Keep Swimming

   

   Remember Dorie from “Finding Nemo”? Such a loveable fish. The older I get, the more I am identifying with her short term memory issues. God brought her to mind this morning as He spoke to me about being free from anxiety in my daily life. 

   My sisters and I are sometimes attacked by what psychologists call “free-floating anxiety.” We all know the definition of anxiety in general, but with this type, there is no reason to be anxious, no circumstance in particular causing concern. There is just this sense that there is something wrong, that we are not doing all we should be doing, that we aren’t keeping up with needs or necessities somewhere, somehow. It’s almost as if we are reaching out and searching for what we should be concerned about.

   This, of course, is the exact opposite of how our Father wants us to live. He knows us inside out…our struggles, our vulnerabilities, our hearts’ desires. He longs for us to live in the Shalom of the abundant life He suffered and died for us to have. Anxiety, worry, and fretfulness are not part of His plan for us.

   Lately, in my retired state, I have become aware of my underlying concern that I am spending my life the way He wants me to. Am I wasting the gift of time He has given me? Am I fulfilling the destiny and meeting the divine appointments He has planned for me? Am I leaving untapped some of the. gifts He placed in me before I was born?  Are there people whose lives He wants me to touch that I am too lazy or too uncomfortable to pursue? Will He speak over me when I come Home to Him, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? Sometimes I feel like Dorie that I need to “Just keep swimming,” but maybe even harder.

   He knows my heart and those of all His children. He is merciful and forgiving and full of lovingkindness. This I know. That is the very reason I want to please Him by the way I live my life. This morning, because He always reads my heart, He told me (as best I can record: “I love you. Don’t fret. I will show you (and remind you ha ha^) what to do. Flow in My grace. You don’t need to do laps. Settle into My grace and float on your back. I will keep you buoyant. Your head will not go under water. It is panic and anxiety that can lead to drowning.”

   Have you ever felt that you were “not enough”? Are you, too, sometimes attacked by “free-floating” anxiety or awash in the sense that you aren’t doing enough, that you must keep swimming harder to please others…or, more, importantly, your Heavenly Father? 

   Turn over on your back and float in His grace. He won’t allow your head to go under water. You will find the true Shalom of His abundant life. There, floating peacefully on your back, you also can look up.

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• Here is one of my drawings for God from my journal from 2020. No fair making fun of my ‘art.’  

• For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].  —John 1:16 AMP
• 
  
• Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb —Revelation 22:1

• Ezekiel 47 also describes the river flowing from under the throne of God

• “To “drink deeply” of the Spirit is the same as receiving his power and gifts until rivers of living water flow from the inside of us. See John 3:34; 7:37.” —Brian Simmons, TPT note from 1. Corinthians p-12-13
• ^I have difficulty, sometimes, recording the chuckle or outright laughter I hear from Him. He is also a great punster. (To remind ‘Dorie’ is worth a guffaw.)
  

Overboard: Is it fear or wisdom?

   

  A friend recently shared her dream with me. (I am deliberately keeping any identities vague.) She and a loved one were on a cruise, but the ship was traveling not in a warm climate but in a colder one, with waves fomenting around them. Somehow (as one can in dreams) they were high on the ship above these waters, almost as if in a crow’s nest of a sailing ship.  Her loved one was wearing a backpack 🎒 chocked full, which she suddenly removed from her shoulders and hurled into the churning sea. In the dream, my friend was at first totally aghast, because the backpack’s contents had included a large number of provisions. However, she then began to wonder….

   As soon as she described the dream, I knew the hurling of the backpack was a good thing, despite the provisions it carried. I knew that backpacks often represent burdens weighing us down. But provisions? How do they fit in the picture?

   Obvious candidates for burdens include: unforgiveness, hurts, offenses, financial worries, concerns about our families, health issues, anxieties about the future, unshakable guilt, old mistakes and outright sins. We could all generate a list of more backpack items which need to be thrown overboard to free us from their weight. We know the Lord does not want us carrying these things wherever we go, especially since He suffered so to deliver us from them. 

   But back to my question: why “provisions”? Aren’t they good? Doesn’t God promise to provide for us? Doesn’t He declare Himself our Yahweh Yireh?* Yes, indeed! However, suddenly it hit me that we don’t carry His provision around on our backs. He is our ongoing  Provider. Are the provisions we’re lugging around on our own shoulders jammed in there out of fear that He won’t provide? Is the rock of anxiety in our packs, for example, our reason for trying to supply our own protection from loss? Ouch, Lord. Do we ‘hedge our bets’ just in case You don’t come through? Like Sarah+, do we try with our own human solutions to make Your Word come to pass? Help You along a bit since things might not take place as You said? 

  I know He wants us to be good stewards of what He has given us++, to ‘be wise as serpents and innocent as doves’, to plan ahead and not to be spendthrifts, to refrain from wasting what He is providing for us. He wants us to work hard ‘as unto Him’ in our jobs. Yet we are to do these things not out of fear but out of heeding His Scriptural truth for us, out of our thankfulness and duty to be responsible in using His gifts. 

   When we truly examine our hearts, what motivates us to carry around our own provision on our backs, whether comprised of our own solutions, our own ‘bootstraps,’ our own righteousness, our own wealth, the filling of our own barns+++? 

