In His Image

Today I made a new skating dress for my little one.  She needs two for the competition on the weekend.  She was so excited that she could hardly stand it and was willing to do just about anything to help me so I'd be free to work on the dress.  She loaded the washing machine, made tea, passed pins, and cut some of the simpler pieces.


It was so much fun!  It's always fun to make something beautiful--even more fun when it's to delight someone you love.  It made me think of my Papa...and I imagined His pleasure as he flung those northern lights across the sky on Valentine's Day knowing that it would give my heart shivers of wonder.  Did His eyes twinkle when He poked those two dimples in my daughter's cheeks knowing I'd relish them?  And that sunrise this morning...did He smile in anticipation of my pleasure?


When He created us "in his own image," He gave us a drive to create.*  I used to think I wasn't creative because I couldn't paint a picture or write a song...now I recognize "in His image" creativity everywhere.  In my sister who turns a ball of yarn into a beautiful sweater, my friend who cooks and bakes endless delights, one who photographs to capture glory, one who builds a house, one who can't stop doodling, and the one who creates solutions for problems.  Reflections of His creative nature are everywhere.  We have an urge to co-labour with Him in creating.


And so my little one urgently wants to help me.  She cut the straight lines and sewed the simpler curves.  She made a matching scrunchy for her hair.  When all was said and done she declared, "It's beautiful!"  She pirouetted and revelled in the swirl of the skirt.  Said it was fun making the dress with me.


Yes, yes, it was.  My heart lifted praise to my Papa because it's fun creating with Him.  My stitches were lovely, but they became breathtaking when filled with the dancing, swirling life He created.

Every moment that catches our breath is an invitation to worship.

"You are worthy, O Lord our God,

to receive glory and honour and power.

For you created all things,

and they exist because you created what you pleased."

Revelation 4:11

*Genesis 1:27

Puddle of Grace

I love reading blogs.

Last night I read a mommy blog by a well-meaning mom who is passionate about her cause.  I respect her for that.  We need to be persuaded of what we believe.  Her facts are probably accurate.  She feels so strongly that she admitted that she judges moms who fall short of her standard.  Unfortunately, I fall short.  If she knew me, she'd judge me.  It's a gross feeling.  Defensive words rise and bubble and I want to plead my case.

The only reason I have that response is because I wish I could somehow look good in everyone's eyes.  That's an ugly idol.

The idol of the good opinion of others is a ruthless, unforgiving, exhausting taskmaster.  Foolish, foolish woman that I am to even pause there.  I long for the day in which I don't even twitch at the allure of this vain idol.

When I look into the eyes of my Savior all I can see is love--even though I fall so far short of His glory (which is so much greater than that of any human standard!).  Here is a God worth serving!  He offers me His grace for the messy places.  He offers His strength to help me reach the goals He values.  He offers me the loving community of others who also recognize their need.

As I sit there in a puddle of loving grace, laughter rises up.  Thanksgiving and worship begin to drown out all the defensive words.

If you find yourself feeling inadequate or defensive today, I invite you to join me at the foot of the cross.  There's so much grace and joy here!

So let us come boldly to the throne of

our gracious God.

There we will receive his mercy,

and we will find grace

to help us when we need it most.

Hebrews 4:16 NLT

I Love Him

I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.
Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!

He hears.

He listens.

I love Him.

I called on the name of the Lord: "Please, Lord, save me!"

How kind the Lord is!  How good he is!  So merciful, this God of ours!

The Lord protects those of childlike faith;

I was facing death, and he saved me.

When darkness threatened to suffocate my soul

and despair tried to choke the life out of me,

I remembered His kindness, His mercy, His love.

He hears my prayers and rescues.

I love Him.

Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me.

So good, so very, very good.

My soul is at rest.

I love Him.

What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me?

His love is so great.

Gratitude overflows into a song of worship.

I love Him.

Psalm 116:1-7.

