Time to Receive

I went to work on the bus today
on a Friday...?
drove past a house today, one that sticks out like a sore thumb.
it’s the one where the front garden is just one massive trench!
and it’s been like that for the last ……5 years, in fact it might even be more!
the house where the front garden is a construction site.
a work in progress
just the same work still going on year after year
seems to the casual observer that nothing much seems to happen
no great excavations
no great landscaping
no great planting
just laying those foundations

Year after year
digging away……
and so often that can be our experience in life
nothing much changes
nothing really occurs
unlike a soap-oprea, where everything happens
most days are just mundane
just the same things going on year after year
perhaps livened up with a life changing, “suddenly”
and here is the big trap of living by our mind and emotions
we think that if there is no “suddenly”
Then God must have fallen asleep
and he is sleeping there waiting for us to wake him up.

We convince ourselves that God needs waking
We convince ourselves that God needs to come and visit us
and its our job to get him to move
But God is not stuck!
God is not asleep
God is resting in the finished work of his Son.
God has poured out his spirit on all flesh
God has acted
God says “It is finished.”
We look for a “suddenly,”
God says look to Christ.

We cry out to God to move
He says, “It is finished!”
He says, “It is your turn to move, it is your turn to receive.”
It is us who are stuck
It is us who are asleep
It is us who have the risen Christ living inside.
God has poured out his spirit into our hearts
Instead of asking, its time to receive
to awaken ourselves to all Christ has won and given us
to awaken ourselves to the finished work of the cross
to live in an awareness of the fullness of Christ living inside.

The Best Wines

The Best Wines

Some months ago I had a picture of a wine cellar full of the best wines.
These valuable wines lay hidden in a dark cellar, almost forgotten awaiting the moment when they were needed.
Over time the wine matured and giant cobwebs covered them.
They were hidden treasures, assets of great value.
I felt the Holy Spirit say that this was a picture of many of our hearts.

God had deposited his treasure of grace into our hearts but we had hidden it away and almost forgotten the value of the best wines we now had been given.
That His grace had matured in us but we had let the cobwebs of life cover over the grace of God so that all we could see was the cobwebs . The cobwebs has obscured the grace.
But the value of the wine was increasing.

The grace of God was increasing in value in us.
Like valuable bottles of vintage wine the best was inside us.
God was in the business of clearing away the cobwebs.
He was working in us to dust off the valuable stock.
For the day is coming when the wine cellar will be opened and the best wines will be drunk.
The day is coming when the best wine will be given to all guests.

And that day is upon us, that day is now. For we live in the day of the Lord's favour.
The day all oppression and brokenness has been healed by the resurrection power of Christ.
And in this God said don't let the world rob you of your inheritance. Don't let the enemy steal your birthright don't give what is yours in Christ away for the fleeting satisfaction of the moment.
Your inheritance is beyond measure and it is yours given freely and deposited into the treasure chamber of your heart.
Don't be deceived into thinking that God is somehow holding out on you. That God is holding back from you.
God has given you all things in Christ.
God has provided a complete and eternal salvation.
God has provided a complete and eternal deliverance from the captivity and oppression of the world.
You are his best wine and his best wine of grace is alive and flowing in you.

I Can Never Go Back

It's unreal, how I'm becoming the person I never imagined I would be--
but in all the small ways,
the unexpected ways--
the unimportant ways.
like making sure my son gets up for work, even if he doesn’t need me to…
going grey and having little or no hair
and it is the losing of hair that obsessed my youth ,
I was worried that baldness was a real possibility.
I hated the thought of losing my hair,
and wouldn't even consider any product that would promise to keep my hair.
I also used to wonder,
as a teenager,
I would examine my hair loss and watch for any signs,
making sure that I would never go bald…
now I know.

