ITS NOT THE PICTURE__IT'S THE MESSAGE

Lord...here i am again...in my comfort zone...drawing pictures in my mind...
pictures i see and feel in my heart...
i remember the look on your face when i presented you with my first one...
i think of the first picture that was put up on the refrigerator for everyone to see...
i didn't understand why some would laugh and walk away...they didn't have the look that i saw on Your face...

that look of pride...and love...i could hardly wait to draw another...

You have always been the One who has accepted my pictures and words...my pictures of the heart...
Now i know it's not the picture, but the message that i long to present in all it's fullness and beauty...All it's truth and majesty...All it's power and glory...
Holy Spirit help me...reveal Christ...reveal Life and Love in the simplest way....through this child of clay...
This is my prayer...Amen

MORNING ORACLE

THIS MORNING...BEFORE I EVEN OPENED MY EYES...I WAS CONSCIOUS OF A WORD

"WATER"...THEN..."WINE"...IT WAS ALMOST AUDIBLE.
IT WAS JUST ENOUGH TO GET MY ATTENTION...I ROLLED OVER...
THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS SPOKEN IN THIS WAY...SEEMS LIKE IT'S NEARLY THE ONLY TIME AND WAY TO GET MY ATTENTION...
I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE, THAT IF I DO NOT GET UP AND START WRITING DOWN WHAT I HEAR...NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY...I FORGET...IT'S GONE!
"IT'S SO COLD...I'M SO TIRED...I WON'T BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO SLEEP."....ONE EXCUSE AFTER ANOTHER....DOESN'T THAT SOUND FAMILIAR?...KIDS MOANING IN THE MORNING ABOUT GETTING UP AND READY FOR SCHOOL.
"I'M NOT GOING TO WAKE YOU UP AGAIN...DO YOU WANT TO HEAR WHAT SPIRIT IS SAYING?....YOU ARE NO LONGER A CHILD....I HAVE COME SOFTLY, AND WILL WAIT JUST LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU TO DECIDE."I WAS UP IN A FLASH...GRABBING MY PEN AND PAPER...TRYING TO TIP TOE QUIETLY INTO THE LIVING ROOM, AS TO NOT WAKE THE WRATH OF HUBBY, WHO HAD A HARD TIME SLEEPING.
THEN AS USUAL THE WORD COMES FASTER THAN I CAN WRITE...A GOOD THING BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IT'S NOT ME THINKING IT THROUGH BEFORE I GET IT DOWN ON PAPER.
THE LORD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL IN MENTORING ME WITH HIS ORACLES...EVER SINCE I WAS A YOUNG CHRISTIAN....
I BELIEVE THAT JUST AS WE WRITE POETRY, SONGS, LETTERS OF COMFORT AND COUNCIL___THAT WORD WHICH DWELLS IN US IS ALONG THIS SAME LINE___ THAT HOLY SPIRIT SPEAKS AND REVEALS THE "LIVING WORD" THROUGH US AS ORACLES EDIFYING THE BODY OF CHRIST.
I SAY THIS HUMBLY AND FEARFULLY...COMPLETELY AWARE OF THIS VESSEL OF CLAY THAT IS LEAST OF THE SAINTS IS___
I HAVE NO AUTHORIZATION__EXCEPT HIS WORD WHICH HE MAKES KNOWN__
I AM MERELY A MOUTHPIECE, HE IS THE WORD...
HOW VAIN AND PRESUMPTUOUS OF ME?...I'M SURE THAT IT SEEMS THAT WAY...
BUT I FEAR THE LIVING GOD, ABOVE MAN...AND IF I LIE...MAN HAS NOTHING TO FEAR...HIS MIND SET WILL BRING HIM TO PEACE AS THE CONSUMING FIRE OF GOD MAKES ME AN EXAMPLE OF PRIDEFUL BLASPHEMY AND SELF-RIGHTEOUS PRESUMPTION.
THIS IS ALL WELL AND GOOD...UNTIL FATHER SETS YOU DOWN AND SAYS THAT YOU HAVE TO BECOME TO OTHERS...WHAT OTHERS HAVE BEEN TO YOU.
I'VE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT WE ARE LIVING EPISTLES TO MEN__AS WONDERFULLY MARVELOUS AS THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD IS__ YES, IT IS THE ORACLES OF MEN__SPIRIT BREATHED__
LIVING EPISTLES OF THE TIME OF JESUS__ IT IS TIMELESS__QUICK AND POWERFUL___ THEY WERE AND STILL ARE MINISTERED IN GOD'S SPIRIT...AND AS THE SPIRIT GIVES LIFE TO THE LETTER.
BUT NOW IS HE CALLING US FORTH TO SPEAK IN THESE LAST DAYS...AS ORACLES UNTO HIM__CHRIST IN US SPEAKING__LIVING EPISTLES OF HIS WORD.
AGAIN__IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO SAY, "THUS SAITH THE LORD."
SO VERY SIMPLY...I WILL FOLLOW MY LORD'S LEAD IN THIS LESSON TOWARD BECOMING A MOUTH PIECE FOR HIM__
"THE WATER AND THE WINE
THERE IS NO OTHER KIND
BY WHICH WE COME TO KNOW
THE ONE WHO LOVES US SO
REJOICE UNTO THAT DAY
THERE IS NO OTHER WAY
REDEEMING REASON'S TIME
WITHIN THIS MORNING RHYME
ITS COMFORTING TO KNOW
AS ONWARD YOU MUST GO
THROUGH MINUTE AND THROUGH HOUR
I'LL BE YOUR STRENGTH AND POWER
THE ORACLES OF GOD
ALONG THE PATH YOU TROD
WILL COME AND THEN WILL GO
MY WORD YOU'LL SURELY KNOW
FOR THEY SHALL SPEAK OF ME
THAT YOU MIGHT ALWAYS SEE
THE TRUTH ALONG THE WAY__
COME WALK WITH ME TODAY."I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT HE IS SPEAKING TODAY
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU CAN HEAR HIM SPEAK
HE LONGS TO FELLOWSHIP WITH YOU PERSONALLY
THERE IS AN ORDER TO OUR SHARING
IT IS DECENT AND RESPECTFUL
IT IS UNDER THE POWER OF THE ONE SPEAKING, TO KEEP IT IN LINE WITH THE SPIRIT'S LEADING, AND NOT THE PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF THE ONE SPEAKING.
IT IS FULL OF LOVE__PATIENCE__AND KINDNESS.
IT CAN ALSO BE FULL OF WARNING__DISCIPLINE AND CANDOR
THERE WERE MANY TREES IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN
THEIR FRUITS WERE MANY
BUT THERE WAS ONLY ONE TREE OF "LIFE"
IT'S FRUIT WAS OF THE SPIRIT
THE WATER THAT POURS FORTH AS WINE
EVEN AS IT IS POURED FORTH IN THESE LAST DAYS
THIS NEW WINE CANNOT BE POURED INTO OLD WINE SKINS__LEST THEY BURST AND THE WINE SKINS PERISH.
IRISH

