field to french toast

eggy & sweet, spongy & tasty to eat—french toast breakfast delicacy delivers cinnamon-y & syrup-y goodness!

from flour milled to bread baked, French toast requires time, care, & work, to eventually produce this delightful morning time sweet—a process!

like cooking French toast, our lives are process. we don’t wake up to insta-sweetness. we wade through grief. we battle sickness or even the fight to believe. but when we submit to Jesus, trusting His process, we will find goodness in the end. it won’t always be sweet in the moment, but we can look ahead to the glorious, good ending, & be encouraged.

french toast starts with bread.

bread starts with flour.

flour starts with grains, seeds or roots.

making flour is a process. wheat flour comes from wheat berry undergoing cleaning, soaking, separating, milling, sifting, maturing & packaging.

like the flour creating process, the book of Ruth in the Bible contains some great wisdom concerning waiting, trusting, & being in God’s will & timing. when Naomi returned to her homeland, with no husband & no sons, she was so devestated that she changed her name to Mara, meaning bitter. what if the story stopped there? her debilitating grief would have been a tragic ending. maybe in the moment, that was all she saw. but it was not the end.

it was the middle.

you are in the middle. it could feel like the end. it could feel like life will never get better. but when we surrender & put our trust in Jesus, the best is yet to come.

what if we stopped when french toast was flour dust? would that taste very good? yuck, how bitter! wait, keep going. it gets sweeter.

once flour is made, it needs a person to purchase it.

then, the next step is baking bread.

baking bread involves gathering ingredients, adding proper amounts of flour & its friends, kneading, rising, waiting, shaping, rising again, preheating, baking, cooling. another process.

remember Naomi? her life seemed hopeless, but wait. watch. she may have felt it was over but it was not done yet. her daughter in law began to glean. her daughter in law went to the threshing floor of Boaz, Kinsman Redeemer. there was yet story to tell.

if there’s breath in your lungs, God’s not done. it’s not done yet!

once bread is baked, we need to make French toast!

step one: wait for the bread to become stale. wait. i’ll say that again—part of the process is waiting!

Naomi, after quite the rollercoaster, eventually became the grandmother of Obed—one of the descendants of Christ! her waiting was worth it.

beat a bowl of eggs till the yolks are broken & blended, & be broken yourself, open & humble. add cinnamon. milk. vanilla. then soak the stale bread. soak, rest, be. fry the bread, both sides, till it becomes rich breakfast dessert! lather in butter, drench in syrup & Walla! ENJOY the fruit of the PROCESS. (& ENJOY the process, too!!!)

so, from field to French toast, from Ruth to Boaz, from your birth to your death, it’s all PROCESS. learn to submit to Jesus & trust Him in the middle. don’t bemoan where you are or despair because you can’t see beyond. but choose to rejoice because the Process Maker is Good! then enjoy where you are when you are, rest.

the best is yet to come.

go forward by guide

rollercoaster.

we get on—for thrill & for fun—& all we know is we’re sitting down, strapping in, in for the ride. then, as we’re uplifted, we drop, fly, roar! wherever the tracks guide. we’re completely out of control, all we can do is sit, go with the flow, & laugh.

isn’t this true—life in God is a little like a rollercoaster. whooosh! we’re going forward in Him, by trust & rest, & it is fun. Joy. Freedom! we don’t have to figure it out. we just need to trust. The Life Engineer made the thing, & on Him we depend!

we only need Oil for the track & no fear. but if our roller coaster car gets stuck in the muck of afraid, we must get oil—by going to Secret Place, where Abba Father Friend will strengthen us, again.

so go.

Trust.

Fly! Free.

The Guide has a plan. sit down in Him. hold fast, buckle. Rest.

& don’t forget to smile.

help’s here!

the first step to not drowning is to acknowledge you are drowning.

this seems silly. but imagine you’re in the ocean with no boat & no buoy. head barely bobbing above water as icy dark water chops threaten to swallow life, muscles screaming —exahausted from treading. hungry, hopeless, helpless.

wouldn’t your reality be desperation??

