Another Rabbit Hole

When it comes to creativity, it is easy for me to fall down rabbit holes. While it used to only be my own ideas and messes, now Pinterest and YouTube and Instagram allow me to peer over other people's shoulders and find inspiration for even more projects.  The opportunity for rabbit trails, and falling into rabbit holes,  is seemingly endless.

My current main creative outlets include Art Journaling, almost daily, and knitting.  But on the lower level I have a beautiful space, dubbed the "art cave," and an attached overflowing walk in closet full of art supply yumminess.  While I can sort and purge and be reasonably organized in the rest of our home, when it comes to art supplies I am a hoarder.  Every piece of it has potential.

Recently on Pinterest I saw these images, among many, when I searched for "Rolodex Ideas."

janeeileen.blogspot.com/2011/06/
settling-in.html

ramblingrose.typepad.com/journal/2011/05/
scrapodex-tips-and-hints.html

This is MY CUP OF TEA. Tiny pieces of art.  My mind immediately thought of writing out Scripture on them, because I have a daily habit of writing out the Word. So I Pinterested that, (can Pinterest become a verb, like Google and Googled?) and found even more.  This next photo is part of a dedicated post on how to create Scripture cards.  Love love love.

http://simplyfaithful.com/2012/03/09/how-to-create-scripture-cards/

Months ago I had brought home a dusty old rolodex from work, (it had potential!), and so yesterday was THE day.  Time to make my first card.  My hope is to cut cards out of the piles of pretty papers that I own, to write verses, maybe insert the occasional photo... a rolodex that makes me smile.  Truly God created me with a *need* for creativity, and this seems like a perfect daily outlet.  Tiny little cards.

This coming Saturday our morning Bible study will review Philippians. As I read yesterday, I looked for a verse that popped out.  HOPE.  This verse inspires HOPE.

Today's verse card:

Today's was inspired by the photo which I had printed off of google a few weeks ago.
On both of the cards, I put the date on the back, and a few reflections on the verse.

And so... the Rolodex project is begun.  No hurry, no worry.  It is already is making me smile.  :-)

What's in a name?

Early on Easter Sunday morning, with my (current) favorite cup of coffee (Starbucks Caramel pod with Natural Bliss Almond Milk Caramel creamer), I sat in bed and read John 18-20.  A familiar story in a book that never becomes too known or old.  I love how every time one reads a passage, no matter how often  read or heard before, something new is revealed.  God's like that.  He loves to meet us on the pages as we wholeheartedly pursue relationship. 💗  Layer by layer.  Precept upon precept.

John's account tells us that four women, (Jesus' mother, His aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene), were standing by the cross as He was dying.  (John 19:25)  John, "the disciple whom He loved," was also standing nearby.  They offered Jesus the gift of their presence in His darkest hour. #linger

On Sunday morning, after the Jewish Passover on Saturday, "Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark..."  Scripture only contains important, carefully chosen words, so what are we to learn here?  It reminds me of other passages, including Mark 1:35, "In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there." #early

Blessed is (s)he who seeks God at day's beginning.

At our church on Easter Sunday, one of the verses highlighted was "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."  Philippians 4:8a    Jesus knew this.  Mary Magdalene knew this.  And from experience, I know this.

Back to John 20. When Mary finds the stone rolled away, she runs to tell Peter and John, and they all run back to the tomb. John peeks in. Peter barges in. (#lovePeter!) And then... "they [John and Peter] went back to their homes." (John 20:10) But not Mary. She stood weeping outside the tomb.💔  Jesus was her rock, and He was gone. It was sinking in. As she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb again,  and this time she saw two angels.

John 20:13-16

They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” 

She said to them, 

“They have taken away my Lord, 

and I do not know where they have laid him.”

Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, 

but she did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” 

Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, 

“Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, 

and I will take him away.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” 

She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

He said her name, and her confusion lifted.  He said her name, and she instantly recognized Him.  This tenderest of scenes makes my eyes glisten every time. Oh the tenderness of their relationship.  He knew her, and loved her the same.  It's what every human heart craves - to be fully known, and to be loved anyhow.