I can never go back to that teenager that was so obsessed with their baldness..
I wish sometime I could go back and tell myself
the secrets of my future.
I would smile, as I breathed out the silvery words, "life is a fountain of opportunities ."
I would look into my eyes
and encourage myself to embrace the glorious unconditional love of God..
I'll never have that chance...
but I can move on from this point in time
for it is the same God, and it is the same unconditional love.
God’s offer of his love is timeless
God’s has never changed in his value and acceptance of me
It was at the Cross that God accepted me
It was at the Cross that he took a hopeless rebel--
and made him his son
It was at the Cross that He kept me  and offered me all that he had created for me.
it was at the Cross that his goodness overflowed to me.
sometimes His love blows my mind.
when I think off his extravagant grace
and I know that his acceptance to me is an act of scandalous generosity and infinite love
even though I know it deep inside my heart
I'm so overwhelmed by the magnificence of his grace
that it sets my heart dancing
and keeps me forever in his wonderful embrace of love.

The Garden Bin

I heard the rumble of rubbish collectors today, and knew immediately.
the garden bin!!!!
there are moments when you just know
sounds the alarm bells in your head
and panic set in..
that moment of madness when you rush outside to get your garden bin.
and place it where you hope they will see it
and you hope that you haven’t missed it.
I am now wondering why did I not do it last night
when I remembered it
I feel...
like I should have done it when I thought of it
not left it
not put it to one side
but actually done it when I thought of it.
I know what this means
a change of routine
a change in the way I think
a change in my actions
I just needed to change in my head...
It is in this moment of awareness
that God speaks his whisper to my heart
and I become aware that God can use anything to speak to me…

He tells me that He has done it all for me
He has put out the garden bin of rubbish
and cleared it out.
I don’t have to worry about clearing the rubbish because he has cleared it
I don’t have to struggle with the rubbish because he has dealt with it
I don’t have to collect the rubbish because he collected it for me
I don’t have to panic because he has provided all I need
He has made the way

I live in his finished work
and my he has transformed my heart.
and that I am a New Creation in Christ
His performance and action effective in my life
His performance and action giving me a new heart
so...I receive all that he has won for me.
it is now his story alive in me:
I live a life of Christ living and working in me
I live a life of Christ living and working through me
as He is so now am I.

His grace transformed my life
His grace is transforming my life
His grace is beyond my wildest dreams
His unconditional love unlocks the door to His treasures in my heart.

The Car Drive Home

the drive home, with a
clear
bright
cloud free sky shining on carpets of bright yellow fields--
like shining, radiant streets paved with glistening gold
like the pictures I drew as a kid...
or photo’s I would take
but I can’t take a good photo if I tried.
but I always hoped I would make a great modern artist--
splash of yellow here, flick some blue there:
this is my impression of a wanderer on a summers day...
A Matisse or a Monet
fields of bright red poppies
captured by me.

I love those moments that make my heart sing
the fields of gold
the glorious, wonderful songs of the birds
the morning chorus
the sparkling sunshine on a clear blue lake
but these are just moments that come and go
so I guess it's just a fleeting experience that lights up each day
delight
delight in the wonder and glory of creation
times when you know the delight God has for you when you see his creative brilliance
unconditional love
bountiful
wonderous
there for everyone to see
a masterpiece in shades of the fathers love.

There is a radiance in the delight of God
that he is delighted with me
that he is delighted with Christ in me
that he has entered  time and space
that he has made my heart his home
my life is now his life
my resurrection happened the moment he entered my life and dwelt in me
that is my New Creation life
I am created new in Christ
not washed clean but created new
my hearts is new
my spirit is new
I now feel and know the Holy Spirit alive in me
and everything that says it is not so
has been taken away and destroyed
I am who God says I am
and the same radiance that lights up creation lives in me
never to be extinguished
but to shine in me throughout eternity
to transform me into the very image of God.

