Beloved Prodigal

Preserved in the Wilderness

Blazing sun  
Glaring sand  
Baking heat  
The Wilderness prevailed.

Burning pain  
Stumbling gait  
Weary heart  
The Wilderness consumed.

Wandering warriors  
Hiding caves  
David’s men  
The Wilderness protected.

(Click here to read more of this post.)

I am so excited to share with you the new website

 
Beloved Prodigal

being led by my dear friend, Anna Smit.  About a year ago, Anna and I began emailing and praying with each other. The Lord has led us to work and write together on a few projects over that time. And today, I am so thrilled at the way that He has opened the door for her to walk into the vision he planted within her to see His Beloved Prodigals loved and restored.

Have you felt the crushing weight of praying for and loving a prodigal of your own?

Then I would encourage you to visit this new website, a safe haven for prayers and encouragement. 

At one time or another, we each have been prodigals on a journey to return to our Precious Savior.

I feel so blessed to be a contributing writer with Anna,

calling us all to love our prodigals back to Jesus.

I am linking today with:

Suzie Eller, #LiveFreeThursday
Barbie Swihart, #Glimpses 
Meg Weyerbacher, #TeaAndWordTuesday 

The Invitations

Birthdays come no matter how we feel.  Young and energetic, or weary and worn-out, those years add up!  And while we know we should be thankful for every breath that comes our way, if we would be honest, I think each one of us has had a year or two when we just weren't sure HOW to feel about an upcoming Birthday.

Such was the case for me this summer, as my next Birthday was looming before me.  

Where had this past year gone? 

How could it be time for another Birthday already? 

What direction would I, or should I be moving?

I must admit that I have felt a little like a ship without a mooring, as this journey through chronic illness has kept shifting the pathway in front of me. So when my dear blogging friend, Ifeoma Samuel, for whom I had offered a small bit of editing assistance, let me know the date that the book would be released, I felt a surging of encouragement in my soul:

The release date is today, my Birthday. 

  

"Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.'"

John 4:10 

The very first invitation that Ifeoma shared in her book, 

"The Invitations: 21 Hearty Devotions for your Soul" 
 was the offer that Jesus put forth to the Woman at the Well. You might have read here, about my own travels with that very woman, about the years of portraying her through a drama with my family. If you did, then you know how this particular passage holds such deep meaning for me. So when Ifeoma closed the first chapter with this prayer, I felt the Lord speaking it personally over me:

 "Lord Jesus, the road looks rough and uncertain. Strengthen me for the journey ahead. The world is in despair, but in you, Jesus, there is hope eternal. The world is a dark and lonely place, but in you is the Light. Flood me with your water of refreshing, and let my soul bask in the beauty of your glory in Jesus name. Amen"

SAMUEL, IFEOMA. THE INVITATIONS: 21 Hearty Devotions For Your Soul. (Kindle Locations 178-180). Purposeful and Meaningful. Kindle Edition. 



His Words are eternal, my friend. When He invited that woman to drink of the water that He would give, she could not have known how many people down through the ages would find the refreshing that only HE could bring.


And when "the Spirit and the Bride say come" they are still speaking to you and to me, today, just as much as they were speaking to the Apostle John who penned those words so many years ago.


"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life."
Revelation 22:17 


 
We tend to think that what we are facing today is worse than any other time in history. Perhaps we are, as Jesus, Himself, told us that evil would increase, as the day of HIS returning draws near.


But there is ONE who has not changed,
ONE who still offers us
INVITATIONS
to draw nearer to His heart.


The ONE who chose the date
of my Birth,
And the ONE who knows the number
of my days,
Sees the days for you, too, my friend.
He has so much 
Life 
and so much
Refreshing
for each of us.


Ifeoma has been used by the Lord to speak these invitations so beautifully, again, to us today. I would encourage you to read along with her, and hear in a new setting, 21 Invitations that our Lord has offered through His Word.

His calling still echoes to us 
as He invites us 
to come and be fed by Him.

 "The Invitations: 21 Hearty Devotions for your Soul," by Ifeoma Samuel

is available now at Amazon
by clicking here. 

I am linking today with these great bloggers:

Barbie Swihart #Glimpses

 Jennifer Dukes Lee, #TellHisStory

Meg Weyerbacher, #TeaAndWordTuesday 

Revival

"And then an old woman I knew as Aunt Cordie gathered me up without asking and sat down in the rocking chair and held me and let me cry. She had on a coarse black sweater over a black dress that reached to her shoetops and a black hat with little white and blue flowers on it there in the dead of winter. I can remember how she seemed to be trying to enclose me entirely in her arms. 'God love his heart!' she said. 'Othy, we’re going to take him home.'"

