Does Your Heart Cry Out With Barrenness?

What does it mean to be barren?
     It's a longing unfulfilled,
     It's gifts withheld,
     It's sadness, emptiness,
     It's laughter that isn't heard,
     It's a heavy heart.
Does your heart cry out with barrenness?

My God says something intriguing,
     "Tell the barren woman to sing aloud,
       Break into cries of joy,
       Enlarge the limits of her home,
       Spread wide the curtains of her tent,
       Let out its ropes to the full!"

Oh God,
You definitely have increase in mind.
How small my thoughts, how narrow my vision.
You have abundance in store, more than I can imagine.
This loss You desire to turn into gain,
Such increase, such favor, such goodness.

"Something new, something great," your Husband , your Maker whispers,
   "I want to break you out of your confines,
     I have dreams for you to possess,
     I have new opportunities for you to pour out your love.
     The time of shame, the time of sorrow, the time of mourning is over."

He speaks to those once deserted,
                               once rejected,
                               once heart-broken.
"You are My bride, My love for you is immovable.
  I have a peace for you, a completeness to be fathomed which cannot be stolen.
  I am your Husband, your Maker,
  All you have gone through has been for purpose, but now restoration is my plan for you.
  Your time of sorrow, sadness, and brokenness has produced a beauty in you; a beauty of endurance,
      wisdom and compassion. This beauty is forming a firm foundation, walls of strength with precious
       jewels.
Keep looking to Me, your Husband, and abide in My righteousness and delight in you.
Rejection, brokenness, and the lies of the enemy will not be able to penetrate these walls, or the new
      creation that you have become."

"This restoration, this beautiful building will welcome with anticipation and expectation, the new
      enlargement, the new thing, the abundance that I have planed for you."

Comforted, restored, and loved by the High God of heaven!!!

Meditation from Isaiah 54

     

He Came

His own arm brought our victory.
His own integrity saved us.
He put on the helmet of salvation, His garment of vengeance (against the prince of this world.)
He said, "I am going to invade your world of darkness with Light, with Hope, with Joy."
And He came,
He came like a rushing stream, in power, in energy, in mighty desire, in extreme brilliance and glory.
He came driven by the breathe of God.
He entered this world of darkness in the humble form of a baby.
This baby, our Deliverer,
This is the One who rescues us out of darkness, out of despair, out of our mourning.
This One comes to turn the Light on.
This One comes to bear our burdens, bear our guilt, bear our shame.
This One pays the price, takes the place, gives Himself, reveals the depth of His love.
This One, who loves me, who loves you, has come to dwell among us, desiring to bring us into
      the fullness of joy that He longs for us to possess.
He came revealing His standard of love over us, shouting His standard of love over us, shining His standard 
      of love over us.

And the angel said,"Behold I bring you tiding of great joy, unto you is born this day  in the city of David , a Savior,who is Christ the Lord!"

The Rescue

It was it was in a box labeled, "The Rescue Collection".
When I opened this box, I was amazed to find a beautiful, shinny, silver necklace.
I was told this object was picked up in the smoky garbage dumps in Nicaragua.
My daughter picked it up last spring thinking it was interesting.
She quickly decided it was a treasure, and had it made into this beautiful necklace,
    thus the Rescue.

This reminded me of my rescue.
Yes, my Maker fashioned and made me beautiful with so much intention, design, and purpose.
But the enemy tossed me around with his lies, life was hard on me, and the pain and the wounds had me       
  feeling ugly, dirty, and worthless.
But Jesus came and rescued me.
Just like my daughter rescued that object out of the garbage dump, Jesus revealed His love to me and
  rescued me from the bondage of sin, guilt, shame, and the lies of the enemy.
My Jesus picked me up, polished me, spoke truth into my heart, and allowed me to believe and receive His
  love.
The love that He poured into me filled my being until I could overflow with His love.
And as I received His gift of love, I was transformed into a treasure radiating His beauty.

I am part of His Rescue Collection

So thankful!!!


The Rescued One

The rescued ones dance
Dance because they are free,
Dance because they have been made clean, made beautiful.
The rescued ones dance,
Bringing the good news to others that need rescued.
The rescued ones dance,
Proclaiming the awe, wonder, greatness, goodness, power, and lovingkindness of the One
   who rescued them
   who ransomed them,
   who loves them.
The rescued ones have a story of deliverance to proclaim,
    and a song of joy to sing!


Isaiah 52

Thoughts from Isaiah 46-49

Purposed and Planned by the Father

From birth He called me,
From my mother's womb He named me.
He made me His polished arrow,
      hid me in His quiver,
      as He grew me,
      transformed me, loved me,
      revealing His heart to me.
His song over me has always been,
"You are my chosen one, I have purposes for you.
  I delight in you!"

Then He gave me my assignment, to be His light in my world.
He promised that the One who loved me would always be beside me.
He poured out His favor over me and promised provision on the path.

"Yes," He whispered, " The path may go through the desert, but I will meet your every need on the way.
I even have bubbling springs of joy for you to discover."
"Yes, the path may go up and down some hills, but I, the One who loves you will be there to lead you,
      comfort you, carry you when you are weary and refresh you so you can continue.
You see, I have gone before you, I have already prepared the way.
I have prepared pastures for you to rest in, pastures for you to discover my peace,
Yes, even in the difficulty, even in the pain, even in the sadness."

