Breaking Apart Isaiah 55

Recently I was sitting with my Bible at Caribou and came across Isaiah 55. I'm sure I've read this before, but today I was struck by the beauty of this chapter. If you are feeling a little down, or even if you're fine and you just want to remember God's love for you, read this chapter.

I had an ah-ha moment reading verses 10-11. It says...

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
   come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
   without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
   so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
   It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
   and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Now, usually when things are worded like this with a lot of interjections, I lose track of what was said at the beginning of the sentence. Today I was determined to make sense of it, so I reread each phrase separately, thinking of it in terms of the "Word of God" instead of rain or snow. Listen to this, my revised version:

The word of God comes down from heaven and waters the earth.
(It provides the means for growth.)

It makes the earth bud and flourish.
(Not only grow, but flower. The word of God makes things thrive and makes things beautiful.)

It yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater.
(It provides seed - the means to continue - as well as nourishment for those who hear it. The word of God is able to be ongoing.)

As I read this, I see how powerful the word of God is. It provides growth, enhances lives, is ongoing, and nourishes.

Verse 11 continues, saying that word goes out from the mouth of God and will not return empty, but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent it.

I picture the word of God in the second half of this verse as something invisible, zooming through the air, zipping in between people on a crowded street, flying around corners until it hits its target. It has an intended purpose and won't stop until it gets there.

The Word of God is so powerful and incredibly alive.  I think we forget that sometimes.

Epiphany...What REALLY Happened?

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

I've never questioned how this all went down until this morning.  I was reading an Epiphany devotional and my mind started to wander.  Did the wise men really just follow the star, go into the house, and give Jesus gifts?  What if it was more like this...

Wise Man 1 (WM1): Are we almost there? I'd really like to stop and use the bathroom before we get there.

WM2: I think we're almost there, the star seems to be slowing down now.

WM3: I'd rather we just go there first and use their bathroom.  I'm anxious to see the new king.

WM1: Fine, let's just go there first.

The star stops moving and they slow to a stop as well.

WM2: (In disbelief) - Could this be it?

WM1: (Stroking his beard) - I don't know, it doesn't seem very extraordinary.  I doubt a king would be here.

WM3: (hands on hips) - The star stopped here, this is obviously it.  Let's go in, c'mon.  We didn't come all this way to stand outside.

WM1: (hand on forehead, runs hand through hair) - I don't know, we're going to look like idiots if we barge into this house and it's not the right one.  What are we going to do?  Say, "Whoops, sorry" and then take our treasures back outside and knock on the neighbor's house?

WM2: (walking around) - It seems that the star's light is more on this house than any others nearby.  I'm sure it's the one.  I'll knock.

Door opens before he can knock.  Teenage girl appears - "I heard some commotion.  Is everything okay?"

WM1: (under his breath to WM3) - I told you this wasn't it.  How are we going to get out of this one?



Isn't that fun to imagine what might have happened?  Did the three wise men know immediately that this was it?  How do you introduce yourself to a complete stranger and explain why you're on their doorstep?  I love thinking about all that is not written in the Bible, and imagining how these interactions went.  All that is written is that they came to the house, saw Jesus and Mary, and then bowed down to worship.  I would have enjoyed being there and seeing that moment unfold in its entirety!

Happy Epiphany!  Today the three kings have come to welcome and worship the King of Heaven and Earth. 

Advent Reflection

As the calendar flips to December, I find myself turning inward. I'm searching for quiet and contemplative time. I'm creative space in my life to soak in all of the wonderful things about the Christmas season, and to examine again the meaning behind it all.

One of my favorite things about Advent is a devotional book I use called Child of the Light. It is written by Beth A. Richardson, and her writing in this book resonates very deeply within me. She says in the opening chapter that,

"The demands of the culture and of my own expectations overwhelm me at a time when I want to be more and more focused on God and the sacred events of Christmas."

AMEN!

I too have felt frantic and stressed trying to fit in all of the holiday parties, parades, TV specials, cooking, shopping, decorating, cleaning, and planning. At a time when we are to be preparing our hearts for the coming of our Savior, we are stressed and frazzled and consumed by our expectations.

In contrast to the chaos, her devotional has me reflecting on a different Advent hymn each week until Christmas, letting the lyrics soak in and thinking about what it means for my Savior to come. I love it. I love the daily reminder to lean into God and the real meaning of the season.

Inspired (again) by this devotional, my posts will be more sparse this month. I want to meditate, reflect, and be present in each moment of Advent and Christmas. I hope that you too can do the same. If you come and check my blog and there isn't anything there, please use that "found" time to prepare your heart for Christmas. Together we can create calm amidst the chaos and savor the beautiful holiday that is Christmas.

God Came Near

To be honest with you, 2011 has been a place of spiritual dryness more often than not. I know God is there, I know it, but I don't always feel it. That wouldn't be such a problem if I were a more knowledge-based, theological person, but I'm a feeler.

Recently, however, I feel like God and I are walking in step. As I read my Bible, it is making sense to me. It seems clearer than it has in years. I feel in tune with God, and I feel like he is near.

The funny thing is, though, that God doesn't change. He is not one who moves close to his people, then farther away. We are the ones who move...I am the one who has moved.

To prove this point even further - in the recent weeks that I have felt him near, I have begun to do a weekly Bible study with a friend, read my Bible more mornings each week, and have also picked up my guitar again and started singing worship songs to God. Why am I surprised that he feels near? I'm clearly moving toward him again!

Oh, Amber.

Sunrise Thoughts

I didn't mean to time it that way; I just got lucky. I stepped out of the house for my morning walk, turned to walk toward the east, and stopped. There before me was a sky of purple and pink... and that was only the beginning.

