This wonderful brown leather chair is one of my favorite places to be.  It seems to inspire a bit of creativity, which often leads to discovery and emergence of my true self.  The view out this back window of the horizon faces east.  The sun sets upon the front of the house which faces west.  Here is tonight’s sunset looking west!

However, in a few moments at twilight, there will emerge an ethereal essence of a pink glow out the back window of the house as the long arms of sunset reach around to embrace the entirety of creation.  The beauty is subtly enticing.  At the same time there is a deep peace that seems to proclaim, “All is well.”

You can see now the beginning of the rising of the full moon tonight.  And tomorrow morning will appear the glorious light of the dawning of a new day.

This is my last post of the series “WHO ME?”. The focus has been on various characters in the Bible.  In today’s message the character is God as we experience God in Genesis, chapter one.  The very first words in the Bible proclaim,  “In the beginning God..”. Before there was anything else God is there.  Even if anything or everything else in our lives at any point seems to have gone awry, we can be certain that God is still there. God is always there.  God is always here.

“In the beginning God created…”.  God made everything that exists and God continues to create, making new things and making all things new.  In her book “Women of the Word”, Mary Lou Sleevi writes this about God the Artist…

This will come as no surprise to you.  I love God the Artist!  I love that God is Creator and God created creativity.  I love that God gives the gift of creativity to us and we have the joyful opportunity to be co-creators with God.  Often it will be the midnight hour when I complete creating one of these posts.  And when I finally push the button entitled “publish”, I feel like I just gave birth to something.

This series of characters in the Bible has been fun.  It seems like I have stepped into the unending circle of time to dance for a moment with each one as they chose to follow the calling of God.

They each let me “cut in line” to experience the rhythm of their being, to learn more about them, and to learn more about myself. So fun!

As I embark on some travels over the next few months I will continue to write, but not a daily series.  I want to share with you some of what I experience in the beauty of God’s creation.  So I invite you to come along and travel with me.

Pondering…

Watch for what God the Artist may be doing today.

nk

 

 

Much of the New Testament of the Bible is filled with letters written by Paul to friends of faith.  Together they had started churches, and together put their whole heart and soul into the ministry of Jesus Christ.  They had taken risks, worked hard, worshipped together, and shared the Lord’s Supper.  They had loved, laughed, and cried together.  In almost every letter Paul begins with telling them that he thanks God for them.  He prays for them with joy.  He cherishes their partnership in the gospel.  They are mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.  He says, ” I hold you in my heart.”  (Philippians 1:7).  “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more.” (Philippians 1:9).

Paul is especially close to Timothy whom he calls his beloved child in the faith.  Paul was a mentor to Timothy who began ministry at a young age and traveled with Paul.  In 2 Timothy 1:3, Paul says to Timothy, “I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day”.  Clearly all these people were very dear to Paul. That’s how it is in the community of faith.  There is a bond and an intimacy that only Christ can bring in the depth of love and communication that is present.  It is very special and something we all treasure.  Indeed, it is something we all need.

In this book, John Powell presents different levels of communication. As he talks about Level One: Peak Communication, he shares a quote by A. H. Maslow:

As I remember my life of faith shared with many dear and wonderful people, I realize it is all about these special moments of deep communion with each other.  The love of Christ unites us in a unique way and allows the moments of peak communication.  The ancient Apostles Creed proclaims our faith, “I believe in the communion of the saints.”  It’s such a beautiful gift we share!  Thanks God!

Pondering…

What do the pictures look like of your moments of “perfect communication”?

nk

 

Ananias experienced a vision.  The Lord came to him and told him to go to Straight Street…look for a man named Saul and lay hands on him so he will regain his sight.” (Acts 9:10-12).  “WHO ME? DO WHAT?”  Ananias did not want to go to Straight Street!

“But Lord, I have heard about all the evil he has done!” ( Such as seeking to kill disciples like me).  Ananias could not quite see it all in the way God saw it.

God said,”GO!  He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, and Kings, and the children of Israel.” (Acts 9:15).  So, Ananias went and laid hands on him, and Saul regained his sight and was filled with the Holy Spirit.

