"How Silently, How Silently the Wondrous Gift is Given..."

My favorite, but rarely remembered, verses of this well-known carol:  (quietly shared in audio recording below)

"How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is given
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

O Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel."
--Phillips Brooks, 1867

"Of the Father's Love Begotten"

I have loved this haunting, ancient hymn since I was a young child. I remember it touching something (my spirit) deep within me.

"Of the Father's love begotten, ere the world began to be
He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He
Of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessed, when the Virgin full of grace
By the Holy Ghost conceiving, bare the Savior of our race
And the Babe, the world's Redeemer, first revealed His sacred face
Evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of Heaven adore Him, angel hosts His praises sing
Powers, dominions bow before Him and extol our God and King
Let no tongue on earth be silent, every voice in concert ring
Evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father and, O Holy Ghost to Thee
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving and unwearied praises be
Honor, glory, and dominion, and eternal victory
Evermore and evermore!"              [Tune below]

--Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, 348-413 AD

Translated into English in 1854

Imperfect Gifts

   Remember when you used to bring home gifts for your parents which you'd made at school or in secret in your bedroom?  The Valentine with the misspelled words and smeared glue, the misshapen clay pot with indecipherable pictures, the potholder with sections of missing weave?   They received these gifts, if we were blessed with merciful parents, as if they were the most perfect and exquisite offerings ever given them. They oohed and aahed and squeezed the stuffings out of us with apparent delight at our creation.

   You've probably heard the expression, "If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it." However, you'll find there not just your picture but every imperfect attempt at pleasing Him and expressing your love. Every gesture of mercy and kindness you've extended to others, every attempt to express His Truth in an inhospitable world, every courageous stance you've taken at the expense of the approbation of those whose opinion matters to you, every time you've resisted the temptation to hide inside the security of His love and let the world go wheresoever it will, and instead subjected yourself to ridicule and condemnation.  No matter how flawed your efforts, how inarticulate your words, or how ineffective the results, He receives your gift with gladness. You will find He has not only posted your presents on His frig, but placed others on His coffee table, His nightstand, and His display case. He shows them proudly to His angels and His family in Heaven. No offering of love is ever rejected, and He can and will take your meager offering of a few small loaves and fish and do something wonderful with them, as only He can.
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If you think someone could use some encouragement and unconditional love today, feel free to share this, or any of the Morning Manna posts.
Julie

How Close Can You Get?

   Have you ever had a pet, especially a large one, who kept trying to sit closer and closer to you, until finally he managed to get himself completely secured in your lap? I remember Drew's sweet lab/setter/collie, Mariah, who used to sit at our feet, then on our feet, then put her paws in our lap, then gradually (as if she though we might not notice) levitate her hind quarters into the much smaller space on top of us. It seemed she couldn't get close enough, and was happiest when she was nestled so closely that one would find it difficult to see where she left off and we began.

   I remember sitting on my father's feet, with my head resting on his knees, while he watched football on television (black and white in those days). He was a tender-hearted, wonderful man but was raised by German parents that to express emotion was a sign of weakeness. Yet I also remember a special moment when he reached down, as I sat leaning against his legs,  to stroke my hair.  Yeshua has given me that very picture of Himself, except that He is not uncertain how to express love. My father is there with Him and with the Father, as the recipient of that well-expressed love that he so desired as a child, and it gives me joy to think of it. My mother, too, who often felt inadequate as a child, is now fully accepted, fully valued, fully loved.

   We don't have to wait for heaven to experience intimacy with Adonai. Thankfully, my mother discovered that well before she left this earth. Those of us who long for unconditional love and affection can find it the very moment we open our hearts to it. This is sometimes easier said than done, if we have experiened consistent anger, neglect, or rejection from the people in our lives who should have loved us best.  But Adonai is our Overcomer. He is our Peace, Who breaks down every wall*. When you try to climb up closer, not only will He not reject you, but He will look down into your eyes with tender joy at the sight of you, rejoicing that closeness to Him is your heart's desire.  Try it. It doesn't matter how old or how big you are, whether you are man or woman. He is bigger.
Much bigger. You will always fit in His lap and always be welcome there.

*Ephesians 2:14

I thought I'd share a picture I've loved since I was small. It still,hangs on my wall.

The Best Man

I was reading this familiar passage in the Gospel of John, and as often happens when we reread the Scriptures, it struck a new chord in me.

"Yochanan (John) answered..."You yourselves can confirm that I did not say I was the Messiah, but that I have been sent ahead of him. The bridegroom is the one who has the bride; but the bridegroom's friend, who stands and listens to him, is overjoyed at the sound of the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine is now complete. He must become more important, while I become less important."  --John 3:28-30, Complete Jewish Bible

  I attended a wedding recently and thought about how honored people are when chosen to be the Best Man or Maid of Honor or even groomsmen or bridesmaid. It's usually (not always, I know) a demonstration of true friendship, of the special role someone has played in the life of the groom or the bride. One is so very glad to see that special friend entering into a new era of his life.  In some ways, it can also be bittersweet, however, because that friend will now have a new focus of her affection....

   As I read John's words, it struck me that we are all both Best Man and Bride to Yeshua, no matter our gender.  How privileged we are to serve in both roles. He, in turn, loves us as if we were the Only One...the one and only bride, the one Best Friend, and His focus is never turned from us.

   Some maids of honor and best men take their role very seriously. With a true servant's heart, they set about doing everything they can to lift up and honor the bride or groom, working behind the scenes to bless their friends. Their acts of service are often hidden from others. They commit themselves, not only for the events leading up to the wedding day, but also in the years to come...to be there, "come hell or high water," as the saying goes.

