fragrant moment

yesterday was glorious

the sun and I woke up together on the beach
the sea's song was gentle
lullaby-like
each thrust of the water offering up fresh treasures from the depths

an egret was waiting by the shore
and we walked together for a mile or so ..........

two dolphins played in the surf

later while sitting with my book
a lady came over
asking if she could sit with me

she asked what perfume I was wearing!
which always amazes me ..........

before too many moments
she was telling me her story ........

I asked if I could pray with her ..........

and another soul has entered the kingdom of God

while watching the sun set last evening
another lady sat beside me .........
and she told me her story

and as the sun met the edge of the ocean
she met the King of kings

and another soul has entered the kingdom of God

I wonder what He has in mind for today

linger moment

walked the beach today
no one else around
only my footprints evidencing that I had been there


turned out
I had barely passed by
before the sea gathered up my foot prints
and swept them into the sea

but what of their memory
does it linger in the sand
long after they are no longer there


and I think of the foot prints of some
who have walked with me for a season
and then they are gone

fortunately
their memory lingers
as does their foot prints
in my heart

penetrating moment

Some souls think that the Holy Spirit is very far away,
far, far, up above
Actually he is, we might say,
the divine Person who is most closely present to the creature.
He penetrates him with himself.
He calls him,
he protects him.
He makes of him his living temple.
He defends him.
He helps him.
He guards him from all his enemies.
He is closer to him than his own soul.
All the good a soul accomplishes,
it carries out under his inspiration,
in his light,
by his grace
and his help

Concepcion Cabrera de Armida

balloon moment

friends are like balloons

if you let them go
they might not come back

but what of the string
that ties you to your friend

is it a string that joins
or one that controls

does it chafe
or does it comfort

does it allow you both to soar
or does it require one remain lower

does it bring beautiful truth
or does it cause a shadow

does it bring freedom
or does it chain

there is a lamenting in my spirit this day
about the string ..........

words moment

words are so important to me
words are alive
filled with color
sound
touch

words are filled with life
or filled with death

can bring hope
or despair

when our words are mistreated
mishandled
not respected
guarded
and properly cared for

there is an abuse that takes place
and because our words are the overflow of our hearts
the abuse is to the heart

I have never before seen this quite so clearly

these words
I post in a public forum
are vulnerable

words sent in an email

words spoken in confidence

words simply spoken in passing

words ..........

each word contains a tiny fragment of who I am

and now the question
do I stop sharing my words
do I listen to the whisper of fear

what do I do with all the words tumbling around inside me

Luca moment

there are times
God brings us to an unfamiliar place
to ask us the question,

"Who do you say that I am?

dark moment

Ex 20:21

Sometimes, to meet with God, we have to go to the dark places. We have to enter the thick darkness of terrifying circumstances

And sometimes, it just seems that the darkness surrounds us. We didn’t choose it, we didn’t want it, we didn’t see it coming, but here we are, surrounded by the thick darkness of the unknown, the risky, the lonely.. And it feels like we went the wrong way. God isn’t in the darkness, is he? He dwells in the light - right?

God in the dark requires more trust than God in the light. When life gets dark and terrifying we have a choice: walk in the dark, trusting God - or don’t.

Sometimes the darkness isn’t punishment, or accident, or evil. Sometimes the dark is the gift. Sometimes the dark is the opportunity. God awaits us, not only in the light of easy times and happy moments, but also in the thick darkness. And there he invites us to learn to trust him like never before.

God in the dark requires far more trust than God in the light.

bride moment

just as Eve was birthed out of Adam
to become his bride
so the church is birthed out of Christ
to become His bride

Eve birthed from the opened side of Adam

the church birthed from the pierced side of Christ

people moment

"Look at your life and see how you have filled its emptiness with people. As a result they have a stranglehold on you. See how they control your behavior by their approval and disapproval. They hold the power to ease your loneliness with their company, to send your spirit soaring with their praise, to bring you down to the depths with their criticism and rejection. Take a look at yourself spending almost every waking moment of your day placating and pleasing people, whether they are living or dead. You live by their norms, conform to their standards, seek their company, desire their love, dread their ridicule, long for their applause, meekly submit to the guilt they lay upon you; you are terrified to go against the fashion in the way you dress or speak or act or even think. And observe how even when you control them, you depend on them and are enslaved by them. People have become so much a part of your being that you cannot imagine living a life that is unaffected or controlled by them."

Antony DeMello

loving moment

there are times
loving someone
means giving them permission
to be absent IN your life

choosing moment

I choose to fully inhabit my days

to allow my living to open me

to make me less afraid

more accessible

to loosen my heart

until it becomes a wing

a torch

a promise

learning moment

after while you learn the subtle difference

between holding a hand and chaining a soul

you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning

and company doesn’t always mean security

you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts

and presents aren’t promises

you begin to accept your defeats with your head up

and your eyes ahead

with the grace of a woman

not the guilt of a child

and you learn to build your road on today

because tomorrow ’s ground is too uncertain

after awhile you learn that even sunshine burns

if you ask for too much

so you plant your own garden

and decorate your own soul

instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers

and you learn that you really can endure

that you really are strong

and really do have worth

you learn

with each good-bye

you learn

lurking moment

there is a serpent
lurking
in the garden
of every relationship

disease moment

I find it fascinating how God quickly gives an opportunity
to confirm a recent truth

to see if we really get it
and how serious we are about practicing it
living it

or

if we will slip back into what had been an unhealthy familiar

even a disease (dis-ease) becomes comfortable over time

moving into health
causes a dis-ease of the disease ...........

defining moment

saddened about those
who have chosen
to be defined
by their wounds..

near moment

Never worry about numbers.

Help one person at a time, and always
start with the person nearest you.

Mother Teresa

hunger moment

yesterday a friend said

"if you are not hungry,
you are dying"

and I began to think about not being hungry

when one is full
one no longer hungers

and so
we must be careful
what fills our mouths
fills our stomachs
fills our bodies

fills our eyes

fills our ears

is it because we have eaten so much junk food
that we have lost the taste
lost the hunger
for our daily bread

we are so satiated by the abundance of
fast food
easy food
over salted food

microwavable nourishment

that manna
is no longer enough
no longer palatable

our bellies are stretched
filled to capacity
with ease
fast
quick

our bodies breaking down
wearing out
dying

because of what we have been ingesting
to feed our hunger

is that why we wander from church to church
from seminar to seminar
from "prophet" to "prophet"
from experience to experience

all along
hungering

but
for the wrong things

and yet God says "come" to
ALL who hunger ............

God .............
purify my hunger

wash my mouth
with Your water

then increase my hunger
increase my thirst

community moment

community is the fruit of our capacity
to make the interests of others
more important than our own

garden moment

spending time alone this morning
in the garden of my solitude
listening for the whisper

pondering what it means to be cherished

pondering the depth

and breadth

and sanctuary

of the word

"husband"

competition moment

The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus
is service for Him