Stream of Conciousness

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The Writing of My Heart

So, I was going to write about Twitter and how you choose the people who you allow to influence your day...and then that idea fizzled.

...Then I thought I would write about scripture.

Did you know that David, after pretending to be crazy, went to the Moab King and asked if his parents could stay there?
Then I thought of Proverbs 16. I read it through, many of the verses speaking to me...

"To man belong the plans of the hear, but from the lord comes the reply of the tongue."
"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
"Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud."
"The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction."
"Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city."

This too fell away...what more could I add?

Then I thought I would repost some profound writing I did in the past (haha), but I thought better of it and here I am.

Some days, I guess, writing nothing at all is, in fact, the writing of my heart.
Peace and Blessings to your day!
~mp:)

Sinusitis - Deja vu

Just taking a break from my day to write about the hornet's nest buzzing in my skull...

I have had sinusitis for over a year now, my sinuses are right plugged...which would explain quite a few things...I wonder if the blonde moments are because of the stuffed sinuses exerting pressure...might happen... Anyhow, I am on antibiotics right now and I swear the little antibiotic soldiers fighting the nasty bacteria guerrillas are engaged in full, all out, bouncin'-off-my-brain war! ...In... my... skull!! ...It is not pleasant!

See...here's a snapshot of the buggers...

Things should be taken care of in no time at all! In the meantime, I need a nap...

Your Deepest, Darkest Secrets...

Last week, I was with a client for coffee. We were having a great time discussing this, that, and the other thing. But two things happened when he spoke with me. First, he interrupted our stream of conversation to apologize for something that he felt convicted to address. This was not a problem by any means. It was a little surprising perhaps because I didn't give the offense much thought, but it did weigh on his heart and I forgave him all the same. The other thing that emerged was his deep concern that I would not like him, that I would reject him because of his past. You see, right now, some of the people I work with are part of the disenfranchised population; those may include men coming out of the penal system, drug addicts, those with mental health problems...you know, those who the church is suppose to reach out to, but instead (and unfortunately), the church runs screaming the other way, or rather, tiptoes as quietly as possible back to the comfort and "security" of their pew so as not to alert the disenfranchised that they had even seen them.*

I work mainly with men. And some of the crimes these men have committed are more than many people would care to deal with, understandably so. The crime this man had committed had completely destroyed his known world, leaving him all alone, except for the transition network of support in place to help him and keep him accountable while reintegrating into society. This man was absolutely broken to think that I would reject him because of his past. It is a heavy burden that he carries with him. My heart broke for him.

Perhaps you can relate. How many times have you engaged in a relationship where you were elated to know a person - you have fun together or you have a deep respect for the person, but the deeper into the relationship you go, the more guarded you become. Perhaps you begin to distance yourself from that person because you are afraid that if they find out about some dark deed of your past and they will reject you because of it. You would rather sabotage the relationship yourself than expose your past, potentially leaving you vulnerable and rejected...or so you assume. Ironically, it is your past that has been a part of shaping the person who you are today. We all make mistakes, wrong choices, and act foolishly, but as a part of growing and maturing, we learn from our errors. This is not to say that the hurt caused as of a consequence of these errors is to be overlooked. It is the fact that we all do this at some point in our relationships...hide the past, tuck that life and person away never to be found by anybody on this planet...







Your deepest, darkest secrets hidden away forever...

God was there though. He was watching you while you engaged in whatever act you engaged in. He didn't close His eyes and turn His head, He didn't walk the other way in disgust, He may have tried to get your attention and prevent you from continuing, but you didn't listen, perhaps you didn't want to listen...He was there though. He watched your every move, He heard your heart, He knew your thoughts...He was there.


Yet, God still calls out to you with love.

Yes, He was there, but He still wants to have a relationship with you. He longs for you to turn to Him, not sabotage the relationship by making excuses and turning away from Him. He wants you to come to Him just as you are and together with Him, you can be forgiven, healed, and set free from your past. It is between you and Him.

