Tuesday March 10/20

Mark 14:3-6

familiar story
a woman ..... unnamed ....
pushes her way in where she was not invited nor wanted
men only .... invited men only ...
and here is this woman
daring to enter
and not stay at the edge of the gathering
but push her way right into the centre
right up to the guest of honor
this man called Jesus
and she openly displays her love for this man
she offers all that she has
all that she is
she breaks wide open and offers it all
and there is a beautiful fragrance to her offering
Jesus recognizes the signficance of the fragrance
the others only recognize the cost
all the broken pieces of the jar of her heart
laid at his feet
at the feet of this man Jesus
her heart, not just part of it
but all of it, its entirety,
broken
emptied
and he honors her
all of her
and protects her

I love this man Jesus ...

Saturday March 7/20

our father .... father ....
so grateful I am to have a father who knows me,
calls me by name,
desires to simply be with me,
delights in me, in me ....
not what I do, or how I look
but in me ....the me of me ...
in all my imperfections ....
never asks me to be like someone else
amyone else
but loves me into being me ...
the person he dreamed into being

and how important it is then for me to discover me
for me to be me

to bring him pleasure
my father
my
father

what a privilege it is to be a daughter
of such a father

my father
in heaven
in me

Friday March 6/20

Mark 4:35-41 tells us the story of the storm, the wind, the waves, the boat, and the disciples ..
those men who had been walking, living, with Jesus ... those men who were being personally taught by the Son of God .... those men who 24/7 saw and heard and experienced and wondered ....

and here they are now ... these men who are fishermen by trade and so experienced on the water, near the waterm in the water ... and suddenly these men are frightened by a storm .... these men were in a situation they could not understand let alone control ..... they had Jesus with them!  in their boat! right in their boat!  and while they were panicking He was sleeping!   so they woke Him up .... thinking He did not know, did not care ... they thought they would going to die ... so thry woke Him up ..
but why?  what did they think He could do?   did they simply want Him to suffer in fear with them?  if they were going to die, did they want Jesus to die with them?  did thry just want to hear His voice one more time?  

They had no idea He had authority over the storm ... over the wind, over the waves ... over the sea ..
and they were stunned, awed to see that He did .....

and what storm do I need to bring before Jesus?  in what howling wind, what roaring sea do I need to hear His voice ?  

in what situation of my life do I need to recognize He is in it with me ..... and thus not be afraid ..

what do I expect Him to do?  what do I want, need, yearn for Him to do ???

how do I feel knowing He knows, but He sleeps ......

Wednesday March 4/20

our father
my father
father
abba
daddy
friend
protector
truth teller
life giver
in heaven
and in me ....
heaven in me ...
holy is your name
grant me this day
just enough daily bread
the bread of your presence
just enough for this day
forgive my sins
those things I do when I wish I would not do them
those things that hurt me
hurt you
and all those around me
forgive me for them
to the extent I forgive those who do similar things to me .
sins of words
sins of actions
sins of thought
keep me from temptation
the desire to sin yet again
the desire to want to be safe
the desire to want to be loved
steer me away from evil
the evil of my own heart
the evil of my shadow side
the evil of the twisted sister in me, of me
for yours is the kingdom
the power
the glory
your kingdom, power and glory is what this world needs to see
to hear
to feel
to live
forever
and ever
and ever
amen

His broken Grandmas

These four women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba have something in common. They are grandmothers in Jesus’ family tree! Grandmothers! Some had affairs, some were prostitutes. Some lied and were not the starry eyes perfect princesses. But still God chose them...these four broken women. That’s why they have crowns. A symbol of grace and love from our Creator and Redeemer. 

The family tree of Christ startlingly notes not one woman but four - four broken women who felt like outsiders, like has-beens, like never-beens. Women who were weary of being taken advantage of, of being unnoticed, uncherished and unappreciated. Women who didn’t fit in, didn’t know how to keep going or what to believe, where to go. Women who thought about giving up. And yet Jesus claims exactly these women. Wandering, wondering, wounded, worn out...and His. 

He grafts you into His line, His story and His heart. He gives you His name, His lineage, and His righteousness. ❤️

Written by Ann Voskamp

the abyss

there was a moment
when the sacred fire of life engulfed me
and I dropped into a vast stillness
a pulsating silence
shattered
suspended
all while drowning
until finding a place of rest
discoveing I could breathe under water

I must learn how to live
in this new sacred emptiness

no where to hide
with the fabric of my life unravelled by radical sorrow
I could rage .... part of me really wanted to
or
I could turn, kneel and say yes
finding the breath of surrender
yielding to the pain of the suffering

grief has stripped me
naked, I am united with Love

this great loss has released a cry of  anguish
only Love can now fill the shattered container of my heart
and replenish this awful emptiness

come ......

just as I am Lord
in this season
in this moment
filled with a salty ocean of unshed years
filled with the weight of unasked questions
filled with broken pieces
and
filled with the wonder of You
of Your goodness
of Your strength
of Your mercy
of Your love
in the midst of the storm, the wind and the waves
I hear Your whisper
come
come
and I come
as I am
in the fullness, the reality of how I am 
I come
simply to be with You 
to sit with You
to draw near
and lay my head upon Your feet
to say 
thank You for choosing to love me

Lord, may Your whispered come fill us all
mayYour whispered come calm every storm
dry every tear
fill every empty place
mayYour whispered come birth hope
birth life
cause springs of fresh water to flow in arid places

Lord
I come

Lord
we come