Calming the (inner) storm

Thank you to the Skit Guys (based in Oklahoma) and Worship House Media for making this powerful reminder available.

Light Shines (a video)

This video is perfect for Easter but for an any-day reminder too. Light shines in darkness.

Thoughts on Good Friday (a poem)

Sorrow's no more than a season
That cradles a measure of hope in its weight.

For only after tasting tears
Can we savor the triumph of dawn
     The sweetness of surrender
          The sharp perfection of joy.

Only after heads are bowed
With grief-hung burdens too heavy to wear
Can we lift eyes to a new day
     In wonder of shifting, growing, enticing light
          Captivated by the swelling song of morning.

Only after feet are mired
Bogged in the weight of realities
     not always our choice, but always our pain
Can we know the strength of a dream
     Spur hopes locked in chains
          And respond to the voice of the dance.

There may be pain for a time
     but joy comes with the mourning
          If only we wait.

A Sunday story

Easter is on its way again and I love that this video combines the story, the highlights and some imagination in portraying the Easter story again. It's a story that is ages old and yet ever new for the telling.

Getting things in the right order

I was reading in 1 Chronicles 22 the other day about the preparations King David made for the building of a permanent temple for the Lord. He knew that he would not be the one to build it  (see 1 King 7) but it was still a heart's desire for him and so he set to work gathering the materials his son Solomon would need to get to work. Before he was done, he'd gathered 3750 tons of gold, 37,500 tons of silver, bronze and iron that couldn't even be measured there was so much of it, wood and stone galore. He'd also a list of craftsmen ready to start the work when Solomon became king.

And then he did something profound. He gathered the leaders of Israel and directed them to help Solomon in this huge task with these words:

"Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord." (1 Chronicles 22:19)

When were they to begin? After they had spent time seeking God. Not just a quick prayer before picking up the spades, but after spending both time and energy devoted to seeking Him.

And that struck me as a good place to start. No matter what we have planned or dreamed or been preparing for. First, spend time seeking God.

And the best news?

It works.

How do I know?

Well, I think Proverbs 16:3 is the lesson that Solomon learned through the whole experience:

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."