Aurora Borealis

Solar flares leap forth

stirring the skies to dance and play

in colorful display.

Jesus, You are Light

awakening our hearts to joy

in every new employ.

~ae

Jesus felt a love for him...

   “As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ 

   “And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good?  No one is good except God alone.  You know the commandments, Do Not Murder, Do Not Commit Adultery, Do Not Steal, Do Not Bear False Witness, Do Not Defraud, Honor Your Father and Mother.’ 

   “And he said to Him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.’ 

   “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, ‘One thing you lack:  go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ 

   “But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.”

~Mark 10:17-22

What did you feel when you read this story?

Sad?

…because the man walked away in low spirits?

Annoyed? 

…because it shouldn't be that hard to give stuff up?

Outraged? 

…because mega-property holders shouldn’t be so tightfisted?

Confused? 

…because the concept of doing good is unclear?

Curious? 

…because of Jesus’ response?

Jesus’ reply to this man’s eager question was fourfold:

1.     He asked a question about Himself.

2.     He clarified with a statement which identified Himself as God.

3.     He correctly defined the term ‘good’ from God’s perspective.

4.     He validated God’s commandments.

The man was sincere, consistent in his actions of obedience to the law. 

A loose interpretation may present the man’s question as follows: 

‘O.k. Lord, I checked all the boxes. 

So far, so good. 

Now, what do I do next to accomplish the goal?’

Eager?  Yes. 

Sincere?  Yes. 

Obedient?  Yes. 

Desire to do good for Jesus?  Yes. 

So what went wrong?

The man’s external conformity to the law collided head on with his need for inner obedience to the Person of Jesus, which can only be satisfied by God’s undeserved gift of mercy and grace.

Did Jesus scold Him?  No.

Did He shame him by exposing his failure to understand?  No.

Did Jesus command everyone to give up all of their possessions?  No.

Does self-denial earn heavenly treasure?  No.

“Jesus felt a love for him”

… and in this genuinely tender expression of love, Jesus touched upon one hindrance, one cause of division, one obstacle that kept the man from placing his trust in Him.

His instructions to the man were simple: 

The command to “Go”; obedience to act, with a promise of reward,

and

the command to “Come, follow Me”; obedience of relationship with Him.

Jesus discussed this concept with His disciples at great length, telling them just how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God… like a camel going through the eye of a needle.  It was a very disheartening conversation, indeed.  Jesus was basically telling them, ‘You can’t do it.  It’s impossible.’

So there they were, between a rock and a hard place, with no end in sight… they hit a wall.  They had heard the conversation between the rich man and Jesus, yet they were amazed, they were astonished, they were at a loss of understanding for what to do next… just like the rich man. 

How did they feel?  …sad?  …annoyed?  …outraged?  …confused?  …curious?

In desperation, they cried,

“Then who CAN be saved?”

“Looking at them, Jesus said,

‘With people it is impossible, but not with God;

for all things are possible with God.”

~Mark 10:27

Jesus felt a love for them.

Jesus feels a love for me.

Blank Pages ... in anticipation of being married for 50 years

Fifty years yielding

to our precious Savior,

we savor His flavor,

forever in view.

                Setting the stage

                for more years to unfold,

                love more treasured than gold

                and His mercies anew.

Books filled with pages,

each book overflowing,

each paragraph showing

great things He has done.

                Yet blank pages linger

                and thus will remain

                unwritten and plain

                ‘til new days are begun.

Blank pages bursting     

with intrigue and mystery

of all that makes history

yet to be penned.

                Bare pages anxious

                for thrilling occurrence

                with joyful assurance

                fresh ink will commend.

Fresh pages aching

to tell of His glory

in every new story

that steps into shoes.

                Clear pages flowing

                in ceaseless unveiling

                of days never failing

                to bear the Good News.

~ae

"Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ,

if there is any consolation of love,

if there is any fellowship of the Spirit,

if any affection and compassion,

make my joy complete by being of the same mind,

maintaining the same love,

united in spirit,

intent on one purpose."

