battle moments

and
so
today
we
fight

for a soul

for a life

for a family

for three girls

our weapon is worship

our strategy is a pillar of fire

our commander is all powerful

our armor is in place

the troops are rallied

the kneeling army in place

shoulder to shoulder we stand

and in the midst of the battle
we will find rest
at His feet

mystery moment

GOD
your mystery
is woven around me
like a shawl
that invites me to rest

careful moment

if you pray for humility

be careful

humility is learned

through

humiliations

Russian proverb

morning moment

two things bring us to God

wound

and

wonder

hand moment

all of us are like the prodigal son
needing more desperately than anything else
the strong and gentle embrace of the hands of God

we must be those hands for each other
not someday
but today. …

let us be gentle with each other

let us touch each other

let us touch even those
who seem in some superficial way to be different

for we are all of us sons and daughters of God

when we invite Jesus into our heart
His response might be that
He wishes to bring all those we consider unlovely
with Him

snow moment

ministry moment

ministry is a cup
that cannot be sipped

this cup has to be emptied
right to the very bottom

the fizz
the surface
the first sip
is one thing

but the entire cup
including the dregs
is something else entirely

today
I stood alongside my brother
as he drank the entire cup
right to the bottom

the cup was his to drink
standing alongside was my choice

it was drunk well

painfully
slowly
intentionally

drop by drop
well

there was a weight to this drinking
that caused a bending over
a weeping in the spirit

deep longtime friendship was in this cup

the mantle of authority accepted
and worn well

shoulders drooped in sadness
even so
the mantle was worn well

I will never forget
this moment of drinking
the cup

the cup
offered by a pierced hand

and accepted
by one who walks
with a limp

parting moment

last evening there was a dinner
a surprise dinner
for a most amazing couple

this husband and wife
stepped away from their lives in England
stepped away from their home
their children
and their ministry
to serve in a foreign land

they came to Canada
for three months
which became six months
which then became ten and a half months

I met them the day of their arrival
in the snow
and the cold
and we instantly fell in love with one another

they had their first walk on a frozen lake
and discovered they loved walking on water

we slid together
on our backsides
down the long hill
that leads to the house

we have shared many laughs
some tears
lots of firsts
tons of hugs

I have learned so much
I have grown so much

my life has been deeply enriched
and my heart greatly enlarged
by this beautiful couple

and last evening
we had our final dinner together
our final hugs
our final laughs
and some tears

today
right now
they are airborne
flying back across the pond
to their family

to say I will miss them is a huge understatement
to say I will be forever grateful for knowing them
doesn't even scratch the surface
to say I am looking forward to seeing them again
is wonder-filled

they have been
and will continue to be
a gift
not only to me
but to everyone who meets them

au revoir Ginny and Martin
safe trip
thank you for all the kingdom seeds
you have planted in this land

see you soon

yesterday moments

yesterday
my table was full again
and it was very very wonderful!

laden with food
rimmed with bodies

every dish
every cup
every glass
all filled and refilled

we gathered shortly after noon
and parted shortly before midnight .......

it was soooooooooo good

laughter
some serious talk
some tears
singing
sharing
laughter
touching
laughter

meeting one another
in the midst of communion

meeting God in one another
in the midst of communion

yesterday
we had church

yesterday
we were the church

today
we are the church

coming down moment

my tree is coming down
as I type this

chippers
saws
a humungous truck
orange hard hatted men
flashing lights

the quiet of the morning
filled with raw sounds

it is as if a friend has died
and is being taken away

for 30 years
this tree has sheltered my front window
and robins
and cardinals
and nuthatches
and chickadees
and squirrels

and within moments
it will be no more

down to the ground
roots pulled
as if it never was

too much coming down in my life
too fast

transition

is

tough

solitary silent moments

solitude

a place where we are freed from the victimizing compulsions of the world
a place of great struggle and great encounter

solitude does not mean privacy
but a quality of the heart that cannot be disturbed
by the needs of others
an infinite space into which anyone can be invited

