she will turn.

"sad words are just another beauty.  a sad story means, this storyteller is alive.  the next thing you know, something fine will happen to her, something marvelous, and then she will turn around and smile."

-chris cleave.

Chutzpah:

1. headstrong persistence. 2. brazen impudence. 3. unyielding tenacity. 4. raw nerve.

-----

"we pray with chutzpah, because G-d is good." -brad young.

every moment.

"to be grateful is to recognize the Love of G-d in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of G-d. for the grateful man knows that G-d is good, not by hearsay but by experience. and that is what makes all the difference."

-thomas merton.

roots.

thus said the L-RD:

cursed is he who trusts in man,
who makes mere flesh his strength,
and turns his thoughts from the L-RD.
he shall be like a bush in the desert,
which does not sense the coming of good:
it is set in the scorched places of the wilderness,
in a barren land without inhabitant.

blessed is he who trusts in the L-RD,
whose trust is the L-RD alone.
he shall be like a tree planted by waters,
sending forth its roots by a stream:
it does not sense the coming of heat,
its leaves are ever fresh;
it has no care in a year of drought,
it does not cease to yield fruit.

most devious is the heart;
it is perverse - who can fathom it?
I the L-RD probe the heart,
search the mind -
to repay every man according to his ways,
with the proper fruit of his deeds.

O Throne of Glory exalted from of old,
our Sacred Shrine!
O Hope of Israel! O L-RD!

heal me, o L-RD, and let me be healed;
save me, and let me be saved;
for You are my glory.

holy, holy, holy.

Ah,
those who never give a thought
to the plan of the Lord,
and take no note
of what He is designing.

Ah,
those who say,
'let Him speed, let Him hasten His purpose,
if we are to give thought;
let the plans of the Holy One of Israel
be quickly fulfilled,
if we are to give heed.'

Ah,
those who are so wise
in their own opinion;
so clever
in their own judgement!

_

for My plans are not your plans,
nor are My ways your ways
-declares the Lord.

but as high as the heavens are high above the earth,
so are My ways high above your ways
and My plans above your plans.

_

the Lord is NOT SLOW in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

_

holy, holy, holy!
the Lord of Hosts!
His presence fills all the earth!

_

isaiah 5. isaiah 6. isaiah 55. 2 peter 3. amen.

feast.

sin comes from the mistaken belief that God withholds goodness from us, that he hordes away blessing. but our God does not withhold. He opens up His arms with super-abundance. He wastes nothing.

this is made especially evident in the ceremony of the Eucharist, for in order to best articulate his message and work, Jesus did not leave behind a textbook, he left a meal.

in this world we may not be given all that we desire, but we most certainly have been graced with all that we will ever need. we are called to the communion table to eat and be satisfied, to FEAST on the goodness of God.

'this is my body, given for you...'

within the Eucharist we acknowledge and celebrate the fact that we are forgiven and that we are invited and that we are lifted up to the table of God.

our God does not withhold.

our God gives unto death,
and He loves, and loves, and loves.

'I am the bread of life. this bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world...'

He beckons us to eat and be refreshed, to come to this mighty table full of joy, restoration, nourishment, light, and partake.

come.
taste.
see.

taste and see that the God of this world is so very GOOD.

(thoughts from the teachings of ian morgan cron).

concern.

"the L-rd said, 'I have indeed seen the misery of my people in egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the egyptians and to bring them up
out of the land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery..."

God speaks, exodus 3.

instead.

"like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. but God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him."

2 samuel 14.

bound.

I have loved you with an everlasting love. -jeremiah.

I have led you into the wilderness, where I spoke tenderly to you. -hosea.

My loyalty will never move from you. -isaiah.

I have betrothed you in faithfulness and grace. -hosea.

I have summoned you by name,
you are mine. -isaiah.

the God who has called us.

"growth in the christian life is not required only because we are morally deficient, but also because the God who has called us is infinitely rich. therefore, conversion denotes the necessity of a turning of the self that is so fundamental that the self is placed on a path of growth for which there is no end."

-stanley hauerwas.

a prayer for peace.

In the midst of our current times, with all the tensions and fractures intensifying in Israel, the words of this prayer seem very fitting, and daily move my heart.

may we all pray for israel. may we all pray for God's people. may we all pray for peace.

section 19 of the amidah prayer, a prayer for peace:

"Grant peace, welfare, blessing, grace, loving kindness and mercy to us and to all Israel your people. Bless us, Oh our Father, one and all, with the light of your countenance; for by the light of your countenance you have given us, Oh L-rd our G-d, a Torah of life, loving kindness and salvation, blessing, mercy, life and peace. May it please you to bless your people Israel at all times and in every hour with your peace. Blessed are you, Oh L-rd, who blesses his people Israel with peace."

amen.

our great Defender.

"in the Hebrew scriptures, satan was the angel who was the counsel for the prosecution against men in the presence of God. he was the adversary of men." -w. barclay.

i came across this passage in a revelation commentary this morning, and i found it interesting to think of satan in this way, as a prosecutor in the presence of God, bringing before heaven all the evil things that humanity has done and bringing to God's attention the selfishness that consistently resides in our hearts.

our accuser.

highlighting what we once were,
emphasizing our crooked choices,
and reminding us of all we do not deserve.

and it was such a beautiful and moving thing for me to then compare that image to Jesus.

our beautiful, compassionate, generous, powerful, victorious, and faultless Defender, sitting at the right hand of God, intimately speaking with Him on our behalf.

making hollow all those accusations of guilt.

and God, the great and merciful Judge, choosing to listen to the voice and the witness of His Son, the great Messiah of humanity, rather than the adversary.

no longer is it our own lives that stand as witness.

it is now the life of the unblemished Lamb, Son of the MOST HIGH GOD, that stands on trial as evidence in the Kingdom.

and the verdict comes in: not guilty.

and the verdict comes in:

GRACE.

-----

"the forgiveness which is in the Cross has left satan the accuser no possible accusation to make." -w. barclay.

"be strong in the grace of Jesus." -paul.

ever jubilant.

"but let all who take refuge in You rejoice,
ever jubilant as You shelter them;
and let those who love Your name exult in You.
for You surely bless the righteous man, O Lord,
encompassing him with favor like a shield."

-psalm 5.

the gracious Father.

A mentor of mine once taught me that in Biblical times, if a family didn't want or felt they couldn't support a baby, there were designated fields where newborns could be left to die. It was an ancient form of abortion - after birth, the babies would be left lying under the sun until the heat of its rays did its brutal work.

Death by exposure.

I remembered this yesterday as I read the following passage in Ezekiel 16;

"On the day you were born, you were left lying, rejected, in the open field. When I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your own blood, I said to you: 'Live in spite of your blood.' I let you grow like the plants of the field; and you continued to grow up until you attained womanhood."

-----

God the Father rescued us.

He passed us by in the fields and in love decided to pick us up, take us out of the sun, and call us His own. He adopted us.

And now, instead of unwanted children, we are sons, daughters, and heirs of a King.