Revealing the Heart

Richness To be rich is not what you have in your bank account.  It's what you have in your heart.  The hand of a child, the cuddle of a newborn, the memories of a loved one, a hug from your spouse, the kiss of a child, a bear hug from grandma, moments of richness.  In fact priceless!   Time with a friend.  I was talking yesterday with a friend on the phone and we were talking about what our jobs were as Christians, here in this world.  I think we often lose focus with all the distractions.  She told me to look in Luke 4:18 where Jesus read in front of a crowd in the synagogue, and it read like this....."The spirit of Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted."  To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind.  To set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.   It is our job to tell ...

Delight How do you describe delight?  I was sitting in the Cove today at lunch; it is a small rounded area with several picnic tables scattered about.  There is a large oak tree planted near the tables, close to the lake.  Let me ask you, "when you walk, do you look straight ahead or do you, at times, look up?  I find that I often look straight ahead (probably because I am afraid of tripping or falling)  At my age, it could be a disaster, so I try to be careful!    Well, I saw a friend sitting at the table and I went over to see how her day was going.  She said "look up" there are at least 6 bird nests in this one tree, probably more.  So, I "looked up" and sure enough the nests were everywhere, too many to count.  The birds flying and swooping down to check out everyone's lunch.  Blue birds, brown birds and most all of them looked pretty hardy (healthy).  I am sure the kids probably feed them lunch all the time. ...

Soul Sweetness Seems these days I am always reading.  Reading a blog, reading an article, reading a book, reading the Bible, what does it all mean?  What do you do with all the information?  I would love to be able to write and keep the attention of the reader, yes that would thrill me.  There are so many books where the authors keep you twisted and entwined in their thoughts, their words and imagination.  What will happen next?   The reality sets in, it is just another day.  What was special about today?  Was it special because it flew by so fast, because I lost all my work and had to start over?  Was it special because I could have used another hour to finish my tasks?  What keeps you balanced when you work for hours and then loss it all?   No, nothing was missing!  It was a day filled with soul sweetness.  A Philippians soul day.  What is a Philippians soul day, you might ask?  A soul determin...

The Will - Who is the CEO here?  This is what I often tell myself, as the emotions cascade over my soul like an unbeatable force.  The pressure so intense, you feel your mind slipping, like fingers holding onto the edge of a cliff?  If you realize that YOU have full charge over the "Will" would you do things differently?    It would be so much easier to let go and go with the natural flow.  I envision holding on to a cliff as the water rushes over me to dislodge me and take away my feeling of peace and contentment.  Falling into a deep pool where the water is wild, and rushing in every direction.  How did I get here?  Why do I "feel" like I am hanging and ready to let go?   Is it really natural at all?  The thoughts, like liquid, penetrates my soul, taking over my brain. It's a mixture of anger, resentment, bitterness, lust and disdain.  All those temptations just pounding at your soul! Wanting to take over. Life's circum...

Soul Sweetness! Our contemporary culture gets it backwards, it's focus on the outside instead of the inside.  The next time you look in the mirror go further then the ruffled hair, the small blemish on the nose, the slight wrinkle around the eye, the business suit, the casual wear....I challenge you to look further.  When I was young I would stand in front of the mirror and see myself, then I kept looking, who are you and why are you here?  Until it would scare me inside and I would walk away, sometimes run.  I didn't understand then much about a human soul and what it was made of.  My concentration was on the outward world, the material world, not the immaterial world.  What is the immaterial? What a beautiful thought, our souls shaped by the hands of a living God; what is it's potential?  In scripture it says the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (s...

Cinderella's golden slippers - we shouldn't have to contort ourselves to fit someone else's understanding of who we are and what our soul defines; should we?  As I read the book ruby slipper, I find myself folding back pages that touch my soul and at the same time listening to the most beautiful music.  It compels me to just say thank you! Gratitude for just being alive, to be able to hear such magnificence, to be able to see words put together and understand their meaning!  To underline words from the creator "You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests."  Is there anything more beautiful than that?  To see and to hear "YOU ARE ENOUGH!" You are redeemed, free to be what God has created you (your soul) to be.  A soul finding it's home, safety, security, and freedom in what it means to come home.   Take time to pray for your soul:  There is a short paragraph in the book that reads like this, (it takes the labels and expectation away and replaces...

I am so excited, this is my first blog...Oh gosh, will I use proper grammar?  Will it all make sense?  Probably not, but as a dreamer and a writer I couldn't stop from doing it!  My daughter showed me that I could blog through gmail; I was so excited!  I couldn't wait to get started.   Does anyone care what I have to say, nay.. but it doesn't matter.  It is just fun climbing out of those shoes that pinch (no room to go anywhere) and stretch out my soul through words.   Have you ever read the book "ruby slippers - how the soul of a woman brings her home, it is written by Jonalyn Grace Fincher.  This is what I want to expose, not just that I am a woman; but a woman with a soul.  What lies beneath?  What sacrifices were made to fit those shoes?