Better Than We Know

In The Midst of the Storm

2011-08-26T20:30:00.006-04:00

When the fields are dry, and the winter is long
Blessed are the meek, the hungry, the poor
When my soul is downcast, and my voice has no song
For mercy, for comfort, I wait on the Lord

In the harvest feast or the fallow ground,
My certain hope is in Jesus found
My lot, my cup, my portion sure
Whatever comes, we shall endure.
Whatever comes, we shall endure

On a cross of wood, His blood was out poured
He Rose from the ground, like a bird to the sky
Bringing peace to our violence, and crushing death's door
Our Maker incarnate, our God who provides.

Bridge:
come, oh come, Emman- u- el
come, oh come, Emman- u- el

When the earth beneath me crumbles and quakes
Not a sparrow falls, nor a hair from my head
Without His hand to guide me, my shield and my strength
In joy or in sorrow, in life or in death.

Belief

2011-05-09T09:37:00.002-04:00

Belief, makes things real.
Makes things feel, feel alright.
Belief, makes things true.
Things like you, you and I.

Tonight, you arrested my mind.
When you came to my defense.
With a knife in the shape of your mouth,
in the form of your body, with the wrath of a god.
Oh, you stood by me, Belief

Builds from scratch.
Doesn't have to relax, it doesn't need space.
Long live the queen and I'll be the king.
In the collar of grace.

Oh, tonight, you arrested my mind.
When you came to my defense.
With a knife in the shape of your mouth,
in the form of your body, with the wrath of a god.
Oh, you stood by me, belief.

I'm gonna yell it from the rooftops.
I'll wear a sign on my chest.
That's the least I can do, it's the least I can do.

Tonight, you arrested my mind.
When you came to my defense.
With a knife, in the shape of your mouth,
in the form of your body, with the wrath of a god.
Oh, you stood by me.
And I'll stand by my belief.

I will stand by mine...

belief...

^{2 Corinthians 5:21} For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Because Grace Chose Me

2011-05-06T20:21:00.006-04:00

I can't remember exactly how long ago it was-a year or eighteen months- but I do remember the strident ringing of the phone that yanked me from a sound sleep in the middle of the night. There is something distinctly dislocating about an abrupt awakening and when my "hello" was greeting by sobbing, I definitely felt as if I were caught in a waking nightmare.

The voice on the other end of the phone belonged to someone who is most precious to me and I struggled to wake up, listen, grasp, and comprehend their words. To make a very long and ugly story short: someone had hurt my loved one- physically and mentally. Someone whom this person loved and trusted. I stayed on the phone until a friend arrived to help and then just as abruptly as I was needed, it was over.

Except it wasn't really. Because I now had my thoughts and feelings and fears to deal with; I had my emotions to sort out and, of course, my response to choose.

And choose I did. I thought. I relived that horrid, frightening call and remembered the pain and fear in my loved one's voice. I thought some more. Wasn't my choice obvious? I hardly had any choice at all. Someone, some wretched, cruel, WRONG, individual, had HURT SOMEONE I LOVED!

My mind was made up. If, and when, the opportunity presented itself, I would make sure that the person who had trespassed against what was mine to protect would answer to me. It was my right and certainly I was in the right; there was no doubt about that. Certainly it is reasonable to hold certain behaviors, and people by extension, as unacceptable.

Except my loved one chose to reconcile with their friend.

Huh.

Fine. I would accept my loved one, but NOT their friend. This wasn't a matter of unforgiveness; it was a matter of not condoning unacceptable behavior! Certainly, I was STILL RIGHT!

Time passed. The issue was tacitly avoided.

Until Easter. Blessed Easter! Beautiful Easter! "Jesus has Risen!" Easter!

There they were: my precious and her friend sitting in church. By mutual decision we managed to avoid each other.

Then came the news. They would be at Easter dinner. Hmmmm. I "had a little talk with Jesus". Actually, I did most of the talking and he quietly listened.

Me: I'm right! YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT! I'M ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! That isn't even a question! I'M RIGHT!! This person HURT my loved one! This person NEEDS to be held accountable! I am RIGHT and JUSTIFIED in doing so! When someone wrongs us, it is within our rights to hold them responsible! When someone willfully, purposely, intentionally sins against us and wounds us, we have every right to hold them responsible and accountable for their actions! You know I AM RIGHT! We can forgive but choose not to associate with them. We can forgive but choose to be wise. We can forgive but realize that they are bad and wrong for us. We are RIGHT to do so! YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT AND I HAVE EVERY RIGHT! I have every right to remind them of their sin. I have every right to keep it before them. I have every right not to forget lest they cause hurt again. I have every right because I was sinned against, not them! I have every right when someone betrays my trust to choose not to forget their sin! DON'T I HAVE THAT RIGHT?

Him: Yes, Jamie, you do. Just as my Father had every right.

~

Beloved, let me tell you something, Grace is a pain in my ass, because just when I've convinced myself I'm RIGHT:

Grace reminds me, not through a constant reminder of my guilt, but through a constant and continual love, that being forgiven negates my right to be right.

Grace teaches me that freedom is found in entrusting, not only myself, but others, to God.

Grace enables me to love and forgive others to the extent that I have recognized and accepted that I am loved and forgiven.

Grace is an affront to every act of self that I hold and protect and defend so vigorously.

Grace reproduces in me when I yield to his embrace.

Grace allows me to see the world through my Beloved's eyes, love them with my Beloved's heart, and embrace them with his forgiveness.

Grace gives me the choice to embrace him or my rights.

Did I have the "right" to hold a trespasser accountable, Beloved? Maybe. Probably. Certainly the Law would say so. The Law held us each accountable, did it not? But, gloriously!, I had the opportunity to see in someone else the reconciliation that God in Christ affected at the cross "not counting men's sins against them"; I had the choice to choose love because love had chosen me!

You see, what is knowing you're right compared to knowing Grace?

The choice was really quite simple.

Philippians 3:⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—

On Finding Our Wings

2011-05-06T17:36:00.004-04:00

God is not a sadistic child. You are not a June bug. And the Law is not a string tied to your leg with which God controls you.

God did not bind us to himself with the commandments. In fact, under the Old Covenant, we attempted to bind ourselves to God through our performance. God always had a better way! He bound himself to us by the cross, making his performance, not ours, the only contingency for righteousness and life.

Where the law can never hold us, the love of God will keep us.

"Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you." Galations 5:1

Just Because...

2011-05-05T18:33:00.002-04:00

beauty is often found in the simplest of pleasures and joy is greater for being shared.

Grace & peace.

Of Grace And Roses

2011-03-22T16:30:00.006-04:00

My roses have no sense of decency. Although they have yet to be pruned, weeded, or mulched, they are beginning to bloom as sassy as they please. Have they no shame? Their audacious insistence in the face of their bedraggled appearance is an affront to propriety. How dare they? How dare they flaunt their graceful beauty in the very midst of their messiness? How dare they brazenly bud and blossom when it's overwhelmingly obvious that they're not only far from perfect, but not even within shouting distance of it?!? What could my ridiculous roses be thinking?

How about a little chagrin? A little remorse? If they're not going to get their act together, couldn't they at least have the virtue to bury theirself under the nearest rock? There is just something irritating about their laissez faire attitude toward their circumstances. Who do they think they are anyway?

Why, roses, of course.

And that's why I cried today. I cried because it took my pitiful, pathetic, not so glamorous, glorious roses to remind me of who I am and why who I am is OK...in the midst of my own personal messiness.

I am not OK because I'm perfect in deed, thought, or intent.

I am not OK because I'm remorseful or contrite.

I am not OK because having failed, I determine to try harder in the future.

I'm not even OK because I have asked for forgiveness.

The fact is, my OK-ness, is not something I can fix.

Our OK-ness has NEVER been something we could fix! That's where Adam blew it in the Garden. Stop and think for a moment. Eve was disobedient because she was deceived. But not Adam. Adam decided he could fix Eve's predicament without God. Adam chose self-reliance over reliance and trust. And sin entered the world, not through Eve, but through Adam. I used to mistakenly believe that Adam acted out of love, but I no longer believe that; Adam acted out of mistrust-misplaced trust- in himself, instead of God. Death was not the only legacy Adam bequeathed to his descendants; he also bequeathed a propensity toward self-righteousness. Self-righteousness: the fallacy that right standing is dependent on oneself when in actuality right standing is dependent on Christ.

Christ who joined himself to us while we were yet sinners and placed us in right standing with God. Christ who became the last Adam and trusting his Father allowed sin and death to be made of no account in his body. Christ who is our righteousness, our identity, our life. Therefore, the reality of our life isn't based on our ability but on the quality of the life in which we've been placed. Faith, then, is not our production of that life but of our trust in it!

I cannot prune, weed, or mulch myself enough to produce life. I cannot fix the inheritance man received from Adam. I cannot create life where death reigned.

The Good News is I don't have to-for myself or for others! The Good News is that Christ already accomplished all this on my behalf leaving me free to trust in his Finished Work! The Good News is that, regardless of my propensity toward self-righteousness, I cannot undo what the cross did! The really super, amazing, hardly believable news is that the perfection we inherited through Christ's obedience far exceeded the imperfection we inherited through Adam's disobedience! We are no longer disqualified in Adam; we are qualified in Christ Jesus!

It's that Good News that causes me to bloom in what the world might see as my failure-my complete lack of outward perfection. For I know the Truth; my perfection has never been about me; my perfection has always been about Christ.

How can I, like my roses, bloom?

Beloved, how can I not?

^{John 3:17} "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

^{1 John 3:2} "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

God Is Enchanted By You

2011-03-22T14:27:00.000-04:00

Suffer The Little Children

2011-02-02T18:26:00.012-05:00

Let's start here.

Pretty powerful stuff, huh?

Especially, "Javier turned around and looked at me with curious, wide, dark eyes. I smiled back at that perplexed face, suddenly feeling nothing but warmth toward him. He grinned, having realized that I was okay, and he was in the clear. Then he faced forward again and pushed his head back between my legs, so that his cheeks were even with my knees. Something inside of me jumped, giddy, at this sudden offering of trust."

"...this sudden offering of trust."

My God, how we miss God's heart!!

How so, you ask?

Because somehow in our self-centered, self-deluded, self-righteous, self-conscious, totally discounting the all encompassing reach of God's grace, finite minds, we become the disciples of Matthew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18.

We think, if we come in faith, God will bless us.

We think, if we believe, God will forgive us.

We think, if we, if we, if we....God will.

Oh, get over yourself already!

True facts: GOD HAS.

We honest to gosh have the insufferable audacity to think that if we believe, God will move.

Just out of curiosity, how big do you think the faith of the children in those scriptures was? I expect they were clueless. I expect they may have been frightened by the disciples' attitudes and Jesus' rebuke to them. Wow, grumpy Jesus face. Think about that. Jesus was pissed at his disciples. Huh. Ever wonder why? Ever wonder why the episode with the children is followed by the story of the rich, young man?

Mark 10: ¹³And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.

¹⁴But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

¹⁵Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

¹⁶And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

Uh oh. There is a problem here. Jesus blessed those kids before they said the sinner's prayer. He blessed them before they repented! He blessed them before they had faith in him, before they trusted him!! OMGOLLY!!

DO YOU THINK HIS BLESSING THEM BEFORE, HIS LOVING THEM BEFORE, HIS ACCEPTING THEM BEFORE, MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE WHOLE FREAKING POINT OF THE ENCOUNTER??? THAT THEIR TRUST AND FAITH WERE PREDICATED ON HIS ACTIONS? THAT THEIR TRUST AND FAITH WERE BASICALLY NOTHING MORE THAN RESTING IN HIS FAITHFULNESS???

No wonder the disciples' heads turned around backwards.

"I mean, seriously, accepting these stinky, little gets on your merit, not theirs, Jesus? C'mon, tell us what we can doooooooooooooooo. Make it about us."

^{Mark 10: 17}And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

¹⁸And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

¹⁹Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

²⁰And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

²¹Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

²²And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

²³And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

²⁴And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

²⁶And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?

²⁷And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

The poor disciples! You gotta feel for them by now. I mean, look!, here comes a guy, running and kneeling, this guy obviously gets it!, and Jesus with his picky arse self, who is still sticky from grubby hands and slobbery kisses, shoots him down! "Settin' the bar a might high there, aren't you, Jesus?" they must have been thinking. "Dang! Here is a guy, a rich guy, a 'If anyone can get it done, I'm your man' kinda guy, a *gulp* GIT*R*DONE kinda guy and, what the crap?, you want to talk about what's possible for God???? THIS ISN'T ABOUT GOD, JESUS! DON'T YOU GET THAT? THIS IS ABOUT US!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhh. The light dawns. The Sun of Righteousness rises with healing in his wings.

Healing for all mankind. Forgiveness for all mankind. Life for all mankind.

Justification by his blood, not our sweat.

Sanctification by his life, not our death.

Salvation through his faithfulness, not our faith.

WARNING! WARNING, WILL ROBINSON!!

Tipped you into the "Red Zone", huh?

It's just soooo much more satisfying to have a "Great Pumpkin" faith, isn't it? Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see...

Poor Sally! She missed out on the real treats by listening to Linus's convincing preaching! Robbed by a religious zealot!

Poor Linus! He's lying out in the cold, hard, unforgiving pumpkin patch, in fear that his lack of faith cost him everything.

But, HEY!, you gotta love Lucy! That girl knows a thing or two about FAITH: a position of REST.

Even better: an attitude of TRUST in REST spelled JESUS.

"The other children watched me and him carefully, gauging my reaction. I slowly started to sway my knees side-to-side, his face caught in between. He laughed at this game. Then I noticed his smell. Tears prickled in my eyes as I continued rocking him left to right, and I looked around at the other children. Neat smocks. Clean hair. Why hadn't I noticed before? He sat that way, his warm little body between my feet, for five minutes or more, the best behaved I'd ever seen him."

Beloved, fear of punishment didn't motivate that little boy. What is hell to someone who lives there?

That child responded to love.

"Having realized that I was okay, and he was in the clear..."

You want to talk to me about my faith?

You want to preach to me about my belief?

I don't buy it.

Not for a second.

Talk to me about Jesus.

Point me to the cross.

My confidence is in the one who placed me "in the clear", who saved me because I could not save myself!

That's where I'm resting... in the one who is Rest.

The Gospel: It's This Simple

2011-01-28T18:33:00.001-05:00

On Getting What We Deserve

2010-12-05T21:41:00.005-05:00

Earning and deserving. Earning and deserving. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Do so many Christians believe the world will get what they deserve because it's the only way that Christians can get what they have earned?

Did man earn death?

Did man deserve life?

Did man deserve death?

Did man earn life?

I am coming to the conclusion that God's vocabulary doesn't include those words in relationship to man.

WHY?

Because GRACE has left room for nothing else.