~ Philippians 2:1,2

Bounded Creativity

“There is a beauty to grammar I am beginning to appreciate. As with writing haikus, baking, and solving mathematical proofs, I like the bounded creativity of being able to build something beautiful based on the character your ingredients already poses. It's all about getting into such a personal relationship with your medium that you understand how it must behave.”  ~Kate Buccigross

*     *     *     *     *

“Wet’s cowoh!” said my 2 year old granddaughter

sitting at the dining room table.

Who could resist such an invitation?

Prepared with a seemingly limitless array of crayons at our fingertips,

we began turning the pages of the coloring book.

What was she looking for?

…a page not yet colored?  …a favorite animal?

…a picture within the range of her artistic mood?

Maybe it was the simple act of turning pages that tickled her fancy.

Eventually, we settled on a picture and began to work.

We discussed the names of the colors,

how pretty our picture was becoming,

how much fun it was to color together.

My granddaughter methodically scrawled this color and that

over portions of the page with large sweeping motions.

There was no heed to lines, no purposeful placement of color,

no thought to contrast nor any consideration of the color wheel,

no attention to varied direction of strokes,

no attempt to emulate any likeness to realism,

no intentional shading or boldness for lifelike enhancement…

…and, of course,

 I had no expectation of her having such skills.

At 2 years old,

she has mastered not eating the crayons,

and is not only rapidly become proficient at gripping them,

but mostly colors on the page

with minimal marks on the table and other surrounding items

like the walls, window, and salt shaker.

As she grows in ability and understanding,

she will learn and experience freedom of expression and originality

within the bounded creativity of ever-increasing limitations.

Definition defines freedom.

Limitation is limitless.

Restriction refines.

Yet each defining, limiting, restricting factor

does not, in and of itself, establish purpose or goodness.

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free;

therefore keep standing firm

and do not be subject again

to a yoke of slavery.”

~Galatians 5:1

The yoke itself is extremely confining,

appearing to eliminate all liberty of movement or choice.

In reality, it is the One who shares the yoke

that is the source of challenges, benefits

focus, guidance, pacing, and confidence

toward the task at hand.

Functioning within the limitations of obedience

allows us to join the Master in His work as it is accomplished.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heaven-laden,

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 soul. 

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” 

~Matthew 11:28-30

Freedom is found not in the removal of a yoke,

rather in the exchange of an unsuitable yoke partner

for the One whose sufficiency is unsurpassed.

Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe

Hardware stores are curious places.

2x4s are actually 1 ½" X 3 ½".

A nail's measurement, or penny, refers to the price per 100
in 15th century England;
although nails are still measured by the penny,

they cost a lot more.

Cans of magnetic spray paint don’t cling to each other,

or to the shelf,

or to anything else metallic.

It is important to allow OSB boards to gas off,

but not propane refills.

Hardware stores contain many items which sport unnecessary letters;

joist, truss, auger, wrench, duct, caulk;

apparently they’re more impressive that way.

Pex are flexible

but elbows are not.

Bolts and screws only function properly

with nuts of exactly the same thread,

which never match with any of the ones

stored in numerous peanut cans in the garage.

Lightweight compound is very heavy

and heavy duty spackle is lightweight.

The marketing on power tool boxes have more to do with

the power one feels when operating the tool

than the fact that it must be plugged in.

But the foremost curiosity for me

is the tender warmth of emotion I feel

each time I step foot into a hardware store.

When I was a little girl,

my dad insisted that I go with him to buy lumber

and various other items on the list

which he always recorded on a tiny note pad in his shirt pocket.

I complained that it was boring;

there were no toys or other kids there, just plain old tools.

Sometimes we rode in his big, green dump truck

and I got to sit in the middle of the seat over the drive shaft hump.

As the truck bounced along over rough roads,

my head would bump against the hard metal roof of the cab.

