His Gardeners

My waking thought on a Monday morning back in September was…

“I would wage that the care and pruning of the tree of life is one of the greatest undertakings.”

It was such a interesting, yet out of the ordinary thought to have as I woke up that day, that I immediately wrote it down in my journal.  Since that early Monday morning, I have held this thought close and pondered it many times.

I think right now in this present moment He calls us to be His gardeners – caring for and pruning His tree of life in ourselves and in each other.

John 15:12
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Connected

I think deep down we all know that we are somehow connected whether we acknowledge this or not.  The connection isn’t immediately visible in this world, and yet many of us feel it and know that it is there.  Those who have accessed this deep knowledge in times of silence or brokenness or even great joy, experienced this connection and wanted to share it with everyone and thus many creations and inventions have been born from what we know within, spoken and written languages, roads, art, books, mail, morse code, televisions, telephones, and now the internet – connecting our whole world.

Yet – anything we create here is a simplistic, broken and eventually a corrupt copy of what truly exists, what is real yet invisible!

Let us use our inventions to spread LOVE despite their brokenness, but let us NOT allow them to overshadow the true and real connection that is buried deep within each of us – you will find it in the SILENT and INFINITE DEPTH of each PRESENT MOMENT.  Within each moment it waits to be discovered – a buried treasure whispering to us – Come, come and see!

Matthew 13:44-46
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Double Doors

Can you see them?

Look up at just right angle and you will see high on the Hill of Calvary there is a set of double doors created just for us.  The lintel and center post is covered in the blood of our Passover Lamb, our sweet and precious Jesus.

His Cross holds these doors open for us… and through this opening He calls to us, beckoning for us to come, come in and see!

RUN my friends, run to His Cross, run through the doors while He holds them open for us!

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Isaiah 45:1-4
Thus says the LORD to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
‘I will go before you
And make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the LORD,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
For Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me…

Matthew 25:1-13
“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps,  but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’

“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

Strong Roots

Remember – it is trees with the strongest roots that bear the most glorious fruit!

My friends, dig deep into the Gospel, connect with others in prayer, silent or vocal, believe Him and in His wonderful promises, and LOVE – only then can you bear fruit worthy to be set before the King.

Colossians 1:9-10
… we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s  will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

Connected

I was praying with a few women that I didn’t know yesterday and as we prayed, I had this thought…

As we pray we are immersed into His endless ocean of mercy and grace, and our roots of faith are nourished and they grow.  When we pray together we are immersed into His endless ocean of mercy and grace together, and our roots of faith are nourished and as they grow they connect and become intertwined making us true sisters and brothers in faith, ever expanding our hidden, yet very real support system.

Let us live like the trees, always expanding our hidden connections with each other by growing our roots of faith in humble prayer together guided by His Will.

Matthew 18:19-20
Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.

The Golden Touch

If we could realize the merit concealed in the actions of each moment of the day… if we understood that surrender to the will of God is the true philosopher’s stone that changes into divine gold all our occupations, troubles, and sufferings, what great consolation would be ours!

I read this the other day in The Joy of Full Surrender by Jean-Pierre de Caussaude (chapter 9, Holy Made Easy) and I immediately thought of King Midas.

I’m sure you have heard of King Midas.  He was a king of great fortune who wished for – The Golden Touch, for everything he touched to be turned to gold.  Initially he received his wish with great joy, running through his castle turning everything to gold, but his joy quickly turn to fear as he realized even the food he tried to eat turned to gold before reaching his mouth, and finally his fear became true horror when he turned his own daughter to gold by giving her a hug.

Isn’t it crazy how quickly the desires of our flesh that seem good, can be twisted and turned into horrors?  Yet with the eyes of faith, a heart of love, and a true desire to fully surrender to the Will of God, we all gain The Golden Touch and everything we do is changed into divine gold in His Heavenly Realm.

Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done!

Glimpses of Infinity

Infinite – limitless or endless in space, extent, or size; impossible to measure or calculate.

Finite – having limits or bounds; possible to measure or calculate.

We have been given many things to help us comprehend the infinite, the sands of the earth, the drops of water in the ocean, the insects in the world, the seeds of the forests, the leaves of the trees. These things we know are finite, and yet not being able to count them gives us a tiny glimpse of infinity.

Many still debate whether our universe is infinite or finite, but I think this too is finite, yet so immense and still expanding that it offers us another glimpse of the infinite within the finite.

Without these glimpses of infinity within the finite, how could we ever hope to think outside of our box or bubble and contemplate the INFINITE Glory, Love, and Mercy of our sweet Lord?

Psalm 147: 4-5
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.

A seed

I was talking with my daughter about the beginning of the universe and gave her a very brief explanation of “The Big Bang Theory“.

After we finished talking she said, “I understand – it is just like a seed.”  Hmm… I thought – I have never heard it compared to a seed, but I think she is right.  I love this analogy!

Wouldn’t it be just like our sweet Lord to grow our whole universe from a tiny seed, next fill our world with seeds and the process of amazing things growing from seeds, then talk about seeds throughout the Bible and then patiently wait for a sweet little child to make the connection!!!

Our Lord is so AWESOME!  I love the games of hide and seek and seek and find that He is ALWAYS playing with us!

Vibrations

Sweet Lord as we surrender to Your Holy Will – could it be true that the vibrations of love flowing from our our hearts compose a beautiful symphony for You in Your Heavenly Courts?

The Greek word sumphoneo, where we get our modern English word Symphony is used to describe being in agreement, in unison, in one accord, to speak together, to concur with one another.  Thank you to Lowell Hohstadt for this definition.

Sweet Lord – I thank You for granting us such an amazing gift and privilege to fill Your Heavenly Courts with beautiful music when our hearts are aligned with Your Holy Will!

Matthew 18:19-20
Jesus said, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.  For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Ephesians 5:18-19
… be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord…

Let the walls come crashing down!

I often hear prayers for the Lord to put up a hedge of protection around people, schools, neighborhoods, and I get it – I long for my loved ones and friends to be safe too, but when I hear this prayer something in my heart remains unsettled.

I heard it again last week when a very sweet friend prayed for a hedge of protection to be placed around our children’s school.  As I spent time mulling it over once again, I think His sweet whispers finally came through, and the thought came to me…

We have too many walls!  We should instead let the ripples of love flowing out from our hearts unite with His infinite tsunami of love as it spreads out and breaks down the walls within the hearts of all who come near!

My sweet Lord – I pray for all who come near our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, our schools – any child in the whole world – to have the walls they have built in their hearts come crashing down allowing their hearts to once again be fully open to Your Mercy and Grace.

Hebrews 11:30
By faith the walls of Jericho fell…