ministry moments

the stuff of ministry is
sometimes hard
sometimes lonely
sometimes earth shattering
sometimes filled with wondering
and
sometimes absolutely glorious

as was yesterday

a room filled to overflowing with shepherds
standing shoulder to shoulder
heads lifted
eyes focused beyond the hills
on the Creator of the hills
worshiping together
one heart
one voice
one God

and then
kneeling at one another's feet
sometimes weeping
sometimes laughing
sometimes silent
sometimes loud

blessing
honoring
and giving thanks
for one another

moments like this
hugely soften the hard times

title moments

there is a huge sadness in me

when seeing

those who would seek position

seek being noticed

seek a title

the hole inside their heart

must be so big

their loneliness

so huge

when never discovering

their true identity

the effort it must take

to continually climb

and never rest

in contentment

I was struck

the other day

by the colors of the opposite shore

the blending

the distinction

one brilliant red tree

standing alone

is amazing

but when standing

shoulder to shoulder

with the greens

yellows

browns

and all that is inbetween

perfection is seen

within the body of Christ

there is so much striving

to stand out

to shove aside the other colors

a huge scrabbling of stones

eventually causing the whole house to tumble

mercy moment

there is this deep yearning

to be so fully aware

of God's great mercy

that life itself becomes a ministry

where there is hardly any difference

between doing and being

overflowing moments

this is one of those weeks
when every bed in the house is full
three blow up beds full
a body on each couch

the table groans under the weight of the food
chairs snuggled tight together so no one is ever left out

laughter floating everywhere

quiet,
and at times not so quiet,
singing

I am missing the piano
but grateful for the fingers
that strum the guitars

constant gurgling of the coffee pot
and whistling of the kettle

it seems someone is cooking something all the time

there is so much love in every room
every corner

so many hugs
even tears have a deep sweet fragrance

all the little noises
in the quiet of the night

life is very beautiful
and so much more so when lived in midst of people
who love each other

I am deeply blessed by these moments

asking moment

are you willing
to step outside of your day
away from your disappointments
your fears
your dashed hopes

are you willing
to come up here
and see things with Me

are you willing
to step away from all that is easy
all that is familiar
all that brings comfort

are you willing
to step aside from who man has said you are
from your giftings
from where you have been

are you willing
to come higher
and see what I see

are you willing
to lay down all that has been given you
to exit places you have entered
to be hidden in new places

are you willing
to climb to the top
and step out with nothing underneath
but My arms

are you willing
to have all your props removed
and only My promises to hold you up

are you willing
to step out from under the robes of deferred hope
that have become so familiar
and easy to wear

are you willing
to soar
to run and not grow weary

are you willing
to dream My dreams
to sing My songs
to let go of everything
but My hand

are you willing
for me to untie
the laces of your boots
that have become so heavy

are you willing
to remove the clothes of man
and wear the robe I have for you

are you willing
to open your hand
and release it all

are you willing
to die
in order to live

are you willing
to not even consider the cost
as you let go

one by one

as your hands open

as you climb the ladder of praise
with your feet on the rungs of worship
step by step
speaking My Name

are you willing
to discover

I AM ENOUGH

choice moment

we have nothing to offer God

except our choice to be with Him

and that is a choice

that no one but Him

is likely to put any value on

Enoch moments

thinking of Enoch

walking with God

was it
difficult
painful
easy
to get into step with God

and then
to keep pace with Him

that means too that Enoch
must have been easily willing to rest
when God rested

we seem to have lost the art of resting
of even seeking rest

how wide is the stride of God
how fast is the pace of God

how wonderful it must have been
to simply hear the laughter of God
and join in

did they rub shoulders as they walked

did they help one another up steep hills
or to cross a creek

did they ever lack for words

was there immediate understanding of each other
or the need for questions

I have gone on prayer walks
with some who are much much taller, wider, higher, stronger than I am
which, for me, necessitated a half run half walk pace

is this how Enoch kept up with God

I so desire to absolutely learn the rhythm of God
and move/live/rest easily in it
for the remainder of my walking days

hand moment

God asks

what is that in your hand

surely he knows

so why does he ask

could it be to simply draw our attention

to the very thing within our reach

granting an opportunity to lay it at his feet

our ability

our treasured possession

all at his disposal

silent moments

wow

I had absolutely no idea so many people

take the time

to read my stumbling words .....

I am sorry I have been silent for a bit

thanks for your calls and mail .......

your care and interest

have helped to reweave the tattered fabric

I am

or rather will be

whole

just traveling a road

of unravelling

one thing I have learned

when you ask God to expose everything

that needs to be exposed

you should also ask Him

for preparation

to deal with all that will be seen

awake moment

our world overflows
our narrow measurements
and begins revealing the dimensions
of our God

we may ignore but we can nowhere evade
the presence of God

the world is crowded with Him

the real labor is to remember to attend

in fact
to come awake

still more
to remain awake

C.S. Lewis

positioning moment

what position

do you assume

when

face to face

with a serpent

in your own garden

crack moment

I had a vision of a house.

