Category Archives: faith

Your Name is Safe…

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There was a study done a few years ago when professionals asked children ages 4 – 8 years old , “What is love”? The answers given from the “mouths of babes” were insightful and inspirational. One of my favorites…

image via hartyboys.blogspot.com

“When someone loves you the way they say your name is different. You just know your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy age 4

Scripture tells us that there is power in the name of Jesus…”that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:10-11

Names are important. Your name is important as well.

image via scottkim.com

Have you heard the Lord speak YOUR name in the depths of your heart?

For our heart has ears to hear the Lord call our name.

image via traciecarlos.wordpress.com

And there is peace, and love and affirmation when the Lord calls us by name.

In the chaos of your day….in the busy-ness of life…in the din of the everyday…

Make time to sit still and listen and with the ears of your heart hear the Lord speak YOUR name. And rest in the wisdom that “YOUR name is safe in His mouth”.

image via informedfarmers.com

“The gatekeeper opens it (the gate) for him (the shepherd), and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by  name and leads them out.  When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.  But they will not follow a stranger, they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” John 10:3-5

Sifting Sugar…

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Have you ever had one of those weeks when you felt like you were a human experiment tested to see how much could possibly be thrown at you, how much would stick like velcro and you could keep walking?

image via aaron.sanders.name

Yes, it was one of those weeks…and so in the random way “fromtheheartofj” thinks…

I thought about making frosting.

image via healthycakerecipe.com

When you make  homemade frosting it’s very important to sift the powdered sugar.

image via foter.com

Why?

If not you will end up with hard bits of sugar in your frosting making it gritty…

And who likes gritty frosting?

So it is in the journey of the heart.

Often God has to sift us…shaking us out of our comfort zones or out of our hiding places.

He sees all the hard bits of potential sweetness within us.

So ever so gently he sifts us…

And then when added to all the other sweet souls in this body of Christ we blend together smoothly.

image via maes-seekgodfirst.blogspot.com

We become the icing on the cake…God’s crowning glory of sweetness.

image viagalleries.weddingchannel.com

(can you read into this some serious sugar cravings? Ahhhh…Lent is half over!)

“Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32

Sunshine…

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image via talltalesfromasmalltown.blogspot.com

When I met Christ I felt like I had swallowed sunshine.” (E. Stanley Jones, +1973, Christian missionary)

“Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines uon you.  See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; But upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears His glory….Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow.” Is 60:1-2,5a

Slice of Life…

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The ins and outs of our everyday lives…our routines…our patterns…

Do you see the EXTRAORDINARY in the ORDINARY of your daily “slice of life”?

How quickly our vision dims at the beauty before us….The beauty in the ordinary.

Is it…”Oh no, here comes a new day?”

image via fromtheheartofj

Or, the beauty of the morning light splashed upon the pillow?

Is it, “Is the back yard flooded again?!”

image via fromtheheartofj

Or the depth of reflection in a mud puddle?

Is it, “Busy, busy day…no time to cook dinner.”

image via fromtheheartofj

Or the joy of conversation over take-out?

The things that matter most are treasures hidden in our unique “slice of life”

I have been abundantly blessed to participate in the “Slice of Life” Project e-course taught by talented, beauty seeker, Seattle based photographer, Darrah Parker.

image via www.darrahparker.com

With Darrah’s assistance and inpirational encouragement, photographers from all over the world (thanks to the internet) have reclaimed the beauty of the ordinary of their lives through the lens of their cameras. There are pros with fancy cameras all the way to beginners with point and shoot or camera phones all learning and being blessed by the sharing of the ordinary turned extraordinary…a beauty treasure hunt.

Darrah on her website www.darrahparker.com shares about the class,

image via www.darrahparker.com

“Have you ever wanted to stop time? Hold a moment in your hands? Capture a slice of your life and turn into a treasure? In the Slice of Life Project, you will dig beneath the surface of your everyday life with your trusty camera by your side and unearth the beauty that has been there all along.”

“The Slice of Life approach to photography is a way of seeing, noticing, and appreciating the nuances and details that make your life special. It’s a way of embracing and honoring the imperfections in yourself, your loved ones, your messy kitchen, and cluttered shelves. It’s about saying that your life is just right the way it is.”

“This workshop will not require the perfect camera or fancy lenses or knowledge of ISO, aperture, or shutter speed. It won’t even require you to get out of your pajamas or make your bed! It will only require you to show up with a camera (ANY camera), an open mind, and a creative spirit.”

Registration is now open for the next class beginning April 6…take this 6 week retreat and rediscover the beauty in your life! Go to the website www.darrahparker.com  for more details.

Beauty leads to wonder and awe…beauty leads to gratitude…beauty leads to praise!

And we were created to be a people of praise and thanksgiving!

May you be blessed this day with the recognition of the beauty in your life!

