Hearing God through nature

We went camping this past weekend with friends. It was wonderful weather, good food and great fellowship. Our campsite was in the woods of northern New Hampshire and had no phone signal. When I asked the women at the desk if there was somewhere I could go on site to get a signal she told me I would have to drive six miles off the campsite. LOL! So we were really in the middle of nowhere. No signal but a nice pool. The pirate ship on the edge of the pool had slides of all sizes and this entertained all the kids for hours.

Sometimes God speaks to me through nature and this weekend was one of those times. Every where we went there was a sweet smell of lilacs. Every road and pathway had lilac bushes in full bloom. God has used these simple bushes to speak to me in the past. Also there was one yellow butterfly that seemed to like me a whole lot. At least twice a day I would find it flying past me or over me. God has often used this symbolism to speak to me on many different levels.

All this to say, on my arrival home these words came to me. I hope they are a blessing to some as I play with words and images the has Lord placed before me.

picture by walksinthewoods

Violet lilacs
Golden butterflies
Fragrances of gratitude
Transformation flies
Thankfulness smells
Sweet as spring
Hope can lift us
Like those wings
No longer crawling
On a wall
But soaring high
Above it all
No longer smelling
Excrement
But breathing in
Heaven’s scent
An atmosphere of
Metamorphosis
Faith is why
We believe all this!
Cocoons bound
Holding in night
Breakthroughs come
Releasing light
Change that sends
Worms to flight
Transformation!
Prodigals lost
Now are found!
Sons feeding pigs
Now wear crowns!
Sweeter fragrance
We cannot breathe in
Than a life transformed
Surrendered to him.

cjb

A full boil

My Grandmother Voisey always liked a hot cup of tea. She insisted that the kettle not only come to a full boil but she would let it boil for 3 minutes before she would steep her tea.
It always amazed me, at restaurants, when she would be given her tea and she could tell on the first sip if the water had come to a FULL boil. Often she would politely send it back. On many occasions, I have waited for a kettle to come to full boil. Hovering, watching, wondering and sometimes taking it off too soon because of an impulse that says, "it's hot enough!" I'm usually in a hurry when this happens. I have also been bright enough to leave a kettle on the fire too long. I have ruined at least two kettles this way. Usually, when this happens I have become too busy with other things and forget I even put the kettle on the fire. The water has evaporated and the kettle is left with a scar.
There is an art to making a good cup of tea. An art that for the most part is completely lost here in the States. Maybe it is my grandmother's influence but I can tell the difference between a cup of tea that has been brewed "properly" and a cup that has been brewed with water that has not been given time to come to a full boil.
I wish I had this same discernment when it came to spiritual things. I am praying for it, asking God to give me this kind of discernment! To know the difference between divine pressure to move or speak and my human impulses. I do not want to take any kettle off the fire before it has reached a full boil. I do not want to serve up a lukewarm cup of anything! I also do not want to miss the moment and scar the kettle.

How does one know for sure the difference between human impulse and divine pressure?

A need to know

I’m struggling with questions. Why do I have so few questions? It makes me wonder am I just simple. It isn’t that I don’t care. I read the debates and I know I have an opinion. I also am keenly aware when I don’t have answers for some of the questions and sadly I’m alright with this.
I feel like I am on a “need to know” basis with God. When I need to know….then he fills me in. The rest of the time I just try and live out what I already know. I don’t think it is wrong to question. I actually think it can spur on great discussions and sharpen our beliefs. I admire those who can ask the cutting edge questions. I just realize- I don’t have that in me. I’m not cutting edge material. (At least not on the internet.) I like the debates and discussions but I think one thing that holds me back is not having the conversations face to face. I am uneasy when I can not see the whole language of a person (words and body language) being spoken before me. The other reason is my fear of just not being smart enough or well read enough to participate. Sad, I know…but this is true and holds me back.

