Jacob was running away, just like all of us do at one time or another, in one way or another.  We run away because we are afraid, or lonely, or frustrated, or bored, or overwhelmed, or for whatever reason things just aren’t good right here, right now.  We physically run away, or we do it in our minds or hearts.  We are not fully present.

Jacob ran until he was tired of running.  The next escape was to lie down and sleep.  His pillow was a rock. (Yikes!).  Yet he dreamed a wonderful dream.  There was a ladder, a stairway from earth to Heaven, and Heaven to earth.

(Fresco by Raphael painted 1517-1518, located in the Vatican in Rome)

Angels were present, traveling along the stairway.  God came to talk with Jacob and listen.  In the midst of that conversation God assured Jacob, “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.”  Then Jacob woke up!  (God is all about waking us up!) Jacob must have thought, “WHO ME?  Did this really just happen to ME?”  In that moment of grace, he knew God was there.  He must have either shouted to the whole world, or whispered silently deep within his own heart….”Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.  How awesome!” (Genesis 28:16)

Life is full of “God moments”, epiphanies.  We wake up unexpectedly to the presence of God.  It happens by God’s grace, God’s initiative, but we wake up to realize it is God.  Even the “waking up” is a gift of grace.  Every day, in every place, the world is full of these moments in which we suddenly realize God is in this place and we did not know it!

The following is from a poem by Charles Livingston Snell in the book entitled “This Is My Wish for You”…

Pondering…

Have you ever run away or wanted to?

When have you suddenly realized God was present?  How did you know?

nk

Sarah was 90 years old, long past any hope of new birth by physical standards of the world.  In her mind it was impossible and would never happen.  In her heart the longing never left her.  Then one day an unexpected stranger appeared and announced that she would give birth.  She laughed inside.  Why did she laugh?  Was it fear?  Disbelief?  What sort of laugh was it?  Did God bring this stranger into her life? If so, why now?

Then it happened!  God gave her a joy beyond what she could have ever thought possible.  She thought it would never happen.  She thought it was too late.  Now she LAUGHED….a deep belly laugh!  (Genesis 21:6)

 

 

 

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

Pondering….

Has there been a seemingly impossible gift in your life that brought deep laughter?

How is God “Surprise” for you?

nk

Moses experienced the presence of God in the burning bush (Exodus 3).

God called Moses to lead his people out of slavery.  He would have to deal with the big guy, Pharaoh!  Moses’ immediate response was, “WHO ME?”.  God says, “I will be with you”…. Moses says, “Who are YOU?”!  A very important question I would say since Moses had no clue!  God responded with a simple yet profound statement, “I AM”.  There is one verb tense here in Hebrew which encompasses the entirety of God’s everlasting, ever present nature…”I am what I am and I will be what I will be.” Wow!  I guess you can’t beat that!

Moses proceeds then, trusting God through many trials along the way and grumblings from the people.  The moment I would like to focus on takes place in Exodus 34:29.  Moses comes down from the mountain top having spent 40 days and 40 nights with God.  As he descended the mountain the people stood in awe for they could see that the face of Moses was shining with the GLORY of God because he had been talking with God!

(Both above pictures by artist Ted Rand taken from book “Knots on a Counting Rope” written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault)

The people knew Moses had been with God.  They could see the light of God shining through him.

The light of Christ shines in us as we spend time in the presence of God.  What a beautiful and powerful proclamation of the transformational essence of prayer!

A poem entitled “My Heart” by Kara Lassen Oliver from “Alive Now” July/August 2014

 

 

 

Pondering…

In whose face have you seen the light of God?

How might your life express the light God has put inside of you?

nk

I am beginning a series entitled “WHO ME?”.  Each weekday for the next 30 days I will write about a certain person in the Bible.  In my portrayal of each one, the main focus will not be a historical view of who they were or a full account of what they did, but rather a “moment” in their life which gives us a sense of their character.  This vignette might help us know that even a glimpse could tell us something important about someone, or perhaps about ourselves.

God steps into the lives of some of the most unlikely persons in the most unexpected ways.  It is my hope that we will see something of them in a new light.  And it is my deeper hope that by God’s grace something of ourselves might be awakened and affirmed through their “moment”with God.  God is in the business of waking us up and our natural response, feeling both disturbed and delighted, is quite often “WHO ME?”

I can hardly believe it has been 30 years since I went on my first mission trip.  Our group traveling to Haiti called ourselves “Mission Team Impossible”…

None of us had ever been on a mission trip before.  Haiti was about as distant as any place on earth could have been for us in every way. Our eyes were opened and our hearts changed forever.  We slept on the roof top each night and reflected on our day’s encounters and experiences. We wondered about home.  We wondered about what “home” really meant.

We looked up at that big full moon and somehow knew that the same moon was shining down on the people we loved, and the same God was present…a God of Love reaching far beyond our imagining!

