40

40 from Granger Community Church on Vimeo.

40 days until Easter
This simple number 40
40 holds a profound history of promises
“I will send rain on the earth for 40 days…” Gen 7:4
40 days to cleanse and start anew
“Moses was there with the LORD 40 days…and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.” Exodus 34:28
40 days to listen
“…you had made for yourselves an idol…once again I fell prostrate before the LORD for 40 days. But again the LORD listened to me.” Deuteronomy 9:16-19
40 days to repent
“Moses sent them to explore Canaan…’See what the land is like…Is it good or bad?... How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor?... At the end of 40 days they returned from exploring the land.” Numbers 13:17-25
40 days to explore
“Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these… 40 years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart.” Deuteronomy 8:2
40 days to humble ourselves
“Each morning and evening for 40 days, Goliath took his stand and made his speech…’Master,’ said David, ‘don't give up hope. I'm ready to go and fight.’ “ 1 Samuel 17:16, 32
40 days to test our courage
“His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign… He reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel 40 years.” 1 Chronicles 22:9, 2 Chronicles 9:30
40 days to restore peace
“Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh… He proclaimed: "40 days and Nineveh will be overturned.’ The Ninevites believed God.” Jonah 3:3-5
40 days to heed a warning
“…lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.” Ezekiel 4:6
40 days to remember
"After fasting 40 days…he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4:2-4
40 days to prepare
“He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God. …After this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” Acts 1:3, 9
40 days to return
Each of these periods of 40 brought times of struggle
Testing
Challenge.
But at the end of 40...
waited a rainbow of promise
fertile land to set down some roots
a new set of eyes to see their world
a restored strength and passion for the call
This 40 days of Lent
the Church’s annual wilderness experience
40 days of attitude adjustment
40 days to shake off the extras that weigh us down
40 days to prepare for the celebration
40 days to return to the why behind the what
40 days to return to the Who behind the why
40 days to return
to You.


"We should expect to hear about love on a lenten friday. Believers, of course, recall the passion of Jesus on all the fridays of the year, but the lenten fridays are special days to prepare for the Friday called Good."
Victor Hoagland


"Repentance is the doorway to the spiritual life, the only way to begin. It is also the path itself, the only way to continue. Anything else is foolishness and self-delusion. Only repentance is both brute-honest enough, and joyous enough, to bring us all the way home." Frederica Mathewes-Green, The Illumined Heart:
The Ancient Christian Path of Transformation

Homesick

Prayer from Granger Community Church on Vimeo.

Cover to cover
we pray.
the echo of humanity whining like kids
In the beginning,
There were no closed eyes and bowing heads,
just grown up hide n seek,
a conversation walled off by fig leaves,
fear,
and pointing fingers.
“I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Genesis 3:10

Trying to weasel our way out of trouble like Cain
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9
Bartering with You like Abraham…
"50? 45? then 40? how about just 10?" Genesis 18:23-29
Running from our own messes like Jacob…
“Save me, please, from the violence of my brother…” Gen 21:11-12
Back pedaling against our calling like Moses…
"Moses answered God, 'But why me?' Exodus 3:11
living with Joshua where the grass is always greener in someone else’s yard.
"If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!” Joshua 7:7
Gideon flat out demanded a sign before he’d even listen.
“… give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.” Judges 6:17
Samson pleaded for revenge.
“… revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Judges 16:28
And Jabez straight up asked You to show him the money.
"bless me and enlarge my territory.” 1 Chronicles 4:10
Us telling God, “I know you’re a little confused right now,
but here’s what you should do."
Kids ordering around the father.
But something shifts in the middle of the book.
Like a kid that grows up
and starts talking with his dad instead of at him.
That kid who gets old enough
to stop asking for toys
and starts just wanting dad’s time more than anything.
Like David who fell facedown in his shame
“Cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm 51:1
Then stood up with a new song of praise.
“Sing to the LORD a new song.” Psalm 98:1
Jeremiah actually asked for discipline.
So correct us, God, as you see best. Jeremiah 10:23-24
Daniel hit his knees with a heart for the people of his city.
“see the desolation of the city that bears your Name” Daniel 9:18
And Isaiah reminded us we’re all just clay in his hands.
“you are the potter” Isaiah 64:8
Mary didn’t say a word at first,
then pretty much said “Let’s do this”…
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Luke 1:38
Then Jesus comes along and shows us how to pray…
“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10
He was always sneaking off for a talk with Dad...
“Jesus spent the night praying to God.” Luke 6:13
His very life was a prayer
“take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42
Shouted in his death.
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:44
Paul reminded us to pray boldly…
“approach God with freedom and confidence.” Ephesians 3:12
Like the saints and martyrs throughout the centuries…
“make me an instrument of your peace” St. Francis
Gandhi began a revolution with prayer…
“Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.” Gandhi
Mother Theresa modeled it…
“God speaks in the silence of the heart.” Mother Theresa
And Billy Graham defined it…
“A two way conversation” Billy Graham
And then it hit me…
like a kid who couldn’t wait to move out on his own
but suddenly finds himself
very
homesick.
You are always listening,
but the question is…
are we?

