Know-Love-Obey God

“Glorious, now, behold Him arise!
King and God and Sacrifice!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
We hear it every Christmas—praises, singing, lifting up His holy name.
WORSHIP.
“O Come let us adore Him,
Christ, the Lord!”
From blended voices in the choir loft, beautiful music reaches every corner of the sanctuary and halls. During Christmas in particular, the celebration seems incomplete without worshipful [...]

I opened to the page I wanted, read one line, and hit a wall. I tried starting over, but my eyes and mind could not get beyond the period of that first sentence. God’s Spirit blocked me from reading on, so I did as He guided. Okay, Lord, I’ll stay here a [...]

Young and gangly-legged colt stumbled
upon thoroughbreds
whose grace
strength
and beauty
did not intimidate
but welcomed.
So the colt accepted
the welcoming grace
and somehow the racehorses ran
at their own pace
without leaving behind
the skipping colt.
A Random Act of Poetry for Poetry Friday at High Calling Blogs, where there is, truly,
“Real Community. Shared Values.”

To embrace
without smothering.
To want to love more
than to be loved.
To rejoice in others’ successes
even when I have none.
To give another honor
on purpose.
To sing my part in balance
with the ensemble.
To leave the front door open
without pushing them in.
To share a thought
yet leave thinking space.
To give impetus
without losing momentum.
To be of the same mind
by having the mind [...]

High Calling Blogs Book Club:
The Wisdom of Wilderness, by Gerald G. May
Chapter Four: “Cicada Song”
This chapter touched my spirit in so many places, both widely and deeply. May’s thoughts on “contemplation” particularly resonated, especially this on page 64: “To put it simply, in concentrating on one thing at a time, we miss everything else.” [...]

(For the “closet” writing prompt, a High Calling Blogs Random Act of Poetry)

Twenty-one months out of the womb,
his head pressed its weight on my shoulder,
satisfying.
He fingered the sleeve of my shirt,
the black v-neck with corduroy stripes.
Rough fabric between thumb and forefinger,
back and forth, he rubbed the fabric,
finding comfort in the roughness
soothing him to sleep.
He does [...]

(A High Calling Blogs Random Act of Poetry, for L.L. Barkat’s series of writing prompts taking us around the house. This week we are in the hall.)
Painted metal with room to spare
for more pairs of sneakers and sandals,
I await their arrival in my magic space,
the hall which transforms our guest
from outside, front-porch acquaintance
to inside, [...]

The realization came while preparing a Thai curry chicken dish: I love my knives. I hold my knives in such high regard that I name them. Because it came from Japan, my cleaver is “Aiko.” From taking college Japanese (fourteen years ago), I have a vague feeling that “ai” means love, and [...]

(continued from 04/29/09)
Trying to figure out how to be as intense as I am, yet not to the point of harming others. (Yes, I’ve done it before.)
A good thing that becomes too strong, too intense, can be a burden. Can damage. Several examples come to mind:

A comforting campfire out of control [...]

Nancy, a professional cellist, actually started out with violin when she was a girl. The violin teacher then told Nancy’s parents, “She’s so intense. Why don’t you try her on a cello?”
I can be too intense, too “me,” too I-don’t-know-what. Just too much—like a cello in the hands of a violinist.
In my [...]