We Can’t, But He Did

Everyone wants a handbook.  I like to-do lists. Everyone has something they want to do better.

So, how do you “be a better person”? A better Christian? Do this life right? Or maybe the question the heart wants to ask is, “When will this life do better by me?”

There are walls of books at the library and bookstores on how to have your best life now, or how to do it right, or what to do. And we tune in on whatever preacher tickles the ears to give us the “you’re not so bad speech” and the “get ready, cause God’s gonna flood you with blessing today.”  But what about those days when curses come? When those slashes of life leave us bleeding and wounded? When time after time we fall and we see that it was our own rusted blunt of a sword that tripped us up?

And I hear it ring in my ears, like the tones after a hearing exam that just won’t go away.   “Just Love God.” “Love. God. More.”

So, HOW do I do just that?  I hear her whisper it, “just thank”; I hear another whisper, “just abide”; and yet another says, “pay adequate attention to Christ” and still another says, “just love”.

I just want to crawl up into His lap and grab the front of His robe and plead, “But HOW?”

And the answer comes as all His answers come…as a question.

What is the chief end of man?

Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

How do we glorify God?

It is no coincidence that the first and greatest commandment is

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matt 22:37-40)

For when we love God completely, His glory is displayed (through our worship, through our service, through our sacrificial love toward each other).

And, how much do I love?

Again, the answer-question.

And the realization of this reciprocal rule, this reciprocal circle, it hits my heart like a gong that rings out His love.

The love of God toward us is so full, so unconditional and so relentless, that He. Sent. Christ.

Because God loves US as He loves His own Son (see John 17:23-24).

Because God, Himself, abides by the first and greatest commandment and the second that is like it.

Because God is God, and Jesus is God, and the Spirit is God, and all 3 are One, and The Father loves The Son, and the Son loves The Father, The Spirit points all to Christ,  and The Father sent. His. Son.

And this whole wild mind boggling cosmic circle of love just explodes radiant piercing the atmosphere of this sin-sick earth, engulfing our forever-promised hearts in its wake.

And the kicker to this whole happy headache?  That Jesus, Himself, expresses personal desire for broken-us to Be. With. Him.  Jesus actually wants us to be with Him, where He is. And He says it, in His own prayer to His Father…

“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; ²⁶ and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”  (John 17:20-26)

And that is IT.

It’s not how can I, how do I…

It is that He IS, and He DID, and so, “it is finished”.

He Loves

He IS Love

He demonstrates that Love

He gives us that Love…

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ~Romans 8:32

Freely.  This love is not and cannot be generated within our selves, no.  It must be given, poured into us so it can flow out.

…because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ~Romans 5:5

So, what is left for me to do to be better? To love more? To get this love?

Ask.

Yes, just ask.

And yet, I fear I’ve only begun to scratch the surface…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How Deep The Father’s Love For Us  ~Stuart Townsend

How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that left Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

The Roller Coaster Ride

I stand in line waiting with all the others. The line moves and the anxiety grows with each step. It’s almost my turn. I hear the screams of sheer fright and pleasure as the roar of the roller coaster rushes by, the on lookers waiting for their chance for thrill. The ups, the downs, the twists and turns, and back to the beginning to start again. Yes—that’s life.

In the last 2 weeks, my own emotions have been locked in this seat of a roller coaster. I’ve climbed in joyful anticipation for the Snow Family finally getting to travel to Ethiopia to bring their new daughters back to their forever home. That same day I coast into sentimental reflection as it marks the birthday of my sweet Diana (friend and mentor) who has already gone home to be with her Lord, as her little namesake is united with her forever family. In this sentimental remembering, I can see Christ that poured out of her life and dug deep into mine and sweet lifelong friendships that resulted from her faithful digging. I then spiral downward to grief and sorrow when I hear a sweet friend is going through a miscarriage. There’s a series of ups and downs as I ride it out with her, yet, my grief is not without hope. I scramble to read a precious book “Safe in the Arms of God”. A comfort, that only The Comforter can give washes over me.

