Monthly Archives: April 2014

genesis in me

Posted on by under Ocean Breezes (Peace), Pianissimo (Gentleness), Poetry

Warm amniotic fluid
weaves its silky waves through my hair.
Buoyancy bounces my supine body
over the surf’s emerging curls.
My submerged ears monitor
the pulsing Atlantic moans.

Calm envelopes me.
Humanity melds into the surrounding medium.
Humility and beauty admire each other
Embracing the awkwardness of the moment.

There is somehow a oneness
in the competing, yet complementary, reflections.

 

Colliding ideologies are carried offshore.
The babbling of naysayers is whisked away
by annoying props rippling the sea’s calm.

The deep softly whispers her secrets.
Listen.
Rhythmic chants are echoed
in the caverns laced within my soul.

The currents carry me raft-like out with the tide.
Salt seasons my mouth.
My thirst deepens under the sun’s persistent heat.

Water, fire, earth….
Am I not but rearranged cells divinely assembled
by the Creator in the hope of unsolicited
praise and adoration?

I dive into the oncoming waves
projecting my earthen body through each crest
relishing the air caressing my belly
before gracefully reentering the ocean
as if it were the origin of my birth.

Just as a child enjoys her mother’s womb
but for a time
so too the sea labors to birth
a new understanding in me.

The water soon shrivels my fingers and toes.
My lips become parched from relentless brine.
The white veil I don reddens from the sun’s rays.
It is time to crawl out onto shore.
Tickles from the drying sea impinge upon my skin
reassuring me of the evolution of one’s spiritual journey.

-Debbie Dusseljee

He’s Risen!

Posted on by under Better Days Ahead (Hope), Hands Lifted High (Grace)

“…Some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.” Luke 24:22-24 NIV

He is risen! The Lenten season is over? Like most Easters, this one was filled with many events and happenings. Some were related to church and family, others just part of the passage of Spring. With so much busy-ness, it’s easy to jump right to the Summer malaise. But if we want to really embrace the radical life Jesus came to espouse, we need to rest here in the moments after the resurrection celebration so that the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon us, refreshing and renewing our spirits for the days ahead.

Dogwood Flowers

Dogwood Flowers

Jesus performed many miracles, and they were for the benefit of the people who were in his presence so that they may believe that he was sent from above and bring glory to God. It’s those witnesses’ stories we read in the Gospels. Jesus healed the blind man so he could see, saved the adulteress so she could live a sinless life, and made the impotent man whole. To Lazarus, his dead friend already put in a tomb, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Come out!” “Take off the grave clothes.”

These miracles have the wonder of God through Jesus’s forgiveness and healing power. Jesus gave freely to these folks, just like he does to us; but in these miracles, it was up to each person receiving the good news to absolutely trust in His words to actually experience what had been given.

I don’t want us to confuse God’s saving grace through faith and our trying to be saved by works through the Law. The Bible is clear that it is God’s mercy and grace that saves us, as evidence by Ephesians 2:8, NIV. “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”

In each of the miracles cited above, the person’s trust elicited a demonstration of faith in the words Jesus spoke. The blind man had to go wash in the pool of shalom. The sexually immoral, freed from condemnation, had to get up off the dirt and go live a pure life. The impotent man had to rise, take up his bed and walk. Lazarus had to get up out of the tomb and rid himself of grave clothes so that he could put on a new wardrobe. The disciples after Jesus’s resurrection had to wait there in Jerusalem for the power of the Holy Spirit.

Spring Azaleas

Spring Azaleas

What has God placed on your heart? Remove your grave clothes and take that next step. Let the Holy Spirit fill you. Romans 7:6, NIV, says, “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”

In upcoming posts, we will be unpacking who we are as the redeemed and the power we receive from the Holy Spirit when we trust and obey God, how we no longer have to conform to the patterns of this world but can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. You are a child of God. Start to dream again. He is risen indeed!

Happy Earth Day!

Posted on by under Hands Lifted High (Grace), Makes Me Smile (Joy), Ocean Breezes (Peace), Oldies but Goodies

“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?”

Job 12:7-10 NKJV

Field

Meadow

Catching Up This Maundy Thursday

Posted on by under On My Knees (Humility)

Hello! It’s been a number of days since I have been able to sit down and write. Unfortunately, today is not one that has many minutes available to collect my thoughts in a cohesive way for sharing, but I wanted to touch base with y’all. All is well here, just busy. It’s Holy Week, and I absolutely enjoy celebrating and reflecting. There are several words and experiences that have been recurring throughout the last couple of weeks, but their common thread revolves around forgiveness.

