I have always been fascinated by that account, Lord. The night Jacob wrestled with You all night long. He was on his way back to see his older brother, Esau. After years of separation. After Jacob had deceived their father, so he would give Jacob the blessing intended for Esau. He feared Esau's wrath. Jacob planned a strategy to shower...
You left me hanging yesterday, Lord. Maybe You had to... for my sake. So I could really process what You were trying to say. The importance and urgency of The Message. The Certainty and Assurance of Your Grace. You laid out The Rest of Your Story long ago. I awoke yesterday at sunrise, thinking about The Wonder...
A radio broadcaster made that line famous when he told compelling true stories about people's lives. He would give a "teaser" to engage the curiosity of the listener, and then tell "the rest of the story." You have the most compelling True Story of all, Lord. And You are no "teaser." You have had Your Story...
Not ozone-filled sky-high air, whose self-perpetuating rainstorms are turning our vegetable-garden-to-be into a mud pit. Not exhaust-filled earthbound air that, in this rural paradise, is merely a distant memory from city-days-gone-by. Not oxygen-thin mountaintop air that produces gasps where spectacular beauty and laboring lungs meet. No. The air I breathe today is Rare... and Abundant. Here... and Everywhere....
It's the difference between... ... black-and-white and Technicolor. ... stick figure drawings and High-Resolution Photography. ... X-ray technology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. ... make-believe fantasy and Real Life Adventure. ... wishful thinking and Confident Assurance. ... believing what is seen, and believing despite what is seen. ... wondering and Knowing. ... settling and Savoring. ... sleepwalking and Wide-Awake Dancing. ... playing...
Whew. Another fifteen hours "under our belts" today. What a blessing it is to finally be at Sanctuary Hill -- our "home" away from home! We traded our 94-degree day in Florida for a 61-degree day in the Blue Ridge mountains. Not too shabby! :) After only partially unloading our vehicles and shopping for basic...
I graduated from innocence fifty-six years ago. It wasn't my choice. It might have even been earlier. I just don't remember. I graduated from high school forty-seven years ago. Not part of the "in" crowd, but "in" the start of a Bigger Dream unfolding. I graduated from college forty-three years ago. A trailblazer, with a year-long stint...
I was sitting face-to-face with a client. We were in a large room, surrounded by many people who did not know You, Lord... yet. I was speaking passionately to my client, exhorting her to remember... "You KNOW who you are! You KNOW who your Source is -- Jesus! Almighty God! You KNOW what He is calling you to...
Some days are all about Waiting. Waiting for Answers as our Questions hang in the atmosphere. Waiting on You, Lord. Hoping for Yes's... Struggling with No's... Accepting Not Yet's... Learning to Trust. "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it... Yet the Lord longs...
You are The Key, Lord. To Every Door. Every Time. How do we get that Truth out of our heads and into our hearts? Then out of our hearts and into our grasp? Cloudless Transparency. (We cannot target what we cannot see). Fearless Honesty. (We cannot change what we will not admit). Rudderless Affection. (We cannot...