I also am overwhelmed with the amount of need in our world for God to intervene in and through us in tangible ways…

Human trafficking
The blasphemy site (which I just learned about from Rob Reardon’s site)
The links on the blasphemy site- They make me cringe!
The apathy and self centeredness of society
The list goes on and on.
I am very aware of these things and yet sit here with absolutely no idea of how to even begin to turn the tide. My game plan….seems weak at best. I’m trying to live out Christ where I am. This isn’t a self- righteous statement…I actually feel like living out Christ where I am doesn’t address any of these needs…at least not in a tide changing way. But it is all I can do at the moment so it is what I do. Again…I guess it is a need to know kind of thing. When the Lord want me to do something more….He will tell me and give me creative ways to participate. Until then, I just do what I already know to do.

In my life recently, God has poured out upon me a real sense of how he has blessed me. To tell you the truth he has gone out of his way to romance me. I am undeserving to say the least and yet I know it is my responsibility to receive this from him wholeheartedly. This isn’t as easy as it should be. This I question! Go figure!?
I have also been made aware recently of areas where I may have failed him and as Moses….. I have been given permission to look at the “promise land” from a distance but not be there. My heart breaks over this one and I’m not even sure where I went wrong. Now for this situation, I have many questions for the Lord but they are just between us.
Any questions??

Blessed-beyond reason

God’s capacity to express his love to me far out weighs my capacity to contain it.

Blessed-beyond reason
Loved-in every season
Sacrifices-fall too short
As does -my admiration.
Every time I give to God
I’m blessed-again!
Blessed- beyond reason.

cjb

Old friend - New site

If you are interested in:

missions

great photography

The Republic of Georgia

or just reading yet another Blog!

This is the site for you.

Our friend Tony who we first met in St. Petersburg in 1994 and then later in The Republic of Georgia has a blog. I know many of you will love what he has to say and his pictures are out of this world.
Drop by and see what he is doing for God and say a prayer for his ministry while you visit his site.
Blessings to you Tony!

A cross in the sky

My youngest yelled out in the car, "LOOK! A cross in the sky!"
She showed me her discovery with excitement. The day was bright and beautiful.
She is too young to know that the pattern was made by planes flying in and out of Newark Airport.
Enjoying her excitement, I just agreed.
"And it's right over my sister's school."
"Yes, it is."
"You know Mommy, when it is sunny like today, Jesus is in the sky but when it is dark, he is in our hearts."
"Emma, he is always close by us isn't he?"
" Yup."
"You know what Emma? Maybe the sun on our skin is God giving us hugs and kisses? What do you think?"
Her little girl giggle told me she agreed.

Singing in the Rain

Get thee behind me satan!
My efforts are not in vain.
My God loves me!
So, WATCH CLOSE! 'cause
I'll be singin' in the rain.

Moon over Manhattan

Moon over Manhattan
Round, bright, full
I can’t stop staring at it
It takes my attention from the city lights
Overshadowing the man made with its purity
Capturing my eye, stealing my breath
Against the dark turquoise sky
Clear of clouds and too bright for stars
I feel everything in me gravitating towards it
As strong as the forces of attraction
It tugs the waters of the earth and my heart
Pulling me, distracting me and I understand
Why some howl when the moon is full
The romance of it all is intoxicating!

cjb

Skipping Stones

Skipping stones
Across the lake
Two- three- four- plop!
Small, round, flat, smooth
Cast them out!
Some go far
Some drop hard
Some skim the top layer of water
Bouncing, flying, gliding
PLOP!
Again and again
We search for the perfect stone
To toss, to skip
Competing against ourselves
And the last stone tossed.
Hunting for the next with purpose
Excited, hopeful when it’s found
Will it soar?
Skip more?
Go the distance?
We choose carefully
Aim intently
Casting the perfect
Casting the chosen
Out of our hands
Propelling it into the distance
Loosing
What we earnestly sought
Tossing
What we once had found
Holding nothing back
Two- three- four-five
PLOP!
We start the search again
Hoping-
The next one will skip more
Believing-
it will go the distance.
Praying-
it will stay a little longer above water
Before it sinks
Like a rock

CJB

Worthy of mention

This whole week my girls have been off school. Alastair and I did not have vacation time so my parents offered to take all four girls to Atlanta, Georgia for a visit. They have had so much fun! They have been to a water park, they've been shopping, catching sun rays on my parents back deck and mining for precious stones at a local gold mine.
I am so grateful to my parents. The girls are having a great time.
More pictures on Flickr!!

