Five Words That Can Change a Life

Andrew was a man searching.  He was searching for the truth.  He was searching for promise.  He was searching for Messiah.  His search led him to follow a radical.  A man clothed in camel’s hair and who thought a good meal was locust and wild honey.  Actually many of the people of Andrew’s time wondered if this man was the Messiah they all longed for.   As for Andrew, he followed, watched, and listened closely to John.

One day John spoke five words, “Look, the Lamb of God!”  Andrew, being a good listener left John and followed the one he spoke of.  After spending one day with Jesus, Andrew was convinced.  He went and found his brother, Simon Peter, and declared five words, “We have found the Messiah.”

Five words from one man changed Andrew’s life - “Look, the Lamb of God!”  

Five words from Andrew’s lips set the course of his destiny - “We have found the Messiah.”

Today I am given the same options.  How do I respond to those words?

“Look, the Lamb of God?

                My decision seals my destiny…

                              “I have found the Messiah.”

                                           Today, how will you respond to those five words?

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I have used the New International Version to retell this story from John 1:35-41.  In the Aramaic, which was the common language of Jesus time, there were possibly only three words spoken - “Look, God’s Lamb” from John the Baptizer and “We’ve found Messiah” from Andrew.

Picture from Photobucket, click photo for link.

Scripture Only Sunday

“For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.  And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”  Colossians 2:5-7 NLT

Saturday Sketches

Thankful Thursday

“Gratitude helps you to grow and expand.”  Eileen Caddy

In the daily living life together we rub each other the wrong way.  Our frustration leads to harsh, critical words.  Some days it feels impossible to find the good in one another.  It can be difficult to be thankful.

I stop and consider each face, each heart, each gift from above. 

Father, help me be thankful to be mother to these souls who are as much a mess as I am.  Help us to grow and expand into the likeness of your Son.  Help us to love and forgive one another as you have – because of Christ.  Jesus, thank you for reaching down to redeem.  

691.  Princess daughter rubbing my feet with lotion

692.  Sensitive son stroking my aching head slowly

693.  Fun son taking out the trash, mowing the lawn

694.  Helpful son helping,changing a tire or cleaning the basement, his moniker fits

695.  Challenge son striving to become a man, take on adult responsibilities, seeking his father’s council

696.  Dear son-in-love’s thoughtful, compassionate love for Darling daughter

697.  Sharing the journey toward mothering with Darling daughter

Father, I am truly grateful for the support you have given…

698.  Gold-hearted mom cooking delightful dinners

700.  Precious husband holding me, understanding me, letting me just be me

Father, thank you for your grace that embraces us, mess and all.

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Check out Ann’s blog anytime to be blessed, but especially on Monday’s to have your heart refreshed through the sharing of community giving thanks to God for his new mercies every day. To check out what the Gratitude Community is all about click the link below.

Seeking Solace

 

solitude and silence

strain to see

struggle to secure

solace,

seeking

sagacity that will satisfy

secede from situation

sabbatical season

---Nancy Kourmoulis

 

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For this week’s Random Acts of Poetry, write a brief poem using the word (or just the concept of) solace.  Click on the link to the left to learn more.

Scripture Only Sunday

“I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret."”  Colossians 2:2-4 (The Message)

Saturday Sketches

Thankful Thursday

Several months ago a friend sent me this lovely poem.   

It doesn’t have to be

The blue iris, it could be

 Weeds in a vacant lot, or a few

 Small stones; just

 Pay attention, then patch

 A few words together and don’t try

 To make them elaborate, this isn’t

 A contest but the doorway

 Into thanks, and a silence in which

 Another voice may speak.

 -- Mary Oliver, “Praying”

Through the practice of paying attention I find a doorway to thanks.   As my heart swells in the silence I hear His voice speak revealing the simplicity of small blessings...

681.  Friends who send me lovely poetry

682.  Field trips

683.  Mother, daughter (me), granddaughter all carrying cameras on field trip and the different perspectives

684.  Hiking on field trip

685.  Rock collections

686.  Encouraging notes for Princess daughter from a friend

687.  Boys playing Legos

Photo by Janet Gordon on Facebook

His awesome power reveals His goodness in great blessings... 

688.  Safety on rain slick roads

689.  Protection for all those on shift with Precious husband during this incident

690.  Protection for the family who suffered this loss

Father God - Thank you!





