Carried you into exile

Friends,
Jeremiah 29:11-14 are verses the Lord gave me a few years ago. These are the kind of verses you underline and highlight in pink. They held the first promises I'd ever realized He had for me. At the time I was just discovering how He loves me and starting to search for His love and promises in the scriptures. As I read these verses today I realize I missed the point.

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

Beginning at the end - though he may not have purposed my exile, "he carried me into exile". He was always with me even when I couldn't see or feel Him. He wasn't next to me, he wasn't just in the room. He carried me in His loving strong arms when I couldn't carry myself and probably didn't want to go.
At first, I thought verse 11 should have been after verse 14. Shouldn't I be in exile and then hear of how he has plans for me that will prosper me and not harm me? But then it occurred to me the Lord doesn't make mistakes and maybe the reason verse 11 comes first is to give us hope as He knows the exile is coming. And possibly to comfort me with knowledge that He has a plan for me whatever the circumstances. Hope and security before the exile. Oh, yes, still hope during. A promise to take with me.

My thoughts now think of these verses in Matthew:

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own". Matthew 6:33-34

One more thing strikes me in these verses back in Jeremiah and this is the Lord's certainty that I "will call upon Him and come and pray to Him". He knows this desire in my heart and He tells me with assurity that I will call, come, and pray. I have in essence an invitation from Him. But the best part - "He will listen". When I seek Him with all my heart - He will be found by me. He's not playing with me, He is making Himself wholly available to me.
Warning - this post becomes sappy now...but this is my thought when I read this part of the scripture.
I picture the one I've looked for all of my life. The one I've sought and hoped for. The one when our eyes meet and I've found him, he's waiting to carry me off and have plans with me and not harm me. The one who goes with me into exile and is the one who gathers me. The one I spend my life journey. But this is so much more - this is my savior not an ordinary human being. This one loves me with no uncertainty. He not only goes on this journey of life with me, he promises everlasting life.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness," Jeremiah 31:3

Wherever you are today - being carried into exile, in exile, or realizing the promise of the plans He has for you...keep remembering to seek Him with your whole heart as He is with you and He loves you best.

Lovingly,
DIG, Discovering Intimacy with God

Sunday Morning

Sunday morning is one of my favorite phrases. It has come to mean solitude, quiet, peace, and rest when I say it outloud, or in my mind. Especially mornings when the air is crisp and smells fresh. The birds are singing praises and the Lord's sun is beginning to rise and awaken those He loves.
Whatever circumstances occurred the day before, all have new meaning the next day.

Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.
Psalm 149:1

So let's "sing to the Lord a new song" this Sunday morning and each day this week as each day brings "a new song" from the Lord in love to you. Watch for it!
Blessings,
DIG

Acrostic poem: Love

This is what happens when God wakes you up FAR too early.....(in my opinion)

My attempt at an acrostic poem:
I call it (now hear the chimes ting):

Early Rising

LOVE came in the form of His Son
Oneness with Him, our heart's desire
Victory was gained on the Cross
Everlasting life secured

May God Bless your Day and weekend.
- DIG

Perception

Jan Karon writes about Father Timothy Kavanaugh and his wife Cynthia in the The Mitford Series books. In the books are times when Cynthia states what she likes and Father Tim will say “What don’t you like Mrs. Kavanaugh?” Cynthia will then start a list of things she doesn’t like: flies during picnics, cold bathroom floors, impatient people, and knee-jerk reactions, (oh boy can I be guilty of those). (I made these up as I couldn’t find a quote of one of her lists and I’ve always wanted to list my own.) The lists are always simple, they are always different and she’s able to rattle them off. (Of course she is, it’s a book. But she gives the impression she knows exactly what she likes and what she doesn’t like and she can tell you right off. I admire this ability.)

I’d have to say for me, other one of the things I would list would be “holding a misperception about a person or experience”. This is a personality trait I believe we ALL share. Those of us conscious about it try not to, but still will. It’s also the easy thing to do, instead of finding out about the other person. Many times I’ve not liked someone because I held a misperception of why they behaved, or treated me, a certain way. And how wrong I have found out I have been. Usually that person is carrying a cross they haven’t revealed and it’s a heavy one.

