Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Three Dreams... Thirty Years...


He's a moving, breathing home for my heart. The way he thinks, what matters to him, the way he loves --- it's upright, real, selfless, trustworthy, and powerfully gentle - always.

Once, i had a dream, the walk-about-hoping sort of dream.
I was young then, and i wondered about much. I wondered, is there a boy out there whose growing into a man, that could possibly love and care for me. A boy becoming a man who would want to see my face every day and be kind to my heart always. I wondered about the ways of love --- and life --- and living --- and kindness. I dreamed. My dreams didn't have carriages and jewels, i was not a Cinderella-Snow White wanna be. i dreamed of strong arms and kind hands --- a faithful heart that would hold his children like treasures and lay beside me, and only me, each night. I looked at my young self in the mirror and wondered ---- was it possible, would he surely be blind. i felt so completely unlovable, unlovely, un-whatever it would take to hold a man's heart for a lifetime. I didn't want to hold it with a vise on his finger. I wanted to hold a heart gently and in a soft, silent, sure sort of way. I didn't want to compete with the world of beauties ---- i wanted to be placed by God, into someone's safe, kind arms -- arms that would fit perfectly --- because the Creator had fashioned them that way.
That's what mattered to me ---- period.
Some may think of financial success, of homes and cars and status. I wasn't opposed to those things --- but most of all --- i wanted the heart to be right.
Who cares about grand "things" if the heart is cold.

In 1982 i married my walk-about-hoping sort of dream fella. Young and happy we enjoyed life to its fullest. We did the things most young couples do; we melted our lives and our dreams together. We had children, we worked hard, we paid bills, we shared life. Most of the time, it was wonderful; sometimes it was very hard. Nothing is ever perfect this side of Heaven. Sometimes we thrived together; sometimes we held our breath and endured the hits of life -- together. Hard times came heavy --- and there were days when i wondered, "what happened to my dream?".

Then ---- God reminded me...

And so i had a dream, the night-time-sleeping sort of dream.
I dreamed ---- i had fallen asleep beside my Steve, just like every other night for these almost 30 years. In the dream i awakened, wearing the same sleep clothes i had donned the night before, but my eyes opened to find me in a different bed, in a different room, in a different place, alone. The room was lavishly ornate with a ceiling so high everything underneath it seemed miniscule. The bed was large enough for 20 people. Windows surrounded the oblong shaped master bedroom. Sheer curtains blew in the breeze coming through the open windows, with ocean villa scenes hiding behind the waving drapes. Where was i? It was perfect to the eye ---- but not to the heart.
Between two massive windows was a lovely but imposing table. On the table sat a perfect lamp (i am a lamp nut), beside the lamp was a photo. I ran to the picture to see if i knew the framed faces. My heart lurched as i recognized my own smiling face perched beside a strange man. We looked elite, we looked wealthy beyond words, we looked "perfect", it looked all wrong. Why was I sitting so closely beside that man, Steve was not going to be happy at all. Steve. Where was my Steve? I frantically looked about for more pictures. I was in all of them, but there was no familiar face sitting beside me in any of the elaborate frames.
I noticed  --- my skin was so smooth, my hands perfectly manicured, my clothes impeccable, my body very barbie like... And the man beside me in all the pictures was just as polished and perfect. He was handsome for sure, with sort of a Carey Grant suaveness about him, and obviously we were wildly wealthy. But...
I ran into the closet, i cringed that the closet was larger than my precious master bedroom wherever Steve was...
I grabbed clothes quickly --- having no idea whose house i was in, but sensing it looked like i belonged here. I didn't want to surprise anyone else in this hotelsized mansion as i began the search for my "home". With hair barely combed and feet still bare, i ran down a long staircase towards voices in the distance. Bursting into another large room, startled faces turned towards me ---- apologizing for not having my breakfast fully prepared. Whaaattt? They were servants -- my servants. They looked friendly enough, but they did not look at me as if they were my friends. I felt so alone standing before them in this mansion of mine.
I asked them if they knew my Steve, they nodded politely and worked quickly. They knew no such man.
I ran back up to the massive closet, pushed rows and rows of clothes to the side, and began beating on each finely paneled wall ---- looking for the secret exit that would surely take me back to where my heart was. Just days before, we had watched the Chronicles of Narnia. i imagined i had surely arrived at this palace type house through a secret compartment in the closet just as the children traveled to Narnia through the wardrobe. But no panel would open for me; no passage way opened to carry me back home.
I was surrounded by everything material a girl could possibly dream of ----- so how could it feel so much like a nightmare. Everything around me was beautiful --- but nothing mattered --- because my "home" was missing.
I curled up inside one of the fine deep cabinets and began to pray ---- "God, please, take me home -- God, please, take me back to where my heart is..."
As i prayed ---- i awakened to the sound of the alarm clock resting on the bedside table. I held my breath in the dark room, and turned off the alarm. My face was wet with tears and my heart froze as i slowly reached beside me to see if my hand could find familiar skin. Just as my fingers found his arm, he rolled over and encircled me with his sleeping strong embrace.
More tears flowed --- my heart beat again --- the sounds of snoring sang beautifully to my soul --- i was home.

