Loved ones, there is no greater example of the exchange that the Lord offers us in practicing humility. When we submit our lives and circumstances to the Lord, He is good and faithful to return to us that which is rare and beautifully curated. It’s the currency of Heaven.

We live in a culture that celebrates the hustle and grind. It pats us on the back for our busy schedules and involvement in all the things. We are celebrated for achievement. We are told scale higher, and take life to the limit. These are THE virtues. The ones that identify the ‘winners’ and subsequently, the ‘losers’.

So, we buy in and hustle. We grind. We work and strive and scale. We grit our teeth, climb and push for more. Until…..

The morning rolls in and I love the cool, if even just for a few hours where I get up with my coffee and once again listen, read, and pray. I know the sun is about to rise so I try and catch it. I put on my sneakers and hit the trail. I’ve timed this walk so that I can be on the west side of the lake just in time to catch the sun cresting the horizon. The sky ablaze with orange, red and yellow. In just minutes it is fully in the sky and the morning has come.

Oh the simple things, though they be… seem as though they're made for me.

In the space between dreaming and reality, slumber and wakefulness - it floods my awareness.

Not quite awake, but not still asleep, I internally meditate on it. Visceral. It moves from my inner thought to an outer enunciation. My lips hardly work yet this early in the morning, but can muster this...

Jesus

Romans 1:20

“For every since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature. So people have no excuse for not knowing God”

Author and minister William Barclay said, “A man cannot borrow a relationship with God. He must possess it for himself. A man cannot borrow a character; he must be clothed with it. The time to make sure you are ready is now.”

True connection happens when people feel seen and valued. It causes people to feel heard, understood and experience a sense of belonging. This is a beautiful thing when it happens. Yet, deeply painful when one makes an effort and the other person does not. This is why vulnerability is so scary sometimes.

In our current world culture everywhere we turn, there is a call for unity. It’s almost trendy. Unity has been encouraged as a central goal or virtue. Yet, it is not realistic or healthy to just pursue unity for it’s own advantage. Dare I even say dangerous as a singular goal? What does it really mean to exist in unity?

Hope is that thing that shifts from the self defeat, the agonizing questions, the regret and shame and just starts humming along to a melody. It sings along with the words it knows and is ok with the absence of the ones it doesn’t yet. Hope believes in potential. It lets go and looks forward and keeps going and presses in.

I watched during the exchange and then as they proudly were coming back toward home, Wes with his blue raspberry popsicle, and Sam with a bright green lime popsicle. I went back to my work in the kitchen. It felt good to delight their little hearts in such a simple way…

It is the strongest people that ask the most real questions.  Weakness avoids wholeheartedness. Strength embraces it and draws it out.

this place..these walls...hold our stories.  The molding around the door where we mark and measure 'how tall' our boys have grown reminds me that He knows.  So many stories in that wood. The depth of flavor and nuance is something to savor. I'm learning by heart...

I think it's so funny how we leave our houses a complete mess in order to walk out the door "put together"?  I understand that sometimes there are just busy seasons when the demand is high, but to continually neglect the inside so the outside can thrive?  I can't do that for very long. Real shine happens from the inside out. Not by turning upside down.

It is my belief that in order to preach the good news of Jesus to every nation, we have to be willing to risk it all. Meaning, no matter what attacks are thrown our way by the world, we have to let it roll off our shoulders and keep pressing forward on the offensive side of things.

We feel in order to be healed.