Tag Archives: christianity

“I Will Draw All”…

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image via abundantprophet.com

“Look at this cross,

So much bigger than the man whose body will be stretched to fit it.

So much bigger than the height of the man who will be lifted up above the earth on it and who,

being lifted up, will draw all peoples to himself.

image via 123rf.comimage via 123rf.com

Christ receives it with joy because he knows that this is the dead weight that must have crushed humankind had he not lifted it from their backs.

This is the dead wood which at his touch is transformed to a living tree.

image via malcolmxpark.org

 At His touch, the hewn tree takes root again, and the roots thrust down into the earth, and the tree breaks into flower.”

Caryll Houselander (+1954) British poet and spiritual teacher

“And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself” John 12:32

When We Forget…

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When we forget to worship….

image via apologos.com

we forget who we are.

When we lose sight of God…

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we lose sight of what we are.

His Image and His likeness.

(this is what I am listening to today : )

Take Me into the Beautiful by Cloverton

“Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Gen 1:26a

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

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…

image via journeyintotheword.com

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!

Geo-What?…

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“Geo WHAAAAAT?,” said the Krispy Kreme Doughnut worker at the drive thru…

image via myspace.com

 

“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.

image via parkrrrr.com

 

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.

image via craftingagreenworld.com

 

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.

image via m.podbean.com

 

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.

image via samfrye.wordpress.com

 

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.

image via gpsmagazine.com

 

“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

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