"Prayer is our declaration of dependence." Phillip Yancey

"Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure."
D. L. Moody

"By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life."
Psalm 42:8

"Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.”
Jeremiah 42:3

Soldier Boy

"I wonder if a soldier ever does mend a bullet hole in his coat?"
Clara Barton

He thinks he's just a bullet dodger
the black sheep in this wooly flock
the foreigner coming for a visit
haunted by the storms overseas
but he is our treasured soldier boy
our bundle of handpicked Korean joy
drying the salty tears after Aaron's goodbye
That same feisty smile we now see in Marcus
a cousin to play with
who grew into a husband and father
but forever Your little boy
This is his home
You are his home
it's time for a real homecoming,
but it's hard for a good soldier to surrender.
In the meantime,
we'll keep our arms open
like a foxhole of family
and You've called a ceasefire.
He's still hearing the lead
whizzing past his shaking shoulders
still holding that grenade pin
following orders
the screams echoing in his mind
and hope buried in the rubble somewhere.
Trained to kill
but born to be loved.
We pray for a miracle
peace from war
in the heart of our
Soldier Boy.

We love you, Nathan
almost as much as He does.


"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." Maya Angelou

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Taffy Days

these are the salt water taffy days

like the arms of a machine

that try to cut me in half

but really just stretch me

to make me a little softer

a little sweeter

the machine's been churning for days now

I'm getting a little dizzy

worn down by the ins and outs

rounds and rounds like clockwork

in a sticky cycled cage of chrome and pink

the zigging is pulling down my smile

and the zagging is tugging my eyes upward

toward the writer of the recipe

You smile and whisper

"Hang on"

because in the middle of all this

dizzying, stretching, straining

you're making me delicious.

"Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape." Charles Dickens

"The closeness to God, the similarity to God, the conformity to God, not just the feeling of being close to God but the ontological real closeness to God, the God-likeness of the soul, emerges from suffering with remarkable efficiency."
Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

James 1: 2-4

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out." Romans 12:1-2 (MSG)

1 X 1

Church Redefined from Granger Community Church on Vimeo.