"My dear one, this is what I do.
Please trust me.
Amongst the difficulties of your path, I have prepared treasures.
     a place of nourishment,
     a place of peace,
     protection and provision.
I have arranged victory for you, victory over your enemies that accuse, taunt, condemn, and distract you
      from the path.
Each treasure of mine that you discover, I rejoice over.
Each step of victory, I delight in.
Each step of faith and trust adorns you with beauty, radiance and light."
You are always in my vision,
Your name is engraved on my hand.
It's impossible for me to forget you."

"Yes my child, how I delight in you, how I love you!"                                 



Stepping into His Strength

Oh God, I step into Your footsteps,
I step into Your strength,
I step into Your boldness and courage,
I step into Your footsteps and receive your peace, your glory, your love.
I step in and trust,
            and believe,
            and receive.
   

A Sweet Morsel

Isaiah 45:2,3 "I will go before you and level the uneven places, I will shatter the bronze doors and cut the 
                      iron bars in two. I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches in the secret places."

Oh, that secret place,
That place I can go to in my spirit, in every circumstance.
It's the place where I only see You, Jesus. 
It's here You show me the treasure in the pain, treasure in the slander, treasure in the conflict.
It's here You take away judgement and allow me to see as You see and love like You love.
It's here You tell me Your secrets, reminding me of who You are and who I am.
It's here I listen to Your song and receive a song again. 
It's here I am loved and everything becomes better as You hold my hand, transforming me.


My circumstance earlier today led me to to feel like a dead dog in a corner.
(that's what the enemy had for me)
I remember feebly praying, "God, You promised me a treasure in each circumstance even when it seems dark." It took awhile, but then I began to hear His song to me. It was beautiful and brings tears to my eyes as I try to relay it now. He said, "I am so proud of you, so proud of you for trying, so proud of you for not giving up. I want to nourish you on this journey."
Oh, what joy suddenly filled my pitiful spirit as my eyes turned to my Lover, my Beloved, my Lord.
The God of glory? Proud of me? Delighting in me?
His words brought such life to me.
Thank you God for being on the journey with me, on the path, in the circumstance.
Thank you for allowing me to hear Your song!
Thank you for this treasure moment, this sweet morsel of Your presence!
                                                                                  

Autumn Musings

Fallen Leaves

As I trudged through the fallen leaves on my path this morning, I took delight in their array of colors and the     rustling sound they made as I walked through them.
But then I contemplated on the fact that I was actually walking through dead remains. The  nourishment of 
   chlorophyll had been stopped, causing their colors to come and then drop.
My Savior tells me that I am dead to sin. Just like these fallen leaves, I can no longer give my sins life.
The attributes of my lower nature needs to fall and be trodden upon.
At times, I may think I should keep one or two of them alive. Like this anger, maybe it's justified, or this
   bitterness, I have a reason for it to remain. Sometimes I blame my circumstances and demand that is why
   I can't let this mumbling go.
But my Savior says,"Release it, let it go, let it fall, tread upon those leaves, that old man!"
He reassures me that He has something better to replace it with, an upgrade. He whispers, "Let Me plant 
   those seeds of the Spirit."
And as I trust, obey, and yield, He replaces those dead leaves with budding vines of new growth, 
   budding vines of love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness.
It is then that I become alive to all He desires for me!


The Maple Tree

Thank you God for the colors of autumn.
This giant maple tree so fully robed in its green garments, patiently allows You, God, to stop the
     flow of its nourishment. In the process, this majestic creation of Yours, turns into a beautiful display of 
     golden splendor. Its splendor only lasts for a short time, but again, this creation of Yours does not
     fight or argue with You as You strip it barren! In it's barren state, it rests, becoming  nourished on the 
     inside as it awaits the promise. It awaits the promise of spring, the promise of a new beginning.
I thank You God that You care about me, Your creation, Your daughter. Yes, You promise that the work You have begun in my life, You will perfect. So I trust You, my Maker, as You work in my life in the 
    seasons of my life. I want to trust, like the maple tree. I want to trust, believe, and receive all You
    are doing.

The Sound of Jesus

Is the sound of Jesus murmur? Is the sound of Jesus complaining?
Is the sound of Jesus anger, contempt or strife?
Is the sound of Jesus putting someone down or exalting oneself?
Is the sound of Jesus frustration or annoyance?
Is the sound of Jesus despair or negativity?
Is the sound of Jesus fear, unbelief or accusations?
Is the sound of Jesus laughing at righteousness, hiding the truth, or snickering at sincerity?

I want to ring out the sound of Jesus, I want to spread His fragrance.
Do you hear the sound of Jesus?
Do you hear hope, gratefulness, goodness, patience, acceptance, kindness?
Do you hear esteeming others better then yourself, gentleness, joy, celebration, forgiveness, honor?

The sound of love is the sound of My Jesus.
When love is in abundance, the fragrance is sweet.

We have that opportunity, to make the sound of Jesus known and to spread His fragrance.


Returning

It's when you return and trust, it's when your return and rest, that all things are possible.
It's when you return and trust, it's when you return and rest, the heavens are opened and 
      provision is released.
It's when you return and trust, it's when you return and rest that the hopeless become hopeful,
      the anxious become peaceful, the ashes become beautiful, and the worn out become refreshed.
It's when you return and trust, it's when you return and rest, the mourning turns to joy, the mumbling
     becomes rejoicing, the heavy heart becomes light, the weak gain strength, and confidence is restored.
It's when you return and trust, it's when you return and rest, the light shines on the path, and eyes are 
      opened to see.
Opened to see You God, 
               in all Your glory, 
                        in all Your grace,
                                     in all Your power,
                                              and in all Your love.
It is then that we can enter into the fullness of You God and into the desires that you have for us to possess.



Isaiah 30:15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, In returning to Me and resting in Me you shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.