The man God gave me ----- loves well.
He fills up the rooms of the home he provides with a safety and sureness --- he will do what is right and care for those beside him.
He doesn't look for perfect skin --- he looks at my skin and sees it as perfect.
He doesn't look for flawless hands with manicured nails --- he gently holds my hand and sincerely kisses it.
He doesn't expect me to wear the latest, most expensive styles --- he can hold my old worn clothes in his faithful arms and make me feel like Cinderella surely never felt.
He doesn't expect me to look like barbie with altered body parts and perfect lines --- he looks for the woman God made for him, and sees beauty (even when i don't).

When i see all that i am not --- he sees all that i am.
And all that surrounds me fades away when he looks at me.

Once, we made a list of the things we wished most for --- from each other.
The first thing on his list...
----- I wish that donna would believe me when i tell her she is beautiful.

Oh my soul --- what a gift he is from God to me. I can be imperfect with him --- he loves unconditionally. I can be myself with him --- he sees "me".

Yes --- i had two dreams ----
One came true ---- the walk-about-hoping sort of dream.
One did not ---- the night-time-sleeping sort of dream.
Only God could use the realness of the night-time-sleeping sort of dream to magnify the goodness of the walk-about-hoping sort of dream.

My walk-about-dream and i are preparing to live out a God-authored-dream ---- in Africa --- together.
Only God could do all this...

"Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." Ephesians 5:33 KJV

"No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband." Ephesians 5:29-33 Message


Photo taken by Maggie


©2012 Donna Taylor/Reaching for the Robe

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Accountable to no one? everyone pays...

The proud man, yelling again -- he knows he can dominate, if not with his words then with his fists...

The desperate addict needing just one more "hit"--- wearing long sleeves, no one knows right?

The wounded wife, she's given him her heart, her body, and two children, but he still looks at naked women on his computer, and she has no courage to stand against the lie he brings to her bed...

The self-consumed lady needing to feel good about herself, hands the store clerk the credit card, needing to try and feel new by wearing something new, again and again and again  ---

The aspiring athlete ---- knowing what the steroids will do -- the temporary good, the lasting bad, swallows anyway...

The tired dreamer ---  gambling again, risking it all just a dollar at a time --- even though he promised he would stop...

None want to be exposed --- none want to be held accountable -- yet each one is trading what is "good, and true, and right" for the fleeting flirt with short satisfaction. They don't want to be vulnerable --- they don't want to face the long term damage their game of Russian Roulette inflicts on themselves and all those who love them.

The truth ---- God sees it all! And He still loves deeply ... but His love will not stay His hand of discipline. He disciplines ---- because HE LOVES.

The lie --- "if i can fake it, i can make it... just don't ask me to face it"...

Not ONE of us is immune to some type of "closet" sin. We all have something that needs to be removed. We spend our lives working to clean out "the closet" -- and be transformed by our God, right? At least that's what we are suppose to be doing. It's why we go to church, read the books, join small groups, bend our knees.
Some of us know "its" name and we call it out for what it is; others refuse to face it and prefer to try and hide, hoping it will not be exposed.

