No Fool

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
-Jim Elliot


There once was a man born of high circumstance
Heir to advantage, He had every chance to succeed
But light from the cross made his dreams appear small
And to their surprise he went far--from it all
For the love of his Savior, for one priceless jewel
They could not understand so they called him a fool


He is no fool
If he would choose
To give the thing he cannot keep
To buy what he can never lose
To see a treasure in one soul
That far outshines the brightest gold
He is no fool, He is no fool


There once was a boy who could run like the wind
Given to lead, every man was his friend at the line
But light from the cross made his race appear small
And to their amazement, he followed the call
For the love of his Savior, for one priceless jewel
They could not understand so they called him a fool

Show me the fool who abandons his life
To walk in the steps of our Lord Jesus Christ

-Twila Paris

Unveiling the Bride

Brides wear them down the aisle, conservative Muslim women wear them in public, and each woman has worn one at one time or another over her heart.  Sometimes we put it on right before we walk out the door.  It's cover up, concealer, a pair of outrageously sized sunglasses, maybe completely invisible to the naked eye, but just as real as that translucent fabric that women wear on their wedding day.

The funny thing is that I started this post about two months ago and had completely forgotten about it.  Then last night I was reading a book called Unveiled and was prompted to write on my blog again.  Surprise, the introduction was already started for me and now I just need to pick up where I left off.  

So, I am reading this book about Islam last night. And, I am not really sure how to say this, but as I am reading the page after page of what Muslims believe I realize that much of it is what I have believed about God my entire life.  The references to to Koran read like something taken from my own mind.  I was raised as a Christian, yet my view of God as a child and young adult was more in line with what I was reading in the pages of this book.

This realization wasn't so much disturbing as it was demystifying. I've been afraid of God.  I've been afraid of losing my salvation.  I've followed all the rules.  I've been the good little Christian girl all my life and it never got me anywhere, really.  You may have heard the cliche that Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship.  It's not a crutch, but a cure.  Lord Almighty, it's true!  I was religious.  I was raised in the very heart of Christianity, but I never saw the reality that God wanted a real, and I really do mean real, relationship with me!   Now, I am just now getting pieces of this new reality, but I thought I would share a little with you:

1. I don't have to try.  "Come to me, all you who are weary and I will give you rest."  Literally, I don't have to do anything for God, I just have to be willing to move when He tells me.  I told Him the other day concerning all the stuff a parent of school aged children is 'supposed' to do, "I just can't DO all of this.  If you want me to do anything, just tap me on the shoulder, but I just don't have anything left."  Jesus did just what His Father told Him to do.  That's the example I want to follow.

2.  Jesus really does love me. I am the Bride of Christ, a part of it and all of it.  If it were only me on this planet, He still would have come to get me.  I am His.

Elisabeth

I read a short bio on this young woman, St. Elisabeth of Hungary while we were on our beach holiday last week.  It is such a cliche to say her life struck me, but it actually did.  She was a wealthy girl living in an opulent world.  As a young woman she was married and gave birth to three children while her husband was continually out on military campaigns.  During her short life she fed the poor and cared for the desperately sick. She was widowed and forced to be separated from her children. She spent her last days living in complete poverty subject to her own personal persecutor.  She gave up everything in life to serve those around her and endured cruelty to do so. "Her life ended," as one person put it, "when most lives are beginning."  She was only 24.

From the outside her life looks like nothing but a tragedy, but the hard facts of Elisabeth of Hungary's life belie the heart of Jesus and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.  History has tried to explain her and label her, but the explanation can only be found in Christ and His unfathomable love and the label may read something more like "pure in heart" rather than a watered down definition of saint.  A young girl called out of a secular court by the Voice of her Father to bring His love to her poor and sick and dying subjects.  It is not really the story of Elisabeth, it is the story of her Savior and how He brought her through the valley of the shadow and into His glorious light.

