“Experience has shown me too late
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that we cannot judge people by their vices,
but on the contrary by what they hold intact and pure,
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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
“Jesus loves as a PURE GIFT….
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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.
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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.
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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…
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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”)
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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.
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“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
Let every moment of my day…
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Overflow with Your Love.
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And may this Love…
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Become a wellspring for others.
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“You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.” Ps 23:5b
Bountiful blessings on your weekend!
“Geo WHAAAAAT?,” said the Krispy Kreme Doughnut worker at the drive thru…
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“You know…Geo Caching…will you give us a hint as to where it is?”my husband calmly said.
Whatever are you talking about fromtheheartofj?
GEO-CACHING.
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It’s a real world outdoor treasure hunting game. First players get coordinates for hidden treasures via the official website www.geocaching.com Then they try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS enabled devices or their smart phones. After they find one they sign a logbook, see what others have left behind and if they want, share their experiences online. There are over 1 1/2 million geocaches hidden world wide and over 5 million geocachers around the globe. Almost 4000 hidden in my zip code alone and I don’t live in any booming metropolis.
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Well, I wasn’t about to crawl in the big green dumpster just to find a geocache so we didn’t find that one, but did find one hidden at Texas Roadhouse Steakhouse so the trip wasn’t a total waste. Honestly, it takes awhile for us to hear of things in Alabama, but this weird and wacky hobby will keep you laughing as it did the carload of folks I was with. It’s great fun for kids, teenagers, young adutls, middle agers, and grannies and grandpas. You just have to be young at heart!
So….what does geo-caching have to do with a devotional blog about the journey of the heart?
Well…We were created to be “seekers”. We were made to seek God…to grope for Him even though He is not far away.
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Are you in touch with that seeking part of your heart? For it is a part of who you are.
I find that the desire to seek spills over into all parts of my life. To nurture that seeking in the many varied ways it presents itself is to nurture that part of our heart that is creative.
So yes, seek God and you will find Him. He stands knocking at the door.
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And if you have nice weather this weekend…get out and do some geocaching…it’s weird, and wacky but best of all it’s free.
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“He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and He fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for Him and find Him, even though indeed He is not far from any one of us.” Acts 17:26-27
You knit me in my mother’s womb…
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Stitch by stitch.
The way you intertwined the DNA with which I am created…
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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”
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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
You were chosen…
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And your being chosen was in accord with the Heavenly Father’s purpose.
Do you remember a time when you were chosen? How did it feel?
Perhaps for a sports team? Perhaps for a special award? Perhaps you won a raffle or a draw down?
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There was a joy…a happiness.
And yet you were chosen by God…by your Heavenly Father!
A purpose dedicated…a purpose approved…a purpose affirmed…yes all by your Heavenly Father.
CHOSEN by your Heavenly Father.
PICKED FOR A PURPOSE by your Heavenly Father.
Let us renew and rest in this truth…in this joy.
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“In Him we were also CHOSEN, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of His will, so that we might exist for the praise of His glory, we who first hoped in Christ.” Eph 1:11-12
There must be empty…in order to fill.
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Fill up with gas, fill out an application, fill an empty canvas with paint, fill our stomachs, fill the vacancy.
All start with empty….with a hollow space.
Our breathing reminds us of this. We exhale our breath within and our lungs deflate. We inhale and our lungs expand.
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We exhale to release…We inhale to increase.
In the desert we exhale letting go of all that stands in the way of union with the Lord.
We inhale His life, His grace, His love, His mercy, His will for our lives.
We inhale “Fiat”….”Let it be done to me according to Your Word.”
We exhale “surrender”…all that stands in the way.
Inhale “Fiat”….Exhale “Surrender”.
Inhale “Fiat”…Exhale “Surrender”.
Inhale “Fiat”…Exhale “Surrender”.
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This is our heavy breathing while wrestling on our journey in the desert.
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your kind spirit guide me on ground that is level.” Ps 143:10
Have you ever traveled to the desert?
There is a strange beauty about the desert that is foreign to our eyes.
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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.
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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.
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But in the wrestling there is a letting go…
And in the letting go we will discover the beauty of the desert…
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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
Who do you look like?
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Like your mother? Like your father? Like your Great Aunt Bessie or your Uncle Troy?
Genesis 1:27 says, ” God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.”
We favor our Heavenly Father.
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In the depths of who we are…Yes we favor our Heavenly Father.
For we are stamped with His Divine image.
Gaze deeply into the mirror…Ponder the whole of you…
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Know that YOU are a reflection of Him, your Heavenly Father.
Now live your life in confidence of this truth…
You are a Son or Daughter of GOD!
Think of all the ways you profess your faith….
openly whenever necessary…sometimes in words, mostly in actions.
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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…
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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.
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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.
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through Him with Him in Him... 