As I walked eastward I watched as the pinks became orange and then golden. Each puffy cloud bottom was another piece of canvas for the sunrise to paint on. I watched as it got more and more brilliant, each moment thinking it couldn't possibly get any better.

What a gift that sunrise was to me this morning. As I thought about it, I realized how much more beautiful a sunrise is when there are clouds. Without clouds, sunrises make a steady color transition from the horizon to the sky. With clouds, there are added flecks of pink, purple and gold across the sky, sometimes in the most unexpected and stunning combinations.

We need the clouds for a magnificent sunrise.

How true this is in life too. For me, the clouds are my rough spots in life. These are the times when things don't go how I want them to; the hardships, trials, and the question marks of life.

God paints most brilliantly on these tough times. He turns my deepest despair into places where I feel his comfort the most. He turns cloud bottoms into life lessons, growth, friendship, and faith.

It's the clouds that make life so much more interesting, and so much more beautiful.

Source of Creativity

I have a hunch.

It seems to me that when I draw close to God, I overflow with creativity. It has happened to me enough times now that I don't think it's coincidence.

For example, nearly every Sunday in church, ideas will pop into my mind how I can care for others or share with people about the love of God. Sometimes the ideas are not even directly related to faith topics. Sometimes they will be ideas for my business or ideas for the classroom. I have to write them down because I will never remember them all.

Also, when Zac plays drums in church I usually ride over to church with him and go to Caribou Coffee until it's time for the service to start. These are some of my favorite Bible times because I can have so much time to focus on scripture. During these times I again find myself inspired and energized by all of the creative ideas flooding my mind.

When I think about it, it's no surprise really that as I'm hanging out with God, pieces of who He is rub off on me. That's certainly the case with my friends and family! After even a few hours with some friends, I find myself using their mannerisms and phrases. As I spend time with God, I become more like Him too. And He is creative! After all, he created everything in the universe. That's pretty creative.

I am thankful that He shares his creativity with me. I love all of the ideas He sends my way, and I hope and pray that I honor Him when I act on those ideas.

There's work to be done

The vegetable garden sits neglected in the back corner of our yard. Weeds have come up and the ground is hard and cracked.

Recently I decided enough was enough. I began pulling up many of the weeds by hand. While it began to look considerably better, I still knew there was more to do. I intended to do some tilling. I wanted to give the garden a chance to soak up the rain it would receive, rather than having it run off the compacted soil.

I threw the corner of my hoe into the soil with each swing and tugged it back toward me. My body shook each time the hoe connected with the ground. The surface was more like concrete than soil. It was tough work. Many times I wanted to quit, but when I stood up and leaned on the hoe to survey my work, I couldn't walk away. The completed parts looked so good and the rest of the garden looked...well...not so good.

This morning I'm sitting at Caribou Coffee. An early morning at church for Zac and a morning of quiet time for me. I brought my Bible, prayer journal, and a devotional book I've been working through since January.

My prayer time has not been great these days. I desire to spend time each morning reading my Bible and praying, but there's always something that comes up that I choose to do instead. The garden of my faith has become hard and cracked on the surface. The soil has not been prepped to receive nourishment and grow. I've been dormant, merely letting faith related things fall on me and not doing any work myself. I need to change. I say that I want to know God more, but my actions suggest otherwise.

So, where to go from here? I don't know, but I want to figure it out. I don't want the day to come where I meet God and say, "Yeah, I always wanted to know you more, but I just didn't get around to it."

So Much

I feel I have so much to say lately; it's as if my mind's been opened up and all the thoughts that have been stuck inside for so long, lingering unnoticed, are spilling out. If I took the time to let these fingers fly, you'd be reading the first paragraph of a novel.

I suppose this energy could be attributed in part to the medium Caribou Cooler cup that sits empty beside me, but I like to think it's genuine inspiration.

I'm learning heaps lately in my down time. I'm realizing how important it is for me to have time to process life and faith. An excerpt from "Messy Spirituality" rang true for me today. It reads:

Spiritual growth happens when we slow our activity down. If we want to meet Jesus, we can't do it on the run. If we want to stay on the road of faith, we have to hit the brakes, pull over to a rest area, and stop. Christianity is not about inviting Jesus to speed through life with us; it's about noticing Jesus sitting at the rest stop.

Lately I've been running at a breakneck pace, screaming, "Come on, Jesus, give me a sign! Speak to me!" but I can't hear him; all I hear is the wind whistling through my ears as I go faster and faster.

I slowed down today. I found myself sitting in a waiting room for over an hour, with nothing but a small book to read. I liked it. I'm not sure I could say I would have read had I not had that as my only option; and what's more, what I read seemed to be exactly what I needed to hear.

Afterward, I couldn't find the Caribou Coffee shop that I wanted to, and as a result found myself waiting at a long stoplight next to a homeless man. I remembered that sometimes the homeless feel unnoticed because everyone tries to avoid eye contact with them, fearing they will get asked for money. How many people have felt invisible because I've looked away all my life? I didn't have anything to give; no cash on hand, no food in the car. I didn't want to make eye contact without anything to give. Then I remembered an old pack of gum my sister gave to me. I said out my window, "Hey, do you want some gum?" He smiled and gladly accepted. He said when you're on the streets, it's hard to have good breath. I rummaged in my purse and presented him with a whole pack. I'm glad I had the time. I'm glad I had the gum to give.

I'm thankful for that moment.

I hope to take the rest of today slowly. It's a day off , so I have some down time to be and think. Here's hoping you find some down time to think today too. It will be well worth it!