Sound of Melodies
All of the Above
United We Stand
Great River Road
Every patriotic holiday finds us listening to Toby Keith. Read about it on Dave’s blog. Be sure to read my comment, too!
OK- there are the “obvious” bands and big-name artists, but I want to point you in the direction of some of the things I don’t want to miss at Heaven Fest (www.heavenfest.com). So here are my top 12 picks for HF in no particular order:
[1] Group 1 Crew - so hip! Their little passing musical blurb at the HF website is my favorite part of that promo (from the song, “Forgive me”). I hadn’t heard of them until we booked them a few months back sitting at my kitchen table on a cold Tuesday morning, but I like how they sound (hip-hop, urban soul). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdMo0rOt2Kk
[2] Bradley Hathaway - this super groovy slam poet. I know, I know, I’m an oldie, but I feel more cool just by watching and listening to him. There are lots of youtubes featuring Bradley. I’d highly suggest you make sure you get to see him! He’ll be both “performing,” if that’s what you call it, AND presenting a workshop. http://youtube.com/watch?v=AJGwVBvJMPM
[3] The Smiley Kids- reuniting of a Colorado band (punk/skaters/ska). My kids loved this group when they were in High School and attended all their shows. They had a quite a following and we’re all excited to enjoy seeing them together again (though the sound is mind-numbing for a grandma like myself, but just to see my kids skanking again, how fun) - a blast from about 10 years past. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=231863087
[4] SHEL - a Colorado group I hear is going to make it big-big-big in the next couple of years. They are already opening for major Christian artists who come to Colorado and they have a great sound. It’s a girl band, all sisters musically trained by their parents or dad and just very talented. http://youtube.com/user/lynnholbrook
[5] The standout sister from SHEL: Eva Holbrook. http://www.myspace.com/evaholbrook She plays the mandolin really beautifully.
[6] Andy Garcia - powerful voice, gentle spirit. We’re practically neighbors and our whole family loves this guy and he can out-Israel-Houghton the actual Israel Houghton. What more can I say?
[7] Chariot Sky - up and coming group (rock/soul) who spent Thanksgiving at my house-throwing apples and oranges fast and furiously in a made-up game that rendered said fruit inedible. But fun to be near greatness. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=258109954
[8] Dan Wakefield - worship pastor, song writer, husband. Dan is a young man who is just so pure in his heart after God that you cannot help, but be drawn to him. He is guileless. That is why you can trust him leading you in worship. http://www.myspace.com/danwakefieldmusic
[9] Jude Del Hierro - of the “More Love, More Power” fame. Tredessa works with Jude at Confluence Ministries and where he and his wife, Cindy, are reaching the inner city, our region, and the world with compassion, love and musical worship. These people are the genuine cream of the crop: character, humility, and servant-hearted. I am so glad to have them in Tredessa’s daily life! http://www.confluenceministries.org/home.aspx?igid=10997&iid=11000
[10] Megan Isaacson - beautiful voice, acoustic, great song communicator! I got to hear her last night lead at the 40 Nights of Prayer and Worship. She won best new song ‘05 for “My Worship” at the Rocky Mtn. Christian Music Festival in Estes Park, I’m told. Very gentle and genuine. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=99571820
[11] Jeremy Girard - piano worship. Dave and Tara gave me a CD of Jeremy playing 45 minutes of free-style worship, no pre-written songs. That way you get to sing your own to the Lord. It remians one of my favorites!
[12] Cleto Rodriguez - comedian, funny man. http://cletorodriguez.com/ You can check out a clip here. If he doesn’t make you laugh, you are seriously over-burdened - and this, from a truly serious person.
Just in case you’re planning your day…Jeanie
And by the way: Rush of Fools needs your help. They are a young band who’ll be appearing at Heaven Fest. All of there equipment and merch was stolen yesterday morning. They are asking for prayer and/or financial support. http://www.rushoffools.com/index.html
NOTE TO SELF: Do not even think about the fact that Heaven Fest is only 22 days away because it is my Sabbath and a holiday.
http://heavenfest.com/the_schedule.php
Check out what the day will look like. Watch this blog for my picks within the next few days!
pictured: Luke the producer, family man, big-time leftover-eater, full-time missionary, good guy.
