About an Exodus

My favorite class my senior year was AP literature, and  my favorite college courses included literature.... and archery.  Go figure.  Sometime during these early young adult years I came across a poem that so moved me, .... I  cross-stitched it for a friend!!  I just knew she would like it also. Otherwise, I kept it sacredly hidden.   It became my "life poem"  if there could be such a thing.   The poem is below, as best as I can remember it:

All the Earth is crammed with heaven 

and every common bush aflame with God

but only those who see take off their shoes.

The rest sit around picking blackberries

daubing their faces unaware....

E.B. Browning

As a Christian, I was of course instantly drawn to Exodus and the story of the burning bush.  Thus the title of my blog.  I wondered at first if she meant to paint such a spiritual picture, but later learned that Mrs. Browning was passionate about her faith.  She taught herself Hebrew so that she could read  the Old Testament text.  Imagine such a task!  This must have been quite an accomplishment for a woman in her day.  

If you really stop and look at this story in Exodus, you will see that Moses had to first stop and then go over and check it out.  He went to take a look.......Implies action.

I can distinctly remember those many nights staring at the ceiling with tears rolling down my cheeks,  crying out to God as only a teen can do........I so desperately did not want to be one of those people who missed the chance to stop and go look.  I didn't want to miss it......anything.. ...the instructions, the moments, the taking off the shoes.  I wanted the great wide unknown future to be filled with shoeless moments.   What an odd thing for a young person to be thinking about.  Or is it?  I don't know.

 Those were desperate, desperate heart cries. Cries that only the heart utters and only the Lord understands.   That was so long ago, but I still get teary eyed when I think of some of those ceiling staring moments.   They were Holy moments......when the ancient story of an exodus and a burning bush  collides with the heart of a poet, who then slips off her shoes...... and puts pen to paper.   Enter stage left,  the tender heart of a Georgia teenager and well.........the story is not yet finished!!

I'm  Not a teenager anymore.   Have I missed any of those "burning bushes" that the Lord wanted to share with me during my own Exodus?   I'm positive that I have, but hopefully not many.  My trip is not yet over.   I'm still actively seeking, stopping,  and looking, and trying not to be distracted by all the "berry picking" that goes on all around.  

 I like symbolism--can you tell?:)  

Have a blessed, shoeless, holy moment kind of week!!

 

The kid in the Oven

I was watching my child today and considering how  tomorrow he will be 11 months old and how quickly time flies.  Over the past two weeks he has  perfected his clap, his backwards wave, and his use of the sippy cup.  No more bottle!?!   He tries to sing the Elmo song.  He has experimented with the crab walk, as he is getting ready to walk any day now.  Today he decided that he did not like hot dog bites.  This is the first food that he has shown an aversion to, as he is normally a big pig.  He is transforming into  a little person!  Today his daily chats with the kid in the oven (his reflection) changed from just chatter to purposeful activity.  I watched him as he intently studied this kid.  When he waved, the kid waved.  When he laughed and clapped, the kid laughed and clapped back.  Then he held both arms way up over his head and laughed and laughed at how the kid in the oven did that as well.  It was quite a show.  The kid did whatever he told him to do, in perfect step, a perfect reflection.

I watched him for some time,  all the while wondering  about my own reflection.  Or to be more exact, the Lord's reflection.  Do I reflect the Lord's glory on a daily basis?  Is my transformation into his likeness pleasing to the Lord?  or do I stall more often than I should? Is that reflection perfectly in sync? Do I allow the Spirit to saturate every part of my being?  My journey to that perfect reflection is just that, a journey.   Long and slow and steady.  Sometimes stalled and stubborn.   Prayerfully  Seeking.......and only to be finally perfected when my journey is over.  Do you imagine an artist who lovingly adds the very last perfect brush stroke on that glorious day?!! (I do)  A perfect picture that can only give all the Glory to the Father!!

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2Cor 3:18)

Amen!  

Wordless Wednesdays

Tuesdays Together

This week I was reading some more of the parables in Luke.   The parable of the Lost Coin stands out to me.  Jesus is speaking...

"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one.  Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.'  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Luke 15:8-10

It is the rejoicing that AWES me so.  Have you ever lost anything so valuable to you that there was such great rejoicing when you recovered it?    I try to imagine what the rejoicing must be like, must sound like,  in the presence of God's angels.  I can only tear up at the mere thought of it.  Strangely enough,  It is my pastor's Sunday sermon that I'm thinking of while reading this parable.  He is speaking on the beatitudes.  Sunday he covered the second one..."blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."  

Imagine the very moment, this precious moment in time, when the  "light" of conviction breaks through and a heart is broken.   MOURNING  is found there and repentance  and then, Mercy here it comes,...... "great rejoicing" in the heavens!!!  I am so not worthy, and well,.....I get a song anyway!!!    

Today I pray for a strong lamplight, for a good sweepin',  for eyes to see,  and a heart that's willing to break over my own sin.   May my  repentance be found worthy of a good singin'!!

Please visit DeeDee for more Tuesdays Together in the Word

 

Just for Fun Friday

Today is as good a time as any to talk about my water bottle that I mentioned in a previous post.  I know you might be thinking ,"what could be so blogworthy about a water bottle?"--Well, I'll tell you...