The Child Within…

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“Experience has shown me too late

image via justshudjup.com

that we cannot judge people by their vices,

but on the contrary by what they hold intact and pure,

image via timeflieswithoutwings.blogspot.com

by the childlike qualities that remain in them, however deeply one must search for them.”

(George Bernanos, +1948, a prolific French author and soldier in world War I)

“Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide.” Is 11:3b

From Stunted Growth to Springtime…

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“Jesus loves as a PURE GIFT….

image via directfromdeb.wordpress.com

He makes others better by loving them.  Not only does he NOT accuse their mediocrity,…but He takes up their defense and gives them His heart, His time, His trust.

image via bloggingtheologically.comimage via bloggingtheologically.com

He knew that if (such) people were weak, small, mediocre, it is precisely because they lacked the love to grow and because others did not love them enough.

image via asbaques.blogspot.comimage via asbaquez.blogspot.com

What does our Lord do? He calls forth, arouses, renews the best part in man, the part that is hidden in each and every person. Because Christ loves, and shows His love in creating new and good things…

myediblememories.typepad.comimage via myediblememories.typepad.com

Everybody who meets Him once again begins to believe, to have trust in God and in themselves.” (By Fr. Bernard Bro, a Dominican priest and author of “Learning to Pray”)

image via mekenzie.comimage via mekenzie.hubpages.com

If we see with eyes of compassion the hardness in others and in ourselves as merely stunted growth from lack of love…how differently we would then treat ourselves and our neighbor. Loving ourselves and others in Jesus could cause a flourishing of new growth…a springtime in Him who is love.

image via ou.orgimage via ou.org

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.  Stop judging and you will not be judged.  Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.  Forgive and you will be forgiven.  Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.  For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you. ” Luke 6:36-38

Overflow …

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Let every moment of my day…

image via biglearning.org

Overflow with Your Love.

todaysdailyword.blogspot.com

And may this Love…

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Become a wellspring for others.

image via wbisbill.hubpages.com

“You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.” Ps 23:5b

Bountiful blessings on your weekend!

Designer Collection…

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You knit me in my mother’s womb…

image via canadatop.com

Stitch by stitch.

The way you intertwined the DNA with which I am created…

thednastore.com

Is Your Divine Design.

And you saw it as wonderful!

You outlined my days. You numbered them.

NOTHING about me is a mistake!

I am part of the Heavenly Father’s “Designer Collection”

image via designersense.org

 And I wear His label!

“You formed my inmost being; you  knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you.  When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be. How precious to me are your designs, O God.” Ps 139 13-17

TIckets to the Desert…

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Have you ever traveled to the desert?

There is a strange beauty about the desert that is foreign to our eyes.

image via danielim.com

 

Our eyes are not accustomed to its beauty so we easily dimiss it.

And yet the desert is a place of discovery.

We begin a journey now into the desert as we prepare our hearts for Easter.

No need to pack anything for this trip…we bring with us our own baggage of false self and strongholds.

image via globaltravelinsurance.com

 

The Spirit drives us into the desert through the restlessness of our hearts…

and gives us two questions that quicken our steps…

What keeps me from giving everything to Jesus?

What am I going to get out of the way that blocks Jesus’ merciful love in my life?

These two questions are our entrance tickets into the desert.

Here we will come face to face with our false self and our strongholds…

And we will wrestle…yes we will wrestle.

image via fatherjudge.com

But in the wrestling there is a letting go…

And in the letting go we will discover the beauty of the desert…

image via fanpop.com

and in the discovery of the beauty we will be filled with the LOVE that molds us into our true selves.

“Streams will burst forth in the desert.” Is 35:6b

 

Your Proud Papa…

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Think of all the ways you profess your faith….

openly whenever necessary…sometimes in words, mostly in actions.

image via delmelinscott.blogspot.com

 

Think of all the ways you confidently bear witness to your faith…

spreading it to those who cross your path.

Think of all the ways daily you acknowledge Jesus before others.

“Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.” ( Matt 10:32)

Therefore you, who acknowledge Jesus before others, know that the Father acknowledges you!

Your heavenly Father, your Abba, sees you not just as part of a crowd…

image via biometricsyou.com

 

He knows you intmately, individually, uniquely.

As children often seek attention from their earthly fathers…

how glorious to think that Jesus speaks of you to the Father.

(Yes, we know the Father knows all, but sometimes to cultivate joy and gratitude from the heart, we need to become that little child again).

Jesus at the right hand of the Father speaks to Him of you!

You are a topic of their conversation.

Receive this joy deeply of how proud your Heavenly Papa is of you…

Let it sink within adding fire to your steps of charity.

Yes, you have acknowledged Jesus before others…and He has acknowledged you before the Father.

Your Heavenly Papa is proud of you.

He sees you. You are not just hidden in a crowd.

image via prariedaze.com

 

You are His child – a son or daughter of God.

May this day you know the powerful embrace of love that comes from your proud heavenly Father.

image via grahamtomlin.blogspot.com