Too many blessings and thoughts to name!
- card of encouragement – gifts of love
- gentle hands of God – brushing my arm, back and neck as HIS people pray for me in Love -His Hands extended
During Sunday evening worship the Lord spoke to my heart and opened up my mind to see His plans.
Two blocks pressing together – “pressed but not crushed” – need to be pressed
Why me? Why not me?
I could feel the subtle pressure of being pressed between two blocks even as my eyes watched
Couldn’t see but sensed grapes in between “the grapes must be pressed to make the wine”
Then the blocks looked like the binding of a book – “pressed but not crushed”
The binding became clear – the Bible – pressed so that His glory can be released
Pressed in His Word so his glory and light come out
Then the soft whisper as I knelt in prayer “the olives must be pressed to make the anointing oil” – must be pressed – “pressed but not crushed” – pressed in the Word, pressed so that the Anointing will flow
The cost of the anointing
Pressed so His words will come out in my writing
Thank you Lord
I will be pressed if that is what you have called me to – if that is what is costs to be a light for You and a glory vessel, I will be pressed – show me Lord!
Monday brought me back to work. A busy day! Lab in the morning – moved on to prepare to teach my first online class. Preparation is a wonderful thing. Prayer took away the butterflies and I felt able to “jump in”, arms wide open 🙂
It was awesome and I can’t wait for the next class. I love to learn!
Odds and ends and the work day was done.
On the way home:
- clouds – feather wisps, milky pink and grey
- moon – almost full, bright and butter coloured, to the side
- yellow/orange reflects off the glassy waterfront
- gradient sky – blue to green to yellow to orange – on the horizon – close to home
Tuesday brought another word day – off to a slower start – more time for morning devotions and to wake up 🙂 Off to work for another productive, although productive day.
Evening found me home, talking to my mom on the phone – news from home – heart skips a few beats, trying to get my head around life…..my practical brain kicks in – what do they need, what can we do, searching the web for resources. As I hang up the phone my heart kicks in – as I allow my hands to unclench. Grace frees but also allows emotions to open up within. Tears as my head knowledge hits my heart. Prayer. Grace. God. How do people go on without Him?
- watching t.v. with hubby and kitty
- Christmas tree lights (almost time to take it down 🙂 )
- t.v in bed and ice cream at midnight just because (wide open living)
- Forgive me Father, I pray at bedtime, for wasting my time crying about all the things I don’t have and not being thankful enough for the things I’m blessed with
- a restful sleep (finally)
I read of hard eucharisteo in One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp. She talks about giving thanks for the hard things and not just grasping greedily at the good things.
“”…that I’d day after day greedily take what looks like it’s good from Your hand – a child gloating over sweet candy…” “but that I’d trash wild to escape when what You give from Your hand feels bad – like gravel in the mouth. Oh, Father forgive….should I accept good from you, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10).” Page 95
And then she talks about Jesus -and hard eucharisteo – Grace in action – modeled by our Lord. How on the night He would be betrayed, He took the bread, raised it and gave thanks to the Father.
Hands unclenched, lifted up, open in thanksgiving to the Lord, regardless of the hard thing to come.
“What in the world, in all this world, is grace? I can say it certain now: All is grace. I see through the woods of the world: God is always good and I am always loved. Everything is eucharisteo. Because eucharisteo is how Jesus, at the last supper, showed us to transfigure all things – take the pain that is given, give thanks for it, and transform it into a joy that fulfills all emptiness.” (page 100).
And so, I lift my hands, unclenched and wide open and receive the hard things, give thanks for them as well as the good and easy thanks and praise the Lord for His mercy and grace and wait to see the thing transformed into beauty – someday, somewhere – like a butterfly released from its dark, tight, hard cocoon – wings open in flight, colours brilliant in the sunshine.
- SUN, SUN, SUN streaming in the window and into my soul
- Light in the backyard – soft, diffused, like spring light
- Splashes of red in the bushes
- Reminders of God’s plan all over my house
- Music – loud
- Making soup and cornmeal muffins -to feed the body
- Morning devotions – to feed the spirit
- Tea – to feed that morning comfort need
- Friends – to feed the soul
- Blogging – to feed the creative energy within
- Spring breeze, windows open to freshen up the house (in January)
- Bare flower beds – spring buds barely breaking the ground (in January)
- Time, so much time….like time is still just for me, this day in this moment – thankfulness, naming the beauty and the difficult slow time
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