Then, a sharp turn with a jerk into pride and anger over family members choosing to go against God’s Word. That same day, I then climb back up to that happy rejoicing welcoming home the precious Snow Family at the airport on Valentine’s Day. I then come home only to fall to my knees in repentance over my anger and pride. As He picks me up, I watch the news story of the Snow Family unfold, where I get a bird’s eye view, and I can see more clearly now. And I weep. Not in sorrow, but in sweet realization. What an amazing correlation between the adoption of those 3 little girls into the Snow Family and my own adoption into the Kingdom of Heaven.

As we begin the Sunday service this morning, we learn that a dear man, elder, and mentor to many has been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer and will find out the extent of it tomorrow. And the roller coaster slows and levels out over this reality. I love how Byron paints this picture of them and their wives sitting at their table while Bob and Shirley start speaking the gospel to each other, speaking Christ and His promises to each other in the midst of his own terminal diagnosis; and Byron and his wife just sit and listen and watch it all unfold. And it comes full circle. There are mountain top experiences, suffering, loss, poor choices, and terminal diagnoses. But only ONE thing remains. The faithfulness and the unwavering, unconditional love of God and His relentless grace toward us. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

What Happens When…

“The problem is not enough guns are allowed”

No, the problem is not a law or governmental issue, the problem is a heart issue.

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”

“The problem is, we’ve taken Jesus out of our schools”

No, the problem is we’ve taken Jesus out of our HOMES; for if He were ruler of our homes, wouldn’t He be ruler of our schools, our workplace, our gov’t?

Joshua 24:15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

What Happens When…

The boy, he bows his head with folded hands and utters thanks for his taco soup and fruit cup.

He is not escorted out of the lunchroom, but instead, others join him in the eucharist.

The coach, he takes a knee and petitions for safety before the game.

He is not scolded or ridiculed, but the team, they kneel with him and join him in the petition.

The young lady, she writes a cunning essay on reformed theology and its effects on the local assembly.

She is not given a failing grade, but commended for her thoughtful insight.

The Holy Book that sits in plain view on her desk, this teacher reads it silently each morning before class commences.

She is not told to remove The Book and refrain from reading it; she is asked to lead a Bible study that will meet once a week in her classroom.

What happens when all of these things ring true in our education system,

And still, on one crisp December morning, the rapid fire rings out and blood splatters the floor?

What of our solution then? But, we’ve brought Him back, didn’t we?

I suppose you’ve allowed the name of God to be uttered, and penned.

I supposed you’ve shown more tolerance for the Deity, but that didn’t help the cause.

The blood still spills.

The committees gather and booklets handed out

The graphs, the numbers, the big question marks above their heads

New numbers are crunched and regulations are rearranged.

“We will now have morning prayer each day at the flag pole for whomever is interested”

“Science class will now acknowledge creation as a possibility and biblical history will be taught.”

The shots ring out and the blood still spills.

WHAT DOES HE WANT FROM US??? Hearts wrenching sorrow great.

The numbers just don’t add up. What is the problem???

The blood still spills.

The problem is that the story did not end at Genesis 3:6

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

The answer, the solution is not found in the regulations; for there is no new regulation or tolerance that will stop the blood.

Nothing that will cleanse that stained evil from the floors of the schools.

Nothing that will defend against the weapon of pure evil…

No, the solution is not in tolerance or regulations.

The answer is in the blood itself.

Not the blood that painted the school walls,

But the blood that painted the door posts of our hearts.

The solution is Christ and the weapon is HIS shed blood on the Cross.

We can accept God back into our society (and we should).

But until we accept the carnality of our own evil hearts and our need for Christ’s blood to be painted there,

The blood will still spill.

Where is Hope?

And the sun still rises, and the earth still spins, and life still goes on; and it shall, it shall ‘till HE stops it all.

He who calmed the storm with only his hand and his voice,

He who spoke all living, all spinning, all that is into existence,

He who gives and He who takes away.

It is none other than He who holds our days, our hearts, our children, our souls.