HOW RICH I AM

The rush of wind in the trees
the roar of stormy seas
a lightning flash
a rain drop's splash
I gasp for breath in pure delight
for in it all I see His might
And oh that He shares all with me
the wind, and rain, and stormy sea
how rich I am
A new Born's cry, a mother's sigh
for such as I...that life should come
To hold that tiny hand
to feel her at my breast
I can't count the sum
how rich I am
Some day I will behold the One who loves me so
and shares Life's treasured gold
There will be silent praise within my gaze
for words could never say
what fills my heart so full today
How rich I am
A forever sky, and wonders why
such wondrous gifts....and all are free
The morning sun in all it's majesty

How rich I am...How rich I am

Lord, my Lord please let me tell
of all the joys my heart knows well
how Your wind of Spirit set me free
and like the lightning, Word spoke to me
And when the rain began to fall...
that Later Rain, I heard You call
I gasped for breath in pure delight
Oh Lord my God, of Power and Might
So let me share like you my Lord
those wondrous gifts, I couldn't afford
Love and laughter, Life from above
Every blood bought gift of Love
Until I hear a New Born's cry...
Birthed of Spirit...wondering why,
"that Life should come to such as I" ?
How rich I am........IRISH

PEACE BE STILL

It's hard to even listen to the news anymore. It comes to us in so many ways that we feel like it is a storm we're caught up in, and it's about to sink our boat. The news that is close to home___ of loved ones and friends and the events and circumstances of their lives, of how they can hardly cope or endure the hardships, of loss and merciless grief, sorrow and pain. The storm tide of crime that is entrenched in our communities, and governing, all the way to the White House. Whether it's a thug or a dirty politician, a thief or a corporate bail out at the expense of the innocent___we're all in the boat, but it's those who have caught site of what first, might seem like a ghostly glimmer of hope, a vague remembering of faith's optimistic reach, that will come to find the peace that the world cannot give.
I love this picture of Christ walking upon the stormy sea. The storm is having its effect even upon Christ. Christ the man, though he is walking on the water, is drenched by the storm. It is his confidence in WHO HE IS that allows him to walk where ever his Father leads and guides, or STANDS FIRM in his faith, in any situation he finds himself.
Has he come to you in your distress, walking upon the storm that is raging around you___in your self, your home, your job, your finances___what ever it may be___does Christ seem but a ghostly glimmer of hope, just out of reach. You want to step out, to believe that you can believe___well, first of all, you will be loved the same, whether you step out of your boat or not. You, and you alone, must make that choice to step out in faith, believing that just as the boat is being tossed in the storm, the storm itself is being tossed. What remains is Christ and where the eyes of your faith are focused. It's not whether you are in the boat waiting for Him to save you, or you taking that first step of focused faith in recognizing the power of God's will and purpose in all circumstances of our lives___It's surrendering to the workings of His will. Just as we cannot calm the storm, we cannot always control the storms that effect our lives.___
Christ will come___He is come___to each of us, just within reach. An though our hearts may be overcome with doubt and fear, though it may even condemn us in our lack of faith. He remains faithful. He cannot deny himself___you are his, he is not willing that you will perish.____ In Him you shall Live ! "Peace be Still"