For some it is stained glass beauty,
white steeples on high hills nostalgia,
wooden pews of childhood
where our Patten leather shoes dangled below
as the sermons flew above our heads,
the artistry of the Cathedrals of Europe,
a tourist attraction for snapshots
in photo albums we never open again,
for others, it carries some outdated mystery
behind bright red doors that are locked,
with only a privileged few holding the keys,
a place to waste time on false hope once a week,
outdated, old-fashioned, and boring,
a boxed-in sea of judgmental glares
gossip disguised as prayer requests
a building with a list of don’ts
mandates to be good,
be nice,
and be quiet.
In the beginning
it was the picture of a lush garden stroll
in the cool of the day
Hushed tones of worship conversation
A relationship, whole and pure,
Teeter totter listening and laughter
Sunsets dancing on our faces
through the canopy of leaves overhead
Until we took a bite of temptation and pushed You away.
We followed Your fire at night and cloud in the day
And set up a draping tabernacle,
flapping its greeting in the desert breeze
A whispered invitation to enter and worship.
Then Solomon’s temple,
rich with ornate beauty,
exclusive Holy of Holies few dared to enter
Until…an unexpected twist.
The true temple came
in a baby born in a stable
When you, once again, chose to walk
with Your friends in the cool of the day
Church on the move once more,
as You loved them
one
by
one,
A woman by a well,
two men in a boat,
12 around a table,
From a hillside gathering in the thousands,
To the upper room where You knelt to wash their feet,
Church redefined in the body of a Godman,
The temple veil torn in Your last breath,
another invitation as the torch was passed,
The temple is in
each
of
us.
We are the temple.
as close as our hearts and as big as the worlds we live in.
It’s not a building we come to on Sundays.
Church is wherever we are.
A school cafeteria,
an office break room,
a check-out line,
a soccer field sideline,
a restaurant booth,
a hospital bed,
a movie theater,
a living room,
a back yard,
a sidewalk stroll
Church is wherever we are,
wherever we love them
one
by
one.
an invitation, not to a building,
but to a relationship.
You didn’t keep inviting us to visit You in heaven,
You came down to us.
To walk with us.
To live among us.
Face to face.
Hand in hand.
Side by side.
We’ve been asking the wrong questions….
Church is not a what,
or even a where.
Church…
is a who.
They may refuse to come to meet You.
But we will bring You to them,
wherever and whenever we choose to love them
like You taught us.
Face to face.
Hand in hand.
Side by side.
One
by
one.



"Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12: 10-12

"The greatest need for our time in for the Church to become what it has seldom been: the body of Christ with its face to the world, loving others regardless of religion or culture, pouring itself out in a life of service, offering hope to a frightened world, and presenting itself as a real alternative to the existing arrangement." Brennan Manning, "The Signature of Jesus"

Weight Loss

I think I get it
Why he took the cross from You
Those dragging steps in the crunchy sandy streets
Your legs shaking and painted in weaving trails of blood
Even in the middle of Your agony,
You were sending us a message
This center where two lines meet
Where suffering and love kiss
You whispered
When you try to carry something alone, you fall
When you try to grin and bear it, you hit a wall
Gritting your teeth through the forced smile pain
You can only get so far.
But how the story would have changed
Had You refused his help.
And kept the cross to Yourself
Or worse yet,
Kept it from us.
So in light of what You gave
I dropped the bomb.
To them, to You.
It didn’t explode,
just lightened the load.

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. Of either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

“God is not so wary as we, else He would give us no friends, lest we forget Him.” Emily Dickinson

"We allow our ignorance to prevail upon us and make us think we can survive alone."
Maya Angelou

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival." C. S. Lewis

"The cross is God's way of taking away all of our accusations, excuses and arguments. The cross is God taking on flesh and blood and saying, 'Me too.'"-Rob Bell

Princess Bride

around midnight October 14th
two teenage brothers sat in a hospital waiting room
making bets as to whose birthday she would share
thinking they were getting a little brother
their house would be turned upside down
by a little princess who thought canned corn was a seat
Disney movies her crystal ball to see the future
ever searching for her prince,
daddy and big brothers were great practice
in that first dress up make believe decade of training
taking turns as Prince Phillip, Aladdin, John Smith
and many other handsome men coming to the rescue.
But the Little Mermaid was her personal preference,
God is winking at her today she finally got her prince Eric.
But that didn’t come for quite a while.
Age 11, she was the one sprinkling petals at our wedding,
long before we could ever imagine
our own little princess would be sprinkling petals at hers.
But some snapshots don’t make the photo album.
when it feels like life hits you like a train.
Sarah was a daddy’s girl, crawling up his recliner lap,
recording silly radio talk shows on her tape recorder
and loving her with open arms.
January 99, another hospital waiting room
That look in her eyes before the words formed
“I’m 12 and I don’t have a dad anymore.”
She spent the next decade looking for those open arms,
Falling into arms that would hurt, leave and take without permission
until she went out on a balcony at ball state and surrendered
moving away to spend some time seeking the ultimate source of her longing
and found that You had been there for her all along.
That time to fall into the arms of a heavenly Father
before she could fall into the arms of her Prince Eric.
Thank You Lord for new beginnings
In the snapshots of white gowned fairy tale endings.