It's nothing new --- in the year A.D. 56-57 (almost 2000 years ago) Paul wrote to Christians in Rome saying, " I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Romans 7:15

Paul, the one who wrote 13 books in the New Testament, the one who could quote chapters from the Old Testament, the one who took at least 5 profoundly effective missions trips, and was known as a powerful teacher and encourager ---- he understood the struggles that can exist in the places where our humanness is exposed -- and our need for God is realized ..."I do not understand... what i hate ... i do."

Last week, we sat in the stands at one of Peter's Lacrosse games. Peter is our youngest son, the last player on the field for us (until those hoped for grandchildren don their cleats). Lacrosse can be a very physical game, it's one of the things Peter loves about the sport. Our family loves to watch and cheer; we're encouragers in the stands, not wanna-be-coaches. We usually even try and sit away from the "yellers" who are usually trying to tell the players what to do and disagreeing with the referees. We're more focused on cheering for, not yelling at...
There was a scuffle (almost fight) in front of the goal ---- and sure enough, our 6'2" treasured # 7 was right in the middle of it. He wasn't alone --- never has anyone ever been in a fight all by themselves. This time there were about 4 boys rolling and shoving. The referees did their job --- we are thankful for the black and white striped, whistle blowing guardians --- they are managing a lot of testosterone on those high school athletic fields. The yellow flag flies, and yep -- #7 is sent to the penalty box along with #4 from the other team. They crossed the line --- and were penalized. It was right. Not comfortable --- but right.

I think about God a lot during these games. We're all playing on our "field" of choice. God sends referees to help keep us in line, perhaps a boss, a spouse, a family member, a friend, or a police officer. God also sends coaches to help us learn more about the game on the field. Without coaches we would likely either sit on the sidelines unmotivated to even try or we'd never score, because we wouldn't really know how. We need both. We need coaches/encouragers ---- to help us get on the field and know what to do when we're out there. We also need referees that will call us down and even sit us out when we step out of line.  They will penalize us. They should, they are right. May not be comfortable --- but it's right.
Our grown up "coaches" and "referees" on the field of life have been given this directive from God---

"Preach the word; 
be prepared in season and out of season; 
correct, rebuke and encourage—
with great patience and careful instruction." 
2 Timothy 4:2 

Pride would tell us --- we need neither. But God has a clear message about pride...

"Pride goes before destruction,
   a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18


Pride would tell us --- we don't need help, we don't need guidance, we don't need correction, we don't need time in the penalty box to think about what we did wrong.
Pride lies to us in many ways ------ but we can always know ---- pride is the precursor for our destruction...
That's not what God wants --- it's not what those who love us want either. But pride, it's going for our throat if we'll let it.

Peter took his 1 minute in the penalty box like a team player. No mouthing back at the referee, no ignoring his coaches directives. He knows he needs help from both. He's a good player because of it. He's teachable; he wants to learn --- ultimately, he's looking to win.

The proud man, the desperate addict, the husband to the wounded wife, the self-consumed lady, the aspiring athlete, and the tired dreamer have one thing in common ---- they've quit listening to the coaches and referees sent to them by God. And until they see the place of great need they sit in ---- those around them will suffer.

It hit me at Peter's game. So clearly.
When Peter (or any other player) sits in the penalty box, the whole team suffers, because they must play with one less player on the field. The other team begins yelling "man down, they're a man down" -- and that means, "now is our chance to take advantage of their weak side since we have one more guy on the field than they do..."
So when one player crosses the line that lands them in the penalty box ---- the whole team suffers.

Why do we forget this in our "grown up" world?

When we refuse to hear the whispers God sends us about our actions, our words, our habits, we make everyone around us pay. They end up on the field --- one man down.
And we might think, no one sees what i've done, no one notices i'm in this invisible "grown up" penalty box ---- but we're being fooled by the enemy if we believe that lie.

People notice.
They see the marks, sometimes they feel them too.

And they care. People are designed by God to care.
It's only the deeply wounded, self-consumed, broken people who don't care when others hurt.
God cares ---- and so He calls on His people to care.
Team players succeed.

And so it is --- with the Body of Christ...

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. " Ecclesiastes 4:12


©2012 Donna Taylor/Reaching for the Robe


Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Machine Guns, and Shopping, and God, Oh Why?