What had led to this depth of relationship? Luke tells us that Jesus had healed Mary Magdalene and cast seven demons out of her.  (Luke 8:2)  Healing. Mary recognized her need of deliverance, and she met the Deliverer. The One who showed her God. She had lingered.  She spent enough time with Him to know His voice.  Even when her eyes failed her and she didn't recognize His risen body, her ears heard Him clearly.

Draw near to God, and He *will* draw near to you. The Bible says it so I believe it, and have experienced it as well. His still small voice. Wooing. Teaching. Coaching. Encouraging. Thankfully I will never watch Him die - rather, I will someday see Him appear victoriously.  But I can empathize with Mary, realizing the full depth of the loss of the lover of her soul.  I cannot imagine losing contact with my Lord.

In John 20:22, when Jesus had revealed Himself post resurrection to His followers, ..."He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.' "  This Holy Spirit had previously been promised to the disciples, at their last meal together, including as recorded in John 14:26-27.  The "Helper," the teacher, the one who brings to remembrance Jesus' words.  I had never noticed that His followers received the Holy Spirit on Easter evening.  Love that.  Mary's aloneness was no more.

As a final mention, please note that the first  preacher EVER of the glorious news of the gospel, was Mary Magdalene.  John 20:18  "I have seen the Lord!"  In fact Jesus said to her, "...go to My brothers and say to them..."  (John 20:17)  Jesus commissioned a WOMAN!  Mary, a woman in a day when women generally not valued, was CHOSEN by Jesus to go and share the good news with His disciples.  This came about because she prioritized Jesus that morning, and lingered.

In the shadow of Mary's calling and example, I tell you: He is Risen! He is real! He longs to deliver us too.  He is worth our pursuit... our FIRST pursuit of every day.

Let's purpose to spend enough time with Jesus so that we too will be able to clearly discern His voice.  💗

Easter Triduum

On Facebook this morning, a friend used the word Triduum.  Having never seen it before, I looked it up, although I could see the word Tri (three) and Diem (day) in it.  Sure enough, trusty Wikipedia tells me that it is the period of three days that begins with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday.

Although never Catholic, I find beauty in their regular celebrations.  Some call them rituals like that is a bad word, but I find rituals to be a lovely way to remember.

Studying to teach 1st to 4th grade Sunday School on Sunday,  I slowly read John 18 and 19 with my morning coffee, sitting at my father's desk (where he wrote decades worth of sermons), facing the backyard garden which I see through the 3 six foot windows in front of me. (our bedroom view is deluxe) I am blessed and this is where I love to linger.

Here's some of what I marked ... things that popped out at me.

John 18:4-6

So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, 

“Whom do you seek?”

They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” 

He said to them, “I am He.” 

And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.

So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

The Great I AM.  These are the words God gave to Moses to describe Himself, way back in Exodus 3:14.  The Great I AM.  Here the power of God is seen once again.  (isn't it amazing that they continued to arrest Him after being literally thrown to the ground?  If you choose to be blind to God, you will do dumb things!)

I also noticed that even though Jesus basically surrendered Himself to arrest, they bound Him (18:12) Then in 18:22, one of the officers struck Jesus with his hand.  He struck a bound man.  Such cowardice.  Such rage.

In John 18:36-37, in a discussion with Pilate, Jesus plainly states, 

"My kingdom is not of this world.

For this purpose I was born

and for this purpose I have come into the world - 

to bear witness to the truth."

Pilate's response is his infamous  question, "What is truth?" (John 18:38)

Jesus was in and is in control of everything.  Good to remember.  This is a hard concept when we merge it with the existence of evil in our world.  God created everything to be idyllic in a garden, but left man with the CHOICE to love and follow Him.  Man had the temptation of satan, but always with a way to escape that temptation.(1 Corinthians 10:13)  And so, thousands of years later, man's poor choices and resulting evil are dealt with through the cross. Yet mankind retains the choice of whether to love and follow Him. God did not want robots.  God wants true relationship with people who choose Him.  And through the cross He gave that choice - the choice to live in fellowship with God - to all mankind.  (John 3:16) But it's still a choice. In this exchange, we see Pilate wrestling with this Truth.  I hope he kept wrestling and seeking...