   Yeshua offers us all the role of Best Friend. Whether we receive the offer gladly, delighting (as John did) in the sound of His voice, is up to us. How much we foster that friendship is also up to us. He will come as close as we invite Him. He will share the deepest part of His heart if we spend significant time listening, as a true friend would. There's no other way to really get to know another to the point of intimate friendship, aside from reading his 'personal letters.' Doing all the talking won't do it. You learn very little about another by talking, unless you spend the greater amount of time listening to his response.

   Those who tend to read this blog are most likely His Friend already. May we be ever more so. May our hearts leap when we hear His voice. May we one day rejoice at His coming and gladly sit by His side at the Wedding Feast as He is honored above all others.

Glorifying Death

As All Hallow's Eve (the Eve of the Holy Ones) approaches, I am always anxious to get past it to November 1, to All Saints Day. The celebration of Jesus' victory over death and evil has, instead, become, even among Christians, the very celebration of death.  For decades people have intimated to me that not to celebrate Hallloween was to deprive my children of a deserved delight. Yes, it is fun for children to dress up and receive candy. Of course it is. And we tried to schedule some fun events, as many churches have, to allow them to do so without glorifying evil.  We told them the true meaning of All Hallow's Eve..and that we didn't have to be afraid of death or evil because of what Yeshua has done for us.  But at what true expense to them are we spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to decorate our homes with symbols of evil and death and relegating this time of the year to harmless fun?  Innocent animals and children are tortured and ritually killed on this night.  Ask any policeman about the reality behind this 'fun, harmless' time of the year. What many people don't realize is that there are very real practices of Satanism and Black and 'White' witchcraft occurring throughout each year, but especially at this highest of 'holy' times in their 'faith'.  According to their beliefs, the more innocent the victim, the better.

   We need to open our eyes to the realities of which many have been unaware.  In some ways, I wish mine hadn't been, and yet I know one can't change reality by ignoring it.  We had a baptism of fire, so to speak, years ago when thrust into a situation where a young woman staying with us woke us with a request for an ice pick so she could stick it into her head.  Initially we thought it was from drug-induced schizophrenia, but we later discovered that she carried a vial of blood in her purse from a Black Sabbath experience.  One doesn't forget things like this.  She only became completely free from all this when a team of people trained in deliverance prayed for her in two successive,  lengthy sessions.  If you remember the time Yeshua delivered the possessed man of the tombs who was being controlled by a 'Legion' of evil....this turned out to be her experience, also.
   At the time, we were clueless and truly didn't know how to help her. Our prayers calmed her but didn't free her. We were so grateful that God led her into a 'random' church one day, in her
desperation, where this team was visiting from another state.    She was freed, received her college degree, and became a counselor.  This after being told that she was so brain damaged that she would have to be permanently institutionalized.  Only God could set her free, and not without much deep investment.
   I know that, once again, I will raise the ire of many defensive parents and grandparents.  However, to not speak the truth in love about this is to be complicit in it. When the kids were living at home, we used to carve a cross into a pumpkin and place a candle inside to make it a Christ-o-Lantern and place it in a window. Let's shine the Light of Christ and defy the darkness.

Have You Lost Your Wonder?

Have you lost your Wonder?  Ask the Lord to go for a walk with you. Let Him point out those expressions of His Creation of which you're daily unaware. Converse with Him about what you're seeing. You'll begin to delight in those things you've missed, hear birdsong you've ignored, rejoice in the canvas of sky stretching before you, changing by the second...some to take your breath away. Thank Him for the beauty and pure fun He's placed on the earth. Notice the variety of flowers and diversity of animals He designed. Stop and watch a common one, like a squirrel. Suddenly he won't seem so 'common' anymore. Listen to the rising crescendo and decrescendo of the bird choir at the dawn. Suddenly all creation is alive with His Presence, His signature written with bold hand across the sky. "I am here!  I love you! I created all this for you to enjoy. Take time to notice and appreciate My gifts to you.  Enjoy it in My company. Walk with Me...and then be still and know...."

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Did you learn this as a child...when your wonder was still alive?

"All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all

Each little flower that opens
Each little bird that sings
He made their glowing colors
He made their tiny wings...

He gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty, Who hath made all things well..."
    --Cecil Frances Alexander, 1848

A Challenge to Agnostics and Atheists

Lumping the religions of the world into an assessment such as  "they're basically different versions of the same thing...choose one or none"....is absolute nonsense.  Either the God you believe in is real, or he/it isn't. And, regardless, none of them even purports to be the same as the God of true Bibilical Christianity.

Show me another 'religion' where God...
...offers to be your Loving Father.
...offers to take the punishment for your sin, guilt, mistakes, and screw ups upon Himself
...offers you eternity in Heaven because of what Je did, no what He requires of you
...cares about, and wants to be involved in, the smallest details of your life
...binds up your physical and emotional wounds
...converses with you like a friend
...listens to you intently, as well as speaking to you personally
...makes you laugh
...wants you to enjoy your life 'abundantly, to the fullest'
...speaks the truth to you in love, correcting you as a true good father would
...helps you become a better person...more like Him
...is a Dad you want to emulate
...grieves when you grieve, even when He knows a happy ending awaits you
...is willing to orchestrate the circumstances of your life to make a good out of even the worst tragedy
...delights in you
...sings over you
...is a mother hen to your chick
...is a Good Shepherd to your lamb
...drives the wolves from your door
...rescues you not only from your enemies, but your own failings
...sometimes lets you fall in order to learn how to stand
...never leaves your side in the process
...promises never to abandon you or forsake you
...is faithful to you even when you aren't
...knows your every thought and heart's desire
...planned you and knit you in your mother's womb
...was always, is now, and ever will be the one True God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, who
...loves you personally, intimately, with an Undying, Everlasting Love

   May the eyes of the blind be opened to all He is, as He once opened (and continues to open) mine and those of all who now 'dare to call Him Father.'  Let eyes be opened through your testimony. Lovingly, tenderly share Who He Is at every possible occasion. Weave your testimony, your love and thankfulness for Him, into the tiniest crack of casual or serious conversation. Be watching...'be ready in season and out of season,' 'make the most of every opportunity.'  Make Him known and loved and adored in your little universe. The people around you are dying for want of Him, even though He is as near as their very breath.

