Patchwork Post…

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Patchwork Post…

End of the year shuffle…graduations…traveling guests…days at beach…sunburns and sweet ice tea…friends…heart to heart talks…good news/bad news…joys and trials…laughs and tears…summer heat and barefoot…being grateful…being humbled…to do lists…bucket lists…books that inspire…”Word”s that convict…kaleidoscope skies…sleepy saturdays…zumba and park runs…prayer and presence…dogs and lemonade…stray kittens…going fast…going slow…family…taking deep breaths…inhaling/exhaling…joy in the eyes….laughter in the voice…fresh peaches…juicy tomatoes…flowers galore…fresh cut grass…the smell of jasmine…whirlwind days…everything’s connected…all is Grace…

the Stuff of “Life”…

Busy but Beautiful…

Bountiful and Blessed…

A “Gallimaufry”… (isn’t that a fun word?!)

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“I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous deeds.  I will delight and rejoice in you; I will sing hymns to your name, Most High. ” Ps 9:2-3

I’m knee deep in the “gallimaufry” of life…but promise to be back soon! From the Heart of J!

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Today…

Today I must walk…

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Today I must pray..

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Today I must give my heart away.

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With Jesus in me, I walk to the blind, trusting that He has seen what I’ll find.

He speaks to the heart.  I speak to the mind. Together we walk as I learn to be kind.

Not my place to judge but my place to care, to show the unwanted that Jesus is there.

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Lord help me to listen more than to talk, to whisper your love and continue the walk.

(written by a friend Bridget Hannahan)

“But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another” 1 John 1:7

Looking For Beauty….

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful…

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We must carry it with us or we find it not. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

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“One thing I ask of the Lord, this I seek:  to dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life, to gaze on the Lord’s beauty, to visit his temple.” Ps 27:4

How Beautiful the Feet….

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“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, “Your God is King.” is 52:7

The deeds you do may be the only sermon some hear today! (St. Francis of Assisi)

Blessings on your weekend, fromtheheartofj

Wholeness Lived…

We have been gifted with WHOLENESS…RESTORATION…PEACE  through the Wounds of Christ.

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WHOLENESS given is now WHOLENESS lived out in our earthly life.

Sometimes there seems so much messy brokenness in the WHOLENESS…

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Let not doubt have a room under your roof!

Glory is your foundation…Built sturdy to withstand the messiness!

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The power of LOVE is the mortar that builds the temple of God who you are…

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yes, WHOLENESS given is WHOLENESSs to be lived…

in the here and now….step by step by step,

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HOME.

“Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.  See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; But upon you theLlord shines, and over you appears his glory.” Is 60:1-2

Go Out Into the Whole World…

“I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.

The die has been cast.  The decision has been made.  I have stepped over the line.  I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

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My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is in God’s hands.  I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, the bare minimum, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, frivolous living, selfish giving, and dwarfed goals.

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I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, applause, or popularity.  I don’t have to be right, first, the best, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded.  I now live by faith.  I lean on Christ’s presence. I love with patience, live by prayer, and labor with the power of God’s grace.

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My face is set.  My gait is fast, my goal is heaven.  My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, and my mission is clear.

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I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed.  I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

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I won’t give up, shut up, let up, or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give until I drop, speak out until all know, and work until He stops me.

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And when He returns for his own, He will have no difficulty recognizing me.  My banner is clear;  I am a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.” (Patrick Madrid, author and radio host)

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Amen, Amen, Amen!

“He said to them, “GO out into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15

Questions…

It’s not that God doesn’t answer our questions..

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It’s more..

Do we have the COURAGE to ask the questions that need to be asked?…

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And the HUMILITY to accept the answers?

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“Probe me, God, know my heart; try me, know my concerns.  See if my way is crooked then lead me in the ancient paths.” Ps 139:23-24

Sifting Sugar…

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?

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

I thought about making frosting.

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

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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.

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

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(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

Epiphanies of Life…

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 The Epiphany.

The star that sheds just enough light so that we can take one more step and then we must look to the star again.

So like our lives that we, too, live in exile and fear, but also in HOPE.

So emblematic of the strangeness of Christianity; its inconcongruities and contradictions.

Never what we think its going to be, never what we think we want it to be.

Always a fresh twist, a new pain, a new joy.

Always a God whose ways are not our ways.

Always, just when we think we’ve found a foothold,,,

The order to flee to Egypt.

“Heather King”

May your 2012 be filled with daily, wonderful. and glorious epiphanies of God’s extravagant love for you.

HAPPY EPIPHANY