Words of Faith

I'm a Beth Moore groupie. I don't belong to a fan club but if there was one I would sign up. Beth Moore is a bible teacher who has inspired many women to dig deeper into the word of God. She by example with a gift of transparency, encourages everday women to apply scriptures to their lives, to live out what they say they believe.
On her blog recently I read something that spoke to my heart directly. At one of her recent weekend ministry events the women stood and spoke out these words to each other and over themselves. I found them very helpful, I've recieved them as a word of comfort and strength for myself and wanted to share them.
Here they are:

Count it a joy,
Dear One
When life gets hard.
God is doing something huge!
He is also proving
That you are NOT a fake.
Be brave, Mighty Warrior.
Your God is with you!
When waves are crashing,
Stand to your feet,
Throw your head back
And feel the wind of the Spirit!
God is painting a masterpiece
With multi-colored trials.
Go forth and display
Divine special effects
To the great glory of God.
YOU CAN DO IT!

Hope you are blessed by them.
Speak them out!

James 1:2-4 (NIV)
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

NJ - Youth Councils 07

Just got back from the weekend. God's Spirit moved ! Praise HIM!
I may write more about that later but right now I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine who has just started blogging.
He has posted something new while at Youth Councils and I think there are people out there who would have some comments to throw his way.

His name is Charles Kelly aka "CHIP"

Here Chip is with my husband behind bars.
We should have left them there!

Check his blog out and leave a comment!

The newest Sr. Soldiers of Montclair

Ronnie Williams,Courtney Scheibner,Karin Tillsely,Heather Bate (my daughter),Stephen Johnson

Don't they look great!!

What can I say? It was a great Easter Sunday!!

The enrollment was going smoothly until I looked at my firstborn standing before me in a uniform under the flags. I was overwhelmed and almost unable to speak. It was a "Mom moment". Snap shots flooded my mind of her dedication under the Army flag when she was a baby, then flashed to the future and all the Lord has planned for her. Unfortunately for the rest of the congregation, I was officiating the ceremony when this emotion caught me off guard!

I choked back the tears and carried on as best I could.

As I look at each of these young adults I imagine all that the Lord has for them and all they have to give to the Lord. My prayer for them is that God will sanctify them through and through. That their whole spirit, soul and body will be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls them is faithful and He will do it!!

I believe it!

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it."

Rock of Ages 1987 NYSB

The Salvation Army's New York Staff Band sings William Bearchell's arrangement of "Rock of Ages", led by band chorus leader Major Thomas Mack in this 1987 broadcast.

My Dad is in this!!

Thanks Stephen for sharing this on facebook!

A night of 10,000 Smiles

A funny thing happened to me in our first year serving in St.Petersburg, Russia. It happened a year before I was able to butcher the Russian language with some form of fluency. I had just left my language lesson with Vera. Sandra Ryan who also took Russian language lessons from this woman once told me “Jeff and I think she is KGB”!
Now, Vera was known for making her students cry and asked so many personal questions it often caused me to rethink my initial thought that Sandra may have been joking.
I was driving home in our LADA, a little white car with a big red Army shield on both the drivers side door and the passenger’s door that said in Russian “Armeeya Spaceenia” ( The Salvation Army). I approached the red traffic light and was drilling myself on some of the vocabulary words that Vera insisted I should already know. When at the red light I looked to my left and saw a man in his little blue LADA waving to me and signaling me to roll down my window. I think it was instinct because logically it was already stupid of me to roll down a window when I could hardly say , “Hello my name is..” However it was already too late. I rolled the window down and he asked me in Russian “ Sto Eta takoi Armeeya Spaceenia?” Excited that THIS question was the very lesson Vera had just drilled me on and that I actually understood, I attempted to answer quickly before the light would turn green.
“What is the Salvation Army?”
“ETA Cirk!” I shouted clearly!
As soon as I said it I knew what I had said. I tried to signal that my answer was wrong but the light turned green and the man just looked pathetically at me and nodded saying… “Don’t worry, I understand.”
As I drove away my heart sank. I failed Vera once again.
Eta Cirk! No…..wrong answer.
I should have said “eta Cirkoff” (it’s a church)
But instead I said, “It’s a circus!”