(Painting by Dennis Nolan from “The Blessing of the Lord” by Gary D. Schmidt)

Saul became Paul and went from killing Christians to becoming the greatest missionary for the transformation of the world for Jesus Christ.  Oh my gosh!  What could it mean for us to listen and obey the calling of the Lord to something that seems so very difficult?

I don’t know.  None of us know really.  It is just plain scary.  Some things in the world just feel so polarized, so difficult, so frightful.  We just want to find Easy Street!

This photo I took off the screen of my iPad of delegates at a church conference last week.  It happened close to midnight.  In the midst of great diversity of mind, persons came together to lay hands upon those in the room who were hurting.

I don’t know what may have happened in that actual moment.  What I do know is that only God has the power to change that kind of fear into some great love.  And it doesn’t happen on Easy Street.  But the miracle of it all is beyond our imagining!

Pondering…

Where are you experiencing division in our world?

Would you go to the difficult place if God called?

nk

 

Paul had a dream, a vision in the night.  A man was urging him to cross the sea and bring God’s word to Macedonia.  “We need your help!”, he said.  The following mosaic depicts that vision.  It is located in front of a church in the area of Philippi.  If you expand the photo and look closely, you can see that it is made up of millions of tiny pieces of tile which glisten in the sunlight.  It is awesome to stand in front of this beautiful mosaic and realize the moment of Paul’s vision which led him to set sail and follow God’s call.  The gospel message spread from Asia into Europe, what was then the Roman Empire, and entered a whole new world!  This was a huge moment!

Paul and Silas, homeless missionaries, wandered outside the city gates of Philippi one sabbath day.  Paul was speaking by the riverside and Lydia was there.  She was a businesswoman, a merchant of purple cloth.  As Paul was preaching about Jesus Christ, “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention.” (Acts 16:14).  Lydia was baptized that day, there at the riverside, along with her entire household.  She then insisted that these homeless missionaries come to her home.  The “new church start” at Philippi was birthed in her home.

(from “Women of the Word”, Art and Story by Mary Lou Sleevi)

I would love to sit down and visit with Lydia!  I want to hear her tell her story.  I want to hear about the moment by the riverside when the Holy Spirit touched her heart to “pay attention”, and her life changed.  I want to witness her exuberant expression in relating how her administrative gifts and passion were used by God to help start a new church.  I want to behold her persistent strength in taking risks as the first Gentile convert and a woman in ministry.  I think Lydia and I could step across the centuries of time and become friends.  Perhaps some day we will.

There is a lovely chapel located on the site where Lydia was baptized.  Here are a couple of photos.  The colors are vibrantly beautiful! These are also mosaics made of brilliant small tiles.

The words “pay attention” keep speaking to me.  When those nudgings come from the Holy Spirit, we need to pay attention.  God may be wanting to do a new thing in and through us.  Here is a photo of that riverside where Lydia was baptized.

“Perhaps each human life is fed by the underground spring of a few experiences.  When we are there, we touch something beyond words.”  Roderick MacIver

Pondering…

When have you felt God opening your heart to pay attention?

Remember your baptism…either through your own experience or what someone has told you.

nk

A large crowd, 5,000 people, were gathered by the lake to be with Jesus and hear him teach.  They were hungry and Jesus wanted to feed them.  The disciples were concerned about where to buy enough bread, and how much it would cost.  Then Andrew said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” (John 6:9)

Then the boy offered his lunch as a gift…all of it.

( “The Offering” by Jean Pederson)

Jesus took this gift, offered thanks, broke the bread, and fed the people…all of them.

( Painting by Cheri Bladholm from “Small Gifts in God’s Hands” by Max Lucado)

This surely was a moment in the lives of all these people which they will never forget! How could one small gift make such a huge difference?  Was it the child’s heart of generosity?  Was it the miracle in Jesus’ prayer of thanksgiving as he lifted the loaves and fishes up to Heaven?  Did it happen the moment Jesus broke the bread?  Was it the community of people who all participated in breaking the portion of bread they received and joyfully shared with others?  How DID that miracle keep multiplying?

The words that keep echoing in my heart are “There is a boy here…”.  It had to start somewhere.  Perhaps it begins with someone who has the unreserved, uninhibited gift of giving like a child.  Jesus receives it and works a miracle.

