http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2015:11-32;&version=31;
this is such a beautiful picture of God's grace and mercy and love.
almost all believers resonate with the younger son...having lived for ourselves and coming in repentance to the Father and receiving a welcome filled with mercy and love.
but we like to scoff at the older son's reaction and in doing so, we are like him as well. looking down on others whom the Father has chosen to love b/c they have not lived like us (or they don't sing the same songs we do, or dress like we do, etc)...a jonah like response, a pharisaical response. but we don't like to admit that we too can be like the pharisees.
when the younger son's thoughts turn to going home, his thoughts are yet bound in the physical (i need food, shelter)
when the father sees his coming, he goes beyond the physical and draws him into restored relationship. how like our Heavenly Father!
and we are like the son...unable to get beyond our physical need without the Father's compassionate mercy to reveal and fulfill our spiritual needs.
the father's run is a humiliating experience as he humbles himself of position and pride to reach his son...how like Christ, who left His position in heaven and took on the mantle of humanity to reach those who are lost.
we are invited into the party as was the older son. but in coming into the party, we must be willing to sit with 'sinners', to join into reconciliation and to rejoice at one who was lost but is now found. and although the father does not have to explain, he does explain his reasons for the party to his eldest. the story ends without the son's response...an open invitation to come to the party or not....
what is your choice?
somedays i am the younger son.
somedays i am the older son.
somedays i am both.
also, look at this link for the masterpiece painting of "the prodigal" by rembrandt
http://www.artchive.com/rembrandt/prodigal.html
i'm not sure if you can see the detail here but the "father's" hands are that of two different men...his left hand appears aged, larger. his right hand appears youthful, more slender. just a thought i heard once upon a time--the 'older' hand is that of God the Father, the 'younger' hand is that of God the Son.?????
25 March 2008
19 February 2008
waving
i've been reading a bit of robert fulghum lately. i reread "all i need to know i learned in kindergarten" and am now reading "what in the world have i done." his writings make me laugh and sometimes they make me cry.
i wish that i had the ability to write as he does. (i also wish i had the time he seems to have to ponder life) his writings are really just a collection of his random musings over the years, developed a bit and put to paper. (a blog on paper!) but his random musings move me. one of the "blogs" i read today out of "what in the world" talked about waving at a stranger who happened to be up late in the night as he was. and he finished with saying his writings were really just a way of waving to each who read them.
i wrote once in another blog that it seems almost arrogant to think that others would want to read my thoughts. although part of me still feels that way, i like this little way of welcoming you into my world, of sharing my heart with you when time and distance may separate us. my way of waving.
so, grab a cup of coffee and sit for a moment to share my world, my heart. and perhaps to share a bit of yours back.
i wish that i had the ability to write as he does. (i also wish i had the time he seems to have to ponder life) his writings are really just a collection of his random musings over the years, developed a bit and put to paper. (a blog on paper!) but his random musings move me. one of the "blogs" i read today out of "what in the world" talked about waving at a stranger who happened to be up late in the night as he was. and he finished with saying his writings were really just a way of waving to each who read them.
i wrote once in another blog that it seems almost arrogant to think that others would want to read my thoughts. although part of me still feels that way, i like this little way of welcoming you into my world, of sharing my heart with you when time and distance may separate us. my way of waving.
so, grab a cup of coffee and sit for a moment to share my world, my heart. and perhaps to share a bit of yours back.
04 February 2008
for fun, but harder than it appears
Body: Its harder than it looks! Copy and paste into a new bulletin. Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following... they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up!
What is your name.............................natalie
4 Letter word......................................note
Vehicle..................................................nissan anything
City........................................................new york
Boy Name.............................................noah
Girl Name.............................................noel
Drink.....................................................nutty irishman (had to look this up)
Occupation...........................................nanny
Something you wear...........................necklace
Celebrity...............................................nat king cole
Food.......................................................nachos
Something found in a bathroom.........nail clippers
Reason for Being Late.........................no power
Cartoon Character...............................Nurse off of animaniacs (i sure don't look like that at work!)
Something You Shout..........................No!
Animal....................................................newfoundland
Body part...............................................nose
Word to describe you...........................nerdy
What is your name.............................natalie
4 Letter word......................................note
Vehicle..................................................nissan anything
City........................................................new york
Boy Name.............................................noah
Girl Name.............................................noel
Drink.....................................................nutty irishman (had to look this up)
Occupation...........................................nanny
Something you wear...........................necklace
Celebrity...............................................nat king cole
Food.......................................................nachos
Something found in a bathroom.........nail clippers
Reason for Being Late.........................no power
Cartoon Character...............................Nurse off of animaniacs (i sure don't look like that at work!)
Something You Shout..........................No!