“Gravitation is not responsible for too people falling in love.” Albert Einstein

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
And his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.”
Revelation 19:7-8

Oh Brother

Oh Brother, where art thou, in my dreams
When my pigtails fail to impress
Playground sisters and brothers were friends
you wished I'd be reposessed
The brother in movies stood up to the bully
While I served the bully at home
The brother in books lifted her up
You shoved me down into Unknown
Trapped me in corners to make me cry
a burr in your saddle from the start
But at bedtime prayers I would still love you
And pray there’d be room in your heart
For an annoying little sister
who was like a rock in your shoe
A splinter in your finger
A birthday with the flu…
A line of tape in the car
For those long trips
If I crossed the line
I’d get a swift kick.
“Sibling rivalry is common” they’d say
When Mom would ask a close friend
Her tears over all those years
Asking “Will this ever end?”
I thought we’d grow out of it
With our respective shoe sizes
But you, my big brother, keep me on my toes
And are always full of surprises.
But one thing won’t change
At the end of the day
When I kneel down for
Bedtime prayers to say.
I thank Him for you
Yes, even from the start
And pray that there still
Might be room in your heart
For this annoying little sister
like a rock in your shoe
Who grew up to be strong
And, in part, I thank you.

“I don’t believe an accident of birth makes people sisters and brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at.” Maya Angelou

‘The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. “ 1 Peter 5:10 (Msg)

“I ask him to strengthen you by his spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all the followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” Ephesians 3:16-20 (Msg)

Abba's Day

Gone are the days of those Norman Rockwell
armchair-sitting, hat-wearing, pipe-smoking thinking men
coming home from work to put their feet up
in their lazy-boy recliner thrones
peeking from behind shuffling grey newspapers
to offer stern wisdom from time to time
and remind the little ones to speak only when spoken to.
But these days call for a different daddy
those ant-finding, Barbie-playing, couch-wrestling heroes
jumping out from closets with flashlights under their chins
sitting in the stickiness of crumbs on the table breakfasts
and building forts with chairs and garish Disney character blankets
All pride aside as they get down on the floor
to lift up their children with their feet
for the ultimate flight simulator.
Waking up in the night from those chest lifting snores
Like the sun rising and falling
or the sound of waves landing safely on shore
Taking turns with the baby as the real shelter
from the thunderstorms.
and despite all mom’s back-seat driving
and hands on the hips questions
he is… safety, love, and what makes our houses…homes.
But every daddy moment is just a glimpse
A whisper of an Abba Father patiently waiting in the thick of it
Somehow their adoration in those silly G.I. Joe games
giddy laughter from the basement and back porch squeals
bare foot walks and late night mermaid stories
all the way to hidden tears over gowns at prom, graduation
and that walk down the aisle…
These are all rippling reflections
of Genesis rainbows to a stone rolled away
those long dusty walks from town to town
and from a manger to a cross
somehow it all feels more like eavesdropping
on the evolution of a loving father
from that arm chair throne to the toy-cluttered carpet
All pride aside as He came down
to lift His children up
the ultimate flight simulator.
and we hop into prayer
like nestling next to Daddy
in a booming thunderstorm
with sheets of rain driving sideways in the wind
And we give this day to You, Abba Father
This life to you
with its flood of uncertainties
wincing before each loud boom
There are those nights
when we cannot predict the timing or the intensity
of the mystery that shakes the windows
as if an ill-intending intruder pounding to come inside
But You just tuck us snug in the middle
telling epic stories of David prayers
in the middle of his own storms
as You whisper beneath the comforter of morning orison
reminding us all what we already know
but still need to hear only You say
Because…
"No matter what happens. Daddy’s here."