Thus begins a new chapter in the life of little Jonah Crow, or Jayber as we will later know him.  Today is the start of the fall book study with my friend Michele Morin! Join me for lively discussion over at her site: MicheleMorin.wordpress.com, 

 where we are reading Wendell Berry's book, Jayber Crow. The rich character descriptions in this fictional memoir-type story drew me in from page one.  But even as the small town setting reminded me of my own little village in Wisconsin, it was the memory of how someone stepped in to hold a little grieving boy that touched my heart so deeply this week. Little Jayber had suddenly lost both of his parents, and when he wasn't even sure how to process his grieving, along came an older aunt who stepped in and swooped him up.  


Aren't we all needing to be picked up and gathered close during the hard times of our lives?

On days when the foundation beneath my own feet feels like a swinging bridge, I find myself grasping for good words--hopeful words that speak a lifeline to a stronger way of living. This past weekend I joined in for a simple journaling and crafting time on Instagram at #septgluebookparty17 (thank you for your inspiration Gayl Wright.) It's a way to make a collage, by following a simple prompt to look for pictures and words from magazines or artwork that can fit together to express the thought.  When the first prompt was "favorite fall colors," I happily picked colors and images and words that leaped off the page for me.  When I was finished with my own page, though, I was surprised at the message before me:

Revival?

Could this be a word

of hope

pointing to a

renewed

strength

coming to my life?

Eagerly I began the new week, and wearily I collapsed

yet again.  When I read the words of little

Jayber Crow, I heard my own 

Life-Giver

calling me to climb into His lap.

He was indeed speaking 

REVIVAL

but not in the way 

I had first envisioned.

My weary frame revolted

And squirmed at the thought of

Required rest again

Why now? I cried when

I thought Revival was the word.

                                       

Revive these legs! I envisioned

Strength required when I looked

Ahead to fuller days

Why not? I cried when

I thought Revival was the word.

 

Revive these arms! I hungered

Work to be restored as

Plans could be fulfilled

Why not? I cried when

I thought Revival was the word.

 

Revive this frame! I sought

Fresh energy covering for

Tasks laid long aside

Why not? I cried when

I thought Revival was the word.

 

Revive this heart! He gave

New Love for God alone in

Father’s heart to mine

Why here? I cried when

He spoke Revival over me.

 

Yes here, Yes now,

Taste and See

Rest in this Love

Let ME hold you

And speak Revival over you.

--bg

 "His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;

the Lord delights in those who fear him,
    who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Psalm 147:10-11 NIV 

Revival? Oh, yes, He is reviving my heart. 

He delights to bring new hope

of His unfailing love.

If you are interested in finding a copy of the book, and reading along for the discussion, you can find a copy of the book here:

Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry  

I am linking this week with these great bloggers:

Suzie Eller, #LiveFreeThursday 

Debbie Kitterman, #TuneInThursday 
Barbie Swihart, #Glimpses 
Meg Weyerbacher, #TeaAndWordTuesday 

  

 

Who Goes Between?

Has your heart been stirred with a longing to help those who are far away and in such heavy need?

 Maybe it's the heartbreaking news coming in from the Texas flooding?

Or maybe it's the concern over those you love who are in difficult places? 

One morning recently, I was overcome by the beauty of the Morning Glories climbing over the bench in our front yard.  As I reviewed all of my photos where I had tried to capture what I felt there, I was disappointed when I saw my shadow smack-dab in the middle of the bench! How could I have missed that?  

But then the Lord opened my eyes to realize that HE had given me a beautiful picture to illustrate the Scripture that had been dwelling in my heart all day.

“May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other."  Genesis 31:49

Many have spent beautiful times of fellowship on this very bench:  

my grandchildren and I 

my husband and I

my friends and I

my Mom and I

even my Mom and my Vietnamese daughter-in-law's Mom

I am missing so many of them now.

Oh, yes, I know that my prayers are vital for those I love. But I have so many things I wish I could say, ways I wish I could actually touch each one.  How do we handle that absence? How do we deal with the void we feel when we are separated?

 

In my searching, I found these thoughts in Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 31:49:

"Friends at a distance from each other may take the comfort of this, that when they cannot know or succour one another God watches between them, and has his eye on them both."


And what of the beautiful story of friendship that is shown between Jonathan and David? 

  Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.^{1 Samuel 20:42}

These thoughts again, from Matthew Henry's Commentary found a home within my heart:

 "They referred themselves to the covenant of friendship that was between them, both of them comforting themselves with this in this mournful separation: 'We have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, for ourselves and our heirs, that we and they will be faithful and kind to each other from generation to generation.' Thus, while we are at home in the body and absent from the Lord, this is our comfort, that he has made with us an everlasting covenant."