Faith Cherono in Kenya

Remember the childhood song --- "Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!"
Well this weeks "reaching" is a twist on that happy, little playful song.
Instead of "Lions and Tigers and Bears -- oh my!"
It's "Machine Guns and Shopping and God --- oh WHY?"

Isn't life so much more pleasant when we can live in the realm of happy childlike awe and wonder? There is certainly nothing wrong with seeing that beautiful, innocent, peaceful world ---- we want things to be wonderful -- all the time --- right?
But...

But the reality of life for the majority of this world is nothing like the wonderland of beautiful homes, fine cars, well decorated rooms, and tables overflowing with food.
So what are we to do with the stark contrast?
What do we do when God wants to reach with our arms from our pleasant places of plenty into the places of suffering and pain?

This week has been a week of extremes.

Some might say, the extremes have been my own fault. After all, i don't have to allow myself to "know" or "see" these painful things, right? But that's not what my Abba says...

"Machine Guns..."

Joseph Kony began the LRA, Lord's Resistance Army, in 1987, 25 years ago. Joseph Kony is a monster with skin covering him that makes him appear to be human --- but he is not. His atrocities began in Northern Uganda and have since moved into Southern Sudan, Central Africa Republic, and the Congo. Over the past 25 years it is factually known, he is responsible for the abduction, rape, mutilation, and murder of thousands and thousands of children, murdering the mothers and fathers (often times forcing children to kill their own parents).
A recent video produced by Invisible Children has gone viral --- you may have already watched it (i hope so). Invisible Children is serious about seeing Joseph Kony and the LRA stopped. Regardless of how we may feel about the issue --- i'm so thankful IC is willing to at least have a loud voice and expose Joseph Kony. Too many people have been unaware of who he is and what he has been doing on the other side of the world.
To view the recent campaign against Kony click here.

Sam Childers in Southern Sudan

Sam Childers is a hard-living hard-core preacher from Pennsylvania who traveled to Africa to help build orphanages. When he got there, he became aware of the nightmarish work of Kony's LRA. His true life story is depicted in the movie, "Machine Gun Preacher" starring Gerard Butler. To view the movie trailer click here. Sam and his wife are dedicating their lives to saving children in Africa. Sam keeps his gun loaded with bullets to protect them --- as he fills their plates with food. Some people may think it is wrong for a "Christian" to use violence to protect the innocent from evil. I wonder how they feel about David and Goliath. I grew up loving the fact that David killed Goliath and defeated the evil "giant". I don't think of myself as a violent person --- i don't think killing is the answer. But the fact is --- if we read the Bible --- we can see where God Himself gave the order to stand against evil. I'm sticking with God ----- all the way.


Joseph Kony - machine guns - hurting children. God says to my soul, "process all these together donna, hear what i'm saying to you, don't shrink back from it and don't judge those who do..."

I know the nightmares are true for the children in Africa ---  but then i find myself back here in America, going through the motions of a daily Disney World life.

"Shopping..."
Last Friday Steve and i were packing a weeks worth of errands into one day -- going from the funeral home to visit precious hurting friends, to getting the car serviced, to the computer store, to the Dr.s office, to shopping for Kweli Moyo shirts, etc.. It was a busy day --- much was getting accomplished. But something has changed inside me --- God has changed me (i certainly didn't do it). When we stepped into the store to buy shirts, my stomach rolled over at all the "stuff". People standing in lines with arm loads of "more". There were stacks and rows and piles of clothes -- any color, any style -- it was overwhelming even to me. Because i see it all now with "different eyes". I've been working for the past year at liquidating our "stuff" --- simplifying --- sharing with others --- releasing what we had previously worked so hard to acquire. Being surrounded by so much "getting" can be very hard for me now...
Am i weird?
I don't think so.
I just see things through a different lens now ---- and it actually feels very "right" inside my heart.

If we are hungry, we always have something to eat -- right?
If we are tired, we have our very own bed to sleep in, with clean sheets, warm blankets, and soft pillows --- right?
When we sleep at night, our doors and windows are locked and secure and the alarm system is set -- right?
If I'm dirty --- i can bath...which scented soap should i use?
If I'm sick --- i have medicine...which one should i choose?
If I'm thirsty -- i have drink... but filtered please, with lemon...

