The Rhythms of His Heart

  "Jesus came to sing a dirge and say: "Cry with Me." Jesus came to play a pipe and say: "Dance with Me." There is a secret place in us where the Spirit brings new life. There is a creche where the Child is born in you. There is the broken soil of your soul where the seeds of grace can grow in you. The Spirit of God within us says, " There is a time to mourn and a time to dance. The Spirit of healing that makes us mourn is the same Spirit that makes us dance.  The mystery of the dance is that its movements are discovered in the mourning. A TIME TO MOURN Mourn, my people, mourn. Let your pain rise up in your heart and burst forth in you with sobs and cries. Mourn for the silence that exists between you and your spouse. Mourn for the way you were robbed of innocence.  Mourn for the absence of a soft embrace, an intimate friendship, a life-giving sexuality. Mourn for the bitterness of your children , the indifference of your friends, and the hardness ...

Over the past few years  I have been a part of a worship team.  It has been a learning experience for me as most of what I learned to sing growing up had been sol os and singing the lead part in  songs.   It has been interesting for me  to step out of my comfort space  vocally and learn to hear and sing the harmonies in our song sets. It is a beautiful thing to sit with my team and sing the same song, but know and celebrate the unique, distinct parts that each singer adds to the song.  We sing the same song for the same Person,  but each singer sings a unique part of that song. The song written for us as Christians in Jesus’ Kingdom should be sung with one voice.  The song of our lives should do nothing less than lead people to know Him.  The beauty of it though is that each one under Christ has a distinct part to sing. No one can sing our part, but as we tune our ear to hear His song He sings over us , we will then be singing a beau...

My God is the God who goes before!  He was, is, and always will be!  Before I took a breath He was already there from eternity.  This truth hits my prayers and my heart almost daily.   Over the last years I've noticed in my life how those of us who've grown up in Christian culture have tried to control, manipulate and force the Presence of God to only be in a certain building, on a specific day and work in a certain way.  We've  even elevated and exalted "full-time, career missionaries" and  thought them to be more holy than the man who works quietly and shares Jesus as a salesman, or the Mom who feels that all she does is clean babies and house, but prays fervently in  her heart in the middle of the mess. Is God only confined to the things we've labeled sacred? Can He be found in the very ordinary, 'secular' things of life? The life I live reminds me that God is already there and He invites me to step in and up to where He is working. Wh...

Just reminding us (yes, even me) of how to live well in the middle...in the place of questions...in the place where things don't always make sense.  This is a place of waiting, the place of holding onto dreams that are promised and yet to be fulfilled.  It is a place of darkness and yet a place of glimpses of hope, beauty and a peace that goes beyond how we feel in reminding ourselves that He is here.  This is the tension place, the "in between" place.  A place of walking in our pilgrimage one step, one breath at a time.  Holding on to what we KNOW...learning to laugh and celebrate and be ok with life not always making sense...learning to dance in the rain and bask in the sun and know that  'in the middle' is where beauty and glory can and does grow. So if you find yourself here...here are 50 things (not in order of importance)  that I pray can help us on our journey... You are not alone...He is with you. You are not in control...and it's ...

A girl needs a brother, ya know?  The last few months I have been praying into how much we need each other in the Body of Christ.  We need male and females leading and living out their uniqueness in the Family of God. It is amazing to me how  protected and valued I feel when men actually step in and value and protect me instead of just treating me like I am less than.  I am not an object to be used, abused or looked down on.  I have something to contribute to God's Kingdom ....God can give me  something to say, pray or lay down as my offering to King Jesus. Maybe it's my role at YFC working as a female staff and seeing so many girls hurt by men...and men hurt by girls?   Hear me when I say this is not a man hater post, but rather a call for men to see the women around them as created in God's image.  Please see us as precious sisters who need your strength, courage and gentle compassion.  Be the kind of men who call out the...

From the desire of being praised, deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being honored, deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being preferred, deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being approved, deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of comfort and ease, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being criticized, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being passed over, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being lonely, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being hurt, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of suffering, deliver me, Jesus. That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. O Jesu...

I've heard a picture of the Body of Christ a few times  and it hit my heart in a new way this week. Today as I sit and process it with the Lord I think there is more for me (and us) in this picture. This picture is of a cracked wall.  We as the family and the Body of Christ are in a battle against the Enemy of our souls.  The cracked wall in this picture is the defensive/offensive line that protects us against him and as we stand together there ain't no force of Hell that can get through...it's a beautiful picture. Then come in the cracks...what are they, why are they crumbling?  These cracks are the weak places, the vulnerable places, the struggling places that are places where the Enemy can come in...and he does and will if we allow him and fear him. What is our response as a living Body, a Family, a Force of Soldiers?  Do we suit up, pray up and hound heaven for the cracks to be filled, healed, redeemed, restored and for the darkness and demons to flee?!...