*sploosh!* a white ring splashes in cold water—a lifesaver tossed from above. will you grab it? or will you choose to drown?

 this picture just painted is all of us! we’re all drowning without saving, until we realize our need.

rescue requires humility.

the point is, the moment you start to feel the water, the moment you notice the black, cold waves slicing over your head, hang on to that realization! it may feel like a death sentence. so uncomfortable and painful. like something you just want to shut out. but the alternative is to die from comfort, falling asleep in familiarity (which is truly death). when  you are woken up, I beg you, don’t ignore the freezing karate chop waves. that awareness is mercy. we cannot be rescued unless we know we need help.

& all you need is a cry.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you don’t have to learn how to swim.

you don’t even need to hold your breath.

all it takes is one word—help. spoken genuinely. true repentance.

God delights to show mercy.

we can’t get ourselves out. no amount of money or “fulfillment” from things here on earth will ever satisfy or save.

help is otherworldly.

for many this past year or so has revealed the hungry sea, bodies freezing, nearly underwater. now that you know—how will you respond: a raw HELP, or choosing to go under?

I pray over every person reading this word now, that a spirit of humility comes over us. may we see accurately and interpret rightly. may we give ourselves up, not to the sea, but to the Seer of our souls! to the Rescuer. the ship is there. will you allow Him your hand?

God gives grace to the humble

James 4.6

touch my ugly

touch my ugly

let Your love light up my coffin

be with me & the cobwebs

 wisp away, my heart remembers

its song

again

& everything new—

from my piano key toes

 to garden brain.

I want to walk with You in the

cool of the day, going forward

together

that’s all I desire:

together.

have my ugly. I let

You in—to my basement

of dark & spiders & dust

fix me. find me.

only You can

make it better

the pain like cabooses crushing

my chest

yet normal

because it’s all i’ve known

yet You

yet, You

touch my ugly

wash my wounds

i’m ready

100% seen

all the way

known

I welcome

You

I’m done

hiding

behind my leaf loin

 cloth

find me

have me

i’m Yours

pocket

what’s in your pocket?

I don’t mean your jeans or purse, but the space available. we’re all, in a sense, pockets, in that we hold finite, numerable amounts. pockets.

what’s in your pocket? what’s in your heart, your mind, what occupies your space & time? what’s in you?

 the Bible says out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. what’s in you will come out. what’s coming out of you, & therefore what’s inside? if you’re saying some not nice things, like complaining, worrying, gossiping, being mean with your mouth, go to God. because that is an indicator of an area of your heart that needs touched by Yeshua. out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks it says. be aware.

 what’s in your pocket? if in your literal pocket, you have, say a phone & keys, would there be space for sunglasses? probably not. what is there—the phone & keys—occupy the available area, not allowing something else like sunglasses in. in the same sense, we have limited heart real estate. you can’t have space for it all. if your heart is occupied by clutter—worldly noise & the din & chaos of here— you won’t have space inside for Heaven.

we must empty ourselves, to make room for Him.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

heaven belongs to those who recognize their need to be emptied.

for every lie there is a truth. for every piece of junk occupying room in our hearts, there is a treasure longing to take its place.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 ESV

we must identify the lies & in their place, look for that which is true.

we must allow ourselves to be undone, unraveled & start completely over. square one. only then can we be full of good & God.

 “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:3-8

take some time to inventory. what’s within? pray—talk to God. listen. seek. ask. see & let the Lord deal with your interior. let Him empty out those pockets of earth trash wrappers & manmade things, so you can have room for Him to make His Home within.

Lord, would You empty us. flip us upside down & empty our pocket of everything crammed in there! please! all the lollipop wrappers & lipstick, old gum wads & crumbs… the junk, trash, trauma, sin, flesh, evil, me-me-me-me-me… empty us so we can have space to receive anew. we want heaven—YOU! get all the room in us. become our home. be our heart. we just want You.

today cascade

life is one breath,

one blink.

so let's embrace, even cubicle space. after all, life is now; this is it! there is no rehearsal, we are here, performance fit!

let's embark on a quest for the good. find the joy in all things and you will never be without in the drought. enjoy Yeshua.

& never underestimate the power of the small—pollen, seeds, a yes.