Something about this story brought forth for me a memory of my last days at a church I was serving.  “There was a boy there…” who placed his prayer in the offering plate on my last Sunday.

Then the whole crowd gathered around laying hands on me with their prayer of blessing.  ( I am somewhere in the middle). Shoulder to shoulder, hand to hand, the prayers multiplied.

These prayers are treasured gifts forever!

Pondering…

Where do you see yourself in the story?  The child?  Disciples? Crowd?

Have you experienced a miracle of giving?

nk

 

 

He had been sitting by the roadside all his life begging for the tossing of a coin or two in his direction.  One day things changed for the blind man.  He heard that Jesus was coming and he got very excited.  This would be better than any coin toss!  He began to call out for mercy.  The crowd tried to muzzle him, but he was vehement and cried out more intensely.  Jesus stopped and spoke directly, face to face, eye to eye…”What do you want me to do for you?”  (Mark 10:51). Bartimaeus answered, “I want to see.”  Bartimaeus knew.

(“Mixed Media Portraits” by Pam Carriker)

Jesus said to Bartimaeus, “Your faith has made you well.”  I have always been fascinated with this story.  In the midst of a crowd that could not see Jesus as their Savior, Blind Bartimaeus had eyes to see the truth, the power, the hope of the Christ in our midst.  The Greek word for “made well” in the healing voice of Jesus is “made whole”, or salvation.

The following quote is from “Earth’s Echo” by Robert M. Hanna…

Bartimaeus opened his eyes and followed Jesus.

The last several years of his life my Dad had macular degeneration.  His eyesight waned but his vitality did not.  Yet one day I caught a glimpse of him trying to read a plaque that was hanging on the wall in my home.  He leaned in quite close and tilted his head so he might be able to see out of the corner of his eye.  I heard him softly, slowly, carefully reading the words…

A tear came.  I smiled.  SO TRUE!

Pondering…

What do you want to see?

nk

 

I am trying to imagine what it would be like if Jesus suddenly walked into our livelihood and called, shouted, whispered, invited, encouraged a dramatic change… “Come, follow me.”  The first three gospels in the Bible each describe this moment at the seaside when Jesus calls the fishermen to leave their fishing, drop their nets and follow him on a new path.

(From “Bible for Children”, artist Donald Kueker)

What strikes me most is the way Matthew tells the story in Chapter 4 verses 18-22.  When Jesus called them, they IMMEDIATELY left their nets and followed him.  There was no hesitation, no trying to figure it out, no hanging on to the nets in desperation or fear of letting go.  This speaks to me not so much of the fortitude of these men, but rather the power of the presence of the Living God.  These men were face to face with Jesus, Son of God!  They were enveloped in overwhelming LOVE.  They could do nothing less than say “Yes!”  And in the same breath they dropped their nets.  Henri Nouwen writes…

On their way home, with open hands the fishermen left and followed Jesus.

One more prayer from “Children’s Letters to God” compiled by Eric Marshall and Stuart Hample.  I love this one!

Pondering…

I invite you to find a quiet moment, sit with your open hands, palms up, upon your lap while you pray the prayer by Henri Nouwen.

nk

The crowd was so thick in and around the home where Jesus was teaching that no one could get through the door, or even close.  Four friends had carried a paralyzed man on a pallet a long way to see Jesus.  They surely were not giving up now!  They managed to transport their friend to the roof and remove a portion of the roof.  They carefully lowered the man on the pallet down through the hole in the roof and positioned him right at the feet of Jesus. A stillness came over the crowd.  Only the sound of the creaking ropes and the still man’s breathing could be heard.

Jesus looked up into the sunlight pouring through the roof and saw the anticipation on the faces of the four friends.  He saw their faith.  In that moment Jesus proclaimed the man was healed. (Mark 2:5).  The man picked up his bed and walked home. The entire crowd stood motionless, awestruck.  The four friends looked at each other, bursting with joy, their hearts pounding, “WHO ME?  My faith?”  Wow!…the power of faith filled friends in the eyes of God!

Preparing for our family gathering, my granddaughter Molly, age 8, made matching bracelets for each of the 12 family members to wear.  I love how carefully her small hands worked her craft as she anticipated and estimated the size of every wrist.  In weaving each bracelet she wove us all together in unity and love.  There was something about her faith filled intention that created a bond between us all.  It happened the moment she placed a bracelet on each of our wrists.  Her eyes met ours and her smile said it all.  We all knew the bond was real.

