Look Again

Life can be tough.  When troubles last longer than expected, our hearts weaken with discouragement.  Fifteen years ago, I was so sick with pain-wracked fibromyalgia, I began to face the world through a narrow lense of illness and its limitations.  

I couldn't work.  I couldn't do more than one errand at a time. I couldn't swing at the park with my little girl.  I would gingerly perch on a park bench, aching intensely, and call out encouragement, counting the minutes until I could lie down again.  Life was tough then, plumb filled up with "couldn'ts".

Jesus came to a nation without walk in clinics, hospitals or modern medicine.  As the only guaranteed Healer in town, Jesus surprises us by often saying first, "Cheer Up!".

"Be of good cheer, daughter", He said to the woman who had spent every penny she had, trying to stop bleeding which had embarrassed and stigmatized her for twelve long years. "Your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well at that hour. (Matthew 9:22)

"Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven", He said to the young paralyzed man laying before Him on his mat ( Matthew 9:2). " Arise, take up your bed, and go home".  Immediately he arose, took up the bed and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God. (Mark 2:11)

To His terrified disciples who met Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a contrary storm, Jesus spoke to them, saying "Cheer up! I AM! Don't be afraid." (Matthew 14:27, WEB)  In other words, "Get excited, guys, God's here.  You have no worries."  And when Peter and Jesus both climbed into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then they worshipped Him, saying "Truly, You are the Son of God."

Jesus cured the sick.  He raised the dead. 

But the main message Jesus gave was really, "Don't worry, be happy":

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15, TNIV).

The good news is the cheerful truth is that Love has come down. Love came to earth as Jesus Christ and this changes every perspective, every dream, every viewpoint.

So what are you looking at?

Jesus came to an angry nation, full of troubles and full of woes, similar to many nations today.

Rome was intent on crushing them, and before them, the Greeks just about annihilated the nation God loves.  Babylon almost wiped the Jews off the earth.  Things haven't changed.

Desperate to show their difference, Israel lived a drudgery of rules, oppressed by religious leaders who heaped on expectations and then cruelly inspected to see if these conditions were met.  Israel was one desperate flock of scattered hurting sheep.

Jesus grew up in these crushing times and persevered all the way to that bloody cross.  When preparing for his death and resurrection, Jesus told his beloved friends, 

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

Cheer Up, Jesus says.  I have overcome and so will you.

What lenses are you using to see your world today?

This spring, do you see only muddy footprints on a newly washed kitchen floor?  Or are you looking at the garden for hidden bulbs to bloom?  

Do you see only life's disappointments or do you see the magnificent daily grace God sprinkles all through today?  

Can you believe through your pain that the Healer is here and that He loves you, the one He has intentionally and wonderfully made?

Cheer up, friend.

It's time to look again.

The Game

In April 2011, healthy five-year old Jack Hoffman of Atkinson, Nebraska had a grand mal seizure which lasted over thirty minutes.  Jack was then airlifted to Children's Hospital Omaha and the doctors' news  was grim.  Jack had a large malignant brain tumor and needed surgery. Unfortunately for the Hoffman family, the first surgery wasn't effective.  95% of the tumor was left intact, as the surgery proved too dangerous. 

Life grew really tough for Jack and his family as he suffered seizures, up to eleven a day.  Bri and Andy Hoffman desperately sought further medical options and prayed their hearts out, rallying everyone they knew to pray for their beloved boy.  By August 2011, Pediatric Neurosurgeon Dr. Lilian Goumnerova of Children's Hospital Boston, determined that the tumor could be mostly removed to ease the life-threatening seizures, though the risks were substantial. After much prayer, the Hoffman's agreed and Jack was scheduled for high-risk brain surgery at Boston's Children Hospital on Oct 10th, 2011.

In the fall leading up to Jack's surgery, Andy Hoffman wanted to do something special for his son.  After contacting the University of Nebraska, Andy arranged for Jack to meet his favorite player, running back Rex Burkhead of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Rex, a kind and gentle Texan and outstanding football player, met the family for lunch on September 25, 2011, toured them through the University of Nebraska stadium and even ran down the football field with Jack, starting up a friendship which continued throughout Jack's long months of battling brain cancer.  