"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:13

"Be kind to thy father, for when thou wert young, Who loved thee so fondly as he? He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue, And joined in thy innocent glee." -- Margaret Courtney

"Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express." Joseph Addison

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him." Psalm 103:13

Le Printemps

When the walls close in,
When I can't catch my breath,
All it takes is a door, a window,
to see the tiny buds on cracking branches
And I come back to You.
In the wind as it snakes in and out of the trees
Like a child in a familiar playground.
I see Your face in the clouds
Trace Your name in the sand
scoop the surface of the water and
Watch the ripples surround me.
The fragrance of fresh cut grass in the summer,
When You hooked up with some fisherman and fed the five thousand.
Burning leaves in the fall,
When You knew they were coming.
The crunch of snow and icy breath that dances
In six cold hours on the cross
And then --the spring
Especially in the spring.


"Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."
Hosea 6:3

Love Letters in the Morning

When my love and I first met
He wrote to me
Poetry, letters, songs of passion
His handwriting drew me
As the trickle of a rolling river
That somehow brings peace in constant movement
intertwining fingers of anticipation and repose
Each bend of the river was new
Each rock gently changing its flow
Redirecting the path to new revelation.
I ran to the mailbox, expecting, hoping,
Yearning for more of his words, his thoughts, his love
I never knew such love.
But I did . . .
You were there.
Your love letters sat on a high shelf
In a dusty cover with pages stuck together
That smelled new from lack of use.
Or sometimes in a drawer
With papers I never needed,
Pictures I never placed in an album,
Paper clips, rubber bands, and rusty scissors.
Your love letters
Your Song of Solomon
Your Psalms
Your Mathew Mark, Luke, and John
Your Genesis, Your Exodus
Your Romans and Jeremiah.
But now ancient words come alive like the morning paper
To run to the Book, expecting, hoping,
Yearning for more of Your Word, Your thoughts, Your Love
I never knew such love.
But I did . . .

“Your promises to me are hope. They give me strength in all my troubles; how they refresh and revive me!” Psalm 119:49

“Your words are what sustain me . . . They bring joy to my sorrowing heart and delight me.” Jeremiah 15:16

First Words

In my haughty humanity
I would have shouted "I told you so!"
to the wagging finger Pharisees,
to ambivalent Pilate and his dripping hands.
But You took a few steps out of a tomb
inhaling the fresh scents of the garden
to speak the name of a weeping woman
a social outcast who found herself alone yet again
to ask a simple question
"Why are you crying?"
and yet somehow I hear my name
tasting the salt of my own tears
as You wish us both the first
Happy Easter
stealing our tears from grief
and handing them over to joy
Robin Hood style
as we open our eyes
to see You
just long enough to grin
fall into Your arms
and then take off running.

"In his triumph, Jesus could have paraded though the streets of Jerusalem. He could have knocked on Pilate's door. He could have confronted the high priest. But the first person our resurrected Lord appears to is a woman without hope. And the first words he speaks are, "Why are you crying?"
"What a savior we serve, or rather, who serves us. For in his hour of greatest triumph, he doesn't shout his victory from the rooftops. He comes quietly to a woman who grieves...who desperately needs to hear his voice...see his face...and feel his embrace."
Ken Gire, Moments with the Savior

"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
John 20:15-16

Thornbush and Briers

in the gasp of the sting
in the blood of the wound
in the thorny questions of the why
when the pain pulls us to our knees
We still hold on to the thornbush
because in You we know
the sweet fruit is coming
to quench our thirst
in this desert
on our way to Your promised land
or maybe we're just wallowing
on the road to Emmaus
heavy footed sandals dragging the dust
like pouting kids shuffling sneakers
after a kickball loss of 9 year old bravado
But little did we know
You've been walking with us
talking with us
all along.