When we arrived, the man at the hardware store would pat my curly, blonde head

as he muttered a gruff but awkwardly tender greeting,

then wink and slip me a nickel for the gumball machine.

Dad and the hardware store man would always talk for a long time

about tools and parts, weather and years gone by,

politics and elections, inflation and used truck trade-in prices.

On the bumpy ride home again, Dad let me count the nuts and bolts he bought.

We would talk about bicycles and rain storms,

knock-knock jokes and kids at school,

Bible stories and memory verses.

Dad has been gone for four months, now,

and I find myself longing for

just one more trip to the hardware store with him.

“Papa, can we go to the hardware store?”

“Yep.  Put your shoes on and let’s get in the truck.”

“We’ll get popcorn there, right, Papa?”

“Wite, Papa?  Ha-wayh sto?!!”

Hand in hand, my husband heads out the door with our grandchildren.

It warms my heart right down to my toes.

Sweet Aroma

At the birth of each new child,

the parents gaze in wonder at their tiny new infant,

a miraculous expression of their love.

Somehow, this wee babe,

all wrinkled and ruddy and curled up,

lacking muscular control

and with limited ability to focus,

seems to carry a family resemblance.

The parents have been mulling over possible names

for weeks, even months.

Suddenly, the time has come to choose.

Our Family…

A Rock  /  A Substitute

A Pledge  /  Joyous

A Substitute  /  Who is Like God

House of Mercy  /  Gift of God’s Favor

God of Salvation  /  Servant

Faithful, Trust  /  Mercy

Valiant Protector  /  A Substitute

A Substitute  /  A Rock

Wealthy One  /  Bright

Rich and Powerful Ruler  /  Little One

Divine, Perfect  /  Heavenly Star

Graceful, A Blessing  /  Music from Heaven

Who is Like God  /  Beloved

The meanings of our names were established

long before we were born.

How is it that the nuances of each description

are demonstrated in the person who bears that name?

God recognizes the power of a name,

for as He lives in and through His children,

His presence pervades every corner of our being.

What’s in a name? … He is.

 “Thanks be to God,

who always leads us in triumph in Christ,

and manifests through us the sweet aroma

of the knowledge of Him

in every place.”

~II Corinthians 2:14

An Extra Hour

The lady on the radio said

to set the clock back

tomorrow…

one hour.

Oh, what to do with an extra hour!

work on a project?

play a game?

sleep?

An hour of time is precious.

How is the best way

to spend this gift

to obtain

the most

value?

 “Sow with a view to righteousness,

reap in accordance with kindness;

break up your fallow ground,

for it is

time to seek the Lord

until He comes to rain righteousness on you.”

~Hosea 10:12

What? Where? Why? How? Who? What?

What?

“Praise the Lord!”

Where?

“Praise God in His sanctuary;

Praise Him in His mighty expanse.”

Why?

Praise Him for His mighty deeds;

Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.”

How?

“Praise Him with trumpet sound;

Praise Him with harp and lyre.

Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;

Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.

Praise Him with loud cymbals;

Praise Him with resounding cymbals.”

Who?

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

What?

“Praise the Lord!”

~Psalm 150                                                                  

Laughter

There is nothing quite like

laughter with old friends,

comfortable, easy laughter,

a natural extension of longtime friendship…

..a friendship

tested by trials,

established through tears,

enabled by encouragement,

secured in trustworthiness,

…a friendship

sharing likeminded direction,

rejoicing in a common hope,

investing in prayer,

praying in faith,

dependent in forgiveness,

believing in Love.

“Beloved, let us love one another,

For love is of God…”

~I John 4:7

Expectancy-Turned-Reality

Approaching the railroad tracks each day,

my head turns, looking right then left.

Yes, my eyes always check for permission to cross over

and continue on my way,

but my heart forever yearns, with childlike anticipation,

to wait for the train.

Silly, I guess.

Even childish, I suppose.