Isolation

Isolation...
like a  man standing on the edge of a shopping centre during a Saturday morning in a big town...
I often feel the world moving around me--
I try to touch it, even.
but somehow I am not a part of it.
It does not pass through me.
alone.
solitude amid the busy, talking, excited,
makes me want to disappear.
wishing I had more to give--
more self to impart, more heart to be engulfed by.
to reach out and change the world
or stand up and shout?
To change or be changed or perhaps
neither.
or just to press onward.
moments become opportunities for
deep breaths.
Insolation…
It is just an illusion, it is not who I am.
Because I am never alone.
Never separated from the eternal God who lives inside me.
I don’t have to look for God because He has found me.
I don’t have to search for God because He searched for me.
I don’t have to feel isolated for He has united me to Himself forever
I don’t have to strain to hear him for He is whispering to my heart.
I don’t have to plead with him because He has given me all things in Christ.
So why do I sometimes feel isolated.
Because I ask where did God go?
What happened to me?
His Spirit living in me is the answer to my hearts longing
His Spirit is his waves of Grace crashing over me.
I can never lose him
I can never be lost to him.
For He has found me and He holds on to me.
I am safe in Him.
What happened to me?
Christ embraced me
And I was changed forever
Held and kept by his grace.
Held and kept in His unconditional love.

The Red Car

It is so easy to slip back into the way of the world's thinking.
It only takes a few seconds to revert back into old perspectives.
I know that I am a New Creation in Christ.
I know that I have the living God within me.
But it is those little instances and happenings that distract my mind into my old mindset.
Just a few seconds at a roundabout and a red car that decides not to stop.
In a few seconds my heart leaps and those negative perspectives capture my mind.
Instead of blessing, I get upset.
No need for it.
No excuse for it.

Because my decisions do not define me.
It is who I am on the inside that defines me.
I am new in Christ.
I am defined by his word alive in my heart.
I am who God says I am.
My heart knows it.
My spirit knows it.
But my mind and thoughts need to know it.
God works in me to transform my inner image of myself.
Who I am is who God has recreated me to be

For now my New Creation life is the good ground I can plant every promise and seed of God into.
And as God sows his word in me it will produce a ripe abundant harvest.
For Christ in me is the hope of glory not my performance or my self effort but His life alive in me.
Those moments in life where I slip back are in fact just what they really are.
Moments are not my life.
I live in each moment but I am defined by the unconditional love of God and the truth of Christ through his finished work.
Love and truth are the ripe harvest of my heart.

I Regret Nothing

"I regret nothing"
Those were the words printed on a tee shirt of a student on the bus today
it just immediately spoke to my heart
it was like a light went on
shining like a beacon
like a wasp to a glass of lemonade the words came alive
the power of leaving the past behind
the power of moving on
the power of forgiving yourself
the power of living free
I regret nothing
so simple
so important
forgive yourself
so wonderful
to live a life without regret
and I am FREE
innocent
righteous

"I now regret nothing"
I am accepted
I am new in Christ
I don't have to look back
I now have a hope, an assurance that all things work for my good.
regrets will hold me back
regrets cast a shadow over my future
Christ tells me I am secure
I am embraced in God
I am held in the unconditional love of God
he took all my regrets and cast them into his sea of forgetfulness
and he left them there
they died with him
I am free from my regrets
Since I am now alive in Christ.
and I am the delight of his heart
Accepted and not rejected
I'm embraced in his unconditional love.

New Tricks

New Tricks

"You can't live a life worth living when it is rotten at the core "- Brian Lane - New Tricks .

Yes, God speaks through "New Tricks " on the Drama channel.
God is absoultely amazing . No matter what is happening, He wants to speak to you.
At the end of a crime drama I hear the voice of God.
That little whisper.
That little unction inside
That little word of confirmation .
The feeling inside of God.
Out of the ordinary thoughts, thoughts that you know on the inside.
It is difficult to explain.
But there is something inside you that says, listen God is speaking .
And it is here when we need our spiritual ears.
And God is constantly speaking to us in the midst of life.
And through all different noises and experiences.
We just need to listen.
And what did God say.
Yes, Brian.
If you think you are rotten at the core you will see life as a reflection of your heart.

