..."he's got the whole world in his hands..."

the entire world,
from america to haiti,
from darfur to our own neighborhood,
is held together in the hands of God.
his support is greater than any government and
his love is more precious than that of a married couple.
simply put,
God = love

breeze

smile.
turn your face to the wind.
let the breeze caress your cheeks.
may it paint a portrait of my soul.
clean the brushes, scrape the palette clean.
the painter will replace the old, dried, and unused.
new colors will emerge;
perhaps a bold magenta or a quiet green seaweed who's only evidence of interaction wraps between my toes.
lean over the cup of water.
a pair of eyes greets me
as a pale forehead wrinkles into perspective.
they say "eyes are the windows to the soul".

my painter.
where art thou?

i look in the cup and you are not there.
i look in the comfort and you are not there.
i search and climb, pull and push.
i turn my head and find you sitting there with me.
sitting in the simple.
listening in the noisy.
loving in the turmoil.
you are there.
continue to let the breeze pursue
and
love
me.

(alex wrote this poem.)

peace

"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me."
-Psalm 51: 10-12

"...sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything."
-Matthew 6:10

"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."
-2 Corinthians 7

these verses have taken on new meaning for me.

true love

his fingerprints are all over my heart.

a thought

"We can fix without serving. And we can help without serving. And we can serve without fixing or helping....fixing and helping may often be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul."
-Rachel Remen (1996)

Discipline

"it takes discipline."

ever heard that expression before?
it seems like that very word, "discipline" denotes negative conotations.
unnerving, obligation, choiceless, rules...
could discipline ever be achieved out of love?
could love be discipline?
imagine a parent holding a child's hand while crossing the street. a parent disciplines their child in this way out love. in a similar way, Christ disciplines us. he pulls and prods, gives and takes away from our lives everyday. but like the parent, he is always there.

a friend painted this picture for me today. a child sees his father fixing the pipes underneath a sink. the young boy eagerly wants to help and the father lets him. together, they hold on to the wrench, turning it and turning it until the sink is fixed. God allows us to take part in his mission, never leaving us alone but always holding onto that wrench with us.