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*Read I Dared to Call Him Father, the Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter With God by Bilquis Sheikh, plus many others such as Seeking Allah and Finding Jesus, Hiding in the Light, A Wind in the House of Islam, or 10 Amazing Muslims Touched by God

Day by Day

Remember this song?*

"Day by day, day by day,
Oh, Dear Lord, three things I pray:
To see Thee more clearly
Love Thee more dearly
Follow Thee more nearly
Day by day...
Day by day by day by day by day..."

   This morning, I'm loving the simplicity of it, as I listen to it play in my head.  It reminds me of simple Scripture messages, like "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength...and thy neighbor as thyself..."... Simply clear in its summary of what we're called to do, but definitely not simple to carry out. If that's our true heart's cry, however, our Father is smiling tenderly down at us, encouraging us every step along the way. Even when we stumble on the road, He is at our right hand, reaching down to lift us up, brush us off, check for and bind up our wounds, and lead us back onto the narrow, but lighted, path.  He never watches from a distance. He is the God Who Comes Near. Pray you can see Him more clearly by your side, affectionately and gratefully love Him more dearly, and follow Him more nearly with each day that passes....all your days. I know that's my prayer, too..

**Various versions of this command are found in:
Luke 10:27
Mark 12:30
Matthew 22:37
Deuteronomy 6:5 (+4 other Scriptures)
Joshua 22:5

*Godspell (musical)

"All Praise to Thee My God This Night"

I first created the post below in 2015,* after several younger friends said they would like to learn about worship music from the past. Instead of searching Youtube for the song, as I do now, I recorded my own little video with one of the sweet pictures I own. It’s obviously unprofessionally done, but it’s a little offering to the Lord. 

“All praise to Thee My God this night for all the blessings of the light.
Keep me, O keep me, King of kings, beneath Thine own almighty wings.

Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son, the ill that I this day have done;
That with the world, myself, and Thee, I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

O may my soul on Thee repose, and with sweet sleep mine eyelids close,
Sleep that shall me more vigorous make to serve my God when I awake.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.   Amen.”

--Thomas Ken* 1709
[tune: Thomas Tallis, 1567 (the Tallis Canon)

*Thomas Ken , the writer of what we commonly refer to as The Doxology, wrote these lines in 1674, as the last verse for another hymn ("Awake, my soul, and with the sun") and later used them in this hymn, also.  Sung to the Tallis Canon (which can be sung in a round), it's not only lovely, but evokes the sweet peace of God. I have loved it since I was a child.

*To see posts from years past (2015 to the present), open my blog at TennyandI.blogspot.com [ Morning Manna ]on a computer or tablet, with a larger screen than your phone,, and you will see the listings by year on the right. As you choose a year, the names of the various posts will appear underneath.  In His Love, Julie

Under His Pinions

I had been listening to Andrew Wommack's (Gospel Truth/awmi.net) series on dwelling in God's Presence and subsequently asked the Father what he thought about the teaching.  Andrew can be very challenging to common perceptions and the status quo. Here's what I believe He answered on this particular occasion. I thought it might encourage someone else from my small band of readers.

   "Dwelling in My Secret Place--good teaching on Andrew's part. Don't allow arrogance to erect a wall between us. It is in humility you will enter...like the Eye of a Needle or Alice in Wonderland. ...bending down, becoming small as a child...whatever image helps you understand that otherwise you shall not enter.
   Remain under My pinions, Little Chick. Look out on the world from their safety. Only in Me will you dwell in safety....you and the others in your brood.  Rejoice that you are Mine."

Psalm 91

Being Kind to His Kids

God has been continuing the analogy, planting the picture of how He feels when I am kind, merciful, or thoughtful to others...going out of my way to help them.  He asked me how I feel when other people are kind to my kids.  How my heart warms toward them, how grateful I am, and how I pray God will bless them for their thoughtfulness.   Hmmmmm....this is how He feels, too...and how He responds?  But He doesn't have to pray for a blessing.  He is blessed by our loving actions,  and He is the One Who Blesses.   We aren't kind to receive a blessing; we are kind to please Him and because our hearts are gradually becoming more like His every day, His molten love pouring out from within us. May it be more and more so. May the hard-hearted, selfish part of us be replaced more and more by His sacrificial outpouring, even towards those hardest to love.

