God came down to redeem those under the law and adopt them into his kingdom. (Gal 4)
I like the sea and mystery of foggy mornings.
I believe in the power of stories and supernatural power of Christ.
I live a life dedicated to the creator, a life that is so extraordinary it has become my ordinary.
I have received grace and it is now the rhythm of my life.
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive; I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, so that all may see and know, all may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Set forth your case, says the Lord; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.
Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, so that we may consider them, and that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come.
"The problem is, many of the people in need of saving are in churches, and at least part of what they need saving from is the idea that God sees the world the same way they do."
Barbara Brown Taylor (An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith)
it is late, god wakes me up with a whisper and i look around waiting for a sign.
but instead i walk to the bathroom and see the two o’clock moon through the windows in the lounge. surely the lord is in this place.
the water hammers down and the steam rises, the shower is one of the few places to cry in college. before my toe hits the water the tears have begun to come and my words begin to fail me but i keep them coming.
why do i try so hard god when she tries so little it appears? why do i bend over to make it happen and the same is never done for me? why does the world of this relationship have to change and come down when my whole world is changing? cannot one thing stay the same besides you god?
life is about altars, it was never about the applause of being loved by others.
and the steam rises with my words and prayers straight to the ears of an all listening god. and my words shift to the problem at hand, how do i tell someone everything they are doing is wrong? how do i tell them the path was right and now it is time to change? just because something seems good and god was working in it doesnt mean it will always work. how do i share that? how do i tell someone i think they are making a mistake?
someone i care about more than i think they will ever care about me. how do i form the words to bring their life crashing down so it can be replaced by something better?
i really dont know. but god does.
i step out of the shower and my feet prickle with the cold of the tile, and then it begins to sting.
when life stings a little, sometimes the only thing to do is find the true source of the sting.
"Two years ago, after 39 years as a Christian who thought she knew the meaning of the scriptures and the mind of God, I asked myself a serious, life-changing question. What if I’m wrong?"
If I could buy everyone in the world one book besides the Bible this would be the book. It has taken me 10 hours to sift through 37 pages, each word, each sentence is crafted in a way that you cannot help but see the glory of God. Altar in the World is literally revolutionary, God has wrecked me through it and i cannot wait for more in the pages to come.
The problem is, many of the people in need of saving are in churches, and at least part of what they need saving from is the idea that God sees the world the same way they do
Whoever you are, you are human. Wherever you are, you live in the world, which is just waiting for you to notice the holiness in it.
According to the Talmud, every blade of grass has its own angel bending over it, whispering, “Grow, grow.”
No matter how hard I try to say something true about God, the reality of God will always eclipse my best words.
I have no say about who is in and who is out. I am a guest here, charged with serving other guests.
Buy it, it will be up there with the best books you have bought for 10 dollars.