When will it ever be "enough"?
Why is what we have not enough, why must we always have "more"?
When will the pain of others matter more than our own pleasures?

I'm struggling with it all ---
i don't want to be the "weird lady" ---
i use to be the self-indulgent lady ---- i don't want to be her anymore -- ever again.
That lady lived in a prison called "self".  It was well decorated and pretty to look at ...but still it was a suffocating self-centered cell.

"and God..." 
God has opened the cell door and changed the lens of my heart --- now it all looks so different...

Perhaps it's just that --- "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a (wo)man, I put the ways of childhood behind me." 1 Corinthians 13:11

And now rather than be the child --- i want to help the child ---

Some people will shield their eyes from ever seeing that hurting, hungry child... but God says, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Matthew 25:35-36

Oh God --- help me grab hold of your robes --- and see with your eyes.
Help me to keep my focus on what you are calling me to do --- and not sin by judging someone who looks the other way and does not let their heart be moved by the hungry, thirsty, cold, sick child.
Help me to remember --- that person is just still in their own self-prison ---- i'm no better --- it's just that i've walked out the open cell door.
Help me to love and care for the hungry, thirsty and sick ----- just as much as the one that's in prison...

If we will open our eyes to them, and let our hearts become engaged with their plight ---- we will want to help the hurting children. Yes?
But it takes GOD IN US --- to open our hearts to the person in prison --- and allow our hearts to become engaged with their plight --- and extend grace to them.
The self-centered soul ----- is in prison.
The person who says --- the hurting children on the other side of the world are not my problem --- is in prison.
The person who wants "more" and can't stop "getting" ---- is in prison.
Joseph Kony ---- is in prison too.

Oh God ---- please give us your eyes, your heart -- transform us -- make us yours...

“Then He will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ " Matthew 35: 41-45



©2012 Donna Taylor/Reaching for the Robe

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

I thought "Thumper" was Bambi's rabbit friend...


Posting is late this week --- what a wild ride this wave is...
But likely, your wave is just as wild as mine -- so it may be days still before you find time to sit and read these scribblings. I pray your wave lands you on a great sunny shore.
The activity has been so intense ----- my mind has had trouble focusing on one vein long enough to process and write. But God surely keeps tying all the activity back into His Word. So here goes.

Last week someone shared with me that a friend of theirs had wondered if i was a "Bible Thumper". And i thought to myself ---- no, i'm certainly not! I don't THUMP my Bible --- i read it. But inside i understood the question --- if we live with God as the centerpiece of our world, we can be viewed as "over the top, on the edge, fanatical". I smiled as i thought this through --- and wondered, what would they have called Jesus?

If a Bible Thumper is a person who stands on street corners and yells at people about God ---- then count me out.
If a Bible Thumper is a person who beats people over the head and bashes their hearts into pieces with judgmental words twisted out of context from God's Word -- then i don't belong to their club.

But if a Bible Thumper is a person that hears a thud as their head bows under the weight of this world and lands soundly in the middle of God's love letter to us over and over and over again ---- then that's a place i can call home.

Am i weird because i've found the ONE, sure, unchanging, safe, solid place to sit, kneel, stand, and rest in? I surely don't trust myself to try and maneuver through this world, and i've found that no matter how wonderful a person is, they can't be completely relied on either. Not because people don't try --- oh goodness, we do try don't we.  But only because no one is perfect. No one can do "life" flawlessly, we are not built to be able to. We need HELP.
We are 100% in need of help ---- 100% of the time.
If you happen to think you don't need help ----- then you've swallowed the lie ---- hook, line, and sinker.
And the creator of the lie is more than happy to devour you after you've fully cooked yourself in the skillet of self.

But for those of us that know how needy we are ----- we find a place of rest in the pages between Genesis and Revelation.