Isn’t it only by His Grace that WE are not standing with a gun in our own hands?

For our hearts are quite capable of that same oozing hate, pouring out every orifice,

Spreading like rapid fire into the very ones we may love.

Why do I get to see my children smiling tonight?

Why do I get to hold my dear children in bed tonight?

Isn’t it only by His Grace?

Yes, doesn’t it always come back to Grace?

Why so close to Christmas?

Isn’t it only Christmas that can bring us hope?

Yes, precisely Christmas that IS our hope!

Isn’t it Advent? We are in waiting,

Waiting for our Hope to come.

He is coming! Christmas is coming!

Don’t lose hope, for He is coming!

~~~~~~~~

**posted in response to the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012**

From Healing to Eucharisteo

It has been a while since my last update on the spinal surgery back in June.  It is a continuing journey with ups and downs, but overall, it has not been hard to be thankful.  After all, I am NOT wheelchair bound, and that in itself is gift. I have been covered in prayer and surrounded by the Beautiful Body of Christ. And I have been given many pain free days. How can I not be thankful? …But when life marches on and there are chores and schedules and little ones and work and schooling and little ones … and life, gratitude amongst the pain-free gets lost in the shuffle. And when pain ensues and clouds my vision, gratitude is lost in the fog of my pain.  And life and time march on…

Freezing time is a gift.  My sister-in-law, she possesses this amazing gift, to capture moments through her camera lens that our eyes and hearts miss in the blink of passing time.  She then brings out its beauty to savor forever.  A moment frozen, captured and appreciated when life around moves on. What an amazing gift she has. Through the lens of eucharisteotime freezes, the moment captured and fully appreciated as gift.

That’s the word I’ve been learning, and He has been teaching.  A word that is changing my vision.

One Word. Infinite meaning. Dare I pursue?

Eucharisteo. To give thanks, to be grateful

The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning “grace.” Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks. But there is more, and I read it. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning ‘joy’ ~Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

It has been 3 months since my surgery. Today, and for the last couple of weeks, a bit of pain has returned in levels that leave me, in my fallen state, feeling a bit claustrophobic (a familiar phobia to me that can send me panicky).

Ignore it. Ignore the pain. Treadmill tonight. Mop the floor tomorrow. Bathe the dog. Baskets of laundry. Do the stretches. Say yes to Hide n Seek in the dark. Say Thank You for the healing. Breathe. Live. 

To be quite honest, when the first pang hit after having several pain free weeks following surgery, there was a bitter sweetness to the moment. The pain reminded me of the gift I had been given, then failed to live out that eucharisteo daily.  And my sons’ memory verses from last year come flooding back…

“The LORD is righteous in all His ways, And kind in all His deeds.” Psalms 145:17

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.” Psalms 106:1b

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”          1 Thessalonians 5:18

And I whisper Thank You. Thank you for the healing (whatever that looks like at the moment). Thank You for the pain, for without it the healing could never be possible.  Thank You for the “hard eucharisteo”.

Thank you for the “all things”, for “doing all things”.  Thank you that “I can {be in pain} through Christ, Who strengthens me”  That’s the hard eucharisteo.  That’s joy.

And the moment is frozen. And I stop the car. And I write it down. #23. Pain.—my gift to remember His all sufficient grace. And it all comes back to grace.

Yes, the limitations return, but so does the Joy of the Lord, for it truly is my strength.

A Chronic Change of Mind

Everything looks like it’s all in place. Everything looks good. We are done here.

Somehow, I was expecting more. I was expecting the surgeon himself, and not his nurse. I mean, we discussed briefly about physical therapy 3 times a week for 6 weeks. As we walk out the door she says that I can now drive, and pick up my child. And for that, I am very thankful.As we leave the office, a little puzzled, I recall the first time I went for the consultation…

“Pain? You did not come to see me about pain” he says with a quick look at me and then to the screen.

“You came because of that.” With a flick of his finger to the monitor, I see it. Impending paralysis. It is there that I change my chronic view of my situation.

