Pickled

How do we go on and keep our hearts open?  
We cannot deny our reality and the necessity
to take care of the hearts we've been given.

I understand our adversary would like to 
destroy our hearts, so that we cannot be the
gift we're meant to be to others.

We must pray that God will protect us from
all evil intent.   That we can remain the beautiful
hearts that He fashioned within us.   

I so wish this journey was not so painful.
I wish that I would not have to be on guard
against deception and fraud.   

God is able to heal, protect, guide and direct
my heart in these days.   Hiding in Him is
the answer to every question asked.  Selah.

Huckleberries

Sometimes we can be too dogmatic on issues facing us.
We swing to extremes, and then think that God is that way.

He is much more merciful than we could ever be, especially
with ourselves.   He is wondering when we are going to put the bat down.

I suppose we dress things as we can conceive of them, so different
than our makers viewpoint.    We can never really understand His love.

A late bloomer is better than a no bloomer.   Time is ontime, 
though some may choose to disagree.    Each journey is tailored.

What is He getting at?   What is He so desiring of His beloved?  
Is there anything more priceless than mercy and compassion?  

The love He expressed for us in the sacrificial death of  Jesus,
who willingly laid down His life, so that we might have life.

My wish for this coming year is that I will receive extraordinary
compassion for myself and others through His magnificent Spirit!  

Inmate

When forced to handle things we thought we never would
we transcend the fears of the past, and enter into new courage.

We realize it's all in our minds, and we can face anything.
God gives new strength for today!   He is our unending source.

Bringing old fears close to our hearts,  chance for new grace.
Grace is always fresh, as it comes just when we need it.

The liberation found in stepping over the threshold and learning
it is all in how we view our lives and the challenges that lay before us.

The Glory we feel when we have escaped the fright, and renewed our
sense of self, and the overcoming we have progressed toward.

Freedom comes one day at a time, triumphing through battle after battle.
We do come into a spacious place, and our reward is our victory!   Selah.

Irony

The very thing we desire for our lives, 
we feel we are not worthy of having.
The result of this belief is sabotage.

The more we are capable of loving another
the less we are wanted by the sorry foe.
Ironic indeed!    How sad that we trash our lives this way.

What it must do to the Father's heart, 
to see His children hurt themselves.
Pushing love away as they don't believe they are worthy.

Where is the breakthrough? 
When will we reject the lie
and come home to the Father's house?   

Love Anyway

Personal growth blossoms when we don't get our way.
When we experience disappointment and hurt.
Knowing the Father is always there to hold us up,
when we can feel that we are drowning.  

He's a good Daddy, and He's reliable!   
When others are simply being human
with their respective limitations, it's our
awesome opportunity to grow further into Him.

My desire for this New Year is to know Him more.
To get closer to my Father in Heaven, and to
His Son, my Savior and Redeemer.   To know a
greater anointing of the Holy Spirit for my life.

When all is gone, and I am alone, my sorrow
turns to Joy as I press into my Lord.   I can know
Him better in my desert times.  There is a living
testimony of my loneliness, as He is my overflow!   

No surprises

God knows the secret to getting our attention.
It is only in the muck and mire that we can be real.

For me getting in touch with my negative emotions
is the hardest thing in the world.     Yet, He continues
to draw us.

Sitting and feeling, ouch!   Who wants to do that?!  
God cares about every emotion I have, He only wishes I would.

We can come kicking and screaming, or we can get to the end
of ourselves, and cry out, and He's been waiting here all along!  

Selah.

Stepping Out

We can't be afraid of opening up our hearts,

love is messy, uncertain, but predictably colorful.

It is priceless to connect to our own insides.

To have a healthy love for ourselves.

Too often we have gone through our lives like robots,

being completely shut down emotionally.  

It's a sickness, it's called, "dead"! 

Knowing God is the beginning of life.

It is only through His love, that we can 

begin to take chances with our hearts.  Selah.