A while ago I watched a movie with my daughter about a preacher and his wife. During one scene new neighbors were moving in across the street. As they both peered through the curtains to see who had moved in, they both were commenting on who they hoped the neighbors were not. The preacher said, “Why don’t you go over and meet them and invite them to church?” “I’ll make a pie this afternoon to take over,” said his dutiful wife. As she left the house to take the pie over, a man drove into the new neighbor’s driveway. When he got out of the car he was embraced and kissed on the cheek by the man moving into the house. There was also a boy on a bicycle in the front yard. The preachers wife saw this exchange and turned on her heel and went right back into the house. Later at dinner, she conveyed the exchange to her husband who then said “Why don’t you wait to invite them to church. We’ll see if they just show up.” You can imagine they thought the men were a gay couple.

A few days go by and she meets the boy outside. She asks about his daddy and then asks where is his mommy? The next scene shows her meeting, talking and laughing with the two men and boy in their driveway. Her husband is home watching through the curtains. She’s asked immediately when she arrives home what she’s learned. Apparently, the man is a widower and the other man is the brother of his wife. The preacher says “Did you invite them to church?” And she says “No, but I will when I bring a pie over.”

This got me thinking to the number of times I placed my own opinion and attitude onto someone before getting to know them and turned on my heel and headed back into my “safe house” (guarding my heart) with “my pie” (Jesus’ love) . Placing my will of judgement based on how the person looked at me, or behaved in a given situation, instead of trusting God to reveal to me who the person really is. When I have learned more about a person, then usually I’ve come to find out the person is just like me, needing, craving, desiring the love of our Lord who wants to love me and them beyond my imagination.

This is when prayer should kick in!

Love Songs

Friends,
A girlfriend suggested a year ago to listen to love songs as if my Savior was singing to me. This has deepened my love for Jesus and now I sing them back to him. They may not be "christian" songs per se, but the heart intent is the same if not a greater form of worship to Him, for me.

Entering QFC today at lunch, I discovered the grocery store music was just beginning Kenny Rogers singing "Lady". So bear with me. I immediately felt giddy and special and thanked my Lord for this special treat. While I was wandering the store "singing" this to myself, (and sometimes out loud), I discovered it was a duet. Parts of the song were Him, (my lover/savior/knight in shining armor/my Jesus) and parts were me, (princess/gushing with love and "special-ness").

Lady
Lady, I'm your knight in shining armor and I love you (J)
You have made me what I am and I am yours (me)
My love, there's so many ways I want to say I love you (J)
Let me hold you in my arms forever more (J)

You have gone and made me such a fool (me)
I'm so lost in your love (me)
And oh, we belong together (me)
Won't you believe in my song? (J)

Lady, for so many years I thought I'd never find you (me)
You have come into my life and made me whole (me)
Forever let me wake to see you each and every morning (me)
Let me hear you whisper softly in my ear (me)
In my eyes I see no one else but you (me)
There's no other love like our love (J)
And yes, oh yes, I'll always want you near me (J)

I've waited for you for so long (J/me)
Lady, your love's the only love I need (J/me)
And beside me is where I want you to be (J/me)
'Cause, my love, there's somethin' I want you to know (J/me)
You're the love of my life, you're my lady! (J/me)

Write me a comment and tell me YOUR favorite love song with Jesus! Or when God surprises you with His intimacy and where it happened. Because He will!

So, its time to go on Itunes and buy "Lady" to add my love songs with Jesus CD.

Blessings,
DIG

Email from God and Other Wandering Thoughts in the Wilderness

I just received another email from a well-intended friend. Its the kind of email that doesn't really DRAW me into the arms of God. It's a wishy-washy "let's feel good about God" email. It asks me if I'm struggling and then tells me God will make the struggling go away. Well, maybe God doesn't want the struggling to go away just yet. Maybe I LIKE to struggle and remain in God's arms for a little while longer. Maybe my struggling is intended to be a blessing to others and just needs to be.
The other piece missing for me in these types of emails is scripture. That is why they are wishy-washy to me. At LEAST back up the encouragement with His Word. Without it, I'm inclined to hit delete. So if you send me an email, and the email is "from God", don't forgot to include His Word. Then I might pray and consider that "yes, God is emailing me".