The Sound of Music

Jesus put a song in my heart/ He turned my life around/He gave me a treasure-the heart of a servant

-Charity Churchmouse

Whoa!  Major blast from the past when I started singing that song this morning!  My mom always said, "just give her a stage and a mic and she will be set."  So now I have a stage (this blog) and a mic (my keyboard) and boy does it make me happy!  

When I was a baby, about 9 months old, I started walking and talking.  Close behind the talking came the singing and I mean LOTS of singing.  No radio? No problem.  I had a repertoire like you wouldn't believe (think old school Amy Grant).  My parents bought me my own little red record player and I sang my little heart out at home and every time I had the opportunity to get in front of a crowd.  Someday I was going to be a famous singer!

A few years ago I had the great joy of getting to sing on our church's worship team.  Funny thing, whenever we would have practice I knew that a couple of states away a childhood friend who was also into music was practicing for her church.  Somehow, knowing I was singing with my sister in Christ at the same time every week made that practice time so sweet for me.  

Now days once in a while I get the privilege of sitting near a beautiful woman of God in our church who is blessed with a gorgeous alto voice (and four children as well).  It is fun to see how God fulfills those childhood dreams in such beautifully effortless ways.  Especially when we are broken, the love of God just seems to pour out on those around us in a special way. 

So as I take those first steps in the unknown, I know I am not alone.  

K-LOVE - Britt Nicole "Walk On Water" LIVE

Ballet Shoes

I know what it's like to have unfinished dreams...it takes a long time, but when you are ready, when you are strong enough, we have your pointe shoes waiting for you.

Surrendering my life to God is a difficult process.  Sometimes the things that I want and the plans that He has for me don't match up when I want them to.  I try to yield to His will, but most of the time I have no idea what He is doing, and that is what makes faith challenging.

God made me one of the scrawniest creatures ever.  As a kid and a teenager I was so insecure about my long limbs and tiny frame.  I used to cry when people would make fun of me and ask me if I was anorexic, more when adults looked at me with all-"knowing" pity.  One day though, I discovered a place where I had the ideal body (albeit a long torso).  It's an art where music, movement, and spirit meet: ballet. No teacher will ever say to a healthy ballerina "you are just too skinny."  I had finally found my place.  But in my mind, I found it about 12 years too late.  Nineteen is not the ideal age to start training as a classical ballerina!

So I held back.  Oh, I loved it with all my heart.  I slept it and ate it and fell asleep with the Sugar Plum Fairy dancing in my head.  But, I knew that there was only so much I could give.  It was very clear to me that God never intended me to be a professional dancer: in part because I have zero turnout, but also because having a big family was higher on my list of priorities.

So, I have come to the place where I get to enjoy participating in this beautiful art form in my own way.  But I still struggle with the desire for more.  To get to experience the joy and pain of training all day every day.  To watch my body and my skill develop into something beautiful that touches people's hearts. What fun that will be!

Your Mother and Mine

"You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth...
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable." -- Kahlil Gibran

 

 One of my favorite Disney moments is Wendy singing the lost boys to sleep.  When I finally took the time to read Peter Pan, I fell in love with Mrs. Darling and her desire to have everything "just so."  The way she folded up her children's thoughts and feelings at the end of the day in the same way we mothers tidy a bedroom inspired me in the care of my children's needs.  There are so many little chores that we do as mama, and the care and keeping of the hearts and minds of our little one's can sometimes get pushed behind more immediate needs like "what's for lunch?"

As we ushered our fourth child into the world, I felt the assurance of a job well done and completed.  It really doesn't get any better than giving birth in total surrender to God and allowing Him to redeem even the act of bringing a life into this world.  I knew I had learned my lessons about natural childbirth when I pushed this beautiful 7 lb. 13 oz little boy into the world.  He was the reward for all my hard work.

So, as I go through life and learn through the hard experiences of really living, I know that there is a reward.  Someday all the pain will be over and I will hold my inheritance for a moment before I lay it right down at the feet of my King. 

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