Tenacity from Juniper Gillian {Guest Post}

 

For the word of the Lord holds true,
and we can trust everything he does.

(Psalm 33:4 NLT)

 

 

 

It's hard to believe that April is coming to a close. And to finish off our observance of National Poetry Month, I am happy to share a poem from my sister, Juniper Gillian. What a joy for us to be neighbors after so many years of living apart. She is a tender hearted, tenacious woman.You can read more of her musings at Grounded.


Tender hearted
Energy
Never letting go
All out
Caring
In
The
Yearning

2013. Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Juniper Gillian.

Going to the Chapel of Love

 

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world

that you are my disciples.

(John 13:34-35 NLT)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Holy Family Shrine, Nebraska

 

 

 

On a hill faraway in the prairie of Nebraska, we noticed this beautiful chapel. We jumped off the interstate, turned down a country road and rambled up the hill to dedicate our dreams to God. (We just had spent the weekend at Jumping Tandem-The Retreat, you remember the place where dreams were unveiled and affirmed.)

 

After visiting the  chapel, we noticed Jesus on our way out, or at least a sketch of His face smiling at us from a postcard. On the back was a prayer and a challenge that beautifully described what we had just experienced:

 

 

"Nothing is more practical than finding God,

than falling in love

in a quite absolute, final way.

What you are in love with,

what seizes your imagination,

will affect everything.

It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning,

what you will do with your evenings,

how you spend your weekends,

what you read, who you know,

what breaks your heart,

and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.

Fall in love,

stay in love,

and it will decide everything."

(Father Pedro Arrupe, S.J.)

 

 

Jumping Tandem Dreams from Lynn Morrissey {Guest Post}

For nothing will be impossible with God.
(Luke 1:37 ESV)

 

 

The Jumping Tandemretreat—the one all about seemingly impossible dreams—was a dream come true. Imet women I've longed to meet, whose faces I've only seen and whose hearts I'veonly known, as they bare them generously on the screen, across time and spaceand cybermiles. But actually to meet them in person, to converse tête-a-tête,heart-to-heart, soul to soul, was breathtaking. What transpired in Ashland,Nebraska in the rich workshops, the shared meals, the walks and talks, prayersand commitments, laughter and tears, gleanings and healings, and always the embraces, irrevocably changedus, like wine poured through water. Each dreamer's heart was indelibly coloredby His Spirit and the dream He alone has infused there. Using the acrostic, JUMPINGTANDEM DREAMS, I share this alpha poem, hopefully to capture what it means todare to dream His dream for you.Never give up. It's impossible to stop dreaming His dreams, because with Him, all things are possible!

Just when I think there is not one dream left to dream, I come to
Understand that dreams aren't mostly about me, but the Dream
Maker. When God
Puts a dream in your heart, whether He
Iniates it with a gentle
Nudge or catapults it with a
Gargantuan push, the question is whether I will jump in His

Timing, engage in His
Activity, and revel in the
Nuances that define His
Dream for me. If it's just mydream, it will be
Endangered. It will die in the self-
Made idol factory of my heart, where other

Dreams have been forged, and then have
fragmented.
Real dreams, God-designed dreams, are inspired by Him and
Emerge like butterflies from the
Atrophied chrysalides of our human hearts. God's dreams always
Mount on wings and soar on the breath of His Spirit. They
Soar with His purpose and passion, with pleasure and promise …

(Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved. Lynn D. Morrissey)

Lynn D. Morrissey, is a Certified Journal Facilitator (CJF), founder of Heartsight Journaling, a ministry for reflective journal-writing, author of Love Letters to God: Deeper Intimacy through Written Prayer and other books, contributor to numerous bestsellers, an AWSA and CLASS speaker, and professional soloist. She and her beloved husband, Michael, have been married since 1975 and have a college-age daughter, Sheridan. They live in St. Louis, Missouri.

You may contact Lynn at words@brick.net.

Please feel to comment on this post, as she will be checking comments. As all writers do, she appreciates feedback and your responses to her work.

 

 

Not Alone from Kelly Greer {Guest Post}

 
A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.  
(Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT)

Today, I am giving the floor to Kelly Greer, over at Ain't No Mountain Too High. I know you will be blessed by her reflections from her experience at Jumping Tandem: The Retreat. She is a soul sister, who always has your back with encouraging words and dynamic prayers.

And now . . . here's Kelly!



















I packed in a hurry, indecision stuffing my bag with more than I needed, insecurity filling it to the brim. I was off to a retreat with women who are somewhere in their dream journey. A place my heart longs to be, living the dream.

Click here to read the rest of her heart.

Benefit: An Act of Kindness

 

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits . . .

(Psalm 103:1-2 ESV)

 

 

 

 

Blessings

Envelop me;

New and

Everlasting.

Forgiven, healed and

Infused with mercy.

Taken as I am.

Satisfied with goodness.

 

 

Full of gladness and gratitude as waves of mercy continue to undulate over my soul. Reminding myself through others' words and the Word that the goodness of the LORD is in the land of the living.

 

 

Thought you might like to read some posts from those sisters who broke the Word and poured grace over us this weekend.

 

 

Holley Gerth

Deidra Riggs

Shelly Miller

Jennifer Dukes Lee

Lisa-Jo Baker

 

 

 

 

Communion: Intimate Fellowship and Rapport

 

 

How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!