I did not have this surgery to remove chronic pain, I had this surgery to avoid a life in a wheelchair. Pain is inevitable.

There is no way to know how much or how little pain, numbness/tingling I will experience in the coming weeks, months, even years. Will it plague me? Will it dissipate?

Right now, it is very difficult to find a comfortable position to sleep. I can’t sit in seats with no back support, and I haven’t attempted to run yet. Standing or sitting against a wall or looking up poses problems too.

I must be mindful of how I move about and how I am positioned.  I am sure that with physical therapy I will yet grow stronger. More energy. More mobility? Less pain? Perhaps. This is my new normal. And I can accept that.  No, really!  I am perfectly okay with these discomforts. I am only too grateful to not have to order a wheelchair.  I am only too grateful to be able to carry my own child.

I can only trust in His infinite wisdom and faithful care.  I can only rest in His all sufficient grace.  Whatever purpose He has planned for my life in pain and discomfort  is only to give Him glory.  And THAT is what I plan to do.  THAT is my life’s goal.  All Glory and Honor is due His Name.

I am drinking in the words of Joni Eareckson Tada in her book, A Place of Healing. She talks about healing in a ways I’ve never considered it before. She writes,

Jesus is the breath of life we reach for every moment of every day. Inhale His love—no matter what your current situation or circumstances—and you can’t help but exhale gratitude and gratefulness. This is something I can do even when I am bound to my bed or trying to navigate my way through the narrow corridors of oppressive pain.

Thank You Lord for healing. Thank You Lord for Grace…

The Best Laid Plans…

I’m a planner. I plan for the worst, I plan for the best. I plan for the not so good and not so bad. I try to make sure all my bases are covered and everything is prepped and ready. The lists are ticked off and duties get done. I am currently planning our school year making sure I get all 180 days accounted for and holidays and vacations worked in. But life doesn’t always go according to my plans. Actually, it rarely does. I plan for that too

Just a few weeks ago I believed myself to be an overworked Mommy of toddlers. This is just my season of life, I reasoned within myself–neck aches, back aches, (I AM over 30, after all). I have spent the majority of the past 5 years either pregnant or nursing an infant as well as running after and caring for said babies and toddlers.

When I wasn’t feeling any relief from the chiropractic care, I inquired a little deeper. I was scheduled for an MRI.

“Do you have any numbness or tingling?” would always be the question.

“No.” would always be my reply.

A day or 2 before the MRI, I felt it. My right arm was weak and numb. My fingers tingled. The pictures were evidence. The diagnosis was true. Surgery is inevitable.

One of the 2 damaged and protruding cervical discs is now competing with my spinal cord for residence. The spinal cord is severely compromised.

Surgery…I plan…Made a list of meals to make and freeze for impending surgery.

One week goes by for a second consult, this time with my husband along. By now, BOTH of my arms are sore/aching, weak, with numbness and tingling. I find it hard to type correctly without so many mistakes.

Time is of the essence.

Each day I call and I wait. Records, referrals, schedules, policies.

I try to ignore the weight pulling down on my arms. I dropped a sandwich today. Will it be my child tomorrow?

Why are my legs getting sore? Why are they weak and tingling?

This is happening so fast. I see the fear in my husband’s eyes. I feel my own.

I don’t want to wait…

But wait, I must. At least I am on a surgical schedule now. June 27^th.

I don’t know what will happen between now and the 27^th, but I continue to plan—laundry, cleaning, child care preparations.

Frankly, I don’t know what’s going to happen AFTER the 27^th either. But it doesn’t matter. All has already gone according to plan.

My legs are heavy, my feet slow. I ask my husband to take me to the store for groceries. MY plans thwarted. I am not sure the bathrooms will get cleaned before the 27^th. He comes home from work today telling me that some dear friends have offered to help me clean and prepare my home BEFORE I go to the hospital. Tears of humility drip down my cheeks. My God is so kind. Even my “secret” needs of prepping and planning are being met. He has everything already planned. So many hands ready to help, so many hearts willing to pray.