At that meeting, Andy gave Rex some "Team Jack - Pray" bracelets. Rex put one on and still wears it today. Rex started following Jack's progress with ongoing phone calls and visits,  and then opened a Nebraska chapter of Uplifting Athletes, becoming a leading advocate for pediatric brain cancer research.  He was recently awarded the Rare Disease Champion Award presented by Uplifting Athletes.  Rex spoke about Jack's impact on his life:

Jack has taught me a lot about life," Burkhead said. "He's put my life in perspective. To see Jack battle, it's something I never had to go through when I was a kid. But he's still living life and having fun and laughing. Just seeing that is motivation for me. If there's anything in my life that I think is hard, I take a second look at it now."                                    -from "Jack Hoffman Steals Spring Show"M. Schalabach, ESPN.com

Thankfully, Jack's second surgery on October 10, 2011 was a success, as doctors removed most of the golf-ball sized tumor.  Unfortunately, in April 2012, the Hoffman family received hard news that the spot on Jack's brain stem had grown and was still inoperable. On April 27, 2012, Jack started a sixty-week chemotherapy treatment at Children's Hospital Omaha to shrink the tumor and save his life.

Last Saturday, Jack played the game of his life.  The University of Nebraska coaches called up Andy Hoffman and asked if Jack would like to play in their spring exhibition game with his beloved Huskers.  

Saturday morning, Jack awoke and agreed to their invite. Andy then found Jack's 22 Rex Burkhead jersey which they had purchased at Jack's first Huskers' game two year's earlier before brain cancer had rocked all their lives.  The family scrambled to put together gear for Team Jack and placed it all in a backpack which Jack wore.  Jack watched most of the spring game on the sidelines until the fourth period when he changed quickly into uniform while the players huddled in a protective wall around him.

Ever since Rex Burkhead had told his team Jack's story, the Huskers had carried Jack in their hearts, many wearing Team Jack Pray bracelets as they cheered on this boy in his fierce battle for his life. 

The Huskers had a chance to give to this little boy the best game of his life and last Saturday they certainly did.  In the final quarter, Jack scored a 69 yard touchdown, the best spring touchdown ever, to the roaring cheers of sixty thousand fans and the jubilant Huskers. To watch those big burly boys gently hustle up the fields, letting Jack lead the play, and then rejoicing at his touchdown was an amazing example of showmanship, of both the heart of the Huskers, and the courage of this little boy.

This week, Jack will resume his chemotherapy, treatment which is over twenty-five years old.  Research for pediatric brain cancer is limited and not highly visible like breast or prostate cancers.  Jack's game on Saturday may have turned this around, since his play is one of the most watched Youtube videos this week (7.1 million hits and counting).  

Though pediatric brain cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer of children, happily more than half diagnosed will recover and live long into adulthood.  As Bri and Andy Hoffman battle for Jack's future, they have linked arms with CureSearch for Children's Cancer to raise pediatric research funds with the Team Jack Legacy Fund to help stop brain cancer in children and to develop a cure now.

Cancer affects us all.  Whether you know a friend, have lost a loved one, or faced it yourself, cancer is a reality in North America.  In 2010, I remember the cold fear that gripped me when my family doctor informed me I had a brain tumor.  I shudder at the strain I felt as I underwent numerous MRI's at Toronto Western Hospital, working through what would happen to my kids, my family, my future as the machine relentlessly clanged jackhammer sounds and I breathed through the panic.  Thankfully, my tumor was ruled benign and has not caused significant problems for me, which is to God's great glory.  

Jack's story has proved much tougher.  

Team Jack Pray bracelets are still available as we continue to pray and hope for good news for beloved Jack Hoffman.  Recent news that Jack's tumor is shrinking has been a relief to everyone who carries this family in their hearts.  Why not consider joining Team Jack - Pray as we pray until we hear the good news of Jack's full recovery, for Jack's family, for strength to endure and that Jack has many joyful moments along this tough road.  Why not give to pediatric cancer research and link arms with financial means?

Prayer works.  So does loving on purpose, which the Rex Burkhead and the Huskers have surely demonstrated with this game.  As we are confronted with real needs, the choice is always to act or ignore.  We are so glad, for Jack's sake, that the Huskers acted.  

What are you going to do when confronted with the next real  need?  What can you do now?

(Artwork courtesy of Jeff Koterba, World Herald.  Please contact him at owhstore@owh.com for copies of this excellent piece.)

The Race

Here is a story about a boy and his brother.  A story about running a race for the love of a brother, rather than the love of winning. A story about champion boys, rightly named Kid Athletes of 2012 by Sports Illustrated because they race for the love of family, for the dignity of a little brother.

Connor and Cayden run a triumphant triathlon of love.