During the last supper, Jesus and his apostles were gathered in an upper room. He gave them a new commandment: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Jesus said this in the presence of those who would betray him. Judas would betray Jesus with a kiss, and Peter would deny he knew Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. At some point each of us has had a Judas and a Peter in our lives. If we hold on to the anger that comes with betrayal, it will fester and become a root of bitterness. Bitterness will eventually destroy you and your joy.

Jesus models this concept perfectly as he’s hanging on the cross, having been beaten, ridiculed, and betrayed. He says, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

Simply said, this Maundy Thursday, release your anger and do not hold on to it any longer. Place it at the foot of the cross and don’t pick it back up. You may be saying, I can’t do that. You don’t understand how I have been wronged. Well, you are correct. I don’t know your circumstances, but I am confident if you ask our forever friend, Jesus, to help you lay it down, He will come beside you and help you to overcome its grip of death. And isn’t the resurrection of life what Easter is all about?Woman Praying

Brick It Up

Posted on by under Better Days Ahead (Hope), Campfire Flames (Faithfulness), On My Knees (Humility), Poetry
Oh, Jerusalem, found disgraced
Gates are burned and your walls effaced
God’s gracious hand will lift us up
Rebuild these walls, restore my cup
The temple’s treasure is long gone
My life reduced to Babylon
I mourn and fast what I blew up
Rebuild these walls, restore my cup
Cornerstone promises shine bright
Lift up my head, show me your light
Scour my sins with fresh hyssop
Rebuild these walls, restore my cup
Oh, Jerusalem, found disgraced
Rebuild these walls, restore my cup

 

Wall of Stone

Wall of Stone

In the Book of Nehemiah, upon returning from their exile in Babylon, the Jewish remnant found Jerusalem disgraced.  Its walls had been broken down and its gates burned.  Upon hearing of Jerusalem’s plight, Nehemiah humbly places his petition of promise before God.  King Artaxerses shows favor to Nehemiah and helps to facilitate his journey and building materials.  Upon arrival, Nehemiah inspects the walls and states the obvious to the Jews, priests, nobles and officials:   “Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. “ Then Nehemiah also tells them about the gracious hand of God and what the king had said to him.  Encouraged by his inspiring words, they set about rebuilding the walls.  Each was assigned a particular section of the wall to restore, regardless of their skills or status.

When we decide to do things on our own terms and turn from God, our communities are susceptible to attack: walls crumble, structural integrity is weakened, and bridges are burned.  The safeguards around our nation, neighborhoods, churches, families, and marriages break down.  When this happens, we need to humbly seek God’s help.  Just like Nehemiah, mourn for what has been destroyed.  Remember God is great and awesome and personable.  Fast and pray for God to hear your cries.  Confess your sins both individually and corporately as a people who have gone astray.   Ask God to remember you and to remember His promises to His people.  Know that God’s promises are true.  Request God to grant success and favor in your rebuilding efforts.

Take an honest look at your crumbling walls and unprotected gates.  Understand the reality of your situation. Be inspired by the promises in Christ as you undertake the task of rebuilding. Develop a plan as to how you will rebuild, setting the door to your mind’s gate first. The Apostle Paul tells us, “…Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9.  As you go about restoring the security barriers for your marriage, family, church, neighborhood, whatever it may be, recruit the remnant to assist you in rebuilding the damaged wall relevant to their domain.  In other words, if it’s a marriage, ask your spouse to rebuild with you; if you have children from that marriage, ask them to help you rebuild.  Be sure to share with them God’s grace and promised favor.  Then go all in and get your hands dirty.  There’s a lot to repair, but God will grant you success.  I am His witness.

Spring Calls

Posted on by under Poetry, Quote

The forest’s trees wake

Pupae cast off their cocoons

A warm wind whispers

-Debbie Dusseljee

Passion Flower

Passion Flower

Song of Solomon 2:12-17 MSG

Get up, my dear friend,
    fair and beautiful lover—come to me!
Look around you: Winter is over;
    the winter rains are over, gone!
Spring flowers are in blossom all over.
    The whole world’s a choir—and singing!
Spring warblers are filling the forest
    with sweet arpeggios.
Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,
    and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms.
Oh, get up, dear friend,
    my fair and beautiful lover—come to me!
Come, my shy and modest dove—
    leave your seclusion, come out in the open.
Let me see your face,
    let me hear your voice.
For your voice is soothing
    and your face is ravishing.