I've closed the door... but I want someone to come in...

He said he wanted to make some new friends 
so I invited him to attend church with me
He said the church had burnt him and he wasn't over the scars
so I encouraged him to find a different church
I told him about the church I attended... full of common folk.
Full of people from many backgrounds, some broken by addiction
Some broken by relationships, some broken by physical pains...
All looking to the same Savior for healing. 

Finally, he agreed to come with me one Sunday.
We entered and, looking down, he followed me to our seats.
He looked at no one and 
gave no indication that he was expecting anyone to look back.
His body language said, "I've already decided that you don't like me."
When it came time for "meet & greet" he stayed seated 
while the rest of the crowd began to mingle with greetings.
He looked intently at the chair in front of him.
The floor below him and the wall beside him 
were the only ones to catch his eye. 
He refused to see the people -- who came near
but dared not enter his space uninvited. 

When the service was over we rose and headed for the door.
Several people said they were glad he came. 
He said next to nothing in response... 
It seemed to take all his energy to manage a simple nod.
On the way home, it was obvious that he was disappointed.
It seemed that no one had reached out to him. 
Once again, he felt the church had disappointed. 
The church had ignored him and, therefore, 
had confirmed that he was of no worth in their eyes. 

If only he had looked up. 
If only he had been willing to offer the smallest smile.
If only he had turned his body, his head, his heart 
in a way that said, 
"I am here to make a new friend. Is it you?"

What started out as an email to my mama and ended up as this rambling...

The snow has been falling since early morning and it is windy.... I'm glad that I don't have any need to go outside today. Just one room rented last night and they are supposed to hit the road sometime today. Wonder if they'll end up staying for another night? Hmmm... guess we'll see. There is room at the inn. :) Thankful that I'm warm and cozy and just now thought about those who are not so blessed. There was a fire in Nicholasville earlier this week that totally destroyed an apartment complex. No lives lost, but people lost everything and I wonder if the cause of the fire was someone trying to stay warm in the midst of this bitter cold and using the wrong means to do so? The kids didn't have school at all last week and many people were complaining about that... But I think of all the families in Jessamine County alone who don't have the means to stay warm in their own home, let alone outside in this bitter weather waiting for a bus to come. There are many, I suspect, who would be much warmer and better off inside the schools... if they could survive long enough to get there. What do we do to help the ones who are cold both in the streets and in their own homes? Do we wish them to be "warm and well fed" but do nothing to help them to work towards those means? Oh, Holy Spirit, open our eyes to see the ways that you would work through us in this way and so many others.... let us not forget the many overflowing blessings in our lives and discover a way to splash them onto the people around us... you bless us, Lord, that we may be a blessing.

Naked and unashamed

This week I attended the funeral for a man who died much too young. His service was a beautiful celebration of his life and, I suspect, many people walked away learning many new things about his character. Hearing more about him made me wish I had taken the time to know him better.

One story that was shared seemed, at first, "inappropriate." His dearest friend from college days shared a story of  a wild adventure the two of them had together (some number of years after college). In the middle of a cold winter night, the two of them stripped down to nothing but their shoes and ran around the apartment complex. Naked. It was a story that, perhaps, felt awkward and uncomfortable at times. Yet, in the end this friend also talked about the many conversations that the two of them often had about deeper matters.

These two had become friends who were able to "get naked" in front of each other, in every sense of the word. They were comfortable in their own skin when they shared together. Ideas and feelings that most would hide deep inside were able to come to the surface and be shared.

We all need a friend like that. Someone with whom we can be vulnerable. Someone  to whom we can tell the naked truth and who can do the same with us. We need that person who will tell it to us straight, who will trust us with the deepest matters of their hearts.

Do you have that someone? I pray you do. In the Flesh. And if you don't, be reassured that Jesus can be that person for you and, if you ask, perhaps He'll help you find HIM in a fleshy form through someone here on earth. Be encouraged by these words from Psalm 139:

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Light

I woke up early this morning and I must confess my first thought was this:

"Oh, if only it were light outside. I miss the sun."

Thankfully, my second thought was this:

"But the days are now getting longer, soon it will be light at this hour. And one day perhaps I'll live in a place where the sun shines all the time... Ah, that would be heaven!"

And then the most wonderful thought of all...

"Yes, in fact, it will be heaven!"

Technically, according to scripture it won't be the sun, but it will be a light more pure and brilliant than sun or moon or stars!

 "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." ~ Revelation 21:23

Praying you'll get just a piece of heaven here on earth today. May His light shine in your heart and may you reflect that light to others throughout the day.

Peace & Joy,
Julie

Reflective verses for 2014

I've not been writing lately and decided that the beginning of a new year was a good time to dive back in... Thought I'd start by sharing some Bible verses that I plan to reflect on in the year ahead and to allow them to serve as a jump off point for discovering more meaningful ways to serve Christ in 2014. 

I decided to take the challenge of choosing a few specific verses for reflection after a friend posted a facebook status asking what verses various people were choosing as a focus for 2014. I hadn’t thought about it much, but her question compelled me to do so -- here’s what I’ve been lead to: 

“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
 See, darkness covers the earth
    and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”

Isaiah 60:1-6

”When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16 

 I’ll be using these verses as a beginning place to consider these things:

1. What does it mean for Jesus to be “the light of the world”?
2. If Jesus is the light of the world, how is it that I, too, am the light of the world?
3. What role can I play in bringing the light of Jesus to a dark world? 

 I hope to write about my experience, so maybe you'll see more here soon.

Blessed 2014 to you!

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