Earning and deserving are words hinged on man's actions, whereas Grace is solely dependent on God's actions towards man.

Through the act of one man, mankind's identity became death, yet, through the act of Christ, mankind's identity became life. Our individual actions have never defined our identity for morality has never produced righteousness, nor does sin produce death. Did you just faint? But how could it when sin itself was destroyed in the body of Christ? We do not earn, keep, or lose LIFE through our actions!!! We accept the TRUTH that Christ is our Life.

I have heard it said that we overestimate our sins. True. But, far more importantly, we underestimate God's love, for if we could but see through His eyes, instead of our own, Grace would leave room for nothing more than rest- rest from fear, from labor, from doubt. A rest that is neither earned or deserved but simply accepted and trusted.

If we believed this, how would we not only see ourselves but also the world?

Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I Failed Christianity 101

2010-11-23T19:49:00.003-05:00

I am a failure as a Christian. A complete and utter failure. It's true and I'm not writing this for someone to come along and prop up my ego by telling me differently.

You see, yesterday I stood at the bedside of someone I care about while they lay dying and I felt like I was going to throw up. He stank, his room stank, his partner stank after days spent at the hospital, and I felt like the stench had crawled up my nose and lodged there permanently. Just remembering the smell is enough to make me feel nauseous still.

And you know what great miracle I pulled off? Ummm, nada. Zero. Zilch. No miraculous recovery. No light from heaven flooding the room. No "Silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I thee" moment. He didn't stand up and walk. He lay there with a tube in his throat attached to a machine that kept him breathing. Not living. The him I knew was gone. Nothing but his shell remained.

I guess I could lay claim to giving his wife the $14 which is all Ryan and I could scrounge up between us. Not really a life changing amount.

Where was my Jesus wand when I needed it?

Where was all the happy, happy, joy, joy that being a Christian entitles me to?

Where was God, darn it? And why couldn't I pull Him out of my hat like a rabbit?

See? Utter failure.

And I'm so glad.

Because when I finally get myself out of the way, when I finally quit trying so damned hard to be everything to everybody, when I finally get my sticky, childish fingers off, God can be God. All by Himself. And that's the God my faith is in. Regardless of how I feel. Regardless of how things appear to be. Regardless. God is God and that is what I depend on. That is the unshakable truth that I can share with others.

I can trust God. It is simple. It is ridiculous. It is everything and the only thing that has any meaning in this crazy world.

I can trust God with myself. I can trust God with you. I can trust God with my mistakes. I can trust God when GOD MAKES NO SENSE.

And I can trust God to not have left this whole, dang THING dependent on ME! SHEESH!! Get over yourself already! God didn't leave this whole, dang thing dependent on you either.

He left it hanging on a cross.

People, if you didn't already know it- THAT IS THE GOOD NEWS.

My utter failure as a Christian is the place where I can see the faithfulness of God.

That's why it is and always will be about grace.

Crazy God.

My Salvation Lies In Your Love

2010-09-13T22:25:00.001-04:00

Ba De Ya

2010-09-07T09:24:00.001-04:00

I do so hope this makes you jump up and dance like a mad thing!! SEPTEMBER!! Hooray! I love fall.

Happiness Is...

2010-08-22T10:23:00.000-04:00

Jack Johnson makes me smile.

Ratatouille

2010-08-18T20:22:00.004-04:00

I made ratatouille for supper tonight. I love ratatouille. It's one of those dishes that you can't make wrong; you just endlessly experiment with different variations on the theme of vegetables, seasonings, and cooking method. Ratatouille is a reflection of now. ( And in your best Julia Child voice you can say "aubergine" instead of eggplant! How delightfully snooty.)

Grace should be like ratatouille. We forget that sometimes. We forget that the life of Christ in each of us has myriad variations and we begin to stick to the tried and true and to expect it of others. We begin to look for results. We want a uniform finished product. We stop trusting God to walk through us and, instead, we walk in what we know. We trade the opportunity to move in unison with a wild, untamable God for the safety of a merry-go-round ride. We, in short, settle for religion over relationship.

We settle because we convince ourselves that we're less likely to miss God this way.

We settle because we're afraid that God really won't come through for us.

We settle because there's security in the familiar.

We settle because somewhere, deep, down inside, we believe that God might love others that way, but not us.

We settle because waiting on God is hard and we decide He might actually need our help.

We settle because, for many of us, keeping God at arms length is just more comfortable.

We settle because we lose hope.

And the delicious, fragrant life that God has for each of us becomes a stale, dull routine of servitude and drudgery. And we call that life in Christ!! BLECCH!!! No wonder the world turns up their collective nose at it!

I'm sorry but God's life in us can't be reduced to a recipe card of do's and don't's.

This walk of faith is about us: unique, quirky, one-of-a-kind individuals, and the Holy Spirit. Christ's life reproduced in us is a never before seen and never to be repeated event. It's new, fresh, and evolving-everyday.

It's not yesterday. It's not tomorrow. It's TODAY.

It's not leftovers or prepackaged microwave dinners. It's organic and real.

It's not religion. It's LIFE.

When's the last time you tasted and saw that the Lord is good?

The Folks Who Live on the Hill

2010-08-15T14:17:00.004-04:00

Happy 24th Anniversary, Ryan.

( I highly recommend Jane Monheit's version of this song; it is fabulous!!)

On Chickens and Eggs

2010-08-13T20:47:00.003-04:00

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

How about In the beginning?

God or man?

Salvation or belief?

The Sacrifice or the Sin?

I think how we answer these questions says a lot about how we view the relationship between God and man. Who initiates? Who responds? And why does it matter?

FYI: God came first. Salvation came first. Ditto the Sacrifice. God initiated; we respond. And it matters because unless we see God's intent toward man, His love for man, we live with the misconception that God wants something from men other than belief. We buy into the deception that religious snake-oil salesman have peddled for 2000 years- "You! Yes, you! Can earn eternal life if THE BEHAVIOR IS RIGHT!!!"

That's where religion gets the most important fact wrong. It's not our behavior that mattered to God. It was the behavior of His Son.

That's where the world totally misses the whole "For God so loved the WORLD" deal. God doesn't love or forgive because we love or believe. Uh, no. God loved, forgave, reconciled, and saved, and then pursues us like a crazy, lovesick nut in the hope that we will simply believe in that love.

Which came first?

Love.

Duh.

Bigger Than

2010-07-27T22:47:00.005-04:00

I know this might surprise you, I mean I'm always surprised when I remember, but GOD is BIGGER THAN:

my goofiness

my doubt

my circumstance

my lack

my unwillingness

my intolerance

my stubborness

my perceptions

my selfishness

my short-sightedness

my immaturity

my screw-ups

my slip-ups

my fall flat on my you know whatsis

my grumpiness

my weakness

my awkwardness

my failures

my self-obsession

my self-consciousness

my greediness

my contrariness

my hatred

my self-reliance

my ignorance

my impatience

my insistence on knowing I'm right, not Him

AND

my goodness

my faithfulness

my love

my kindness

my performance

my patience

my generosity

my sheer brilliance!!!

my perfection

Truth is...God is Bigger Than. Bigger than my worst and my best. That's why He doesn't need my help; He only desires my faith in His love and His faithfulness.

Dang. That's some good stuff right there, y'all.

How big is your God?

Grace is more than enough.

Cross-Pollination

2010-07-21T20:57:00.005-04:00

Sometimes you just need to hear it from another heart...

Under the Waterfall of Grace

Enjoy!

Everything Is Spiritual

2010-07-21T19:22:00.001-04:00

I LOVE THIS!!!!

On Leaving Facebook

2010-07-21T18:40:00.002-04:00

I'll be honest...life is too short and too valuable for me to spend time contending over opinions on the internet. I want to know GRACE and share HIM with those around me in love. Ciao, Facebook. Hello, Life. :)

Mommy Musings

2010-07-13T19:37:00.007-04:00

Me: I'm really mad at you; I guess you know that, though, right?

Jesus ( laughing): Well, it's been kinda obvious that you're studiously avoiding talking to me...other than to let me know how angry you are.

Me: Just so you know. Because I AM SERIOUSLY ANGRY with you. I'm sad. I'm confused. And I've felt like this for a while now. Did you know that Dev will be leaving for Spain in September for NINE FREAKING MONTHS?!? DID YOU KNOW THAT? Did you know that Reagan will be graduating this year and is planning on going to college A LONG WAY AWAY? HUH? DID YOU KNOW THAT, TOO? And, AND, AND did you know that the next time the World Cup is played Savannah, that's SAVANNAH, MY BABY, WILL HAVE GRADUATED?!? ARRRRGGGHHH! Did you know that these beautiful people that YOU GAVE ME are growing up? Ugh! I loathe, detest, and despise change. I hate it. I hate it. And you know what I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HATE? I HATE, DESPISE, AND LOATHE that I'm supposed to put on my happy Christian face and be OK with all this despicable, loathsome, hateful BS because YOU are my joy, my strength, my whatever. Well, FYI, I don't feel like it.

Jesus (attempting to take my hand and still laughing gently): Well, it's not like this is a big revelation to me but I'm glad you are finally being honest enough to admit it to me. I know you're angry, confused, and most of all scared. I know that. And whether or not you feel it, I am still your joy, strength, and even your peace. And I know you know that, Jamie. But, I want you to hear me, you do NOT have to put on your happy Christian face. Not for anyone, especially not for me. I don't want your happy Christian face; I want your trust.

Me (not giving an inch): Tough, Buddy. You are soooo seriously underestimating how mad I am. YOU GAVE ME MY CHILDREN! YOU! YOU tricked me into loving them and now I'm supposed to merrily wave them good-bye as they walk away with my heart? Bull poopy to that. B-u-l-l poopy.

Jesus( laughing in earnest now): WOW! Tell me how you really feel!

Me( smothering my own laugh): Don't! DO NOT MAKE ME LAUGH! DO NOT BE ALL NICE AND LOVING AND UNDERSTANDING! I HATE THAT, TOO! Look, can't you understand, I'm sad? I'm scared. I'm worried. OK, not really worried. In fact, I'm excited for the kids. I really am. Truly.

Jesus( succeeding in pulling me close this time): I know, Sweetheart, I know. But you're crying. So, let me guess. Are you scared for you because life is changing so fast and you can't seem to quite keep up?

Me( sobbing): Yessssss. I am scared! And I feel stupid because aren't I, someone who blogs about YOU, for Pete's sake, aren't I supposed to just be able to WHATEVER and get over this? I mean, REALLY, YOU ARE THE ANSWER, I say it all the time. Huh.

Jesus( holding me tighter and stroking my hair): Jamie, it's OK to be sad. It's OK to be mad. IT IS OK. You are human and it's OK to have human emotions. I just hope that you will let me be a part of what you're feeling. If you try to be what you think you should be, you're only going to end up frustrating yourself. I know what you're feeling. I know how you've been hurt and how you're still hurting. I know that you're terrified to see the safe world you think you've built for your family threatened by change. I know all of that and I'm right here with you in the midst of all of your feelings. Your feelings don't threaten me. They don't disgust me. And YOU don't either. Even when your nose is dripping snot.

Me( pulling back in embarrassment and mumbling): Gee, thanks, I feel better now. Not.

Jesus( still holding on): Jamie, I'm not going to pull out a crystal ball and show you the future. I'm not going to roll back the mists of time and do it either. I'm simply going to continue to be here like I always have been and hope that you'll continue to learn to trust me. Do you think you can trust me? Do you think you can try? And, do you think that you can share what you're feeling with me instead of assuming you know what I or anyone else thinks?

Me: I want to. It's just that it just seems so hard this time.

Jesus: I know. I'm asking you to trust me with your children and your heart. I know that makes you feel threatened and vulnerable. But, I promise you, I will be here. I will always be here. And I'm there for Devon, Reagan, and Savannah, too. They are mine, too, you know.

Me( laughing): Well, you can think that if you like. *SIGH* I'm trying. I am. But I think I'm tired of even that. I think you are going to have to make do with that.

Jesus( turning serious): Do you trust my love for you?

Me: Absolutely. I never doubt that!

Jesus: Then that's all I ask. Remember I love you, Jamie. Remember I have always loved you. Remember I will always love you. And be yourself. Please. Trust me enough to be yourself. No matter what you're feeling.

Me: Oh, I don't think you really want to know everything I'm feeling because it would SCARE YOU!

Jesus: There's nothing you have ever done or felt that surprises me. Nothing you have ever done or will do that disappoints me. I just want you to trust my love. Can you trust my love?

Me: Let's do this- how about I keep trusting and you keep proving? But how about sometimes when my trust is kinda shaky, maybe you can keep proving then, too? How about that?

Jesus( laughing out loud with joy): Done. So done! Done 2000 years ago, in case you forgot.

And then I looked at those hands that were holding me. How did I forget? How can I forget? Because sometimes I start looking at my life so hard, I forget the hands that are holding me.

Me: OK. Deal. I'm ready for you to love me REAL BIG, Mister. You better get busy!

Jesus( wearing a huge grin): My pleasure, Jamie. That is entirely my pleasure.

God Is Not A White Man

2010-07-13T09:13:00.001-04:00

When You Can't See The Cross For The Me's

2010-07-11T19:34:00.005-04:00

Have you ever heard someone ask why we were created? And then follow up their question with all their answers...to worship, to serve, to, to, to.

Have you ever heard someone ask what God's greatest gift is to mankind and then do the same thing? Free will, reason, etc., me, me, me.

News Flash: The answer is one and the same: RELATIONSHIP.

We were created to have relationship with our creator and the greatest gift God gives is Himself.

God is love and love must have an expression- that would be us. You & me.

That's why Grace in the bodily form of Christ is so ridiculously offensive. Because we don't earn, merit, or deserve it. In fact, we often misunderstand, misuse, and squander it. And God keeps giving and giving and giving in the hope that one day we'll simply trust and receive Him and rest in His love.

So, let's flip this bad boy: Why does God exist? TO LOVE US.

And, likewise, what's our greatest gift to Him? Our faith. (Which He provides, too. Sneaky God.)

So, what am I trying to say? Something like this:

I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! Colossians 2: 2-3.

This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. Colossians 1: 26-28.

Relationship, God's love in Christ, the cross. The Gospel really is that simple.

Thoughts On The Night Sky

2010-07-06T22:00:00.003-04:00

The night sky has been incredible here lately- clear and bright with stars that go on and on indefinitely. Sometimes, I walk outside and tilt my head back and feel like I'm falling into God. God- as far in every direction as I can see. That is so cool.

Yet, recently as I was star gazing, I had a revelation as I realized the view changed with my perspective. Duh. Of course, it did, right? Scorpio lies to the South, Mars to the West, the Big and Little Dippers to the North, and Cassiopeia to the Northeast at this time of year. Depending on the season and the time of night, the constellations appear to move.

It's kinda like our view of God, isn't it?

Depending on where we are, we judge God's position in relation to our own.