Every time a crack appeared in the wall
I dashed out to repair it as quickly as possible
like most of us do
so that the inside of the house
was protected
and kept safe from the weather
and the storms.

and the Lord said to me

this is what your Christian life is like
whenever any cracks appear in the wall
that has been built up about you
over the years
by the world
and by yourself
you dash out
and fill in the cracks
so that no one is able to see what is inside

But I want the world to be able to see what is inside

I want to be able to come in
through the cracks into your life
and I am not going to fill them up either.

I am going to flow in and out of these cracks.

So when you see the cracks appear in your life
do not rush out and fill them in

Let Me come in.

David Mattches

breakfast moments

early this morning
80+ shepherds
ventured out of their individual pastures
to break bread together

worship together

pray together

be together

all these individual houses of prayer
became one house of prayer
inside a house of prayer

the most wonder-filled part
was that no one wore a name tag
and so
no one wore a title

no one dressed in the robes of leader

all wore the shoes of a servant

as the bread was broken
and shared
one with another
hearts opened

the hugs were tight
and genuine

we took a moment
and
touched one another

silent moments

only in silence
do the tongueless speak
tears
rooms
windows
the wind

only in true silence
do the rocks cry out
and the bread whispers
break me

only the silence
can hear songs
hidden in the dust
and bear the laughter
of the awakening land

cap moment

just who is this wildly imaginative God

who carefully designed a cap

for each acorn nut

ark moment

who decided to make a new cart

who is touching the ark

how often in the midst of a circumstance of life
in our nervousness
do we put our hand up
to steady the ark

wordless moments

yesterday was .............
yesterday

it was orchestrated that I would spend some time waiting
in a waiting room
a room designed for waiting

lots of waiting

soft colors on the walls
padded chairs
thick rug
piles of magazines - current ones at that
soft music - Perry Como would you believe!
nearby washrooms

the only thing missing
was a percolating coffee pot ............

this is not a room where you choose to wait
this is a room where you wait
after you have already waited
in other waiting rooms

and so
when looking around at the others who are waiting
there is the stark realization
that we are all somehow in the same boat
and no one seems to have a firm grip on the rudder

we are all sailing round and round
on the winds of emotion

I turned to the beautiful tender lady next to me
and simply asked if she wanted to talk

the floodgates opened
and she only needed to cry
to stop "being strong"
and let it out
while being held
in someone's arms


the night before
I had been called
and asked to visit with a family
during the afternoon

a lovely home
manicured lawns
spectacular gardens
even the doorbell had a charming song

inside though
there was palpable tangible fear
and grief
and guilt

and a lovely pain ridden fifteen year-old girl
her mom
her dad

for several months
this child had been complaining of a sore neck

weeks of visits to the chiropractor
had not provided relief

finally
they went to the family doctor
when it was discovered that cancer
had eaten into the neck bones

after further testing
it was learned
this was a secondary cancer
leaking from the kidney

and then they found more
and more

and the choice was offered
to surgically fuse the neck bones
and hopefully prevent paralysis

or
massive immediate chemotherapy
and radiation

if the surgery was undertaken
any other treatment
would have to be postponed until healing
of the fusion had taken place
and this might mean weeks and weeks and weeks
of letting the cancer spread even further

and so this dilemma

and most of their friends knew a little at least of what was going on
most of their church community knew
and yet

no one was visiting
simply because no one knew what to say

why do we think we must have answers
and if we have no answers
then we must stay away

I have been on the receiving end
but also have been on the guilty end of this scenario

however
yesterday afternoon
this broken family and I
sat together
and held hands

no words

no platitudes

no false hope

just touching one another

and then the tears came
and the loneliness was expressed

and we have agreed to stay together
to walk this through together
to cry together

and I am positive
there also will be times of laughing together
of rejoicing with one another

take a moment

touch someone

Tuesday moment

while preparing for an appointment this morning
praying my constant prayer

help me

I am struck
by the fact
that Jesus stepped out of his glory
to wrap himself
in my clay

remembering moment

a wonderful woman died early this morning
she was my friend
she remains my friend

she was and remains a friend to many

her best Friend called her home early today
she simply left the arms of her husband
and entered the arms of the One who called

she was quiet
loved to laugh
tenderly strong
wise
broken
whole
an overcomer

a worshiper
and lover
of her Lord

I will miss her deeply
I already miss her

many others will also miss her

in her own gentle way
she gave strength to many

we all are richer for knowing her

her life counted
she lived well
she died well

but there is a hole of lonely sadness in me
no more hugs
no more laughing together until we fall down
no more raising eyebrows at each other across the room

she was a beautiful gift

here for a moment
there for eternity

she was a good woman
and while mourning
I celebrate her life

identifying moment

too often
there is a moment
when we come to identify
with the clothes
used to cover
our nakedness