep back and forth. 

Occasionally lifted by an updraft, tossed in a swirl of crimson, mustard, and bronze ultimately falling as gravity draws them ever downward. Destined to assemble as a mosaic, carpeting vast spaces. 

In delight I revel in the glory of color cascading from the boughs and wonder at the bounty that has hung far overhead all summer long. Souls touched by such wonders whisper prayers, knowing the whole world is the house of God. 

“ The whole world is the house of God…

I can stop …long enough to see where I am…

I can flag one more gate to heaven, 

one more patch of ordinary earth with ladder marks on it, 

where the divine traffic is heavy…

instead of walking right past it… 

say a blessing before I move on to wherever I am due next.” 

  An Altar in the World, Barbara Taylor Brown

*  *   *

Linking with these communities of writers sharing thoughts on faith: Weekend Whispers, Still Saturday, Coffee for Your Heart

Suspend Worry and Wrestling

This post from my archives, Suspend Worry and Wrestling, recently caught my attention. The message remains ever so true as it was in 2011, well worth revisiting the wisdom of that day. Join me. Feel the wind against your skin and glory in the luxury of that!



Old Dog sprints stiffly to the water’s edge; darting, nose skimming, reading the news of critterdom left on scented surfaces. A banquet of scents hangs in the air to inhale and savor. Bird song, rabbit skittering, and turtle sightings entice Old Dog from branch to brush and then back to the water’s banks. 

The beleaguered, burdened human trails behind, mentally distant, unheeding, unseeing. A heavy heart and weighty concerns veil the senses. Dappled light dances across shaded lawn but eyes don’t really see. A canopy of green foliage rustles overhead as breezes shift and sway; but ears don’t really hear.

In time the Old Dog, satiated with the frenzied hunt for smells; settles and revels in the shade, nose attentive to buffeting scents carried on the wind. 

A glance toward my Old Dog turns into a full measured pause. It’s clear his aging self has troubles of his own: sight has dimmed, hearing and muscles are much diminished. And yet, I hear the interior Spirit suggest; Notice, your Old Dog knows well enough to be here. He knows well enough to sense the cool of shaded grass on fur free skin, to lift the nose and savor the smells in the breeze, to feel the wind in his fur, and glory in the luxury of that, the divine restoration of that!

I feel my eyes widen, mind stumbling to be alert. I settle in the shade and strive to suspend worry and wrestling to attend. Water rushing over the rocky falls fills the ears. 

Wind buffets warm across skin and lifts hair. The essence of wood, wind, and water, the marvel of it all, fills the breath, slows the heart, and quiets thought. Listen for that which one can hear only in spiritual stillness. To see what can only be seen with the soul, to sense the holy in the moment. 

                      

 The Spirit of the LORD will be with you to give you understanding, wisdom, and insight.     

   You will be powerful, and you will know and honor the LORD.  
Isaiah 11:2 (CEV)

Human fears lift...
and shift... 
reframed by deeper awareness and divine meaning that transforms into peace filled strength. 

… to be renewed in the spirit of your minds…  
Ephesians 4:23 (ESV)

Smiling now..., 
grateful for the gift received. Old dog and human head home renewed by divine nudging.

*   *   *



Linking with Still Saturday, Weekend Whispers, Coffee for the Heart, and Tell His Story.

Celebrate Transformation

“For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.

For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.”

Edwin Way Teale ~
Naturalist, Photographer, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author

~

Indications of fall’s transformation begin to accumulate. 

Canadian Geese appeared on the pond, thousands of miles from their home. Two pair, regally adrift on the water’s surface, robust rounded torsos fitted with elegant long necks to facilitate their alert attention. Their gazed followed me with all confidence and mild interest as I passed slowly along the bank. I marvel imagining the distance that I know they have traveled, pondering where they may have “stopped over”  the last time they rested. I address them with soft words of welcome, compliment their migratory feat, and offer travel mercies for the journey still ahead. Within days they are gone. 

Crisp mornings welcome long sleeves pulled from the back of the closet and vapor rising from mugs of hot tea. 

A myriad of seeds and acorn varieties litter the paths, popping as my step breaks numerous shells. 

The first hues of mustard, old gold, school bus yellow build at the edges of hedge rows and tree tops. Nature begins to shed in brilliant golden showers.  

The neighbor’s produce garden looks leggy, over grown. Spindled stems and yellowing leaves serve as scaffolding for spider webs spanning across the rows.

The sun’s rays rise later and its angles fall differently. Briefly the moon burns blood red.

In this season, nature is transformed; widely opening its hand to disperse hope for the next generation and offer sustenance for a darker season. 

How like the transformation that God wills for own lives. 

In collaboration with Him and by His grace, 

as faith grows, the elements of 

generosity {Duet. 15:11}, 

gratitude {Ps.111:1}

love {Lev. 19:34},

joy {Ps. 90:14},

patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control {Gal. 5: 22-23} 

transform our character and therefore, the living of our days. Widely opening our hands to disperse hope and offer sustenance to others.

Linking with Soulful Friday, Still Saturday, and Weekend Whispers. :-)

September Memories

Brilliance and creativity arrive on my screen throughout the month. Some really talented folks creating gorgeous posts and some really smart folks sharing their expertise. Here are a few that lit up my heart this September.