If we don't "feel" God, we ask Him where He is.

If we don't "see" God, we wonder if He has left us.

If we don't "hear" God, we question His presence.

Yet, here is a wonderful truth God showed me in the night sky. Sometimes, I can see the Milky Way, sometimes, I cannot.

But I'm always, always in the Milky Way.

I'm not the constant. The Milky Way is.

And the same is so much more true of God!

Redemption, justification, reconciliation- these are all a fact because they depend on God's position toward us, not ours toward Him.

I love how Rob Bell likens the cross to God placing Jesus' blood on the doorposts of the universe.

It's true. God's love is universal. Immeasurable. Unfathomable.

We can't begin to wrap our minds around it or hardly conceive of it.

We just get to be held by it.

WOW!

Perspectives on Freedom

2010-06-30T18:56:00.009-04:00

Wings beating frantically, heart
thrumming madly,
I threw myself toward freedom,
Trying, trying, endlessly trying to
reach the sky,
All the while blind to the barrier that
held me captive.

Then you reached into my prison,
Calming my panicked frenzy of
movement,
Cradling me in the safety of your love,
Changing my perspective.

In yielding to you,
I gained my liberation
And soared.

I Don't Want...

2010-06-29T16:47:00.004-04:00

I don't want:

to miss the parting of the seas because I'm too busy looking for a lifeboat.

to close myself off from the mystical and miraculous just because my mind insists on cold, hard logic.

to lock myself down, close myself in, or self-protect because in doing so, I not only close out others, but I lock in God.

to allow my intellect to dictate to my Spirit. Ever.

my relationships to be built on my emotions, but on God's grace.

my flesh to define who I am.

to have words and knowledge apart from love.

to be right. I want to know Him.

to expect my experience to be someone else's.

to present grace as a doctrine; He is a person named Jesus.

to overlook a new thing because the old thing worked.

to debate the Gospel; I want to embody it.

to live in yesterday or tomorrow, but to call it TODAY.

to look for sun in the rain or wish for rain in the sun but to be content in every situation.

to ever, ever take my gaze from Jesus' eyes or my ear from His heart.

to forget that my life is hid in Christ.

to understand God so much as to trust Him. (I know trust comes with understanding but can we trust when we don't understand?)

to see myself in a mirror, but in the cross.

to miss a single rainbow because I'm hiding under an umbrella.

to fear the storm. I want to rest in the One who controls it.

to sit in the boat. I want to walk on waves even at the risk of sinking.

to confine the infinite God by my finite need for control.

to hoard God's love and offer crumbs to others.

to live like a beggar when I'm an heir.

to embrace intolerance, but people.

to use knowledge as a weapon, authority as an excuse, or grace as a license to wound.

to only know the God of scripture. I want to know the God of my heart, my breath, my life.

to question, but to obey. (Yes, I know, I question everything! But I want to trust God so much that although I can question, I don't have to.)

to ever settle for religion over relationship.

to read about life. I want to LIVE Life.

to forget how to laugh at myself and with others.

to study the map so hard that I miss the journey.

to care more about what others think than what God says.

the circumstantial to define the experiential.

to elevate my earthly mentality over my spiritual reality.

to ever, ever, ever, ever forget that I AM THE BELOVED OF GOD.

On Whitewash & Fences

2010-06-27T15:54:00.002-04:00

Have you ever read Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ? The reason I ask is I wonder if you remember the scene where Tom is supposed to be painting the fence. In that particular passage, it is a beautiful summer day and Tom has been given the task by his aunt to paint their fence. The fence is thirty yards long and nine feet high and when Tom surveyed it "all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit". Tom, as you might recall, comes up with an ingenious plan in which he persuades others to join in his "fun". In fact, Tom even lets them pay for the privilege!

Can I just give it to you straight?

Jesus is not Tom Sawyer! Uh, no, that would be the other guy.

Yet somehow far too many people think the role of Aunt Polly is played by God, Tom by Jesus, and we are the friends who get to pitch in and help Tom with his work.

Don't believe me?

Then explain to me "The Sinner's Prayer", the practice of ongoing confession of sin, and its supposed result- forgiveness.

It's as if we really believe that God sent Jesus to start a work, that of "whitewashing our sins", and he made a pretty good start, he got those pesky past ones, but somehow the responsibility of finishing the work got shifted to us somewhere along the way.

There are several errors in that thinking. First: Jesus didn't "whitewash" any sins. His blood didn't so much as "cover" our sins, which is what the blood of animals did, His blood eradicated them! Gone. Ka-put. History. Second: Jesus reconciled the entire world to God not by just dying for our sins, but by becoming sin and putting it to death in His body. In other words, God doesn't deal with sins on a case by case basis. He doesn't pull out Jesus' blood and apply it to our dirty, old "fence" every time we hit our knees. The condition known as sin was dealt with at the cross, once and for all time. Third: Because the condition known as sin was dealt with, the acts known as sins were forgiven-all of them. Past, present, and future. Let's face it, folks. When Jesus died on the cross, all our sins were in the future, unless you are reaaally well preserved!

So what am I saying? I'm saying we have an enemy who loves to deceive us into thinking that Jesus made a fairly decent start on redemption, but that He left something for us to do, also. We have swallowed the lie that our lives are nothing more than an endless cycle of conviction of sins, repentance, confession, and the redoubling of our efforts. Or not. Because, the truth is, some people are so thrilled by the idea of repentance, confession, and forgiveness that they are happy to settle for that. These are the people who have absolutely no idea that Jesus didn't come to just punch our get out of hell free card, but to give us HIS LIFE.

Picture the Christian life, JESUS' Life, reduced to a perpetual Groundhog Day movie scenario. Life becomes nothing more than an endless loop of "whitewashing" our old man over and over again until death releases us to become, what, something angelic in the great by and by? Or maybe we think life is nothing more than a proving ground where we constantly better ourselves by learning from our mistakes. You know, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again, and again, and again...

Not exactly.

See, Jesus finished the work that was set before Him at the cross. He redeemed mankind leaving nothing further for us to do but receive His Life in exchange for our pseudo-life in Adam, which was just death masquerading as life.

That means we weren't left with a yucky old "fence" that we have to repaint and repaint. Nor must we repent and repent. NO!!! We can change our mind once about our need for a savior and
recive all that we need for Life and Godliness: JESUS!

I don't care how smooth talking our enemy is: work is work and Jesus didn't leave any for us to do. We don't have to go to "church", pay a tithe, say any Hail Mary's, or anything else to become partakers of His life or to keep it. We only have to believe. Believe in what HE did, not us.

Jesus did not DIE to extend us the honor of holding a dang paintbrush in our hand with which we can paint ourselves a lovely shade of self-righteousness.

He did not die to apply external restraints to our behavior or to whitewash it!

Jesus died so that we could die in Him and have eternity on the inside of us! All the fullness of God dwelling, residing, habitating in us!

Beloved, life is not an endless vista of Saturdays meant to be spent "painting" ourselves clean.

Life IS an invitation to accept that we are clean and to LIVE LOVED!

Life is calling. Who will you believe? The man with the paintbrush in his hand or the Man with Nail Scars in His?

A Father's Love

2010-06-20T22:23:00.004-04:00

My favorite video of Savannah was filmed when she was around two years old and shows her seated alone in our utility room where she is intently trying to put on her dad's socks and shoes. Because she is so completely engrossed in pulling his much too large socks up over her own feet and legs, she doesn't notice for several minutes that she is being filmed. But when she does...oh, when she does, she turns toward the camera and is so astonished that she does a comical double-take and in her second glance there is something heart wrenchingly beautiful that is captured on film. You see, when Savannah turns and looks that second time, she realizes just who is videoing her and her face instantly suffuses with pure, unadulterated joy-complete trust and love radiate from her eyes as she sees her beloved Daddy! Just imagine: one moment she is playing, totally unaware, and the next-there is Daddy! The shoes and socks are immediately abandoned as Savannah launches herself toward her daddy's waiting arms and the video ends somewhat abruptly as Ryan chooses something more important than filming- loving his daughter.

As I was thinking about fathers and love today, I was reminded of Savannah's video, and I realized that if we don't feel that same awesome and powerful response to God's indescribable, untamable, unmatchable love, we still haven't understood the heart of our Father for His children.

John 3:¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

What If?

2010-06-06T14:50:00.000-04:00

In Your Eyes

2010-06-05T23:37:00.006-04:00

If you haven't noticed by now, I love music. And I love sharing it. Music is like love that way-it's better when it's shared, right? I once had someone share an original song with me but only on the condition that I wouldn't record them. After I quit laughing- quite a few minutes later, I might add- I thought, "WHAT?!?" Seriously. Isn't part of the joy of music in the sharing of it? I couldn't and still don't understand that person's attitude. What was I going to do with a recording? Listen to it? OH MY! Isn't that the point?

That said, I like hearing people's "covers" of other artists' music. It's fascinating to hear the different interpretations of one song. Sometimes, I'm really surprised by how much I like a good cover even when it's one of my favorite songs. For example, I really like Angie Aparo's cover of Elton John's Rocket Man. How can you touch the original after all? But Angie doesn't try to imitate Elton's version; he makes the song his own. I LOVE THAT!

THAT is what Christianity should be. Christianity shouldn't be our attempt to do what Jesus did. Uh uh. It is our unique living out of Christ's life in us. Original. Individual. The life is the same, yes, but the expression should be different because we are all different. Oh, yeah, it should look like love, but not some factory produced generic ideal of love. NO!!!

Authentic love. Nitty gritty love. Real love, not some romantic ideal or high toned speechifying. Nope. This love works everyday. It doesn't sigh over past experiences or pine for the future. This love is NOW. After all, isn't right now all we have? Each moment?

I believe that once we understand how truly loved we are by God, that once we catch a glimmer of the love in His eyes, that we can rest in that love, not our attempts at emulating it. We do not cover Christ; His love covers us.

Enjoy!!

I love these covers of Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes. IN-FREAKIN-CREDIBLE!!

Today

2010-06-04T22:22:00.004-04:00

somewhere between
yesterday and
tomorrow, there is a heartbeat
of exquisite perfection
when your breath
fills me
and my soul expands
to encompass the infiniteness
of your love-
my life is recreated moment
by moment
in you.

What's in Your Rearview Mirror?

2010-06-04T18:05:00.011-04:00

While reading The Girl Who Played with Fire recently, I was struck by this quote: "Don't ever fight with Lisbeth Salander. Her attitude towards the rest of the world is that if someone threatens her with a gun, she'll get a bigger gun."

I think that Lisbeth's attitude comes close to summing up how most Christians are taught to live in relation to Law. Most Christians are willing to admit they can't actually keep the whole Law, but they still see themselves as engaged with it or living under it, and so they bring out their "big guns" and begin to measure their prowess against one another. It's as if at some point, we acknowledge that realistically we aren't perfect, but that trying for perfection counts in our favor somehow. "I may not be able to live a perfect life, but I can sure live it better than x amount of people", we think. And so we begin our lifelong training in all the things that "goodness" entails; we become warriors in the battle for the moral high ground, staking our claim based on our performance.

If the Law is the standard, we strive, through our self-generated righteousness, to be as "close to perfect" as possible. Of course, righteousness is neither horseshoes nor hand grenades and so "close" doesn't count.

I want you to understand what I'm saying here. God is not impressed with our attempts at "goodness", people. It's perfection or nothing.

Of course, that's where grace comes in, although, usually, our thinking goes like this, "I'm so thankful that grace saved a wretched sinner like me, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't do my part."

And we make a mad dash back over to our "big gun" cabinet and set out for target practice. We're going to bag some sin! Grace, in that paradigm, doesn't bring righteousness, only the ability to work harder at doing righteous acts. Our "gun" has become double barreled: with one barrel we attempt to kill our old sinful nature and with the other, the empowerment of "grace", we now work even harder out of a sense of debt and obligation to God. Grace allows us to sweep our pesky imperfections "under the rug", so to speak, since we are trying sooo hard.

Please.

God's intention for His beloved creation was not to pit us against the law. Nor was His intention in sending His Son to give us an incentive to try harder to be good out of gratitude.

NO!!!!!!

Grace is~ drum roll, please~ the silver bullet that KILLED US! (FYI, silver represents redemption.)

In other words, we are no longer, in any way, shape, or form, tied to the Law! We were crucified, we died, and were buried in Christ. We are, also, quickened, raised, and seated in the heavenlies in Christ. We are dead to the Old Covenant and alive in the NEW!

Our identity is CHRIST. We are not "sinners saved by grace"; we are the righteousness of God in Christ...new creations. Not better creations. Not improved creations. TOTALLY NEW CREATIONS!

Once again, I want you to understand me. Jesus didn't die to provide a ticket out of here for those who come pretty darn close to imitating His life. Jesus died so that SIN, and all that it entailed, could die in HIM. He died so that, by identifying with us, we could die and receive LIFE through belief. He died so that our relationship with the Law would be, once and for all time, FINISHED.

We are not given life to keep the Law. We are DEAD to the Law and receive a life that keeps us.

So, Beloved, next time you're cruisin' down the highway of life and hear the wail of an approaching siren and see blue lights in your rear view mirror, I hope you'll do like me. Don't reach for the "bigger gun" of your past performance or hope for mercy from the Law ...no, indeedy...

just put the top down, turn the radio waaay up, throw your head back, and laugh long and loud as you remember who you are. Then very sweetly flip off your Accuser while you keep on gettin' it, 'cause Jesus already fulfilled the Law and we won.

And maybe take one more look in your rearview...that's a cross I see. How about you?

With My Arms Wide Open

2010-06-04T11:57:00.000-04:00

Falling Up

2010-06-03T18:35:00.003-04:00

And falling
fell
not from, but
into
arms that caught me
held me
taught me how to fly
and soaring
knew
high wire acts are far, far
below
the limitless
heights
that I reach in you.

Highwire

2010-06-02T22:03:00.005-04:00

Seduced by the idea of your approval,
I performed,
-sometimes nearly flawless-
trying desperately to meet
your cold and judgmental expectation.

"Come one! Come all!
Watch the girl who doesn't fall!"...
almost.

But, I did, as you looked on dispassionately,
withholding forgiveness as I stumbled
-the crowd gasped-
and fell,
while you held yourself above it all,
aloof and perfect.

And falling,
realized,
I wasn't made for walking tightropes.

The Heart of the Matter

2010-05-31T21:30:00.003-04:00

The amount that we are able to love and forgive is proportional to the amount that we see ourselves loved and forgiven.

"Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8b. NIV

"You have been treated generously, so live generously." Matthew 10:8b. The Message

"You received without paying, now give without being paid."Matthew 10:8b. Contemporary English

How big is God's heart to you?

I Want To Pump You Up

2010-05-30T18:41:00.006-04:00

It is exactly 25 steps from my bedroom patio door across the deck, down the steps, through the gate, and across the concrete, to the pool. I say this by way of saying, "THE POOL IS OPEN!!"

