Whether we see it or not, the sun never ceases to shine.
As for the Son, He never ceases to shine either. He IS the light of the world. Always IS. Present tense. Yesterday, today and forever, He shines!!
So then, why does it seem so dark sometimes?
For the answer to that, click on over to Laced With Grace where I share three reasons and solutions to this question.
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| First take – Dark Shadows |
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| Take 2 – Blinded By The Light |
At Yankee Stadium last week, my hubby wanted a photo to share on facebook. I offered to take it, but he wanted me in it. That was the last thing I wanted as I sat in the drizzle, sensing my hair frizzle.Grumbling, I asked a man seated nearby to take our picture. With some consternation of his own, he snapped the photo on the left.
As the shutter snapped, another man rushed over, practically leaping over fans seated in the row. “Wait! Let ME take your picture!!”
He grabbed my iPhone and showed us the picture just taken. “Will anyone know where you are?” he asked.
“Ummm, it does show the blue YANKEE STADIUM letters. There on the left.”
“Oh…… Humph….Well, that’s not what I was talking about. Go back there and let me take your picture. I’m a professional photographer.”
Really? Is that what I need? A professional photographer for a facebook photo? A photo I am only begrudingly agreeing to?
Not to be rude, we returned to our spots in front of the railing, forced a smile, and snap!
Mr. Photographer handed me back my phone and strode away up the stairs, never to be seen again.
One look at the picture he took told us he indeed was a pro. Not only did he get the Yankee emblem behind home plate (his intention), he also captured us swathed in light. And what a difference that made.
Tony and I stood in the same place for both pictures. The difference was the direction we were looking.
Same truth applies to life.
No matter our situation (where we are), we choose what direction to focus on. We can lurk in the shadows of self-pity, complaints, judgmental attitudes, discouragement, need I go on? Or we can face the Light. Seek Him in His Word, in the fellowship of believers, in praise and worship, in serving Him. The choice is ours.
What will you choose today?
This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. Eph. 5:8
For times when it seems that there is no light to be found, read “When The Son Don’t Shine.”
It seems like yesterday but 20 years ago, Lauren took her first dance lesson starting a lifelong love of dance and all things “arts”. Middle school spirit team introduced her to worship dance.
In high school, she started teaching others what she had learned. Mission trips expanded her understanding of the world and increased her compassion for those in need.
This month, she graduated college earning two degrees – a BFA in dance performance and a BA in dance education. And now she’s off to study Leadership in Dance Ministry at Hillsong in Sydney.
Why?
Why study more?
Why so far away?
Everyone asks these things [especially her dad wondering why she wants to go to the other side of the world for a year – and possibly meet some nice young Aussie gentleman – horrors!]
She smiles when she responds. Actually she more than smiles. She glows.
She has a dream, has had it for years. It sprung up from seeds planted and has grown and developed in unimaginable ways.
Her mission trips have taken her to remote undeveloped areas of the world. And she wondered what she can bring these people whose basic needs of water and food are barely met. Don’t you need to feed them before you can share the gospel? Yes. But she discovered something else. Through her dance and the arts, she was able to communicate love, and everyone needs love. Dance and art transcend language barriers. They connect different cultures.
Here is Lauren last year teaching preschoolers in northern Uganda, a region slowly healing after the world’s longest civil war: http://tinyurl.com/74dye2r
Lauren’s dream, in a nutshell, is creating an Arts Center – a place for students to hang out, learn dance, art, acting, all varied ways of expression. But there’s more…
In 2006, a young man named Blake Mycoskie founded a shoe company with a new premise: “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for one.” Blake traveled to Argentina, saw the disease and the dire need for shoes for the children there, and founded a company that would provide a quality product and also meet that need.
Lauren wants a “One for one” program for her future Arts Center with a “sister school” in Africa. Every student here will support a student in Africa. Lauren has the vision. Her studies this year will provide the leadership training she’ll need to bring it to fruition.
Our family asks for your prayers as Lauren takes this next step of her life journey. You can follow her throughout at the year at:
Blog: laurenpanzica.wordpress.com
Twitter: twitter.com/laurenpanzica
YouTube: www.youtube.com/LaurenElizabethDance
I’m traveling to Australia with Lauren, spending a few days helping her get established.
My next post is a review of Blake Mycoskie’s book Start Something That Matters. As part of the review, I will be giving away 2 copies. It tells the story of TOMS shoes and inspires us all to purse something that matters. Keep tuned!!