   Is it fear that God will disappoint us, that His Word (Logos or Rhema) is not reliable, that it might indeed ‘come back void,’? That He may love others that way but us, not so much? Do we in our heart of hearts trust more in the non-Biblical adage that ‘God helps those who help themselves’ than we do in Jesus’ promises regarding the lilies and the sparrows or the loaves and fishes? Yes, we offer our little fishes and some paltry loaves of bread, and He does not sneer at them.. He’s delighted with our offering. But we both know it is He that feeds us, body and soul.

   Let’s ask Him to show us if we have in our packs things of which we may be unaware, things which need to be not just tossed but hurled overboard. These may even be  as subtle as our backup provisions, cleverly disguised as proverbial wisdom. 

   Go ahead and hurl that thing, Feel the lightness on your shoulders and the wind in your hair!

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+Genesis 16

++Matthew 25

+++Luke 12

++++Matthew 6

*Genesis 22:4 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

*Colossians 3: 23-24Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Rendered

 

   Recently, in response to one of my prayers, the Lord said the following: “I will continue to prompt you, never fear. I will also transmit, transport, and render. Tenderly render.

   “What do you mean?” I asked Him. (Not an infrequent question on my part). He responded by telling me to look it up. (LOL God never stops being a parent.) I knew the words render and rendering as related to making a model or depiction of a design, as well aa its meaning of ‘giving to.’ (“Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”+). Beyond that, i had no idea how many other meanings there were for the word. Here is what I found for render (verb):

• To make; to cause to be or become
• To do, perform
• To furnish, provide……afford, contribute, supply, give
• To exhibit or show….including obedience, attention
• To present for consideration, approval, payment, action
• To return, to make a payment, as by a tenant to a superior
• To pay as due (tax, tribute)
• To deliver formally or officially; to hand down
• To translate into another language
• To represent, to depict, as in a painting

   Immediately, the thought occurred to me: “Lord, if You are ‘tenderly rendering’ so much to and for me (and to all those who put their trust in You), what am I tenderly rendering back to You?” Am I ‘showing obedience and attention’? Am I ‘representing’ You well?

   “Explain more about what You meant by tenderly rendering me and then how I can better render what will make. you happy in return? I look at the dictionary list and  realize the distinction between formally giving you Your ‘just due,’ out of obligation, versus tenderly desiring to respond in love to what You are creating out of my life. 

   I see Your Artist’s hands at work, molding the lumpy, awkward parts of my personality, my actions, my disappointments, and my failures. Massaging them in with the happier more joyful, fruit-bearing parts.. Tenderly sculpting, scraping off bits here and there which need to be removed, smoothing out the rough places. Lovingly turning my aging struggles and my lifetime of experiences into someone who can tenderly partner with You according to Your plans in rendering others. Others who will render unto You the love and fruitfulness You deserve and who desire to see more of Your form and beauty manifested in their lives. Are there relationships for me to form, mentoring to humbly provide, mothering to do, targeted, surgical prayers to offer, unconditional love and encouragement to lavish?

  I looked again at the definitions:

Meaning 1: “To make, to cause to be or become.” 

Meaning 2: “To do, to perform.” 

Meaning 3: To supply, furnish, provide.”

   You, Lord, are the Renderer. You do the work. You provide and cause and perform. Our part is to be willing, to be surrendered. All the while You continue the sometimes painful process in us, the beauty of others is being enhanced. If we’re operating in the fruit and gifts of Your Holy Spirit, no one else knows but You. Despite how we may  sometimes feel about our lack of usefulness (including some of us in our senior years), You are never at a loss. You say, “I can work with this!” You don’t set us aside, broken. Even when we make mistakes, are too lazy to obey You, or temporarily grieve You, Your creative juices still flowto create ‘beauty from ashes.’+ You rub Your hands together with glee and declare, “My child, there is so much more to come! Give yourself to me every day for continual rendering, that I may sculpt and paint your life, as more and more of Who I Am is manifested through you: My light, My Shalom, My creativity, My joy, My forgiveness,, My Agape love.. Until one day I take My  unique rendering of you Home with Me, where your fuller, more beautiful life will truly begin. And while you’re at it, let your continually rendered self encourage as many others as possible along the way, that they will one day rejoice with you There.

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For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. — Ephesians 2:10

+Matthew 22:21

+Isaiah 61:3

If you missed my two “No Greater” posts, you might want to go back and read those: February 14 (No greater love…) and February 19 (No greater creativity…”.)

 *To find earlier posts: If you’re on a phone, click ‘see Web version’ at the bottom of the post, or open my blog on a computer or tablet. All posts since 2015 are listed on the right at Tennyandi.blogspot.com)

An ‘oldie but a goodie’ from the very early days of contemporary worship:

https://youtu.be/MneanjtBRns?si=DlrrKrtKQXd2Ev1U

 

When it’s never TMI

  

       I am continuing to slowly work my way through “The Names of God” book* by Ann Spangler. I arrived today at Philos, “Friend” or “Relative.” It never fails to astound me that Yeshua calls those who believe, obey, and trust in Him, friends. He is after all Creator and King of the Cosmos. I know He loves us deeply, but friends? This condescension+ is almost too great for me to grasp, yet I rejoice in it. 

