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"Drink From The River Of My Delights"
"In My presence you will be filled and
satisfied.
Come and drink from the river of My delights." Psalm 36:8
No words expressive enough...
No colors rich enough...
No form encompassing enough...
No
song melodious enough.
Only my spirit and soul
expanding...receiving...
drinking in...
becoming one with
the
inexpressible...vibrantly alive...
boundless goodness of God.
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"The Path For You"
"I will teach you and show you the way
you should go,
I will direct your steps and
watch over you.
Psalm 32:8
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"Setting Sail"
“He went out, not knowing where he was going.
Hebrews 11:8
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"Life Giving Rain"
"You, O God, send
life giving rain
to refresh the weary."
Psalm 68:9
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"When you call, I will answer;
when you cry for help,
I will say 'Here
I Am.'"
Isaiah 58:9
Lord, I love it that You are here when I call...even before I call, You're here with me.
even
when I'm not aware of Your presence.
I'm reminded of Elijah hiding out in the cave. You speak to him and say, "What are
you doing here?" Not what are you doing down there or over there...You said, "What are you doing HERE!" You were right there
with him!
"Have mercy on me, O God,
have mercy on me,
for in You my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge
in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed."
Psalm 57:1
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"In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.
The
earth was formless and void,
darkness covered the face of the deep,
and the Spirit of God
was hovering over the
waters."
Genesis 1:1,2
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"Free to Be"
“In Him we live
and move and
have our being.”
Acts 17:28
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Christmas 2006:
The following painting, "True Light" is my Christmas card this year. As I was
reading the Gospel of John, verse 1:9, "True light was coming into the world", became almost a mantra that played over and
over in my mind. John 1 starts out like Genesis 1, "In the beginning..." As I sat with this simple phrase, I envisioned
not the beginning but what was before the beginning. Before the beginning, only God existed in perfect communion within...all
Light, all God, only God. And in my mind, I see God empty out a part of Himself which becomes "darkness and void" apart
from Him. And then God begins to create amazing things and place them in this void. And all is in God, and all is of God,
only it exists in this separated out space within Eternity, within God. And everything created shows some of God, and God's
light shines into the world through all that is made. And God continues to pour Himself into the world through out time and
space. God's light shines into the world but inevitably the darkness over takes it...UNTIL, as a final act, Jesus comes
into the world as the "true light", pure, undefiled light, God's very essence. The Light that cannot be overtaken by
darkness. And then God says, "It is finished."
"The true Light, which enlightens everyone,
was coming into
the world."
John 1:9
"Friend Fish"
"But ask the animals,
and they will teach you,
or the birds
of the air,
and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth,
and it will teach you,
or let the fish
of the sea
inform you.
Which of all these does not know
that the hand
of the LORD
has done this?
In His hand
is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind."
Job 12:7-10
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"Friend Fish" joined our family a few weeks ago. He keeps me company while
I work at the sink in the kitchen. It's been a delight to watch "Friend Fish" swish and swirl in his little
bowl. It's funny that he is so "free" in such a small container...I'm wondering about the lesson for me in
that. He has changed a lot since he came to us...he's a little bigger but mostly he has changed in color. He was
a light bluish color, almost transparent; now he is dark blue and burgundy. He also has learned that if he does some
fancy "break swimming" (the fish equivalent to break dancing), we will give him a few extra grains of food.
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"In Time Of Need"
"Come in close...
lean in...
here
you will find
mercy and grace in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16
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"Intentional"
"If we look forward to something
we don’t have yet,
we must wait patiently and confidently." Romans 8:25 NLT
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"Into Life"
"Out of darkness into God's
glorious light."
1 Peter 2:9
"Dance With Me"
"My beloved speaks
and says to me:
Rise up, my dear one,
my beautiful one,
join me."
Song of Solomon 2:10
"In Me you live and move
and have your being."
Acts 17:28
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"Taste and See"
"Taste and see
that the Lord is good."
Psalm 34:8
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"Come Forth"
"The stone was taken away...
Jesus called out in
a loud voice,
'Come Forth!'"
John 11:41,43
"Take hold of life that is truly life!"
1 Timothy 6:19 (The
Message)
"A new and living way is open to us."
Hebrews 10:20
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“Fleeting”
“The LORD knows
the thoughts of man,
that they are fleeting.”
Psalm 94:11
Lately I've noticed that my mind flits from thought to thought
with little discernment or attention to where it landed or how long it stays. The realization hit home as I watched
a butterfly flitting from flower to flower...the butterfly actually seemed more intentional and productive in what it
was doing than my mind was in what it was doing.
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“Wading In”
“I
saw a stream flowing
from beneath the Temple...
I was led through the waters;
the water came up to my ankles,
then the water came up to my knees,
then up to my waist.
Then it was a river
that I could not cross;
for
the water was too deep,
water in which one must swim.”
Ezekiel 47:1-5
Wading into that rushing stream of thoughts and beliefs was formidable
and overwhelming. Slowly though, the current becomes a gentle flow...really not bad for swimming and rather enjoyable.
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"Kindling Fires"
“If
you are walking in darkness
and have no light,
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on God.
Don’t
kindle your own fires
and encircle yourselves with sparks.
Don’t try to warm yourself
or walk in the light
of
the fires you have made;
it will only lead to torment.”