Animal....................................................newfoundland
Body part...............................................nose
Word to describe you...........................nerdy
25 January 2008
not forgotten
this is one of those ideas that has been simmering in the back of my mind and i'm not really sure it's completely cooked to make it beautiful in its wording but hopefully you will hear my heart on this.
sometimes i worry about being forgotten
about my own life not remembering me
especially as i wander
even as i wander
a phone call doesn't come an email is not responded to
and i wonder
especially as i wander
even as i wander
a missed coffee date or something else came up
and i wonder
especially as i wander
even as i wander
but i find comfort in this
God's love never fails, He is forever faithful
especially as i wander
even as i wander.
all of us want to be noticed, to make a mark in our worlds. even when we hide in plain sight or call attention to ourselves or hide behind our masks. and right now i am especially struggling with this...the last 3 years of "wandering" have taken their toll on relationships and my future holds further separation. but i do find hope in the Word of God...in the endless geneology lists and the lists of people who brought items for service or performed service in Leviticus and Nehemiah, in the very words of the Almighty Father found in Isaiah 49:15-16 ""Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. " and even in His waiting on the snails to make it to the ark! (thanks terry, what a beautiful encouragement that post was)
so, right now my heart is full to overflowing...with love for my Father who does not forget. with love for my family and friends who although they sometimes do forget, they have been such blessings. with joy and excitement at His call on my life. and with trusting in Him...especially as i wander, even as i wander.
ps. right now i would like to be forgotten at work. i've been run off my feet this past week and done some things that i have never done or only done once or twice in my twelve years of nursing. and all b/c "they know i'm a good nurse and can handle it." please, please forget me for a few days! =)
sometimes i worry about being forgotten
about my own life not remembering me
especially as i wander
even as i wander
a phone call doesn't come an email is not responded to
and i wonder
especially as i wander
even as i wander
a missed coffee date or something else came up
and i wonder
especially as i wander
even as i wander
but i find comfort in this
God's love never fails, He is forever faithful
especially as i wander
even as i wander.
all of us want to be noticed, to make a mark in our worlds. even when we hide in plain sight or call attention to ourselves or hide behind our masks. and right now i am especially struggling with this...the last 3 years of "wandering" have taken their toll on relationships and my future holds further separation. but i do find hope in the Word of God...in the endless geneology lists and the lists of people who brought items for service or performed service in Leviticus and Nehemiah, in the very words of the Almighty Father found in Isaiah 49:15-16 ""Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. " and even in His waiting on the snails to make it to the ark! (thanks terry, what a beautiful encouragement that post was)
so, right now my heart is full to overflowing...with love for my Father who does not forget. with love for my family and friends who although they sometimes do forget, they have been such blessings. with joy and excitement at His call on my life. and with trusting in Him...especially as i wander, even as i wander.
ps. right now i would like to be forgotten at work. i've been run off my feet this past week and done some things that i have never done or only done once or twice in my twelve years of nursing. and all b/c "they know i'm a good nurse and can handle it." please, please forget me for a few days! =)
21 January 2008
thru an alien's eyes
i have a couple of ideas that have been running around in my mind and heart to share but both are still cogitating (is that even a word???) right now so i thought i would share some excerpts from a poem i read recently called "a martian sends a postcard home" by craig raine (who may or may not still be alive). since i'm only putting a few lines on here, if necessary i will add my own word in parenthesis to start from what was in previous line of poem.
"(books) they cause the eyes to melt or the body to shriek without pain.
mist is when the sky is tired of flight and rests...on the ground.
but time is tied to the wrist or kept in a box, ticking with impatience.
at night when all the colours die, they hide in pairs and read about themselves--in colour, with their eyelids shut."
such great words pics of crying and laughing and dreaming!!!!!!
"(books) they cause the eyes to melt or the body to shriek without pain.
mist is when the sky is tired of flight and rests...on the ground.
but time is tied to the wrist or kept in a box, ticking with impatience.
at night when all the colours die, they hide in pairs and read about themselves--in colour, with their eyelids shut."
such great words pics of crying and laughing and dreaming!!!!!!
16 January 2008
jar of perfume
from my morning reading today in Mark 14
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark%2014:1-11;&version=31;
how easy it is (lest I judge Judas too much) to turn to our own devices when God (Father, Son or Holy Spirit) does not meet our expectations of who He should be and how He should act. in the days when Jesus walked the earth, many turned away from belief because they expecteda warrior king. these turned from outright belief. but Judas was one of His very own who turned away from belief because of a jar of perfume. I myself turn away at times (not from belief) but to my own work if I get impatient for His work to be done in some way or a specific time in my own life. and His Church at times turns away over issues that are 'jars of perfume' (hymns/praise choruses, dancing or not, and so on).
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark%2014:1-11;&version=31;
how easy it is (lest I judge Judas too much) to turn to our own devices when God (Father, Son or Holy Spirit) does not meet our expectations of who He should be and how He should act. in the days when Jesus walked the earth, many turned away from belief because they expecteda warrior king. these turned from outright belief. but Judas was one of His very own who turned away from belief because of a jar of perfume. I myself turn away at times (not from belief) but to my own work if I get impatient for His work to be done in some way or a specific time in my own life. and His Church at times turns away over issues that are 'jars of perfume' (hymns/praise choruses, dancing or not, and so on).
14 January 2008
welcome
welcome to my new blog. i've decided to move. most likely i will continue my other accounts but will only post an update is on blogspot when i do updates. hopefully more people will be able to be part of this that way.
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