Then the next day, this Great God Almighty, stooped deep into my small heart until it felt so big I thought it would pop…..and called me into ministry.  All I could say at that moment was, “WHO ME?”

Pondering…

Have you ever had a “WHO ME?” moment?

Please join me here on the blog for the next 30 days, Monday through Friday.  Invite any friends to experience this journey of faith as well by clicking on the blog each day. We will enjoy getting to know some Bible “characters”!

nk

 

I just returned from a week in Colorado with children and grandchildren and wanted to share a few photos with you. The “moments” were full of immeasurable joy!

View off the back deck of the house we rented…

Playing golf….(sort of)…

 

Horseback Riding…

Painted ponies…and faces

Fun boating on the lake…seeing first moose and playing “Titanic”

Grant teaching how to make waffles…

Oldest and youngest playing “hide and seek”

Hands and feet….faces

Goodnight hugs ….and kisses

Enjoy the full moon tonight!

And come back tomorrow…I’ll be starting a new blog series on people of the Bible.

nk

 

My heart was longing to return to my homeland, to connect once again with my roots. I began the long drive to San Angelo in West Texas.  After passing through San Antonio, I began to feel the open space and beauty of the Hill Country…air filled with yellow butterflies, blue skies, and blooming windflowers.  I stayed overnight in Comfort, Texas where the adventure began.  Breakfast at High’s Cafe…

Country music burst forth across the street long before the doors officially opened.   Once the sign in the window was flipped to “OPEN” the cafe quickly became once again the daily gathering place for town folks, and one by one the circle widened and the conversation livened.  When my breakfast order was ready I was to go into the kitchen to pick it up….suddenly all the cooks shouted together, “Hi Nancy!”.

My girlfriends and I all met in San Angelo at Barbara’s new home in the country, a lovely creative older home which they have remodeled. Here is a photo she took one evening off her back porch…

On that back seven acres all six of us rode into the sunset on the four wheeler through tumble weeds, mesquite trees, and blooming cactus.  My dangle ear rings were flying in the wind as I held on tight to the overhead bar, and we all thought we were 16 again!

That evening we found the old narrow bridge where we used to cross over the Concho River to get to Joyce’s house.  Here is what they have done with that old bridge…

An art group in San Angelo called “Art in Unexpected Places” created the lights which gradually transition from one psychedelic color to another.  So fun! Of course, we had to stroll across, run, skip, dance under the night sky….and remember.

The next morning we drove by the home where I grew up.  So nice to see it so well preserved!

Then on to the Chicken Farm, a delightful experience of local artists and musicians.

Down to the Concho River which runs through town for a picnic lunch…

A root beer float at a colorful place on the river with this memorable marquee…

Whimsical art under the bridge…

(Those are not my bare feet in the window, but they could have been…my legs were always too long for a VW)

Finally we encountered two beautiful statues overlooking the river done by artist John Noelke, who was born in San Angelo and raised on a ranch nearby.  They are entitled “Los Dos Angelas”.

The figure on the right is St. Angela de Merici, 16th century saint from Italy.  The one on the left is Carolina Angela de la Garza DeWitt who was named for the saint and was the wife of Bart DeWitt, founder of San Angelo.  The town was called the Village of Santa Angela and these are the women for whom it was named. They celebrate the strength of West Texas women. Here are some of the sayings written on the stones along the path below the figures which help tell their story…

I reflected on my own life in ministry and how I had never seen a female pastor when God called me.  I began to feel deep within my soul a connection with these women and their courage to step out into new horizons.  I knew the name “Santa Angela” lived deep within me.

Ah, my roots! ….beautiful skies and open space, place where strangers are welcomed and artistic expression abounds, room to question the meaning of the “Hokey Pokey” and how a 16th century saint from Italy might have influenced my own life.  It was a wonderful journey!

nk

Pondering…

How much do you know about the history of your homeland?

How might that history have effected who you are, your journey?

 

 

Ah!  Vast expanse of sun swept sky shouts “Glory!”  

while breath fully whispering into the depths of a heart

that You are close, wanting to fill me up til I soar with You

Up There

 

“David”, You called, a man after Your own heart

not perfect, certainly!  Just wanting to feel. “Come”

closer until I know who You are, Your heart

Down Here

 

With me, Creator, You create.  Love.  Intertwisted together

heart to heart.  Is that what it looks like to be

after Your own heart, somewhere?

Over There

 

That promising rainbow magically appearing

Wait…There’s a second arching over

so colorfully embracing, heartfully the same

Right Here

 

Now.  Peeking over the horizoned edge of creativity

I create, barely touching the potentiality that is ours

together, if I could just be after Your own heart 

Every Where

 

nk

I awoke at 3:42 a.m. with a voice inside me saying, “You need to write about the little red book.”  Only such a crazy thought could have jolted me out of my sleepy fog.  “WHAT?”, my discriminating self responded.  “WHY would I write about THAT?”… and….”WHO would possibly be interested?”  Then my creative, whimsical self jumped in, “Why not? It’s one of your treasures.  It could be fun!”  My imaginative self usually wins out, so the wheels started to turn, “This could be a lovely challenge!”  I wanted to go get the book right then and hold it.  But instead I stayed in bed, holding it in my heart as I contemplated its intrinsic value. “What indeed makes this little red book special?”…and, “Why do creative juices so often flow in the middle of the night?”