Life is worth living when you know the truth of your heart.
For Christ has given you a New Heart and planted his fruit into your heart.
Now nourish it, nurture it and guard it.
Give the Holy Spirit the freedom to cultivate the power of the Resurrection life of Christ in you.
Unforgivenes is not you.
Forgive completely and don't let it's weeds grow.
Worry is not you. Don't let worry take root and grow.
Fear is not you. The perfect love of God is in you and fear is not yours.
Brokenness is not you. Christ has made you whole and you are complete in him.
Captivity is not you. In Christ you have been set free and delivered.
Sickness is not you. For by the wounds of Jesus you are already healed.
The Holy Spirit in you produces the fruit of all God is.

For when the life of Christ is at the centre of your core then you are Holy and Righteous at the core.
And life is worth living in all its fullness in Christ when the creator of the universe is alive and planted into our hearts.
The core of our hearts is good in Christ and His fullness is our righteous core.
We now live in the abundance of New Creation life, we are united with Him as our source, we let him flow in and through us and his life produces life in us.
In Christ we have a new centre to our lives and his love and truth reigns in us.
Now our centre is unconditional love and life is worth living.
In all its abundance.

Wildflower Verges

The local council have tried to convince us that because they are not cutting the grass verges coming into the town they are creating wildflower havens.
Now there is some truth in this.
They are creating those wildflower havens.
But we all know they are really cutting back to save money.
The less verges that are cut = the more they save.
As it is with all things, it contains truth but it is not all the truth.
Annette asked a question, "What would happen if nature took over ? . Would it just keeps going, self seeding, forever?"
Here in the verges of wildflowers is a picture of God's grace.
For everything has been provided for nature to flourish and thrive in the place where it seeds.
The seeds float on the breeze and life falls where it plants.
And here is one of the great strands of the bible and of life that God is with us in the midst of life.
That God is united in us and to and He is working to bring us into an awareness of his presence in everyday life.
We often strive and struggle to find the 'will of God'.
When his will is that we enjoy his love and delight right here, right now in every circumstance of life.
For His life in us is the power to overcome and know his love working in us.
For we are never separated from the love of God.
He is the awareness of heaven in our hearts
He is the assurance that all our needs are supplied in Christ.
He is the kindness that captivates our emotions.
He is the light that guides our path.
He is the loving father that embraces us.
He is the party on the inside.
And his seed always produces good fruit.

We need never fear or doubt because God always produces the perfect fruit from the perfect seed planted in us.
It is His seed
It is His fruit
It is perfect, righteous and Holy.
Because Christ is perfect, righteous and Holy.
He is planted into our hearts.
Only the good seed of Christ produces the perfect fruit of God.
He has sowed his seed into our hearts and He will reap it's harvest in our hearts.
We are the ripe, summer harvest of the unconditional love of God.

Rabbits and Birds

It was an early morning start today.
My son works at a local golf course, as a green keeper
So for him early mornings are the normal.
Today his car lift was on holiday so I took him in.
5.45 is a bit of a shock to the system.
But it certainly had its rewards.
The roads are empty
And the countryside is full of life.
And one of the most amazing sights was a family of rabbits running free at the edge of a field.
Adults and baby rabbits enjoying the morning.
Without cares and worries.
Enjoying the wonder and provision of creation.
As I think about this I am reminded that this is grace.
That grace is the freedom to run and enjoy life knowing that God has provided everything in Christ.
That I don't have to ask or plead for anything that God has provided for me in grace.

For grace is Christ.
Grace is Christ alive in me.
Grace is Christ poured out for me.
Grace is Christ formed inside me.
Grace is:-
God's healing alive inside me
God's provision alive inside me
God's abundance alive inside me
God's delieverance alive inside me
God's love alive inside me.
God's joy alive inside me
God's freedom alive inside me
God's kindness alive inside me
God's compassion alive inside me
God's mercy alive inside me

It is his healing power, healing my body, soul and heart.
It is his release freeing me from the captivity of my mind, my emotions and the wounds of life.
It is his power in me from his resurrection life.
Grace is the riches of heaven poured into me.
And it is for freedom Christ has set me free.
Free to live and enjoy his unconditional love.
Free to live in his delight in me.
And God is not finished there.
As I come back and enjoy breakfast.
The morning chorus of birds fills the sky.

