Forgiveness & Love That Leads To Action…

Two themes that continued to show up on my door step this week were forgiveness and love. How do you forgive when you have been so deeply wounded? How do you relate with individuals who have lost themselves in resentment and anger? How do we move closer to love?

I found this picture on a friend’s post from Facebook and it spoke volumes to my heart. How do you experience God’s grace and not be moved? It has been my experiencing God’s grace and love that have moved me beyond myself to embrace humankind. It has been my deep experience of God’s forgiveness and mercy that have led me to a deeper understanding and empathy for our shared humanity. In that awareness I am able to open my heart to allowing the Spirit to heal my woundedness and help me to look deeper at the wounds of others with greater compassion.

How do we move past taking offense, or taking things personally? The reality is that people who hold resentments or anger toward another are struggling with some deeper challenge that goes beyond the perceived offender. I woke this morning to a post on Facebook by a local pastor in my community that put words to my heart:

“Loving Christ first and most is essential. Until we are loving Him, we love others only partially. And, as we experience His love we are free to truly love ourselves because we become secure in his acceptance. This in turn frees us to truly love others because our fear of rejection diminishes. At least it has started to for me. I learned a deeper understanding of grace and am able to love more freely ~ Mark Sale.”

Our deepest fear as human beings is disconnection – not belonging. We were created for relationship! Secure in God’s acceptance… identity! When we truly understand with our entire self – mind, body and spirit, that we are accepted, loved and worthy then we can move from the ego (head) to the heart (soul) and create a space of grace with the expectation, not that we are going to be perfect, but that we are going to get it wrong sometimes. And, in those moments because of the great love, mercy and grace that God has given us then extend it to others.

Cognitive Distortions – sometimes called stinking thinking - we all have them and they can torment our existence if we do not rein them in and surrender our minds to be transformed. Our thoughts are based on our beliefs and/or perception of our daily world and they create emotions that sometimes lead to self-protective behaviors due to fear and/or shame that we are not good enough – we start to judge ourselves and others based on this distorted reality that we have created in our minds.

1And so, dear brothers and sisters,^a I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.^b 2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3Because of the privilege and authority^c God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.^d 4Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

9Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10Love each other with genuine affection,^e and take delight in honoring each other. 11Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.^f 12Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

14Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;

I will pay them back,”^g

says the Lord.

20Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.

If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap

burning coals of shame on their heads.”^h

21Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good (Romans 12 NLT).

Finding forgiveness for me was a process of surrendering to God all of myself – the good, bad and ugly. As God transformed my heart and opened my understanding I found my value and worth in Christ. I found a transformational relationship with unconditional love, mercy and grace that provided the security and acceptance of belonging. When I took the scriptures and embraced them deeply into my existence my perspective of others changed. I no longer looked at behavior as my guiding force of acceptance, but I allowed the Spirit to give me a new vision of Divine and Radical Grace – God’s creative imagination moving each of us toward our purpose and plan of being in His story. Letting go our need to control as the reality that God is God and we are not permeated my understanding! Embracing the reality that I really don’t have the answers and I am not able to know God’s plan for others or see the work that He is doing in that person’s life. God’s command is clear:

37“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.^c”

39Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40Students^d are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

41“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye^e when you have a log in your own? 42How can you think of saying, ‘Friend,^f let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye (Luke 6: 37-42 NLT).

Do not judge – very simple. If our focus is on following Jesus and surrendering ourselves to be transformed then I’m not sure that we have time to judge or attempt to fix others. I know that the more I am able to focus on Jesus and grow in my own relationship that I am naturally drawn deeper into love:

34But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’^e 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^f 40The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22: 34-40 NLT)

I have adopted Micah as my life verse – sometimes I get it and sometimes my humanity overtakes my reality with stinking thinking! It is in those moments that I draw close to God and surrender my heart to be changed. One day at a time I grow in my understanding, maturity and love for Jesus. Everyday I am grateful for His great love and mercy – God’s Amazing Grace!

What can we bring to the Lord?

What kind of offerings should we give him?

Should we bow before God

with offerings of yearling calves?

7Should we offer him thousands of rams

and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

Should we sacrifice our firstborn children

to pay for our sins?

8No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,

and this is what he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God.

As we find our value and worth (identity) in Christ we can move toward forgiveness of ourselves and others. God’s love and mercy given with grace – grace that moves us to action with great love!