A Good, Good Father

   Recently, I was pondering a friends' statement that God doesn't seem to be Good 'all the time, ' the way we often declare that He is.  Sometimes He doesn't answer a heartfelt prayer.... Either He's deaf to it or He hears but doesn't choose to fulfill our requests.  I knew this wasn't true, but I was asking God for a way to explain it, and He asked me (as He often does to help me see) about my own grown children.
   If one of them was to call and ask for my help, what would I do?  Would I ponder awhile and consider whether or not I wanted to help him?  Would I be too busy with 'greater things' to take time to address her need?  Would I decide, perhaps, that he didn't deserve my help? Would I let her flounder?   How ridiculous this seems when we think about our love for the children God has given us.  And yet we attribute these attitudes to our Heavenly Father, who has no imperfections, as we do, nor any limitations or conditions on His love. We are sometimes still stuck with a very inaccurate vision of God, because of the imperfect human fathers of our experience.  Getting that picture of God with His arms folded, waiting for us to either screw up or measure up...out of our heads, can be difficult.
   Although we may not understand why we have not been able to receive the answer or help God has sent, we can be sure that He has sent it. We can be certain that the very first moment we prayed to Him (in fact sometimes before we even knew the need existed), He moved to help us. God often sends answers to our prayers by prompting other humans (who don't always respond to that prompting.) Sometimes, He knows what we're asking for isn't best for us. Sometimes  He knows that what we want will harm another.  However, if we're asking for something He, in His Wisdom, knows is a good thing....He has already quickly responded, as we would, to meet our need...to touch a heart...to heal a body, to relieve suffering, to encourage a soul, to mend a broken spirit, to open the eyes of a deceived heart.
   If we, or others, have not been able to receive the help He has sent, then we can know that the problem does not lie with Him.  He has acted, but for whatever reason (including things like human will, lack of faith, a lack of understanding how to use the authority He's given us, and the wiles of the Enemy), we haven't seen it come to pass. He is still Good All the Time, loves us All the Time, and, as the Good Shepherd and The Hound of Heaven all rolled into one,  He will never stop acting on our behalf.  If we, as the imperfect parents we are, would never stand by and refuse to act on behalf of our children to the uttermost extent of our capabilities and to the point of our own even physical sacrifice, how much more will our Perfect Heavenly Father extend Himself for us.
   Let us never malign His Character due to our own lack of understanding.  Call out to Him..yes.  Tell Him we're upset and grieved...yes...Share every heartfelt emotion with Him..yes.  Just don't ever consider Him impotent or uncaring or less than the God who cared enough about us to come rescue us in Person.

Stop the Spinning, I Want to Get Off

I don't know how many of you are old enough to remember the merry-go-rounds that used to be in the parks.  Not the fancy kind with horses (which I still love, by the way), but the old wooden and metal ones where one person would run very fast and push, while the rest of us sat hanging on for dear life.  The 'spinner' would run as fast as possible to whirl us around and then jump on at the last second to join us.  They removed these from most parks because they considered  them unsafe for children, so you seldom, if ever, see them anymore.

This image came to mind this morning as I considered where we are with September 14 just behind us and September 23, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, approaching.   So many signs colliding for that day. We may be set spinning and have to hang on for dear life, as the saying goes, but as long as God our Father is the Spinner and His Son, Jesus,  is the bar to which we cling, we'll be all right. We may be left dizzy and perhaps disoriented, but we won't fall off, now or for eternity.

Witness For the Prosecution

   Recently the Lord asked me:   "Are you a witness for the prosecution?"
   "What do you mean, Lord?" I asked Him.
   A Scripture came to mind: 'Satan is the Accuser of the brethren,'
   Instead, we should support Him as Defense Attorney and Mediator.
   We are called to build up, edify, encourage, and forgive...to help lead others out of prison; not condemn them to it.  There is a manifold difference between standing for the truth, upon which we should never compromise,  and judging and condemning individuals. Only The Father reads the heart.   Only the Father vindicates.  May we never cross the line.  Help us, Lord, to recognize when we've taken over Your seat as Judge.

Romans 8:21
Romans 21:1
Rev 12:10

The Cultivator

   I've just come in from mowing my lawn at 9 at night. (Yes, it's very dark in FL at this time.) I arrived home at about 8:30 to remember that this was the only day all week that would be dry enough to mow. (NOT complaining, dear NW friends). The neighbors were probably wondering what nut was out there mowing in the dark.
   However, as I was approaching each cultivated plant, trying to be careful not to demolish it,  I remembered the book The Secret Life of Plants, in which botanical research demonstrated that plants do respond to human emotion. (All right, now I promise I'm still not crazy. Every good physicist worth his salt now knows that the building blocks of matter are 'spiritual,' not physical. They just don't know their Source. A discussion for another day.) Anyway,  I wanted to reassure my plants that they didn't have to worry. No matter how closely I approached them with the mower, I would never harm them.
   God spoke to me then...that it is often like that with us and our unfounded fears. He is the Master Gardener. No matter how close danger comes, He will always care for us. He would never run us over in the execution of his Landscaping plans. He has nurtured us all our lives. Why would we ever think He would suddenly abandon us to destruction? Instead, He tenderly cultivates* us with attention to the tiniest details of our lives, even when the storm comes to batter us and bend us down.  Though the grass of the earth may need to be mown down to bring to light what is a deceptively beautiful weed vs a true fruit-bearing plant...and where true beauty and nourishment can be found, yet the Gardener is to be trusted.

"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts" this night...
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*cultivate: "to promote or nurture the growth of by labor and attention; to devote oneself to..."
He is passionately devoted to us, as a father to his children. Are we so to Him in return?

Shofar?

This morning I was sure I heard a shofar and couldn't figure out from where the sound was coming.  Later a friend told me that people all over the world have been hearing what sounded like a shofar and wondering....For me it was as from a great distance..I was straining to hear it.  My husband tells me that, with friends in prayer, they sensed a great movement in heavenly places today. In the midst of this awesome awareness, I hear the simple, quiet tune in my mind of the hymn I posted on this blog on August 31. For those interested, here it is: the tune to O Love That Casts Out Fear.

Going Deeper with Ancient Hymns

C.S. Lewis, in The Last Battle, talks about going 'farther up and further in.' I am finding depth, as well as inspiration, in these centuries-old hymns, which I've recently begun using for prayer and praise, in addition to the contemporary praise music I love.  I am also reminded of the saints who have gone before us....as I ponder the fact that people sang these same words for hundreds of years before me through times of great difficulty and tribulation. Here's one from 1729.  I have added an a Capella recording of one verse, just so you can hear the melody which accompanies each of these hauntingly beautiful hymns. Just reading the lyrics leaves half the story untold.  (I'm trying to check the lyrics and hold the IPad at the same time while recording, so you'll get a good laugh at my videography, along with morning 'frog'. Humility is good for the soul.)

