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Shy Soul
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
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The Problem with Competency
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
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Justice was Taken
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
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Musings on Being a Peacemaker
…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
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He Did Indeed
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
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One Table
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
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Why?
Written by a gospel worker who needed to remind her troubled soul. Why do I put myself in peril, and take my life in my hands? Even if he slays me, I will hope in him... Job 13:14-15a I already made this decision, Lord. It is not one to be revisited. I decided as my child lay in the hospital fighting for his life that I would trust You. It is finished. I trust You. I trusted You that night. I will trust you today, as I am assailed on every side, and the one I love is not exempt from the bullseye. What more will You allow in Your sovereignty? I do not dare imagine; I refuse old practices of bartering and bargaining with… Read More
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Rooted
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. Isaiah 11:10 Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant; and. HumbledHimself, becoming obedient even unto death. Wherefore God also highly exalted Him. Philippians 2:5-7 We once had a home on a quiet street with the lines drawn in order and houses neatly separated by tidy fences and carefully sectioned acres. The day we moved there from a series of years living near the Sahara, I lay down in the front yard and laughed for joy until my ribs were sore. Lush, green grass… Read More
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King Tide
For you, little bug. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14 A king tide is a non-scientific term used to describe the largest type of tide, which occurs when the earth, moon, and sun are perfectly aligned. I’m a mountain girl, and I did not grow up understanding tides and shorelines. I left the mountains to explore the world. My sister left the mountains too and followed her fascination with all things sea, making her family’s home along an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. Her happy place is in her kayak at sunset, immersing herself in the glory of God’s living painting of the day. Sometimes, He pours liquid… Read More
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What Will You Say?
Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:12-14 What will you say When you visit my fortress, When you pass through my gates Once riddled with war? What will you say When you approach the bulwark, Where princes once raised Their battle cry? What will you say When you circle my ruins, The place I once sheltered As enemies charged? What will you say When you examine the rubble, When you climb ancient stones, Foundation of my fortress? What will you say… Read More