   This morning I began a list of what a relationship with a close friend is like. (Jesus is not just an ‘acquaintance’.) As I did, I compared each aspect to my current interactions with Him. Yes, He is my trusted Savior and Lord, but in what ways, if any, is He truly my closest friend? Here is what I came up with so far as characteristic of a close friendship:

• I share my foibles
• I share funny stories, mostly at my own expense
• I share my deepest hopes and fears (the kind I wouldn’t tell others)
• I share my disappointments, without explaining that I know I shouldn’t feel the way I do
• I don’t keep things back from sheer embarrassment or TMI
• I share my true self without fear of judgment, criticism or rejection
• I ask for prayer, for guidance, for discernment 
• I ask my friend about what she is going through and how I can pray for her. I listen to her hopes, fears, and funny stories. I reciprocate all of the above.
• It is not a one-sided relationship, with her doing all the listening, all the caring, all the carrying of my burdens.
• I want to know what is on her heart, not just have her listen to mine. (I have experienced ‘friendships’ like the latter.)

   As I ran the lyrics to the hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus through my mind, I began to ponder if the song accurately described a close friendship. Are there aspects missing in this wonderful hymn?

1. 
   
2. What a friend we have in Jesus,
   All our sins and griefs to bear!
   What a privilege to carry
   Everything to God in prayer!
   Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
   Oh, what needless pain we bear,
   All because we do not carry
   Everything to God in prayer!
3. Have we trials and temptations?
   Is there trouble anywhere?
   We should never be discouraged—
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
   Can we find a friend so faithful,
   Who will all our sorrows share?
   Jesus knows our every weakness;
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
4. Are we weak and heavy-laden,
   Cumbered with a load of care?
   Precious Savior, still our refuge—
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
   Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
   Take it to the Lord in prayer!
   In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
   Thou wilt find a solace there.
5. Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
   Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
   May we ever, Lord, be bringing
   All to Thee in earnest prayer.
   Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
   There will be no need for prayer—
   Rapture, praise, and endless worship
   Will be our sweet portion there.
6. —lyrics, Joseph Scriven; tune: Charles Converse
7.   Beautiful, right? True, right? But Is our friendship with Yeshua (in fact, with the whole of the Trinity) reciprocal? Do we ask Him what is on His heart, what He wants us to pray for, declare, and decree? Are we truly partnering with Him for His will to be done? Do we pray for those He loves, listening for His prompts? (Obeying His prompts even when we don’t want to) Do we do so in the same way in which we pray for those on the hearts of our close human friends? Do our hearts hurt and celebrate when His does? Do we mourn when He mourns and rejoice when He rejoices?** Reach out to help someone for whom He is concerned? Or is our ‘friendship’ with Him more one-sided? Do we share our needs, give him our burdens, and then turn and walk on with our own lives and agendas, checking back in from time to see if our prayers have been properly addressed?
8.    I know I am guilty of this sometimes. But I don’t want to be that kind of ‘friend’. I want to be a close friend ‘who sticks closer than a brother.’ One who is willing to lay down her life for her Friend. One who is as concerned for what is on His heart as for what is on hers. Maybe more.
9.    I love sharing all the funny things with Yeshua, as well as the heart-wrenching ones…and the ones that would be TMI for anyone else. He knows it all anyway, but we laugh and cry together about them. I know He holds my tears in a bottle***,  as well as giving me the kind of belly laughs that ‘do good like medicine.’ I want it all with Him. I want Him to say when I see Him in person, “Truly, you have been My close friend. Welcome Home and know Me even better.”
10. **************
11. *See post “When it’s ok to be gluttonous” from April 15, 2025
12. + condescension’s original meaning: to “voluntarily waive ceremony or dignity proper to one's superior position or rank and willingly assume equality with inferiors”….”make gracious allowance for human frailty”
13. ** “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. —Romans 12:15
14. 
    8 ***”You number my wanderings;
    Put my tears into Your bottle;
    Are they not in Your book?”  —Psalm 56:8
15. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” —John 15:13-15
16. “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” —Proverbs 18:24
17. “Perfume and incense make the heart glad, but the sweetness of a friend is a fragrant forest.” —Proverbs 27:9
18. “Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house.” —Job 29:4
    “Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” —Proverbs 17:9
    
    22 “ A happy heart is good medicine,
        but low spirits sap one’s strength —Proverbs 17:22
    From Ann Spangler, author of The Names of God : “Confess any complacency toward those who are lost. Ask Jesus to assign your heart with His purposes.”
19. Related words: to Philos: Phileo: “to love”; Philema: “to kiss” 
20. Jadon Lavik singing What a Friend We Have in Jesus:
21. https://youtu.be/5XsXYTWVdGE?si=x4EQsRTTIy0h3p_6
22. 
    
23. 
    

