Father’s day Card

when You splash in pool—patient fun—teaching me to tread to dive to swim.

when You push me on swing on playground.

when You take training wheels off my bike and take me to that parking lot down the street and teach me to ride, the sunset singing over us like Your big laugh.

when i put my feet on Your feet and we walk across the kitchen floor like that…giggle look up, You really love me Your eyes say.

I love being Your kid.

it’s so fun!

You are the Best Dad Ever—literally!

we got history, we got inside jokes, dreams, the most amazing relationship, all because You are the best Dad of all time. & even if i mess up stay out too late or go to a party, it’s a comma with You—not period—Your mercy and love sustaining, restoring, Your love teaching me to stay, such ridiculous patience.

I love sitting on Your lap. You smell soo good. then You ask — may I have this dance? and next thing I know we’re shuffling, waltzing, cha cha-ing! You’re a great dancer. thanks for choosing me to be Your partner.

You give me everything—it’s You.

thank You for always packing the best lunches. never being late to pick me up, and being my biggest fan at every softball game and dance recital—front seat. the way You look at me makes me feel like I can do Anything!

Your vote of confidence is the only voice I need.

I can’t wait for tomorrow, for forever, an eternity spent daddy-daughter dating, shoe shopping and getting ice cream!! but at the same time i’m so lost in Now—here—together, that there is nothing else but Your chest.

I tried to buy You a present for Father’s day, but then i realized You just want me.

never change! Oh wait, You can’t change! I love that about You!

thank You for Your steady, unwavering, constant present love in my life.

I run into Your arms, HUG!!

HAPPY Fathers day, God!!!

Shepherd

Have you ever felt like you don’t know what you’re doing? Like if only there was a manual for parenting or marriage or life? You wonder if you’re alone or feel like you’re groping into darkness, looking for the light switch? Just deep down longing for someone to notice you?

What if the answer is a who, not a what?

Have you ever thought—I need a shepherd?

I know—we don’t think of ourselves as sheep, so, this thought has probably never crossed your heart. But, what if a shepherd is what you need?

Someone to lead you, guide you, so you don’t have to take guesses in the dark anymore or fall into hidden pits all the time.

Someone to protect you, so you aren’t ravaged by evil.

Someone to provide for you, so you have everything you need, & lack nothing.

Someone to take care of you.

& not just any shepherd—a GOOD shepherd, the best out there. One with perfect attention & present affection.

Have you ever thought—I need a shepherd?

His Presence is our comfort, our strength, our leadership, our peace. There is so much here, but my encouragement to you is—do you know you need a shepherd? Do you want to lie down in this perfect  Overseer of love? To lose your own rights to your life but to be found in trust in Him? Lose it all to find Him. Let Him be your friend, your guide, your protector, provider, caretaker, lover. Because we need a shepherd. & one glimpse at the goodness of this shepherd

will

change

everything.

Today let’s get lost in the One who gave

The One who came

The One who stays

Faithful

Unfailing

Beautiful

True

Wherever you find yourself

Today

Find yourself in Him

There’s an invitation—a whisper—speaking to you…

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water. He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation. Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me. You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full. Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.”
Psalms 23

fill this mold with jell-o!

Your Fire tickles my toes, flames lick each tip, lighting me to dance

don’t stop telling me secrets—whisper it all

I want to Know—the  flowers’ dress sizes the stars’  names & where the wooly mammoths used to find You in the morning. I want to know what the volcanoes know, and where is the rain stored? I want to know. I want to know You More. come close, I can’t breathe without You. everything else is mannequin mirage, crumbs & vapour, coming to nothing. The earth waits, for You. so make me pregnant—expectant of You. like Moses met with You, FACE to FACE — I want FULL communion! I can’t unsee You, i’m wrecked for anything anyone else But You. I’ve met the most beautiful One ever& now Only You will do. You Sparkle You outdress everything else. nothing here comes close, nothing even brushes the surface of Your glory! I wanna be Your house, live here, move in, tear down all the walls & barriers (especially the kitchen island) renovate, flip, wreck, remove even the memory of before. Eclipse it all Lord. break this house! though I feel so inadequate, You whisper: I can work with this. SO go to work! Demolition!! like an HGTV house flip, let the end result be so far from the beginning that people wonder. make me so beautiful, new, & different that only You can get the credit. I Love You God & I just want MORE!!! come here! Come Near! do not be far! when You renovate my house, can You build a dance floor first? when You fix my insides to be Your home, please, make a space for this, because all I wanna do is slow dance with You—the rest of my life until time expires & eternity.

Your Fire tickles my toes, flames lick each tip, lighting me

to dance

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?

miracle in mundane

oven mitts

breath in out in

mind logs memories in sleep

crisp air fried broccoli

rainbow promise

flowers smiling out window

forks

sky bright and blue

roof above floor below

the fact that we can change; our past is not our future because the cross is real

blood

Word

groceries

friendship

toes

(especially pinkie)

roots

opposable thumbs

colour

our skin holding everything in

every morning God painting a new picture in sky

indoor plumbing

socks

babies

Spirit of God choosing to make us His home

dew

day

night

rocks

eyes remember to blink

ecosystems’ designs

the fact that there’s still light at night (thank You for stars and moon)

pollen

the computers in our skulls

burp relief

gravity grounding us

atmosphere perfect for humans

the cut on my knee daily looking less like a cut

seasons

closet of clothes

cells, stars, stick bugs

mystery laced in all creation that draws us to our knees in wonder

healing from soul’s once brokenness

various spices

athletes, artists, musicians, teachers, mechanics, pilots, engineers, mothers, and plumbers—the diversity in gifts and the beauty of different

sunshine, warm and light, coaxing us to higher ways

today

cucumbers

truth

vision

rain

hugs

God loving to forgive

bread

life Himself

God, open our eyes to see You in everything! for truly YOU ARE. a million eternal three thousand nine infinity miracles in every second

how many times has God changed field’s pillowcase?

how many jellyfish jig dance recitals has God choreographed?

how many waterfalls gush in secret, cascading down cliffside mountain crag, hidden and glorious?

how many stars He’s named!

how many times has He vacuumed earth dew back up to Heaven, only for it to fall again when clouds unglue? how do lightning bugs lead dragonflies at night? how to be whale’s doula, or the tulip’s joy.

how many ant parades He’s led, how many birds’ songs He’s composed, how many baby birds He’s coaxed out of their nest for their first time to fly, or sunrises He’s painted, storms He’s sketched…

we really are ignorant of all these grandiose and important daily miracles! yet God conducts it all, from His beauty for His glory.

daily these hidden mysteries, of wonder and awe, are created and cared for by God—from whom and for whom all things live and move and have their being. & daily these hidden mysteries escape us. yet He still does them, all for Himself.

of all God’s endless secret beauty on earth, the most amazing to me is that the evolving hairs on your head are all numbered.

the tears you’ve wept, kept in His bottle.

the details of you, fully known and fully loved.

so let the God of detail and universe, ocean and atom, come after you. let Him hug you to life. because He lives and loves and longs for you to love Him, too.💙

Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven? Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket? Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food? Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does? Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth, when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young? Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger? Job 38

The very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:30

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in Heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. Colossians 1:15-20

God perfectly knows Himself and, being the source and author of all things, it follows that He knows all that can be known. And this He knows instantly and with a fullness of perfection that includes every possible item of knowledge concerning everything that exists or could have existed anywhere in the universe at any time in the past or that may exist in the centuries or ages yet unborn.

AW Tozer

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.”
Psalm 139:1-18 ESV