Today, i stood in the grocery store parking lot and talked with a precious friend ---- who has just pulled the "hook" out of her mouth and is breathing again. She was almost devoured, almost destroyed, but in the 11th hour, she grabbed hold of the ONE Savior and screamed "enough" at the madness that threatened to engulf her. It was beautiful, stunningly gorgeous to hear her tell of how the Shepherd had saved her; she knew herself to be His lamb that had been lost. The liar had told her she was unlovable, our Father whispered to her soul ---- "I long for you, you are my daughter, much loved, my precious one..." She's a mother, now standing apart from the father of her children. She has to --- The father of her children is digging a deeper pit. The Father of them all is working to save them all. She glowed when she said, "i've been sober for 15 months, i finally have found peace..." I wondered, surely there's something sweet happening in the spirit realm right at this moment, God went after His lamb and now she stands for Him, with Him, beside Him, under Him. I could feel the goodness of God swirling in air. 
Months ago, she and i had talked at length. She was hurting, she needed help. I listened and prayed -- prayed for her, prayed for God's words to come out of my mouth for her, prayed for God to bring Himself boldly before her --- she felt so scared and alone. Her pain required a God response.

The only words that kept flooding out of my mouth were, "God's Word friend --- you've got to begin by taking in God's Words." I told her it was the one sure place of truth and love and peace and guidance. People can make you feel better ----- but they can not pour LIFE into you. God's Word can do that --- God rides on the words.

Today, my soul sang inside me as she said, "Everyday - everyday, i'm reading my Bible--- i'm in Exodus, and as crazy as it sounds, it's helping me "exit" from the place where i was and walk towards the new place God has for me". She gets it now --- her Bible is God's love letter to her, and she wants to take in what the Lover of her soul is saying to her.

As she talked about God's Word, i was thinking of His Words...
"Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness."  Luke 11:34
Her eyes glowed with life and light --- my heart overflowed with thankfulness!

So --- standing in the parking lot with my friend --- i realized ---- i would be completely lost without the words i find between Genesis 1 and Revelation 22. My soul would starve, and my body would crumble. It's not that i completely understand all those 774,746 words. It's just that they feed me in ways nothing else can.

How sad it is that some people will take God's Holy Word and use it in such a way that people are "turned off". Using God's Word to defeat others, bear down on them, or judge them, oh how it must grieve Yahweh. In the end those abusers will stand before Him...

But for those of us like my friend and i, who lean into it, sit with it, rest on it, love with it, ------ we, we can keep living because of it. We can taste enough of Heaven in it, that we can endure the days we are still here, this side of Heaven. We can believe we have a defender who sees all and will not look away when we run to Him to find that safe place He has for us. 

Bible thumper ---- no ---- that's not me.
God's daughter --- yes. 

The enemy of my Abba struggles against the Word ---- because He knows it is the Sword that can defeat him. 
So i'll cling to that Word --- i'll talk about it --- i'll read it and memorize it and carry it with me everywhere i go --- because it holds the secret between light and dark, life and death.
For March --- my verses are Psalm 15 --- want to join me in memorizing a whole chapter this month? 
It's only 5 verses --- 5 verses you can count on to fill you with truth. Five verses that will remind you, help you, and hold you accountable to the narrow way that leads to a good place of peace.
My daughter and sister are memorizing it with me this month --- come on --- join us.
It's important to remember -- these verses are not talking about Salvation --- when they refer to dwelling in God's sacred tent or living on His holy mountain. These verses are much more applicable to sanctification - walking with God. IF we want to dwell close to Him and live nearer Him --- we will remind ourselves to live in these ways --- and then we will feel Him hold us steady when all the world around us seems shaky and weak. It's a promise ---- from the Holy One.

Psalm 15 

Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
   Who may live on your holy mountain?
 2 The one whose walk is blameless,
   who does what is righteous,
   who speaks the truth from their heart;
3 whose tongue utters no slander,
   who does no wrong to a neighbor,
   and casts no slur on others;
4 who despises a vile person
   but honors those who fear the LORD;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
   and does not change their mind;
5 who lends money to the poor without interest;
   who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. 

   Whoever does these things
   will never be shaken. 

My friend i talked with in the parking lot today ----- is standing on solid ground.
She's moved out of the village in the "valley" and has chosen a place up on the "mountain".
Makes clinging to the Word feel just right.
Clinging to it ---- not thumping it...
Praise GOD!


©2012 Donna Taylor/Reaching for the Robe