“Lord Undo Me”
I don’t really worship these day
I don’t really stand up to praise you with songs
Or prayers or actions
or with anything
I am full of all the right moves
I am full of all the right words
I am full of all the right religion
But it is all just illusion
I am really
Lonely
Lost
Calloused
Jaded
Cynical
Too religious
Too realistic
and well really just to lazy
to worship you anymore
I have lost my first love
I have lost the joy of your presence
But most of all I have lost the fear of your glory
Father I need to see you again
Like Isaiah I want to stand in awe of your glory
To fall down at your feet
To come face to face with your
Perfection,
Radiance,
Goodness,
Holiness,
Awesomeness
I want to stand before you and see you for who you are
and me for who I am
I want to be undone
I want to know me for who I really am
I want to see the depths of my heart
And know that you are the only way
You are the only truth
You are the only life
I want to see me and understand
What it really must have taken for you to
Love me
Care for me
See me
Speak to me
Want me
Communicate with me
Die for me
Die for me
Die for me
Lord, I want to stand in that place where all I can see is your glory
And my sin
Because in that place I can’t help but worship you.
Lord let me come undone
Undo my heart
Lord, undo my heart
break down these walls that I love so much
No, wait don’t,
I’m scared I don’t know if I can handle this
don’t
But I can’t live this way anymore
I can’t stand here in this half-life
this going through the motions life
this not really alive life
Father, I need you so come in and do what you must
Cut out the tumor on my heart
Break down the walls that I love
Lord let me come undone
Undo my heart
let me worship you again
*Blake Williams
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Shhhh! It’s coming…..
Looking ahead over the next four weeks, the so-called Advent season, what do you see coming? It’s so easy to get swept up in the “what” – the seemingly endless tornado of cooking, decorating, shopping, wrapping, partying – that we miss the “Who”.
To continue reading, click here . Join me over at Laced With Grace today:
http://lacedwithgrace.com/?p=8673
I was so proud of myself.
I’ve been digging, sorting, and clearing out stuff.
I bagged it, washed it, and carted it to the car to be donated to Ditto, the “upscale resale thrift shop” that raises funds for my kids’ alma mater.
Felt like a real accomplishment.
The problem is Ditto’s hours of operation aren’t in sync with my hours of operation ;D I can’t seem to get there before closing time.
And so I have been driving around with my discarded stuff for a week. I went through it – did the inventory. I identified and separated it. I even moved it. But I haven’t really gotten rid of it. I plan to, but it’s still there hanging around. Moving around. I stopped short yesterday to avoid a car that ran a stop sign, and heard a symphony of shuffles as the stuff in back slid toward the front.
In order for me to actually get rid of this stuff, I have to make a change. I need to change my habits and rearrange my schedule. I have to move out of my comfort zone.
I have some other stuff I’d like to get rid of. Fear, anger, resentment, jealousy. I have done some soul-searching. Taken inventory. Identified what needs to be addressed. Felt some pride and a sense of accomplishment in that.
But that stuff is still hanging around. An unwelcome remark or a difficult situation becomes like that car running a stop sign bringing all that stuff toward the front, a symphony of emotions sliding around my interior. So how do I actually get rid of it – for real?
Paul says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” But he doesn’t leave it at that.
He continues with, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Eph. 4:31-32)
James instructs us, “Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent”
And like Paul he goes on, “and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, .. Do what it says.” (James 1:21-22)
To get rid of these unwanted emotions and behaviors, I need to move beyond identifying them. I need to replace them with desired behaviors. Clearing out the old creates a void and the old will slide right back in if there isn’t something already in its place.
Replace resentment and anger with forgiveness.
Replace doing evil with doing what the Word says.
Then I’ll be getting rid of it – for real!
How about you? Do you have unwanted stuff hanging around? How can you clear it out? For real? Let’s talk about it.
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| My 9 year old self LOVED to dress up! |
It’s October 31st and millions of people will spend billions of dollars to eat candy and dress up as someone (or something) else today. It may be fun to dress up as someone else for an event. But what about when we habitually wear an invisible mask to hide who we really are, when we pretend to be someone we’re not.
To read more, click over to Laced With Grace. And please leave me a comment. You know I love to hear from you!
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A closer look revealed that one was merely the shell of the other. It seems Sebastian molted – he shed one complete perfectly shaped “skin.” What looked like two identical living crayfish was in reality one living crayfish and one imposter, a mere specter of the real thing.
Way of life → It’s not the system or the theory or the rituals that the key. It’s the way of life. Marja said, religion “is not a bad word if we allow it to jump off the page and become alive, if we choose it as a way of life.”
You know people like this. As you start to share your story, their minds are only half-listening, just waiting for the moment to share their own better-than-yours story. They can be sad/sadder stories OR good/better stories OR funny/funnier stories. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that that person’s story tops yours in some way.
I imagine the people who lived in Corinth were like this. One-third of all the references of the word “boast” in Scripture can be found in Paul’s two letters to the Corinthians. His many comments on boasting can be summed up like this:
Can you top that? 😉
*Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:31
*Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4
*But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
