The Dare

"When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our toungue with shouts of joy.... Restore our fortunes, O Lord. like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him." Psalm 126

I feel the heat rise in my cheeks, the burning sensation in a failed attempt to hold back tears... the refreshing sting as the floodgates open....a place where fire and water meet drawing beauty from one another...tears of joy....a moment when pain and blessing naturally flow from the same fount....when the self-protecting walls in our heart of stone are destroyed and His Beauty, the purity of His love, emerges from its ashes...the sanctification of loving bodly, moving towards another counting it all as loss to honor our King...

This is the Dare...to love as He loves

the fiery pain of it searing our flesh as the living water flows into our heart....the severing of our thick heart callouses and the forging of iron sharpening iron soul ties...did isaiah not feel the sweet comingling of pain and joy when the seraph touched the live coal to his lips...yes, there is freedom in the relinquishing of our "rights" as we love in the Way, as we love by His power...

This is the Dare...

His Way is the only way to really love...it is our sanctification, our metamorphosis, as we reach Him by reaching out to the so-called "unlovable"...and, isn't it in the reach we often discover that we indeed are the true "unlovable" in desperate need of His Life-giving grace....this reach that uncovers our treasure, richer communion with Him, through the deepening of earthly relationships...

This is the Dare...

I watch as soul-seaching blue-eyes walks towards me, tears brimming, choked words spilling out....his stuffed tiger maimed by the dog...I listen to Bird softly sing comforting Truth to him, "You can still love it, Whitt. It won't look the same or be the same, but you can still love it. Mommy, will sew it back together with blue thread, your favorite color. You will love it even more."

this world is messy, this world chews-up and spits back out over and over again, and in the midst He gives us grace blessings, the privilege to show His Scarlet thread through kindness and humility while watching Him knit souls back together....yes, we can still love for His was the Victory

This is the Dare...

I sit in a room listening to dear friends, these women who wave His love-banner over me, these women who dare....there is grief, there is suffering, there are tears, and amongst it, there is the overwhelming resonance of laughter, the different notes rooted in holy joy all coming together to create the sweet symphony of fellowship all for the Father's glory...the laughter, this is what I remember; all else falls away...this is the redeeming power of the cross...His work...Jesus...

This is the Dare...

Let us dare to live fully in relationship, resisting the numbness. Let us receive our grace blessings through the shower of our tears, accepting the momentary pain for more knowledge and insight in the depth of His love.....the tears washing away the stoney self, leaving a reflective pool for His light to shine forth creating a rainbow of laughter arching over the weight of this world....our Hope in Him

"I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessings." Ezekial 34:26

Praise His Name! Here comes the flood...

Praise Him by loving and count all else as loss...

Flying in His Dreams

"C.S. Lewis's mind was above all characterized by a willingness to be enchanted, and it was this openess to enchantment that held together the various strands of his life-his delight in laughter, his willingness to accept a world made by a good and loving God, and (in some ways above all) his willingness to submit to the charms of a wonderful story." Alan Jacobs, author of The Narnian


Mae had an assignment to draw four ways God demonstrates His love for her. Her four boxes contained pictures of me, baby Jesus, flowers, and then very uniquely a picture of herself "daydreaming." Six years ago, on a saturday just like today with flakes of snow, Mae entered this world, and her journey of daydreaming began. As she was whisked from my arms, He was whispering to her heart, shielding her and holding her dreams in the midst of a noisy, chaotic, and fear-filled entrance. He was blessing her through His story for her, thankfully not granting mine which was far to limited for this girl of ours. He alone knows the complete uniqueness of her heart, soul, and mind for He fashioned them; I, as her mother, am allowed the privilege to walk alongside her, watching her discover who He made her to be, instilling the Truth in her life, pointing out the details of the Master's loving hand in His story for her as it unfolds while fighting the temptation to keep her on my "protected" plan.

My dear girl, I have watched Him grow your mind over the past year as you have learned to read with an increased love of science, learning, and passion for seeking knowledge. I love watching these skills emerge and expand as well as His gifts of your soul, this quiet surety budding into a sense of His righteousenss and a call for justice.

Remember, my love, that we seek knowledge to love more like Him, not for our pride; we seek knowledge in humility of the Great I Am for the sweetness of our journey and full glorification of His gifts in us.

Always remember He loves you in the "flowers." Use your mind to explore the intricacies, the order, the marvel of His creation. Use your heart to see the stories He longs to tell you of Himself through nature. Eagerly accept the privilege given by Him to cultivate His earth with respect and honor. Wrestle with the hard questions about this world using your soul to understand His authority on deeper levels, resting in the knowledge that this is your Father's world.

Always remember His gift of family, the body of Christ, our true family. Using your mind to see the diversity necessary to truly reflect our God, your soul to challenge the unjust walls of this world, and your heart to laugh even in the midst of tears, for laughter is love bubbling over, laughter is a stepping stone to unity.

Always remember the power of the blood of Christ. He made himself completely vulnerable to wash you whiter than the snow on the day of your birth, so when the wounds of this world tempt you to close off parts of your heart, use your mind to seek the Truth in His Word, your soul to recognize that you are made in the image of the Most High, a daughter of the King, and your heart to receive the oil of gladness, this love the Spirit longs to pour over you. This wellspring of the heart, that never runs dry, is the one true source of love.

Remember you must first RECEIVE, then you STRIVE out of gratitude found in His mercy; you never strive, then receive. There is NO EARNING; it is ALL HIS GRACE.

Above all, continue to daydream, my love.......continually daydream of eternity until you reach it....for He has made your heart, soul, and mind to long for these things....may your imagination stand firm in Him, not to be derailed by earthly understandings.....fully submit to His story for you with wonder allowing your life to sparkle with His holy joy smiling at the future before you.

"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future." Proverbs 31:25

Happy Sixth Birthday, Bird! Much flying He has for you...