HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT!

You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.

Psalm 119:114 ESV

 

“My hiding place” initially seemed like a joke.  Sure, before I truly knew the Lord, my life was one big hiding place.  Thinking about it now, my new life as a reborn creature reveals so much more yet my hiding place and shield are REAL and always there but seen by me while mystifying others.  For example,  Let’s  look at Daniel in the lion’s den.  Pretty vulnerable, no?  But the story didn’t end there, did it!  The lions walked on still hungry.

Then there’s David . . . young and small and left to defeat Goliath, well – expected to lose  the battle against the giant warrior.  But who was it that walked away unscathed?  The psalmist sure got it right! My hope is in Him – my Lord and my God.

 

WHERE HE LEADS, I WILL FOLLOW!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GOD’S HELPER

I do not really have much of any real family – the blood kind, but still I am blessed with dear friends and treasured memories-especially of my Dad.  He would call himself “just a country boy” but to me he was so much more.  He didn’t have fancy degrees or expensive cars.  A trip, when I was little, was to go to the barber shop with him- they gave me lollipops!  A really big deal was Sunday!  Daddy loved church. He wasn’t a preacher.  He just quietly served like nobody else I have ever known!  He never met anyone who was not a friend and if anyone was in trouble, stranger or not – naughty or nice – he was there to help.  He never spoke of it, never bragged – he loved as Jesus loved.  I want to be just  like him and like Him!

FOLLOWING HIM

Strolling at the shore

waves of blessings at high tide

You showed me the way

By Martha L Shaw – © 2015

ARE YOU LIVING IN YOUR TRUE IDENTITY?

In His Image

In the quiet

I felt your arms around me.

I smiled.

I sighed.

I knew your breath,

So close to me,

Was filling my lungs

And giving me strength

To grow . . . to go on.

I was you.

You were me.

By Martha L Shaw – © 2014

FOUND MY WAY HOME

My heartbeat quickened when I heard your voice

Beckoning me to come and see,

And eagerly I stepped out into the night.

The cool air refreshed me

And though I walked hesitantly at first,

I soon hurried on in hopeful anticipation.

We were making progress,

You said.

I, my human sight far weaker

Than your vision for me,

Saw only that home and familiarity

Were no longer in view

And realized the night air had grown cold.

I held my breath,

Saw the darkness and wondered at the hour.

I lost sight of you,

And felt frozen in place

Without a plan,

With legs suddenly as marble,

Stiff and immobile

I wondered what to do,

My eyes tightly shut.

I cried out

And heard your voice,

As though you were standing

Right in front of me

“I’m here” you said, reassuring me.

I opened my eyes and saw you

Standing so close

Your presence warmed me

In body and in soul.

You reached out,

I placed my hand in yours.

“Look!” you said

And I saw more stars than I could count

Studding the night sky.

“I placed each one of them there for you”

You told me.

At that moment, I knew your love

As I had never known it before

And hope swelled within me

Until happy tears fell

And we walked on together.

“It is well” you assured me,

But I already knew.

by Martha L Shaw – Copyright 2012

OTHER WORLDLY DESIRE

Defining Passion

 

I quake in your presence

All the day long,

though I feel no fear.

You fill me

Body,

Mind,

And spirit,

Yet I hunger for more of you.

Awake . .  .  asleep,

In darkness or  light

Your face I see,

But my quest for you is,

In this world,

Without end.

Love transcends the veil.

By Martha L Shaw – © 2014

WITH CHRIST WE SOAR!

TRADING SENSIBLE FOR CRAZY AND AMAZING

I come from a long line of sensible people.  Church going folks.  I always assumed the two concepts go hand-in-hand.  You know what?  I can’t say I’ve ever found the word sensible in the Bible.  Okay, so I decided I needed to look that up and since cyberspace provides worlds of opportunity I can tell you that one quick click revealed that the word appears just twice in the entire Bible.  Twice!  So, since my “sensible” approach to life is no longer working and since it seems the Lord has crazy and amazing (though not entirely defined yet) plans for me, I’m thinking that with just two uses of the word “sensible” that’s not much of an endorsement for MY PLAN.  Well, as it happens my sensible approach is no longer working anyway . . . so it’s time to totally trust in the Lord.

Trust.  I don’t like that word.  When people say “trust me” it usually means “I know you’re not going to like this, but . . . “  You know, it’s not unlike those times someone has tried to get me to taste something I thought looked “funny” and they wouldn’t tell me what it was, but said it “tastes like chicken.”  Well, the only thing I care to consume that tastes like chicken is chicken.  Seriously.  So, back to trusting.  Not a fan of trusting humans.  Experience hasn’t changed my thoughts on that, but trusting in the Lord . . . hmmm.  So, back to my Bible research.  As it happens, my results for “trust” were quite a bit different compared to my research on “sensible.”  That word appears 164 times.  Okay, that’s an improvement of about 98.5 percent!

So, I’m going with trust.  I’m listening to the Lord.  Seems I’m not the only one in favor of throwing out sensible in favor of something better.  Here are a few related opinions on a different approach to life.

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of
choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing
to be achieved.” —  Jeremy Kitson

“In each of us are places where we have never gone. Only
by pressing the limits do you ever find them.”—  Dr. Joyce Brothers

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by
the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover.” —  Mark Twain

But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” –Psalm 31:14

HIS LOVE – A SLIDESHOW

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Top 10 Award!

I am blessed to share with you that Betty Bolden and

Jesus Is My Joy

Ministries/Devotions

has presented me with a new blog award!  I woke this morning to find that she’d nominated me for the Top 10 Award!  Thank you so much Betty!  I encourage you to visit her blog and am sure you will be blessed by her writing and her heart for Jesus!

Quote of the Day – Seeds

I sit here seeing only ruin around me and being unable to climb out of its vastness and praying somehow His purpose in it will come to fruition.   I realize I may not see His purpose but there is peace to be found in knowing He uses all things.  As I did a bit of reading just now, this quote came to me:

All the flowers of tomorrow are the seeds of today.

– Anonymous –

It seems in life there are times when we, or I, are called to be the compost nourishing the seeds from which tomorrow’s flowers grow.  These times can be uncomfortable and even painful, but if it blesses the Lord, it is good.

A new season is coming and the flowers will bloom!

The pieces will all come together.  He will see to it.

(quilt is my work)