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Uh-oh - my days are really off this week.  So I will be thankful today with my accidental post on Wednesday.

Mystery Revealed

When I was a kid I loved to get invisible ink books for a gift!  I would rush through the pages to scribble over the picture or reveal the answer.  Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys were my favorite types of literature - mystery books.  Who am I kidding, I still love these things!

Perhaps that is why I have pondered Colossians 1 for so long.  There is mystery and invisible images unleashed in the words Paul penned.

“He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”  Colossians 1:15

Jesus, the image of an invisible God.  When Christ came to earth God’s mysterious plan to reconcile His enemies was revealed.  Through Christ’s blood, the magic pen so to speak, the invisible God became visible. 

“Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”  John 12:44-46

I look to Jesus to reveal God.  When I look I see…

The Seeker…

               The Healer…

                           The Savior…

                                    The Hope of Glory…

                                                       The Mystery of God.

A Circle of Life Kind of Thing…

Claire Burge caught me with this line…“Life is a pilgrimage with sacred value and photography helps us to freeze frame the significant landmarks along the way.” 
I love taking pictures and have been doing so since I was a teenager.  I have scrapbooks, boxes, and even my computer, loaded with pictures (along with the box of journals).  These frozen moments can carry me back in time and pull up those memories and feelings.
Claire further issues this challenge…”Reflect on the landmarks of your life. Then pick up your camera and capture a moment that signifies where you are on your personal pilgrimage right now.” 
Immediately a recent photo came to my mind.  Our eldest – darling daughter – has hit several milestones this year.  On her recent birthday she turned 21.  She and dear-son-in-love have been married two years.  Most significant, earlier this year we found out they are expecting the first grandchild.  Their first child and first grandchild since she and dear son-in-love are both first born children.  
Landmarks, significant events in our lives or conspicuous objects that serve as a guide.   The heart of pregnancy blooms and develops like part of my “personal pilgrimage right now.”  This part of the journey is infused with great importance or potential, like there are momentous moments on the horizon.  
Perhaps it is just the new life growing inside my child or hearing the heartbeat of the next generation, but this part of the pilgrimage feels like so much more.  Life seems pregnant with possibilities.

Scripture Only Sunday

 “So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I, Paul, work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.”  Colossians 1:28-29 NLT

Saturday Sketches

(Photograph by Kristi Speed – Thanks friend!)

Thankful Thursday

Weeks roll by and some can be a blur.  So my last week has been.  Yet even when I feel like there is a fog I stop and count the blessings.   In the midst of my cloudy days there is grace and glory from the Lord’s hand.
Father –  You are the one who guides, you alone are the one who blesses and this child is grateful!  Thank you for…
671.  Amazing quick call in to pharmacy from my doctor.  I called the doctor at 9:02 a.m. and was walking out the pharmacy door at 9:50.  Father, I’m really grateful! 
672.  Getting to hug the girl turned woman who would babysit four of our young children about 11 years ago.  She is expecting her third child and has a little one old enough to school.
673.  An aunt who took the time to bring these
674.  The deliciousness that came from them…dried apples and applesauce 
675.  Helpful son bought a box of peaches we took half and made some peach jam
676.  Something new to me, fig preserves
677.  Rain
678.  Starting the final painting in a series of six – painting our children
679.  Strawberry and Feta salad with Greek Vinaigrette dressing – Yummy!
680.  Birthday for our darling daughter – Happy Birthday!!





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Check out Ann’s blog anytime to be blessed, but especially on Monday’s to have your heart refreshed through the sharing of community giving thanks to God for his new mercies every day. To check out what the Gratitude Community is all about click the link below.

He Whispers…We Listen

We decided Tuesday would be our library day.  Last week they excitedly moved to the children’s section while Gold-hearted mom and I browsed the adult area.  We each left with arms laden. 

Over the week I have completed the two fiction books I checked out.  This morning I began the non-fiction.  A book I chose simply because I like the author and had not read this particular work.  His words in the past have ministered deeply to my spirit and soul.

I sat down at the usual place with the usual items:  Bible, I-pod, journal, coffee to begin and the non-fiction for after.  I began reading how Jesus was taken up before the disciples eyes and a cloud hid him from their sight.  From there I thought of this verse…

“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them…”  Exodus 13:21a

I open the non-fiction, read through the introduction and then hit “prelude – learning to hear the voice of God.”  In that moment the one who guides whispers, “This is for Princess daughter, share it with her.” Full stop because He has my total attention.  I turned to the back cover of the book and am blown away at God’s timing.