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

13And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

18Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19We love each other^b because he loved us first.

20If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister,^c that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters. (1 John 4: 7-21 NLT)

The Body of Christ – The Church – See how they love one another! How I pray that we (I) will remember who we are and surrender our hearts to be moved to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly.

We have a mission field in our local communities. You do not have to go to another country to find the call to serve. Grace starts movements… love moves beyond socio-economic status and stigma. Love moves beyond unforgiveness and judgement. Love moves toward humankind with creative vision and with great humility and empathy engages brokenness with healing. The Holy Spirit working among us in the story of God. Love – God is love.

If My People…

I have been listening to MercyMe almost all day and my heart is overflowing with praise for this amazing journey with God! I went to Asheville after church today on a mission, lost in the music as my thoughts were overwhelmed by the reality of God’s faithfulness, my heart lifted in praise as I prayed for the next steps in this adventure.

This week I shared my sense of call and plans with the church. I wrestled to put words together and finally just gave up and prayed that God would bring to my heart and mind what I should share. God gently reminded me of a friend who died my first year of clinical practice. I will never forget the heartbreak I felt when I received the news. I sat in the office with a colleague and grieved with tears of helplessness. I had prayed to God for months to give me the wisdom needed to help support an awakening and release from the cords that bound this broken soul. God began to move my heart toward the church and my own journey of transformation as I prayed for wisdom. He reminded me of the hours I spent in the kitchen of my church with the most gentle and beautiful woman as she ministered to me. She helped me to find courage and gave me the precious gift of listening and truly hearing my heart. She supported me as I started the journey of finding my voice as we prepared food, set tables and prepared to serve the body every Wednesday. He reminded me of the hours my pastor spent ministering to me by answering my endless emails of questions, shared books that I consumed, met with me and provided a space of grace as God was working in my heart. I thought of the Sunday school class that was opened to me as an opportunity to teach. Looking back I know that the opportunity was for God to teach me. Side note – He also placed me very early in the journey with a group of elementary school children as we started bible clubs after school where another beautiful women of faith was used of God to open my heart to truly hear and believe the bible stories that she told and the reality that it was possible for God to use me in the same way – go figure! Stories I have heard all of my life, but for the first time I truly heard and listened to them with my heart! Back to Sunday school – I am so grateful for the beautiful women who blessed me with their presence and were patient with my wrestling heart as God was opening my understanding – coming week after week with words of encouragement. They seemed to believe in me when I could not myself see what God was doing. One of the women said to me recently that she was glad I was back because she really enjoyed our class… proof that God can work miracles with the least among us! I think back and just ask God – what were you thinking! Getting bogged down… so many stories and my point being the answer God led me to was the church…

The Safest Place on Earth by Dr. Larry Crabb: http://www.newwayministries.org/literature/books/safestplace.htm

..Rather than a place for people to display their goodness and hide their failures in fear of censure, the church should be open, supportive, and compassionate in dealing with our weaknesses. It should be “the safest place on earth,” a place of true spiritual community where people…

Understand that brokenness is the pathway to a deeper relationship with God and others
Connect in ways that stir a passion for God deeper than all other passions
Believe in the power of spiritual friendships as the best care for hurting souls
Reach that sacred place of vulnerability where lives are forever changed

In such a place, there is no expectation that people have arrived at some level of perfection; it’s a place where people journey toward God…

I also draw from the Bridges Out of Poverty by Ruby Payne: http://www.ahaprocess.com/store/products/book_bridgesoutofpoverty.html - helped me to understand some of my own challenges as God started opening my understanding to the bigger picture…

What is God going to do with all of this? I have no clue! God has started to put things in place and I will follow as he leads…

This leads to the other thought that I have had this week and for the past 10 or so years – God has placed so many things on my heart and trying to shuffle through them piece by piece has been an overwhelming task. Revival? True transformation of the heart would appear to me to be a process? What is revival – true revival? Rolling that around in my thought processes! In the end all glory and honor will be to God…

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.

9And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the
throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10the
twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will
worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the
throne, saying, 11“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to
receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of
Your will they existed, and were created (Revelations 4: 9-11 NASB).