When it’s good to be the thief

  

    I know we have moved past Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter and are now heading for the celebration of Jesus’s ascension. Alleluia! However, this morning I was reading in Deuteronomy 25 about the punishment of flogging and its maximum of 40 strikes (later limited to 39 in practice because it could cause a person’s death). A sentence was to follow a just decision regarding a person's innocence or guilt, as well as the extent of his wickedness. We believers know that Jesus was entirely innocent yet received OUR maximum sentence out of His incomprehensibly great love for us, ‘while we were yet sinners.”*

   What struck me this morning, however, (no pun intended) as I was visualizing all aspects of the horror Jesus endured for me, beginning even before his maximum flogging with metal attached to cords, was what was said to him by one of the two thieves hung next to him. I’ve known this dialogue since I was a young child and through the years have focused on Jesus’ words, “Today” you shall be with me in paradise.”** This morning, however, flashing before me were the words, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom,” I suddenly wondered, “How did the thief know Jesus was King of a kingdom not of this world?” NO one else truly seemed to. Even Peter, who had declared Him the Messiah, didn’t really get it. The disciples were hiding in grief and fear, not expecting Him to appear to them at any moment. Mary of Magdala and the other women were focused on caring for His precious body, which they assumed was still in the tomb or somewhere nearby. Who but the man known only as the thief truly believed Jesus would arise after His death as King over the Cosmos? Seeing Jesus in anguish and torment just as he was, this man still believed Yeshua was Lord of heaven and earth. Even if he perhaps did not grasp the full implication of that truth, he knew Jesus had the power, despite how things appeared, to save him after his body succumbed to death (something for which I’m sure he, in his own agony, then longed). 

   Everyone else at the scene (or hiding from it) seemed without hope, all their expectations dashed, with only images of a slow, agonizing death still before their eyes. Many who had waved palm branches before Him as Messiah, now thought, “I guess he wasn’t the one after all.” They were not visualizing a victorious kingdom much greater than any earthly one. They were seeing^ suffering, loss, disappointment, dejection, and devastating sorrow. Or in the case of those who wanted Jesus dead, a sense of satisfaction and success in the deed finally being accomplished. 

   Accomplished it was, but not as they thought. It was the King’s Gambit***, with ADONAI declaring to them (and, more importantly, to Satan):   “Checkmate, you lose!!”

  Maybe I am just very slow on the uptake, but I found the sudden realization astounding that only the thief appeared to truly get this. Ahhh….ADONAI, when You say that we become New Creations when we put our whole trust in Your grace and love, it is not just a metaphor of hope. It is a manifested reality for those who believe that You are the one and only Savior God of forgiveness and second chances. You Are the Resurrection and the Life for those of us who grasp our total dependence on Your Goodness and Mercy. When we repent and trust in You, we are no longer stuck in Groundhog Days of repeated sin and consequent sentences of flogging and Second Death. Nor are we sentenced to misery in this life. We are freed to live the abundant shalom-filled life You desire for us. We are no longer named The Thief. We have a new appellation, “Beloved,” as well as one uniquely given to us by The Father.****

   Although we have the advantage of hindsight, unlike the man who called out to Yeshua that day in faith, we believe though we haven’t seen Him, and we are blessed.*****

   We are The Thief. He has caught the hand we reached out to Him, drawn us into His outstretched arms, and declared, “Welcome Home, Beloved!” 

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* But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.— Romans 5:8 

**Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”—-Luke 23:43

*** In effect a bold, long range trap which causes one’s opponent to have confidence he is winning, only to suddenly discover he has lost

**** “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” Revelation 2:17

***** “Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  —John 20:29

^”He will not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear.” —Isaiah 11: 3

When it’s ok to be gluttonous

      

   Recently a friend recommended a devotional entitled The Names of God, a rich, slow dive into Who He is.* This week’s Name was Artos Zoes, The Bread of Life. As I read through the various familiar passages in which Jesus refers to Himself in this way, I was suddenly struck by the thought that this is the one time that gluttony is not only recommended, but encouraged! It also symbolizes a paradoxical situation in which the more you eat, the hungrier you become. 

   I am greatlY blessed to be retired now, having an abundance of time to truly settle in to soak both in the Scriptures and in the Holy Spirit. Abba referred to it the other day as soul and spirit hydration. However, I also remember working full time while trying to be a wife and good parent to three wonderful children. It was a lot more difficult then to carve out time to ‘soak in Holy Spirit’s tub’. Yet the Lord honored my desire with His grace, even though the time was certainly shorter.

   In the Temple, the Bread of the Presence served to remind the Israelites of ADONAI’s provision for them, that He was ADONAI Shemah/Shammah….the God Who is Here…much like His name Immanu-El, God-With-us. We can feast on His Presence with is, experience His Holy Spirit near, around, and within us. In our typical 2025 existence, however, we have to be intentional in seeking after this sustenance. 

   Many of us (especially in my age bracket) struggle with our weight. It seems we are constantly battling the desire to eat things (and amounts) we shouldn’t…or sometimes even eating modestly yet still seeing fat seemingly glued onto our bodies. When I was young and small for my age, my parents and grandmother would encourage me to ‘eat….eat!’. I didn’t have much interest in food and would just wait to survive and escape meal times. Now I say to myself, “Oh for the days!”  Now I struggle to disassociate myself from the lure of (unhealthy) food. I never met a donut I didn’t like. I can pass up many forms of candy**, but don’t set down a box of Dunkin’s (or a freshly made loaf of bread) in front of me. 

   This morning, as I was reading about Yeshua as Artos Zoes, I saw a vivid image of The Feast our Abba has set before us, which He encourages us, like an Italian grandmother, to “Eat! Eat! Put some flesh, I mean Spirit, on those bones! Eat and enjoy and grow! But always remain hungry for more….never be fully satisfied. ‘Further up and further in!’ as My son Clive once penned. Feast on Me and be greatly blessed, yet always desire more. Here, gluttony is good!” 

