Friday, September 5, 2014

Dear Friday



Dear Friday,

You are welcome in this place; you with your unique offering of finish lines;
neatly wrapping up the days of fast-paced rhythm,
projects completed, lessons studied, people welcomed in,
mouths, and tummies, and hearts and minds fed,
the stages of home, work, school stewarded by Abba's grace.





And then He brings us you, Friday.... you with your tantalizing aromas of the weekend ahead reaching out to our senses.
It is not for lack of joy and worship in our tighter rhythms that makes us look eager to the slow and easy, 
but rather it is the lingering that you bring us;
 in beds and reading chairs as the sun rises, around our life-scratched table top, over cups{and second cups} of steaming coffee, in worship with church family, in walks and wanderings;
the seeking out of that which brings soul joy through all of the spontaneous that you will afford.

This slow and easy works a productivity vital in it's spiritual white space afresh to our hearts and souls.  When stewarded, this union between end and start of week, floods our souls with Sabbath joy overflowing and washes us freely into the resume of Monday's waking. 

And so, Friday, I meet you with heart reflective on all that you bring finish to; 
all the big grace and love wrapping up here and pushing forward in giving of thanks!

Remembering:

~ Leaving them; releasing them.
Never so conscious of bone and muscle moving in response to firing brain cells as when my body moves away from my children;
these delightful creations that bear my DNA;
their beginnings tucked into the secret love that only Steven and I know, their first growings unfoldeding right below my rib cage, their first breathes cried into my skin.

The movement of life that from that moment on has been growing them away and up and into these moments when my hands release, my arms squeeze tight and then send them out into Abba's deep and good purposes.
This sweet amazing freeing peace to release....
To physically walk in what has always been true even from those first secret love moments that gave them life.
Gifts, treasures, heart-crushing loves of my life; they belong to Abba and Abba alone,
and how could I desire anything other than a stewarding care.
I will not pretend that I have any other role or power.
 To be a servant for their good, for their knowing Christ, for their awe in the evidence of Him all around them, and as He would chose, for their equipping to move on mission in His kingdom!

~ A lazy-river of peacefulness carrying Mr Favorite and I through another week of long obedience in the direction of intentional waiting.
Day following day of continued watchful prayer has brought true joy and smiles to my heart.
{A quiet but still open horizon};
He sees us and remembers us.  He delights to remind us of His working good purposes in perfectly timed emails, the unfolding of next obedient actions to put effort towards as we wait.
"Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to his people...
Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.
 Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield it's increase,
righteousness will go before us and make our footsteps a way." Psalm85

~ Last Night.  Yes! I sift through great sweet joy in recalling hours not yet a full day removed.
Women of all ages gathered; bearing beautiful desserts and tissue filled gift bags.
They met to shower one of their number with soft beauty as she anticipates an entering into covenant love with her earthly bridegroom tomorrow. 
The ceremony, celebrations, and then just man and wife alone in this big grace of marriage provided us ample rejoicing together with her.
This bride has been first wooed by Christ and now this man;
this man who tenderly serves her in a leadership that washes and feeds her.
She listened as three Grace Sisters who have been married {one for two months, the others 12 and 23 years} , spoke to her words of encouragement, hope and Biblical instruction.
 Her eyes welled with tears, her head nodding; evidence of her soft and praise-filled heart.
Truly beautiful from soul through flesh, responsive to the big love which has won her heart,
tomorrow holds big joy!

~ The sweet older woman with her white curls under a page-boy cap, white keds, and long stories of travels around the world.
"Enjoy life while you can because you only go around once", she said to me.
 I grabbed onto the truth in her words.  She heard joy, and peace, and grace, and Jesus from me.  Her heart's eyes seemed closed, but for those 10 minutes in the hair salon's waiting room, she was handed invitation for life and travels that would far surpass all this world offers; limitless adventure and glory!
May her heart one day respond!

Reading:

Zephaniah.
The last seven verses over and over; inviting their penetration of my heart deeper and deeper.
One head-turning question inducting application and worship; how His restoration rejoices me!
Journal pages filling and turning with responsive worship to His scandalous grace which delights in, quiets, sings over me. To be so perfectly and tenderly met reaches beyond the words that I can manage here.

