time to EMBRACE and a time to TURN AWAY

Ecc 3: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.

There is a time to embrace and a time to turn away.
I often wonder where God is, what He is up to, how He's moving, and when His plan will unfold.
The time is now to:
Embracing His plans.
Turn away from mine.
Life is unfolding. My eyes just need to adjust to see that the plans He has for me are greater.

I Always Will

This woman is awesome, and I really just love the lyrics to this song.
It was originally done by Joy Williams with different lyrics the song
is called Poison and Wine.
I like this version much better.
I just love you, and I always will, Lord.

Love Hurts Sometimes

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”– Mother Teresa
I’m not really a fan of the idea that love hurts. Who is?
But if you and I are two broken, imperfect people trying to love each other, then there is bound to be hurt. You might even be able to say that there is no real love without hurt, because to love means to be vulnerable and open to hurt. And because I’m really a mess, and don’t have it all together… when someone is vulnerable, I’ll probably end up doing something hurtful. Eventually..
Wish it weren’t true, but it is.

So why do we keep loving?
Well, because we’re made to...maybe. Because we’re desperate for it... maybe. Because we think we should...maybe. Because it’s worth it. yah, I’m pretty sure it’s worth it.
We love through hurt and unfaithfulness and tears because of 1 John and 1 Corinthians 13…
we LOVE because He first LOVED us. He loves with the only perfect kind of love. An unfailing love. A love we will never be able to express.

That’s what I’ve been thinking about lately.

How Many Kings

How many Gods have poured out their hearts,
To romance a world that has torn all apart?

If this isn't love in its truest form, then I don't know what is.

time to SCATTER STONES and a time to GATHER them

Ecc 3: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven

There is a time to scatter stones and there is a time to gather them.

When something really profound happened in the Old Testament, during the children-of -Israel-wandering times, the Israelites memorialized events by gathering stones. They called them "stones of remembrance," a reminder of the greatness of the great event. The point of these stones was to commemorate what God had done - rescued them from impending destruction, mounting stupidity, wrong turns, and other general lapses in judgment. I assume this practice was necessary because they, like me, were quick to forget what was really important.

In one mind blowing example, God altered the flow of the Jordan River so His people could cross safely. Joshua ordered twelve men to each gather one stone from the riverbed and place all of them together to serve as a sign, a memorial, that God had intervened against all odds.

I have a hunch that the practice of gathering and stacking stones was as much about the children of Israel as it was about God. These stones were reminders to wake up and see what is possible in the world, to notice the miracles, to even participate in a miraculous event now and them - to stop worrying and making excuses and apologizing and "should of" -ing and instead simply believe. Step into the current and see what happens. Get your feet wet instead of paralytically wondering how cold the water might feel or how strong the pull might be or how on earth you're going to explain the miraculous occasion you were apart of.

The point, I believe is that in the act of scattering my stones, in stripping all the way down to my true self and listening and looking for God, I am able to see the few, tiny stones - some slivered chips and pebbles and rocks - gathered and stacked so that I will never forget.

time to MOURN and a time to DANCE

Ecc 3: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.

There is a time to mourn and a time to dance.
Pain, like no other place perhaps, is where our stories are written, where our art is born, our canvases brushed, our memories composed. Though we so often want to deny the discomfort, suffering is one of the few things that can lead us to the place where we find the God we so desperately long for. In this place of mourning, in our walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us.
In our greatest need, he sees us. When we make it through this valley, when we find hope and comfort, we can finally dance. In this spacious place, so wide open you can't help but be wild and free knowing you made it through. Knowing the Lord has brought you out of this mourning, into dancing.