   As we steward our bodies with healthy foods, let’s steward our souls and spirits by running joyfully to the Father’s Feast of His true Bread from Heaven. Let’s soak up His Presence and devour the nutrients with which He enriches those willing to search deeper. Those hungry for more satisfying understanding, insight, and knowledge of His character and His truth…those who will take the time, over other activities, to pursue His scavenger hunts and discover the treats He has hidden for us. Treasure awaits If we ‘choose to accept this mission (not) impossible,’ As does our delight in seeing the gleam in our Abba’s eye as He says’ “Well done! On to the next! Farther up and further in! More feasts await! Eat! Eat!”

*********

*The Names of God, written by Ann Spangler (May 2023)

**except maybe caramel M&Ms Jelly Bellies, and Molasses Mint Chews

***So many Scriptures of note, but begin with John 6

“Teach me more about you, how you work and how you move, so that I can walk onward in your truth until everything within me brings honor to your name. 12With all my heart and passion I will thank you, my God! I will give glory to your name, always and forever!  —Psalm 86: 11-12

“He humbled you, allowing you to become hungry, and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, to make you understand that a person does not live on food alone but on everything that comes from the mouth of ADONAI.” —Deuteronomy 8:3

Adam take two

  

  Last time, i told the story of The Bicycle (March 15, 2025) and promised to follow up with its return. Unlike some situations where Dad could just walk down the street and demand the bicycle back, the neighborhood bully actually had a legal right to keep that brand new, red beauty. After all, the boy willingly gave it to him without being forced to do so. He may have succumbed to trickery, but he voluntarily gave it to that wily fellow, nonetheless. Had the boy gone to his father and shared his concerns with him, or had he simply been content with his gift, the story would have played out in a vastly different way.

   In fact, the bully knew how very valuable that bike was and what hidden power it contained. That bicycle was a symbol of the boy’s sonship, a representation not only of his father’s love but also of the authority being passed on to him. It wasn’t just a bicycle the father had to retrieve for his son; it was his heritage, something the bully had secretly always envied. 

   In some ways, it was rather like giving away his birthright for a bowl of soup, as Esau once did.* In this case, the boy’s hunger wasn’t from an empty stomach, but rather from a covetousness of more than his father had provided for him. 

   More power, more knowledge, more influence, more fame…a flashier, more enviable reputation in the neighborhood. The irony of it all was that his father was actually giving his son EVERYTHING he had, far more than the boy could even imagine. However, it would take wisdom, guidance, and discernment from his dad to be able to handle the power and possibilities of this vehicle properly. The only thing his dad was withholding from him was what would could be dangerous for him to operate at this stage in his youth.

   Because of his lack of trust in his father, the boy had given up this indescribable gift in his greed for what turned out to be a glittery illusion. His father, however, loved his son so very much, despite his foolish mistake, that he set out on a long and tortuous journey to redeem his son’s inheritance for him. What it would take to wrest the keys to the bicycle back for him, would be a heartbreaking tale. 

***************

If you haven’t gone to the theater to see “The Chosen: Last Supper” (season 5), I highly recommend seeing its impact on the large screen, also thereby supporting this fruit-bearing ministry.

* Jacob and Esau and the bowl of soup: Genesis 25

Birthday bicycle

     

   Imagine your dad giving you a beautiful bicycle for your birthday. Its shiny splendor thrilled you. You couldn’t wait to take it for a spin around the neighborhood. But then a boy who lived around the corner spied you riding it, and rather than appearing awestruck, he was rather condescending about it. He told you about an even more beautiful bike available to you and implied your dad was really holding out on you when he gave you this one. All you had to do, he said, was to give him yours, and he promised you a much fancier one in trade. You began to question why Dad hadn’t given you the nicer one in the first place. Yeah, why hadn’t Dad given you a nicer bike? Well, what was there to lose? Such a deal to be had, if only you were willing to relinquish your father’s birthday gift for something better. After all, your dad was probably just being a bit stingy, right?

   Does something ring a bell here? The snake’s best strategy for Adam and Eve to eat forbidden fruit was to raise doubt in their minds about the goodness of God, to question His true character. It wasn’t just the yummy-looking fruit that tempted them.

   We think to ourselves, “I would never have eaten that fruit! The Father very clearly said not to eat it! Nor would I have been like those grumbling Israelites in the desert who, after being miraculously delivered at the Red Sea, complained that God must have drawn them out in the desert to let them die there. And I most certainly wouldn’t have been one of those who cried ‘Crucify Him!’ after waving palm branches and heralding Yeshua as the Messiah a few days before. I would never have questioned God’s goodness or motivation or inherent nature like that. What were those people thinking?”

   Ahhh, but maybe…. Have we ever questioned the goodness of God when things didn’t go our way? When someone we loved wasn’t healed, a baby didn’t come to bless us, a marriage did not come to pass, finances were not forthcoming, a ‘deserved’ promotion wasn’t offered, or our ungodly neighbors were able to purchase the very home we wanted and needed, while we remained crammed into our little starter home?   

