Love A’twittering! 3/25/08
My word for tonight is ~ “A’twitter”.
My heart is all “a’twitter”! I’m “a’twittering”!
Oswald Chambers:
To be intimate enough with God ~ to not question if I am moving in His will.
I AM His will. God’s desire is that I am one with Him, even as Jesus is.
Remember the song ~ from My Fair Lady ~ “I could have danced all night” ?
Or the song from Mary Poppins ~ “A jolly holiday with You” ?
Hinderings to the “a’twitterings”.
Hannah Smith ~ never indulge in any self-reflective acts. Not self-
congratulations and not self-despair. Forget the things that are behind
the moment they are past leave them to God and march on. Absolutely
refuse to go there! Leave it to God to overrule mistakes and to bless it
as He chooses. My responsibility (your responsibility) is to do that which
I am called to do. Nothing more and nothing less.
The world may not read the Bible but it will read us.
Hannah Smith ~ “possess what you profess”.
If there is sorrow in your life right now, rejoice. The deeper the sorrow, the
greater the capacity for joy!
O.C. The surf that terrorizes an ordinary swimmer brings glee to the surfer ~ a
super-joy ride of going clean through it! Tribulation, distress, persecution ~
produce in us (if we will allow it) Super-joy! Undaunted radiance is not built on
anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can alter! Joy means the
perfect fulfill-ment of that for which I was created and regenerated to do.
I am (we are) created and regenerated to love our Jesus. I am so in love, my
feet cannot reach the floor! This love is greater than me and affects all that I do!
I must allow it full reign… full liberty.
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Dream ~
I saw a wide variety of baskets. Some were very ornate and elegant.
Some were finely woven and delicate. Others were extremely plain and barely
functional. Tiny, massive, colorful, faded, squat, tall, round, square, sturdy,
fragile, shellacked, rustic, stenciled, repaired, bearing tiny holes or missing
large pieces; made from ropes, vines, straw, cloth, paper, animal skins, leather,
hemp, plastics, reeds. Baskets so new they squeaked, or so aged they literally were
falling apart. Baskets to display and baskets to use. Rare gems from antiquity
and those made on a whim from household scraps ~ in every shape, size and
condition. There were such a vast array ~ too many to count or identify. The
only thing they had in common was ~ their ability to hold something.
Then Father said ~ the baskets represent us.
Our lives are as varied as the baskets! We are pampered and protected,
broken and battered. Well fed, starving; brittle, flexible; healthy, diseased;
international, primitive; educated, ignorant; homemade, factory made, artisian
made…Wealthy and poverty stricken; infant to ancient ~ of every race, from
every country, representing all nations… the only thing we have in common
is the ability to hold something. We hold things in our minds, in our spirits,
in the physical. We hold.
He spoke of our ability to hold something.
Some baskets were very clean but empty and some were filled with
flowers. One basket is I saw was literally useless. It had parts missing and
the handle gone. The straw was so dried out, it was brittle and cracked,
flaking when it was touched. Yet it was filled to overflowing with flowers ~
stunningly beautiful flowers! The beauty of the flowers increased the
“setting” , making a breathtaking study of contrast. The holes in the basket
had blossoms of promise peaking through them, which added a surprising
and pleasing dimension ~ the vibrancy and colors against the dry straw pieces.
It was other worldly in beauty.
The flowers are our response ~ to life. They represent the fruit of our
responses to what life brings us. Whatever life brings, we can receive
joy laced through it. Joy is always there ~ if we are in love with Him.
We can be display baskets. Sitting safely and serenely on a shelf, we retain our
original beauty but stay empty of any floral blessing. I noticed that some had
artificial flower arrangements; some even designed by a master florist.
However, these paled instantly when beside even the tiniest basket containing
the real thing.
We can allow God to use our life, knowing that when we do, we will become..
er… used. Even soiled. Yet it is only when we are filled with soil that we have
the necessary elements to receive and nurture seeds. We are created and
designed to hold something ~ like a great harvest ~ joy seeds!
The most beautiful basket ~ was the most old, dried out, discolored and
misshaped one. It had holes and breaks all over it! This was an old saint
who had lived totally available to serve God. She was harshly used,
unappreciated, with her own needs often going unmet ~ yet she was so
happy! She was filled with beauty! Even her holes housed lush and fragrant
blooms that brought joy to every beholder. She is a sign and a wonder.
Joy unspeakable!
Suddenly the hand of God reach out to this one. He gathered the floral
bouquet easily from her fragile bowl and brought it to His face. He breathed
in deeply, delightedly ~ even gratefully! She brought Him joy! His Word
does not come back void! The basket itself fell away as He gathered His
bouquet. It was easy to identify the missing pieces, the torn fragments
and broken strands as it fell, crushed, to the earth. Many places were
lready white with rot, and the basket soon became like the dirt it fell to
~ not identifiable from the earth in any way ~ not even a headstone to
mark her passing.
I understood this to mean the old saint had died, but just before her body
ceased to live, He came with gentle hands, gathering the essence of her to
His face and breathed her in. Before her body crumbled, God reached down
to pluck up His intense treasure, forever to hold her close.
Or we can sit; perfectly beautiful, but empty, on a shelf.
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