God Himself is with us; let us all adore Him and with awe appear before Him.
God is here within us; soul, in silence fear* Him; humbly, fervently draw near Him.
Now His own who have known God, in worship lowly, yield their spirits wholly.

Thou pervadest all things; let Thy radiant beauty light mine eyes to see my duty.
As the tender flowers eagerly unfold them, to the sunlight calmly hold them,
So let me, quietly, in Thy rays imbue me; let Thy light shine through me.

Come, abide within me; let my soul like Mary, be Thine earthly sanctuary.
Come, indwelling Spirit, with transfigured splendor, love and honor will I render.
Where I go, here below, let me bow before Thee, know Thee and adore Thee.

Gladly we surrender Earth's deceitful treasures, pride of life and sinful pleasures.
Gladly, Lord, we offer Thine to be forever, soul and life and each endeavor.
Thine alone shalt be known, Lord of all our being, life's true way decreeing.

--Gerhardt Tersteegen, 1729
*The Amplified Bible defines this word translated in English as fear as 'affectionate reverence'

Trinity of Kisses

   So...I am confessing to being a closet Mister Rogers watcher.  My youngest child is 24, so it's difficult to find an excuse at 61 to be sitting in my family room watching a show designed for little children.  Unfortunately, it's no longer 'relevant' to the child of today.  However, I believe we'd all be better off and more at peace if we included him in our TV diet.  The peace of God seems to flow through this man (originally a pastor), and my blood pressure goes down several notches. I experience God's unconditional love, and I am blessed. (I even enjoy the very unsophisticated  puppet characters who don't even have moving mouths! And I love to go on trips to factories to see how things are made, as well as visiting artists, dancers, and musicians.  I am thrilled to find that Amazon Prime has added multiple years of his shows to their offerings, where it previously only carried a handful.

   On one show I was watching, Mister Rogers sang a song about times when we 'want an extra kiss'. (I remember all the song lyrics from when Joshua was tiny.) In my prayer time, I was thanking God for having created the person Fred Rogers, and He asked me if I 'wanted an extra kiss.'  I replied, 'absolutely!'  He then gave me an image of three extra kisses: one kiss on my cheek from Yeshua, one kiss on the other cheek from Ruach Hakodesh, and a kiss on my forehead from Adonai Father.  They kissed me simultaneously and made me laugh.  He makes me laugh a lot.*

 (*See Group Hug! back in May)
FYI:  Ok, so I went to check the date for that May post and couldn't find it. Evidently I never shared it.  So 'Group Hug' is to come....Although the blog only shows one month of posts at a time, you can click the month on the right to see more.   I made a large group of posts in May when I began the blog.
Julie

Love That Casts Out Fear

I guess this is more Evening Manna...
   Tonight I was drawn to my old 1940 Episcopal hymnal. I took it to the piano and plucked out the soprano and alto parts (that's as far as my piano skills will take me) of some of its beautiful hymns.  I began to sing along, as I did when I was a young child, and my parents bought me a little 'organ' which contained about an octave and a half and some chord buttons.  But I was unprepared for the depth of emotion that was stirred within me, as all the verses to hymns I hadn't sung for decades came back to me.  The Father used these hymns...both their poetry and their music to touch me long ago...to show me His heart.  As anyone who knows me well can tell you, I love contemporary Christian music...but there is treasure, also, to be found in this heritage. It saddens me to see how far the church I grew up in has wandered from the Scriptures.  However, these poignant hymns are full of the Word of God, and I hope we never lose them.  Here's one I sang tonight.  Wish I could share it with the music...  [Found a way to add it now, but I'm having issues editing this post. Will add in new post for Sept. 9, if you care to hear the tune.]

O love that casts out fear
O love that casts out sin
Tarry no more without,
But come and dwell within.

True sunlight of the soul,
Surround us as we go
So shall our way be safe,
Our feet no straying know.


Great love of God, come in!
Wellspring of heavenly peace
Thou Living Water, come!
Spring up, and never cease.

Love of the living God,
Of Father and of Son
Love of the Holy Ghost,
Fill Thou each needy one.
      --Horatius Bonar, 1861

Making Plans

Several friends have been asking me when I plan to retire. Drew and I have talked this through from both a financial and ministry standpoint.  However I have to preface my answer with James 4:13-14 (below).  Anyone making plans under the assumption that all will continue as it has been, is deceiving himself.  I am more aware than ever that every moment we live, any future we have,  is totally dependent on the grace of God.  In the past, I would have affirmed this truth most assuredly. But now, in these times, its burning reality is more apparent to me than ever. The question has also offered me a segue to share with friends my total dependence on Him who gives me my very breath.

"Come now, you who say 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and carry on our business and make money.' Yet you do not know the least thing about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life?  You are really but a whisp of vapor, a puff of smoke, a mist that is visible for a while and then disappears into thin air." [James 4:13-14, Amplified Version]

Confused?

I listen to several excellent speakers and Bible teachers, whom I trust and respect,  for edification and encouragement in the mornings while I'm getting ready for work. Afterwards, I sit to have quiet time with the Lord.  Sometimes, these dedicated teachers appear to be saying things diametrically opposed to one another....to go far in one direction at the  expense of another truth. So, I was asking God who was correct...whom to believe...when they all appeared to convincingly be speaking truth.  Here is His response, as best I could record it. Maybe it will help someone else with a similar question on his heart.
I am here, Child, listening to your every heart's cry. I promise to guide you and teach you...to show you revelation. No one on earth has everything correct. Don't worry. I have given them each a role to play. Glean the truth I personally am communicating to you at the moment. Do not close your mind to any true believers and what they have to share. You each have gems to outstretch. Put together, they offer a sparkling array.

