Raw Heart

From my friend @Cuhullen, an inspiring reminder.

cuhullen

Raw heart.

That’s how I was born.

My heart was created raw,

Open,

Fresh,

Touchable.

Our hearts,

From our first breath,

Cascaded into the world

And the world cascaded back.

Open to every touch and sensation, every beat expanded us outward.

Love,

Joy,

Like sunlight on our raw hearts.

Sunlight burns as well as warms.

Disappointment.

Loss.

Ache.

Tiny cuts and gaping wounds.

At some point I began to make my armor.

Carefully (though unconsciously) crafted,

Soft and supple as fine leather,

A case to stop the wounds

And hold in the warmth against a cold world.

Leather, over time, becomes stiff and inflexible.

That which holds in warmth also holds it out.

All unawares, I found my heart constricted by the armor of my making,

Wrapped and numb,

Barely able to beat.

Time to rip the cover off.

“Foolish,” I hear them say.

“An unprotected heart is doomed to…

View original post 34 more words

The Weight of Grace

In a time when doubts and questions confront all of us daily, let’s take a second and meditate on what Grace is, and the absolute crushing weight that it spreads evenly over our nagging concerns. Grace is God giving to …

Hiding the Cost

Why is it that Jesus made it so easy for people to leave His side? Why did He ask the hard questions? “If you love me, get up, and leave your work there, follow Me” or ” Deny yourself every day, …

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Isn’t always. People are homeless. People are hungry. People are lonely. People can be selfish, rude, obnoxious, arrogant and petty. As we have seen before, it’s not always the people you expect that fulfill their traditional roles. Then there are …

Monuments

Remembrance. It’s a desire, a craving. Leaving something of yourself for generations to think on, to appreciate. The word legacy pops into mind. What and how? Who and when, how does it start? How does it continue? How do we create …

Life, Death, and the Beekeepers Bees

Bees are fascinating. They build, work, live, create, and die together in huge communities. When my daughter Naomi had her accident, I had no idea of what God’s faithfulness looked like. Because I was so focused on what my perceived needs …

Fear What?

Fear: (noun)  An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat; a mixed feeling of dread and reverence; a feeling of anxiety concerning the outcome of something or the safety and …

Why You Shouldn’t Worry About The Worship Wars

Cred Worship is a way to communicate with Jesus. One way, Not the way. As the debate over who is eligible to lead, why we should include this, exclude that, have this many songs, use this/that genre, indoors, outdoors, front …

The Dead Next Door

How hard is it to love a child, giving and receiving from a baby, that you know is not going to be with you for long? Hard. Incredibly so. Knowing every time you hold him/her that you might have to say goodbye tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after…

A Selfish Surrender

We have a tendency toward selfishness. When Adam was asked about the apple, he told God “No, it was her fault”, when we are faced with difficult situations, we want to pull the cover over our head and hide. We …