silence makes solitude a reality

words should be born out of silence
and lead deeper into silence

the Word of God
born out of the eternal silence of God

the Word of God does not break the silence of God
but rather unfolds the immeasurable richness of His silence

silence teaches us to speak

much can be said
without much being spoken

remembering moments

yesterday

November 13th

would have been my mom's birthday

as we gathered 'round the table

of bread and wine

with our friends last evening

it was good

very good

to speak of her

give thanks

and share her last moments

whom the Lord sets free

is free indeed

amen

acceptance moment

take now thy son
Genesis 22:2

now

not presently

the sacrifice is worked through in will

before it is actually performed

Abraham did not choose the sacrifice

God chose the cup for Abraham

Abraham accepted

and moved forward in his acceptance

it is in the drinking of the cup

we learn to know God better

authentic moment

“I like stinky old people who have nothing.

Simple lives.

Isolated.

People with nothing to prove.

People who are not complicated.

They are authentic.

That is a great word: ‘authentic.’

Whatever it means."

Ethan Hubbard

bruised and smoldering moments

a bruised reed has a certain numbness

numb and hurting in their spirit

desperate in their loneliness and rejection

reeds grow on the river bank

it is a delicate task hollowing them out

to make a musical pipe

our hands

often clumsy

we easily bruise the reed in the process

when bruised

it is considered useless for making music

and is thrown away

but

God delights in taking these bruised reeds

and making them into fine tuned instruments

for his orchestra

David

the song of God among men

was a bruised reed

a wick floating in oil

gives light

if the oil runs out

the stench of the burning wick is obnoxious

and one is quick to throw it away

but

Jesus takes the smoking remnant of a life

and makes it into the light of the world

he will not extinguish

a burning wick

there are some who sit on the edge of life's craters

and inhale the sulphur of defeat

failure

and sin

but

it is a bruised reed

that plays the strongest song of grace

it is a bruised reed that will be fitted

to minister grace to the lonely and wounded

giving them the grace

deeply received from God

those who have been wounded

make the best healers

many times the broken reed

we throw into the river as useless

is the very instrument God uses

to bring his grace to us

in the moment of our need

the fact is

God lives in my wounded brother

so many bruised reeds have experienced

their friends falling asleep

when they needed them

to just be there

it is not necessary to give answers

simply stay close

and pray

Ezekial had no answers

but he was willing to sit

with the captives

in their despair

for a week

with his mouth shut

this afternoon

with no answers

and my mouth shut

I sat

on the edge of the crater

with a bruised reed

a smoldering wick

I can only pray

there will be one

who will stay awake with me

should I be bruised

and left smoldering

sabbath moment

for everything there is a season

sometimes on the Sabbath

all you can do

is settle into the soft body of yourself

and listen to what it says

listen to the exhaustion

that is deeper than tiredness

the hunger

that is for more than food

the thirst

that is for more than drink

the longing for comfort

that is more than physical

on the Sabbath

body and soul reach out for time of a different sort

time that is full of space rather than activity

time to watch the burning bush in your own back yard

the movement of the wind among bare branches

the last leaf that clings to the branch

before its final letting go

letting go is hard

letting go of that which no longer works

that which no longer brings joy and meaning

that which is no longer full of life

it seems cruel

that something that used to be so beautiful

should fall to the ground

sinking into the earthy mud

along with everything else that is dying

no longer recognizable for what it used to be

it seems cruel

but it is the way of things

one generation gives its life

for the next

one season slips away

so another can come

one crop of fruit falls from the tree

so that more can be borne

one wave recedes

while another gathers strength

to crash upon the shore

it seems cruel

but it is the rhythm of things

and rhythm has its own beauty

question moment

believest thou this?

John 11:26

presence moment

PRESENCE
is a wonder
just begging
to be prayed
into awareness

arise moment

most of us fall

and collapse

at the first
grip of pain

we sit down on the threshold of God's purpose

and die away of self-pity

and all so called Christian sympathy

will aid us to our death bed

but God will not

He comes

with the grip of the
pierced hand of His Son

and says

enter into fellowship with Me

arise and shine