Unfolding Your Hand

The One I've come to know through the past four decades...the One Of Whom I experienced sporadic glimpses even in childhood...the One Who kept calling to me through years of darkness.....Who would ever not want to run with utter abandon towards Him and gratefully throw one's arms around Him?  Who would not run happily into the sunlight from the prison of oneself....or reach up for His Hand from the midst of the raging sea of this world's madness?  How do I communicate the joy, the peace, the assurance, the contentment, the very Person of the One who loves us so lavishly?  How?  They must meet Him for themselves, and the scales will fall from their eyes, as they fell from mine when I experienced His overwhelming Presence. But I must be bold to introduce them, not being content to clutch this joy to myself, hugging it like a selfish child who runs to her room and locks the door behind her.  Help me to unfold my hand, Lord, and share the treasure You placed there.

True Security

In these final days of this Shemitah year, as we approach mid-September, I can feel God's creation silently vibrating,  as if we're in the eye of the hurricane, so to speak (or "as it was in the days of Noah" [Matt 24:36-38] ...with everyone going about their business not knowing what was to come.). I don't know what is going to happen in this summation of the year of four blood moons, the reappearance of the Star of Bethlehem, and this year of Shemitah/Jubilee. But this I do know:  we better know where our true security lies and hang tightly to His hand, hidden and resting in Him....and seeking to draw everyone we know and love into His Sheepfold. It is out-of-fashion to remind one another of the awe and reverence due to God, but we must not remake Him in our own image or ever forget that it is only by His infinite Love and Grace, expressed through Jesus, that we are rescued from what, otherwise, the Enemy has in store for us.  Anyone reading this blog probably knows this profound truth. But all of us can become entangled in our day-to-day lives and lose a sense of the urgency of the times. Don't let your courage falter in reaching out to those who, as far as you know, do not see, or who have not yet accepted, His outstretched hand. Let no one be lost whose hand we could have taken and helped lead to His feet.

Hebrews 12:25-29:
So see to it that you do not reject Him or refuse to listen to and heed Him Who is speaking.......Then [at Mt. Sinai] His voice shook the earth, but now He has given us a promise:  Yet once more I will shake and make tremble not only the earth but also the [starry] heavens. Now this expression, Yet once more, indicates the final removal and transformation of all [that can be] shaken--that is, of that which has been created-- in order that what cannot be shaken may remain and continue. Let us therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken, offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty and pious care and godly fear* and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." 

*"affectionate reverence"

The Right Dress

Dear Adonai,
   I want to look lovely for You. I know You look deep inside, not at outer adornment.  Help me dress in loveliness of heart, of soul, of spirit, within the unique personality in which you take delight....A many-faceted snowflake floating alongside the other unique shapes that comprise Your Body....Treasured, one-of-a-kind, yet forming a whole curtain of gently falling snow.  May we be a snowshower of blessing on the hard, dry ground of this world. May we be willing to melt in humility, losing ourselves for Your sake, yet still treasured and whole in Your sight.

Always

It is difficult not to be fearful knowing what's coming (if not specifically, certainly its import).  So I thought I'd share a little something (also with great import) with which God assuaged my fears yesterday.

Always...I am here.
Always...I love you.
Always...I hear your cry.
Always...I answer.
Always...you are Mine.
Always...your love is precious to Me.
Be still, My Heart.  Be at peace...
Always.

Not Handsome But Beautiful

Leaking again....brought to tears by Beth Moore's passage in her older book, Things Pondered. Wish I could reproduce the whole section here....It's called Beautiful. Yeshua was in no way handsome while He was on the earth, according to Scripture. Yet He was like no other for His Beauty of person. Just a section of Beth's prose regarding this truth:
"Maybe it was Your eyes. Those eyes that showered the fullest attention on whomever you encountered.  Eyes that fastened with such focus that I would have run...if I could have moved. Eyes that I realized knew everything there was to know about me. But eyes that reassured, "It is I...be not afraid."

--Things Pondered by Beth Moore; p.143
FYI: the first part of this book had me in stitches. I never know whether I'll be laughing or crying when I Read a chapter.

Half-Listening

My right ear has been plugged off and on for months.  The flight home to Florida didn't help.  I've tried an earwax removal kit with no success so far.  It suddenly strikes me, as I sit here in my "prayer chair," that the Holy Spirit has a message for me in there somewhere. Have I been only half-listening to You, Lord?  Is my mind so often taken up with other occupations that I only hear Your whisper as from a distance? "I'll be there in just a minute, Lord.  Just have to take care of a few things.  Then I can focus my full attention on what You have to say.  Oh, my...look at the time. Tomorrow, Lord, tomorrow I'll be fully present with You, both spiritual ears fully attuned.  Soon....I promise...tomorrow...yes,,tomorrow.."
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A Deeply Planted Source of Blessing

   My morning reading included the passage below from Colossians 2:7-8.
The image He then gave me was of standing on His feet with my back to Him and His arms around me. Roots were growing into Him from my feet. Winds of circumstance and deceptive human argument were blowing about us, but they were not affecting me. As He moved, I, of course, moved with Him. I could not be separated from Him and certainly had no desire to be.
   I then remembered a book I read long ago that profoundly influenced me. It was called Poustinia*...a coming away with God, separating oneself in a sort of quiet 'desert' experience in which one is built up and deeply rooted in Him.  In doing so, one eventually grows into the kind of strong, firmly planted tree which invites others in to rest....to experience the Shalom which only He can provide. You become a Planting for His solace, comfort, and the sort of rest which can be found even in the busiest times of one's life....rest amidst the whirlwind.....