Yet I unashamedly admit it;

the delightful anticipation

of driving up to the tracks

at the very moment that the train

chugs its way across my path in all its glorious enormity

makes my insides flutter with excitement.

Well, it happened!

Yesterday…… TWICE!!!

I could hardly contain myself.

I threw my head back and laughed out loud.

Turning my truck off

and rolling all of the windows down to get the full effect,

I sat in wide-eyed amazement

as the larger-than-life locomotive

rumbled and screeched and clickity-clicked its way along the track,

just like in the storybooks

but a hundred times more impressive.

All too soon, 

the last car passed by taking with it the echoing sounds

of expectancy-turned-reality.

The freedom to continue on my way

was now wholly encompassed

within the delicious anticipation of another train

yet to come.

~ae

“Make me know Your ways, O Lord,

teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

for You are the God of my salvation;

for You I wait all the day.”

~Psalm 25:4,5

Overwhelmed

Absurd...

that someone could actually

forget one's own birthday

or fail to remember the anniversary

of the death of one's child.

I did.

I was completely and entirely
overwhelmed...

...once by unspeakable joy

...once by unbearable sorrow.

Just days after the birth

of our first child,

my mother-in-law presented

a bouquet of flowers

and a small gift tied with a pink bow...

... not for our baby girl...

... for me! 

It was my birthday.

I could not have been more surprised!

"So Peter was kept in the prison,

but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God...

And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared...

and his chains fell off his hands...

"When he knocked at the door of the gate,

a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 

When she recognized Peter's voice,

because of her great joy she did not open the gate,

but ran in and announced

that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 

They said to her, 'You are out of your mind!'" 

~Acts 12:5-15

After a week

of vigilance day and night

by my Dad's bedside,

my body went through the motions

of traveling homeward

while my heart remained there with him.

He breathed his last...

... on the very same day,

only six years ago,

that our baby boy's heart

stopped...

...an entire week went by

before I recalled

that tender memory.

"Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come

for you to be scattered, each to his own home,

and to leave Me alone;

and yet I am not alone,

because the Father is with Me. 

"These things I have spoken to you,

so that in Me

you may [be overwhelmed by] peace. 

"In the world

you have tribulation,

but take courage;

I have overcome the world." 

~John 16:32,33

"When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,

You knew my path." ~Psalm 142:3

"Now to Him

who is able to keep you from stumbling,

and to make you stand

in the presence of His glory

blameless with great joy."

~Jude vs.24

Sustained

I needed to think beyond my sorrow.
I needed to feel God's comfort.
I needed to be still and worship Him.

Sitting down to the piano
I played several songs
ending with
Great is Thy Faithfulness.

Then without forethought,
I held the sustain pedal with the last chord
and closed the wooden cover over the keyboard.

...and there I sat.

Although I could no longer play
or even see the piano keys,
the sweetness of the melody
lingered within those final notes
as they slowly faded
until my ears
could no longer perceive the tones.

Tomorrow I will be traveling
quite possibly to say good-bye
to my Dad.

The sweetness of God's great faithfulness
is sustained
within Dad's frail body
and confused mind,
for it was refreshed and nourished daily
with God's Word
for as long as I can remember.

"When I came to you, brothers,

I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom

as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you

except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

"I came to you in weakness and fear,

and with much trembling.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,

but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,

so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom,

but on God's power.

"We do, however, speak a message

of wisdom among the mature,

but not the wisdom of this age or with the rulers of this age,

who are coming to nothing.

No, we speak of God's secret wisdom,

a wisdom that has been hidden

and that God destined for our glory before time began.

"None of the rulers of this age understood it,

for it they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

However, as it is written:

'No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

no mind has conceived

what God has prepared for those who love Him,'

but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.

"The Spirit searches all things,

even the deep things of God.

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man

except the man's spirit within him?"

~I Corinthians 2:1-11

Storybook Children

Storybook children

run to see Jesus.

