structure

Faith is a delicate balance.

Clinging tightly to the brittle theologies
vs upholding the teachings of Christ.

Embracing a rigid doctrine of broken humanity
vs intimately exploring God's Word.

Grasping only tidy black-n-white beliefs
vs touching and tasting miraculous Creation.

My indoctrination into the Catholic faith, my 12 years of CCD, laid a good intellectual foundation in the 10 Commandments and a faint heartbeat for the calling articulated in the Sermon on the Mount. more

Like an art student who studies color, form and structure, but never engages a blank canvas, I learned to color inside the lines, held the Treasure in a sun-dried jar of clay.

In recent years I am experiencing re-formation. The jar of clay that was once me is broken, the shards crushed and finely ground, then mixed with tears. I am on the Potter's wheel, learning to submit to the artistry God intends for me.

But you, [Timothy] man of God, flee from all this, and pursue 

righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life 

to which you were called when you made your 

good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of 

Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate 

made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command 

without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,  

which God will bring about in his own time 
—God, the blessed and only Ruler, 
the King of kings and Lord of lords,  
who alone is immortal 
and who lives in unapproachable light, 

whom no one has seen or can see. 

To him be honor and might forever. 

Amen.

—from the writings of Paul, 1 Timothy 6:11-16 NIV

Rw

Inspired by: Container and Contents
Image credit: Grigory Stepanov

Passport through Darkness

Over a year ago I read this amazing book in a single sitting: Kimberly L. Smith’s Passport through Darkness. I am inspired by her courage, her wisdom, her passion, her faith. I am awed by her frailness, her strength, her vulnerability, her humanity.

My original tear-stained paperback and a later-purchased copy are out on loan, books weaving their way across the U.S. from friend to friend, and hand to hand. Today, I discover Passport through Darkness is available for Nook and Kindle FREE until July 15. Details here kimberlysmith.blogspot.com

Sitting in the cool quiet of my office, shaded windows gently lighting the room, I open my new e-book and my heart is again carried away to the dark evil of Sudan, a woman named Kimberly, and her faith in God:

"I stood at a precipice, a crag of rock in a parched, thirsty land that mirrored the condition of my heart. From where I stood I looked down upon the riverbed ..." 

Rw
No atrocity is too large, no story of redemption too small, for our God. A Heart Not Big Enough

dangerous lyrics

"Break our hearts for what breaks Yours ..."

The words repeat, build, embrace.

Today, I stop to wonder, is it dangerous to sing along? Is what I am asking for the very thing I most fear?

God is breaking my heart, exposing the view at the end of my pointing fingers.

I often catch myself changing the lyrics to a more personal: break MY HEART for what breaks Yours ... and today I know that whatever God is asking me to do is only possible in community.

In my tears, do I hear an invitation to change?

Rw 

Jesus, Friend of Sinners Casting Crowns
Image credit: Morozova Tatiana