~ Got inspired to transition the house to fall decor after watching these home tours, "Finding Fall Home Tours",  inspired by BHG. Which home is your favorite?
http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/2015/09/18/finding-fall-home-tour-with-better-homes-and-gardens/

~  Prose that reads as poetry. A beautifully written post honoring September memories.  http://ripplespeak.com/2015/09/september-singing/

~ Thought I was Word Wise, not so much. Confounded hard word usage article that husband and I used to test-ourselves. Yeah. Missed nearly half of these.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/65217/20-word-usage-mistakes-even-smart-people-make

~ Sang loudly in the car, with this song by Jordan Feliz. Favorite verse,"YOU WILL BE CHANGED!"

~ Getting past seasons of chaos; who doesn't need insight on that from time to time. Thoughts shared by Seth Haines.
http://sethhaines.com/recovery-room/4669/

~ Read these words on intercessory prayer;  pondered them for days and imagined God dispatching angels in a collective response of His will and the believer's faith.

Gathering the beautiful, the inspired, the faith filled...punctuates my days with encouragement and blessings. What shined brightly for you in September?

Intercessory Prayer

Many hours of this week were punctuated by thoughts, sorrow, and intercessory prayer for those both near and far, who are suffering.  Sorrow for grave illness, heartbreaking loss for those in my closer sphere and concern for the terrified surge of humanity seeking survival overseas sends me searching through scriptures to pair a message with a photo for each personal need, to portray heartfelt concern. Calls, posts, or mail all enlisted to communicate loving support and to share God's promises of presence and protection. For after we have walked out all earthly responsibilities for the care and wellbeing of others, there comes the essential action of prayer.

"Prayer is a participation in willing God's will. While God's ultimate will cannot be thwarted, the strategy God uses to reach that goal may be infinitely variable. The prayers of committed people become part of the cosmic reality God has to work with. [As Douglass V. Steere] suggests, God can use them to "tip the balance" and change the shape of distorted realities in the world. It is not stretching the truth to say that God needs our prayers. Such is the dignity and purpose we have been given in his divine [plan]." Marjorie J. Thompson, Soul Feast, "Communicating and Communion with God" p. 41

Claiming significance as a daughter of God, 
claiming the attention of His hearing to ask for His holy work in every need known to me, 
emboldens me to pray the 91st Psalm 
and to say to others:

For He will give His angels charge over you 

to accompany and defend 

and preserve you in all your ways.

 Psalm 91:11, AMP

Summer's End

School buses are rolling. The mid week fisher-kids on the ponds, have likely reeled in their hooks for the last time. We wont see much of them or their bikes, until next spring.The flag that was unfurled on Memorial Day will be flown until weather closes her down, like the end of a Broadway play. Summer’s nearly done. Though temperatures in our region will rage on through September, the pools will lose customers to football games and summer fruits will give way to pumpkins and gourds. So in these final days of a full moon shining bright in a sky still lit at eight o’clock at night, I’m pondering memories that marked the summer 2015…

Movies: 

Triple digit temps drive folks into theaters. Even with Netflix, its more fun to meet up with friends at the theater to escape the sun’s deep summer glare. A stunning remake of the classic film Far From the Madding Crowd was my favorite this summer. Filmed in the cooler climate of northern Britain, a smart woman, successfully manages her land and agricultural business in an era when few women had legal status to own land. Very British. Very inspiring.

Travel and Family Reunions:

When I fly over the university campus, the capital dome, and the azure blue lakes of my home town all manner of unseen forces pull me into that beloved region. I’m promise, my heart physically responds to the lakes and deep woods oxygen of that familiar place. Mix in the voices of family, the replication of my mother in my nieces, siblings eyes just like mine, same old tales told yet again, nephews with smiles identical to their dad’s and grandfather…summer reunions spent bare foot in the grass make lasting imprints on the heart.

Famous Women of Faith:

Do you, sisters in faith, do you respond deep in your bones when Christian education includes the leadership of Biblical women like Priscilla, Deborah, and Huldah? So blessed this summer by hearing those portions of God’s story that includes my gender. Women, His image bearers, fully valued and called by God to teach, preach, and prophesy. 

Benches and Books: 

...written about over here, because reading has been and always will be part of the tradition of summer. It goes way back to the Summer Reading Log that every kid filled out at the Public Library. You did that right?

Seasonally red,white, and blue will soon give way to orange, red, and yellow. The bold color of Pansies and Gerber Daisies will be memories as we plant Mums for the fall. Its time. Put a ribbon around summer’s memories and turn our faces to the respite and softness that is uniquely autumn.

                                                                        *   *   *

Joining the communities sharing at Chatting at the Sky, Give Me Grace: as well as Coffee for the Heart and Tell His Story. For the last two, click on their buttons below to join conversations of faith.

An Empty Vessel

"Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled." Martin Luther

Rounded surfaces and undulating forms, 

glazed in reflecting hues 

or fired to rustic textures reminiscent of earth’s original character.

The aesthetics of pottery captivate the human sou.

We are inspired by the act of creation watching the potter at her wheel, 

hands sliding wet against luminous clay, 

guiding shape out of formless matter. 

The art, the shaping,  

a metaphor for our own creation from  God’s loving hands. 

The shapes and purposes of every vessel as numerous as grains of sand.

~

"Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled.  My Lord,fill it.  

I am weak in the faith; strengthen me.  I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor.  I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and I am unable to trust you altogether.  O Lord, help me.  Strengthen my faith and trust in you.  In you I have sealed the treasure of all I have.  I am poor; you are rich and came to be merciful to the poor.  I am a sinner; you are upright.  With me, there is an abundance of sin; in you is the fullness of righteousness.  Therefore I will remain with you, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give. Amen”        
Martin Luther

~

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

                 Lyrics by Adelaide Pollard, 1907

~   

But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; 

and we all are the work of thy hand.

Isaiah 64:8

*   *   *

This post is linked with the faith communities listed below.