Storybook children are happy,

well behaved,

neatly dressed children.

The littlest ones on His lap sit still

while others stand at His side

or sit on green grass near His feet.

They all smile nicely.

But what about the children

who are too wiggly to sit still,

or forget to stay out of the mud,

or have green, runny noses,

or disrupt others,

or whine, or cry,

or are over-stimulated or tired?

What about the children

who demand attention,

or are mad, or bad, or sad,

or fight with each other

about who gets to sit on Jesus' lap first?

And what about the children

who are too little,

or are unable to walk,

or have physical or mental impediments?

What about the children

who have experienced abuse,

or rejection,

or oppression

or fear

or lack protection or provision or resources?

Which of these children
were more likely the ones
who were brought to Jesus
for his touch?

...the storybook children
who had their act together,
who were careful to not reveal any blemish,
who were self-sufficient?

...or the children
who were unable to function independently,
who were incapable of either faith or willful unbelief,
whose need for God's merciful touch
stemmed from His sovereignty
because God, in His grace, chose to redeem them?

"And they were bringing children to Him

that He might touch them,

and the disciples rebuked them.

"But when Jesus saw it,

He was indignant

and said to them,

"'Let the children come to me;

do not hinder them,

for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

Truly, I say to you,

whoever does not receive the kingdom of God

like a child

shall not enter it.'

"And He took them in His arms

and blessed them,

laying His hands on them."

~Mark 10:13-16

The Good Wine

There was a wedding in Cana…

a really big wedding.

Several large waterpots were needed

to fulfill the Jewish ceremony of purification;

“Now there were six stone waterpots set there

for the Jewish custom of purification,

containing twenty or thirty gallons each.”

~John 2:6

Let’s see…

That would be about 120 to 180 gallons.

Water was to be poured over the hands

of each person present at the celebration

signifying cleansing

from defilement encountered throughout daily life.

“Jesus said to them (the servants),

‘Fill the waterpots with water.’ 

So they filled them up to the brim.” 

~John 2:7

…and He turned the water,

all 180 gallons of it,

into wine.

Mary and the servants were the only ones

who were aware of this miraculous transformation.

Why did Jesus change the water into wine?

When the original supply of wine ran out,

Jesus’ mother brought it to His attention.

After all, it was of the utmost importance

to protect the host of the wedding

from embarrassment.

But why would Jesus think

that they would need

180 gallons of wine?

Isn’t that a bit excessive

even for a big wedding?

“And Jesus said to her,

“Woman, what does that have to do with us?

My hour has not yet come.’”

~John 2:4

Could it be that the miracle had

nothing

to do with honoring the host?

...or compensating for a failed family obligation?

…or stepping in to help someone save face?

…or meeting a social obligation?

…or valuing the expectation of celebration merriment?

…or even thinking that people would become thirsty?

Could it be that the miracle had

everything

to do with cleansing?

The headwaiter,

perhaps without even realizing

the significance of his words,

acknowledged the truth

which was displayed

in the fruition of this miracle…

“…Every man serves the good wine first,

And when the people have drunk freely,

Then he serves the poorer wine;

But you have kept the good wine until now.”

~John 2:10

The good wine replaced the water

intended to demonstrate our purification,

our cleansing,

our decontamination,

our refinement

through His blood that would,

in three short years,

be shed on the cross.

The Good Wine…

filling every empty vessel

to the brim

with exceedingly more than enough

for all who are thirsty.

The Good Wine…

the extraordinary provision

enabling us to join in the magnificent wedding celebration

as the Lord of Glory comes for His bride.

“This beginning of His signs

Jesus did in Cana of Galilee,

and manifested His glory,

and His disciples believed in Him.” 

~John 2:11

“In the same way (giving thanks)

He took the cup after supper, saying,

‘This cup

is the new covenant in My blood;

do this,

as often as you drink it,

in remembrance of Me.’” 

~I Corinthians 11:25