Have you ever seen the beauty of the Body of Christ? You’ve got to get down on your knees to really appreciate it, but the view from here is breathtaking.

“The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

Theyare new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.”  Lamentations 3:22-23

I Don’t Want To Waste My Pain

For several months, I have been a slave to chronic pain–aching, throbbing, shooting pains in my neck down to my shoulder and down my arm to my elbow. Menial tasks such as scrubbing a bathtub or mopping a floor, picking up toys or helping my little ones potty sends wretched messages to my limbs. A simple toss of the hair is a mistake.

I’d like to think I have a high tolerance for pain; after all, I did bear 3 children into the world.

The results of a recent MRI showed that I have 2 cervical discs that have been damaged, degenerated and have herniated into my spinal cord causing some permanent damage. Surgery is inevitable in order to prevent paralysis. And any way I look at it, chronic pain will be my companion throughout my seasons of life.

It is not that I don’t believe God is in the healing business anymore. I DO.

It’s not that I am absent of healing faith. Of that, I am not.

I know full well that God HAS and STILL DOES heal people completely from various pain and illnesses.

Praise Him, “the earth is full of the lovingkindess of the Lord,” and “His mercy endures forever.”

But my prayer is NOT that I receive healing FROM my pain or condition to merely make my life more comfortable.

I certainly don’t enjoy the pain, but neither do I wish to waste it…

I suffer, I hurt, I cry. I miss opportunities of praise in my suffering self pity.

And so, I pray…

“Dear Lord,

I am in so much pain sometimes. It pains me to do the simplest of tasks at times. There are so many things undone. But then, You know all that. You not only know it, but have lived it in a much greater capacity. I thank You for the pain and suffering Christ bore on the cross for my eternal sanctification. In His suffering, Christ brought glory to Your Holy and Righteous Name. If it would glorify Your Name, I ask that you would heal me and relieve my pain. But if my suffering will bring You greater glory, than please rain on me your sustaining grace to see me through and quell my desire to escape it; for it is not my will, but Thine be done. I pray You would help me to not waste my pain, but in EVERYTHING to give thanks and may praise always be on my lips, for You are Holy and Sovereign and Worthy of all my praise. I love you.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen”

Call it what you will…Suffering in a fallen world? YES. Battle wounds from a spiritual warfare in a spiritual attack? Um. Sure, why not? The result is still the same. In my suffering, I choose to praise my Lord for His Mercy and Lovingkindess.

Garden Grace

(inspired by Ann Voskamp)

Long Ago… in a garden, in the cool of the day, the breeze kissed the faces of Adam and his wife, Eve as they walked with their Creator, their Friend.  Smiles and laughter were carried throughout the garden breeze as Adam and Eve took great delight in each of the garden’s magnificent wonders and gifts.  Perfect.  Everything was perfect.  It was there, in that perfect garden, on that perfect day, that Grace became clear as the law was written.  The Grace they knew, the Grace they walked with, that drew their every breath…That Grace Abounded.

“The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21)

This week, we remember that Garden Grace…

We remember that in that perfect garden, Adam Fell.  Mankind Fell.  The curse that befell mankind on that day ensures each of us is riddled with sin.  No matter how “good” we try to live.  No matter how important our job here on earth is.  Without Grace we are all guaranteed a future in hell.  We need to be rescued…

…But, then again, that was God’s plan all along…

Another Time; Another Garden

The Garden at Gethsemane.

Christ Fell to his knees.

He prayed.

He agonized.

He pleaded.

The Rescuer knew the cup of poison he was ordered to drink (full of His Father’s wrath initially poured for you and me) would kill Him.

And He took it willingly.  He drank it to the last drop. And Love and Grace Abounds…

“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”  (John 10:17-18)

And so here, on Palm Sunday, is our Grace Garden.

Our Hands are a picture of the state of our Hearts.  Filthy.  Here we are, helping new life to grow and thrive and still, we are filthy.

“For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”  (Isaiah 64:6)

As an ICU nurse, I have been in those life and death situations.  I have yelled, “Clear!” and shocked the patients to see their lives revived again.