(Picture Credit watumishiwaneno.files.wordpress.com)

Knowing who you are and where you are going…

(Picture Credit backgrounds.crossmap.com)

Tonight I am looking over our lesson for Sunday. The scripture reference is John 13: 1-17, 34-35. The title of the lesson is Practice Love Beyond the Limits. The focus of this study guide and scripture reference being servant leadership; however, the phrase that stuck out for me was in reference to Judas. Jesus knowing that Judas would betray him in the end still moved with humility and grace in loving Judas. Servant leadership that moves us beyond our own self-interest and status to serve all. The phrase in reference to this image that pulled my heart was Jesus knew where he came from and where he was going.

Most love and respect in our culture is given based upon power and wealth. Not Jesus – he knew from the beginning that he was the Son of God to be about the Father’s business (Luke 2:49). Jesus knew and experienced deep intimacy within the Trinity – authentic and genuine love. Jesus was constantly faced with imposed perspectives of his identity by the cultures ideals and expectations.

Jesus showed the nature of his kingdom.

The leaders in the kingdom of God would be those willing to take

a position of servitude. The hierarchy of the world

is thus turned completely around.

Traditional roles are totally crushed. So a radical change must occur…

( Baptist Way Press 2006, The Gospel of John, p 79).

Jesus maintained focus on his purpose as the Son of God – Savior of the world! He maintained continuous intimacy with the Father. Jesus never allowed himself to be drawn into the insignificant details that would pull him away from his ministry, even as the disciples argued over power and control. Pushing through, even as the religious leaders of the day debated and plotted his demise as they watched, waited and manipulated in an effort to maintain the status quo, which afforded them the comfort of power and control! Jesus ministered in the firm reality of who he was in relationship with his Father, purpose and plan. The Son of God coming to broken humanity with great love and grace to suffer and sacrifice himself in order to bring humanity into relationship with God.

What does that mean for me? As a member of humankind having accepted that relationship and being birthed into the family of God, living in the reality of the kingdom of God, as a child of God… I pause. I reflect on my identity in Christ as the traditional roles crumble. I embrace God’s presence as the Spirit transforms my heart and mind into a reflection of the Savior. A daughter of the King on High – royal priesthood! Called to continue the ministry of Jesus with mercy, love and grace. Called to resist the insignificant details that would pull me away from learning how to serve the beautiful body of Christ. Removing the cloak of self-protection to kneel before my brother’s and sister’s as I wash away their shame with acceptance and nonjudgement, wash away their sorrow with empathy, wash away their fear with unconditional love and mercy, wash away their doubt and anxiety with our shared humanity, wash away loneliness with presence, wash away separation with connection. Christ’s kingdom… belonging and connection. A radical change of authority and position – Christ is the authority who moves us into the position of loving one another with mercy and grace. We are one… knowing who we are and where we are going removes the need to compete or control. The security and assurance of God’s purpose and plan brings a sense of peace and love that the world does not understand. Practicing love beyond the limits brings forgiveness and celebration of life together knowing that we are not alone.

The disciples focused on their position in the kingdom while in their midst was abundant life – unaware with little insight of their own misguided perspectives. Jesus simply humbled himself with great love and sacrifice to serve. Open our understanding and awaken our hearts to the reality of your kingdom, God. Teach us to love with a servant’s heart as we remember who we are…

All Glory Be to Christ - Kings Kaleidoscope - Praise Music

Reblogged from Darrell Creswell:

I recently ran across Kings Kaleidoscope online and their new song, “All Glory Be to Christ”. It is sang to the Auld Lang Syne music. I was definitely moved to the marrow by the beauty of this composition and its arrangement. I thought I would share its beauty with you. Here are the lyrics with video at the bottom of the page.

Sense of Call and Plans…

(Picture Credit day&strategies.com)

Today this is the question that I am exploring in preparation to share tomorrow night with the beautiful Body of Christ. Today seems surreal as I complete grant applications, submit paperwork to the divinity school in preparation for September and attempt to stay focused to complete the tasks at hand, but my heart and soul dance with joy! Tears of praise blur my vision as years of sacrifice, hard work and endless processes of transformation reap the reward of God’s grace and love – God’s faithfulness!