A symphony of joy and delight.
Each bird with a unique song
Each bird full of the joy of summer.
It is the unique song of creation.
We each have a unique song that needs to be heard.
God has placed unique gifts and talents into our hearts that He can shine through.
God's love is expressed in the uniqueness of our lives.
That is the beauty of creation.

That God shines his unconditional love through the beauty of our lives.
We are a living, vibrant building of the glory of God.
God is glorified when we let him shine his love through us.
For love, unconditional love is the answer to the ache and longing of each individual heart.
And love, unconditional love is the answer to the heartache and suffering that surround us and that we live in.
For love shows us that we are all family.

And Christ laid down his life at the cross so that His family could rise with him into glorious, abundant and free everlasting life.
A life that is now in the New Creation of very heart that has a passionate desire to be God's delight in Christ.
The song we now sing in Christ is a New Creation song of God's delight alive in our hearts.
For the song of the birds in the morning is a foretaste of the eternal song alive in our hearts.
A unique song that sings out the unconditional love of God.

The Smell of the Bar-b-que

What is it about the smell of a Bar-b-que
It just smells delicious.
No matter what time of day it is
When that smell wafts over I am immediately transported to a place of heavenly, meaty delights.
It takes me back years to when our children were little.
Summer evening in the garden enjoying the sausages and burgers.
It creates a hunger, a desire.
It stirs my senses.
It makes me connect.
And I know in my heart and mind that connection is why I was created by God.
I was planned and purposed in God to connect with His beauty and love.
My senses were created for me to experience the glory of God in my body, soul and spirit.
I am created to be one with my heavenly father.
And Christ is the connection.
Christ is the sweet fragrance of God.
For God comes to us as a sweet fragrance
He comes to us as a column of smoke
He comes to us as the morning dew
He comes to us to entice our senses
To ignite our desire
To penetrate our walls of self reliance
He comes to us as a consuming fire
To burn away the dross
To burn away our worldly perception
To burn away the dead wood of unbelief
To burn away the lies of self effort

His fragrance wafts into our senses to create a longing to be with him.
And it is His fragrance, Christ's fragrance in us that we give to everyone and everything thing we touch and connect with in every day life.
For In Christ we are the fragrance of heaven in a corrupted world.

We are the sweet perfume of the unconditional love of God to those that are crying, desperate and alone.
We are the fragrance of healing and restoration for those lost and without hope.
We are the fragrance of hope.
We are the fragrance of the unconditional love of God.
For Christ did not come into the world to condemn the world but to give us the very life of God in a New Creation of his love and life.

Somewhere in the Garden Centre

My wife and I love different varieties of flowers.
I adore heuchera. She isn't to keen.
But the one we both agree on is "Cosmos"
Easy to keep, stunning in colour.
These are definitely our favourite.
And so a trip to the garden centre is usually a search to find them.
And hidden away in the centre we found a few.
Red and White to be precise.
But it was worth the search.
And today potted up they sit on our patio.
Adding colour and life to our garden.
As I look on them and in all their glory, I see all that God has provided for me in these beautiful flowers.
The God is the universe created each one of them for me to enjoy.
For God wants me to enjoy him.
It is not enough for God that I just like.
It is not enough for Christ that I just acknowledge.
He is passionate that I embrace and enjoy.
His desire for me is that I enjoy all he has given me.
And this can sometimes seem alien to me,
Almost disrespectful
That I enjoy God

But that is what love is
It is an enjoyment of being with each other.
A sharing of our intimate emotions and feelings.
God wants my emotions to enjoy him.
God wants me to experience his joy
His love
His delight
For when I enjoy him , I am really enjoying his love alive in me.
He wants to enjoy me.
He pursues me to captivate my heart
He is jealous for me.
God's unconditional has been poured into my life for me to overflow with his goodness and kindness.
Enjoying God is what I was created to do.
Enjoying God is the reason God came in Christ and reconciled me back to God.
Enjoying God is the glory of my New Creation life.
I was made to enjoy God forever.