6.16.08
“See Me, can you see Me? Can you sense My love for you?” These are roughly the words of a song I have listened to on one of my favorite websites, www.soaking.net.
The words were posed as from Father God. And I was like, “I’m having trouble seeing You and I struggle to feel You near.”
This what I heard Him say:
You know how when you have TIME - there is nothing pressing - and one of your kids come through the door and you’re happy just to sit with them and be with them and listen to their joys?
Well, I’m like that with you, except TIME belongs to Me. I hold it all in My hands, so you don’t have to wait for My calendar to clear for you.
6.30.08
I re-read that today and had to smile because God has indeed proven this very word to my soul in the past 2 weeks. He is showing me that He eagerly awaits my arrival, my presence. He’s revealed He isn’t peering at me, bothered by the interruption, over the evening paper or too busy with some one else.
It is the summer of our first Heaven Fest and there is much to do and accomplish and yet, right in the middle of it, God my Father has provided rest, repair and renewal. From my morning time in The Tent (www.thetendenver.com) to as many evenings as I can make it at the prayer and worship leading up to HF, I have been covered to saturation in amazing music and worship, the Word of God, His miraculous provision for HF and more. He is everywhere and everywhere He is, He welcomes me. I am starting to see You, God. And I am glad to have been seen by You…
Final permits for Heaven Fest and the Cardboard Camp-out (cardboardcampout.com) were granted in a unanimous decision by the Adams County Commissioners this morning! Whew!
Long process. Along the way there are so many places for things to come apart or go forward. We have had such favor and are praising God!
Pictured: Stormie whipped together this little graphic today to reflect our mood. Well-captured, Stormkins.
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26 days until Heaven Fest (www.heavenfest.com). 40 Nights of Prayer and Worship continues nightly, 7-9 pm at Northern Hills at the veranda on the west side of the building (in The Garage on Tuesday nights).
I wrote about the first tomato of the season, see here. The very next day, I decided to rotate the pot a bit and it turns out there are 5 tomatoes and the one I saw must’ve been number four, according to size. Yay, patio tomato, most humble and plain of them all. You’re a beauty in your terra cotta pot, thick-stemmed and flowery. You’re making me happy. Fruit, little plant, fruit!
Pictured: you can see three of the 5 clearly - maybe 4 if you make the effort.
Amy Jo - artist, wife, friend (and the worship/prayer Interactions Manager for Heaven Fest ) - is a bit ahead of the rest of us in sharing her take on Chapters 10 and 11 from The Sacred Romance - Drawing Closer to the Heart of God, by Brent Curtis and John Eldridge. Amy Jo is soulful and thoughtful, deeply spiritual and a sojourner into the unchartered roaring waterfalls of God.
Previous commentaries on our thoughts about this book here. Next book, The Shack. Wanna join us??