*Poustinia by Catherine Doherty

Colossians 2:7-8Amplified Bible (AMP)

7 Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah).

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

Tender Light

I love the Amplified Bible's extended translation of the word Faith:
"That leaning of the entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness."  I envision myself physically leaning against Him, and He encircles me with His arm, tenderly leaning down and kissing the top of my head. I look up into His face, and His countenance is alight with love. I remember the Aaronic blessing which says, "The Lord make His face to shine upon You...May He lift up the light of His countenance upon you and give you His peace (Shalom)."   What greater blessing could we receive?

Loving Trusting Him

This morning I was struck by the poignancy of this statement by Beth Moore* and can testify to the truth of it:  "I not only love God and trust Him, I love trusting Him. It is a constant reminder of a perpetual miracle in my life."

*Praying God's Word Day by Day,  June 7

Pressing Forward

"...for He had healed many people, and all the sick kept pressing forward to touch Him."  --Mark 3:10

Would that all of us on this earth would do the same...press forward to touch Him, aware of our desperate need and knowing that He is the answer to it.

Showers of Blessing

Thank You for showers of blessing. You are Soft Rain on tilled earth, on fertile ground in which You, Yourself, have planted seed. How gracious is Your hand in all the earth. I lie down in the soft grass beneath this tree of life by the water's edge and rest, contented, in Your Holy Presence. No matter what may come (and I do believe 'it's' coming) I am Yours. I entrust myself and my family to You completely. You are worthy of my trust, my worship, my grateful heart. May all those whose lives You've intertwined with mine come to know the sweet contentment and complete Shalom of an intimate relationship with You....forever.

A Less Distant Sound

Listening:
"Stay focused. Listen, with your ears attuned, as if for a distant sound. My Voice will get louder as if I am coming closer, but I am in the same place. It is you who are getting nearer, lifted from the earth as you listen and hear My Voice, My Shepherd's Voice, calling you: 'Come where it is safe. Come to My arms, My Everlasting Arms. Tuck yourself near to My Robe and press in. My arm will encircle you there. Look out at the world from that position, only after you have looked up at Me, into My Face, and seen the tender, deep love I have for you."

Sparrows

Listening:
"Yes, you are Mine and always will be. Do not fear or be afraid. I hold you in the palm of My hand, like little sparrows....tenderly brushing your feathers..."

Inside Looking Out

Listening:
"Can't write with your eyes closed, can you? If you could, that would be the perfect combination. When you close your eyes, the world fades and I Am Present. You dwell inside My love. You understand John 15 better now? I don't love you IF you keep My commands. I love you. Now keep My commands to bear much fruit and experience more of My love, to commune more deeply with Me, to dwell inside My love.....not outside looking up, but inside  looking out. From inside looking out, you can see people and circumstances as I see them, from My perspective. In this way you will become more effective, more and more fruitful. You will glorify me more every day. Your prayers, your actions, your thoughts, your words will bear fruit, great fruit. The life is in the Vine. Let My life surge through you."

Unchained

"God sends His Word forth, and it never returns void, unchaining the soul of every person with the courage to believe it."   --Beth Moore

Although I was reluctant to start this blog, I now discover a burning in my heart to see people set free into the arms (and by the hand) of Him Who loves them best. If this little offering on my part can assist in that process, then I lift it up wholeheartedly. Father, attune my ear to faithfully communicate Your heart....

Baruch Atah Adonai

Baruch Atah Adonai, Elohenu Melech Ha Olam Shehechianu, V'Higianu Lazman Hazeh.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sustained us, Who preserved our lives, and Who has enabled us to reach this day.

Moving in the Same Current

As I was recently learning 'a better way to pray' from Andrew Wommack, God responded:
"I see you trying to learn how to pray more effectively. Andrew is correct that you don't need to 'work up a sweat' begging Me for something I am reluctant to do. You are praying what I want prayed...agreeing with My Will, affirming the truth of My Word.  We are moving in a stream together, not struggling in opposing currents."

Shalom

"Listening first...good. Honoring My suffering for you...good. Never taking it for granted as a distant, small thing...good. Trusting in Me for your salvation...good. Repenting...good. Turning into the light of My face...good. Hating sin...good. Loving and serving Me...very good. Putting your whole trust in My grace and love...extremely good. Living, moving, and having your being in Me....that's Shalom."

Streaming

Listening:
"Keep sharing, keep witnessing to Who I Am, what I Am like, what I do for those I love who love Me. Open the eyes of the blind; unstop the ears of the deaf. Bring My Shalom with you wherever you go so that when you enter a room, they sense the wafting of My Peace. Stream Me."

Sweet Presence

     This morning as I closed my eyes and lifted my face to Him, as I try to do each morning in a time of intimate listening and sharing, His Presence washed over me once again. Lately it seems that as soon as I close my eyes, I am deeply aware of His Presence. It used to take me a period of settling and waiting. But now, after 35 years of trying to be close to Him and listen, His powerful but tender Holy Spirit is immediately 'there'.  I know He's always been there with Me, but my awareness of Him is immediately so strong, as it is when I sing to Him or about Him.
     Worship music has always been a ladder to heaven for me, so to speak, but now in the silence, I am awash in His Presence immediately upon closing my eyes.  What a blessing.  I believe that the custom, the daily habit of this prayer chair time has gradually eliminated the need for a time of focus and settling, of ridding myself of mental distractions.
     I know He desires intimacy with all of us, but there is so much that gets in the way. Making sure this is how my day always begins, without it becoming a duty or rule, but rather the true desire of my heart, opens the door to sweet fellowship. His Shalom then extends outward to the day ahead. If only I would remember throughout my day to stop, look up, and close my eyes....His tender Presence is always available.