You may be a military soldier and fought in wars for our freedom.

You may be a doctor and have made decisions that have saved many lives.

Or maybe you went overseas to a remote part of the earth for a short-term missions trip.

Or maybe you just gave a car load of groceries to a charity or local ministry because you know how to stockpile.

Take care of an orphan lately?  Help a widow? An addict?  Work with high risk children to provide a more stable life?

All of our RIGHTEOUS deeds are like dirty filth in the eyes of God within our sinfulness. Our hands do “good” but our hearts are dirty.  We need to be cleansed.

The Cross

We knelt down to the dirt, and inserted the Cross into place… The cup of poison Christ drank…The cleansing for you and me.

“Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him”  (Isaiah 53:4-6)

The Tomb

We trampled the woods to find the perfect rock and drilled a hole.

laid it in the garden in the perfect spot…

“Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.”  (Mark 15:46-47)

And so we planted…

The Garden

Life is planted…a picture of the new life we have as a result of that Garden Grace.

“Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)

The Stone Path

We fill a “pond” with water and lay a path of stones winding to the tomb and one that read GRACE placed at the entrance, for here, Grace Abounds.

The path they took to lay our Precious Lord to rest

And the path that led our souls to Freedom.

“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14)

Lights of Remembrance

We line the path with “mini garden torches”*

Each night we light another, until Good Friday when all went dark*

*”And in the evening of Good Friday, [we make a caterpillar (out of mini pom pom balls)], swath it in a small square of silk, tuck it in the moss outside the stone over the entrance of the tomb….

On Saturday, we’ll remember and we’ll wait.

And come Sunday, Easter morn early, in first light dawning, we’ll roll back the tomb, see only the husk of silk left behind, a butterfly a light in the branches of a tree over the Tomb.

And we’ll ask it, incredulous at grace all over again, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Lk. 24:5) He is alive!

So this is the path we’ll walk the last week of Easter, right across the Grace Garden.

From dark to Light.

From cocoon confinement to conquering in Christ.

From sin grit to saving Grace.

And an Easter Grace Garden will unfold, a parable, a living visual of the metamorphosis of all the cosmos…

And we’ll walk with Him again,

in the garden in the cool of the evening,

reunited by grace alone.”  *(direct quote from Ann Voskamp)

*Idea taken from the inspiration blog site by Ann Voskamp:  http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/03/a-family-christian-activity-for-easter-make-a-grace-garden-a-visual-parable/

Dining With The King

Tags

Diana, Gospel, Heaven

 

“What are you expecting out of this relationship?” the question threw me for a loop as I had come over only to have some iced tea and chat.  But she wanted more.

“I see us diving into the Word of God together,” she continued.  Yes, she wanted much more.

So, for the next year and a half (off and on as health would allow), we poured over some passage of scripture or Bible study together. 

Oh how I longed for each Wednesday evening to arrive.  She would always bombard me with questions about how I’m doing, my children, how I’m handling life’s stresses, etc.

She jumped from one question to another subject all the time that I barely got in my own questions about how SHE was doing, how SHE was feeling, what prayer requests SHE had. 

I quickly learned that it was never about HER; and that I was not alone in this friendship…

Dear Sweet Diana,

Everywhere I look, there is yet another someone who has been touched by your gentle spirit, your generosity, or your amazing testimony.

To many of us, you were much more than a sweet widow at church. 

You were my mentor, my first real friend in my new church. 

You dug yourself deep into my life and into my heart; all the while the love of Christ came pouring out of you reaching its way into the web of your every contact…

A neighbor who needs to hear the gospel, an old acquaintance who needs encouragement or spiritual guidance, a friend who desires a restored relationship with her mother, a church member who was moved and encouraged by your testimony, a health care worker who needs prayer, on and on the list goes. 

My mind has thus painted the appropriate picture of my sweet friend. The Gospel with legs!

Yes, my dear friend, you are incredibly missed. 

For I find myself with an extra serving of dinner only then to remember you are dining with The King tonight!