Contemplating Life

This is very much NOT your typical Christmas eve blog post. However, it is what I had to work through my system this morning, and I decided to go ahead and share it. After all, Christmas can be a harrowing time for many. On the one hand there is the absolute joy of celebrating the memory of God coming in flesh to know, love, and redeem us. We can sing the songs with gusto, believing every word, and with our hearts overflowing with rejoicing. And yet.....we can also carry within us a wound so deep, a grief so harsh, that it sometimes rises up and sucks the breath from our lungs. Being human is always hard - being human during a holiday can be almost unbearable. I have lost a lot of people the past few years and not all of them were from death. There were some who left because they did not agree with my choices. There was one who left because I simply wasn't who and what she wanted me to be. We live in a disposable society, and sadly it is mind-boggling how easy it has become for som

                     Mercy Arriving In Dust We were born into temples of dust Yet treasured from the moment of birth; He desired our intimate fellowship And we were told to manage this earth. But we refused to hold to our part When the angel of light entered in And we blew up the relationship and all that was ours And became fragile temples of sin. The enemy took control of our world Of what was initially ours to command And we settled into the enemy’s leading And submitted to his demands. And the world just keeps growing viler Because we are listening to the wrong voice; And it all began in the garden When rebellion became our choice. Yet the God who created us foreknew What choices we would make So He already had a perfect plan- A Savior He would put in place. He is a God Whose Being is love- A love we simply cannot understand A God Who left His Throne to enter our world And inhabit the dust of man. He came on a rescue mission On what many

  God Of The Unexpected The night was dark and quiet; The smell of animals filled the air; It was not a King’s palace So You weren’t expected there. They looked for a vengeful warrior But You were a babe with wrinkled brow And rather than wearing a royal robe You were clothed in strips for now. There was no royal entourage Bearing armor, swords, and shields Just a bunch of lowly shepherds That had wandered from their fields. You cried a baby’s mewing cry: You slept and wet and soiled. So they asked, “How could the plans of the enemy By this tiny babe be foiled?” And on from there You lived a life That never fit what they desired So they could not embrace the plan of God And the way that things transpired. They never grasped that their King had to die On the horrors of a cross; They couldn’t see how it redeemed their souls; They could only see the loss. They then ignored the Resurrection Having been convinced it wasn’t true And in their

  My husband Richard and I (for the most part) enjoy living in the country. There is a peace and connection here that makes us happy. We enjoy the multitude of wildlife encounters that we have (except for raccoons – we despise raccoons and their destructive tendencies). We enjoy following the tracks of the deer, turkey, bobcat, etc, and we usually laugh heartily when a covey of quail suddenly flies up and startles us when we are out walking. However, sometimes our love of nature makes driving in the country a challenge. There is, of course, deer rut season that makes you drive like you are in enemy territory – constantly scanning the surrounding trees and ditches, especially if you are anywhere near a river, creek, or pond. Deer are insane during this season, and there is as much a chance that they will hit you as you will hit them. But what trips Richard and I up all year long are the sightings -those moments we are driving along and suddenly spy turkeys wobbling about in a field,