And most wonderful of wonderfulness, we switched to salt. Now, I can close my eyes and imagine I'm in the ocean. Ahhhhh, heaven is floating.

Unfortunately, prior to opening the pool, we discovered the liner was leaking which necessitated draining the entire pool so that said leaks could be found and patched. In the process of refilling all 30,000 gallons of water, we next discovered that our water pressure would no longer support the sprinkler system. So...yeah, we ended up pulling the well. Obviously, time and use had overtaxed the pump and motor and they had to be replaced. Pulling 200 ft. of a 500 ft. well is no easy task, as you can imagine. We had to call in the big dogs: an evangelist, who commenced to hold a revival in order to work something up! WHOOP! Sorry, I got my events confused. We only needed a boom truck and some extra hands. Ahem.

I guess it's good that when we wear out our spiritual pumps, those egocentrically engineered efforts similar to our rededicaters, that we can hire a professional to come in and "prime" our spiritual wells, so that we can go back to laboring and straining to draw some Jesus out to share with the world. That is how this Christian life works, right? It depends on our being sure our well is kept filled by what we do and it works when we put our muscles where our faith is...in ourselves.

Ah, no. Not exactly.

What we hold is Christ:
Galatians 2:20 (Young's Literal Translation) ²⁰with Christ I have been crucified, and live no more do I, and Christ doth live in me; and that which I now live in the flesh -- in the faith I live of the Son of God, who did love me and did give himself for me;

and we don't draw anything, instead:
John 7:38 (New International Version) ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

The wonderful truth is we don't have to go to a service or work up a special emotion to manifest Christ's life. Christ is our life; we carry Him everywhere we go regardless of what we're doing. And in an ironic twist, once we remove the dam of our self-righteous efforts, He will flow unceasingly through our mouths and our hands to the thirsty world around us.

John 4 (New International Version) ¹³Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Let's flood the world with Grace.

Am I Too Obvious to Pretend?

2010-05-30T09:28:00.000-04:00

You're so hypnotic on my heart...

With Gratitude

2010-05-25T23:00:00.004-04:00

The gardenias and hydrangeas are blooming. I love how the sight and scent of them reminds me of summers when I was little. Summer always meant one very special occasion for me-Vacation Bible School. For one wondrous week out of the whole year, I stayed with my cousins either at an aunt's or my grandmother's house and we attended VBS.

VBS was the official harbinger of summer for me. It meant shorts, lightening bugs, playing outside 'til bath and bedtime, and getting up early, not for plain old school, but for Bible school! Oh, I loved Bible school!

I can remember my eager anticipation as I stood outside in the dew-soaked grass waiting to march in to "Onward Christian Soldiers," my offering money clenched tightly in my hand. If I was really lucky, I might get to hold a flag or, better yet, be asked to pray. One year, I believe I prayed that God would make lots of people sick so that He could heal them! Obviously, I was big on healing even then.

I remember sitting in my grandparents beautiful church completely overcome with joy just to sing, and pray, and learn about Jesus and how much He loved me. There was something in my little childish heart that responded to the sincere love of others for God and their desire to share His love with me. And they were sincere. They showed me the love of Christ in their actions and words whether it was through a lesson or in the cookies and cold drinks served outside under the huge spreading shade trees.

I think we forget that sometimes.

I think it becomes rather too easy to look back with scorn or superiority on those who didn't teach us grace as we've come to understand it. Or maybe those who aren't teaching it now. At least not the way we think it should be taught.

And then, so quickly, The Lover of, Not Just My Soul, but of All Souls reminds me that He loves every one of us- sinner, saint, pharisee. He reminds me that His heart beats in my chest, His love isn't proud or scornful, and His Nature can direct my thoughts and actions, if I choose to let it.

If I choose humility and thankfulness and grace.

If I choose to be taught, not to be right.

He is the lover of all souls, even when I'm not, and

sometimes

sometimes

I think we all forget that.

At least I know I do.

In the heat of a self-righteous moment, I forget who loved me on Christ's behalf.

I'm so thankful for the smell of gardenias blooming. They remind me that someone loved me enough to teach me about You, Jesus.

Jell-o Sheriffs Need Not Apply

2010-05-24T20:00:00.005-04:00

I arrived at the office today only to discover that the snack machine was broken. Hmmm, might it have had anything to do with the fact that I hadn't emptied the change box in a leetle while? Whoop! Considering the pile of change that had overflowed and piled up on the machine floor, that might have been a factor.

After scrabbling around on my hands and knees to pick up all that yucky cobwebby change, I then discovered the change box was so overfull that I couldn't even unlock it, let alone attempt to remove and empty it. So, being the mechanical genius that I am, I did what any self-respecting woman would do. After gently trying to shake some change loose so the lock would turn, I took off my little platform sandal and beat the hecky out of that thing! Hey, it worked! Don't knock it 'til you've tried it.

I'm sorry, y'all, but I couldn't help but picture God as He is too often portrayed...yep, stomping around beating the tar out of us when we fail to work properly. God the abusive parent and Jesus the wife beater...aren't those lovely thoughts? A slap here, a quick pummeling there, what are a few black eyes or bruises if it produces a beautiful bride, right? I mean who cares if the bride is missing a few teeth when she smiles radiantly at her groom?

The only thing is, it's not God or Jesus landing the blows, is it? It's performance driven Christians who feel totally justified and downright proud of their efforts on God's behalf. Is there SIN in the house? Call the Jell-o sheriffs to sniff it out and mete out punishment.

Hmmm, don't you know what a Jell-o sheriff is? My momma taught me about them when I was little. A Jell-o sheriff is someone who likes to call others to account and judge and punish them by the authority they grant themselves.

The trouble with that is, well, dang, it's just wrong, isn't it?

What do these people think? That the Holy Spirit only convicts Christians of righteousness because they, the Jell-o sheriffs, have already done all the convicting of sin? And the condemning, too, I might add.

Yeah, right. As if God needs the help of sin-sniffers. As if God needs us to take off our spiritual shoes and whack each other with them until we straighten up.

As if we, WE, can do what the cross couldn't.

Let me tell you something, Beloved. Jesus did more than take off His shoes to deal with sin. He laid aside His divine nature and took on the nature of man so that He could live the life we, in our fallen state, could not. He laid aside His righteousness and became sin, so that we could be made righteous, not through our obedience, but through faith in His. We will never be good enough to deserve life. And, in Christ, we can never be bad enough to lose it.

Whether Jell-o sheriffs know it or not, men are no longer held to a moral code of law. Men are born into a law of life in Christ! The difference? This law keeps us; it doesn't require that we keep it. That's why Jesus could say, "It's finished." Because there is nothing we do that improves the deal. We just accept it and live in it.

No Jell-o sheriffing needed.

Just grace.

Life Is As Sweet As Tupelo Honey

2010-05-23T20:22:00.006-04:00

Before life got busy (think: I had children), I directed a few weddings. It was truly a perfect job for me. It required bossiness and perfectionism, character traits at which I excel, I've been told. I'm not opinionated, people, I'm just always right, ok?

Besides the obvious admonitions such as...gentlemen, purchase some black dress socks for once in your life because I will embarrass the snot out of you if you show up in white athletic socks and, yes, you do have to rent the shoes-I don't want to see your 70's disco loafers with the stacked heel! Jeesh! and ladies, no jewelry other than what the bride specifies or I will pawn it and, yes, you do have to wear matching shoes, I only stressed one other idea. I considered it the main idea of the whole wedding, but it never ceased to surprise me how easy it was for the participants to overlook it in the midst of the hustle and bustle.

The idea? You are getting married. YOU ARE GETTING MARRIED!!! No matter if someone faints, throws up, or screws up (invariably), no matter if it rains or shines, no matter if whatever it is that you imagine would ruin your wedding happens, remember why we're here: you are getting married and we are celebrating that! In other words, let's enjoy every second of this because we can't guarantee perfection, but we can choose our response. And at the end of the day, you are going to be married. Isn't that really why we're here?

And we always did enjoy ourselves once we recalled that oft forgotten fact. OK, I bore the brunt of trying to guarantee perfection, but it was amazing how much more fun we all had once we recognized the goal: a marriage, a joyful celebration, instead of agonizing over every detail. And, yes, of course, I took extra black socks just in case.

I think we are guilty of falling into this same mindset in our relationship with God, sometimes, you know? I think we get so caught up in fretting over doing all the right things that we forget to enjoy the moment and we fail to recognize the beauty and wonder of the journey.

Guess what, Beloved? God didn't create you and place you here to perfect your behavior. Nope, nope, nope. He created you and placed you here to love you and to show others His love through you. Just like in the weddings I used to direct, you can't micromanage your life enough to guarantee perfection, but you can choose your response.

Why not choose to live loved?

Why not grab a bottle of wine and dance barefoot in the grass, even if you have two left feet?

Why not laugh long and loud, even if it's at yourself?

Why not cry for the awesomeness of a sunset or a child's laughter, even if it's a cloudy day or the baby has stinky pants?

Because imperfection is the nature of this life and we can fret and worry and waste precious time or we can know we are loved by the One who is our Perfection and we can rest in that.

Why not learn not just how to dance in the sun, but also, how to dance in the rain?

Why not?

I've even provided some music below.

Grace, Jamie

Tupelo Honey

You can take all the tea in China
Put it in a big brown bag for me
Sail right around the seven oceans
Drop it straight into the deep blue sea
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee

You can't stop us on the road to freedom
You can't keep us 'cause our eyes can see
Men with insight, men in granite
Knights in armor bent on chivalry
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee

You can't stop us on the road to freedom
You can't stop us 'cause our eyes can see
Men with insight, men in granite
Knights in armor intent on chivalry
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee

You know she's alright
You know she's alright with me
She's alright, she's alright (she's an angel)

~Van Morrison

When Was The Last Time You Danced Barefoot? Well, Here You Go...

2010-05-23T20:13:00.001-04:00

What are you waiting for?

Validation

2010-05-23T14:00:00.001-04:00

This movie is wonderful. Please take the time to treat yourself to the joy. Grace, Jamie

Simply Incredible...Enjoy!

2010-05-13T15:52:00.000-04:00

Quantitatively Speaking...

2010-05-12T22:47:00.004-04:00

They say that the universe
has no end, and yet
You, who are infinite,
have chosen to dwell in me.

How can that be?
That I should hold
the Great I AM?

How can time and space,
the vastness of the universe,
love without measure,
rest in my imperfect perfection?

The physics of God
are proven
in the Grace
of His Son.

Love plus a cross
equals
life.

Love Notes

2010-05-11T21:15:00.005-04:00

At the bridge, a honeysuckle vine
has taken root, and tumbles artlessly
toward the stream below. I smile as its sweet scent
envelopes me. I found your love note.

Sideways

2010-05-10T20:40:00.001-04:00

2010-05-02T22:36:00.004-04:00

Icarus Reborn

My painstakingly glued wings
Become useless conceits
When gravity has no rule.

Hole Hearted

2010-04-30T06:48:00.003-04:00

"There's a hole in my heart that can only be filled by you..."

Phoenix

2010-04-29T22:40:00.004-04:00

I had to die so You could live

Wanting all You had to give

Your arms held freedom

Like I had never known

You had to die so I could live

Wanting nothing but to give

You offered freedom

That I could call my own

Dying brought me life

Born of faith, not of strife

For in Your Love, I am born anew

Dying was the easiest thing to do

Yeah, dying was so easy to do

To live in You.

Death On A Motorcycle

2010-04-29T19:05:00.010-04:00

The Huffington Post contained a story and video recently on a certain funeral parlor that posed a young man's corpse on his motorcycle for his public viewing. Uh huh, you read that right. He was dressed in his biker clothes, with his helmet on the seat behind him, straddling his motorcycle looking for all the world as if he would roar off at any minute. Needless to say, the effect was somewhat startling.

I mean, I guess his family must have chosen to have him displayed in such a lifelike pose but, ummmm, he was dead, you know? Lifelike being the operative word here.

Please understand, I mean no disrespect for the young man or his family. Grief isn't a matter of right or wrong, but personal preference in how we choose to honor our loved ones.

But based on that image, I came to the following conclusion:

Appearances really can be deceiving and we, as Christians, help perpetuate the illusion if we don't understand what happened at the cross. In other words, we can dress someone up, park them on a pew, and rehabilitate their outward man forever, and still have a dead man when all's said and done. Life is more than a matter of an outward appearance. Life is a matter of an inward change of heart-the new heart that God gives us in Christ.

Dead is dead, no matter how much we dress it up and say how nice it looks. It is still dead.

And, conversely, Life is life no matter how we want to judge its behavior. Life flows from the Root, not the branches; they just manifest it when they're mature. Life isn't taught! Life is!

I can't help but think that we misunderstand Jesus' words when we fault other Christians in their shortcomings and call them "whitened sepulchers". Whitewashing death and teaching it to masquerade as Life is what Jesus was referring to-men who seek righteousness through acts, not faith. It doesn't matter how well we dress it up, self-righteousness doesn't produce Life, only Christ does.

The truth is we've been taught that we can and should produce life in and of ourselves and that we can't trust the Christ in us to! We've been trained in how to be good, not simply told that righteousness is a matter of our new birth.

We've been taught that appearance is more real than truth when Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, not the deception we've accepted.

Beloved, it's time we began to live, really live, in the freedom that is ours, a freedom that comes from knowing life is a matter of who we are, not what we do.

Life is Christ. Anything else is no more than death on a motorcycle: it might look good, but it won't get you too far with God.

No Debts

2010-04-29T18:38:00.004-04:00

~Love incurs no debts or obligations.~

I Don't Wanna Be

2010-04-29T12:52:00.001-04:00

My Hands

2010-04-28T23:33:00.005-04:00

I stick my hand in my pocket
fingers scrounging
for a stray nickel or dime
anything
to place in the offering plate
and I'm ashamed
when all I find
is some fuzzy lint
to offer you.

Or I search my memory
for a verse or two
I learned them all
once upon a time
and had all the satin ribbons
sticking out of my Bible
like serpents tongues
to prove it.

When my memory
and my pockets
come up short
I look at you with my empty hands
and wonder what I have
that you could possibly want.

It's then that you fill
my hands
with your heart
and your love runs through my fingers
and spills out

overflowing

overflowing
to the world.

In This Moment

2010-04-28T22:33:00.003-04:00

I think I'd like
to lace our fingers
together
and just lie back in
the grass
for a while.

The sun can paint spots
behind my eyelids
and you can see if
I like butter
while I drift
content
in this moment
with you.

Reset By Love

2010-04-23T18:23:00.007-04:00

I know a man named Michael who walks with his head continually bent down. Regardless of where he is, or what he's engaged in, his gaze is fixed on the earth beneath his feet. I originally thought that Michael was unusually shy or that he was possibly ashamed of the fact that he was unemployed and homeless when we first met. But that isn't the case. I eventually discovered that Michael's neck was broken in the past, and he never had it set properly, so it fused at the wrong angle.

It is sad to watch him go about his work now that I know the real reason for his odd posture and I actually get frustrated that he was denied the opportunity to walk in the normal way most of us take for granted!

I'd like to re-break his neck, in truth, just so his neck could be set correctly!

Just like I long to break the neck of so many Christians who walk the same way spiritually.

Ohhhhh, I'm so violent, aren't I?

Not really...well... yeah, really.

WAIT! I don't mean break their physical necks!

NO!!!

I want to re-break and reset the bent and malformed perception that religion has given them.

I want to encourage them to look UP to where they're seated, instead of DOWN to where religion has fixed their gaze.

I want to lift their focus to the cross, instead of their dang dirt.

I want to holler, "Jesus will wash those feet! Don't you worry about your feet!"

It infuriates me that well-intentioned *ahem*, but misinformed, ministers of the gospel teach that God's love for men is not only broken by sin, but they then use the Law to perpetuate a deformed paradigm of our relationship with Him.

"Is your connection with God "wobbbbbbly? Well, brother, BRACE IT WITH THE TEN COMMANDMENTS! Hallelujah! Bless God. There's nothing like a good, long look at the perfection of the Law to get you focused on your shortcomings and inabilities! Thank you, Jesus! Keep your eye on the goal, Sister! God is pleased by your efforts!"

And what exactly are we supposed to be thanking Jesus for? Oh! That we get to heaven one fine day, but in the meantime we get to experience hell on Earth?

Gee, thanks, Lord.

Helloooooo?

Heaven came to Earth, Beloved, a looooong time ago!

And because of that, we are no longer obligated to fulfill a covenant that Jesus fulfilled.

Translation: We are not responsible for achieving righteousness through our earnest attempts to monitor our "walk". In fact, we can sit on our fannies in the heavenlies and walk in a new way...it's called walking by the Spirit.

That's right. In a completely kooky and supernatural way, because of the cross and our faith, while we are seated with Christ at the right hand of God, not far, far away in Never, Never Land, but in the spiritual realm (think in you and around you), Jesus is joined with us in spirit in our physical bodies! HOLY, HOLY OF HOLIES, HUH?!? That sounds like crazy talk!

Yep, we have become the dwelling place of the Most High God.

Obviously, a few pastors didn't get that memo.

So, to sum up...we went into the cross in Christ broken. We came out whole.

We went in dead. We came out alive.

We went in sinful. Came out righteous.

Went in blemished and stained. Came out without spot or wrinkle.

Went in falling short of the Law. Came out FREE FROM THE LAW!

And anyone tells you different? You send 'em to me & My Guy.

WE GOT SOME PARADIGM BREAKING TO DO!

~~~~Long, slow, smile~~~

If I Had A Day That I Could Give You

2010-04-19T11:34:00.014-04:00

Waiting for the wheat to ripen.

David Austen's Lillian Austen old English rose.

David Austen's Abraham Darby.

Field of dreams.

Animal "quackers" in my soup...uh, pond.

David Austen's Sharifa Asma.

Jubilee.

You get a line, I'll get a pole...

Dis...connected

2010-04-18T08:32:00.002-04:00

My internet has been mucked up for the past couple of days, UGH! What I could usually accomplish in a few minutes took almost an hour and eventually most stuff I just couldn't do. Simple stuff like checking my darned e-mail, y'all. Because my computer got progressively slower, I assumed it had a virus. "NICK!!!!", I screamed. Nick being my Go To Guy for all computer or technology related issues. "TELL ME WHAT TO DO! Help, help, help! I'm disconnected."

And somewhere in the middle of my crisis, I thought about God and church and preachers. I realized that at some point in history Christians made a switch from gathering together for fellowship and edification to gathering together to receive instructions on how to reach God. How to please God. How to ACT. Somehow Christianity slipped from being a relationship to being a chore. And we gave someone spiritual authority over us to accuse, cajole, guilt, condemn, or whatever it took as long as we thought it would reconnect us with God.

But, Jamie, relationships have to be worked at, you might be thinking. Yes, human ones do. Because we are keeping the relationship intact.

That is not true of our relationship with God, though. He keeps it. He keeps us. And when we fail on our end it is actually a good thing because we just might see Who is keeping whom. As long as we think our faithfulness to God is the glue binding our relationship together we have not understood God's love. We do not have a covenant with God. Nope. Jesus does. We just get the benefit of it.

Regardless of how disconnected we might feel, God never leaves us. He promised that He wouldn't.

So, why then do we buy into the lie that we must work to keep the connection between God and us open? Why do we listen week in and week out to messages that generally center around what we should be doing so that we can be Super-Christians? When did IC become the coupling between us and God?

I'm not discouraging fellowship. I'm trying to debunk the MYTH that church is a place we go to learn to act in a certain way so that we can be something we're not.

Christianity isn't about acting or doing. It's about BEING...being in Christ which is an eternal connection.

The cross forever dealt with disconnection. The cross forever reconnected God with His creation.

That's the good news.

In Your Eyes

2010-04-13T14:37:00.000-04:00

In My Easter Bonnet

2010-04-04T17:16:00.008-04:00

We found the Easter Bunny dead on our front walk Easter morning. I kid you not. I think the cats "saw him off". At least he had time to drop off the kids' baskets before his abrupt departure. Finding the bunny dead at our front door was hard enough, but had there been no chocolate?!? I don't even want to imagine.

Easter has always been a tough holiday at our house. One year, Devon got her fingers squished in the doors leading into the den as we videoed all the happy, joyful, beaming, Easter faces. One year, Devon, I'm seeing a pattern here, ran over Reagan with her bike during the egg hunt, once again, on video, because she hadn't quite mastered the art of braking. Barreling over her brother...check. Stopping...no! One year, my great idea to purchase adorable baby bunnies for the kids ended with rabbit poop all over the playroom floor...uh, exit said bunnies! And, one year, the new puppy had a bit of a tummy upset (that's putting it mildly!) in the utility room on Easter morning and my lovely pale yellow walls with blinding white trim were transformed into some kind of sick modern art. ICK! What is it with my house and poop?!? At about the same time we made that discovery, we made another as the IN-LAWS came knock, knock, knocking (NOT ON HEAVEN'S, BUT HELL'S DOOR!!) to see the children in their Easter finery. I was like, "Are you crazy? The kids just got up!" Uh, yeah, you guessed it, the dang time had changed and we had forgotten to "spring forward"! I wanted to spring at someone's throat, though, I just couldn't decide between the pup's or the in-law's.

You know what made days like that so hard back then? That somehow I felt like a failure when I didn't whisk around in an apron, high heels, and a mega-watt smile cleaning up the mess, dressing the children, and entertaining my unexpected guests.

I mean, I was a Christian wife and mother, wasn't I? Well, wasn't I supposed to be June Cleaver on super-spiritual steroids?

Instead, I let loose with an expletive that perfectly described the puppy problem and then proceeded to vacillate between tears, guilt, and anger all the way to church when we eventually got under way.

There is nothing like slinking into church on Easter Sunday a good hour late! And, of course, we always sat up front so Ryan could get up on stage easier at the end of the service. And, yes, the church was maxed out at about 1000-1200 people. Oh joy. I was a sunbeam of Christian light, as you can imagine. Yeah, right.

So, we might ask, when did following Jesus get confused with perfection? Because you know it is. I mean WWJD???

Oh, I remember! When somebody decided what we do is more important to God than what He did!!

When we made the brilliant deduction that effort is better than belief, that works are better than faith, that salvation is through us, not the cross.

When we believed the lie that God loves us more, is better pleased with us, and just flat out gets tingly when we work up a holy sweat trying to win His stingy approval.

That breaks my heart...for the me I used to be and for you, Beloved.

Because you know what the truth is?

God loves us. Period. PERIOD!

No stipulations, no strings, no conditions.

And when I finally gave up on proving to God how much I loved Him, I saw, for the first time, how much He really loved me.

Not the manipulative love defined by expectation that demanded perfection that preachers and others had taught me, but real love and acceptence. Love that was based on God's identity, instead of my ability.

Dang! That's some truth right there! Go back and read that again, will you?

God's love is based on who He is, not what we do.

And isn't that what Easter is really all about?

John 3:16 (The Message)
16"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again."

A Beautiful Life

2010-04-01T18:43:00.004-04:00

Karson & Reagan: Prom 2010.

(You may remember me asking for prayer for Karson in the fall when she was injured in a life-threatening car accident.)

Sometimes life is too beautiful for words.

Tittle: Fruits In Groups by Their...

2010-03-30T20:49:00.004-04:00

In my office, hangs a marvelously brilliant piece of art. It pictures many different fruits laboriously drawn and segregated according to color. Painstakingly printed across the top in a bold, black childish hand is: Tittle: Fruits in Groups by Their Color by Devon Jayne W. The child was a genius even then! And, yes, I chuckle every single time my eye lights on it. Miss Bossy Pants was exerting her flair for organization and control at, what, 5 or 6? Those fruits would be corralled and named and sorted, by golly!

And, see, we do the same thing, don't we?

You know, the "us and them" mentality.

And, ummmm, no, I'm not referring just to denominationalism.

I'm referring to the other them.

The out there them.

Sometimes I wonder if we really, really, ....really, really, really understand what reconciled means.

That's what they are; that's what we are.

Why do we think God changes His mind about us, when, the truth is, He wants us to change our mind about Him. About sin. About life. And to share that revelation with everyone by living loved and loving others...no matter their flavor.

That is the absolutely coolest thing in the world to me. That is what allowed Jesus to hang with the, ahem, sinners. That very radical concept of reconciliation that was effected by God, through God, and of God. NOT US!

Yep, God has one "tittle" for us: reconciled.

I love it.

Don't Have To Pretend

2010-03-28T20:08:00.003-04:00

Suddenly Seymour

[Seymour]
Lift up your head
Wash off your mascara
Here, take my Kleenex
Wipe that lipstick away
Show me your face, clean as the mornin'
I know things were bad, but now they're okay

Suddenly Seymour is standin' beside you
You don't need no makeup, don't have to pretend
Suddenly Seymour is here to provide you
Sweet understanding
Seymour's your friend

[AUDREY]
Nobody ever treated me kindly
Daddy left early
Mama was poor
I'd meet a man and I'd follow him blindly
He'd snap his fingers
Me, I'd say "sure."

Suddenly Seymour is standin' beside me
He don't give me orders
He don't condescend
Suddenly Seymour is here to provide me
Sweet understanding
Seymour's my friend

[SEYMOUR]
Tell me this feelin'll last till forever
Tell me the bad times are clean washed away

[AUDREY]
Please understand that it's still strange and fright'nin'
For losers like I've been it's so hard to say

[AUDREY]
Suddenly Seymour,
He purified me
Suddenly Seymour
He showed me I can
Learn how to be more
The girl that's inside me
With sweet understanding,
With sweet understanding,
With sweet understanding,
Seymour's my man!

[SEYMOUR] [Audrey] [Company]
Suddenly Seymour,
He purified you
Suddenly Seymour
Yes, you can
Learn how to be more
The girl that's inside you
With sweet understanding,
With sweet understanding,
With sweet understanding,
Seymour's your man

~And, that, my friends, is Grace. ~

Appalachian Spring

2010-03-20T19:12:00.002-04:00

Needed: one blanket, one warm sunny day, a good book, and Copland's Appalachian Spring. Enjoy!! Happy spring, y'all!

Wild Horses

2010-03-15T17:51:00.004-04:00

I saw the strangest sight as I drove to pick up Savannah from school today. A lovely, stuffed rocking horse had been discarded on the roadside by someone. It appeared, at first glance, to be real, as if it were coming out of the woods and had simply stopped to crop grass along the way.

It made me sad.

Something about that little horse reminded me of so many Christians who have traded death for the pseudo-life of religion.

Is that what the world sees when they see the church out in the wild?

After all, had I seen the toy horse in a playroom, in a house, confined by four walls, he would have seemed quiet at home. He was created for an artificial environment, not for exposure to the elements. His fur, his glass eyes, his little hooves on rockers, even his saddlery, gave the appearance of the real thing, but he wasn't. He was simply an imitation of life and could only survive within a very set, proscribed habitat.

He didn't appear very free outside of those four walls.

Nor, did he resemble life in the least.

It hurts me to think that four walls and a set agenda are all we, the church, have to offer the world at large. How much easier to "bring them in and clean them up", than to offer life and set them free. How much easier to offer a rulebook, than relationship. How much easier to teach self-reliance, than rest. God just might not be up to the task.

How much easier for us to stay within our comfort zone of piety and holiness, than to leave the trappings of religion and embark on an adventure requiring trust and faith. How much easier to look the part, than believe that we really are what God says. How much easier to try to be a well-groomed pony, even fake, than to stomp around in horse poo with the wild horses. How much easier to see love on our terms, not God's.

I don't expect that little fake horse had much to offer, do you? The appearance of life, but that was all.

Is that what we look like to the world?

I hope and pray not.

I hope we embody all the passion and wildness of our Creator's love. I hope we prove that love and faith are more real than the most tangible objects. I hope we can set aside our mistaken ideals of performance and simply live loved so that the world can see what real life looks like and hunger for it. I hope we know freedom and can share the taste of it with others. I hope, most of all, that we know the Truth that is Christ in us.

I hope so.

Galations 5: ¹ Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

I've Got Sunshine On A Cloudy Day...

2010-03-11T18:12:00.006-05:00

Is there anything more hopeful than daffodils...
Jauntily parading in bright yellow slickers...
Faces washed by Spring rain?

The Summer Wind

2010-03-10T17:55:00.001-05:00

Nice.

The ABC Gospel

2010-03-08T18:15:00.011-05:00

When I was a kid, this was my favorite thing: riding my bike to the neighborhood 7-11 where I would spend my carefully hoarded allowance on 5 cent candy, comic books, and gum. Mmm-mm, I loved Pixy Stix and Bit-O-Honey's, Sweet Tarts and Mary Jane's, and those little wax bottles with flavored syrup inside. I loved Dr. Strange and The House of Secrets and Unexpected and The Witching Hour. Ohhhhhh, I loved me some spooky. And gum. Good old Bazooka bubble gum. Me and Bazooka Joe were pals. I read every comic that wrapped around every bee-u-tee-ful, dee-lish-us, pink mouthful. I adored bubble gum. I was the Queen of the "double bubble". YES! I could blow not one, but two, face sized bubbles, one inside the other. People, I had skills.

And, I was before my time, too, because I was, ahem, to put it nicely, a gum recycler.

In other words, I stuck my gum on my bookshelf or headboard to be re-chewed the next day. HEY! "Waste not, want not" was my motto. A family member, thank you, Aunt Jan, eventually gifted me with a small ceramic receptacle for my treasure. OK, so she was grossed out by my ABC gum stuck to her daughter's bed when I visited; it was a thoughtful gesture, nevertheless.

But, c'mon, I was a KID, for goodness' sake! I was only insuring that I always had a steady supply of my most important food group: GUM.

ABC GUM.

Reminds me of some Christians, you know? The ones who like to hear the "Gospel" that came over on the Mayflower, not because it's Truth, but because it's the one their greaaaaaat grandparents knew. The one, I believe, that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. The one comprised of strict religious observance and adherence. The one that says horse poop like "God helps those who help themselves", "God won't put more on you than you can bear", and "Thou must attendeth church when the doors are open-eth", 'cause, you know, heaven forbid, U be what's missing from CH RCH. Now, that's an oxymoron when U is the church!!! Dang. (I so hope you are laughing 'cause I am seriously cracking myself up here!)

It's the one that equates religion with relationship. Uh, get a clue, since when did "scrupulous conformity to a set of institutionalized practices" replace simple, childlike FAITH?!? Since when did God ingratiating (think butt kissing) improve our standing with God?

Hello! GOD IS NOT IMPRESSED BY OUR PERFORMANCE.

God, in actuality, loves us so dearly that He gave us His Son to be our daily bread, our manna, our sustenence, our breath, our very Life.

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." ²⁷Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26: 26-28.

How dare we? How dare we profane what we were given at the cross by substituting ritual for REALITY? Everywhere we go, we carry the SON OF GOD ALMIGHTY within us and we leave Him untouched, choosing instead to live independent lives drawing on our own strengths and weaknesses according to the Law.

That is disgusting. Simply, in a word, revolting.

Jesus didn't come and die on the cross to cover up our sinful natures with His Blood and leave us unregenerate sinners, like some Divine winky blinky sleight of hand trick, who then slavishly try to keep the demands of the Old Covenant. He came and died so that we, too, could die and be resurrected and regenerated IN HIM, imputing and imparting righteousness to us, thus ushering in a NEW AND BETTER COVENANT! THE ONE HE KEPT. The one we don't then try to keep. DUH.

Wake up, Churchianity! The Gospel is the Good News of what Christ FINISHED, not the crappy news you suck through a straw every Sunday sitting under a fibberpants preacher who beats the tar out of you while you reel under the blows. And you wonder why you feel so bad when you leave? Heck! You just got the snot knocked out of you, what didya expect?

You are better than you know, Beloved. Better than you ever hoped or dreamed you'd be. And it's not because of what you do. It's because of what He did. That's the Gospel. Ask Him. You can get it straight from His lips.

Never been chewed. I promise.

America

2010-03-07T09:52:00.001-05:00

Just because they are sooooo good. Sometimes I have to remind y'all. :)

Put Me In Coach

2010-03-05T18:44:00.005-05:00

I am ready for Spring. I am ready for SPRING. I AM READY FOR SPRING! Spring, Spring, Spring, Spring, Spring.

I am ready for daffodils, forsythia, bluebirds, and BASEBALL.

When the days begin to grow longer, I want to hear the crack of a bat and watch the Boys of Summer work their magic on the diamond. And I want to do it in person. Preferably in Florida, on a warm March day with the scent of orange blossoms perfuming the breeze and rustling the palm fronds. I neeeed fresh orange juice, stone crab claws, and baseball. (OK, the loud Yankees I could do without, but they're part of the local color, so what can you say?)

Can heaven really be better than Spring training? Really??

Once upon a time, I was the Official Scorekeeper, along with our college SID, for my college baseball team. YES!!!! They paid me to attend baseball games, keep score, and coincidentally, sit at the edge of the press box and get a tan. It was a tough job, as the saying goes, but someone had to do it. Why not me?!? I decided somewhere around that time that I wanted Bowie Kuhn's job; I wanted to be the first woman Commissioner of Baseball. My parents were less than impressed. :)

Seriously, keeping score was fun but I quickly learned it could also be nerve wracking. Why? Because of judgment calls. When a batter hits a ball thrown by your pitcher and the play is questionable as to whether it's a hit or an error, you know you're going to tick someone off with your call. If you call it an error, the fielder is mad. If you call it a hit, you just ruined the pitcher's ERA. Either way, your name is mud. Same thing when your team is batting. Your batters always get hits. DUH.

Poor God. We love to cast Him as our Eternal Scorekeeper, keeping the Official Score Book in the Sky.

How can I love a stinky, old God who makes calls against me???

Error, hit, fielder's choice, sacrifice hit or bunt, foul. We picture God calculating our ERA's and RBI's and batting averages. And, we hope at the end of the day, He'll wipe the book clean somehow if we say our bedtime prayers. We think we are players in God's celestial ballgame. Sometimes, it's the Saints versus the Demons, sometimes it's us versus everyone else. OUCH.

Keeping score does that to you.

Hey, You!!! Good News! Good News! Got it here with your hot peanuts and cold beverage. The game is over. Jesus won it for us and as us at the cross. We get the sweet thrill of victory with none of the work. We get the party on the pitcher's mound. We get His perfect game put on our account.

Can you imagine? We won in HIM without ever lifting a bat.

I do love me some baseball and Grace. Spring training, anyone?

Eensy Weensy Spider Syndrome

2010-02-28T17:44:00.004-05:00

"The eensy weensy spider
crawled up the water spout,
Down came the rain and
washed the spider out,
Out came the sun and
dried up all the rain and
the eensy weensy spider
crawled up the spout again."

And again, and again, little, thin, spider legs trembling and wobbling but just maybe this time...

Sometimes I get discouraged that the majority of Christians suffer from Eensy Weensy Spider Syndrome. It's what we are taught from the time we're old enough to listen to Bible stories and it basically says, "Jesus loves me this I know" and then goes on to add condition after condition to God's unconditional love which proves maybe we really don't know how much He loves us or understand His love at all. The gist of all this is that God loves us more the harder we try. And if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Instead of being a recipe for success, it is a recipe for disaster that sets us on the treadmill of performance for the rest of our lives.

We are taught to examine our hearts, our lives, our thoughts, our motivations, our words, our neighbors' lives, their hearts, their thoughts, their motivations, their closets, and TO CLEAN OUR MESSES UP AND OUR NEIGHBORS, TOO!!!

We are taught to account for our time, our thoughts, and our actions to ourselves, God, and each other. I really love the "to each other" part because then I can feel a lot better when you really screw up. Hooray ME!

We are taught that that thing Jesus did on the cross was all well and good in its place buuuut that was simply salvation and it's up to us to get down to business and live the Christian life. Ya lazy bum! Watcha' think, Jesus is going to do it for you?!? SHEESH!

We are taught that God is pleased when we perform well and displeased when we don't. God is mighty disappointed most of the time, I'm afraid, in this paradigm.

We are taught to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off, and start all over again. Time and time again.

We are taught to be SIN and SELF conscious, not God conscious, which produces the fallacy of SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.

We are taught a bunch of cliches and not much Truth, unfortunately.

We are not eensy weensy spiders, y'all.

God didn't save us to have us "work out our own salvation", I don't care what we've been taught.

And no matter how often we try to climb our way into heaven or God's good graces, we will not succeeed because we cannot accomplish through our performance what only God Himself accomplished in Christ for and as us.

Our spidey skills can't seat us in heaven because Christ already did that. How ridiculous! We keep striving for what Christ already attained!

We take Grace and add Law and think we have improved on Grace. Where Grace says, "You don't have to because I did for you", Law says, "You must", and we think, "I'll have a little Grace and prove I can do this myself." Afterall, God must love someone more who proves their love by trying, right?

Wrong. We are not eensy, weensy spiders.

We are New Creations.

¹You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. ²I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? ³Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? ⁴Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? ⁵Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

⁶Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." ⁷Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. ⁸The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."⁹So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

¹⁰All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." ¹¹Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." ¹²The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." ¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."¹⁴He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. Galations 3:1-14.

The Work of Your Hands

2010-02-17T20:18:00.003-05:00

Hands and soul sliced and seeping tears of red,
I seek to piece the fragile, shattered splinters of
me,
so carefully shaped by
"Thou Shall Not",
back together.

Perfections' brief, mocking beauty
ruined.

Until reborn by grace,
I see myself gathered, melded, reformed,
completed
in You.

Perfections' requirements
accomplished
by Your scarred hands,
not mine.

Havin' a Little Talk with Jesus

2010-02-16T15:59:00.002-05:00

Remember that song, "Have a Little Talk with Jesus"? You know..."Let's have a little talk with Jesus, you can tell Him all about your troubles, He will hear your faintest cry, and answer by and by..." Yeah, that one!

Well, me and Jesus had to have a little talk recently. The problem was this snowpocalypse that everyone else seemed to be getting in on except me. What was up with that?!? If you lived outside a small radius around my house, you got snow. I got sleet. Unacceptable. Definitely, unacceptable. While most states were shoveling their way out, I was paddling my canoe to the mailbox. Huh. So, when the most recent storm for the Deep South was heading our way and the forecasters, once again, put us in the "Nuh uh, it ain't happenin'" zone, I had to give My Guy a clue.

"Look, they have snow north of us. They have snow south of us. I WANT SNOW! If you're having a problem finding my house, just Google map it, but really, enough is enough."

And snow it did. :)

I had a most delish breakfast Saturday morning of fresh snow cream with a slight, kinda slight, really an almost infinitesimal, amount of Kahlua. Oh my.

And then, me being me, I was like, "Isn't it Spring YET???"

Of course, my daffodils are up and fat with buds.

Yes, God loves me best. Get over it.

So, my point is what is it with this "by and by" stuff?

Someone told me recently that sometimes God heals us by "taking us home". That means dying, y'all.

NEWS FLASH: I don't need to be HEALED in heaven. Duh.

Some people firmly believe that we'll be wholly sanctified and righteous "by and by", too.

What do they think, God is going to top off our righteousness tank when we hit the pearly gates? What are we getting by on now, just enough grace day to day siphoned out of what they call church?

Oh, good grief.

People, God had a One Man Plan. Period.

If we didn't get it through what Christ did on the cross, we ain't getting it later.

No sirree.

We carry GOD on the inside of us.

The very LIFE OF CHRIST.

Jesus didn't come to tempt us with Somewhere over the Rainbow (or the Jordan River), The Promised Land, or the great by and by.

He came and gave us His Life and that in abundance.

He came for those who will call it TODAY.

He came to inhabit His people.

I'm sorry; I'm not waiting 'til by and by to have all of My Guy.

Jesus and snow cream. I want mine NOW.

If Love Is...

2010-02-14T08:31:00.007-05:00

If love is
a two way street
why did you walk the Via Dolorosa alone?

If love is
mutual giving and taking
why did you give it all for me to receive?

If love is
hearts and flowers and poetry
why was yours shown on a cross?

If love is
a debt to be repaid, an obligation to be met, or a duty to serve
why did you fulfill all love's demands asking nothing of me?

If love is
for sale
why did it cost me nothing?

If love is
an emotion
why did you make it an action?

If love is
then it must be You.

Snow Place Like Home

2010-02-13T19:01:00.006-05:00

On Seeing God

2010-02-12T17:02:00.004-05:00

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word "darkness" on the walls of his cell."
— C.S. Lewis

Make You Feel My Love

2010-02-09T10:18:00.001-05:00

AMAZING! Song & singer. I LOVE IT.

Dedicated Christians???

2010-02-06T19:04:00.006-05:00

Main Entry: ded·i·cat·ed

Function: adjective

Date: circa 1600

1 : devoted to a cause, ideal, or purpose : zealous
2 : given over to a particular purpose Web server>

— ded·i·cat·ed·ly adverb

Main Entry: ¹pur·pose

Pronunciation: \ˈpər-pəs\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English purpos, from Anglo-French, from purposer to intend, propose, from Latin proponere (perfect indicative proposui) to propose — more at propound

Date: 14th century

1 a : something set up as an object or end to be attained : intention b : resolution, determination
2 : a subject under discussion or an action in course of execution

I detest, loathe, and despise religious catch phrases. I do. I really, really do. I'm convinced that underneath that sugary sweetness is an error in understanding God, Jesus, The New Covenant, and Grace.

Please tell me what it means to be a dedicated Christian and why that would ever be a GOOD thing to be?!?

Based on the above definitions, I think it is fair to say that a dedicated Christian is someone zealously or purposely with resolution and intent seeking to attain an end. Fair enough? The question then arises WHAT END MIGHT THAT BE?

Why to please God, of course, through our actions.

And what might these actions look like?

Attending "church"

Tithing

Abstaining from ______________. This is a fill in the blank answer since different people would put different responses ranging from movies, dancing, alcohol, and rock music to wearing earrings and bathing suits to reading the Twilight or Harry Potter books.

Joining the Ladies' Circle, the Mens' Fellowship, the choir, the worship team, etc

Reading the Bible on a strict basis, preferably while in your prayer closet (Take a flashlight)

Fasting

Witnessing at abortion clinics (bombing is only acceptable to some)

Constantly, or at least at bedtime, confessing your sins, begging for forgiveness, and rededicating yourself to try harder with God's help, of course

Enough. I think you see my point.

Somewhere the mistaken idea has arisen that God is pleased with us or loves us based on what we do.

Yet, the Bible says God loved us while we were yet sinners.

Oh! That was then. This is now. Now we are to earn or repay God's grace in Christ. Right?

WRONG! Wrong, wrong, wrong. WRONG!

And because of this delusion, the vast majority of Christians will spend their life seeking to attain what God gave in His Son: righteousness. They will eye the bar of either the Law or Christ's life and then spend their time "exercising their spiritual muscles" and attempting, seriously, to attain righteousness or God's approval through performance. And they will measure themselves and others against Christ's perfection.

That is why there are "good" and "bad" Christians. "Dedicated" and "lazy" Christians.

That is why grace is offensive to people who want to earn heaven by the sweat of their brow.

How frustrating for the Elder Brother to work so hard for what the Prodigal was freely given!

How sad that religion forces us too often into the Elder Brother role when we are all Prodigals to God.

How wrong that we don't understand how much God loves us. Just simply loves us.

I'm dedicated, alright. Dedicated to believing that my efforts could never, ever outweigh what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Dedicated to accepting the TRUTH that Christ did what I couldn't! Dedicated to living as God's Beloved Child.

But in reality, GOD'S DEDICATION MADE OURS UNNECESSARY.

On Growing Up

2010-01-25T13:51:00.005-05:00

So, my baby, Savannah, turned 14 this week-end. Eh. I can't like it. I remember when she was born as if it was yesterday. Seriously. I remember she was born on Tuesday, came home on Thursay, and by Saturday, the two of us were out shopping!! Well, she had to have something to wear for the upcoming Super Bowl! I mean, GEE! what's a girl to do? She had to learn those two important words sometime, didn't she? And I figured sooner was better than later. Oh! The words? CHARGE IT, of course. :)

Although all of my babies were small, Savannah was truly my tiny tot and still is today. Even though she inherited Devon's beautiful hand-me-downs, as a newborn she needed preemie size lest she be swallowed by excess fabric! Help! Where's Savannah? Oh, THERE she is!

Unfortunately, she is less than thrilled by her small stature these days. Whether it's a dress for an upcoming school dance or "professional" wear for an FBLA competition, we struggle to find size and age appropriate clothing. Forget the women's department. Uh uh. Double 00?!? Nope! Trust me, we've tried!! How about Juniors? Not even a 0 will do.

That leaves little Savannah skulking through the children's departments of Nordstrom and Belk and ducking furtively into dressing rooms lest she be seen by a peer! Heaven's above!!

We finally, miraculously, managed to find some black dress slacks and "a little black dress" recently for a couple of school functions. Obviously, most children don't find themselves in need of "interview' wear and we exhausted all options and very nearly my patience by the time we were done. We started with the 16's. Ummmm, Savannah and a friend could have worn them at the same time! We ended up with the choice of a size 8 skirt or size 12 slacks (which were, of course, at another store). The dress wasn't much easier, either, people. ACK! By then I felt like getting down down on my knees and rejoicing that we had found anything! Hallelujah! 14 year olds who weigh around 80 pounds soaking wet can't be choosy, we learned.

And as we left, I couldn't help but notice Savannah covetously eyeing the Junior racks...

Growing up is so darned hard, isn't it? And yet we know it happens. In fits and spurts with moments of breathtaking maturity mixed in sloppily with adolescent awkwardness. Slower than our children wish and far faster than we can imagine, our children grow up. In God's good time.

Which is why I am often amazed that we as believers have so little faith in our loving Father when it comes to our growth. Instead of trusting in God to grow and mature us, we look to our own wisdom, knowledge, and devices. Instead of realizing there is no shame in immaturity, only a lack of revelation, we are quick to judge and condemn ourselves and others when our performance is less than some unrealistic mark. Because the mark is usually, unfortunately, adherence to the Law. And, truthfully, even when we understand that Christ's nature is the "mark", WE STILL FAIL TO REALIZE THAT HE ALREADY MET THE MARK FOR US AND IN US and removed that burden from us. We cannnot and never were intended to live the Christian life. It's impossible. Only Christ can and only Christ will when we allow Him to by resisting the ongoing temptation to DO IT OURSELVES!! We have the backwards notion that we, through our actions, grow ourselves into mature Christians. When instead, God has birthed us COMPLETE, MATURE, AND SANCTIFIED, which we will see the evidence of when we, by faith, REST in this spiritual truth. What is true of us spiritually will become true of us experientially as we renew our minds to TRUTH.

We do not mature spiritually. We mature in our understanding of our spiritual identity as we begin to trust in Jesus' finished work. As a result of our yielding to the Life that indwells us as New Creations, evidence of our Union life becomes tangible as the Fruit of the Spirit. There is no effort or labor on our part that produces maturity. It is the process of growing into the understanding of the fact that we hold the fullness of God in Christ regardless of our outward appearance. What appears to be true of us experientially does NOT determine what is true of us spiritually but what is true of us spiritually will determine our experience if we allow it to. In other words, do we trust God or ourselves to grow us in grace?

Growing ourselves is hard to do because God NEVER intended us to!

We can, as we encourage our own children, rest in the truth that God grows us in His good time.

You Are The Best Thing

2010-01-22T18:02:00.000-05:00

Ray LaMontagne and BRASS?!? OH MY!!! :)

Throwing Away The Key

2010-01-17T09:40:00.006-05:00

"And you call yourself a Christian?"

Let's be honest, OK? I'm willing to bet you've heard this phrase or something similar if you're preaching grace. It's the arrow aimed at your heart (conscience) by someone who has either been offended by your teaching or, WORSE, actually witnessed you missing the mark.

"NO!!!", you're screaming, right? "MISS THE MARK?!? MISS THE MARK?!?"

Horrors, I know.

Because, yes, if you hadn't realized it, I'm here to tell you, grace walkers miss the mark. Well, I don't know about you, but I do.

I lose my patience. I get angry. I become stubborn. I take a well-aimed shot with words. I blow it. I lose it. I miss it. I flesh out. I miss the mark of my new nature.

And, generally, I'm able to restore and be restored in love. Grace teaches us that, doesn't it?

But, sometimes... sometimes, someone witnesses maybe not even a stumble but a complete and utter wipe-out and while we're still flat on our back wondering what in the world just happened a face appears over us and utters those condemning words.

"And you call yourself a Christian?"

"If that's grace, I don't want any part of it."

"You write about grace? You sure don't live it."

And, if you're me, and you are at a particularly low moment, you might just find yourself thinking, "Well, sh*t, I sure don't, do I?"

And I hear Him laugh. Yes, laugh, as He gathers me up and into His arms and begins to wipe away the grit and tear stains from my face and whisper His love to me.

You see, I really am just an old raggedy- muffin in my appearance sometimes. I stepped down off the gilt and jewel-encrusted music box I used to perform on and let Him wash all my stage make-up away years ago.

And sometimes I miss a step and stumble.

And the accuser of the brethren often is there to remind me that I've been weighed, measured, and found wanting.

But these days, I don't wind myself back-up and live the life of a religious automaton.

I don't try to live the religious lie of self-righteousness.

I've given up on winning men's approval.

These days, I wait for My Beloved to laugh and gather me in and remind me of who I am because of who He is in me.

I'm not a prostitute when I miss the mark, no matter what the world screams. A prostitute is the one who willingly climbs back into the box of Law, which no matter how perfect and good, never produces authentic life. It only keeps a mirror of perfection before us that we can attempt to imitate but never reproduce.

So, yeah, sometimes I try to lead the dance and overstep and flail around ungraciously.

Sometimes, I do.

But grace has never been about my imperfect interpretation of His life in my flesh, it is about His perfect reproduction of His life in my Spirit. It is about what my earthen box holds not my earthen box's appearance. That's why it's grace. It's about HIM, not ME. It's about Him dancing His dance through me, in union with me, instead of my attempts to fake it to impress Him or y'all with some music box performance.

So, yeah, I do call myself a Christian.

But it's by His grace, not my efforts.

Not since I really knew my True Love's first kiss.

Not since I stepped down from that box and threw away the key.

"You cannot see

How much I long to be free

Turning around on this music box

That's wound by a key."

Your Love Is Better Than Thai Iced Tea

2010-01-13T10:20:00.010-05:00

Me: You know what?
Him: No, what?
Me: I love Thai Iced Tea so much that I think my tongue would be stained orange permanently if I was given half the chance. I looove Thai Iced Tea!!!! (Yes, that is ICED, not ice tea, puuuuhlease, I'm Southern, I know these things). Good thing Wednesday is my only Thai day, huh?
Him: HA!! Really? You love it that much, hmmm? So, how do I measure up against Thai Iced Tea?
Me: (Screwing up my face thinking) Yeow! Toughie.
Him: WHAT?!?
Me: Ahahahahaha! Your love is better than Thai Iced Tea. Slightly. Veeery slightly.
Him: Thanks, I think.
Me: (Realizing this could be FUN!!) In fact your love is better than...hmmmm, the first snowflake of the season melting on my tongue. How's that?
Him: (Smiling) I like.
Me: Better than...
really old, really worn, faded jeans that fit perfectly.
a vase overflowing with the first Spring daffodils.
my Pandora station. I can't believe I said that! I mean, c'mon, Ray LaMontagne?
finally fitting into Dev's Lilly Pulitzer patchwork pants.
just baked chocolate chip cookies and ice cold milk. With ice cubes in the milk just the way I like it.
I must be feverish. (Grabbing His hand) Do I feel hot to you?
Him: Keep going. I like this list.
Me: I bet you do, Mister. OK, (BIG SIGH) Your love is better than...
the best book I've ever read. No, all the books I've ever read.
Him: REALLY??? WOW!
Me: Better than the Jersey Shore! THERE!!
Him: Umm, well, I'm not sure I'm flattered. The Shore?
Me: (Laughing uproariously) Ahahahahaha! Faint praise, indeed! Awwwright. The Outer Banks. Me sitting in my chair, browning to a turn, reading my most favoritest book (any book) and sipping cool, sparkling water. Better?
Him: MUCH! Thank you.
Me: Better than walking out past the breakers and floating on my back beyond the point where I can touch bottom. Just floating with my eyes closed and letting go.
Better than really rare, really excellent beef. Beef that melts like butter in your mouth. Accompanied by a red wine that rolls over your tongue like a poem.
Better than...(GULP)
when I stuck my finger between the snaps on baby Amilia's (Julie & Aaron's baby) romper and rubbed her warm, tender tummy.
stealing kisses from the nape of my childrens' necks.
blowing wet, slobbery raspberries on fat little toddler tummies.
Christmas. (Just shoot me)
ENOUGH!!!
Him: (Grinning widely) You really think My love is better than all those things, Jamie? Or are you just buttering me up?
Me: Nope. I really do. And I just realized that I only love them MORE by SHARING them WITH YOU!!
Him: That is funny because I totally agree.

***I forgot...chocolate martinis, lavender scented feather duvets, & downy baby birds.***

Mr. Jim

2010-01-12T14:02:00.010-05:00

I'm not exactly sure what day our relationship began. But as the days passed and turned into weeks, and even months, I realized I had made a rather unique friend.

We never spoke. We didn't know each others names. We simply waved each time I passed his house on the corner.

He sat on the porch at first. Older and thin, clad in tee shirt, jeans, and a leather jacket with an American flag on the breast, watching the world go by.

As the days grew colder, he disappeared from the chair outside but a hand would almost magically appear from behind a crack in the door and acknowledge my passing. I assumed he was peeking from a window, waiting for me...his daily drive-by friend.

I expect that wave meant as much to me as it did to him.

Finally, I decided to drop off a meal one day when a local church had a plate sale.

And we met.

He was Jim and his wife was Helen. They were from West Virginia. His health was precarious and he occasionally required an oxygen tank to breathe.

That Christmas, our family decided to remember them with something. Upon receiving our gift, Mrs. Helen immediately reached for a stuffed animal and said, "For your daughter." She had seen Savannah in the truck.

Time passed and eventually, they moved, but we would bump into each other occasionally at the post office and Mr. Jim would always give me his sweet smile.

He was, quite simply, my friend.

Quite a few seasons have come and gone since our first waves but no matter where they have moved through the years, Mr. Jim and Mrs. Helen have always managed to keep in touch. Most times Mrs. Helen calls and just says, "Jim just wanted to call and tell you hello," and I'll hear his familiar voice come on the line and say, "Hey, girl".

Love can be just that simple, can't it?

Last Christmas when we stopped to see them and drop off their gifts, God gently taught me a beautiful truth.

You see, Mr. Jim and Mrs. Helen don't have much. Their houses are always small and their income, obviously, smaller.

You're expecting me to tell you how God showed me the joy of giving and compassion, aren't you? You couldn't be more wrong.

Because last Christmas, Mr. Jim and Mrs. Helen had obviously spent a great deal of time and their precious resources to surprise US!!!!

There was a porcelain doll for Savannah, a pocket knife for Reagan, a "throw" blanket for me...you get the picture.

As I got in the truck to leave, I began to cry. I knew they couldn't afford to be so generous and their kindness hurt my heart. I gave out of my abundance. They gave out of their need.

And that's when my Beloved spoke into my heart.

"Jamie, sometimes you begin to see relationships in terms of what you bring. Even ours. I want you to understand our relationship is based on what I brought, not you. It never is about how much you give, do, or even love. It is about how much I gave, and I did, and how much I love."

Isn't it strange how God will use the most unlikely sources to show us His unimaginable passion?

Even Mr. Jim, my drive-by friend.

But, Baby, It's Cold Outside!

2010-01-09T17:03:00.004-05:00

Isn't he beautiful? All "fluffed up" against the cold!! There's just one thing to do:
Yes, a bubble bath! When the going gets rough, the smart take a long, hot soak complete with candles, a good book, and sparkling water. Nirvana!!!
The view from my bubble bath is rawthuh spectacular. :)

Counting My Blessings

2010-01-08T18:14:00.003-05:00

I love this song...it's just cozy, that's all. Comfy cozy. :)

Watching The Sky

2010-01-07T16:58:00.007-05:00

YES!!!! The word all Southerners long to hear has been released over the airwaves by meteorologists and we are in a frenzy of anticipation...all eyes have been on the sky as the heavy, "chicken-skinned" (a SURE sign) clouds have slooowly rolled in (was that a flake? WAS THAT A FLAKE?!?), DOT trucks have been salting roads for the last 48 hours, school has already been delayed 2 hours due to the threat of inclement weather (I do NOT lie), and by now area grocery stores have been ravaged by wild-eyed shoppers who fear starvation if one loaf of bread or gallon of milk is left on the shelves.

YES!!! I'm talking the "S" word here!!

SNOW!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Break out your toboggans, sleds, L.L. Bean boots or UGGS, gloves, mittens, scarves, tights, and thermal underwear.

Be prepared to have plenty of steaming hot cocoa on hand to thaw out frozen, death-defying adventurers who brave the fiercest elements in search of thrills and spills.

Be sure and have plenty of split wood and kindling ready to build a perfect roaring fire for that lovely apres ski ambiance.

Check that there is enough gas for the generator just in case power is lost in the upcoming "event".

And, whatever you do, be absolutely sure to get out on the highway, given the smallest excuse, and drive like a complete fool as soon as the snow begins to stick.

We're expecting anywhere from a TRACE TO, MAYBE, AN INCH.

I KNOW...only in the South, y'all.

Hmmmm, it reminds me of The Second Coming. You know, "Jesus is coming. LOOK BUSY!"

I will never forget hearing someone I loved and respected say, "Jesus can't come back for a Bride without spot or wrinkle until WE ARE ONE!" In other words, "Hitch up your pants, pull on your work gloves, and get busy, Church!"

Busy doing what EXACTLY, may I ask? Is the Church supposed to somehow earn her standing before God? I thought we were the Bride based on our union with Christ. I thought our righteousness was through Him, not us!

I left church that day knowing that what I had heard was somehow wrong, just WRONG! I may not have known of The Finished Work but my spirit went "CLUNK" when this "Bad News" was preached.

"Bad News" because all the well intentioned "works" in the world don't bring righteousness. Righteousness isn't earned nor bought. It's received by faith. Not merited by our efforts!!!

Yet, we are taught to strive. We are taught that God's approval is dependent on our actions. We are even told that the Second Coming hinges on our "cleanliness"!! Well, Lawdy Mercy, let's all head on down to the river to scrub our filthy souls with lye soap!!! We may not get all the stains out but, surely, looking busy counts, right?

Ummmm, no, it doesn't.

Remember this story?

³⁸ As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹ Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

⁴¹ But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! ⁴² There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42.

While Martha was working herself into a frenzy, where was Mary???

Sitting at Jesus' feet.

Sitting at Jesus' feet?!?

Yeah. Crazy, huh?

She was acting like a woman in love. Sitting at her Beloved's feet.

That's where I want to be found.

No matter what swirls around me. No matter what over-zealous religious types preach. No matter that it brings censure from those who don't understand.

Faith demands that my confidence rest in Someone other than myself and what He accomplished for and as me.

Faith demands that I trade in my "work ethic" for rest.

Jesus is coming; it's true.

But one aspect of His appearing just might be in His Church when we learn, like Mary, to choose the better part...

Rest.

This Year, I Resolve

2010-01-04T16:19:00.003-05:00

This year...

I resolve to be more missional.

I resolve to be more kind, patient, & loving.

I resolve to pursue God. I hope He doesn't outrun me.

I resolve to give more of my time, my money, & myself.

I resolve to be more of a light in a dark world.

I resolve to listen more and speak less.

I resolve to dedicate myself to "less of me, and more of Him".

I resolve to curb my sarcasm, especially the rolling of my eyes.

I resolve to do unto others as they would have me do as anything else is offensive.

I resolve to be serious about my spirituality and buckle down and apply myself. I CAN DO THIS!

I resolve to be a better person, family member, and friend.

I resolve to become even more intensely aware of my shortcomings so that my focus on myself will accomplish something; I'm just not sure what.

I resolve to meet God at church every Sunday and be sure and recharge my spiritual battery while I'm there.

I resolve to ask for forgiveness when I sin and live in a state of constant re-dedication as coming to the altar gives me that "good as new" feeling... for a little while at least.

I resolve to try and realize that grace is only given to me by the measure in which I earn it.

I resolve to prove myself righteous under the law. I will keep those commandments. I will!!

I resolve to look myself in the eye and say, "GROW UP!!" Maybe that will speed my "growing in the Lord"? It's worth a try, isn't it?

I resolve to be a "good" Christian.

Whew! This list is getting lengthy and I'm exhausted just THINKING about it!! Maybe instead of tackling so many areas and risking spreading my efforts too thin, I should just concentrate on one or two and throw myself whole-heartedly into the work to be done.

Or

I could just believe, like that crazy Paul, and live by faith.

²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:2.

¹⁹For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. ²⁰I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galations 2:19-20.

Here is what I MOST ESPECIALLY LOVE: Regardless of my feelings or my actions, I REALLY am better than I know...because of Him.

This year??? Why, this year, I'm going to let Him prove it to me, of course.

(Looooog, slooooow smile)

Perfect Love Has Shattered All My Fear

2010-01-03T21:06:00.001-05:00

Brave New Worship

VERSE 1:
Whenever You’re around, I just can’t get enough
Of the way You look straight into me with eyes that burn with love
I’ll wash Your feet with tears and I don’t care who sees
It’s worth the death of my pride for the promise of intimacy
CHANNEL1:
Perfect love has shattered all my fear
I’ll bring my offering, I’m drawing near
CHORUS:
Here comes my brave new worship
It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks
When it’s all said and done here
I’ll be wearing Your fragrance
VERSE 2:
There’s more inside of us that longs to be released
From the cracks of our brokenness, deep calls out to deep
All of creation is waiting for the sound
That releases the Kingdom of God when we open our mouths
CHANNEL2:
So we’re holding nothing back this time
We won’t be silent and we will not hide
BRIDGE:
I pour out my oil, here at Your feet
It’s all over You now, it’s getting all over me
TAG:
We’re gonna worship, we’re gonna worship You
In Spirit and Truth…

~Kelanie Gloeckler

Choreographed Spontaneity

2010-01-01T13:13:00.004-05:00

Savannah is in the middle, several rows back, partnered with a little blonde girl in a bright red fedora.

We spent the first part of New Year's Eve at Raleigh's First Night celebration where Savannah was thrilled to be able to participate with her dance school, among many others, in a flash mob.

A flash mob occurs when someone in a crowd "spontaneously" starts dancing and others join in until everyone is caught up in the conflagration. It is supposed to look natural and authentic. The irony, huh? Rehearsed spontaneity.

Yes, you know where I'm going with this...religion has introduced a flash mob mentality to what most people think of as "church".

What is Sunday service in too many churches if not a group of trained participants performing for clueless observers? No wonder people leave feeling untouched! How relational is glorified entertainment?

Instead of popcorn, Good~n~Plenty's, & soda, we offer coffee and doughnuts but, really, what's the difference?

The fact is as long as the Body of Christ sees the Gospel as something we have to sell to the world and we believe that the Good News is the indoctrination of the unwashed masses into the religion of behavior modification then we don't actually need the Holy Spirit to show up in power, do we? We have effectively reduced Christianity to just another "TO DO" list to be tacked on the refrigerator door in our mind and to guilt ourself about when we fail to check it off as we always will.

Christ's Life on par with Buy Tomatoes.

I have NO intention of ever DOING church again.

I am the church.

I will dance, freely, unrehearsed, and unreservedly, inviting the world to join me in celebrating His Life, even if I stumble over my two left feet and fall flat on my face.

I am the dancer, but His is the DANCE.

Now, shake it like a Polaroid picture!!!

Rejoice!!!

2009-12-30T07:36:00.002-05:00

My Favorite Christmas Gift

2009-12-29T21:33:00.007-05:00

Yep, here we is again!!!
Why are Aaron's cheeks sooo red?!?
Aaron, HRH Amilia, & Jul...sweet, huh?
The whole gang. Wish you were there. :)

We're Through Accepting Limits 'Cause Someone Says They're So

2009-12-29T14:23:00.004-05:00

Me, Lyds, & Jul...the lawless ones. :)

Annnnd, I got to HOLD & SMOOCH, Her Royal Preciousness: Baby Amilia!!!

Defying Gravity

GLINDA
(spoken) Elphaba - why couldn't you have stayed calm for
once, instead of flying off the handle!
(sung) I hope you're happy!
I hope you're happy now
I hope you're happy how you
Hurt your cause forever
I hope you think you're clever!

ELPHABA
I hope you're happy
I hope you're happy, too
I hope you're proud how you
Would grovel in submission
To feed your own ambition

BOTH
So though I can't imagine how
I hope you're happy right now

GLINDA
(spoken) Elphie, listen to me. Just say you're sorry:
(sung) You can still be with the Wizard
What you've worked and waited for
You can have all you ever wanted:

ELPHABA
(spoken) I know:
(sung) But I don't want it -
No - I can't want it
Anymore:

Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes: and leap!

It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!

GLINDA
Can't I make you understand?
You're having delusions of grandeur:

ELPHABA
I'm through accepting limits
''cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down:
(spoken) Glinda - come with me. Think of what we could
do: together.

(sung) Unlimited
Together we're unlimited
Together we'll be the greatest team
There's ever been
Glinda -
Dreams, the way we planned 'em

GLINDA
If we work in tandem:

BOTH
There's no fight we cannot win
Just you and I
Defying gravity
With you and I
Defying gravity

ELPHABA
They'll never bring us down!
(spoken) Well? Are you coming?

GLINDA
I hope you're happy
Now that you're choosing this

ELPHABA
(spoken) You too
(sung) I hope it brings you bliss

BOTH
I really hope you get it
And you don't live to regret it
I hope you're happy in the end
I hope you're happy, my friend:

ELPHABA So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!

GLINDA
I hope you're happy!

CITIZENS OF OZ
Look at her, she's wicked!
Get her!

ELPHABA
:Bring me down!

CITIZENS OF OZ
No one mourns the wicked
So we've got to bring her

ELPHABA
Ahhh!

CITIZENS OF OZ
Down!

Chariot

2009-12-28T07:18:00.001-05:00

Celebrating Christ's Mass

2009-12-26T15:22:00.005-05:00

I find it interesting that in Great Britain and other countries Christ's birth traditionally has been celebrated on two days, on one day by attending church and on the next by exchanging gifts or giving to the poor (Boxing Day or St. Stephen's Day). I think it is fair to say that Christmas, like life, is categorized in many people's minds into the spiritual and the secular. The church has, sadly, not only endorsed but also propagated this fallacy. Mark, over at Pragmatic-Eclectic, just wrote a wonderful post along these lines: http://mark-bymaswell.blogspot.com/2009/12/church-is-like.html. Great thoughts, Mark!!

There is, for want of a better phrase, a certain Borg-like mentality to that kind of thinking. And too many Christians are, unfortunately, a creepy example of the "You will be assimilated" uni-mind. You do remember the Borg, don't you? Here is a quickie Wiki definition in case you've forgotten:

The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe. Aside from being the main threat in Star Trek: First Contact, the Borg also play major roles in The Next Generation and Voyager television series, primarily as an invasion threat to the United Federation of Planets and the means of return to the Alpha Quadrant for isolated Federation starship Voyager, respectively. The Borg have become a symbol in popular culture for any juggernaut against which "resistance is futile".

The Borg manifest as cybernetically enhanced humanoid drones of multiple species, organized as an interconnected collective, the decisions of which are made by a hive mind, linked to subspace domain. The Borg inhabit a vast region of space in the Delta Quadrant of the galaxy, possessing millions of vessels and having conquered thousands of systems. They operate solely toward the fulfilling of one purpose: to "add the biological and technological distinctiveness of other species to their own" in pursuit of perfection. This is achieved through forced assimilation, a process which transforms individuals and technology into Borg, enhancing, and simultaneously controlling, individuals by implanting or appending synthetic components.

EWWWWWW! Doesn't that sound like religion or most churches to you?!? BLECH! Blech, blech, blech!!! (I'm retching here. Give me a moment to rinse my mouth and wipe it on my sleeve.)

OK, I'm back.

***WARNING*** Paradigm shift now occuring...Beloved, Christianity isn't about conformation, but TRANSFORMATION!!!

Christmas isn't spiritual or secular based on what we do or where we go or how we celebrate anymore than we are Christians based on the same criteria.

We have totally missed it when we think us "going to church" is a "spiritual" act. As if we are made holy by showing up in a building!! Uh, nope. The spiritual act occured when we believed and God indwelt us. I don't go THERE to get some of HIM; I contain Him and all His holiness and thus I am holy ALL THE TIME.

OH!! I'm so sorry to burst your self-righteous bubble but attending midnight mass, singing in the cantata, taking communion, confessing your sins to a priest and saying a gazillion Hail Mary's, or even serving a meal at a homeless shelter doesn't improve your standing with God. And all those years of taking a stand against Santa Claus, the commercialization of Christmas, and pagan celebrations don't either. YEOW!

And why is that?

Because the Good News is that after a few thousand years of letting folks knock theirselves out trying to keep the Law, God became flesh, died on a cross, reconciled all men to Himself and made sin a moot point between us and Him, thus ushering in a NEW ECONOMY where faith is the only currency recognized, not works, and then He called it FINISHED and sat down. And what did religion do??? Said, "Thanks, God, Old Man, your effort is appreciated but we can take it from here." And we have spent a couple of thousand more years trying to earn what was freely given and could never, ever, NEVER, EVER, NEVER be accomplished by our efforts. All the good and well-intioned acts on our part are not enough because good and bad are not the issue, life and death are, death which we inherited through Adam and life which we receive through Christ.

¹⁵But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! ¹⁶Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. ¹⁹For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:15-19.

That is why Jesus made a point of hanging out with thieves, whores, and other unsavory sorts. God was showing us that the Law wasn't given because it was "A GOOD IDEA" but to PROVE that we couldn't EVER fulfill it and that it wasn't capable of giving life, but only of ministering death. WE NEEDED A SAVIOR! So, Jesus, ate and drank and socialized with the "sinners" to show that salvation would come to ANY who believed in HIM, not their own efforts. He was saying, "Here is the Kingdom of God, right here IN ME. WILL YOU RECEIVE IT? WILL YOU BELIEVE IT?"

And here is the REALLY COOL PART: That hasn't changed!!! The Kingdom of God resides in those who believe. Period. The Kingdom isn't about what we do, how we look, or how we act. It's about what we believe. It's about the fact that WE ARE NOW THE TEMPLE OF THE MOST HIGH GOD, regardless of our performance. It's about BIRTH and IDENTITY. It's about accepting grace.

Christ's Mass can be celebrated by a drunk in a gutter lying in his own urine and vomit.

Christ's Mass can be celebrated by a prostitute, a drug addict, or a homosexual.

Christ's Mass is celebrated by acknowledging that life is found in Christ alone... by whomever believes it.

Christ's Mass is celebrated by knowing that we are the Wonderful Mystery because God now tabernacles in us!! God made flesh...IN US!

Christ's Mass is about what He has done, not what we do.

Dang, is it any wonder I love me some Christmas???

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

2009-12-23T16:29:00.004-05:00

With warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday from our family to yours!

Better Than We Know

In The Midst of the Storm

Belief

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Because Grace Chose Me

On Finding Our Wings

Just Because...

Of Grace And Roses

God Is Enchanted By You

Suffer The Little Children

The Gospel: It's This Simple

On Getting What We Deserve

I Failed Christianity 101

My Salvation Lies In Your Love

Ba De Ya

Happiness Is...

Ratatouille

The Folks Who Live on the Hill

On Chickens and Eggs

Bigger Than

Cross-Pollination

Everything Is Spiritual

On Leaving Facebook

Mommy Musings

God Is Not A White Man

When You Can't See The Cross For The Me's

Thoughts On The Night Sky

Perspectives on Freedom

I Don't Want...

On Whitewash & Fences

A Father's Love

What If?

In Your Eyes

Today

What's in Your Rearview Mirror?

With My Arms Wide Open

Falling Up

Highwire

The Heart of the Matter

I Want To Pump You Up

Am I Too Obvious to Pretend?

With Gratitude

Jell-o Sheriffs Need Not Apply

Life Is As Sweet As Tupelo Honey

When Was The Last Time You Danced Barefoot? Well, Here You Go...

Validation

Simply Incredible...Enjoy!

Quantitatively Speaking...

Love Notes

Sideways

Hole Hearted

Phoenix

Death On A Motorcycle

No Debts

I Don't Wanna Be

My Hands

In This Moment

Reset By Love

If I Had A Day That I Could Give You

Dis...connected

In Your Eyes

In My Easter Bonnet

A Beautiful Life

Tittle: Fruits In Groups by Their...

Don't Have To Pretend

Appalachian Spring

Wild Horses

I've Got Sunshine On A Cloudy Day...

The Summer Wind

The ABC Gospel

America

Put Me In Coach

Eensy Weensy Spider Syndrome

The Work of Your Hands

Havin' a Little Talk with Jesus

If Love Is...

Snow Place Like Home

On Seeing God

Make You Feel My Love

Dedicated Christians???

^{2 Corinthians 5:21} For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.