“So begins a remarkable narrative of one man’s journey learning to hear the voice of God.  The details are intimate and personal.  The invitation is for us all.  What if we could hear from God…often?  What difference would it make?”  John Eldredge Walking with God

She smiles big and eyes twinkle as we read.  I sense the cloud of His presence guiding.  Hearing His voice makes a difference.  Our faith grows.  We both listen closely. 

Childlike Faith

She stretches growing limbs across our bed.  I sit in the seat  where heaven and I meet.  “Mom,” she starts, “I can’t hear God.”  Our eyes meet across the space between bed and chair. 

“Really,” I respond, “Sometimes I feel I hear Him everywhere.”  She asks me how.  I stop and choose words carefully.  “Listen Princess, close your eyes.  Hear your breath as you exhale?  Can you hear the birds singing outside?”  We both linger in the moment. 

“Mom, I can’t hear God, but I believe He is.”

The faith in that simple statement quiets this mother heart.  Her faith is big.  She believes without hearing.  And I think that actually she may hear better than she knows.  I think the following applies:

“You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.”  1 Peter 1:8

Scripture Only Sunday

But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.  Colossians 1:23 NLT

This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.  Colossians 1:26-27 NLT

Saturday Sketches

The “Stain of His Glory”

God named the year, Grace and Glory, and I wait to see how He will reveal Himself.  The days of grace flow by, because grace comes first and is always available.  At the beginning of the year I opened a book, Glory Revealed by David Nassar. 
“If we constantly live with an attitude of thankfulness, no matter the situation, we’ll already be trained to give him glory in the really big things…the stain of his glory in our hearts will trickle back down into our lives the next time we’re in front of a Red Sea that hasn’t parted yet.”  David Nassar
I have pondered a phrase from that chapter all year - “the stain of His glory”.  Sunday during the flow of worship these words opened up the phrase for me…
“Jesus paid it all,
            all to him I owe,
                  sin had left a crimson stain
                            he washed it white as snow.”
Where before Christ this lost lamb was stained with sin, now, by His grace, I have been washed. The stain of His glory was victorious in cleansing me from sin.  The stain of His glory continues to be victorious in that it clothes me with righteousness.  Not my own, but the gift of His righteousness.  The stain of His glory will carry me into eternity.  
So as I take the bread he fills me with the stain of his  glory…

“By God's will we have been sanctified once and for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, the Messiah.”  Hebrews 10:10

As I drink the wine he applies the stain of his glory…

“Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he went into the Holy of Holies once for all and secured our eternal redemption.”  Hebrews 9:12

Jesus grace overwhelms me as for eternity He has left me stained with His glory.

Thankful Thursday

 “I am thankful for small mercies.”  

Ralph Waldo Emerson

For small mercies added together equals many blessings from the hand of God.

Father, Your blessings keep adding up and I am thankful for…

661.   Baseball with family & friends on a hot summer evening  662.  Fireworks after the game  663.  A quiet meal out on a Sunday afternoon

 

664.  Visiting with lifetime friends in their beautiful backyard while children enjoy their pool  (we went to school with their children)665.  Birthday dinner celebrations for friends

666.  Girlfriend laughter

667.  A box of peaches 

668.  An old photo found of the church where I was baptized 

669.  New haircut, that I actually like

670.  Francine Rivers fiction – Sons of Encouragement

“The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.”  Psalm 145:9

And I Pray

I sit here at the dining room table surrounded by two youngest and stacks of school books.  My Bible and my laptop are before me as I re-read Colossians 1.  I have been stuck here for weeks.   So…

Dear Reader,  

Today I pray for you as Paul prayed for the church at Colosse.

I thank God for you -

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.  Colossians 1:3-6

I ask God to fill you -

asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.  Colossians 1:9b

To strengthen you and give you endurance -

being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  Colossians 1:11-12

I give thanks that he has rescued, redeemed and forgiven us -

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  Colossians 1:13-14

Those of you who are treasured travelers here at this blog I have called your name before the Father.  I have read your words of faith in Christ.  They have encouraged and inspired me.

Today I am thanking God for you all.  Asking the Father to grow the gospel of Christ in each of you that you may bear fruit bringing glory to the Father.

                                     In Christ,

                                       Mom2Six

Scripture Only Sunday

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—”

          Colossians 1:21-22