Throwback: From a Time Long Past and *nearly* Forgotten

[I hope this can encourage some. I found it in the annals of my hard drive saved from a computer two or three laptops ago…I think it may have been Boromir…yes, I named several computers after LOTR characters…]

Father,

Today is one that started like the rest

A busy day. A service day

But I was striving

Not always, but any is too much

A change must be made. An offer has been given

To leave the normal

To follow

So what will I choose?

The normal, the things I always have?

The comfortable? Or so it seems

Or do I step out on the water?

Trust in what is uncertain? Or so it seems.

Comfortable is life!

Uncomfortable is death!

Or so it seems

But do I, man that I am, have it backwards

You have it right

Will I tell you, you who made the world, how things are?

May it never be!

So I see I have it backwards. Upside down. Twisted

Comfortable, isn’t. Uncomfortable isn’t.

What I thought was life is death

Death!

But you, you gave me life. That is all you give.

"Follow me. Follow!"

You call me to follow.

I answer

I choose to answer! For why would I want anything but the best?

The True, the Good, the Beautiful!

Everything! You are everything!

And you call me.

You KNOW me!

I answer. I choose. Life over death

Life over Death

Life

Life

Life

Abundant. Unending. Everlasting. Unchanging

Life!

And you have given it to me

I cease striving. I give it all to you          

For there is nothing else but to follow.

And now I live

Vegetable Tales

You are like an onion.

The outside of an onion is tough. It can even be bitter. Kind of like your outer struggles, hurts, and frustrations. A shell of protection if you will.

However, your life, your onion...is larger on the inside. 

That hurt, that shell protects the real you. In order to get down to the reality of who you are, to remove the bitterness and hurt, you have to peel the onion.

One problem...

Onions cannot peel themselves.

I would submit to you that you need to let One greater than yourself do the peeling.

As the layers of hurt and fear are peeled back, you will discover that each successive layer is larger than the next.

That as you let go, allow the shell to fall away, and allow One greater than you to reveal yourself, you will find the depth of love and peace that comes with releasing control and allowing God to unwrap what he has created.

An onion may cause tears as you peel it but as you get to the core, the massive, huge core of God’s love, it can be the sweetest of vegatables when prepared properly. And He is the Master Chef.

What you will find as you surrender and let him peel away those layers, you will realize that He has already done the work. It won't be easy, there will be good times and bad, and it will take a lifetime, but it is worth it.

Like Aslan removing the skin of Eustace the dragon. 

God is the only one who can truly peel away yourself and give you Himself.

Full Implications

You've probably heard it said that "Perfect love casts out fear."

I looked up the verse. And was dumbfounded by the implications.

Read it. See what you think.



1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Visions of Grandeur: June

June was busy. Really busy. Spent time with young folks at a retreat called Olive Grove. Neat experiences...Memories and people I will never forget.

Climbed hills

Spent time with great young people

Got a few scars along the way

(and wore a personally tie-dyed shirt for the first time ever)

(that also happened to be sleeveless...yeah, not the greatest fashion choice...)

(I was homeschooled...what can I say)

Skits about Friendship with "Ty and Eli"

(Me and Jenelle)

Drew closer to the Creator

How could I not?

There are so many stories to tell, so many things to share, but they will have to wait...

Have no fear, I am writing them down, they will not be forgotten.

That was June. July and August will follow.

Grace and peace.

Extirpate

Extirpate:

1. To pull up completely by the roots.


Life is like a garden.

Your life carries along. There are beautiful flowers in your garden. Trees that produce fruit. Birds sing in the branches. Bees flit from plant to plant.

But there are also weeds. Poisonous plants. Parasites. Pests. Things that can come in and take over the garden.

A garden needs to be cared for. Plants need to be pruned back. Watered. Harvested.

Weeds need to be removed. Pests and parasites chased away.

Problem is, a garden can't do that by itself.

Sure, a garden can grow in the midst of thorns...but those thorns and weeds will eventually choke out the plants that need care.

A garden by definition is a place that is cultivated and cared for. Set apart.

A garden needs a gardener.

Cutting weeds does nothing, for they will only grow back. Instead, you have to uproot them. Problem is, sometimes, the roots go deep.

Really deep.

When that happens, you have to dig, and dig, and dig. The gardener has to burrow into the soil until they find the last tiny fragment of that root and rip it out.

Remember, this garden is your life.

Uprooting hurts.

When you recognize a deep seated issue, a weed, or a lie, or a hurt, that has taken root in your life, it must be removed. Otherwise it will take over. It will mar your garden.

Let the Gardener do His work.

Yes it will hurt, yes it will by messy, yes it will cut deep.

But when it is gone, when that root has been extirpated...

You will be free.

Out of the Ashes

Letting go.

Hopes. Dreams. Desires.

Letting go.

Releasing tight grip on the things that you want, things you think you want, and things you want but don't even have.

Letting go.

Unclenching your fists and opening your hands. Offering what is there and saying, "I surrender."

Letting go.

Is pain. Is suffering. Is difficult.

Is worth it.

Letting go.

Placing these things on the altar. Lighting them ablaze. Letting His fire consume them.

Reduced to ashes.

Letting go seems final...

And yet...

...Fire refines...


"Out of these ashes...beauty will rise
and we will dance among the ruins
We will see Him with our own eyes
Out of these ashes...beauty will rise
For we know, joy is coming in the morning...
in the morning, beauty will rise"

Letting go allows the chaff and dross to be burned away.

Hopes. Dreams. Desires. They can be reborn. Remade. Recreated.

They may perish. But if they burned to ash, then were they worth it anyway?

But if instead they persist...

...Perhaps they turn to gold. Perhaps they reveal the shine of ruby. Emerald. Diamond...

If they are then cut, pounded, and worked...

...shaped into a crown that can be laid before His feet...

...forged into a useful and beautiful object...

...well, then...

Letting go was worth it.

Out of the ashes.

Overdue

Have you ever had the feeling that you are missing something? You know, that nagging sensation that tickles the back of your ears. You try to ignore it, but it keeps coming back. It gets better for a time, then gets worse. It seemingly disappears and then reappears with a vengeance. Eventually, you manage to push it aside...only to accept later just what it was you were missing...

I have been missing something.

Hence this post.

It has been nearly two months.

High time for reflection.

Overdue.