The process of discerning God’s direction has been the adventure of a lifetime! A journey of discovering my identity in Christ as God opened my understanding throughout the Gospels. God embraced my soul and healed my wounds as I awakened to the reality of His mercy, grace and love. God opened my understanding with radical grace and moved me toward maturity and wholeness. God gave me the freedom to ask hard questions and to explore the diversity of reality that lay within the different denominations, faiths, science, philosophy, justice… What is my purpose and meaning of being? God, why ____? Who are you, God? Processes of healing, growing, grieving, questioning, venting, awakening, loving, awestruck, praising, worshipping… moving away from the self and falling in love with the Creator of life! Having a heart transformation that moved beyond my own ego to the broader perspective of humanity/creation and finding the rhythm and movement of the Spirit and drawing close to God’s love. Moment, hour, day, month, year… awakening to the beauty of who I am in the light of Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah), El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty), El Elyon (The Most High God), Adonai (Lord, Master), Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd), Jehovah-Rapha (The Lord That Heals), Jehovah Tsikenu (The Lord Our Righteousness), Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You), El Olam (The Everlasting God), Elohim (God), Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide), Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace), Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts)… Praise be to God!

(Picture Credit wmbc.org)

God has drawn my heart home… I have always been a Baptist. Why? Why stay in a denomination that is so divided over the call of women into ministry?

The Lordship of Jesus Christ
The Priesthood of the Believer
Local Church Autonomy
The Separation of Church and State

(Picture Credit tenneseebcm.files.worpress.com)

God has led my heart not to get bogged down in the details of the past and to focus on the present as I continue to move forward. What does that mean? Preaching, teaching, counseling, missions, outreach… so many roles and areas. To all I say, yes! Where will God use me? I don’t know and it really doesn’t matter – my heart longs for God’s presence and simply to be embraced with the beauty and wonder of His majesty! I trust as I walk out this journey with sojourners within the congregation that God will help us discern His will. In this moment with my current vocation being that of a Clinical Social Worker (LCSWA, LCAS) it would appear that a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Pastoral Care and Counseling is logical. I have a deep sense of supporting individuals through the challenges of our humanity and discovering the beauty of who they are in the light of God’s amazing grace and love – answering those core questions of identity and purpose. A deep sense of calling to walk with the broken in search of healing and hope. A deep sense of calling to encourage and proclaim the truth of the gospel to those who have been wounded by spiritual abuse. A deep sense of calling to build a bridge and/or standing in the gap between the world and the Church for all who seek to fill the inner hunger and thirst within their soul…

¹⁷One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as Jerusalem, to be there. The healing power of God was on him.

^18-20Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn’t find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, he said, “Friend, I forgive your sins.”

²¹That set the religion scholars and Pharisees buzzing. “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemous talk! God and only God can forgive sins.”

^22-26Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and said, “Why all this gossipy whispering? Which is simpler: to say ‘I forgive your sins,’ or to say ‘Get up and start walking’? Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both. . . .” He now spoke directly to the paraplegic: “Get up. Take your bedroll and go home.” Without a moment’s hesitation, he did it—got up, took his blanket, and left for home, giving glory to God all the way. The people rubbed their eyes, incredulous—and then also gave glory to God. Awestruck, they said, “We’ve never seen anything like that!”

^27-28After this he went out and saw a man named Levi at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” And he did—walked away from everything and went with him.

^29-30Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. “What is he doing eating and drinking with crooks and ‘sinners’?”

^31-32Jesus heard about it and spoke up, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.” (Luke 17-32)

Inviting outsiders to a changed life – from the inside out! Inviting the insiders to awaken and embrace the Kingdom of God at hand… see how they love another! The sense of call to love…

By Grace Alone

Reblogged from CHRISTian ~ poetry by deborah ann:

By grace alone,
not of me . . .
in Christ through faith
is why I'm free.

By grace alone,
not of my hand
and so I humbly receive
redemption's plan.

By grace alone,
not of my deed
the Word is sufficient
for want and need.

By grace alone,
not of my thought
God and favor
cannot be bought.

By grace alone,

Coming Home…

What a day… what a week… what a life! My heart is overflowing on this day, as God has consumed my being with His presence, and the reality of His faithfulness! Today feels like the first step in a new beginning, or at least the first step in the next process of this journey.

