natural warmth

There is a fire brightly burning behind a charcoal-colored metal screen.

Our fireplace houses many fires during the winter months.
It warms our home, our hands, our faces, our hearts.

I wonder the draw of a natural fire.
Is there something other than a need to be warmed that causes people to congregate near this bright warmth?

We sit near it, read beside it, work with it before our eyes, play board games while it crackles behind us.

There are people I know who draw me to themselves like a fire draws me...
these people have natural warmth, the kind that melts the cold of my heart, the kind that beckons tears from my eyes, the kind that brings comfort like rays of morning sun.

What these people possess is Christ-likeness.
They are simply emanating His warmth, His Spirit, His Life, His Love.
That is what draws me.

It is simple.
It is warm.
It is lovely.
It is Christ.

...in quietness and full submission...

I was thinking yesterday that there are probably a lot of good reasons God encourages women to learn to be quiet and to learn in quietness...
(1 Timothy 2:11)

He reminds women of the great and lasting value of the beauty coming from a gentle and quiet spirit...
(1 Peter 3:4)

The context surrounding these gems of truth are rich with direction and instruction, and they have so much to teach me.

And so, one of the reasons for God encouraging women to be quiet occurred to me yesterday while my hands were deep in kitchen sink bubbles and warm water.  Women are pretty good communicators and desire to be understood and heard, which are good things.  I think what I tend to overdo is talk.  Time that could be used to learn from others by listening or to draw others out by asking questions, is sometimes spent instead with aimless chatter, numerous details, or gossip.

My desire is to take to heart God's instruction to learn in quietness and full submission, to be an intentional listener, to realize what God intends when He says to put others ahead of myself, and to apply His Word to my life.  I want to make a difference with love.  I want to use words wisely, not carelessly or with barrels full of regret. 

Do not be quick with your mouth,
   do not be hasty in your heart
   to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
   and you are on earth,
   so let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

communicator

"God is not silent. It is the nature of God to speak . The second person of the Holy Trinity is called "The Word."

A.W. Tozer

simple worship

i love that they came prepared to worship...
they came with gifts for a king, for the King.
They came with hearts ready to yield to this child,
to this boy King.
They came with knees ready to touch the dirt beneath,
kneeling with heads bowed, honoring Royalty.
They came because the night sky looked different than the night before.
There was a new star in that sky that had never showed itself.
They were beckoned, summoned, to follow that star.
That star would lead them to the King of the Jews, to a King
wordlessly demanding their worship, their gifts, their travel to Himself.
What a night.
What a trip those Magi made from the far East.
What a star.
What a story.
What lovely Truth.
What a beginning to His purpose to grow to die for those He made.
What a Savior.
What a King.
This is Christmas.
Let's worship.

snowflakes and sunshine

The day was cloudy, still.
The air was wet, cold.
Clouds were releasing their moisture in the form of drizzle.
It was December 7th, 2011.
The cafe was warm, welcoming.
The surprise awaited outside.
We stepped out the door to falling snow.
Lovely, white.
I said goodbye to my friend.
I rounded the corner of the cozy brick building to my car.
The man stepped to the sidewalk from his truck, smiled in my direction.
His hands outstretched in front of him.
The smile was contagious, and I returned my own, "Snow!" I said, grinning.
His response warmed my heart, "I always say, it's sunshine in the form of snowflakes."
Indeed, God's most cloudy days are filled with sunshine too, but we've got to sometimes look beyond the clouds.
Thank you, sir, for the sunshine.
Thank You, God, for that gentleman in my path yesterday.

emotions

Emotions overwhelm, surprise, comfort, express.
And so, just now with eyes full of moisture, I realize how thankful I am for God's creation of emotions.  I love that He gave these lovely ways for our bodies to release, remember, restore.  

There is an emotion for every circumstance, every known situation, every waiting surprise, every shock in life.

There are tears aroused when we least expect them, burning cheeks when we're embarrassed, angry, worn.  There is war, constriction in our hearts when we struggle between decisions.

There is a tireless ache that wears on me, knowing my heart aches, yearns, longs for my Savior.  It is an incredible wanting, an inexpressible desire.  So deep, so full, so rich.  The way He draws me to Himself, shows Himself, reveals Himself.  It renders my words insufficient...stops me in my tracks.

And so I weep, draining that storehouse of tears.  And my heart loves Jesus more.  I need Him so much.

Give me love

Give me love.
Let it sweep over me.  Like a million slowly falling raindrops, wetting the earth, cooling my heart.
Let it flood over me like the golden summer sun, warming my fingers, heating my cheeks.
Let it blow over me like the breezes in the sweetest smelling meadow on earth, perfuming my hair with its fragrance, catching me like a kite.
Let it move around me like the song of the whippoorwills, singing to my soul, conducting the orchestra of my heart.
Let love find me, and let it never leave me.