Borrowed Heartbeats

As I come to the end of The Mystery of the Shemitah by Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, I am moved by his description of the Last Shemitah:
"The last Shemitah declares that all things--our lives, our beings, our breath--come as gifts from God. Of ourselves we have nothing. All our notions of ownership are an illusion; all our pride a deception....Every heartbeat is borrowed. Everything in the world that draws us or repels us, entangles us or compels us, everything we seek after, dwell on, or live for, is temporary, fleeting, and passing away. Therefore the meaning of this life is not found in anything of this life, but only in Him Who lies behind it. And the purpose of this life is not found in seeking anything of this life, but only in seeking Him Who gave it."  [Mystery of the Shemitah, p 248]

May I spend His gift of every day living out that truth, investing in the people He has placed in my life, rather than in anything that is passing away. May I touch lives for Him so that I take as many with me to heaven as possible, for only people will endure the passing...

Disobedience

I have been disobedient. Awhile ago the Lord asked me to start a blog, instead of just posting occasionally on Facebook. I really thought it was pointless, with all the blogs out there...and thought, "Who would bother to read one more blog?" But this morning I asked the Lord why He hadn't given me any more little nuggets in the mornings.  He told me it was because I hadn't started the blog, as He'd asked...and that He would renew His 'nugget-gifting' when I did what He had asked me to do.  So I've pulled all the little nuggets from my Facebook posts in obedience. May they be a blessing to someone, and I'm trusting He'll now give me more.

Intertwined

I have learned today that the Hebrew for 'trust,' ("those who trust in The Lord"), means 'to bind together by twisting...to be gathered together, to be joined'. This is such a truer image of trusting Adonai....Not having faith in Him from a distance, but intertwined, enmeshed, grafted deeply into His loving heart...safely secured within His care. 
My heart's cry for all those I know and love is to find themselves there, entrusting themselves moment by moment to Him Who loves them beyond their imagining.

Someone I Know

"My God is not just Someone I believe in. He's Someone I know. I've felt His Presence. I've seen His activity. I've experienced His deliverance. I've been touched by His healing. I've witnessed answered prayer. I've 'heard' Him speak straight to me through His Word. Yes, I believe. But more than that, I know." When I read these words from Beth Moore's book To Live is Christ, I wanted to shout, 'Yes! This is what I want to say....yet have never been able to express half so well.

Knowing

"Surrounded by a society that spouts many gods but, at best, nobly agrees to equate them, you and I can know The Lord [Adonai] is God."
-- Beth Moore
Oh God...Abba Father, Yeshua, Ruach Hakodesh, help the people on this earth to know You for Who You are....Emmanuel, God-with-us.

Starving to Death

This morning The Lord gave me an image of a great feast and reminded me of the need to share it. He then showed me that The Feast is His life-giving Truth, which we tend to hoard for fear of people's reaction to us.... But people are starving to death...

The Skin of Our Teeth

"You were never meant to get through life by the skin of your teeth. You were meant to flourish in the love and acceptance of Almighty Jehovah. When He sings over you, dance!" --Beth Moore. A good reference to Zephaniah 3:17...(have always loved that Scripture) This was a good reminder for me, as this new school year has felt more like the former than the latter. Attitude adjustment....thanks, Beth!

Giver and Gift

From this morning's conversation with the Lord:
"Dear Adonai, Here I am, drawing near once again, thankful that You not only allow me to do so, but You long for and desire that I do."
"Here, Child; I am excited to have you open My present......Surprise! ....it is I inside! I am the Giver and I am the Gift....Enjoy!
.....He makes me laugh nearly every morning...

Embroidered With God

Copying down a Scripture this morning, I wrote a capital and left out a letter by mistake. When I went to correct it, it gave me pause. The original, from Psalm 45 (in reference to us as the Bride) was, "In her chamber, the royal daughter is all glorious, her clothing embroidered with gold." I accidentally wrote, "embroidered with God." Hmmmmm.....what a lovely thought. That's what I want to be....

The Mundane and the Miraculous

"Pure appreciation for His Presence emerges from the daily walk, perhaps in the mundane more than the miraculous." --Beth Moore
But this past week my friend Irma and I experienced the miraculous, too. God is so kind and so tender-hearted towards us....

Christmas Lights

Walking through neighborhoods enjoying the Christmas lights, I was struck this year by the large gaps between displays. One strikingly beautiful house, and then a long line of dark ones before another breathtaking one appeared. It occurred to me that those who have placed their whole trust in Yeshua, the Saviour whose birth on earth some celebrate at this time, can shine in the darkness in much the same way, As Beth Moore has asked, "When does peace become an eye-catching display of God's splendor? ......It is the product of abiding in the Vine--the way by which the wine of joy flows through our lives." The Lord spoke to my heart that night and said that as the darkness increases in this world (as indeed it is), the Light will be made more apparent in its contrast, if we're truly abiding in Him day by day, moment by moment.

Gutter Cleaning

Yesterday, the first Sunday of Advent, as I was pondering preparation of the heart, God reminded me of my gutter-cleaning adventures on Saturday. We have 'gutter guards,' which have holes to let the water drain but keep the pine needles and other falling things from settling in and clogging the gutters. Around the edges, however, a sludge had begun to form from the moisture and plant decay. I needed to work hard to wipe it clean, along with the lighter work of pine needle removal, to keep the water flowing. "It's like your heart," He said. "Ask Me for help removing the sludge, so My Holy Spirit can flow through you more freely. Otherwise, the pure, fresh area will become smaller and smaller without you even noticing...."