Chapters 10 & 11 of The Sacred Romance: On the Road and Desert Communion, from Amy Jo
“But we who would be born again indeed, must wake our souls unnumbered times a day.” –George MacDonald
“We have been rescued, but still the choice is ours to stay in our small stories, clutching our household gods and false lovers, or to run in search of life.” (p.144)
“And we—who are we, really? We are not pond scum, nor are we the lead in the story. We are the Beloved; our hearts are the most important thing about us and our desire is wild because it is made for a wild God. We are the Beloved, and we are addicted. We’ve either given our heart to other lovers and can’t get out of the relationships, or we’ve tried our best to kill desire (often with the help of others) and live lives of safe, orderly control. Either way, we play into the hands of the one who hates us. Satan is the mortal enemy of God and therefore ours as well, who comes with offers of less-wild lovers, hoping to deceive us in order to destroy our heart and thus prevent our salvation or cripple our sanctification. These are the stage, the characters, and the plot in the broadest possible terms. Where do we go from here?” (p. 148)
“Pretending that life is easier and more blessed than it really is hinders our ability to walk with God and share Him with others. Faith is not the same thing as denial.” (p. 150)
“One of the most poisonous of all Satan’s whispers is simply, ‘Things will never change.’ That lie kills expectation, trapping our heart forever in the present.” (p. 156)
“Memory, imagination, and a passion for glory—these we must keep close at hand if we are to see the journey to its end.” (p. 158)
“The spiritual disciplines of silence, solitude, meditation (heart prayer), fasting, and simplicity practiced by Christ and passed on to us by the traditions of the Desert Fathers bring us through our emptiness and thirst into the presence of God.” (p. 175)
Amy Jo: So my review for these chapters is all snippets… quotes from the text, to which I don’t really have anything to add, so I am including a prayer I wrote on Sunday…
06.22.08 – From the Beloved
Where am I—according to You, God?
According to me, I am lost again
(Which is fine as long as You’re with me.)
But I also feel I’m on the verge of Being mislead—
Of choosing a belief that isn’t from You
But I can’t tell, so I am mislead
(Which is worse than just being lost).
What is Your nature, God?
I really thought I knew and
I really thought I was beginning to see
My place in Your plan, but now?
Now I’m starting to think Your plan
Is so big and beyond my ideas that
I probably won’t ever get it unless You show me.
I want to know Your plan, God—
If You don’t think it’s too much for me to know.
I want to know what You’re really like and
What You really made me to be.
What pleases You? Is it simple? Is it always work?
Balance in my head Your mercy and justice.
Give my heart freedom to accept Your validation.
I am so willing, God
To part with ANY doctrine I have held dear and
Defended if You will help me.
You can rebuild whatever mental “structure”
You think I need to function well in Your plan.
I beg You to give me eyes for the truth—clear vision.
I beg You to help me be more flexible to You!
Before I wear myself out, God,
Before I give myself over to so-called “understanding,”
Stop me and pull me back into wonderment
And awe of Your mysteriousness and majesty.
Refresh my spirit. Fill me with Your voice.
Teach me to recognize Light from darkness.
Take me with You—I don’t want to act alone!
Take me for a ride, God!
I’m all for an adventure if You’re guiding!
Shock and awe or rest will do—
Whatever You want. Whatever You feel like.
Peaceful, quiet waters suit me fine
But so would hang-on-tight rapids
As long as I’m breathing You and You’re smiling.
Take pleasure in me, God!
Fix me so I know stuff You know and
Can tell what You’re thinking—how You’re feeling.
Show me Your Old Testament power mixed with
Your New Testament grace.
Remind me of things I can point to so others can
See Your wildness and the parts of You You want to show.
Make me courageous, God!
Brave enough to dream a big dream,
Sure enough of Your presence in it to press on,
Wacky and energetic enough to not slow down,
Wise enough to plan things I can’t even comprehend yet,
Humble enough to fail and keep going, and
Close enough to Your heart to represent You well.
Cleanse my mind of pre-conceived notions, God,
Of ill-gotten dogma and false ideas.
Curb for me my attraction to darkness.
Break my heart with what breaks Yours.
Help me when I don’t have words, and
Help me, God, until You help me!
May I worship You forever and in all things.
From Jeanie: Wow, Amy Jo - beautiful. I know He is hearing you. And I know He’ll share His heart with you, for He “confides in those who fear Him.” Thank-you for the creativity you are bringing to this thing!
Pictured: a current pic of Amy Jo and her husband, Damon; and some images she painted about John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” when she was just a girl (1997) CLICK on images for a closer look.
The patio tomato in a big terra pot has been quietly at work. And there, at 7 am this morning, on a quick drive-by watering, a malted-milk-ball-sized baby green tomato looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back.
