“Come! Follow Me” – A Tanka

Into the grey sky

Suddenly appears a glow

And my heart responds

For the source, I know so well.

Smiling . . . all-consuming love!

By Martha L Shaw – © 5-18-2013

Six Word Saturday

Feeling uneasy – handing it to Him

My Pentecost

It came suddenly,

This gift so long-awaited,

Yet its arrival startled me.

I had grown accustomed to my hunger

And suddenly knew it no more!

In its place came a new excitement,

A new purpose,

A new understanding,

A new path,

And a new experience of grace

Filling me to overflowing.

Then, I saw the fire in His eyes,

Knew the depth of passion,

This love He has for me!

I saw His smile,

Knew His happy tears for me

Would not extinguish the fire,

But only fan the flame

In my soul!

This flame?

It’s burning still!

By Martha L Shaw – © 5-17-2013

Weekly Photo Challenge: Escape

Photography by Martha L Shaw © 5-17-2013

Thankless Task?

A quick thought for Friday!

If I pray without ceasing and thus make everything I do a prayer to the Lord, I am His and it is Him whom I serve.  So, if I serve you and you do not thank me . . . grumble . . . behave as though you are entitled . . . act spoiled, and I become angry, was I truly serving the Lord?

Six Word Friday – Count

Count on Him above all else!

Click the image and join the fun!

How Peculiar!

Perhaps you can relate to something I experienced earlier.  Someone looked at me, snorted, and bore an expression which suggested I was rather peculiar.  This attitude changed when I was viewed as a useful commodity.  It rather annoyed me.  I did, though, suddenly think of Jesus and how often He must have experienced this and how unlikely it was that He’d have reacted as I did.  This got me to thinking about the word peculiar and I have reconsidered.  I find, now, that I rather like the idea of being peculiar.  Okay, stay with me.

Looking at the dictionary, I found at first that the word was linked to that which is strange and odd.  Surely these are not qualities we wish to emulate and be defined as.  Suddenly, though, the words from an old church hymn came to mind and gave me pause for thought.  ”Peculiar honors to our King.”  I can remember singing this as a small child and thinking “why are we celebrating a king getting gifts which he surely did not want?” In my mind were birthday and Christmas gifts from an uncle I didn’t know well . . . things completely unsuitable for me, things in poor taste, or things Mama didn’t approve of.  Even as a small child I wondered what the song really meant.

Looking further at the definition of peculiar, I find answers.  It is described as unusual, uncommon, distinctive, exclusive, and belonging characteristically.  Hmmmm . . . we may be onto something!  The word belonging suggests a special relationship.  It seems that to be peculiar is to be unique and special.  Perhaps this word, as many blessings in life, has been undervalued.  Perhaps, as well, being strange and odd are not necessarily something to wrinkle my nose at?

No wonder the King was honored by His gifts given in love.  It seems to me that thus stated, the love of Christ for us is quite peculiar.  It is surely unique, special, unlike any other love we can know.  In our relationship with Him, we are set apart in our life in this world for we are in it yet not of it.  Ah, and best yet this special love, this peculiar honor, is not yours or mine exclusively!  It is to be shared.  Unlike an ice cream cone which once shared leaves me with less for myself, this sharing of something so special does not deplete.  It grows!  So, in closing I will say that I am pleased to be peculiar in this way and am hoping to pass it on, for Jesus said we are to “love one another as I have loved you.”  How peculiar – pass it on!

Martha’s Worship Wednesday Bible Quote

Love this quote!  To me it defines faith so clearly!  For faith does not ask “why, Lord?” Instead, it says “send me.”

Ecclesiastes 11:5

⁵ As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed^[a] in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.

Grace Overlooked – A Tanka Poem

 

Glancing at my weeds

I found a single flower

Rising above them.

Such a blessing oft unseen,

Yet all the while, in plain sight!

By Martha L Shaw – © 5-13-2013

Who Do YOU Think You Are?

It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.- Dale Carnegie

These words from Carnegie are so very true!  We were created for so much more than we know and what or whom we reflect, how we live our lives, is so strongly associated with our thoughts.   I had a driving instructor tell me “where you look is where you’ll head.  Well, in a related concept, our thoughts become our focus.  What better reason can we have for focusing on the love of Jesus?

Choose to live authentically!