God's Imagination

"Isn't it possible that the life that your soul longs for is beyond even your imagination? Is it possible that no matter how big your dreams are, how expansive your imagination, how ambitious your goals, they pale in comparison to what you could begin to see in your life if you would invite God into your life conversation?" (from Wide Awake, by E. McManus).

I love that I was created in the image of a God who loves to dream big dreams for His people. I love that God had His people march around a city for 7 days to make it fall down. I mean, who coulda come up with THAT one? And what about the plagues? Or Noah building a stinkin' stadium of a boat to be saved from a ginormous flood to kill the rest of humanity? And nothin' can beat the talking donkey! I only hope that my life story is teeming with the same kinds of crazy twists and turns that appear all over the Bible, pointing to the power and imagination of our God.

I think some people are frightened by the unknown of the future. Knowing that I have a God who loves to dream, I find myself sitting on the edge of my seat with bated breath waiting for the future to arrive. I find myself whispering to the Author of my story, "God, where are you gonna take me next?!?! Can you take me on a crazy adventure???"

I find it incredibly sad that so many people today, so many followers of Christ, live lives of monotony and drudgery. The world is full of people who live small lives, lives that are marked by selfishness and indulgence, by purposeful ignorance to everything outside of their spheres of comfort. Shouldn't God's people be men and women with BIG lives, BIG worlds...BIG dreams? What if we invited God into our life stories? What crazy things would He do with them to accomplish His purpose?

Maybe "God is waiting for you to recognize that you cannot control the four winds, but He can. If He commands you to act, and if you will trust Him, you will see all of creation move in concert to accomplish in you what you were created to do" (McManus). Wouldn't you rather LIVE what you were created to do, instead of just dreaming about it at night? Maybe we should all try inviting God into our life stories. After all, a talking donkey is better than any dream I've ever had...And God's imagination never dies.

Who God Made Me to Be

I LOVE that God's word is alive and active. I was praying the other day about what God had me here on this earth to do...what is the heart of my mission here? God has equipped me individually and specifically for a unique ministry on this earth. WHAT IS IT? As I was praying, I remembered a passage I had read a couple of years ago. I flipped to it again, and discovered...THIS is my mission. THIS is the heart of why God created me:

"If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in darkness, and your night will become like noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings" (Is. 58:10-12).

This passage captures the heart of the vision God has laid on my heart for the time I have on this earth. If I had to describe, in one word, the person God is fashioning me to be, it would be a NURTERER. I am a nurterer. And I love the image of a gardener tenderly caring for thirsty and dying plants, restoring a dying garden to its once thriving state. THAT is who God made me to be! There are children and men and women all around the world dying of THIRST. Thirst for the Living Water. God has called me to be His Waterer...the one who NURTURES His children back to LIFE in Him. I want to be like a "spring whose waters never fail" so that I can be POURING into the lives of the THIRSTY. At the end of my life and ministry here on this earth, I want people to remember that Jesus TRULY IS a Repairer of Broken Walls, a Restorer of Streets with Dwellings! He is a Repairer of broken lives, a Restorer of men and women and children who, according to the world, were a "lost cause!"

I am so thankful God is allowing me to take part in His work.

As I was thinking about the different roles of a "nurterer," several came to mind that I still need to grow into. I am praying that God continues to fashion me into the "gardener" he wants me to be! These are the roles I am praying He would grow me to fill in the lives of His children:

Encourager
Treasurer
Protector
Fosterer
Teacher
Healer
Refiner
Sustainer
Comforter
Supporter
Cultivator
Keeper
Embracer

I had never heard this song before today, but I think it, too, captures the heart of who Jesus wants me to be in this world! I WANT to be His love to a dying people! I want to be His voice, His hands, His chain-breaker, His peace-maker, His hope! Ultimately, I want to carry the broken to the cross.

What does God have YOU here to do?
If you are still breathing, He has you here for a PURPOSE.

Relationships and Death

Before that day, I trusted easily. Faults had to be revealed--people didn't start with them. Now, people start with them and trust has to be earned.

That day, my world crashed and relationships were never the same...because I realized no one is unbreakable. Everyone will shatter, even if someone else does the breaking. And because everyone will shatter, every human relationship will end in death. Every one. Oh, we try to ignore, hide, avoid a reality as disheartening as this one, but ultimately we cannot escape the truth.

That day, the truth tackled me like a giant sumo wrestler leveling his opponent.

Some days, I hate it. I hate that I think the worst, that I prepare for death before life has even begun to sprout. I hate it. And I wonder how Jesus related...the One who knows the heart of every man on earth. How could He know the truth and still relate? How could He see the black reality of sin--of pride, greed, jealousy, anger--and still make Himself vulnerable in relationship?

How do I share myself, knowing the end reality? A painter can create a brilliant masterpiece, but why should he fashion it if he knows it will only be thrown in the fire upon completion? Therein lies a deeper contemplation I rarely dare to visit.

Can it be that the momentary beauty of the painting is of such surpassing brilliance that even death cannot thwart it? Can I claw away the layers of who I am on top--the skin, the muscle--and expose my inner reality, not knowing if I will be picked clean or healed? Right now, being eaten alive overwhelms me, so I rest in this shroud of anonymity.

Maybe someday I will once again venture into nakedness, glorying in the momentary beauty of the painting rather than honing in on this reality that now stands before me, taller than Goliath.

Reading

If I could dream up the perfect day, it just might include a chilly cave {complete with a hammock...or firm mattress} and a good book. I've hit it pretty close. There's something about reading that reminds me of this:Beautiful B at her 4-year-old birthday party...a princess for sure

And this:

Big brother N playing superhero with the gift-wrapping supplies

I'm not sure it's good for me.

Do you remember those days when feeding your {fake} family was the greatest of all worries you confronted? When a feud between siblings ruined a perfectly good card game and day? When you could find escape from a world you knew little of in a giggle-full game of hide-and-seek?

Reading sends me back to those days...until somewhere deep inside me, a geyser of soul-seeking I'd typically prefer to avoid opens up--Soul-seeking that plagues me with questions about the human connection. Because life isn't like those days anymore...but it feels like it is supposed to be.

If I had to choose, I think I would choose the princess dress or superhero cape over soul-searching and sin-shrouded reality.

Which is why I avoid reading most of the time...but hot summer days and *vacation* comes with a prescription for one long afternoon spent in a cool, air-conditioned cave with a good read and plenty of soul-searching.

And so, the clung-to princess days fade and the soul-searching begins. Hello, summer.

Celebration of Summer #3

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Nothing like a hot day at the zoo with visiting friends to celebrate summer! {please excuse the poor image quality}

"...There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother..." (Prov. 18:24).

Don't you just love the eagerness oozing from this picture? I'm sure we left lots of finger prints on the peering glass... The kids had a blast seeing and learning about unfamiliar animals!

Afterward, we collapsed at Uno's Pizzeria for a delicious lunch.

What a fun way to celebrate someone's 4th birthday!

Happy birthday B! I can't believe it was 4 years ago that I first held you in my arms! May you continue to grow in gentleness as the love of Jesus shines through you!

Summer Celebration #2

The destination...


My shoppin' partner...

Abigail+Abigail=tons of fun!



Gotta test out the wares...

The purchase!

Simple and fun.


Happy Summer!

Riding on the wings of...

Caffeine and prayer...

to the beginning of my two week break!

And I've decided to do something crazy or fun every day of my

Stay-ish-cation.

So here's Celebration of Summer #1:



Nothing like some Sonic to start out a two week summer vacation!

What does summer mean for you?