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 

An Eye of Forgiveness

Is there no one here to speak for me?
She had cried out in her shame.
Buried beneath a sin so deep
With no way to escape

The judgment poured down on her.

                           

But Jesus stepped into the crowd
Bent down on the sand

And waited, waited for her

Accusers

Those without sin to cast the stones.

Woman, He asked,

Where are your accusers now?

None stood here without sin.

Neither do I accuse you then.

Freedom became her theme.

Another woman bore a shame

She knew her part in the sinning game

But saw in Jesus’ eyes

Forgiveness calling her out

Mercy drawing her in.

From the depth of her freedom

Came a Love stronger than shame

For ONE had pled her case.

An offering for mercy’s sake

Of much she was forgiven.

Alabaster jar broken open

Fragrance filled the judging room

A washing clean had happened

Worship spilled the tears there

As Love was finally free.

                          --BG

Jesus pled their cases

Jesus spoke up for those

Who could not speak

You can read the stories of these two women, the first one in John 8:4-11, and the second one in Luke 7:36-50. Jesus brought each of these women into a life of forgiveness, something the leaders of his day were not expecting. To the first He said:  

“Then neither do I condemn you,”  

Jesus declared. 

“Go now and leave your life of sin.”

John 8:11 

And to the second He spoke:

 

“Your faith has saved you; 

go in peace.”

Luke 7:50 

My own heart has been taken up in the stories of those around me, friends and neighbors, who have found themselves in need of rescue.  

When the world condemns, 

and even at times the Church ignores, 

where is the true Body of Christ to be found? 

Am I so willing to speak?

Am I so willing to forgive?

Am I so willing to bring in?  

Oh, friend, may we take 

JOY 

and love with the same

 LOVE

so freely given to us.  

May we point to the

RESCUE

that only our Savior can give.

I am linking this week with:  

Barbie, Swihart, #Glimpses 

Jennifer Dukes Lee, #TellHisStory

 

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 

When Freedom Walks In

The mind has 

Corners and crannies

Where hidden lie

Memories

The heart wants

Uncovering

From carrying

The burden 

Where can they meet?

Heart and mind

Like oil and water

Refuse to mix.

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Hebrews 4:13 NIV 

A child sat on the side of the road and saw the crashed cars. There was the bloodied man being held up by the ambulance drivers. There was her Father holding his chest, and there was her brother coming behind in his own car, rescuing her from the scene.

It was a memory locked in the recesses of my mind. Occasional nightmares and flashbacks from the scene would replay years later, but I would tell myself how thankful I should be that God preserved my life with only a chipped tooth, and my Dad only suffered a few cracked ribs.

But the heart knows when a fear takes root.

 

If you knew me in the '90s, you would have seen a self-sufficient Stay-At-Home-Mom who walked everywhere, and took the bus to the orthodontist for her teenage daughter's appointments. Grocery shopping was a family affair after my husband finished working. We worked out our schedules, and we thrived on our together times.  But when my younger son approached the time for getting his learner's permit, he said, "It's time Mom. You're coming with me and we're BOTH learning to drive together this time."

I had never enjoyed driving when I got my first license as a teenager. So, as a young wife, when we moved multiple times while our children were toddlers, it felt too hard to continue taking the tests and changing my license in every state. 

So I let the deep-settled fear gain more ground in my heart, and I allowed my license to expire.

Was my son correct?

Would I really be able to re-learn driving,

after almost 20 years?

Oh, I prayed and cried, and stormed my way through, as my husband had two "learners" practicing that year.  Just before the deadline for my permit expired, I passed the test, hearing the instructor tell me, "You're a very good driver, Ma'am, you really shouldn't be so nervous."  

What should have been a celebration, still felt like a chore to me, and despite what the instructor said, I had to sing my way into driving alone. every. single. time.

But God has a way of making sure 

that our hearts get laid bare, 

and He sees where fear takes root.

He gently pries and tugs

to bring to the surface

the long buried tendrils.

When we moved to Wisconsin, with a fresh new license in my hand, one of the first neighbors I met was my precious elderly Ukrainian friend who had just lost her husband.  While I was practicing my driving in this small town, her health was gradually declining. And in just a short time, she needed a driver to take her to Doctor's appointments and stores. My driving suddenly had to come up a notch.

God was still working to uncover the fear.

But yet I held back, until I gathered with dear friends for our church's first Ladies' Retreat, several years later. As I led my group that first night, the question went around the circle, and each one of us found our hearts being uncovered by a God who loves us too much to leave us to ourselves.  I heard myself speaking what I had not planned to say:

I still DESPISE driving, but I want to be free.

And with those precious friends, 

we all laid down burdens 

and found Jesus there

to meet us with the truth.

That very first Sunday after the retreat, as I drove to get coffee for a few friends, my normal "easy" route was blocked, and I had no choice but to take the scarier way that I always avoided.  I heard Him whisper His own words to me:

"You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me."

Psalm 139:5 NIV 

And something shifted in my attitude 

that morning.

What was once a chore

became a place for God's power

to be shown, even within my own heart.


. . . . .

In these days, years later once again,
where weakness seems to reign,

And driving times are few

with pain following each one,

my heart is filled

with a gratitude

I never thought I could have.

When it's necessary for me to drive,

God chases all fear away.

He has redeemed the past

of that bloody nightmare

with His Holy Strength,

carrying my mind

as well as my heart

uniting as one

with praise.

Dear One,

May I ask a hard question?

Is there a long-buried 

pain in your heart?

There is ONE

who longs to meet you

with the LIGHT of HIS PRESENCE.

When you ask for freedom,

He will come to you too.




My dear friend, Anna Smit, blessed me with this song today, and I pray it blesses you also:

I am linking this week with:

Barbie Swihart, #Glimpsesofhisbeauty 
Jennifer Dukes Lee, #TellHisStory 
Debbie Kitterman, #TuneInThursday