   Maybe we are not so unlike those we have mentally condemned. Every past good gift and bit of lovingkindess from God sometimes fades in the wake of disappointment and deferred hope. We begin to question if God really does want the best for us. If His directions are really to protect and provide for us or just to keep us from having some fun in our lives. Does He REALLY want life abundant for us or is He just withholding something good which He is perfectly capable of providing? Does he love others more than He does us? Does He ‘love the world,’ but we are chopped liver to Him?

   Maybe we should take things into our own hands, like Sarah, and help God along with His promises.  After all, “God helps those who help themselves,” right? [Not in the Bible, in case you are unsure.] It would take many blogposts to innumerate the many times this strategy went awry in Scripture. (Think Adam and Eve, Sarah, Saul, Judas, and a host of kings, among others.) Not to mention testimonies from our modern lives.

   Let’s always believe, think, speak, and act from the solid rock of faith in the truth that God loves us deeply individually, and profoundly, that He is by nature Absolutely Good, that He  wants the best for us, that His will is for us to experience His total shalom of body, soul, and spirit …even suffering torture and death for us to have it). From that Rock, we can explore why we don’t always receive what He wants us to have at any given time. But let us never believe ‘the boy down the street’ (who by the way just wants our bicycle for himself) over our loving Father Who sacrificed to give it to us in the first place. (Just wait til to experience all its bells and whistles!)

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Part two of this post is coming next, in which we will explore what it took for our Father to get our bicycle back for us from that lying trickster, as well as how we can learn to tap into that vehicle’s innate power. 

   Julie

If you want to keep up with my blog, be sure to click “Follow”. Or you can email me at BearfootArtsfortheShepherd@gmail.com and I will make sure new ones are forwarded to you. If you open this blog site from a device larger than a phone, or click ‘web version’ at the bottom of your screen just below the HOME button. You can then see all my posts listed on the right, beginning in 2015. They are just easier to see to access on a larger device.

Take a flying leap!

    

   When I say Good Morning each day to Abba, Yeshua, and Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit), I picture myself hugging or embracing each part of the Trinity in various ways. i try to let Holy Spirit inspire the images in my mind. Most importantly, I want to express how much I love my ADONAI and how thankful I am that He not only allows me to come to Him each morning, but that He delights in it. 

   This morning a picture of me running to the Father and jumping into His arms came to me. It made me think of how my granddaughters run and jump into their father’s and grandfather’s arms, laughing with delight. I’m not sure who enjoys this ritual more, but I suspect it is the former. Pondering this caused me to remember the Lord’s words:  “Unless you turn and come to Me as little children, you shall not enter the Kingdom.” [Matthew 18: 3].

   In the past I have pictured myself reaching up to my Abba, but not running and jumping into His outstretched arms. The problem for many of us is that our earthly fathers weren’t the best representations of our Heavenly Father. We can’t conceive of ever running and jumping into our father’s arms. From distant to downright cruel, some earthly fathers were a source of emotional and even physical pain, rather than joy. Others of us were blessed with loving, if imperfect, dads. Mine was a wonderful man. However, he was raised by German parents to not express emotion, despite his internal tenderness of heart.  For example, when he fell out of a tree and broke his nose, his father told him “he had better not cry or he would give him something to cry about.” Hugging, for example was not our family way until much later in our lives. Thankfully, we knew he loved us, and he himself was much respected and even beloved to others. However, his earthly father, who died in his 50’s, did not represent our Heavenly Father well when it came to the extravagantly loving aspect of His character.  

   ADONAI Elohim is a prodigal (extravagant) Father, Who loves His children beyond their comprehension. [Luke 15: 11-32] Like my sons, son-in-law, and husband, He takes absolute delight in our taking a running leap into His arms. Give it a try, if you haven’t already done so. You will not only experience abounding joy but also deep healing. Yeshua has paid the cosmic price of Reconciliation* for us. Our sin no longer keeps us out of the Father’s Holy Presence.** Greet Him gratefully each day, knowing He is Absolutely Good. Let go of all your preconceived images of Him keeping His distance from you. But back up a few steps, as my granddaughter does, so you can get some good speed as you take the leap. You won’t be disappointed…and neither will He.

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*Romans 5:10: For if we were reconciled with God through His Son’s death when we were enemies, how much more will we be delivered by His life now that we are reconciled!

**Romans 8: 15: For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to bring you back again into fear; on the contrary, you received the Spirit, who makes us sons and by whose power we cry out, “Abba!” (that is, “Dear Father!”).

Yahweh is near to those whose hearts are humble. He saves those whose spirits are crushed. —Psalm 34:18

No greater creativity… no greater desire to express it

   

   The Lord is all about types and patterns. I know this from my study of Scripture. However, I get a kick out of His Rhema word doing the same. If you haven’t read my previous blog post, “No Greater Love…no greater desire to express it,” you might want to read that first.   This morning I was asking Him for guidance, inspiration, and anointing for the art lesson I am giving my granddaughter tomorrow. He has blessed her with an artistic gift, and her mom wants to foster it. So we are having monthly art lessons, despite my lack of formal training. 

   At any rate, He answered my prayer with the following: 

     “A fun prayer to answer. You know how you long to have time to paint? That is my creativity rising up in you. If you long to paint, think how My Creativity rises up within Me! I love having willing children through whom I can express it.” 