Love marked by sweat, pain and endurance.

Love with legs pumping and arms straining.

Quiet love as Connor Long simply states his resolve to race with his brother or not race at all.

It makes me look hard at the race I have run for years.

When I first found Jesus, I remember I was so relieved He was real, all I could do was keep thanking God. I would wake up in the morning thrilled and go to bed thrilled.

As I read the Bible, I discovered the most amazing stories and thrilled even more to know Him.

I learnt how to study, how to sing the worship songs.

I prayed all the time.

Jesus didn't leave me crippled and  crumpled by my choices as I longed for life.  

He died to pull me in His arms, to bring me close, to have life with Him and rose so that I can.

Then I joined a church, got busy and started running solo.  People just didn't seem linger quietly with God.  Everyone was rushing to do good. I felt I had to work hard not to be left behind.

I ran like a foolish jogger who insists on running ahead on an unknown trail trying to be first at the finish. Soon, I ended off course, sick, confused, lonely. 

I blamed the Guide but just kept on singing and pretending I knew the trail.

Bruised by drive, I kept running hoping for a prize and ended up just broken mad.

I expect I am not the only ambitious runner who wanted to finish first.  Running in the wrong direction reaped fatigue, burnout, despair. Too ashamed to admit being lost. I wore Jesus on my jersey and just kept running as if my life depended on it, like an hopeless my orphan lost in fog on a mountainside.

Many years passed.  Sometimes I could hear My King's voice on the mountain, and I would rest for awhile.  Anxious to please and missing His Love, ambition forced me forward. I ran alone.

Mercifully, a preacher spoke a word into my dark night, bouncing off barren mountains and raining down gently on my parched lips.

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:17

Suddenly, I could see the Cross and I remembered.

I looked long and hard at the Finished Work and stopped running.

I knelt by the empty Tomb and dragged in deep long breaths of new.

I heard the Holy Spirit and He mercifully led me onto the trail once more.  

When The Way, the Truth, the Life met me, He offered me water. I drank long deep drinks from the only well that could slay my desperate thirst. His Word sustained me.

Now, I run to find others, to tell them they are not alone.  I run with my heart and my pen but I keep a close eye on my Guide.  He leads.

The race has always been with Him, in Him, and through Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God the Father. 

It's a family affair and we are beloved kids on this run.

Hebrews 12: 1-3 says:Let us run with patience the race that is set before us,² looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Thank you Long family, for being a trophy of grace, for illustrating love-drenched racing in a world that worships trophies.

Thank you, Jesus, that you never leave or forsake even when we do.

What race are you running?  Does it change hearts or lead to sorrow? Have you run down valleys and needed rescue?  Did you know Jesus specializes in search and rescue?  Tell us your story.

Over 30,000 Hugs Served

The boy who is going to make a great man must not make up his mind merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of a thousand repulses and defeats.

Theodore Roosevelt

In a world which honors bravery, esteems knowledge and enshrines good looks, along comes a Tim Harris.  Olympian. Entrepreneur. Man born with Down's Syndrome.

As a business owner, he faces the daily strain of responsibilities, patrons, cares.  The ongoing pace is unrelenting. Yet each time Tim opens his own coffee shop, he does a happy dance.  

Certainly his supportive family have helped with Tim's success.  With Tim's disability, each skill acquired would require perseverance and fortitude to achieve. Yet Tim's self-reference point is as an Olympian, with " more medals than Phelps".  As a teen, he dreamed to own a restaurant, not seeing the limitations, just purposing to make his dream come true. Tim dreamed without measure.  Tim defined himself as a special gift, not a hindrance.

The dignity of the man is undeniable.

I expect Tim purchased his joy one choice at a time.  Tim had to steadfastly believe in himself in a society which labels the disabled as second class, worthless, unacceptable.  Tim had to deafen his ears to self-pity, to defeat, to those lying labels and hone his hearing to the possible in order to choose his dream as his reality.  

Each day, Tim dances to life's goodness before a crowd of patrons holding warm mugs of coffee. With hugs as his daily greeting, Tim has branded his restaurant with a heart of love.  

Not surprising, the business has enjoyed considerable success.  
Over 30,000 hugs, coffee, and people served at Tim's Place.

Self-defining lies traps us from pursuing dreams.

You're not-good enough.   
Tim defined himself as a gift.
The perfect God of the universe fashioned you in your mother's womb (Psalm 139:13).
Change your self-definers.