A New Magazine

The good news is
That my wife  decided to buy a new magazine
Now this is quite interesting
"LandLove" is the name of the mag.
And I was very impressed with it.
Lots of interesting articles and little sections.
It was full of variey.
And I was pleasantly surprised as I read it.
And things just popped from the page.

Like:
"Think before you plant"
"It is good to remember too that good lawns you do keep will thrive with infrequent soaks, rather than frequent sprinkling, as this will encourage roots to search deeper for water. "
As I read this i took a few moments to ponder.
There is whisper from the Holy Spirit that this contains something I need to know.
But as I read, it seems to go against what I believe.
For I know that God is never separated from me.
I know that the Holy Spirit is constantly watering the garden of my heart.
I know that living in the constant sprinkling of Christ in me has been the greatest freedom in my life.
I know that his living water is still the fountain in my heart.
So I wait.
I wait on God to reveal to me what he wants me to hear.
So I wait and listen.
And He let's me wait and he starts to say.
My love is revealed to you
And my love is revealed in you.
You have to let my love take root in your heart.
You have to let my love go deep into your soul.
You have to let me reveal my love to you.
It is in the place of waiting that I reveal deeper truths of my love.
Waiting is not passive, like waiting for a bus or train.
Waiting is active, it is an anticipation of good , it is an expectation of living in the answer.
Waiting is a response to the blessing of God working in you.
God is revealing greater depths of his love and truth planted in your heart.
So don't fret , instead wait for He that is faithful will keep his promises.
And it does not stop there!

As I turn the page this article catches my eye.
Know your soil
"Identifying what type of soil you have in your garden is a big step towards becoming water -wise. "
My heart leaps.
Yes, it says know your soil.
Know the soil of your heart.
Know what God has planted in your heart.
For now as a New Creation in Christ I have new good soil planted in my heart.
I have the best soil in the universe in my heart.
I have the soil of the finished work of Christ in my heart.
In my good New Creation soil I have been planted into the fullness of Christ and from my heart grows the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Planted in me are:
Love
Faithfulness
Goodness
Kindness
Joy
Peace
Patience
Gentleness
Self-control
All these are there inside me growing and transforming my belief system so that I can now live a life as I am.

I am a New Creation in Christ.
I now renew my mind and thoughts and feelings to believe who I am.
It still amazes me that God speaks to me through the articles of a magazine.
But that is because He loves me and He delights in me and He loves showing me the delight He has in me.

Bus Day

Wednesday is Bus Day.

Wednesday is the adventure of the bus
A chance to connect with the voice of God admist the kaidescope of life and noise that is the bus.
What an opportunity to see life in all its vivid colours.
How incredible is creation.
The trick is to try to anticipate where the sun shines. So you don't roast in your seat.
I know the ride.
So I sit where I will be most comfortable.
But the sun shines regardless of me and where I sit.
And the bus carries on its journey.
Sometimes I am in the full glaze of the sun and sometimes I sit there in quiet obscure shadows.
For the shadows and the sun are always there.
And here on the bus I hear God saying:-

"The bus takes you wherever you want to go. Sometimes it's dark, cold and shadowy. Sometimes it's bright, radiant and shining in the sun. But the sun is always shining it's where you position yourself. Shadows come but know that the sun is always shining. The sun never seen leaves you or goes away. Inside you is the brightness of my beauty. Open your mind and your heart and experience my unconditional love and know that you are never alone or deserted.