Ok - off that soap box and on to another. I'm sitting here looking out my front picture window and watching a mini-bike race up and down the street. The guy driving it is too big for the bike and is not wearing a helmet. Sometimes I feel like this as a parent. My thoughts and desires are too big for what my children are trying to accomplish and I should have put on a helmet. ha! That was a stupid analogy, but I like it. If I try hard enough, I may find a scripture that goes with this...hmmmmm....
Did you know the "armor of light" is talked about in Romans (13:12) and in Ephesians (6:11 and 6:13), the "armor of God". I had only thought Ephesians. But both refer to the Word of God. I love the dictionary/concordance area of my bible. God just taught me something new. So as a parent I need to put on the "helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God". (Eph. 6:17)

Last thoughts. It's been awhile since I've written and my soul misses the connection I receive with God. For me, this is more of a prayer and telling Him my thoughts. Though He knows them, getting them out and written connects me closer to Him. This gives me a chance to reflect on the love He showers me with during my days. Saturday night was one of those moments with Him that amaze me. I was sitting with 500 other people at a convention dinner. Who does God sit next to me? A woman whose husband had died last summer and was being remembered that night. My first thought as we spoke and she shared about why she was there was...thank you Lord for the extra kleenex you prompted me to put in my pocket. At first she was hesitant to tell me about him, but as she relayed the story hope, courage, and bravery entered her eyes and her speech. She had never been to this convention, nor had shared this part of his life. She encouraged her son to have this with his Dad, but she stayed and managed their home. This coming year, she decided to go on a trip with her son that he was to take with his Dad this last October in 2007. They obviously did not make that trip. She is fearful and scared but is visibly excited to go. It's to South Africa on a photography safari. So far from home. But she feels she needs to for her son and for her husband's memory. I told her I looked up to her for her bravery and courage. Her response was "but I'm scared, but I know I need to do it."
"May God be with you" Is all I could say after that. What an incredible woman. To find courage in the midst of her loss. She reminded me of a quote I read in "Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul",
"Then the time came when the risk it took to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin

So here I go this Spring, risking to blossom in two areas I've wanted to explore - hunting and kayaking.
So, may God by with you as you "blossom".
- DIG

Dwelling within me

Ephesians 2.22 tells us: "and in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

How intimate of God. To build in us His dwelling place in which His Spirit lives. This verse is humbling. It points not only to the need for us to be submissive to his will ("in him"), but that He is doing the building. Our part is really fairly easy but unfortunately our own will can overtake the building project making it more difficult. But does it make it more difficult for God, or does He use it for his glory?

Recently over the holidays I had the blessing from God to share with my two nieces how his love has transformed me this last year . One was full of questions, the other sat and mostly listened . I danced in my heart after the encounter praising God and asking him to continue the work he is doing in their journey towards Him. But then disaster struck. (In my mind it was disaster, God had another plan.) In my own will and sin I fought with my sister. Ugh. She and I have never disagreed and it crushed both of us. Many days afterward this verse was given to me by God for my comfort; "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

God helped me clearly see the blessing of this event. My nieces saw in my sister and myself an argument bred from sin, confession of the wrongdoing, forgiveness, and how we continued on in love. This is how God accepts us when we come to Him. He forgets our sin and loves on us in ways we could never imagine.

So just as David said in the Psalms (139:7) "where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee in your presence?" I say to you Lord, thank you that I cannot flee, as even in my sin you are at work in my life for YOUR good.

My Pastor once said "Truth is the immune system of the believer". I encourage you, dig into God's truth (His Word and promises) and the Holy spirit will dwell in you too!
Blessings,
DIG - Discovering Intimacy with God