Favor

 

I’m a bit of a fan of playing around with picmonkey and easel.ly lately and this morning after I finished reading in my Bible, I jumped on board to create something fun for this verse that came out of my time reading in the Psalms!  I am so drawn to the idea of the Lord’s favor and timing.  There is much that I want to rush or check off or simply avoid instead of slowing down and resting in His favor and presence.

Part of slowing down for me lately has included spending time doing Lectio Divina. Fancy word for some focused Bible reading with four parts.  There are different names and styles of this, but a simplified version includes: Listen. Word. Invitation. Response.  For me, I’m reading through Psalms as part of my reading plan and have chosen to use each daily reading in Psalms for Lectio Divina.  Today was Psalm 102.

First, I read through and just listened without anything extra.  The second time reading the chapter included reading with an open heart and open eyes for a word or phrase that sticks out or jumps off the page.  The word “rebuild” came to me as I read this one.  The third time reading the Psalm is when I look for an invitation or something that God is inviting me into.  This is where the verse above stuck out.  Both an invitation into this time of favor and an invitation to live in his presence (verse 28).  Lastly, I get to read through the passage one more time and then write out/pray out/speak out a response to God.

This practice has been such a focusing time for me and I am thankful for the ways the Lord continues to speak to me during it and after as I often spend time journaling.  I’m finding this season is one full of thoughts, emotions, ideas, and much of them tend to be kept tucked away in my journal pages.

Praying that the Lord’s favor springs up to meet you in special ways today.

Have you tried Lectio Divina?

Do you have any Bible reading plans you absolutely adore (I’ve only got a few months left before I finish mine and I’m always looking for new ones!)? 

honor the story

“I want to sit quietly for a moment to honor the story you’ve just told.  It was sacred.” 

–Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me by Ian Morgan

sometimes silence is better than words that overcompensate or devalue.

psst…i think maybe just maybe that i’ve learned once you’ve told your story and get used to telling it, that’s when god breaks in like the dawn and shakes things up in a way that helps you learn how to fall in love and be swept off your feet all over again…that’s when you start to enjoy God and enjoy life and love Him all the more and that’s when trust starts getting easier.

that god

“I will have nothing to do with a God who cares only occasionally. I need a God who is with us always, everywhere, in the deepest depths as well as the highest heights. It is when things go wrong, when good things do not happen, when our prayers seem to have been lost, that God is most present. We do not need the sheltering wings when things go smoothly. We are closest to God in the darkness, stumbling along blindly.” — Madeleine L’Engle

running through my head

hope

and this makes me think that maybe just maybe i’ve had hope all along.

and trust i’m choosing. over and over. trust that hope won’t disappoint.

hope in god. that is.

praying.

seeking.

asking.

knocking.

waiting.

#abh

throw on some yellow paint

throw on the paint

get out the colored pencils

color outside the lines

do the unexpected

because He says to

live a little

let some SUN finally shine

change things up

run hard

smile

enjoy

let the tears fall

and while they do

hold fast

He’s making those deserts into

Eden

———

As much as I don’t do favorites because they stress me out and I don’t like being boxed into only one thing, I must admit I do “favor” a few men of the bible.  My New Testament man is John all the way. He brings me home and holds me close.  More on that another day.  Today, I want to talk about my Old Testament love: Isaiah.

Not only does he happen to have my tattoo verse but He also has this amazing little verse that I found when reading through the bible in 90 days.

The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. ~Isaiah 51:3

Sigh. God making my deserts into Eden. I love what David Wilkerson (what an amazing life…) wrote about going through the desert:

To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain.”

Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail—his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world.

And just to add one more lovely bit…here’s a bit from a song by Sons & Daughters:

You are a Savior and You take brokenness aside and make it beautiful. 

With all of these pieces, I throw a little more paint on my messy canvas life.  I’m slowly starting to see the bright yellow hope poke through the desert sands and see the beautiful in this breaking desert I find myself.