Often this week, when a kind person has inquired around my life and asked to know my stuff,
I have been at a loss to give voice to the deep and transforming happenings of the Spirit in my heart of late.
I like it this way. It fills my mind and soul, fits tenderly between my soul and Abba alone, and I taste love.
For how do you give voice to soul glory?
To tell of the entrapped part of my soul; bound in the vestiges of untreated wounds and the residual shame that inflicted legalism will leave.
His seeing me there; knowing my soul's need; waiting and ordaining perfect wooing and breaking.
Intellectually assented truths bound in austerity; now being  released by His rescue like booming fireworks of diamond glory confetti all over my soul.
"The LORD God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." Zephaniah3

"Recovering Redemption" by Matt Chandler and Michael Snetzer


"Recovering Redemption, written with a pastor's bold intensity and a counselor's discerning insight, takes you deeply into Scripture to take you deeply inside yourself, discovering that the heart of all our problems is truly the problem of our hearts. But because of what God has done, and because of what God can do, the most confident, contented person you know could actually be you - redeemed through Jesus Christ."
{quoted from back cover}
This book lives up to this description... Chapter 7 burst into my understanding with the most profound teaching on guilt and shame, often misconstrued as the same thing though vastly different in source and need, that I have ever received. Chandler and Snetzer both write with personal transparency and an evident deeply studied application of scripture. We call ourselves redeemed, but do we know what that means?
Get this book. Be built up!

Still reading, "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" by Eugene Peterson, author of "The Message" {One of our favorite paraphrase resources.}
His detailed commentary here on the Psalms of Ascent proves abundantly useful in understanding these pilgrimage songs and in applying them to one's current life. A really great book to hold alongside one's personal devotions, taking one short chapter at a time.

Just cracked the cover on "Finding God at the Kitchen Sink; search for glory in the everyday grime"   by Maggie Paulus last night. {what a perfect title for one in my "profession"}!
I'll update upon completion, but this title gives feel of delightful end-of-day encouragement; a night-stand or coffee-table book. Possibly a sweet gift for new brides or new moms?


Savoring: 

~Homework time! We motor into the garage, carry the day's bundles inside, and enjoy a brain-food snack before I settle in at the big life-scratched table top to meet with one at a time.
 Folders are moved through, teacher notes read and responded to, worksheets completed, reading together.
{O, the sweet joy of a budding reader. I love the fresh accomplishment each book provides my 2nd grader!}
The uniquely built-in one on one with each student; meeting their varying needs with high fives, back rubs, help, correction, cheering - always the cheering. 
Our K4 student explained her eagerness for homework time,
 "and then you will root for me now too, mommy"

~Thunder storms. Waking us hours before the alarm was set to ring for stifled giggles as we raced around hurriedly closing windows; but not so fast that the house did not fill with that delicious rain aroma.
God's heavy showers of wet falling, watering, giving life to this orb of life. 

~ Green.  There is still so much green with only the faintest golden yellow tinges hinting of the slow and colorful death to come.
Driving fast along county highways, cresting hills to lay eyes on ridges of heavy green tree lines bearing up under a delicious Summer's fruitfulness.
His beauty as far as the eye can see in all of creation!

~A daughter's joy. There hangs a tiny glittery tulle dress near our door. She has packed her little bag with "beauty supplies" and purple sparkle shoes. Her conversation is only filled with talk of painted nails and arriving to the church early for her hair do.
Her joy as she relishes the privilege to cast petals before a bride walks the isle tomorrow speaks to God's sweet common graces. 

~ A new journal.  Silly perhaps, but for this words-loving girl,  the fresh blank pages anticipating my pen's scribble always fills me with delight. I recently chose to purchase a pack of very thin journals just so that I could relish that feeling more often.
Yes, I did say, silly......but only perhaps.

Listening: 

"Run to You" by Kari Jobe. Love these lyrics!
"Here in This Moment" by Beckah Shae - Can't listen to this one without dancing.
"This Love Doesn't Run" by Kerrie Roberts - In a total KR holding pattern these days. Love her every song.


Thinking:

On this,

And this.

And preaching this to myself.

Farewell Grace Friends....kind readers of my scribble in this place.
May you feed deeply on His soul-satisfying love this weekend.
May you know the beauty of intentional slow and spiritual white space.
May you soak yourself in corporate worship with your church people.

May you know an overflowing heart-refreshing that washes you freely into the Monday ahead! 

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