As I have tweaked my blog page this afternoon I thought about deleting some of the posts. I had this same thought as I was sharing my story this week – the details became burdensome and I questioned if they were necessary? So, I take a deep breath and silently pray to God for guidance. Maybe I need not get bogged down in the details, but simply acknowledge the diversity in the working of the Spirit, and leave the outcome to God. How does one explain the transformational process of the Spirit within the soul, or the times of complete madness that one experiences as God begins to unfold the skewed identity of the self in the light of His holiness and divine presence? Upon reflection of the stories within the pages of the Bible, I smile, reflect and find peace in my heart because I know that in their story, mine is also told – our shared humanity in the beauty and wonder of a relationship with God.

God continues to move me toward school in the fall as the necessary components come together. It would appear, in this moment, that God is birthing the ministry for which He would have me serve. I stand amazed… sometimes to the point of being speechless. The thought entered my heart – the mind of Christ.

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the ^[a]testimony of God. ²For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, ⁴and my ^[b]message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵so that your faith would not ^[c]rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

⁶Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; ⁷but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; ⁸the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; ⁹but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

¹⁰^[d]For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ¹¹For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. ¹²Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, ¹³which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, ^[e]combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

¹⁴But ^[f]a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually ^[g]appraised. ¹⁵But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. ¹⁶For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The mind of Christ… this seems to be a passage that God continues to bring to my heart as I pray for wisdom and guidance. The reality that all the education and wisdom of men in the world will never replace or take away the work that God’s Spirit has done in my life, nor will the wisdom of this world replace the lessons that the Spirit has taught me as I have followed, listened and been transformed, as the Spirit has opened my understanding. Ministry is God’s work, God’s way, God’s plan… if the Spirit does not show up all the education in the world will only amount to dry bones… I hear, Lord.

Our service today… I did not know if I was going to be able to contain myself as God just flooded this place with His presence! A beautiful soul - God’s work and plan - making a public profession of faith to join the church and walk the waters of baptism – God’s Spirit! My beautiful daughter joining us on the day that I would rejoin this congregation to which God had called me many years ago… coming home to the sweet embrace of God’s will and calling. Coming home with renewed faith, understanding, trust, vulnerability, heart, soul and mind. Coming home with the embrace of my own humanity and that of those in the Body of Christ. Coming home with faith, hope and love. Coming home with celebration and anticipation of what God will do in our midst as we surrender to the work of the Spirit… the mind of Christ! Praise be to God!

(Photo Credit carolmckeag.com)

Full Circle…

Sitting in our worship service today

I found myself grateful for love…

1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging symbol. ²If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body ^[a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷^[b]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never fails; but if there are gifts of ^[c]prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part; ¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. ¹¹When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I ^[d]became a man, I did away with childish things. ¹²For now we see in a mirror ^[e]dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. ¹³But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the ^[f]greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13 NASB).

As our Pastor spoke today my being embraced a sense of wholeness. I thought about my own journey of transformation from “kindergarten to graduate school” in reference to love, and in the moment had complete peace of the work that God has done in my heart. It was as if all of the details of the journey faded and no longer were of importance. A sense of beautiful purpose bloomed with a fragrance of sweetly sown prayers, watered with tears and grown by the Spirit’s tender love and care ~ God’s Amazing Grace! A sense of humility and gratitude with which I embraced my humanity and that of those who sat in this place ~ the miracle of each soul within their own story of awakening to the purpose of love.

Peace, I sit upon reflection of this week, as the door of the past closes to be locked and forgotten, forever. Hope, I follow the lead of the Spirit as the next steps begin to be made known. I am reminded to slow down, as God whispered to my heart that my strengths are sometimes my greatest challenge, be still and wait upon the Lord. I am silenced in amazed wonder of this mystery of life! I am awestruck by my own perspective of reality ~ a deep sense of love and beauty. I deep sense of security and safety ~ being held by God’s grace and nurtured by His love.

My heart overflowed as we shared the Lord’s Supper ~ a deep sense of belonging ~ remembering the broken body and shed blood of Christ, freely given for all of humanity! Never alone… so grateful for the forgiveness of God and other sojourners who have extending grace. Growing in the grace and mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ. A powerful day ~ closure.