100

My blogger dashboard tells me that this is my 100th post.  Seems like there are so many clever and witty things I could do with that, but all my heart wants to do is sing Psalm 100...

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!

Odd how easy it is to raise our voices when we're five minutes late already and none of the kids are in the car...but how culturally or socially awkward we find it to randomly shout for joy.  Try it.  Shout with joy!  Feel the atmosphere around you change--it will.

Worship the Lord with gladness.

Come before him, singing with joy.

My heart is singing for joy!  All this intentional focus on gratitude and worship has totally changed the dynamic of this jam-packed week.

Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

He made us, and we are his.

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

He made us and we are his.  Beloved.  I love being one of His sheep.  I have felt His care for me this week...so thankful.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;

go into his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him and praise his name.

Perhaps the writer was recommending an attitude of thanksgiving and praise when entering the courts of the Temple?  I have discovered that it is through thanksgiving and praise that I enter His presence...the place of joy.

For the Lord is good.

His unfailing love continues forever,

and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Love the promise that I can count on His love never failing me.  Ever.  It will never fail my kids either.

Keep counting...

Blessings!

Wake the Dawn

"...I will wake the dawn with my song."

The coming of the dawn...new beginnings...fresh starts...hope...the end of the darkness.

Is it possible to wake the dawn?  With a song?

I think so.

This I know for sure:  worship/praise/thanksgiving brings freedom, provision and miracles.

Enemies flee.  (2 Chronicles 20:21-22)

Prison walls fall down.  (Acts 16:25-28)

Provision multiplies.  (Matthew 15:36)

Hearts are encouraged and strengthened. (I Samuel 30:6)

I will wake the dawn with my song.  For every place where I long to see freedom, I will lift up my heart in worship.  For every place I see need I will thank the Provider.  In every situation where I see torment I will seek the heart of Peacemaker with worship.  Where worry and despair weigh down, I will lift up a song.

Wake the dawn.  With your song.

"My heart is confident in you, O God;

no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!

Wake up, lyre and harp!

I will wake the dawn with my song.

I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.

I will sing your praises among the nations.

For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.

Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.

May your glory shine over all the earth."

Psalm 108:1-5

Joyful are those...

This week I have heard two stories of God's faithfulness...and a few huge prayer requests.

My friend writes to me about her new job and her message is full of happy faces and words like "superb...hilarious...incredible...ridiculous...happy!"  I feel full of laughter that's half choked with tears as I read.  Months ago she boldly turned down a job that didn't seem right, but then there were no other offers.  We prayed.  She did a mission trip.  Waited.  Prayed.  Wondered.  Did she make the right decision?  Her bank account dwindled and she dared to give some more.  Still no job.  Then suddenly!  The job is perfect--all she hoped for and more!

I think of her heavenly Father smiling on her all those months of waiting and wondering.  I think of the angels cheering her on as she took courageous, faith-filled steps that seemed only wondering and trembling to her at the time.  All the while her Papa knew that He had this wonderful surprise in store for her.

The second story is of praying parents watching their daughter stand at a crossroad in her faith walk, knowing they can only pray and love and wait.  The daughter has taken small steps toward the light.  The parents have lain awake, praying in the darkness.  This week they met a total stranger who had encountered their daughter months ago...and has been praying for her ever since.  The parents are filled with joy realizing that God is at work, has been at work all along, and they don't need to be afraid.

These stories encourage and excite me!

But what about...

My friend who has a lump in her breast.

A friend who believes God has abandoned him because the circumstances of his life are so difficult right now.

The baby girl I've been longing to see healed for two years but open-heart surgery is now imminent.

A woman is still barren...a marriage is still falling apart...

When my thoughts dwell on all these things something icy cold fills up the center of me.  I want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over my head.  These challenges are big.  Real people are in pain.  How can I rise up and face the day?

