Tagged: Audrey Frank

The people walking in darkness see a bright light; light shines on those who live in a land of deep darkness.   Isaiah 9:2 Darkness has some strange effects on the mind and body. Studies have shown that humans who live in darkness for prolonged periods behave differently. There is even an entire field of biology called chronobiology devoted to studying the effects of light and darkness on humans, or the effects of solar and lunar activity on living creatures. You might have heard of the circadian rhythm, the internal wake-sleep cycle in humans. Or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the effect of darkness during late fall and winter on one’s mental state. Some people refer to it as the “winter blues.” Countries far north of… Read More

  The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. Isaiah 9:1 Gloom is defined by the Collins Dictionary as “a state of near darkness” or “a feeling of sadness or lack of hope.” It’s hard to see during the gloomy hour just before nightfall. Details are blurry. Lines on the road seem to disappear. People look like shadows, and it takes extra effort to focus.  Anxiety can have the same effect, pitching us into a state of near darkness, flooding us with sadness, and diminishing hope. It’s hard to see clearly when our minds and hearts grow dim with anxiety. In the gloom, we are more likely to cross boundaries or let someone else cross ours. We might bump into someone and cause… Read More

When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Exodus 3:4 The door to the cheese shop is sparkling The pedestrian crosswalk is shimmering I turn aside to see As you walk away from me. I parked in this spot A long time ago To drop off a friend who thought I needed to know. The fears I had for you Were come true It’s too late are the words That stuck to. The tree-lined street Was dark that day As all my hopes Fell away. But today! Here I am again Bringing you to help That same dear friend. Fear for you Has been replaced With joy… Read More

  For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Psalm 27:4-5 They are reaching, reaching for me Enemies on every side.   The ground is quivering, quaking Once solid now falling.   You are reaching, reaching for me Pulling me to Your side.   The Rock is firm, immovable Underneath my feet.   I am out of reach.   I wonder dear reader what is reaching for you today. Is it an enemy wearing the guise of a loved one? Is it the grenade lobbed in a short message on a blinking screen? I wonder how you are. I wonder what previously solid ground beneath your… Read More

My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him. Psalm 62:5, AMPC Shy soul Carefully guarded Peeking out from Behind a wall Built over decades To protect.   Curious soul Hoping…? Will they  Love me Accept me Welcome me Maybe not Try tomorrow Or another day one hundred years from now.   Safe soul  Stay Behind the wall Built over decades To prevent.   Surrendered soul Behind a wall Light cascading Inviting.   Patient soul Waiting Silent Hoping Expecting God alone. By Audrey Frank   The soul is like a wild animal—tough, resilient, savvy, self-sufficient and yet exceedingly shy. ― Parker J. Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life: Welcoming the Soul… Read More

    I have no ease, I have no quietness; I cannot rest; turmoil has come upon me.” Job 3:26   Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless—like chasing the wind. The fool folds his hands and does no work, so he has nothing to eat but his own flesh. Better is one handful with some rest than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind. Ecclesiastes 4:4-6   Dressed in black leggings and a black turtleneck tunic, I pulled on black socks, black quiet-sole sneakers, and finished it all with a black mask and beanie. I was ready. Back flat against brick I crept… Read More

  Now the passage of scripture the man was reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In humiliation justice was taken from him. Who can describe his posterity? For his life was taken away from the earth.” Acts 8:32-33, NET   We need to understand justice through the rough-hewn frame of the Cross. God is the God of Instead, who in His mysterious magnificence practices the beautiful principle of exchange. He takes upon Himself the punishment so that we might receive the reward instead. The justice we long for is beyond our reach. It is too dear, too expensive. Unattainable in human power. Underneath the… Read More

…seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:14b, 1 Peter 3:11b, NIV   Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground. Genesis 8:8, NET There is more than one kind of flood bringing destruction to the earth today. The waters of conflict, unrest, and war rise over the landscape. Where are the Noahs of today? Who is willing to open the window and send out their peace until it finds a place to lodge in the heart of another? The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took… Read More

And Noah did all that God commanded him—he did indeed. Genesis 6:22, NET The earth was ruined. Not by global warming, massive flooding, or earthquakes. But by human hearts.  The heart has that mighty, terrible power. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time (v.5). God’s heart was wounded, and He was highly offended by the ones He had created. Yet there was one who brought God comfort. His name was Noah, and he walked with God.  Noah was a godly man; he was blameless among his contemporaries. He walked with God (v.9). We humans are not the only ones who find comfort and hope in a friend willing to walk with us when our hearts are broken. God… Read More

You are to make a table of acacia wood; its length is to be 36 inches, its width 18 inches, and its height 27 inches…You are to set the Bread of the Presence on the table before me continually. Exodus 25:23, 30   But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Sovereign LORD. They will enter my sanctuary and approach my table to minister to me; they will keep my charge. Exodus 44:15-16   “Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning; be like people waiting… Read More