A new day… having passed my LCSW exam I give a sigh of relief! A few more clinical hours to complete and I will be done around June. More importantly, I will fill out my application for Divinity School tomorrow. All I can think about is placing my full focus on drawing closer to God and growing in my understanding of this Creator of Life who has transformed my existence! To soak in the wisdom and knowledge offered by those who have spent their life seeking to know and be known by God. My heart and soul feel alive with anticipation of God’s continuing to open my understanding ~ humbled for the opportunity to serve others as He provides opportunity. Joy beyond words permeates my being! Reuniting within this family of God and finally knowing what it means to be the Body of Christ! My heart has longed to experience what hope, faith and love would be within a community… I think I realized today that this is something that I have been experiencing all along the way as God has transformed my heart and the heart of other sojourners.

Hope, faith and love ~

the greatest of these is love ~

coming full circle into the family of God.

EVERYTHING TO LIVE FOR…

What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole (1 peter 1: 3-4 MSG).

Healed and whole… awakened to the beauty of life!

Awareness ~ understanding opened by God’s love and grace. Eyes opened to see! Ears tuned to hear! Heart transformed!

I often reflect on the journey of healing in search of wisdom to support other sojourners. Every day I am faced with my own humanity and once again, with full awareness, reminded that my deepest longings are at times a mirage of images that leave me filled with empty expectations. It is in this awareness that I am embraced with God’s presence that gently silences the yearning for wholeness.

What does it mean to be whole? Wounds from living in a broken reality healed?

A future that starts now… healed and whole!

The Kingdom of God alive in the transformed heart!

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified (Galatians 5:21-24 MSG).

In the reality of broken beings that long to experience healing, searching souls that seek purpose and meaning, authentic voices of vulnerability and the heart bent with humility ~ grace flows, love embraces, hope is planted and life is birthed ~ awakening to the fullness of life!

Awareness of beauty!

Awareness of ordinary miracles!

Awareness of wonder in the Divine!

An invitation to partake in the reality of the Kingdom of God…

Broken humanity transformed !

Pull me closer to love…

The blessings of a sweet baby, stopping to purchase a hot fudge cake from a local icon - Nabers, looking forward to a trip with a treasured friend, arrival of a brochure for divinity school, a new book by a favorite group guru, The Gift of Therapy by Irvin D. Yalom, an afternoon in the office without power being silly with colleagues … all simple pleasures of life! Each beautiful moment wraps around my heart with the wonder of life – the sigh of a sleeping infant, the laughter and sparkle of joyful eyes, reality and celebration of dreams that draw near to fulfillment and in this moment as I type my soul is lost in the wonder of an amazing God who loves me!

A week filled by God’s presence that softly moves among us. Awareness of the work that is silently and gently breathing hope to those who have found the courage to seek with authentic curiosity. Awakening ~ not with a loud boom, but a gentle wooing of sweet whispers that blow over the soul with divine invitation. A balm of peace for the broken and wounded that inspires upon the imagination small images of meaning, as seeds of belief are planted with prayer. In a space of God’s Amazing Grace life is being birthed! Praise be to God! Letting go of all that stands between the soul and that for which it was created… Praise ~ to worship and walk in the beauty of the garden in the cool of the day in conversation with God!

I sit in amazed wonder of God’s movement… My soul sits silently and waits upon the Lord for direction. Not one movement in my own wisdom! I want nothing more than what God has planned for my life ~lost in the awesome splendor of the Divine ~ sit quietly my soul, for the work is the Lords and He is all-powerful! Glorious God who speaks with all power and authority, whom shall I fear? None, for thou art with me!

(picture credit seocmo.com)

God’s love is meteoric,

his loyalty astronomic,

His purpose titanic,

his verdicts oceanic.

Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost;

Not a man, not a mouse,

slips through the cracks.

How exquisite your love, O God!

How eager we are to run under your wings,

To eat ourfill at the banquet you spread

as you fill our tankards with Eden spring water.

You’re a fountain of cascading light,

and you open our eyes to light (Psalm 36: 5-9).

This week has been a wonderous time of continued preparation. Friends have poured out their love and support as I have stepped down from positions that I hold to move closer to God’s call for my life. I stand in amazement of how things come together in God’s timing! I do not know where God will ultimately lead me, but I am prepared to follow wherever He sends me! For those who read this I would ask for your prayer ~ I am seeking God’s direction on when to start school (this fall or next) and God’s provision for my work schedule…be still my heart as all will come together for the Glory of God who has called with faithfulness to finish the work that He has started ~ pull me closer to love.

Courage for the Journey

Do Justice… Love Mercy… Walk Humbly…

Author Archives: Lisa Weeks