Faith, like a coat.

When chilled by my life’s trials, I reach for my coat. I trust it to keep me warm, confident, at peace.

Wearing my faith, like a coat, banishes all anxious thoughts. It calms all fear. Right?

Right??

So I don this coat of faith and I stroll to the mirror of life’s experiences. I take a good long look. My reflection, still anxious, still fearful, ignores my coat.

Give it a minute, we’ll warm up here soon enough.

I can’t get warm enough to stop being anxious.

Confused and distressed I quickly take it off. Am I missing something? I turn it over in my hands. Do I have the right one? I check the labels. Is this a counterfeit? I check the wear instructions tag.

I put it on again.

Not so quick to approach the mirror, I look.

Why can’t I get warm?

Some Years Don’t Start As Expected

Some years don’t start as expected.

I am beaten. Lost on all fronts. Cut adrift, aimless, floating on the ocean of what could have been. Regret, this flotsam I cling too, my only companion.

“Are you proud of me?” reverberates through this self-imposed silence. Amplified by my constant failure, this deepest hearts cry, this droning wail, overpowers the meager fragments of hope, scattering any lingering peace, building embattlements against my soul, leaving joy a casualty.

Should I let go? Is there release in letting go? Will being swallowed by grief bring comfort?

I fear I can not do this. I fear it is not within me to complete the work that was begun. I constantly look for confirmation that I still carry Your gift, living in the valley of the shadow of “I’m sorry, you have disqualified yourself.”

It comes in a whisper. I hear Him if I listen.

My son, it’s not about you. It’s about what I have done. Even on this sea of regret, I hold you in my hand. You are never away from me. I use these things for my glory. My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways. My glory will be seen. Ride through. Choose to know that I have the impossible under control. If in this chaos you lose your life, you will find it.

Wisdom is a person. Comfort is a person. Relief is a person. Joy is a person. I look for You. Living with my own choices, I look for You. In the middle of my defeat, I look for You.

I wait. I wait for you.

Easter Vacated

He left the Father’s presence, vacated if you will, to be with us, to share holiness with our common lives. I’m sure His Father anticipated the moment when He and His son would be reunited.

He left the grave’s presence, vacated if you will, to intercede for us, to lead us in procession back to the Father. I’m sure the Father anticipates our moment of being reunited with Him.

He left earth’s presence, our presence, vacated if you will, to build a place for us so that we can, in the end, be reunited with Him and with the Father. I’m sure the Father eagerly anticipates the moment when He will say, “It’s time!”

Since all has been vacated, I choose to celebrate my Father’s anticipation.

Emanuel, it is finished, He’s returning, it is time. 

Maranatha!

Percie Finds A Pet

It would seem that Percie has acquired a new friend. Names?

In His Image

Keeping my eyes on Jesus, the originator and perfecter of my faith.

What’s in a name?

Still looking for a proper name for him.

Is There An End To God?

Will I ever know everything there is to know about God?

Can I know all there is know about my creator?

Is there an end of understanding the one by and for and through all things exist?

 

What would happen if I acquired the last piece of truth about Him?

What if I came to the end of everything there is to know?

 

What happens if my relationship with Him became completely full?

What if I heard Him say, “I have nothing else to give you, you have it all?”

 

Is it possible to consume all of Him?

Is there a point where He is all used up?

 

Is there an end to God?

How would that change my relationship?

 

If there is no end to God, how does that change my relationship?

 

Why do we live like there is an end to God?

 

A Picture of the Modern Church Organization.

Life Orbits This Scar

Life orbits this scar; self inflicted, etched by my own hand, the consequence of my choice.

 

This monument of torn flesh, revealed when the dust settles and completed after all is said and done, the tangible reminder that I’m not who I want to be.

 

I can remedy this scar as well as I can recover a lost moment or turn a gray hair dark again.

 

Living with this frantic desire to hide it and this overwhelming need to reveal it, it fights for possession of my heart, assails my spirit, binds my soul in chains.

 

This scar. My Scar. A defining mark. The lasting reminder.

 

He placed His scarred hand over this scar, my scar, this monument to who I have become.

 

His scar swathes my own.

 

Life orbits his scar, this chosen exchange, etched by my own hand, the consequences of my choice.

 

This monument to his torn flesh, revealed the third day, after the dust settled, completed by the words “it is finished”, the tangible reminder that because He is, I am.

 

His scar is redemption, making all things new.

 

Living with a quite desire for deeper intimacy and an overwhelming need to share love, my heart is free, my spirit at peace, my soul, unbound.

 

This scar. His scar. The defining mark. An everlasting reminder.

 

What Is Truth?

What is truth?

A commodity to be acquired? Brokered? Bought and sold?

A weapon? Brandished at my enemy? Mastered to win arguments? Twisted for my own end?

What is truth?

A religion? Honored above all? Worshipped? Adored? Venerated?

The ultimate prize? A worthy pursuit? Eternal? Answering all questions? 

Is it feasible? Always available? Affected by perception? Modified by additional information? 

What is truth?

Who protects it? Where is its repository? Who owns the access codes?

What is truth?

Is it expressed in the reality of an eternal being? A person?

A relationship?

What is truth? 

Your truth? 

I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true. – Jesus

 What is truth? – Pilate