Powerful moments of communion brought about by love.

Jesus said, “I call you friends….Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.”  (John 15:13-15).

Pondering…

How far would we go to carry a friend to Jesus?

Who would be the four friends who carry you to Jesus?  Why did you choose these persons?

nk

 

 

The woman from Samaria encountered Jesus at the well one day when she went to draw water.  It was quite a frightening experience at first.  Men were not supposed to talk to women in public, and furthermore, the man was a Jew.  Jews considered Samaritans unclean.  They steered clear of them.  Jesus asked her for a drink of water and she quickly responded, “WHO ME?”

(Painting by Bob Dacey, “Miriam’s Cup” by Fran Manushkin)

Jesus talked with her in that moment at the well about a deeper kind of water, a “living water” which God gives.  He said, “You will never be thirsty again.  The water I give will become within you a spring of eternal life.”  Her heart beat excitedly,  “I want this water!” she claimed.(John 4: 13-15).

(Photo by Barbara Sundstrom)

In the midst of their conversation, Jesus told the woman things about her life that others did not know.  She found herself opening up to him, sharing about her life.  She realized that he knew her deeply.  He understood her in ways no one else had ever been aware.  She was a colorful person!

(Painting by Meg Harper)

For the first time in her life, the woman from Samaria was embraced and welcomed by someone who accepted her unconditionally, someone who KNEW her!

The woman left her water jar and ran to town, taking that powerful moment with her. Bursting with good news for everyone, here is what she said,  “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.  Can this be the Christ?” (John 4:29).  Someone who knew her deeply and understood, loving her unconditionally, had set her free to become her true self!  That moment changed her life forever.

Pondering…

Who knows you deeply?

How have you been set free to be your true self?

nk

 

 

 

I co-lead a class for persons who feel God may be calling them and wish to further explore how to listen and what it might mean for their lives.  In one of the sessions, the group enters prayer through various forms of art.  It was in that experience that this painting spoke to me personally.

(Painting from “The Blessing of the Lord” by Gary D. Schmidt, illustrated by Dennis Nolan)

I never thought much about Pharoah’s daughter until I saw this portrayal of her.  I looked at her face and the way she held that baby, and I saw LOVE!  I guess I had just put her in the camp of the “enemy”.  She was the Pharoah’s daughter, and the Pharoah ruled.  All of the Hebrew people were in slavery in Egypt, so Pharoah appeared to be the “enemy”.

When Pharoah’s daughter suddenly encountered the baby in the Nile River, she realized this was a Hebrew child.  Pharoah had ordered all male Hebrew babies to be killed.  She could have easily tossed the child aside as one who did not “belong” and certainly not aligned with the royal family!  But look at her face!  She fell in love with this baby.  She decided to embrace this Hebrew child as her own at great risk.  She took him into her family and named him “Moses”.  The children are always the vulnerable ones…subject to the attitudes, assumptions, and actions of their environment.  The Pharoah’s daughter saved Moses’ life.

I love this basket made by women of a third world country.  The word “LOVE” is interwoven through the entire wire basket.  It was through love that Moses was placed in the basket.  And it was through love that he was lifted out of the basket.  All the while, God’s grace held the child.

Eleven years ago my granddaughter Anna was born in China.  Like Moses, she was found in a basket as an infant.  But instead of a river, she was found on the steps of Bu Bu Wang Supermarket with a hat and a note from her mother saying that she loved her.  From those steps she was found and taken to an orphanage.  At 10 months old she traveled across the Pacific Ocean to become part of the Kellond family.

Each time I received the news that a grandchild was to be born my heart leapt for joy!  I actually think I screamed…I was so elated!  Look how wonderful they all are….

I  will never forget the day I heard the news that Anna would be ours.  I began to cry.  It came from the very depths of me unexpectedly.  On all the mission trips I had taken, there had been a child that I wanted to bring home with me.  Now it was finally happening!  Anna would be ours.  I love her dearly.  She is quite special.

Pondering…

Has God’s call in your life ever had anything to do with a child?

How have you experienced love that transcends boundaries?

nk