If you are like me, you like to keep lists and cross things out and check boxes and such.  If you like to keep track of your water intake because you know you should drink more water, then you probably like to make tic marks somewhere.  But if you are like me, you lose track of which tic mark was made last.....the glass you last finished or the glass you are drinking now? and at the end of the day you are left wondering......did I drink 40 ounces or 60 ounces?  lol:)   Now, here's the good part.   My sister got this great water bottle for Christmas, and I just HAD to have one!!  It has a dial on it that allows you to keep track of your intake.  Everytime I refill the bottle I move the dial.   It holds 20 oz and since using it, I am consistently drinking about 50 ounces or more a day.  Somehow, I'm okay with NOT knowing the exacts? go figure......:)  I leave it on my counter and take a drink whenever I pass by.  Today I am still on fill-up #1.  But it is early!

This bottle is made by Thermos and I bought mine at Target for 9.99 plus tax. It might be on sale by now!!   It comes in many colors.  It is easy to clean and has a nice hinged lid that locks and seals.  It hasn't spilled in my bag or purse at all.  As a bonus, it is free of those chemicals that everyone is making such a fuss about.  

As a nurse, I of course endorse the drinking of good ol' water.  Your body needs it.  So go forth and be healthy.......and go buy a cool water bottle if you so desire.  Mine is pink!!  

Have a blessed weekend and a Happy Valentine's Day!!

Wordless Wednesdays

Is it Friday? or Tuesday?

This is the post that I tried to put up on Friday.  I don't know what I did wrong, but it looked like a crazy person typed it. The more I tried to fix it, the worse it became.  So, I'll try again.  I was gonna just let it go, but my Heart Friends informed me that I couldn't. Keep in mind that this was Friday.   So here goes......

OK, so I was feeling a bit like a slacker this morning.  at 10am-still in my pajamas-haven't exercised -feeling gross- busting out a diet coke for breakfast with my 2 big zits on my face.....(what's up with that?)....We all overslept this morning.  I've been cooped up (except for venturing out to the doctor)  in the house since monday night with my sick 10 month old.  You would think I could get a LOT of things done during such a hideaway as this, but not so....(sigh), did I mention the sick 10 month old?....

Then I open my bible and read this.......Luke 8

Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God.  He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women he had healed....Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons;  Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's business manager, Susanna; and many others who were contributing their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples. (vs1-3)

It just jumped out at me.  If I have ever noticed this before, I had forgotten it.  Jesus was touring about and ministering alongside women.  Not just any women.  It is clear from this passage that these women were not ordinary for their day.  They had resources.  They had Goods!!  They were contributing their "own resources to support Jesus and his disciples". Dude--they had stuff!!    And what about Joanna?  Ever wonder what Herod and Chuza thought about her hanging around Jesus?  

The enemy would love for me to sit around and compare myself to others, to doubt myself,  to REALLY consider myself  a slacker about the Lord's work, but the voice in my head :) says "NOT today!!  Rise up (off that couch)  and resist!!"   (that's God's way of saying --my creation shall not call thyself a slacker--get up and get moving)

Hey!!  I've got goods!!  I've got resources!!  I've got talents and gifts and stuff!!  I know, cause the Lord gave them to me... (I really feel the need to stick out my tongue,  but I won't) I need to be using those gifts as HE guides.  

Sounds  sassy.....

Sounds like boasting, but it's not meant that way....

We are His, we know this. We might be lowly sinners but  We are NOT slackers!!  We are precious to Him. He paid the price already.  He equips us for the "tour" to be about His work with our own individual goods and resources.  We ALL have stuff.

Sounds like........a Victory!!

as a Tuesday afterthought, I am thinking of the contrast between  these women and the women in scripture who had little to give.....a touch of the hem,  or some oil,  or some savings.......

They still offered these, and Jesus accepted them wholeheartedly.  They gave these in faith.  They took action.  ....and the result was Victory.

Have a victorious Jesus Filled day!!!

please stand by....

I am having trouble getting my post for Friday to post correctly.

Come back later for a check up....:)

Wordless Wednesdays

It's Tuesday....

I've been checking in with my blogger friends who participate in Tuesdays Together in the Word.  I enjoy reading their thoughts and insights.  If you go to Tricia's or DeeDee's blog you can learn more about it, and visit others who participate.  I started out the year skipping around some, so I'm not exactly on schedule with these guys but it really does encourage me. 

 Yesterday, I worked a 6-3 shift, which means I left the house at 0455.  I've been working mostly 11am-7pm shifts, so this abrupt change might have been a bit ambitious for one my age, but I got over it.  Once I got there I learned that a friend was dealing with the death of her husband.  He committed suicide.  For the sake of her privacy, I dare not write more, but it was not a quiet passing.  My heart is breaking to know she is in pain.......

Luke 22 describes the "sifting like wheat" that Satan relishes in, even "demands".  I know I've experienced bad that God uses for good,  and I pray that my faith "did not fail"........but what about when you are watching it happen to someone else??

In college, one of my favorite conference speakers was Esther Burroughs. (sp?) Because I was in college for such a long time,:)  I heard her speak at more than one BSU conference.  Now that I think about it,  I even had to speak BEFORE her during one of those conferences.  (Weird?)  Her words on "living water" stick with me even now, 13+ years later:).  Do I overflow with the living water of the Spirit on a daily basis?  Am I filled up enough to actually overflow?  Will MY feeble attempts at comfort irritate or soothe my hurting friend?  Will I listen to God's voice for appropiate timing and divine appointments?  I'm still chewing on it......

I really did not FEEL like blogging about this stuff today.  I really wanted to blog ( for days now) about my cool new water bottle that I bought and how it might encourage you all in your 2009 health and wellness efforts.  I guess I will have to share that on a later date, cause this other stuff just came on out........I guess the subjects are related.?....sorta...........if you dug really deep and had the energy to go there............living water..............whew, my brain is tired........