Unless I surrender my right to understand for now.  Unless I believe that God is at work, even now, behind the scenes...that glory is yet to be revealed...that I'm someday going to use words like "superb...hilarious...incredible...ridiculous...happy" to describe the end of the story.  Unless I believe His promise that He is willing and able to make something beautiful out of messes.   Unless I choose to give thanks before I see the miracle.  Unless I begin to worship the One who is my only Hope...  Then a fire fills me and I overflow with laughter.

That is how we can rise up and face the day.  Worship.  Giving thanks in all things.  Remembering what He has already done...which gives rise to more worship.  Then we are filled with hope and laughter...and it's contagious!  It's a hope and a confidence that you can bank on.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

I will praise the Lord as long as I live.

I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath

...joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, 

whose hope is in the Lord their God.

Psalm 146:1-2, 5

Exposure to Glory

"When all the people of Israel saw...
the glorious presence of the Lord filling the Temple,

 they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord,

 saying, 'He is good!  His faithful love endures forever!'"

2 Chronicles 7:3

When I read this passage this morning the thought that struck me was that exposure to the glorious presence of the Lord didn't fill the people with fear--not even these people of the old covenant.  Rather, it provoked recognition of His goodness and love.  You might expect them to run in terror.  You might expect that exposure to the glory would make them self-conscious, aware of their own sinfulness.

If you're feeling afraid of God or focusing on your own sorry state, it may be that you haven't tasted or aren't currently tasting of His glory.

This glorious presence fell on them after the Temple was dedicated as a place of worship.  It came as a response to the worship-filled dedication spoken by Solomon.

That Temple is no more.  Now YOU are His temple.  And His glorious presence still fills the temple when we offer ourselves with worship and praise.  The glorious presence never condemns or inspires fear, but fills us with awe of his goodness and mercy.

Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,

for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

Psalm 89:15

1 Corinthians 3:16

Guaranteed

I woke up early with a dozen prayers rising from my heart.

For the boy, far from home, estranged from his father...

For the beautiful one who is starving herself, tormented...

For the loved ones serving far from home...

For the awkward places in my kids that may have something to do with my parenting...

For the one who struggles to express love, not knowing how greatly he is loved...

For the beloved friend raising two special needs kids...

For the one whose restless, aching hunger will never be satisfied by addiction...

I've seen so many miracles and yet there are many more that I long to see and experience. Urgently.

"The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this."

These words float into my mind and I know they are from the King James Bible, committed to memory years ago in elementary school. I look them up and they are the promise to reassure my aching, longing, yearning heart.

"Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever...

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.

For those who live a land of darkness will see a great light...

you will break the yoke of their slavery

and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders...

The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven's Armies

will make this happen!" (Is.9 NLT)

The zeal of the Lord of Hosts...the passionate commitment of the Lord... Other translations say, "by the fixed purpose of the Lord...the Lord Almighty is determined to do all of this...the Lord's great love will make sure that happens..."

Comfort.

My petitions become proclamations! My urgency becomes a celebration of worship. My prayers are for things that are backed by the passionate commitment, the zeal, the love, and the purpose of the Almighty God, the Lord of Heaven's Armies!

"But..." you say.

But what about the prayers that have been prayed for so long and yet there is still no answer? He knows. He gets it. Even though He sees the end, He knows that from our perspective the journey has been long and the waiting is hard. That is why your faith is so precious to Him. A treasure. Not to be taken lightly. Your faith pleases Him. It's irresistible. So strengthen yourself with His promises. Worship and celebrate. The answer is on the way!

It's guaranteed by the passionate commitment of Lord of Heaven's Armies.

I Need to See Him

"And so this is Christmas..." Strains of one of my favorite Christmas CD's wafted through the house as we decorated--almost drowned out by the squabbling of my children setting up the nativity scene. Good times!!

