Life....to the Fullest

     Standing before their relatives who where to be witnesses to this covenant, the young man poured a glass of wine and handed it to the young woman standing beside him saying, " This is my covenant with you." All waited on the edge of their seats. Would she accept it and drink or would she refuse? The young woman reached out with a grand smile and took the cup from his hands then raised it to her lips and drank. She said yes!  So vowing to be faithful, the groom returns to his father's house. There he would prepare a place for his bride to be not knowing the day nor hour his father would say, "Go. Now is the time. Your task has been completed. Meanwhile, the groom sends his groom's-man to be the intercessor between him and his bride. Though, she has not seen him, her heart knows him well. Becoming more like him everyday. She prepares her garment and herself for his coming with great anticipation. At last the father gives his consent and orders his son away...

I turn the corner to her room as I hear her call out, "Aaa?" I flick the lights on. Now seeing it was I, she begins to jump up and down in her crib. I watch as a giggle wells up in her like bubbles then bursts out resulting in a silly smiley expression.  "That is how I desire your joy to be in Me to be," He says. My faith being as a child- knowing My Father is there even in the darkest of the dark... bubbling with joy at the sight of the One who loves and cares for me. "My joy. Why quench it?" He asks. "Why seek it elsewhere when all is satisfied here with Me? Call for Me, and I will answer you. Seek Me, and you shall find. Knock and the door of understanding will be open to you. Then. Here. You shall bubble with joy at the sight of my being." How I love the lessons my heavenly Father teaches me while interacting with children. Whether teaching them about Jesus or helping a young mother with her own, He seems to point and say, "Imitate th...

Discipleship. Obedience. Surrender. The Lord stresses in my ear. To this you were called-to be and to share. I read from Katie's lessons: He is nearer in my mess and fulfills all my need when refused by my piers. He is faithful to carry us through when we choose to surrender and obey. He is faithful and gracious still when we run far away. Also, where comfort lies there is fear of letting go. But when I surrender all, there the freedom/joy overflows. I open up to the intro by dear Eric Liddell. And what do I read, but a chapter titled "What Does Discipleship Mean?" The key to knowing God he says...and that is obedience. Obedience. Not the will to know, but the will to do God's command brings peace and assurance and enlightenment regarding spiritual truth. Obedience. When in the quietness of your heart you feel something should be done. Stop. Consider. Is it in line with the character and teaching of Jesus? If yes, then obey. You will find it was His guiding you. Jes...

Can you imagine the stench? Joseph has walked and Mary ridden 90 miles in the scorching sun, the wind whipping around their faces and caking them with dust from the dirt road. More sweat pours from Mary’s brow as she experiences the pains of labor for the first time. The stable is packed with all the travelers’ animals. Flies buzz around them in the heat and the air is heavy with the smells of sickly sweet hay and manure. And into this, a baby enters. I have witnessed this kind of birth before. Woman sighs and baby falls right into the dirt, and in the dark of a tiny mud hut, with the light of just a thin candle, our eyes search for something, anything, sharp to cut the cord. Water is a luxury and too far to fetch at this hour so we wrap the baby in whatever filthy rag-scraps we can find without even wiping her off first. Joseph, still merely a child himself, searches for anything he can find in the dim light to cut the cord and swaddle his child, probably rags c...

Katie Davis said, "I don't always know where this life is going. I can't see the end of the road, but here is the great part: Courage is not about knowing the path. It is about taking the first step. It is about Peter getting out of the boat, stepping out onto the water with complete faith that Jesus will not let him drown."  Could it be that true courage is simply  trusting and obeying Jesus who demands my absolute surrender? I think so... Jesus said this about a woman he watched at the temple drop two very small copper coins into the offering: "This poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on"(Luke 21:3-4). I can hear the disciples saying, "It was just a penny". Don't we all? But it was her very last. Her health, her food, her shelter, her clothing...It was her all. But she gladly gave. This is courage. Giving Jesus all ...