Jeanie with the grand-kids; Heather the prayer-warrior
These are the observations of The Sacred Romance - Drawing Closer to the Heart of God (by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge) among a few friends. We’re working toward the culmination of our time in this book and already know what the next book will be. E-mail me (Jeanie) if you’d like to participate or want to know more about it. We hope you are blessed as we gab and “confess” and learn from this awesome book and that you’ll let us know what you are thinking, too…
Candi, wise and gentle worshiper; Amy Jo - head of worship and prayer interactions for Heaven Fest (www.heavenfest.com)
Chapter Nine: Less-Wild Lovers
I am kicking it off this time: “In the sadness we feel from the messages the arrows have left, we often get off course and begin to live off our giftedness or our wounded passions and fantasies instead of finding that place of grace in communion with Jesus. What counterfeit lovers have you turned to? Food? Busy-ness? What else? How have they ‘so intertwined themselves with your identity that to give them up feels like personal death?’”
I haven’t given much thought to any of the rest of the study guide questions, but the one above points out an interesting possibility: that you can live below and away from the beauty of the life God has in mind for you even through your giftedness, your very God-given ability. So that very thing, something meant to bless and be life-giving, can become your obsession, your possession - and end up suffocating you as you try to hang onto to it.
I have specifically seen this happen with ministries, pastors in churches or some one in a leadership position. It is rampant among worship leaders - fearful of everyone else’s talent, they rise up to protect their territories and become miserable in the thing meant to bring joy to the heart of God. Intercessors are often terribly protective of their “prayer ministry.” I’ve been the guiltiest of them all.
The authors call this ‘clinging to position, title or even good works’ something like going to a fair that sells “soul curiosities,” things that can even be good like attending Bible Studies, attending spiritual retreats or small groups, even joining a church, but become nothing more than a way to quiet the deep longings we don’t want to admit are there.
So here we are – created in love, players in God’s cosmic story of intense joy and love, wooed by Him, longing for Him, but beaten down by apathy and the message of the Arrows, we choose something that “works,” or looks right: we go to church and volunteer and memorize scripture and we “are both drawn to…and fear…that place of relational intimacy that Satan lured Adam and Eve away from so long ago…” The voice of God calls. The heart of the Father draws. Am I willing to give up everything that has anesthetized me, the addictions the authors expose as “adulteries” – anything that replaces God in whatever form in our lives? Will I give up competence and order, title, reputation and ability to be, to be His.? Can I lay aside fears and talents and impressiveness? Can I die to self?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jJvyGRV6XBs&feature=related
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Here are Heather’s thoughts: I read this chapter a couple of weeks ago now. I have about 4-5 pages of notes on this chapter that I can share with anyone who’s listening. But really I am going to try to bottom line how the “Less Wild Lovers” in my life have caught and tangled me up into a weird mess of “doing” instead of being. (Note from Jeanie: you can link to Heather’s blog from my links on the leftside!)
I am a Martha. Some loved ones in my life have known that for years. I think Martha was trying to do the “right thing,” I really do! She saw all that needed to be done and was busy doing it. She got a bad rap, though, as she wasn’t doing it at the right time, really. There’s a time for all things under the sun, and that goes for cooking, cleaning and laundry too, unfortunately! But she did miss out on being at the Master’s feet. That was the right thing to do at that moment. (See Luke 10:37-42.)
Well, so do I. I look at my house, my job, my kids, the “things” that need to be done, and it can get overwhelming. God’s been calling me to rest for such a long time. At first I thought it meant to rest from ministry. In some ways it did. Then I thought well maybe it means to rest, rest, you know, take it easy. Well, I do think He wanted me to slow down, but you know what, it wasn’t to be on vacation, it was to be with Him. True rest, with God.
Busy-ness has become my less wild lover.