For years I didn't have a nativity set because I wanted just the right one. It had to be a bit rustic and kind of authentic looking. About six years ago a friend gave one to me and it's perfect. Perfect because it reminds us of our good friends every year and perfect because the stable is made out of barn wood and all the little characters are country and homey. Everyone wants to be part of setting it up, but this year somehow two of my kids started on it without the rest of the family. I waited to see how they would negotiate the process without my intervention. Things went okay for a while, but then got a little heated. Seems the problem was that one child wanted to arrange everything nicely, like a picture so you could see each figure. I understood her point completely. I like things to be esthetically pleasing. However, her brother was adamant--they came to see Jesus!! They couldn't see Him if they were all standing around looking nice.

Ouch.

I had to think on that for a while.

I like to think I've come a long way in this area. I'm pretty unconcerned about what the general public thinks of me. However, I've recently been reminded of how uncomfortable I am when someone I respect doesn't think much of something I value. I am uncomfortable with disappointing my friends and family. And you know what? It is difficult to see Him when I'm focused looking nice.

A lot of the stresses that come with Christmas have to do with this whole business of "looking nice"... The process of buying gifts that feel more like an obligation than a gift. Making decisions about how we celebrate so as not to disappoint anyone. Our kids may helpfully point out that their friends get more presents or cooler presents. We may feel pressures and expectations from our extended families. The list goes on.

The angels declared to the shepherds that Christ had come to bring peace. Ironically, the squabbling of my children helped to bring that peace back to my heart. There's no peace in trying to look nice to everyone. You can't please all the people all of the time. But there's a tremendous amount of peace when you go "see Jesus".

Attempts have been made to rearrange the nativity scene so that it looks nicer, but it doesn't take long before all those little shepherds and wisemen are crowded around the manager once again and I smile.

Come, let us adore Him.


"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You!" Isaiah26:3

Raise Your Hands If...

Raising or lifting of hands is pretty much universally accepted as a form of worship. It can signify surrender to or exaltation of the one to whom the hands are raised. Remote and uncivilized tribes do it. People of every religion known to man do it. It's a little less common in North America where things that can't be measured scientifically are regarded with a bit of skepticism. It's pretty abstract and mystical to raise your hands to someone or something that can't be seen.

The Bible mentions lifting hands to God seven times. In all but one, it's mentioned as, "I will," or "Let us lift...". Only once is it stated in the imperative: "Lift your hands in holiness, and bless the Lord." (Ps. 134:2) Now, I'm not about to make a doctrine of raising hands: Thou shalt raise thy hands lest thou be considered carnal. No way! I just want to tell you a story.

I like raising my hands to God. In the same way that bursting out laughing feels better than choking it down, raising my hands in worship feels like a release. Somehow having the posture of my body reflect the attitude of my heart is a feeling of alignment. I do try to control this impulse when it might make people uncomfortable. Like, you know, when you're in the bank and you find out you have more money than you thought you did. I've been known to forget a time or two when I'm out for a walk (a really good time for conversations with God), but the men in white jackets haven't come for me yet, so perhaps it just looked like I was waving at someone?

I also love discovering what I call the "mysteries of God". Nature reflects God in a million different ways. From simple things like the way a caterpillar turns into a butterfly to really complex things that I'm not smart enough to explain, we find demonstrations of who God is. The story of His love is reflected in a thousand different facets. Every time I encounter another one of these treasures I get so excited!

So, one day I was listening to the radio and they were doing a talk show about breast cancer (in men and women, just in case any of you guys were about to stop reading). According to the doctor they were interviewing, maintaining healthy lymph glands in your underarm area is a really important part of prevention. It seems that the ones in the underarm area don't drain very well on their own, but there are two things we can do to help. The first mentioned was the action of jumping up and down--thus the rebounder craze. The second?? Lifting your arms. I didn't hear the rest of the program. All I could think was, "Wow, God!! You mean when I lift my hands in praise to You, not only is my spirit lifted, but my body is made healthier too? Body, soul, and spirit, I'm detoxified by the act of praising You? Wow! Wow! Wow!!" And I feel like my Daddy is chuckling because He's made those little surprises for us and He's delighted when we discover them.

Why are thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope in God: for I shall yet praise him,
Who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
(Psalm 43:5 KJV)