You'll never make it.
Tim overcame numerous obstacles, patiently learning all the skills required, one tedious task at a time, in order to proudly declare, "I'm the owner here."
Success is measured one step at a time.  
The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. (Psalm 37:23)
Make friends with God.  As He orders your steps, start walking.

Your dreams don't matter. 
Even God believes in dreams.  He has many.
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." (Jeremiah 29:11)
Your dreams are beautiful and worth pursuing. God loves dreaming with you.

Self-defeating lies are invisible electric fences which cordon off our dreams and paralyze the hard work of achieving our destiny.

Bust them open with truth.

Tim busted down those walls.  He bore the pain of being different and shredded society`s expectations, plodding forward one step at a time until his dream to own a love-saturated coffee shop happened.

Don't believe the lies anymore.

When I behold Tim, hugging patrons, encouraging his staff, laughing with joy, I am humbled by this genuine kind hero. My self-defeat crumbles before his story.As Tim's story pushes possibility, I can feel the drum of dreams start to rumble within.  The world needs each of our beautiful dreams. I bless you to dream and believe in yourself once again.

"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."

- Henry Ford

Spoken Words

(Note:  This article begins with the YouTube video of Shane Koyczan describing his experience as a bullied child in school, called “They Called Me Pork chop”.  I highly recommend viewing this excellent video if you can't watch it from your mobile .)

It's easy to share opinions and much harder to tell our stories. 

Shane Koyczan, esteemed Canadian spoken word poet, famous for his performance at the Vancouver Olympics' opening ceremonies, passionately shares his story, a story framed by the label "Pork chop" and the trauma he and his two friends endured as "lessers" in school.

Words cut deep. Bullying begins with name calling, sorting the acceptable and non-acceptables by a few cruel ones which quickly escalates to a school game of humiliation.  

Pork chop. Ugly. Dog. Loser. Cutting. Suicide. Drugs. Despair.

The game of survival of the fittest plays out in every school yard, business or setting where humans live. Barbara Colorosa suggests that everyone has once played the bullied, the bully or the by-stander and that bullying touches all of us .  Shane's story opens the conversation, engages our hearts and provokes a response.  Hearing his story, I remembered mine.

When I was seven, I stood by as my Grade Two class cornered me and Amy W. from Hong Kong at the back of the school, pushing and shoving her, calling her 'slant eyes', shouting "go back, you don't belong here!' After recess, as Miss Pucci screamed her disgust at our class, I buried my head on my desk and sobbed in shame.  Amy's red snow pants were ripped, her jacket torn.  My heart was shredded by the ugliness of their hatred and my powerlessness to stop them. I never told my parents.

By grade four, I lived as one of the unaccepted. Recess was a grueling child-sized stress test, a treadmill of tension and alertness, as I hugged brown brick walls, staying invisible, hoping the girls wouldn't see me, that the boys wouldn't push. After school, I would walk the four blocks home as fast as my clumsy feet could get me, hoping the boys were too far away to notice me, hoping they wouldn't catch up.  One time they horked gobs of spit on me, yelling “Bible-back Barill”, “Ugly Cow!”  “Loser!!” gleeful in their grade six boy sport of humiliation, cold to my shame as I swallowed down tears and head down, made my way home.

 Sometimes in the spring, the joy of warm sunshine and cool fresh air after long northern Ontario winter would thaw the game. Under clear blue recess sky, survival was called off and tag was on as we playfully scrambled up and over the large railways ties of the spider tree, enjoying sweet unexpected peace together.  I remember longing for those recesses to last. The school bell seemed to ring early then. Those days were few.

After many years of bullying, elementary school left me anxious, a consummate pleaser, conflict-shy, stunted, double-minded.  Outwardly I thrived as a leader in high school, enjoying student council, promotions, scholarships, and friends.  Inwardly I knew that with one wrong word or wrong outfit or the wrong setting, a bully would appear and I would be sunk.  I knew I missed the cool gene, that elusive immunity others seemed to enjoy.  

For me, university was just an older crueler playground.  As I drowned my despair in alcohol, unable to explain my poor choices, desperate to prove those words wrong, my family wondered.  Friends left.

I was a difficult person to embrace.

If you had called me beautiful, I would have shrugged in unbelief. All my ears heard was "You're ugly. And soon someone is going to tell everyone the truth."  