How sad. I mean it. It’s so sad. I like Martha want to do the right thing…Last fall my sister in law left our company to work for the Department of Wildlife in Lakewood . When she left there was a hole there that needed to be filled. I seriously thought that in some ways I was the one to fill that hole. I thought it was the right thing to do. My business partner/mother-in-law/best friend asked me to pray about it, and I didn’t. I was in full rebellion, you could say. Get this, I didn’t pray because I didn’t want to let the company down, and I felt it was my duty to help out (I know, I know- that does not make sense). It’s completely stupid! I admit it, but there ya go, just being honest. Soo… This past 9 months I have been trying soooo hard to make it all work. I have scrambled and grasped at what I thought the right thing was, (still not praying though), and it has worn me down. I’ve been very sad at the compromise of my time with my kids. I’ve not been able to find peace. My health has even been affected, not to mention I’ve not had the rest He’s promised me I would have.
When the time came to begin thinking about the summer schedule with my girls, My business partner/mother-in-law/best friend asked me to pray about it, and this time I—didn’t (YES, I know-what a dumb thing to do, AGAIN!). Well, I got out my little post it note, and asked God to show me what hours to work. I knew already that I had childcare taken care of for about 20 hours each week, but I felt like God was going to let me cut back, as I made out my work schedule. I thought God had blessed it. I presented it to the company and Maureen, my business partner/mother-in-law/best friend said that God had told her that I was going to be taking the summer off. I cried. That is the desire of my heart, friends, to be at home with my kids. But in trying to do the right thing, I had cut myself off from the mission that God has given me for my girls! I was choosing rebellion, in trying to do the right thing, because it simply isn’t right for me, not at this moment in my life.
I’ve only been home a couple of weeks now, but my joy has been restored. I am home and I’m finding rest again. The less wild lover of “being busy” is an evil trap for me. It’s not good for me to run too hard or too fast. I need to slow down and sit at the masters feet again.
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Candi’s response to the book: Again, as I read this book I’m astonished at how the authors put so many of my feelings into words. I’m amazed that they’re able to pinpoint my feelings letting me know that I’m not alone.
Page 126 says exactly what I’m learning to understand. “But this side of Eden, even relationship with God brings us to a place where a deeper work in our heart is called for if we are to be able to continue our spiritual journey. It is in this desert experience of the heart, where we are stripped of the protective clothing of the roles we have played in our smaller stories, that the Message of the Arrows reasserts itself. Healing, repentance, and faith are called for in ways we have not known previously. At this place on our journey, we face a wide and deep chasm that refuses us passage through self-effort. And it is God’s intention to use this place to eradicate the final heart walls and obstacles that separate us from him.” And then they quote Isaiah 45:2-3.
A couple of years ago I went out one night with some old non-Christian friends. We went midnight bowling (they play really loud music!) and it was a really fun time. Towards the end of the night I was just sitting absorbing the atmosphere and thinking to myself, “I’m really enjoying myself probably more than I would if I was at church right now. And all I’m doing is being who I am, no masks, no acts of service, just having fun. Why isn’t it like this when I’m supposedly ‘serving God’?”
I really think this is when I decided that I wasn’t going deep enough with God. I decided then that I would try to figure it out. If God was the best and the greatest, why wasn’t my heart truly in it? Pg. 128 talks about two highways and this is when I decided to start the journey down the Unknown Road. Of course, I’m still on the journey, but around every bend I’m drawing closer to God in ways that I never knew existed before.
So now in the chapter I come to the “less-wild lovers” and I realize that I’ve dealt with both in my life! At times I’ve chosen the path of competence or order. And then I had kids!!! I can’t keep up with it…it’s too much work! I feel like a failure when my expectations and my results don’t match up which happens a lot. Talk about a blow to your confidence! Then I just quit trying and nothing gets done. I know my mother still struggles with this. (I think I’ll have her read this book!) I also put my efforts into busyness. There are times where I think I should just slow down, but I don’t think I’d know how to function. My life is constantly a struggle to prioritize and I don’t think this is what God had in mind.