All this to say, yesterday evening was the GNY night of 10,000 smiles with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It was at Madison Square Gardens and the New Jersey Division was invited to join the celebration.

It was a fun night with the kids at the circus…..hmmm!

* for those of you who noticed one of my girls is missing.... she went to LION KING on Broadway for a school trip. ;)

The ministry of being is never inactive.

“I am the vine and you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5

“You did not choose me, but I choose you and appointed you to go bear fruit-fruit that will last.” John 15:16

My beloved is mine, and I am His.

This pendant says in Hebrew

" I am to my beloved as my beloved is to me."

He pours out His mercy
-all around me
He lavishes me with His love
-abundantly
He overwhelms me with His grace
–unconditional
I can never out give my Lord.

He is magnificent,
He is wonderful
He is compassionate,
He is kind
He is creator,
He is counselor
I am His and He is mine

cjb

" My beloved is mine, and I am his."

Song of Solomon 2:16a

Luke 19:1-9

In my study for my sermon on Zacchaeus, I looked up his name in Hebrew and found out that it means: PURE. I never knew this before and I was so excited to learn something new about such a familiar passage.
I kept thinking of how Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus so badly that he climbed into a tree just to see Jesus pass by.
Jesus not only noticed Zacchaeus but called him by name and went into his home to fellowship with him. Everyone in Jericho knew Zacchaeus and called him a sinner….Jesus knew Zacchaeus and called him PURE! For it was the name his parents gave him as a child. Zacchaeus come down for I’m going to your house today!
Matt. 5:8 says “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”
Zacchaeus desired to see God and he did, but much more was given to him.
He climbed that tree to get a glimpse of Jesus and God called him by name, came into his home and broke bread with him.
On that day, when Jesus called him PURE he was made pure. His response was to give back all he had taken. Jesus said “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what is lost.”
Salvation, acceptance into the family of God….a life found that was once lost!
Zacchaeus received more than he could ever imagine.
Now he could now live up to his name.

One of the songs we sang in the meeting today from the songbook was song #506
by John Copley Winslow (1882-1974)

This verse really stood out to me:

2.Lord of all power, I give you my will,
In joyful obedience your tasks to fulfill.
Your bondage is freedom, your service is song,
And, held in your keeping, my weakness is strong.

I’ve highlighted the part that caught my attention the most.
I love the poetry and the truth of: “Your bondage is freedom.”

Starbucks- "The way I see it"

You can sometimes find me in Starbucks.

( I can hear you laughing Caryn and Mhairi!)

Anyway, I don't always read my cup. But yesterday I did and I found it interesting. Maybe it was interesting because of what I am studying for my sermon this Sunday. We are in a series called " Holding on and Letting go" from Luke. My husband spoke on the rich young ruler last week and this week I am speaking on Zacchaeus. I love trying to find a new angle to a story that is so familiar. But I digress...

Back to my Starbucks cup.
This is what I read yesterday:

"It's tragic that extremist co-opt the notion of God, and that hipsters and artist reject spirituality out of hand. I don't have a fixed idea of God. But I feel that it's us- the messed-up, the half-crazy, the burning, the questing- that need God, a lot more than the goody- two shoes do."
Mike Doughty - Musician


How do you see it?

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