Friday, January 15

The Living Room:When your heart needs a father- Max Lucado





"Our Father who is in heaven …” With these words Jesus escorts us into the Great House of God. Shall we follow him? There is so much to see. Every room reveals his heart, every stop will soothe your soul. And no room is as essential as this one we enter first. Walk behind him as he leads us into God’s living room.
Sit in the chair that was made for you and warm your hands by the fire which never fades. Take time to look at the framed photos and find yours. Be sure to pick up the scrapbook and find the story of your life. But please, before any of that, stand at the mantle and study the painting which hangs above it.
Your Father treasures the portrait. He has hung it where all can see.
Stand before it a thousand times and each gaze is as fresh as the first. Let a million look at the canvas and each one will see himself. And each will be right.
Captured in the portrait is a tender scene of a father and a son. Behind them is a great house on a hill. Beneath their feet is a narrow path. Down from the house the father has run. Up the trail the son has trudged. The two have met, here, at the gate.
We can’t see the face of the son; it’s buried in the chest of his father. No, we can’t see his face, but we can see his tattered robe and stringy hair. We can see the mud on the back of his legs, the filth on his shoulders and the empty purse on the ground. At one time the purse was full of money. At one time the boy was full of pride. But that was a dozen taverns ago. Now both the purse and the pride are depleted. The prodigal offers no gift or explanation. All he offers is the smell of pigs and a rehearsed apology: “Father, I have sinned against God and done wrong to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21).
He feels unworthy of his birthright. “Demote me. Punish me. Take my name off the mailbox and my initials off the family tree. I am willing to give up my place at your table.” The boy is content to be a hired hand. There is only one problem. Though the boy is willing to stop being a son, the father is not willing to stop being a father.
Though we can’t see the boy’s face in the painting, we can’t miss the father’s. Look at the tears glistening on the leathered cheeks, the smile shining through the silver beard. One arm holds the boy up so he won’t fall, the other holds the boy close so he won’t doubt.
“Hurry!” he shouts. “Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get our fat calf and kill it so we can have a feast and celebrate. My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost but now he is found!” (Luke 15:22–24).
Excerpted fromHow these words must have stunned the young man, “My son was dead …” He thought he’d lost his place in the home. After all, didn’t he abandon his father? Didn’t he waste his inheritance? The boy assumed he had forfeited his privilege to sonship. The father, however, doesn’t give up that easily. In his mind, his son is still a son. The child may have been out of the house, but he was never out of his father’s heart. He may have left the table, but he never left the family. Don’t miss the message here. You may be willing to stop being God’s child. But God is not willing to stop being your Father.
From The Great House of God
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1997) Max Lucado

Tuesday, January 12

Jeremy Pearsons At Encounterfest 09

Message: Comfort of the Holy Spirit

I put in all the parts so you can watch the whole thing right here. It was such a beautiful message made spectacularly simple.

Part 1:


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Part 6:

Saturday, January 2

My NYE poem--> 2010

He wrote a symphony about me
He wrote a love note everyday
When my world crashed
When all I felt was distress
There was a beam of light
That stayed on beaming into the night

Even in the morning it kept with me
In the afternoon it assured me of it staying till the end

There were a few different thoughts
That described very different things
There were voices that lied
And those that deceived
Anything my innocence would perceive
To find an answer to these feelings

But even in the morning it kept with me
In the afternoon it assured me of it staying till the end

Time has passed and so much gone from within me
But He did write a symphony about me
He still writes a love note everyday
True love stayed on like a beam of light
He stayed on beaming into the night

Now He shines through me
And so much has been given to me
To protect and love someone else like me
Till you know that He will stay 
There He will be as a beam of light
And stay beaming on into the night

Even in the morning He will keep with you
In the afternoon He will assure you of staying till the end



It just so happens He created me for you.

On Aging- Amy Grant



It occurred to me this morning
    as I washed this face of mine,
How quickly come the changes
    with a little passing time
A wrinkle here, a hair turned gray
    a not so lilting step
I see me growing older,
    but i don't quite feel it yet
At times I nearly feel my age
    at others I'm, sixteen,
So full am I of all the thoughts
    and feelings in between

Who would have thought the road of life
Would twist and turn so much?
The journey makes me strong and weak and
     tender to the touch.
And so this day I face the choice
     that I have faced each day,
Will I be open? Teachable?
Unafraid of change?
    Yes.

I will embrace this moment.
Forgive my past mistakes.
And remember that just showing up is
    sometimes all it takes.
I'll seek the kind of beauty
    that time cannot erase,
Wisdom and experience resting on my face.