I'll end with John 19:25 where we are told that "...standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and..."

Whew.  That's enough to break this mother's heart.  In fact I drew a broken heart in the margin of my Bible.  💔  If you have a child, or love a child, you don't need me to elaborate on the pain.

♫ Ancient Words, ever true

Changing me, and changing you.

We have come with open hearts

Oh let the ancient words impart.♫

This Triduum, read the Word, even if you think you know the story.  

God loves to meet you there to reveal more of Himself as you seek Him.  💗

God and Gardens... PS

It's Good Friday today.

In slowly pondering John 18 and 19, I noticed another garden!

John 19:41-42 states, "Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb... they laid Jesus there."

Isn't that beautiful?  Our Savior's body, in the few hours that it was not in use, lay in a garden.  🌺🌿🌹🍃🌸

God and Gardens

As I prepare for teaching 1st to 4th grade Sunday School on Easter Sunday, I am rereading familiar texts.

John 18:2 ESV states, "Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, [the garden of Gethsemane] for Jesus often met there with his disciples."

Have never noticed that before - that this garden was one of their regular meeting places. In nature with Jesus. In the quiet and the still.

Reminds me of Genesis 3:8 where Adam and Eve "...heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day..."

God placed mankind in a garden upon their creation.  And Jesus, when confronting his arrest and execution (John 18:4 tells us that Jesus knew all that would happen to Him) took his disciples to a beloved garden.  The beginning of mankind and the end of God's incarnation.

Matthew 26:36-46 is another account of Jesus' time in the garden at Gethsemane... a much more detailed account. Read it and weep. Jesus' two closest friends failed Him in his last hours of freedom.  He simply wanted them to be present for Him, and to pray...for their own frailty.   He took them to a peaceful spot...a known spot... their garden of choice.

Gardens.  Spring is barely here, and our garden is still brown and sad.  But soon!  A goldfinch just landed on our feeder as I'm writing - the first I've seen this year.  HOPE!  Can't wait to be out there in our own little patch of Eden, digging and assisting to create order and beauty.
Come watch and pray with me.  💚

our backyard bliss - summer 2017

Bleeding hearts in our front walkway - spring 2016

2018!

2018!
Another birthday celebrated!
Wowza!  Time flies!
So blessed!

On the evening of my birthday,  7 of us finished up an amazing book - Two Steps Forward by Sharon Garlough Brown.  The second book of a series, its byline is "A Story of Persevering in Hope." This book club/Bible study/prayer group/discipleship group of 8 women has been SUCH an encouragement to me.  We came together as a result of a women's retreat, and I'm so blessed to now call these women friends.

The back of the book reads, "The women from Sensible Shoes are taking their next steps in the spiritual formation journey.  But each of them is finding roadblocks along the way. ... Sometimes life feels like two steps forward and one step back.  You may find your own spiritual journey reflected in the lives of these women.  Come and discover the way forward."

This book series is one of a kind.  Exploring how ancient spiritual disciplines can still be incorporated in our lives -- disciplines such as Breath Prayer, Lectio Divina (sacred reading); Journaling; Praying a Labyrinth, Praying the Examen and incorporating a Rule of Life.  Although the book is fiction, the author utilizes the character of a Spiritual Director and the setting of a Spiritual Formation Retreat to launch the stories of four women who become friends in book one.  (Sensible Shoes)  Scripture is incorporated throughout, as are explanations of the disciplines.

I've recommended this book to dozens of women... literally ... and I've read book one and two multiple times.  And even now, typing this up, I'm realizing that I need to return to "Rule of Life," for I desire more order in my days.  One step forward and two steps back...

You can review or purchase the set here.  I am in no way affiliated... I'm simply a SUPER FAN.

These ladies are the best.  Thanks for journeying with me!