I immediately recognized His response contained the same pattern I noted in my previous post, and it made me chuckle. 

   I didn’t begin painting in earnest until I retired from teaching at 66. In fact, I saw myself as totally inept at art. However, I really wanted to try, and decided no one would ever have to see what I created. I could just enjoy the process. I began, as many have, by watching the soothing encourager, Bob Ross. He was right up my alley with his “happy little trees.” At first I just watched him; yet a longing arose to gather some supplies and try along with him. My paintings never came out just like his, but surprisingly, I liked them. Even more surprisingly, others did, too.  Since then I have sold and given away many, along with creating cards, journals, and children’s books. (The sketched art in the books would be designated ‘primitive’…an understatement.) Yet these books, which have touched many, arose out of the pictures I created for the Lord in my daily journaling. He seemed to enjoy them and later prompted me to create the books. From that time in 2019, His creativity has flowed out of me, and He has anointed my creations far beyond their artistic merit. What I’ve discovered is that He loves to pour Himself through us in various creative ways. If you think you have no artistic ability within you, think again. You might be very surprised. Partner with Him and see what comes, even if no other soul ever sees what you create. He Himself will love what you make and probably attach it to His refrigerator. However, you might be astounded at what you make that others will also love. With His hand on yours, everything changes.

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Julie’s website: BearfootArtsfortheShepherd.com

Artists you might enjoy watching and be inspired by on YouTube:

Designer Gemma77

Jay Lee

Bob Ross

Liesl’s Artistic Studio

Emma Jane

Justin Gaffrey (super texture)

Akiane Kramarik’s testimony and interviws

…so many others

No greater love…no greater desire to express it

   

 Valentine’s Day 2025 

   As I was pondering the true story of St. Valentine’s martyrdom for his faith in God’s Greatest Gift, it filled me with a desire to express the true heart (pun intended) for this day. I wanted to pour out not only my love and thankfulness to the Father, to Yeshua, and to Holy Spirit, but also to the precious family and friends with whom He has blessed my life.

  I began thinking of little gifts of love to share, tiny mementos symbolizing something so much bigger than I could express in either words or packages of any size.🎁 Knowing each family member so personally, I was filled with joy in scouring my home for tiny finds that would delight them, from small presents I had been storing up for the right occasion to little treats discovered in our pantry. 

   The Lord then spoke to my heart: “You see now how my Nature in you is to pour out Love…to enjoy giving little gifts as well as big ones…to take delight in the choosing of even the smallest. If you carry a tiny fraction of that desire in your heart, think how much I carry…for you, for your family, for My whole family…and even for those outside of it. I long for them to come within My Family circle, ‘under the feathers of My wings’* where I can bless them with the large and the small.”

   Don’t think that the Lord can’t be bothered with ‘the smaller things’. He gets a kick out of delighting His children, just as we do. Take time to notice His little gifts, as well as the more obvious ones. They are not products of ‘luck’ or ‘coincidence’ or ‘fate’ or ‘the universe.’ Recognize them for what they are: personalized expressions of love from your Father’s heart, just for you. There is no one else on the planet, or even in Heaven, just like you. You are a unique treasure to Him, and He wants you to know it.

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*Matthew 23:37; Psalm 91:4

   

Avoiding Idolatry in current times

   

   When we read about idolatry in the Bible, we often see references to the worshiping of statues and manmade figures, like a golden calf. However, idolatry is anything that takes the place of God in our lives. The Lord has opened my eyes more and more to rampant idolatry woven into our times, including within the Christian community. Sometimes these thoughts, words, and actions have become such an integral part of our language that we don’t even think of them as such.

   I love the show Escape to the Country, but if I hear one more presenter tell people searching for a home in the UK that she’ll be ‘crossing her fingers’ for them, I think I will scream at the top of my lungs. Actually, I do renounce it every time I hear it, no matter how tedious it may seem to those watching the show with me. 

   Crossing one’s fingers has two meanings, neither of which is a Biblical action. As children we might have thought it meant we were excused for lying. NOT. This gesture’s other use is to help bring about the seemingly positive outcome one desires. Strike two. It is God to Whom we look, not futile gestures. 

   A similar action is to knock on wood. I have observed so many Christians doing so. The action’s history goes back to worship of the ‘goddess’ Gaia, who was said to dwell in the trees and in other created things. New Age believers of today continue to worship Gaia. (New age is not new.) Once again, it is to our Heavenly Father we should be praying, not knocking on a piece of furniture.

   When I was working in a retail artisan store, I lost track of the number of people who purchased crystals, gems, towers, pyramids, and similar items to give them power to make their lives better. Many carried them in their purses daily. Others, including Christians,  bought sage or ‘evil eye’ jewelry to drive away and protect themselves from evil.

   The idea of Karma has been completely adopted in our language, including by Christian believers. The Hindu concept of Karma is the antithesis of Christianity. As believers in Jesus’ sacrificial death for us, we trust in Him for our salvation. To trust in Karma is to trust that your good actions will outweigh your bad and you’ll be ok. This, of course, isn’t even true according to Scripture. [See Romans, among others. I especially recommend In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado.] The Bible does present the concept of reaping and sowing; however it is not a balance scale through which we hope to be saved. [FYI The Hindu people believe that those in the lower castes deserve their level  because of past lives, so they will not lift a finger to help them and interfere with their attempts to work themselves up the ladder of salvation.] 

