The Valley of Vision

Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.

~From “The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions”

Wordless Wednesday

The Valley of Vision

Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.

~From “The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions”

Wordless Wednesday

Dear Diary

I was thinking over the weekend about journaling, and how easy it is today to put down my thoughts, either to share with others or to ponder only in my own heart.  Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr… so many electronic forms of capturing snippets and tidbits of the plethora of things that cross my mind.  But am I doing a disservice by using these electronic forms of recordkeeping almost exclusively?
When people communicated mostly through letter writing, so many saved those cherished letters and even kept some for a lifetime.  How precious it is to see the handwriting of a loved one dancing across a sheet of paper!  Today, I communicate mostly by email or text messaging.  But what written legacy am I leaving to my future descendants?  Will a pdf of  “Great Grandmother Beth’s” recipe collection be as cherished as the same thing handwritten in a notebook?  No!  I think that reading something handwritten creates a personal connection between the author and the reader – even if it’s being read years after originally put to paper.
So, I’m making more of an effort to record my ramblings in a more permanent medium.  Something about writing things out makes those thoughts seem more permanent, too.  So if you’re not already doing so, I encourage you to record your thoughts not just on a blog or via a Twitter feed… write it down in an old-school journal.  Your grandchildren will thank you one day.

If you didn’t already know…

¡Hola, murciélago!

So we have a bat infestation at the office.  Mexican free-tailed bats, to be specific.  Isn’t he just precious?

¡Hola, murciélago!

So we have a bat infestation at the office.  Mexican free-tailed bats, to be specific.  Isn’t he just precious?

Wordless Wednesday

No excuses!

The next time you think you have an excuse for why God can’t use you, consider the following:

Noah was a drunkard.
Abraham was too old.
Isaac was a daydreamer.
Jacob was a liar.
Leah was ugly.
Joseph was abused.
Moses was a murderer.
Gideon was afraid.
Samson had hippie hair.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Timothy was too young.
David had an affair.
Elijah was suicidal.
Isaiah preached nekkid.
Job was bankrupt.
John the Baptist ran around in a loincloth and ate locusts.
Peter had a temper.
John was self-righteous.
The disciples fell asleep while praying.
Martha fretted about everything.
Mary Magdalene was demon-possessed.
The boy with the fish and five loaves of bread was too obscure.
The Samaritan woman was divorced – more than once.
Zacchaeus was too small.
Paul was too religious.
Lazarus was DEAD!

NO MORE EXCUSES!

Category: ramblings  One Comment