Tagged: Audrey Frank

This popular post has been updated from its original publication on audreyfrank.org  in March 2018. But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. Joshua 7:1 At times reading the Bible, beholding it, is like staring into a burning book. The words lick with flames like a ravenous fire, determined to burn away the perishable in my heart and soul. The text of Joshua 7 is searing, its flames rising ever higher, burning my gaze and drawing me in. The story of Achan’s sin. [bctt tweet="Achan acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things. He took some of them. Achan took God’s glory for… Read More

Afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and I will lay your foundations with sapphires. Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies, and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones.  Isaiah 54:11-12 There is a fat-bellied bird in Britain who has two names. Ornithologists call him a Mistle Thrush, but in the countryside where he is often seen, he is known as the Storm Thrush because of his tendency to sing in the midst of strong winds. A story is told about a poet who was awakened in the night, not by the fierce storm that ravaged outside, for indeed it was enough to wake the deepest sleeper, but by a rich and… Read More

Written from a hidden ranch deep in the Kenyan mountains as my husband and I sat in Jesus' presence for examen among the wild creatures.   The Wildness of Your Presence   Sometimes Your presence is a wild place. Air thrumming with life Wildness As if I emerged into a sacred wilderness Where You and Your wild things Commune.   I am the tame one here, The one who thinks Instead of abiding, Who sits Instead of flying.   The common Kenyan pigeon Perches nearby Curiously appraising my composure, Inviting me to decompose.   Goats meander through A dry river bed, Their bells tinkling As they forage along the ravine. Your food is there waiting for them.   Monkeys chatter, Clamber along the acacia, Stopping… Read More

  O Lord, you have searched me and known me. Psalm 139:1 Jesus sees me fully. The woman sitting on the floor in the train station is hungry. Or is she a swindler? Her dogs look fat and happy even as she intones her blessings on passersby and asks for euros to fill their water bowl. Maybe she is going without so they can survive. The boy who struggles up the stairs with two suitcases is in a panic, his glasses askew and face crinkled as the train whistles its warning. Where are his parents? Behind her perfect hair and makeup, the girl on the corner with the silver high heels is scared. The man sitting beside me on the bus is humming a chant.… Read More

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. (Psalm 107:29-30).   Silence, you elusive friend; Doors are creaking, keyboards tapping, I can’t hear you.   Let me settle at the sunny table in the kitchen; Perhaps there I will find you for a few moments. No! Pans are banging, dishes clanging;  The annoying crinkle of plastic bags;  Hands searching for breakfast pastries.   Maybe in the corner of the living room, Here in this tiny dwelling, By the window; (Silence and sunshine please!)   Oh no! Not here. The whine of saws in the next room,  As builders make a wall, Or tear one down. The crash of planks outside, Dropped from the heights,  To the busy street below.   Where… Read More

Your gentleness made me great. 2 Samuel 22:36   Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 Great: of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average. Of ability, quality, or eminence considerably above the normal or average. Important or distinguished (New Oxford American Dictionary). Great is a banned word in my children’s writing curriculum. Overused, the word requires no imagination. Teachers encourage students to think of a synonym that is more precise, less ordinary. Great is… Read More

If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord’s commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them…he shall be forgiven. Leviticus 4:2, 31 Dear Child, You looked so handsome today as your face peered at me over the many miles that separate us. You are a man now, boy of mine. I love the familiar way your brows knit together like a wooly worm and your eyes look to the right as you think hard on the big life decisions you are facing. I have seen that look many times before. Like the time you took the vacuum cleaner completely apart and described to me your plans to turn it into a jet-car. Or the spring you made the decision… Read More

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.  Psalm 10:17-18 Lament: a passionate expression of grief or sorrow; a song, piece of music, or poem expressing sorrow. Lament is an expression found in many cultures across the world. What makes biblical lament different from all others, however, is that its goal is not merely complaint and grief, but a reinstatement of faith in God. A complaint, a sorrow, a rending, that ends in trust. The One who created our emotions, minds, and souls knows that for us to truly trust, we must empty… Read More

for happy feet Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 There are seasons we run for ourselves, and seasons we run for others. I began running for me. Freshly back from Africa and spiraling downward into grief and large cartons of large Chick-fil-a waffle fries, I needed to move. To breathe. To pump out my… Read More

He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age. Ruth 4:15 Restoration and nourishment are possible for the young… and the old. But can this be true in the face of excruciating loss? Loss brought Naomi and Ruth’s lives to a halt. Huddled in hopelessness, they clung to each other wondering what to do. So many losses. The death of a husband, a father, a patriarch. Loss of home, nation, and community. Death of sons. Shattered dreams: the dream of children, the joy of inheritance. Cessation of the family name. Death of identity. Who was Naomi if she was not the wife of Elimelech, the mother of two strong sons and their beautiful wives, the prospective grandmother of… Read More