About Me

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I long to see Christ formed in me and in those around me. Spiritual formation is my passion. My training was under Dallas Willard at the Renovare Spiritual Formation Institute. One of my regular prayers is this: "This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak, and in the mouth of each who speaks unto me."

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Showing posts with label calling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label calling. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

May Your Word to Me Be Fulfilled

 I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe.
    You have approached even the smallest details with excellence;
    Your works are wonderful;
I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.
    You see all things; nothing about me was hidden from You
As I took shape in secret,
    carefully crafted in the heart of the earth before I was born from its womb.
You see all things;
    You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb;
Every detail of my life was already written in Your book;
    You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it.
Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them!
    How grand in scope! How many in number! 
(Psalm 139:14-17, The Voice)
 
 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
 
Then the word of the Lord came to me:“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 
 (Jeremiah 18:3-6, ESV)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/FaithArtCreation?listing_id=4360390701&from_page=listing
Annunciation to Mary – Gabriel and Mary Watercolor, Minimalist Christian Art 
https://www.etsy.com/shop/FaithArtCreation?listing_id=4360390701&from_page=listing 

 

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
 
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, 
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. 
So the holy one to be born 
will be called the Son of God. . . 
For no word from God will ever fail.” 

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. 
 “May your word to me be fulfilled.” 
Then the angel left her.
(Luke 2:34-35, 37-38, NIV)
 
'I am his project' - those were the words on Mary Alice's bookmark, but they were the belief of her heart, too, and however great the problems in her life, He would continue to work on that project and bring the work to completion. 
AI generated
 
Paul, the Apostle, had a similar understanding and so he knew that though he was in Nero's prison he was not Nero's prisoner, but the prisoner of Christ Jesus. Any other arrest or imprisonment was irrelevant. A light shown in the cell.
 
In the late evening a believer looked over the day and was discouraged, but his Father spoke to comfort him. 
 
'In the early morning did you not bear your beloved ones on your heart? Did you not offer to Me every hour of the day, every touch on other lives, every letter to be written, everything to be done? As the hours passed over you, perhaps you did forget, but is it My custom to forget?  
Amy Carmichael  
 
Lord you never forget me, even though I often forget: I am your project. (Northumbria Aiden readings, Dec.10)

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

God Sees Potential More than Fault

Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them!
    How grand in scope! How many in number!
If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth. Their number is inconceivable!

 (Psalm 139:17-18a, The Voice)

  Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.
 
 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
(Genesis 17:3-6,15-17, NIV) 
 
made from "The Running Shepherds"
https://www.pinterest.com/MadeSeenArt/ 
I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
(Philippians 3:12-14, The Message)
 
The thoughts of the son ran thus: 'My hopes painted beautiful pictures, but they are fading one by one.'
 
His Father said: 'Destroy all those pictures. To watch them slowly fading is weakening to the soul. Dare then to destroy them. You can if you will. I will give you other pictures instead of those your hopes painted.'
 Amy Carmichael 
 
The Torn Face
 https://www.pinterest.com/sahilrathore06/ 
God doesn't see the way I do either; I look all the time into a distorted mirror that exaggerate some features and makes others disappear. God sees a true picture of me with all my faults and limitations, but more than this he sees a picture of all the possibilities and potential I hold. 
 
'Just let me get my hands on this one,' He thinks, 'and then just wait and see what the finished picture will be.' 
 
Sometimes God gives us glimpses of that picture to encourage us and spur us on. For me it is a long process, but in the end it is all about becoming God's picture of me. (Northumbrian Aiden readings, Dec.10)