And though getting to know God usually involves Him sending people into your life to help you...such as Pastors, neighbours, friends, counsellors, strangers...(God does work in mysterious ways at times.) He will not give up in pursuing you. He is relentless in drawing you closer to Him, to know Him, to know forgiveness, to know freedom, to know love...His unconditional love.

And we, as the Body of Christ, are called to reach out to the disenfranchised, along with everybody else, with the Love of Jesus. We are not called to judge, He is the judge, we are called to love. I take this seriously. The wrongs that we commit will be judged by God, make no mistake. Yet, when I come across another whose heart is broken and repentant for the sins of their past, who am I to continue to treat them with contempt and condemnation? My personal mission in life is to walk with God, to encourage others, and to glorify God...and the only way I can do that is to do as Jesus did. What about you?

*I fully recognize that there are some churches that do reach out without apology, unfortunately there are some that don't...pray that they would reach out with the Love and Truth of Christ Jesus.
Repost

Awesome Thunder

At 1:23 a.m. the storm began. The lightening was brilliant white, the thunder violently loud. I lost my breath just before one lightening bolt struck nearby. My whole body jumped involuntarily away from the source as if I were repelled magnetically.

In between the the noise of the thunder, I found myself praying fervently to Jesus. I was reminded of how powerless and small I am in comparison to the power that God could unleash in this world. I thought of the scripture that speaks of how the throne of God is surrounded in clouds, lightening and thunder...

Last night was a very humbling experience. It was good for me. So often I take for granted that God is my friend, my Saviour, that I tend to forget that He is also my King - Warrior-King, Lord of all, Creator, and Judge. He is the ultimate authority. There is an "essence" of God that is strong, fierce, dangerous, and awesome to behold.

...Last night, I was reminded of this.

1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." 2At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." 9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being."

~Revelation 4

the wind ~ with a twist

I am watching the wind outside my window confidently greet the trees, firmly grasping their limbs in a "hand shake" of universal proportions and I think to myself, as I sit sheltered within my abode, that each house I see outside is like a cell in the body, the organism of earth the body, the wind - oxygen.

Not a new thought, just reacquainting myself with the theory of gaia...with a twist...

The source of life in this world (and beyond), the only source of life, is God - without Him, nothing lives. Not us, not our earth. But God is not solely in creation that we should be obliged to worship creation as some do. For if that were true, we would be obliged to worship one another. This is not the case.In Him, we live and move and have our being. God is not just "in" - He stretches far beyond what our imaginations can conceive...we cannot box him into our little bubble of existence and understanding. We are finite, He is infinite.

~

the wind. it moves gently caressing the world with its touch, when provoked it lashes out the power of destruction. Shall we fear it? Shall we worship it? Shall we chase it? No. in wisdom we learn from it and we give thanks to God for creating it.

Breathe...breathe deep.

Smile

Today my heart longs to be surrounded by smiles more than most other days. It is amazing how a simple smile can influence a person's day. Take time to smile....

God did...

Hope will come...

Some days the wait seems like forever

I don't want to wait

Listening for the voice of God

I strain to hear...something...anything

Nothing

...nothing but the echoes of His words already spoken

{silence}

Hope will come - he is on his way...

One Story of Paul's Experience

Paul stood before the audience and commented, "I have toured your city and I see that you are a very religious people. I even saw an alter to "THE UNKNOWN GOD"...I am going to tell you about this "unknown God." You see, He is the God who made the world and everything in it. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He does not live in temples made by human hands, nor is He served by human hands...as if He needed anything! He is the one that gives all men life and breath and everything else! He is the one that created man and from one man, nations were born. He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would perhaps reach out for Him and find Him - even though He not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. Some of your own poets have said, 'We are His offspring.'