There is a sense where we can all feel deserted, but you are only deserted if you focus on the journey and not the sun.
So focus on the sun and enjoy the ride "
Today is a day to open your eyes.
It easy to go through life with your eyes closed.
Closed to the grace of God given to you in Christ.
Closed to the goodness of God.
Closed to the glory of creation.
Closed to the will of God
Closed to the unconditional love of God.
The whisper of God is to open your eyes.
The shout of God is to call you out and live in His fullness.
The cry of God is to come close.
The urging of God is to come into his love.
For God is not hiding from you.
He is inviting you into his intimate embrace.
Don't look from afar

Come close
For you are His intimate delight.
When you open your eyes you see the goodness and love of God shining to you.
You see the unconditional love of God overflowing from your life.
For now in Christ it is not you that lives but Christ who lives through you.

The Dentist

The best place for silence is a dentist waiting room.
But when all is said and done it's the last place I want to be.
It is a necessary torture.
And there is nothing I can do about it.
Endurance is the only option.
Yet sitting there in the silence there is an awareness of something i was created to experience.
Intimacy.
And here in the dentist waiting room I breathe in the love of God.
And all fear fades.
Because God was never separated from me.
So where do I find God?
I don't
Because He has found me.
I just breathe him in.
For God is there, deep inside,
His heart of burning, passionate desire.
His heart birthed into my heart.
A desire that He created
A desire that He planted
A desire that He ignited
A desire that I connect with.
His voice is the desire of my heart.
His passion is the fire in my heart.
His love is the answer to the longing of my heart.

My Dentist tells me that all is well.
Come back in six months time
I am relieved
I trust his words of reassurance.
I trust his judgement.
As I consider my experience I realise that trust is a heart condition that God trusts me with.
He trusts me with his Spirit.
He trusts me with his love
He trusts me with his kindness
He trusts me with his compassion
He embraces me with his trust.
My trust is really His trust working in my life.
I am secure because Christ trusts me.
He trusts me with his message of reconciliation.
He trusts me with his healing.
He trusts me with his loving-kindness.
He trusts me to be His ambassador of His unconditional love.
I trust because He trusts me.

Whatever comes my way in life God trusts me with His unconditional love.

Precarious Pears

Yes, yesterday was Monday.
Another week starts as I let time work its way in my life and I find my place in the universe.
I used to worry about time slipping through my fingers
And although it seems to pass at an ever alarming speed.
I have generally let it take its course.
After all there is nothing I can do about it.
Might as well enjoy the ride.
Eternity will be an amazing dynamic.

There are some things in life that present challenges to me.
Eating pears can be one of those precarious challenges.
Because more often than not the juice is just uncontrolable.
It has a life of its own.
And no matter how hard I try it always ends up overflowing and staining my shirt.
I do try to be aware of its intentions.
But it has secret properties that always cause havoc.
Uncontrolable and overflowing is how the Holy Spirit should be in our lives.
God was never meant to be contained.
He lives in us to overflow.
For the more we give out the more we are filled up.
God has limitless resources.
It is me who limits God.
I need to push back the boundaries of my thinking.
In simple terms. (That always appeal to me). He says it, so I believe it.

I had a glorious evening with our group exploring how to hear God's voice.
And the theme of giving away to be filled was a strand of gold throughout the evening.
Sometimes stepping out with what God is whispering to you to daunting.
But if we are willing to take that step we find that God is constantly pouring his words of encouragement into our lives.
I know that I am never disconnected from his presence.
But life has a way of coming in and changing my perspectives.
I am never away from his unconditional love.
For he loves me totally and utterly because I am the delight of his heart.
I am the child of his heart that he always wanted.

The commitment of God to us is a reality that is often tangible but more often it is something we simply need to believe.
God holds you and me in his loving embrace.
There is no fear of falling if we are held securely.

The thought I will leave you with is from Romans 8:32 from The Passion Translation.

"For God has proved his love by giving us his greatest treasure, the gift of his Son. And since God freely offered him up as the sacrifice for us all, he certainly won’t withhold from us anything else he has to give."