I also related with the path of addiction. When I was younger I remember being addicted to new romance, new adventures, new opportunities. “We put our hope in meeting a lover who will give us some form of immediate gratification, some taste of transcendence that will place a drop of water on our parched tongue.” Pg. 133. And they make us feel so alive! It can be a strong temporary high. At some time I think I made a decision to not let myself “feel” anymore because then I wouldn’t have to be disappointed when reality kicked in. It stopped me from trying to find the next adventure, but it also silenced my heart. Now I’m learning to understand the process that God uses to become the object of our affection, our addiction. It so much more fulfilling!
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Amy Jo winds it up for us: “We know He is calling us to give up the less-wild lovers that have become so much a part of our identity, embrace our nakedness, and trust in his goodness.” (p.127)
Once upon a time, when I was studying classic literature in preparation for my English degree, I illustrated a few key scenes from Pilgrim’s Progress. Vanity Fair was one of them, and I appreciated the authors’ in-depth exploration of what that city must have been like in the mind of John Bunyan. As I read how a lot of us resign ourselves to living there, assuming we will never actually GET to the Celestial City, I couldn’t help but think about one of the most influential, respected women alive and impacting our world: Oprah. God knows I love her, and I have a great deal of admiration for all of her humanitarian efforts, but wow, is she a confused woman! I wonder if she really is as happy as she portrays for all of us on international television. I have a sneaking suspicion, based on her random recent explorations into spirituality, that she has become disenchanted with the God of her up-bringing, and is “settling” for less-wild lovers. Read Curtis and Eldredges’ description of Vanity Fair and think of our friend Oprah…
“We set up housekeeping and entertain ourselves as well as possible at the booths in the Fair that sell a variety of soul curiosities, games and anesthetics. The curiosities sold at the fair are endless in their diversity, many of them good in and of themselves: Bible study, community service, religious seminars, hobbies we try to convince ourselves are eternally transcendent (e.g., ‘Wow, I can’t wait to ski deep powder!’), service to our church, going out to dinner. But we find ourselves doing them more and more to quiet the heart voice that tells us we have given up on what is most important to us.” (p. 130)
As I read this, I think of the train she fuels for Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth: Awakening to your Life’s Purpose, and her continuing support of “The Secret,” a “new” way of allowing yourself to achieve your heart’s desires by re-training your mind. One has only to visit the homepage of her website (Oprah.com) to realize that she is SEARCHING… these are the headlines today: “Oprah’s Soul Series Webcast” and “You Can Heal Your Life” and “The Secret Behind The Secret”. Oprah is probably inarguably the most powerful woman in our world today—not because she occupies some governmental throne, but because she has been given the throne to peoples’ hearts, winning them one by one through her philanthropic efforts and “open” searching. I wonder how many people realize that they have made her a “less-wild” lover, even as she points them to other “less-wild” lovers. (I know that I myself have been guilty of being romanced by her!)
One more thought on Oprah, before I move on to other things in this chapter: won’t you join with me in praying for her to find again her “Sacred Romancer”? Imagine the impact she could have on our lost world, if she were to suddenly declare that she had found what she had been looking for—Someone she once knew—and then proceeded to point the masses to the True Healer! You can bet your chin whiskers that Satan wants nothing more than to keep this lovely and precious, highly-worshipped woman in the dark, as she continues to point others to various “less-wild” lovers. Pray for her with me, will you?
And now for something more personal… “Our adversary also seduces us to abide in certain emotions that act as less-wild lovers, particularly shame, fear, lust, anger, and false guilt. They are emotions that ‘protect’ us from the more dangerous feelings of grief, abandonment, disappointment, loneliness, and even joy and longing, that threaten to roam free in the wilder environs of the heart. These are feelings that frighten us, sometimes even long years into our Christian journey.” (p.132) This particular list of less-wild lovers is by no means complete. One has only to read on in this chapter to see an even longer list of possibilities, including addictions. I now propose that it is possible to be addicted to feelings of guilt and disappointment.