& may that seed given to you from heaven find a yes in your heart, like how fuzzy yellow pollen dot, carried by a busy bumble bee travels to populate earth with beauty. or a teeny vesselseed of new life finds its way underground, nestled in soil particles, ready to sprout and birth a habitat, an oxygen fountain, a branch dance in wind.

this all happens as that ache resonating in your veins, echoing on the stars, testifies: there is More! 

there's a reason the money's a void, the coins never change enough. 

there's a reason earth searches for her husband. 

we're not meant to be alone. 

so when your heart throbs, let the longing draw you up, out, to the arms of Father.

He is the More our hearts long for. there is a Love drawing us all. 

so belong to God in Christ. rest in His arms.

He's already holding you. Already Loves you completely. 

Love says yes to you today.

Love Himself invites you to dance, to be married, to sing a duet. give up your walls and your defenses.

Love says yes to you!

& even in the junk there's joy. we can laugh and dance! in the midst of mud puddles, Splash. in the midst of depression, Sing! because the God of Grace Loves: you.

today! we can look at the One who is looking at us. we can be seen & understood.

today is a day of rest. resting in Him.

you may be shuffling deadlines or chauffeuring kids, but there is still rest.

you may be hustling or homemaking, but there is still rest.

you may be flying airplanes, running with dogs, typing homework, changing dirty diapers. you may be commuting, headbanging, baking, mowing.

wherever, whatever the day brings, there is rest.

deep in our hearts, we can have peace with God in Yeshua. 

remember what He did—the work done. so we can rest, in Him 💙

comparison kills

sometimes, we compare.

maybe you love to paint but… you can’t paint like that guy over there. so you devalue what you have based on that guy.

noooooo!

since when have other people been the measure?!

God’s the plumbline, & He’s crazy about your abilities in Him!

many people are waiting to use what God’s given them. waiting until they’re exceptionally-up-to-expectations-excellent. there’s nothing wrong with desiring excellence. but, in reality, we need to just step out in faith and do the thing. momentum begets momentum. just doing it is the way forward. start!

we often feel like what God’s given us to share with the world is nothing special. We think— it’s normal to me, so why would anyone else think it special?

…

dear child of God,

you don’t see what you have as important, when, in reality, you’re the only person on earth who can do it like you can. no one else. no one can do it like you.

if you are funny, tell jokes—make people smile! if you can bake, make pies! if you are a singer, sing. teachers teach, athletes train and sewers sew!

just do the thing.

that is how you will get better anyways—by practice! by actually engaging that unique part of the image of God in you, the beauty the goodness, the special talent or skill!

whatever excuses or lies you’ve heard about why you’re not writing, not singing, not cooking, not painting, not starting a business or whatever that special ability God’s gifted to you, tell it to shut up!

stop looking around!

 & instead believe—i am created on purpose, with a purpose. I am here to know and make God known. no one can reflect Him in the exact, unique way He made me to! I get to shine my own specific rainbow in earth. so I shine! I must do the thing i’m made to do! otherwise the world will be missing a ray of light, as no one can shine the way I am created to!

so create! sing! make music & paint & build websites, landscape, & fix cars!! write books & teach children & pole vault! whatever the thing you’re given to do, your gift, do it well, for Him!!

what will you do with what you’re given?

God gave you gifts and abilities and talents for a reason!

what will you do with what you’re given?

celebrate

from pit to party, God touched my life.

depression to dancing, weeping to wonder. from so covered in ashes that I was unrecognizable, to becoming beautiful.

God is good; I am living proof.

touch the love of God available to you, too!

the shift you’re looking for is right in front of your face.

there are shoes we wear, called seasons, & every sole has its story. thankfully, with Yahweh, even the broken bits get blessed—nothing wasted, everything redeemed.

whatever you’ve been through—we all have shattered—you’re one cry from fixing. one tear drop from all those pieces being a mosaic! just go to your Maker, look to Dad. He’s with you, in this, right here.

never be afraid.

& if you’ve read this far, know God loves you. He alone heals, He alone forgives, hugs, guides! whatever you need, wherever you are, surrender.

that breath in your lungs is opportunity. surrender to the One who breathed breath life into you & see—

He is light.

He loves you.

He is good, real, here.

may the same brokenness made beauty in my life, be given to you, too. may you see. may you dance. & may all the sad become untrue. if He did it for me, He can do it for you!