   Have you described, on social media, a challenging situation in your life and had some respond, “I will think positive thoughts for you.”? That and fifty cents won’t buy you a cup of coffee, as the saying [doesn’t] go.. (Obviously a financially out-of-date phrase.) Thinking positive thoughts without praying is a totally powerless action. The statement is idolatrous because it implies that your mind effects* change in someone’s life.

   Hallmark Christmas movies have more ‘sweet’ idolatrous actions than Carter has liver pills”. (Forgive me, younger ones; you won’t know this reference the way my generation will.). My other shouting and renouncing time, in addition to my defying of the cross your fingers references, is Hallmark movies’ continual attribution of life’s direction to the universe and fate. Wherever God used to be referenced in older books and movies, ‘the universe’ has now been substituted. O Christmas Tree has replaced Joy to the World and The Night Before Christmas has replaced The Nativity Story. 

   In a similar way, Destiny (separated from God’s destiny for us) is assigned power and control over us, as are ‘the stars’, horoscopes and other forms of astrology. God’s creation doesn’t have power to direct and affect us, El Shaddai, ADONAI Elohim does. He gave authority over His creation to Adam.. Well, you know how that went… Thankfully, Jesus, the Second Adam, restored it to His Ekklesia when He triumphed over satan. 

   Tarot cards, Ouija boards, and all forms of the occult. This should be an obvious one. However, I just saw a popular show in which a ‘sweet’ girl works for a company which combines the Tarot with the use of ‘natural’ makeup. She even had the t-shirt! Disney, as many of you know,, has woven witchcraft into most everything they create. Be careful what your kids and grandchildren watch..

   To avoid too lengthy a post, I will simply list other common forms of idolatry of the 21st century: Some may be challenging (and you may want to challenge me!)

• Get rich quick schemes, always looking to win the lottery, etc vs trusting God for your provision
• Wishing on on a star or tossing coins in a fountain, 
• Sports superstitions of all kinds (a huge pot of foaming idolatry)
• Theater superstitions
• Superstitions like burying the statue of a saint upside down to sell a house
• Belief in reincarnation. Hmmmm, let’s see…I get to live one miserable life after another on earth until I finally attain perfection? (See Romans again.) Or I repent, ask for forgiveness, and trust in Jesus’s perfect sacrifice for me. Which shallI choose? It’s so hard to decide.
• Buddhas and Hindu goddesses in gardens and homes. I see these in so many house-hunting shows. Believe me, these are not good decorations!
• The term Zen. It’s everywhere! Zen comes from Zen Buddhism. Once again, you work your way to ‘Heaven’. One of many downsides, however, is that this attained state of so-called perfection is ‘Nothingness.’ I rest my case.
• Feng Shui “a traditional form of geomancy that originated in Ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment”. ** Do you really want to pursue an idolatrous eastern religion to decorate your home? 
• Reiki  “Reiki practitioners use a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing through which, according to practitioners, a "universal energy" is transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the client, to encourage emotional or physical healing. It is based on qi ("chi"), which practitioners say is a universal life force” (vs GOD as our healer)’
• Other phrases to avoid: in the cards, thank your lucky stars…

Now it gets more subtle and easily missed:

• Intellectual arrogance vs using God’s gift of intelligence for His glory
• Power and influence, as a sort of god in one’s life…vs under God’s favor and direction
• Our own accomplishments and success independent of God
• Entertainment and technology
• Food and drink
• Exercise and body building as a ‘god’ vs stewarding God’s temple. [When one’s whole identity is tied to physical prowess and abilities]
• Unforgiveness/pride, bitterness (Who is on the throne?)
• Fear of what others think about us more than what God thinks
• Our reputations
• Sports (how much time, focus, passion?)
• Our families (ouch). Do we put the family we love above God, more important than what He wants us to do? For example, do we avoid speaking the truth in love He’s prompting us to do, because we don’t want to risk damaging our relationships with them? (Yep, this one’s for me, too.)

Let’s examine our lives, thoughts, words, and deeds. 

Let’s ask Holy Spirit to show us, prompt us, make us aware (Psalm 139)… of not only our own hidden idolatries, but also for help in identifying what we see or hear elsewhere. Let’s help open our friends’ understanding, if we hear them using or pursuing idolatrous philosophies, religions, or language. Let’s speak the truth in love, not just ignore it for concern over what they will think of us. Our speech is very powerful (both positively and negatively). [Reread Proverbs, James, and Psalms. Also search ‘speech’ and ‘words’ and ‘power’ in Bible Hub or an e-version.]  Idolatry is not taken lightly by God. The state of our once-covenanted nation reflects our pursuit of it. Let’s ask Him to purify our hearts in these areas. This will increase our faith and trust in Him, rather than our looking, even unknowingly, to powerless idols for our help. Our sincere faith is so very pleasing to Him+. Let’s ask Him to help us in this sanctification process and see His broad smile in response. 

+(See Hebrews 11:6 and beyond.) 

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* Yes ‘effects’ is correct in this situation, despite what your grammar checker may indicate. 

** Wikipedia .