What will I do with the longings when I want to be with those I love? How can I carry the weights of longing to make things better for those who are in difficulty?

Ah, there is the point of JOY 

coming as I trust. 

In the invisible places,

I see a shadow 

of a PRESENCE

going between.

The Lord dwells

Where I can only long to go.

The Lord blesses

When I can only envision grief.

Every Friendship

Every Relationship

Every Love 

When I call HIM into the center

Will be covered by HIS Shadow.

HE WATCHES BETWEEN YOU AND ME. 

Here is the link to another Faith Blogger who actually is living through the Texas Flooding now, and shares ways to currently help:

Tammy Streeter McDonald, Shifted Vision Ministries 

And, I am excited to be a collaborator with another sweet Faith Blogger as she has opened a Facebook page to answer questions about what Fibromyalgia really is. If you have ever wondered how to explain Fibro, or even what it feels like, please visit her page for some great information that she has pulled together:

Mandy Farmer, Fibromyalgia Is It For Real 

I am linking this week with these great sites:

Barbie Swihart, #Glimpses 
Meg Weyerbacher, #Teaandwordtuesday 
Debbie Kitterman, #Tuneinthursday 

 

Breathe

Breathe, He said to me

As my harried soul jumped

From one thought to the next

And my carried over burdens

Jumped from now to then.

                                      

Breathe, He said to me

As His whispered breath fluttered

Onto my thoughts

And His gentle yoked peace

Filled slowly the crevices.

Breathe, He said to me

As words called from the mist

Above my raging storm

And Humbled Heart learning

Drew me longing for more.

Breathe, He said to me

As bondages strong and long fell

From around my feet

And wondrous New Naming

Joined my heart to His.

Breathe, He said to me

As heart beats slowed

Around our joined souls

And rested gentle lips

Breathed of His own Heaven.
        -BG

              

"I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians."

 Exodus 6:7

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you

and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
Matthew 11:28-30 



In this week of more testings, and Gratefulness for good reports for my husband, my heart is finding space to breathe.



Are you finding space for breath
this summer?



How is God leading you to find rest for your soul?



Leave a comment below; I love to hear how
our Lord meets each one of us! 

 This poem began from the prompt "Deep Breath" last week from Jamie Wright Bagley. You can check out her site by clicking here.

I am linking this week with:
Meg Weyerbacher, #TeaAndWordTuesday 

Barbie Swihart, #Glimpsesofhisbeauty 

Jennifer Dukes Lee, #TellHisStory 

Holy Ground

grounded
here in this sand
quick sand
it feels

days run 
together
when duties
long stilled
echo the halls

changing plans
i follow the
sun
mete out my
moments

seeking a
firmness 
wanting a
strength i
lose my clenching

find what was
missing 
seek what is
losing
life laid down

LORD of the 

moment he

holds me beneath

where ground

shifts

i watch him plant

seeds in

my feet standing

ground

sand shifting

and life is

here blooming

watered from well

springing up

HOLY GROUND

“'Do not come any closer,' God said. 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.'”

Exodus 3:5 

The writing prompt this week, given by Jamie Wright Bagley,
 (you can check out her site here) 

is "God in the ground beneath me," 
with a secondary prompt to experiment with the
 no caps no punctuation style of poetry that ee cummings made famous  


and my heart started pounding
when i heard a whisper
calling my ground
holy



What if the very place where the trial looks hardest,
where the ground seems most burnt
is actually the place most holy
in the eyes of the ONE who is changing
my heart? 



You might recognize that first photo above
as the one I posted here earlier this spring
after the DNR had come through our favorite
prairie park with a prescribed burn.

The second photo shows the prairie transformed,
when we visited just a few weeks ago. It's hard to
imagine the way that fire birthed life into 
the worn-out prairie lands. 



These burnt-out shifting sand places of our lives
become HIS fertile land 
when we let Him have the final say. 
But in those days when I stop short, try to shorten the
 process, or worse yet,
go off in my corner to pout,
I only hinder His planting,
quench off His Spirit,
and stunt my own growth.



For those of us who seek our corners,
can I offer a prayer?


"Dear Lord of the Harvest,
what an Amazing LORD you are!
Will you open our eyes
to see YOU in the 
shifting sands of our days?
Will you help us to loosen our hold
and come out of the corners,
to find YOU at work 
in the fertile soil,
the sandy loam
of hearts set free,
to be transformed into 
YOUR HOLY GROUND." 

I am linking with these great bloggers this week:

Barbie Swihart, #Glimpsesofhisbeauty 
Meg Weyerbacher, #Teaandwordtuesday 
Debbie Kitterman, #TuneInThursday