Now it is a new day.  I hold in my hands the little red book which I keep tucked away in a secret spot.  The book is really not a secret, I just don’t want it tossed to the wind, mistaken for something old and worthless.  It has been around for many years and somehow survived.  I did not knowingly, with intentionality, keep it.  Yet, it is still present, kept with me.  It is soft in my hands, well worn, a small paperback bound with sewn stitches, and most of the pages are still intact.  It was a gift from the “Room Mothers” of my second grade class.  It was just the right size for small hands.

( I especially love the “famous & not-so-famous” )

It was my first blush with an “Autograph Book”.  I suppose they were popular back then.  I did know that you were to fold each page inward on the diagonal as it was completed in order to keep it “confidential”.

What I did not understand was that the book was intended for signatures and perhaps hand written notes by others to the owner of the book.  I correctly had my friends sign (well, print) on an individual page, but then I exuberantly proceeded to write something about each of THEM!  What I wrote is quite amusing.  Here are a few examples….( unedited )

It is amazing to me how memories work.  One sentence written decades ago and saved in a small paper book can bring back a lasting memory.  As I read each line, I get a glimpse of each face still, as if it were yesterday, yet 75% of these people I have not seen since elementary school.  Two of them I have seen again in the last two years at a high school reunion.

Why is my little red book special?  Because friendships are special, and no matter who they are, or for how long, they are to be treasured.  Why else would I hold so close this little red book from so long ago?  These are childhood friends…they know me and I know them in ways only children can know.

Then, I think the intrinsic value of this little red book comes through the “but” or the “and” of the sentences.  Love is always present here.  Both positive and negative observations and perceptions of each person are expressed honestly and then encapsulated in the affirming, accepting nature of a child by adding a “but” or an “and” to complete the descriptive portrait. I hope and pray that as long as I live I can remember to put the “but” in every sentence I speak or write about another person, thus finding and expressing something good in all God has made.  I want to help create a world of friendships, so this must be a constant endeavor at every corner and every encounter, every day.  If I could do this and keep it in a little red book, it would definitely be worth saving and a treasure to hold.

Pondering….

What friends do you remember from your childhood and what was special about them?

Where might the “but” go into a sentence for you?

nk

 

.

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“There a chick, everywhere a chick, chick?”

Caressingly nestled, downy bundles of joy!

“Hold them securely,” she said, “give them something to stand on.”

Oops…footloose!

Hard to tell, sometimes, heads or tails, forwards or backwards,

Which way?  Need to be held close to feel

a heart beat within.

Cradle the child, again and again til tomorrow’s tomorrow finds

a platform…breath, courage, strength

to soar!

Dear children, Grammy is always here

for you.

 

nk

 

 

Hello Redbud!  Who named you my friend?  Why do they call you red when you are purple?  Or at least I would say you are purple!  Let me look again…

Wait a minute…I think you are pink! Crazy Redbud!  Are you blushing? Perhaps we all see colors differently?

When we want to convey an image appropriately, we look intently to discern the color clearly.  Sometimes that can be a bit tricky, considering the different shades of colors.

These are wonderful artist’s pastels which my Mom used and gave to me.  Through her  I became more familiar with the refinement of colors.  I know chartreuse, a strong greenish yellow to yellowish green…magenta, a vivid purplish red to reddish purple… turquoise, a light bluish green to greenish blue…on and on it goes.  Is color infinite?

Redbud, what color would you say you are?  If we give you another name, would you still know who you are?  Would you lose your identity?  What if I said, “Hey there Magentabud!”.  Whatever we call your color, it is still undeniable as a distinguishing element at the heart of your true self.  Your nature is to bloom in this color, the color in which you are most apt to blossom, regardless of how each of us sees it, or names it at any transitory moment.

The bigger picture is that often we prescribe what we think is an unquestionable truth to a certain place, person, or situation by the description of polarized color.  Is it black or white?  Can we come closer to the truth by being adaptable to changing perception of color?  Is not every color innately good?

Late yesterday I took this photo of a different tree, quite large and not yet in bloom.  It appeared through the same lens I used to snap previous photos.  It is not a “black and white” photo, but it appears that way.  Wow, isn’t it beautiful?  It doesn’t look at all the same today in the sunlight.  Perhaps I need to look more closely before I attempt to describe any color.  Even late bloomers know who they truly are, and that is good!

Pondering…

What conclusions do we make based on color?

How do we come to name a certain color?

How do we blossom in a black and white world?

nk