"Thank You for the hunger I have known in the wilderness and the thorns and nails I have known in the world, I have learned to feel something of the pain You felt when you walked this earth...and something of the fellowship of your sufferings, and intimacy with you I would have never known apart from tears..." Ken Gire, Moments with the Savior

"Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD's renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed." Isaiah 55:13

The Gardener

i tried something new
an obstinant, weak candle in a lit room
chasing the darkness to spread a light
little did i know
it was i who would be blessed
refreshed and renewed
by the cool
of their Steel Magnolias
seeing You smiling back and flickering
in their silvery mirrored petals.
Your humor in Patti's sarcasm
with precision arrow timing
like Robin hood splitting that arrow
with a smirk on his face
and a soft spot in his heart.
Your beauty in Jen's spirit
as she races her kids around town
giving up gas in the tank and a little bit of herself
jingling bangle bracelets
like windchimes that remind of us summer
in the middle of the icy winter chill
and even though she doesn't always see it,
her beauty leaves us all astounded.
Your creativity in Karen's strumming fingers
and velvety honest voice
that carries us far from our living room worries
to a place of sincerity and trust
as simple and bold as a pair of cowboy boots.
Your love for us in mother Dolly
who pulls us under her wings as her own
no matter how old we are
who feeds us well, hugs often,
and smiles more than she should
to make up for the rest of us.
Your constancy in Mandi's strength
when cancer haunted not once but twice
and she went in fighting
and came out a champion
disguised as just another shopping mom
in White House Black Market.
Long after the final curtain call,
as we go our separate ways,
and that last echo of applause fades like a train whistle,
the cool of their steely strength
and the lessons that blossomed
in those fragrant Magnolia talks
basktage and in the back seat of a van
will keep growing and helping me become
the women you made me to be
and the little girls we will always be to You
our Daddy
and the tender gardner
of this little patch of Steel Magolias.


"You grow up the day you have your first real laugh - at yourself."
~Edith Barrymore

"But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble." Psalm 59:16

"Trouble is a part of life, and if you don't share it, you don't give the person who loves you a chance to love you enough."
Dinah Shore~

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:28-31

Share joy is double joy; shared sorrow is half sorrow." Swedish Proverb

Bah. Hum(ble) Bug.

Christmas Carol Intro Week 1 from dustin maust on Vimeo.

Three books in my lap, three spirits in one night
Your word, Dickens' tale, and a gift from You
Scrooge needed three
but the One You sent was plenty for me
Common truths fly up like rays of light
Three glowing ribbons dancing in the wind
until You braid them into a stronger cord
a cord they can hold onto
one that pulls them closer to You
a 4th wall frosty windowed night
where a dusty book from Charles Dickens
and leather bound gold-tipped truths
tip toe off the shelves of the past
and jump in front of their eyes
like the clocks they check throughout the day
a place, a time, a story
where scars are beautiful
success cannot clink in your pockets
and we discover that our low view of things
is really just a high horse.
Where we fall from our smug upturned noses
into the graves of our own pride
flailing down so we can look up to You
the One who frees them from all chains
heals as the crutch is tossed aside
and melts the heart of the coldest of men
whether it be in a tale of one night
or the truth of a blinding day trip to Damascus
I will brace behind You like a kid in a scary movie
praying, hoping, begging that we might all leave changed
unfettered
laughing
and singing carols like fools
to wish You a proper birthday
this December
and maybe for all eternity.


"Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the old city knew. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him. His own heart laughed, and that was quite enough for him. It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well. May that be truly said of all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!" Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time." ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

"A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes... and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:10-14

Hungry

Little Krissy Liz had a bad habit

of treating her Father like a vending machine.

Culinarally adept, A grand master chef,

He's the virtuoso of delicious cuisine.

But she would settle for pushing His buttons

demanding pre-packaged snacks.

On the whole, she liked the control,

and munched on her plastic wrapped packs.

He longed for her to join Him in the kitchen

studying His craft by His side.

Making jokes while breaking yokes

covered in flour and grinning wide.

As she grew older, her appetite grew,

and she longed for something more

She found junk food gave her sour moods

Got stomach aches at the candy store.

She came home one day, tip-toed in

Standing in the kitchen door frame

Trying not to bother, she watched her Father

sauteeing over an open flame.

She marveled at His care and skill
the thoughful details in all of His dishes
the golden brown, the perfectly round
and sweet blend of spicy delicious

The scent of meat and fresh peppers

Revived her scenses and then

To His delight, she tried a bite,

And was never the same again.

She mourned the years she'd wasted

tunnell vision of vending machines

He often laughed at how she studied his craft

With a passion He'd rarely seen.

