Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Joy

“Who doesn’t get excited when seeing an engine roaring down the track
and hearing the whistle blow, announcing it’s presence?
If only the engine could talk and tell us where it’s been.
Oh, the stories it would tell.”

“The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference.”
Audre Lorde

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
C.S. Lewis

“‘How shall we build a fortress?’ he asked.
‘Brick by brick with mortar in-between.
All the while praying that it will withstand all forces of man.'”

“Endurance is patience concentrated.”
Thomas Carlyle

“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.”
Isaac Newton

There are so many interesting depictions of the challenge this week. View them all here

Come to the Edge

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Joy

These early morning encounters with my Savior have become sacred.
I never would have thought that being awakened before dawn would be something I cherished or even welcomed. However, now in these moments, it feels like a personal invitation from the King to come and sit in His presence.

I have been meditating on a quote that I first heard from my dad when I was much younger. It’s by Guillaume Apollinaire;
“‘Come to the edge,’ he said.
They said, ‘We are afraid.’
‘Come to the edge,‘ he said.
They said, ‘We will fall.’
‘Come to the edge,’ he said.
They came.
He pushed them
and they flew.”

There is an edge in my life right now.
One that could be a place of great clarity and promise.
But I’m afraid.
So I sit here in the silence of early morning and ask the Father for guidance.
There is a beautiful stillness,
A comforting acknowledgement,
A desire just to be in His presence, soaking up His faithfulness.

It is a place where the only requirement is that I show up.
Nothing is demanded of me. Nothing.
There is perfect peace as I listen to the symphony of nature just outside the window.

I bring this internal stirring to the One who knows me best.
I lay it at His feet.
I will wait for direction
and in the meantime I will rest in the evidence all around and inside
of His provision, unrelenting grace and love without conditions.

Have you come to the edge of something potentially wonderful? What’s holding you back?