Thus, since we are His offspring, we should not think that His divinity is like gold, silver, or stone - an image made by man. In the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now He is calling us to repent. He has set a day for judgement when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this by raising Him from the dead. (The man raised from the dead is Jesus Christ.)

When the audience heard this, some sneered - especially at the Resurrection of the dead, but some believed. Others wanted to hear more.
~Taken from Acts 17:24-34

Honouring God in What We Say and Do

Honouring God in what we say and do
words and actions gone astray
black and white give in to gray
poverty riches weak strong loveless lovely
The loveless lovely are you and me
the dark day the lightest night
to give to keep to hope to despair
releasing all at all costs
holding on to the eternal reward
not completely understanding what, let alone why
The battle in the mind
the victory in the mind
the present, future, and past, all in the mind
the mind, the heart, and brain enmeshed and dynamic
injury, damage, deliberate and seethingly evil
moving on, overcoming, thinking of you
Thinking of Jesus, of Truth, of Love
Honouring God in all we say and do.

To God be the Glory

On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "this is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. Acts 12:21-23

This is quite a scripture. That God would strike someone down for not giving praise to God is unnerving, I mean, if you apply His response to our world today. How many of us do not give God credit for what He has done for us?

My study notes discuss that pride is what killed Herod...pride...the same thing that overtook Lucifer...pride.

Pride is about the "self"- in this case, having a high opinion of oneself. Herod revelled in the adoration of the people who considered him a god and suffered greatly for it.

So why doesn't God punish us today with such fierce judgement? Especially those of us who know better?

Some might say that because of what Jesus did on the cross, we are spared until judgement day, which I agree with; however, Jesus had come and 'gone' and Herod was certainly witness to that...without being irreverent, I question why God does what He does some days....but then again, who am I to question why God does what He does?

That aside, this scripture should make us think - God is God alone, to be revered and feared. We should give honour and glory to God without shame. He deserves nothing less from us, for it is because of His Love and Mercy that we even exist. To God be the Glory!

Psalm 111:10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.Psalm 111:9-10 (in Context) Psalm 111 (Whole Chapter)

Word of the Day: Sacred

sacred
c.1300, from pp. of obs. verb sacren "to make holy" (c.1225), from O.Fr. sacrer (12c.), from L. sacrare "to make sacred, consecrate," from sacer (gen. sacri) "sacred, dedicated, holy, accursed," from O.L. saceres, which Tucker connects to base *saq- "bind, restrict, enclose, protect," explaining that "words for both 'oath' & 'curse' are regularly words of 'binding.' " But Buck merely groups it with Oscan sakrim, Umbrian sacra and calls it "a distinctive Italic group, without any clear outside connections." Nasalized form is sancire "make sacred, confirm, ratify, ordain." Sacred cow "object of Hindu veneration," is from 1891; fig. sense is first recorded 1910, from Western views of Hinduism. ~Online Etymology Dictionary



1 a: dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity b: devoted exclusively to one service or use (as of a person or purpose)

2 a: worthy of religious veneration : holy b: entitled to reverence and respect

3: of or relating to religion : not secular or profane

4archaic : accursed

5 a: unassailable, inviolable b: highly valued and important

~Merriam-Webster



If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.1 Corinthians 3:16-18 (in Context) 1 Corinthians 3 (Whole Chapter)

What is sacred to you?

Oh I Would

My king where have you gone...
oceans wide, winds strong
cliffs tall, and I long to soar
to you, I would fly, oh would I fly,
straight to you.
I am here.
deep calls to deep, calling me forth,
calling...
a whisper on the wings of the wind, you caress my soul as you speak.
With a soft cry of my heart, I respond,
rescue me my king.

I am Around...

I am around, writing here and there...I pray all is well with you - each one of you. I am contemplating revamping this blog. Keep an eye out for changes. In the meantime, you can find me...if you look for me ;)

Scripture to meditate upon:

Psalm 119:95 The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes. Psalm 119:94-96 (in Context) Psalm 119 (Whole Chapter)