Then one day she understood

She wasn't training to cook for herself

Fresh ingredients of, a new kind of love,

She wanted to cook for everyone else.

"There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread." Mother Theresa

"Never again will they hunger;

never again will they thirst.

The sun will not beat upon them,

nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;

he will lead them to springs of living water.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7:16-17

Quite the Character

Her commitment to character astounds me.

some secret six year old desire to be a shape shifter

gracefully slithering into different disguises

walking to her craftily composed epic soundtrack

in the playground of her imagination.

Designing new shapes and lines with eyes of intent

and a tongue out to the side.

Always singing a new song that makes us lean in to listen.

Two years now of inventing her own character

No chance in a trick-or-treat of meeting her twin on the streets

originality the name of the game.

Last year, it was Sylon, the ninja princess,

yielding her sword of truth and quick-moving hands,

fighting for justice in hot pink and glitter.

This year Frostina, an icy heroine,

who can freeze objects as well as time,

fighting for justice, caped for battle,

and missing her two front teeth.

Known for her one-liners and endless energy

a world where everything is more than it seems

a folded blanket could be the roof of the fort

a marker, paper and glue keys to a storybook world

and a towel the cape that makes you fly.

She inspires me, challenges me, and makes me dream.

And I dream of what You will do with all this

how it could last and grow with her height

Until she falls into Your arms instead of ours

holding onto her gift of imagination

shape shifting into a new heroine for You

fighting for justice with a sword of truth

that's really a leather bound book

in her quick-moving hands.
Still designing new shapes and lines with eyes of intent
and a tongue out to the side.

Always singing a new song that makes us lean in to listen.

Still known for her one-liners and endless energy
and living in a world where everything is more than it seems
where Your Son is on the street corner waiting to be fed

Your Spirit is in the storybook truth, sticking in her mind like glue

and You are the purpose that keeps her flying.

And at the end of her life, all who knew her,

especially You,

would smile and say,

"Her commitment to character astounds me."

"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." Epehesians 4:14-16

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

"He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

and put their trust in the LORD." Psalm 40:3

"My faith is not what I write about or what I paint about, but it is the light by which I see."Flannery O'Conner

Over Pressure

I've decided to break up with Pressure.

He's messing with my head

keeping me from You

and sucking all abundance from this life.

Addition and subtraction of You vs. him

and I've been letting him win the equations.

But we have a history

he's clinging on like a stalker in the bushes

a voice in my ears

a vice grip on my head.

But I'm trading Him in for Privilege,

the honor of trusting You

with the Christmas train whistle bearing down

high pitched and squealing like a tea kettle,

the calendar moving and clicking by too fast

like a broken, flapping film strip,

and everyone's looking for me to fix it.

To give them the big ending to the movie they demand.

And they all want something different.

He's clingy, suffocating and persistent,

bearing down on the palette until it's all blended to goopy brown

never letting up until I'm all dried up.

But Your kind of pressure is liberating

breath-taking, and brings the brightest colors to my brush

leading me to higher ground, untouched.

So I'm trading Pressure in for Privilege today.

seam-ripping through this elastic prison

out in the open with You

because no matter what Pressure says

You got this.

"Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. poor Christians." 2 Corinthians 8:2-3

"Talking is a hydrant in the yard and writing is a faucet upstairs in the house. Opening the first takes the pressure off the second.” Robert Frost

"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." James 1:1-3

“Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it's because you've started to think of failure.” Tommy Lasorda

"The pressure never let up;
all the juices of my life dried up.
Then I let it all out;
I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God."
Suddenly the pressure was gone—
my guilt dissolved,
my sin disappeared.
These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray;
when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts
we'll be on high ground, untouched."

Psalm 32:4-6

Curtains

Innovate 09 from Granger Community on Vimeo.