Long ago, I was taught that Christians had no business experiencing “negative” emotions: anger, sorrow, depression, etc. and thus they had no visible place in my life. But they were there. Less long ago, I became convinced that these so-called “negative” emotions were perhaps more valuable than happiness and freedom, because they have a tendency to grab our attention and focus us on God—we learn more from the “negative” emotions than from the “positive” emotions. Today I am willing to say—out loud, on Jeanie’s blog—that perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps ALL emotions are equally valid and valuable; that none are inherently good or evil. Perhaps the thing that matters is how we CHOOSE to be lead by them. Should I feel guilty for being blessed, when so many others in my world are suffering? No. Not as long as I am giving proper credit to the Romancer. Should I feel guilty if I am not happy when enduring hardship? No. But worship is required of my heart in the midst of it. God gave us each of these emotions—placed them squarely in our hearts, which were made in the image of HIS heart!
Forgive me, oh God, for falling for the less-wild lovers of pride, busyness, intellect / philosophy, discipline, vanity, sleep and numbness, guilt, admiration of others, etc. I would so much rather be recklessly, freely, wildly in-love with You. Keep showing me Who You REALLY are! “Batter my heart, Three-Personed God!” (John Donne)
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I am so grateful to Candi and Heather and Amy Jo for sharing their hearts with me. We only have 3 chapters left in the book, but a lifetime full in continuing to discover God’s heart!…Jeanie
NOTE TO SELF: His, and His alone. No ministry, church work, “should” or anything else can replace the love of my life.
previous sacred romance posts here
The seeds are planted at the right depth, the right time, in the right fashion. Careful tending and watering bring an assurance that the sprouts will pop up in 7-10 days. But you watch, you wait. At day 14 - still nothing. You begin to believe something has gone terribly wrong, that the cooler-than-usual weather has destroyed the promise. You consider running to the store for another package of seeds, concerned at the time you have lost for the growing season, fairly short in our arid, mountainous region. Will there even be time for a harvest now? Another week goes by and daily the barren soil just lies befor you. You figure there is no choice but to run to the nursery for some established seedlings. You are taking things into your own hands.
But before you get there on one hot, sunny day, one extremely blazing-hot-sun day, you glance at the patch of garden where disappointment has been and you start to look away, but the tiniest green spot grabs your attention. And look - all over: the most fragile and minute seedlings are emerging - just as you had planted them. They have arrived! They are here in their glory! Hope has not been lost. What the good soil and little seed could not do alone, what watering and watching did not produce immediately, the intensity of the heat of the sun bearing down caused the moisture locked beneath the soil’s visible crust to rise and soften that seed. And just like Jesus, from the 3rd day in the tomb, risen! Indeed!
We work to do it all like we are “supposed” to. We hide the Word of God in our hearts, we meditate on it. We allow ourselves to be washed with the water of the Word. We receive the good seed and we wait and wonder: where is the fruit? We are devasted at the barrenness in our lives in certain areas. And sometimes even years after witnessing and declaring the faithfulness of God, we face yet another opportunity to choose to believe…or not. There are variables in sowing and reaping.
And to our dismay, at times, a very hot day in the furnace of affliction becomes the defining moment, the proof we need that He remains faithful. In the fiery brilliance of distress and the cry for relief, we become a living example, as the “water of the Word,” under fire of affliction, begins to rise up around us consuming us like a sauna, and in that moment of seed-shattering brokenness - new fruitfulness! New life! The thing we longed for - the intensity of the blaze, exposes in us.
And again, in the bright light of day, we lift our face to the sun and declare: He is faithful! He is so faithful!
More “Grace from the Garden” for me, I guess. Everytime I am digging in the dirt (in my little suburban backyard) - God is revealing more of Himself to me.
What if I lived on a farm!?!…Jeanie
NOTE TO SELF/GRACE NOTE: The fruitfulness in faith required the fire. He who began a good work in me, will be faithful to complete it, variables notwithstanding. That is settled.
pictured: a Google Image
The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters
The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God
What's So Great About Christianity
The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath
