There is a magnet on my refrigerator that says:
Well, at least I can save myself!
I am a princess after all.
A child of the King of kings!
I cannot convince anyone
of my claims
to know
my Savior.
The truth is foolishness
to those who are blind.
What if you just BELIEVED!
What miracles
could
be manifest?
Answers.
“Perhaps I write for no one. Perhaps for the same person children are writing for when they scrawl their names in the snow.” – Margaret Atwood
From an early age, I remember thinking I could write. Curly q’s and flying w’s donned blank pages. I wondered why nobody could understand what I was trying to say. Perhaps, even now, that I can spell, people still scratch their heads and mumble to themselves.
This is an image I snapped, while walking the beach along Lake Michigan. What do you see? Can you hear anything? Memories?
Opening Act:
Are you as confused as me? Can anyone watch the news today and say, glad they sorted out that mess?
Are these days, finally, the end of days? Many have speculated and announced dates, only to see their prophecy vaporize into clouds that hang over their heads.
My daily soapbox: Proverbs 17:15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent– the LORD detests them both.
Sound familiar? Yes, the truth has become evil and evil has become truth. Look no further than the evening news. You choose, your pick. Which story comes to mind?
Second Act:
Will anyone be found a believer in the end of days? 2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Closing Curtain:
One day, the JUDGE will speak, and no one can utter a word! Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. I have seen this in a dream…even in the church, many will burn, searching for relief, and not even the town fountain will put out the flames that torture.
Until then, the show must go on. Christians are asked to forgive those who trespass against them, be disciplined, pray continually, be grateful regardless of surrounding circumstances and continue to let our light shine in joy!
I took my daughter to school today. She was running late. The alarm went off at 6:00 am and I woke her up, like every morning, to a case of grumpitis. I went back to sleep, until 6:40 am, prepared the daily brew, and knocked on the bathroom door to announce she had 10 more minutes. She then replied that she wasn’t going to make it. Really? Fifty minutes is not enough time to dress, straighten hair, apply makeup, brush teeth, grab your backpack and catch a bus ride? “It is every other morning.” I grumbled, as I trudged up the steps to grab a sweater, tell my husband I would see him at dinner, declare his coffee was waiting for him downstairs, and I was on taxi standby!
“Mother, you are prepared for takeoff!” someone must be shouting at me, from somewhere, to let me know my actions are not without merit. This must count for something, somewhere. I wonder how I can phrase the past 25 years of experience on my resume?
I Thessalonians 5:16-19 NIV Be joyful always; pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances; this is the will of God for your life.
Let this verse ruminate through your mind today, and let us live like we mean it!
Do you suppose
we have found
a way that super cedes
all other ways?
Do you suppose
the crack
in the sidewalk
will keep cracking?
I suppose
I will need to think
about that
before I can answer!
©jeannelizabeth
I googled Crack in the Sidewalk and found many poems and a book with the same title. How are we any different than those before us? Solomon, the wise man in the Bible, from ages ago, said it well ”What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9. We can repackage the same story, with new words, but the meaning stays the same. What are we trying to figure out? Who created the world? Who created man? Did we just come together in some cosmic explosion, slowly evolve over millions of years, and end up the same as our ancestors? Even they dealt with cracks in the sidewalks. Can you imagine riding a chariot and have a wheel in a crack in the sidewalk?
Love is at the starting line
The place we all begin.
What waits for us at the finish line
Is what we all wonder?
For some it is fame
and others it is death.
For me I place my hope
on eternity.
The place I hang my hat upon
my knees bent in remorse.
For all the times I wandered
aimlessly, without a clue.
Yet, look within yourself
To see if you can make it.
The finish line is just ahead
And God is cheering you on.
©jeannelizabeth
I volunteer with the homeless population, in a Christian mission, where plenty of negative vibes squash the possibilities that God promises. Yet, what is impossible with us is certainly feasible with God and so we should redirect our focus and not dwell on certain facts but instead dream! We are told that if we knock, He will answer. Doors will be opened to us that seemed unimaginable. This is a very creative expression of hope that will change a person’s outlook along with a great many prayers to our Father, through Jesus!
DO you have a creative expression of hope that you cling to in times of despair?
Keep your eyes looking up? From where does my help come from? Even when our hearts are dragging on the dusty road of life,
we know there is a SAVIOR who cares for us inexplicably.
God, In Jesus’s name I pray: As I prepare myself for our upcoming trip to Arizona, to witness the open space of your creation, to experience the forgiveness and mercy of Your love, I ask that you give me the strength I need to stay alert, to be open to hear instruction and utilize the teachable moments ahead to grow in my faith and trust, in Your ability, and not my own. Thank you and AMEN!
©jeannelizabeth
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One
who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28
It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10:31
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful,
unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
Hebrews 3:12
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,
which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces
of this world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself
unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from
acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Hebrews 9:14
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling,
fix your thoughts on Jesus,
whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.
Hebrews 3:1
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:16
To all those in Boston and around the world, who are rocked by yet another act of terrorism…
may you be comforted by the prayers that are being lifted to God.
John 14:16 And I will ask the Father,
and He will give you another advocate to help you
and be with you forever–
John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
Psalm 139:17
If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.
Psalm 139:18
September 7, 2011
One of my dreams is to camp a few days in the desert. It intrigues me. The desert invites you to completely remove obstacles that trap you and see life in its starkest image…
Oh, someone will inevitably say to me, “Have you forgotten all about the wildlife and plants that inhabit the desert?” Yes, I understand that. I agree, the desert is not completely barren since life can exist in the harshest of conditions, such as lack of water and extreme heat during the noonday sun, but that is the same for cold climates that freeze, or the vast difference between summer and fall in a four season climate. Living things adapt to the environment. What I am reflecting on is my ability to throw away thoughts that clog my veins and keep my blood from reaching the corners of my body. Some of us struggle with cholesterol. Others struggle with shame, guilt and the myriad of emotions they bring to your life. My life is dependent on throwing away some of my thoughts and the desert makes that possible for me. I am not wrapped up in my surroundings, which are apparently there, but rather I am free to focus on my inner life.
True freedom in our belief that Jesus was the Son of God is allowing ourselves to be refined and molded in the heat of the noon sun and as the evening sets us with the cool air, we find peace in knowing that we have been loved and cared for despite the conditions of our lives. Perhaps living in a desert for a time in our walk as a Christian can honestly help us assess our purpose. Are we truly walking in the footsteps of the one who came to save us from ourselves or are we following a shadow of a false prophet? Who do you seek for advice in times of trouble? If you are avoiding the heat of G-D you are missing out of the love as well. We cannot know peace without having gone through trials.
4/11/2013 My chance to witness life in the desert for a week is actually going to happen. As a preparation, I am reading three books on my Goodreads page (see the link to your right) and I will blog about them sometime this summer/fall. The books selected are a Thomas Merton classic, “The Wisdom of the Desert”, a modern classic bridging off Merton’s work by Henri Nouwen “The Way of the Heart” and then “On the Mountain with God” by Mark W. Hamilton. The house we are renting (I probably will not be camping!) is directly behind a park in Phoenix, a desert with mountains to hike. I am eagerly anticipating this adventure and am preparing myself spiritually to be fed by God.
Isaiah 43:19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun!
Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Peace,
©jeannelizabeth