I take my curtains for granted.
They hang beautifully, faithfully, day after day
brushing by them countless times in a week
Keeping us warm, cool, and comfortable
The spot where Lauren's hands grab to peek out
has grown higher and higher with every season
every precious visitor who visits is greeted
and farewelled by a friendly wave between the curtains
like a gleeful puppet show just for them
But there are days, months, years even,
when we go to work, come home, eat, sleep, play, live
and never take time to think about our curtains.
Imagine our shock to come home one day to find them stolen.
Blinding sunlight in the day and feeling exposed at night.
We take our curtains for granted.
Like our own ability to see
our silent breath in and out
our heartbeats...
And all too often, Your great commission.
For centuries, the Church has faced snakey temptation,
the pull for pageantry or the desire for political gain,
and in the middle of our planning services, events, elements,
in our busyness of preparation behind the stage curtains,
We forget about the curtain You tore in half
and our calling to share it with the world.
Somehow brushing past You to sit together on Sunday mornings
looking to stay warm, cool, and comfortable.
A bunch of prodigal big brothers, smug that we stayed at home
refusing to come to the party for someone so stupid.
Well-dressed cliques who shake hands, wave hello and goodbye
never getting past our own draping-curtained superficial smiles.
There will come a day when the curtains will fall from our eyes
like scales from the blind man You touched
the day when You come back to claim those
who stepped over those torn curtain pieces
into the temple of following You.
Confession time,
exposed.
That day scares me.
I know there will be celebration, healing, victory, redemption.
But I can't help but ache for all those left behind
the students I never got to share You with,
the friendly neighbors I never took time to get to know,
the hungry children in Monroe circle,
the thousands in India who didn't make it to the church plants.
the shoppers in Target right across the street,
who drive by the building like a curtain in a living room.
That day will be agony for them.
They are the reasons we get up in the morning
work late, have long meetings, hold conferences,spend days, weeks, months, years,
finding new innovative ways to capture their attention.
Shake us to move from hamsters on wheels
to your kids chasing Your dreams
of what could be and should be.
And help me to cling to that heavy ache in my chest
that nagging thought in my mind
that incessant pull like a veil torn
all the way to the final curtain.


"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

“Become the change you seek in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1


"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?" David Livingstone

Presents of Presence

nine years of teaching in the public schools
a calling to sprint underwater
conduct an orchestra in handcuffs
or tie my shoes with my teeth
and, oddly enough, I loved it.
Even more astonishing, I was beginning to miss it
those metamorphosis moments

springboarding from my simple love for them
those wide eyes that finally get that they matter to someone
those beaming grins after the blank paper is filled
Then I snap out of the little misty daydreams
and find myself sitting in a puddle of guilt
painting pictures of Egypt after arriving in the Promised Land
So once again You came along
with another gift I didn't know I needed.
1 class, 18 students, and a breathless freedom to speak of You
Nine years of censoring myself

square peg round hole to to fit into the fragmented box of law
dancing with euphemisms like a monkey in a hat
An alternate universe
Where the power of the Holy Spirit was just their "conscience"
when Mt. Sinai's stone tablets
were buried more like tombstones as "morals to the story"
Christ figure characters imprisoned by "Protagonist" boxes
Epic parable allusions boiled down to "literary devices"
and the greatest story and theme of all time
was left unsaid, untaught, and raging inside me.
And those after-class conversations when I slipped,
couldn't help msyelf, broke the rules and mentioned You
only led to a trip to the Principal's office
and a peach-colored warning sheet I had to sign.
Me, the straight A good girl, somehow the new rebel in school.
Nine years of teaching in a straight jacket.
Until now
This one class at a Christian College,
when the duct tape comes off the mouth
the straight jacket untied, unbelted, removed
You're no longer the elephant in the room
but the subject of the study
intermingled and touching everything
like fall campus winds or long stringy spaghetti
when I can hold the Bible like a pop-up book stage
where Your storytelling brilliance finally comes alive
when the true theatre of Your word
meets the fantasy of the stage
in a mind-blowing dance of artful ministry
and I can't help but look up to thank You
for the freedom to speak my mind
a new playground to speak Your heart
for the presents of Your presence
acknowledged, unfettered, and arms out
like dancing in the sun.

"All to often we are giving children cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants."---John W. Gardner

"Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 28:31

"Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." Acts 5:42