Prepare

A favorite song of this Advent season goes:

 

A Voice cries out,

prepare the way of the Lord.

Make straight the highway of our God."

 

 

John the Baptist cried out, "Repent! He is near!"

Two thousand years ago, most Jews believed His coming would transform the political situation by overthrowing oppression.  But, Christ arrived, desiring to transform US!  He came to free the prisoner ... not from jail, but from sin. He came to heal the brokenness ... not of bones, but of spirit. He came to change lives ... from self-centeredness to a focus on helping others. He cam to overthrow the oppression of the soul!

 

Does His advent still speak to today's world?  A resounding, YES!

Again, not politically, but as release from anything that binds us, keeping us from fullness of life.

 

We are called to "make straight all the crooked places." The nearness of God's reign still brings healing to broken lives. We are called to repent, and to stop waiting. Be God's transforming agent of healing in the world. The word "follow" is an active verb.

 

As Wm. Barclay wrote: "Keep us from everything that would make us difficult to live with today."

 

Prepare! He is coming! Watch for Him!

Surrender to the Silence

It's Ready!  It's available!!!
Check it out on
http://www.electiopublishing.com/index.php/bookstore#!/~/product/category=4758361&id=30408274

Windmills of Hope

          I love this landscape of the windmills along the sand dunes of California. The dunes look bleak, but the rail along the edge of the highway, and the windmills, speak of human habitation.
          I took the photo the week of my sister Bea's funeral. The bleak scene definitely fit my mood that day, yet the windmills reminded me to keep moving along. Those puffs of white in that great blue sky told me, God is indeed still evident, and is always watching over us.
          We are never so far from God's love that He will forget about us. And isn't that amazing? The God of the Universe is "there" ... in whatever situation we find ourselves. Not only is He present, but He also CARES!
          May you find joy and peace in His watchful love!

It's Coming!

Surrender to the Silence, the new book (of devotional poetry), will be here soon. I received word that the publishing date has been set: November 15th.


Surrender to the silence.

Listen to the pulse of wonder.

Diffuse the shadows of the darkness.

Life is more than merely living.

Yep, that says it! 

Hopefully what I write brings a "pulse of wonder," and "diffuses shadows" from your life.

Finding God's Presence

Waking Up in Heaven is a “true story of brokenness, heaven, and life again” by Crystal McVea and Alex Tresniowski. Crystal’s life was, as she thought, “beyond the reach of God.” That was before her 9 minutes of death, when she experienced God’s Presence.

Upon her “return”, Crystal was led by God to “Tell everything you remember,” which led to telling everything she remembers … her abuse, self-destructive moments, her doubts, and her hopelessness.

Crystal’s firm belief is that one does not have to die in order to find God’s presence. “All you have to do to be in God’s presence is choose Him.” Her description of the overwhelming LOVE of God deeply moved me.

I choose to believe!

Windmills

I love this photo I took in California ... from the car. I use it as my computer's background cover.
For one thing, the hills of shifting sand. Peaceful, able to be moved by the wind of God. There are times I can relate to that.

Other times I can relate to the barren look. Mostly that happens when I turn away from God. Those times, I feel like the windmills, turning restlessly with whatever comes along.

The overarching blue, with clouds, remind me God is always over me; His Spirit walks with me. I am never out of His sight or His ability to change my circumstances.

Even as a windmill, I am rooted, rock deep, in His love! The guardrail, my Protector, keeps me on my road.

Surrender to the Silence

Praises! After about a half-hour phone call this morning, I have decided to sign with a Publishing Company for my new book, Surrender to the Silence. It is expected to be out early in November.