How are you doing? Do you have any desert places? Finding any bits of yellow in them?

p.s. check out my happy new background and header on my blog…makes me smile

a purpose

There is a purpose in the waiting. You are not forgotten. He is holding your hand.

Bind up these broken bones. Mercy bend and breathe me back to life. But not before you show me how to die.

—

And so…I camp out and wrestle with learning how to die alongside these thoughts from “Five Little Questions” by Dannah Gresh (the title is deceiving…they totally are heart booty kicking questions.)

Look with the eyes of your heart so you can see the hope God desires to pour into you so you can follow His footprints to His perfect plan.

Are you prepared to relinquish those unrealized dreams that God never planned to be yours?

The place of our suffering is the place where we find the hope for freedom to live the life God designed for us. Embracing it gives us the courage to move past our fears.

Afraid there’s no hope for you? Look with the eyes of your heart. There is hope.

Your turn (i’d love to sit at your feet and listen to learn from your heart…): What are some desires that God has shown you? Have you had to relinquish unrealized dreams and if so, what helped you along the way? What does hope look like for you? Any other thoughts?

think about it tuesday

*The world we live in is consumed with instant gratification, and it can be easy to desire a “quick fix” when it comes to the wounds in our soul….It is impossible to “fast-track” this process because it is during this time that we are being prepared for all that He desires to do through us. –Christine Caine

Lord, forgive me for the times I want to skip ahead of the preparation that needs to be done before moving forward.  Help me see the value in waiting and seeing.  Hold my aching heart while I wait and do the healing work that needs to be done.

*“It’s really scary being vulnerable! It takes courage, but it will strengthen your connection.” Can I be real with you? Can you handle who I am? Will you still value me? Will you still love me as I am? Mature love says, “Yes!” –Danny Silk

Not everyone will respond “YES!” to my messy and that’s okay. I am messy and there is beauty in the brokenness.  Somewhere in the midst of the real is where deep connections of the heart are made.  Lord, help me be a person that lets others be messy, live in their questions, and mostly that shows them that I LOVE them and can handle the real and still value them and so desire them to be real and honest.

*They weren’t worried about who knew what they were doing or what publicity they were receiving…. they were concerned about the people they were helping….. –Mo

it’s not about me. change my view and thinking.

*I think God wants to dialogue about the desires we have that didn’t get met. I don’t think he wants us to fake it and shine up our hurts as if they didn’t….I think he wants us to be honest about those things so that in those moments he can hold us, he can comfort us and he can reveal our true good things. –Jon Acuff

not all my desires are going to be met. sometimes You just have something bigger and better than I can imagine, but You still want me to wrestle it out with You and I am ever so thankful I can bring my hard questions to You and be honest because there in the tears, the ache, the longing, the frustration…You meet me.

What do these quotes say to you?

smack

and i’m repenting and doing a *sigh*

“Woven somewhere among our expectations and disappointments is the prideful belief that we know what is best for ourselves.” –@anidolheart

Yep. I’m raising my hand and saying, “oh me…”

I like to think that I’m “good enough” and therefore should get what I want. Ha! Hello pride and entitlement.  Only because of Jesus and what He has done am I made clean.  Oh and if we’re adding to the smacking over the head with a two by four….

“Love doesn’t demand or require…it gives!” –Bob Johnson at Bethel Church

Am I being kind of pushy and demanding with my wants and my timeline…oh you better believe I am and have been…hello turning the other way/repenting.

BUT

On the flip side, Love gives.  Love gives perfect gifts in Love’s perfect timing.  Love gives us everything we need when we need it.  Love teaches us ask and articulate to others what we need and to ask for help.  Love works all our things out for good.  Love delights in us.  Love calls us by name and holds us when we’re crying over our wants and our timelines being interrupted by Love because Love wants what is BEST for us.

And that…I sit at His feet, curl up in His lap, walk beside Him, ask Him the hard questions, and mostly just be with Him because I want to know Him better so that lodged deep within my heart are the truths about Him and the lies have been broken off.