Walk by Faith….

Posted on October 19, 2011 by fromtheheartofj

On the journey we walk by FAITH

At times we walk in darkness.

At times we walk shaken.

Yet when all seems dark

the Lord is ever near.

His light blinds us and we cannot see.

We cannot understand His way. We cannot understand His plan.

We walk in mysery. We walk in hope. Headed for the dawn.

And when the directions seem unsure.
It’s too dark to see the road ahead.

Turn to witnesses of faith whose steps have carved the way.

“By FAITH Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out not knowing where he was to go. By FAITH he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God.”

Heb 11:8-10

TRUST in Him who is your guide.

Walk in mystery. Walk in hope. Headed for the dawn.

“FAITH is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Heb 11:1

Light…Action…Life!

Posted on October 18, 2011 by fromtheheartofj

Desire for God is written on our hearts…

is written on all hearts.

How often this desire becomes buried in the coldness of self and sin.

FAITH is our RESPONSE to God’s revealing Himself to us.

What is a Faith that refuses to speak?

What is a Faith that refuses to see?

What is a Faith that refuses to hear?

A Faith not responding, is a Faith buried.

Faith is the conversation of our lives with God Almighty.

Others depend on the light our faith emits..

just as the light of others helps to illumine our paths.

This day throw off the bushel basket from your light of faith.

Unbury your heart and the desire within to respond.

Let your light, immersed in Him who is the Light of the world shine forth radiantly through you!

Faith is a response.

“Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom” Ps 145

Gift Given and Given and Given…

Posted on October 17, 2011 by fromtheheartofj

FAITH…

A gift given by God…

Passed on by others…

Believer to Believer to Believer .

Paper doll people with hearts of love,

Held by the faith of others; supporting others through their own.

Believer to Believer to Believer

Paper doll people with hearts of love,

Reach out to the disconnected.

Building the kingdom one soul at a time.

Reach out to the disconnected. Share the gift of your faith. Dare to transform the world wherever God has placed you.

“For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our FAITH.”

1 John 5:4

A Compass Pointing North….

Posted on October 15, 2011 by fromtheheartofj

Be a Compass for God.

Point upward to Beauty.

Allow others to be drawn into the embrace.

Dare to transform the world….right where God has placed you!

“I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Is 49: 6b

Suitcases…

Posted on October 14, 2011 by fromtheheartofj

What’s in your suitcase?

Regrets about the past, Anxiety about the future, To- do lists for the present?

Fear, Anger, Unforgiveness, Sadness, Apathy, Disappointments?

Cast away dreams, Broken promises, I can’ts and No’s?

The burdens in our suitcases tempt us to look for shortcuts.

Or to avoid big hills, rocky ground, and people.

Hands occupied, no longer able to lift heavenward in thanksgiving.

Eyes cast downward, backs aching from the strain.

If traveling to a foreign land, wouldn’t you enlist a guide?

There would be no fear in the capable hands of the one who knows the way.

The Heavenly Father is guiding us on this journey of the heart.

Walk toward the dawn. Home is ahead.

Check your luggage. You don’t need it. It will only weigh you down.

Leave it at the foot of the cross.

Your Father will provide.

Trust in Him. Do not fear.

“He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic” Luke 9:3

Mirror of Reflection….

Posted on October 13, 2011 by fromtheheartofj

If Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder…

If eyes are the window of the soul…

Beauty seen is a reflection of our Beauty within.

We have all known ah ha moments when Beauty catches our breath.

A pause as it sinks within.

Then we too must BELIEVE in the beauty within.

Extravagant, unique.

No two of us the same.

Yes, BELIEVE in this Beauty within.

The stamp of the Creator, His Divine image.

Heart within heart.

Let the scales fall from clouded eys. Vision restored.

livesofreflection.blogspot.com

Life IS beautiful. Your life IS beautiful. All life IS beautiful.

You are a reflection of Beauty.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you….” Jer 1:3

Are you Thirsty?..

Posted on October 12, 2011 by fromtheheartofj

Beauty exalts our mind. Beauty feeds our soul.

Our thirst for Beauty can never be satisfied…

For we were created with a restlessness within that searches for Beauty.

Beauty is the Creator’s invitation.

To seek Him; To find Him.

And in the finding the holes in our hearts are filled.

We find rest from the striving.

True thankfulness, praise and worship stream forth from the heart that rests in Beauty.

St. Augustine, a philosopher and a theologian, writes this of the journey of his heart:

“Late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!

You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there I searched for you.

In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created.

You were with me, but I was not with you.

Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all.

You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.

You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.

You breathed your fragrance on me;

I drew in breath and now I pant for you.

I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.

You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

“Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirst come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’ ” John 7:37-38

Thieves and Pickpockets…

Posted on October 11, 2011 by fromtheheartofj

Thieves of the Mind….Pickpockets of the Heart….

(Beauty Revisited….)

Thieves of the mind attempt to rob the truth of Beauty written within. Whispering deceits of doubt, division, discouragement, despair. Emotions get twisted around the lies. Beliefs, not of God, swell and bring infection to the heart.

“I am alone”, “I am worthless”, “No one cares”, “No one loves me”

Pickpocket steals peace from the heart. Leaves it in broken bits.

Yet…….

A Whisper…softer but more powerful than the noisy din is heard.

“I AM WITH YOU”

Saturating the wound the whisper dispels the lies, the deceits.

“I AM WITH YOU”

Jesus speaks from the cross.

The Blood of the Lamb streams forth.

Victory.

Christ allows His heart to be broken, in order to heal ours.

Let not the lies become your truth. The battle has been won.

You are chosen. You are loved. You are beautiful.

“Though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shaken, My Love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the Lord, who has mercy on you.” IS 54:10

Believe in the Beauty….

Posted on October 10, 2011 by fromtheheartofj

“The stars, the desert – what gives them their beauty is something that is invisible…”

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Antoine de Saint Exupery

What is beauty? To see beauty, to know beauty is to drink in the Divine. Who I am is beauty created by the One who is pure beauty, pure love. I am not only a divine reflection of this beauty, of this love….it knits my being together. Anything that assaults this truth is a lie that can never take away the Divine dignity within. “God looked at everything He had made, and He found it very good.” (Gen 1: 31) Let go of the thieves of mind and heart that pickpocket the truth of who you are.