Isaiah 50:10,11
It was disturbing to realize how I kindle fires by believing my
thoughts. These thoughts become "my story" that I embellish and live by...it's a fire I kindle in an attempt to warm myself...but
what I end up with is torment.
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“Hewn From the Rock”
“Listen
to Me, you who pursue truth and who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which
you were hewn.”
Deuteronomy 32:18
"Who would you be without the thought that
your
art must meet people's expectations?"
"I would be freeing these images into a life of their own."
"I would be freeing
me into a life of my own."
I thought of what I'd heard about a sculptor seeing a figure in the stone which he worked to free, to release.
I do have that sense with my art...it has it's own life. I help birth it but I don't really create it...I'm just a midwife
so to speak.
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"Lifting Up of My Hands"
"Let my prayer
be as incense before You;
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering."
Psalm 141:2
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"Harmony"
“Live in harmony and peace.”
2 Corinthians 13:11
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"Yours for the Making"
“He has given us everything we need for life and godliness...”
2 Peter 1:3
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"Outstretched Hand"
"I have stretched out My
hands all day long..."
Isaiah 65:2
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"Tender Plants"
"Let my teaching fall like rain
on tender plants."
Deuteronomy
32:2
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Wasn't it what she expected?
She saw it coming
Because it
always did
If only this time
Things could be different
But how could it be?
She couldn't remember
Anything
else
And it made her afraid.
And now
Even the slightest movement
Caused her to shudder.
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"Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned
you?"
She said, "No one, Lord."
And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
John 8:10
"I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness"
Isaiah 61:10
I was reading the transfiguration passage in Mark the other day...it talked
about Jesus' clothes turning brilliantly white...with awe I thought, "That's the robe He'll cover us with!"
Then I thought
of her...the woman from John 8.
She's laying there probably with nothing on (or at least pretty close to it)...all the
others have left...He's there alone with her....don't you think He wrapped that robe around her? I don't know for sure about
her, but do know He did that for me.
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"In The Cleft of The Rock"
"I will put you in the cleft of the Rock
and cover you with My hand."
Exodus
33:22
"He who dwells in the secret place
of the Most High shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty."
Psalm
91:1
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"I Will Never Forget You"
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
or have no compassion on
the child she has borne?
Even if that were possible,
I will never forget you!
See, I have you inscribed on the
palms of My hands;
you are ever before Me."
Isaiah 49:15,16
"God Of All Comfort"
"Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father
of mercy
and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those
in
any trouble with the comfort
we ourselves have received from God.
For just as the sufferings of Christ
flow over
into our lives,
so also through Christ our comfort overflows."
2 Corinthians 2:3-5
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"You hide me
in the secret place
of Your presence.
You are my soul's shelter."
Psalm 31:20
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"Beloved, you are a child of God;
what you will be
has not
been revealed,
But know this:
When Christ returns,
you will be like Him,
because you will see Him as He is.
Resting
your hope in Him,
you will be cleansed and made pure,
just as He is pure. "
1 John 3:2,3
"For now we see
through a glass, darkly,
but then face to face;
now I know in part;
but then shall I know
even as I also am
known."
1 Corinthians 13:12
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"And walk in love,
as Christ has loved you
and given Himself
for you,
an offering and a sacrifice to God
for a sweet-smelling aroma."
Ephesians 5:2
"But thanks be to
God,
who always leads us
in triumphal procession in Christ
and through us spreads everywhere
the fragrance
of the knowledge of Him."
2 Corinthians 2:14
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I was thinking about David being anointed by Samuel but more generally about how God calls and anoints each of us (and
how we, like Samuel and David and his family, are surprised by the choice and amazed at what God has in mind for us).
Yes, He has anointed us...2 Corinthians 1:21, 22 speaks of God's promises being Yes and Amen in Christ and how He has established
and anointed us and given us His spirit.
"For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory
of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given
us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."
Another scripture came to mind: "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." Romans 11:29 (This is the only
place in the whole Bible where the word "irrevocable" is used...isn't that interesting? I suppose it's similar to saying
God keeps his promises, but in this case, it's the promises that He has place within us that He keeps and preserves...Yes
and Amen indeed.)
As I was reading through Mark, a short phrase popped out at me...Jesus said he needed to go to the other villages to preach
and then said, "That's the reason I came." I think that's a good thing to know, "Why did I come? For what purpose, did God
send me?"
We rarely have a full sense of our calling, not only that, it's not static but evolving and changing. On the other hand,
it really is important to have some sense of it, to have some vision. And even when you have that, there's the embracing
and incorporating part...coming to know yourself as God defines you. Wonder how long it took David to see himself as king...the
king God had chosen and anointed. (Perhaps he was the king God called him to be because he never lost sight of himself as
a shepherd.) The bottomline is that David embraced his calling. I pray for the vision and courage to do likewise.
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"Long ago I laid the foundations of the earth
and
the heavens are the work of My hands.
Even though they will perish, I will endure.
They will all wear out like
a garment,
like clothing I will change them,
and they will pass away;
But I am the same and My years have no
end,
And you, my children,
will continue,
You and your descendents
will be securely established
in
My presence."
Psalm 102:25-28
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"I tend My flock like a shepherd:
I gather the lambs
in My arms
and carry them close to My heart;
I gently lead those that have young."
Isaiah 40:11
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"As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you."
Isaiah
66:13
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"The singers and the musicians shall say,
'All my fountains are
in you.'"
Psalm 87:7
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