Lies kept me hidden, silent. A child in shadows still holding the adult in contained patterns in case the cycle repeated.  I cringed as the bully emerged in my parenting, as cruel words tossed in arguments shattered the trust in my marriage.
Despite knowing Jesus for two decades, only now have I begun to speak from that still deep waiting place, finally brave enough to show my unique beauty to those who would treasure me.  I often tell my children they are loved, they are beautiful, hoping it will give them the long-desired immunity I had longed for as a child.  Hoping they will believe the truth instead of a bully’s taunts.

"To This Day Project" begs us to search and find the inherent treasure within each human being. With image and story, passion and prose, Shane begs each of us to take off the lenses clouded by labels and look again. To find another mirror and begin to recognize our worth.  Passionately Shane exhorts us to build our identity by recognizing our unique beauty and not the labels spoken over us.  To stop the words we rehearse within, we must first see how beautiful, how valuable we really are.  To stop bullying, we must believe that the inherent beauty is each of us is worth defending.

I believe for powerful permanent change, we need to see ourselves through God's eyes because what God says about us matters. 

King David was despised by his brothers yet rose to be a great king, worshiper and visionary for Israel.  As he journeyed closer to God, David understood his identity as wonderful simply because he was created by God Almighty:

For You formed my inward parts; 
You covered me in my mother's womb. 
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 

Jesus Christ understood the pain of name-calling.  His family called Him crazy.  His town tried to push him off a cliff. The church leaders declared Him a Satanist.  After pouring out his life in three solid years of preaching and healing all across His nation, the people who paraded Him into Jerusalem with shouts of "Hail to the Son of David"  screamed "Yes, He deserves death!  Torture Him! Crucify Him! Get rid of Him! "just five days later.

He died even as they shouted names, oblivious to His pain, full of hatred. Though Jesus heard every word, every despicable thought, He offered forgiveness as His response.

 

Pinned to a cross, He remained free.  He believed what God said about Him: This is My Beloved Son (Mathew 3:17, Luke 9:35).

Freedom comes in the context of being loved. Freedom remains when we look again at the lies and labels and shred them with God's truth.  The truth is, we are wonderfully and beautifully made.

Contrary to others' imperfect opinions, God hasn't changed His mind about our worth. Truth is, God says we are worth dying for. It only cost Him His Son's life.
Jesus lovingly agreed.  Truth is, Jesus came to earth with you in mind:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,    
because he has anointed me    
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners    
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,    
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour  . 

Truth is, Jesus died on purpose for you. For me.  For the joy of knowing us.

We are not powerless to stop bullying.  As we each discover the truth of our own unique beauty, we begin to see the intrinsic beauty of others.  As we draw close to God, His identity becomes all that matters.  Armed with truth, we are empowered to stand up for those who can't, to speak words of life, to challenge the lies.

I pray that you would know the strength of God's spoken words over you this day, and that you will join me as we slowly emerge from our hidden places to share our unique beauty with a world who desperately needs what we each have to offer.

Do you see your beauty?  Do you know you are worth dying for? What is your story?

The Art of God Watching

I do not look for God like an avid bird-watcher, clutching journal, Collins Bird Guide, binoculars and camera.

Instead, I clutch His Word,  lay hold of it as life-breath and read it with a reaching, expecting, blinding thirst that pleases.  Most days, the long drink at that well satisfies and I leave that place stronger.

But on the rough days, the beat up, battered, bruised heart days, often the clamour of hurt way too sensitive wrecks my hearing, and I find His voice to be faint, distant, jumbled.

On those days, when His Word can't dent my dismay, I reach for God-sighted binoculars. As a long-devoted God-watcher, I trust He is near. On the sorrowing days, I reach deep into this long friendship between Him and I and breathe long prayers without words -

Please, Father
give me eyes to see
ears to hear
a heart to receive.

Then I wait
watch
journey through.

Sometimes the wait is long - days, weeks, even seasons, as I search for His revelation, His heart, Him.

No matter how long or hard I watch, God always finds me first. Like a little girl, my heart squeals with sudden joy to be found by Daddy while I crouch low in my hiding place, hopeful for His daily return home.  Though my head knows God never leaves or forsakes, my heart sighs with relief when He finds me.


Recently Caleb, my fierce young son, drew his version of the Bible during a prayer meeting at church.

As Caleb began his explanation, blue-eyed serious, he shared "In the beginning, God made the whole entire world."

Carefully I looked at Caleb's drawing.

I love seeing God through my son's eyes.

God is happy.

He is way bigger than the world He made.

Caleb's God doesn't look stern or stressed or ticked.

Caleb's God looks pleased.


As I work through this experience of blogging blind to the nations, I have sought to understand why I write about God and this world He loves.  Like birders, I believe the rare find, the glory flash of the Evening Grosbeak's yellow breast spotted in an unexpected spruce, must be shared to be truly enjoyed.

Blogging is a simple field journal, an attempt to share the joy of sudden sightings and perhaps point to where I saw Him last. Like a birder, I joy to point out His whispers, His hand, His recent glory flash to fellow watchers who understand the cost and reward of the pursuit. 

Yet the search must begin with a true description.  Looking for glory sightings from a God who is perceived angry, fickle, sullen will avail little results.  We are searching for God who made the whole entire world and happily. We search for the God of love, Who is kind, not angry, Who is very pleased to be found.

When I see and enjoy snow-drenched sunlit fields,the warmth of my daughter's gaze, music done well, even sweet apple pie baked for love, God shifts the terrain beneath my feet, changing my landscape from bleak to beautiful with the understanding flash of another glorious God sighting.

In seeing God in life, that full-out assurance and celebration that the earth is indeed full of God's loving kindness (Ps. 33:5), incredibly, we find peace.  There we find God and know Him a bit better.

Ann Voskamp would call this treasure hunt a joy dare. In her pursuit of daily gifts of grace she discovered that once sighted, these gifts must be celebrated. In her journey of celebration, she discovered God Himself, and there Joy came. One Thousand Gifts changed me, like precious salve for blind eyes and now I see differently.

Arthur Burk calls God sightings "glory stories", merciful flashes of interruption as Father moves throughout our lives in His grace and kindness. In the video, Brain Rot, Arthur emphasizes how important celebrating God every day:

I want to assure you that failure to celebrate God, failure to look each day at what He is doing will leave you vulnerable to the initial stages of brain rot which can then take you down the downward spiral to a depraved mind.

Arthur then describes a servant mother who was very intentional in training her kids to find God daily. Apparently this mom was a marvelous cook. She plainly stated to her three boys, "No glory stories, no dessert." Thus those young boys woke each morning  in hot pursuit for God,  focused all day long, looking for God with the reward of mom's desert. Soon they  became a family well-trained in the daily discipline of celebrating God.

As I search for God in His creation, in kindness, unexpected circumstances, chance meetings, in His Word,   often I see God's Hand, if not His face.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. 4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. 5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. 6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.

The earth is full of God's unfailing love.  We just need eyes, ears and the heart to see it.

O Lord Jesus, anoint our eyes, that we may see You everyday in the mundane, in the ordinary and extraordinary and that in finding Your love, we may be changed.

Frances Frangipani, esteemed writer recently stated on Facebook:

It is not hard to recognize one who has spent extended time at a newsstand: his conversation overflows with the drama of current news. And, it is not hard to discern a person who has come from a sporting event, as their face reveals the outcome of the game. Likewise, people can tell when an individual has spent extended time seeking the presence of God. An imperturbable calm guards their heart, and their countenance is radiant with the morning dew of Heaven.                        Beloved, to seek and find God is everything.

Have you been searching for God? Where have you found Him? What did you discover?

Winter Joy

Here in Ontario, we just had a snow day.  Not the fluffy snow, tobogganing, hot chocolate, stay in pyjamas and enjoy snow day.  No, we had a clean the house, get the speech written, and practice those instruments! with the way-too-tired mother, father and four rangy kids blizzard at the farm day.

This morning, as I groggily, grouchily sipped my morning coffee, suddenly sunshine burst forth into my view.

It was as if Someone reached down from heaven with a chuckle and gleefully pushed my joy button.




Suddenly, I could see clear again. I could see the icicles on the window, the glory of the snow, the beauty of my home, the joy of being home with my family.


With a burst of laughter, I penned my surprise:






Sudden sunshine

Full-blown radiance
crests upon the whitened field
The glory-drenched vista of
diamond glinting rapture, a heaven-sent winter surprise at dawn.

Still rejoicing, I penned another offering to the God who reached down to love grumpy me, yet again, with the mercy of another day:

Golden good morning
Sun drenched rise and shine
Crisp winter kisses stretch sunnily across the fields
Poking through my window
Brightening my countenance 
Eyes blink
Heart thumps
Joy cheerily bursts through the window pane
Determined
Robust
A light-drenched wake up which
Welcomes me home

Oh the cheeky glory and merry possibilities
of a crisp sunny February morning. 

How has Love reached down to you today?  Can you see Him?  Do you know this Love that never fails?