(Psalm 133:1 NIV)

 

 

 

 

I am still unpacking from the weekend, not my suitcase, but the gifts of love and encouragement that were shared between sisters and brothers, who grasp God and want others to experience His love in rich and deep and wide reaching ways.

 

I want to tell you all about it. How wonderful the retreat center was that offered us the best. The hospitality of the Jumping Tandem retreat coordinators and dreamers and courage speakers, who dreamed for and with us. Each one graciously demonstrating dependence on the biggest Dreamer of all.

 

How the love of Christ flowed over us moment by moment with each encounter . . .  in the worship sessions, in the workshops, in the wandering around the wide open spaces surrounding the conference center.

 

But most of all  love poured out through the intimate conversations around the table, in the foyer, with my roommate (my sister, Gillian) and fellow travelling companions (Kelly and Lynni) and the other dreamers in Christ, who have similiar, yet different stories that point to the redeeming love and safe haven, we each find in knowing God and loving God.

 

I leave you with a poem, as it still is National Poetry Month. And some photo highlights of the weekend.

 

Jesus

Undergirding with love

Many

Precious sisters and brothers

In

Nebraska.

Growing us . . .

 

Teaching us . . .

Affirming our dreams . . .

Nudging us closer to the BIGGEST

Dream of all:

Entering His

Marvelous presence,

 

Together . . .

Hearts

Embracing

 

Redemption.

Every moment

Trusting and

Recalling and

Enjoying and

Awakening

True love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linking up with:

 

Faith: Firm Belief; Complete Trust

 

 Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for, it means being certain of things we cannot see. It was this kind of faith that won their reputation for the saints of old. And it is after all only by faith that our minds accept as fact that the whole scheme of time and space was created by God’s command—that the world which we can see has come into being through principles which are invisible.

(Hebrews 11:1-3 J.B. Phillips)

 

 

 

 

 

Finding

Affirmation of the

Invisible by

Trusting Jesus

Hourly.

 

Jump: Leap of Faith

 

It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

(Hebrews 11:6 The Message)

 

 

 

 

Jesus

Understands

My

Purpose.

I

Need not second

Guess.

 

Tomorrow,

Always and

Now:

Depending on Jesus,

Enables

Me.

 

 

 

 

 

Linking up with:

 

 

Provisions: A Stock of Needed Materials or Supplies

 

For we are His workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand

that we should walk in them.

(Ephesians 2:10 NKJV)

 

As I prepare to head out this weekend to worship with other dreamers, I was thinking about a theme God has been playing through my mind for at least three years now:

Prepare Your Provisions

It's a phrase from the passage in Joshua 1, where God instructs the Israelites to get ready to enter the Promised Land.

The thing about the command that strikes me as important is this: God does not say "provide your own provisions." Instead He invites them to gather things up and get ready. The provisions were taken care of in advance. God saw ahead, He had the foresight for everything they needed.

Much of their supply was arranged for way back in Eygpt land, when He told them to ask their neighbors for their valuables. He also took care of their every need during their wilderness experience. (Their shoes didn't even wear out.)

It is with great expectation and joy that I travel to the Jumping Tandem retreat to see what God has put together beforehand, before I even get there or the rest of the brave souls who are travelling to this rallying point to dream with their Captain, Brother and King!

 

 

 

Praise the

Redeemer

Our

Victor, who

In advance

Set us apart for

Immanuel,

Our Savior, who

Never runs out of

Supplies.

 

Potential: Capable of Being Developed

Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.

(John 12:25-25 The Message)

 

 

 

 

 

Please ripen me--

Omnipotent,

Tender,

Eternal

Never failing,

Totally capable,

Infinite,

All consuming--

Lover of My Soul.

 



 

Answer:To Act in Response To

 

God answer you on the day you crash,
The name God-of-Jacob

put you out of harm’s reach,
Send reinforcements from Holy Hill,
Dispatch from Zion fresh supplies,
Exclaim over your offerings,
Celebrate your sacrifices,
Give you what your heart desires,
Accomplish your plans.

(Psalm 20:1-4 The Message)

 

 

 

Almighty God-

Nothing makes

Sense

Without your

Eternal,

Redemptive Love

 

 

Dream: To Consider as a Possibility

 

 And Jesus said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

(Luke 18:27 KJV)

 

 

 

Daring to

Return to

Edenic joys

And 

Music

 

 

 

 

As I look forward to a weekend with some other dreamers, I wanted to know more about the word...

 

Dream comes from Old English meaning "music, joy."

 

Often we ask, what is "my dream" or what is God dreaming for us?

Today as I discovered this unexpected root meaning of dream, I asked myself these questions:

 

What is my joy? What music does my life express? What makes me want to sing for joy?

 

I look forward to exploring the answers to these questions with God over the next few days and especially as we gather this weekend for  Jumping Tandem-The Retreat.

 

 

How Then Should I Pray?

 

Pray then like this—

Our Heavenly Father,
may your name be honoured;
May your kingdom come,
and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day the bread we need,
Forgive us what we owe to you,
as we have also forgiven those who owe anything to us.
Keep us clear of temptation,
and save us from evil.

(Matthew 6:9-13 J.B Phillips)



Linking up with:

Here: At This Point

But as for me,

the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
That I may tell of all Thy works.
(Psalm 73:28 NASB

 

 

 

 

 

 

here

close by

snug

 

near

close by

hug

 

share

close by

shrug

 

your

burdens

unto

Me

 

 

 

 

 

Linking up with:

 

 

 

Guest Poem from Marijo Blair

 

I count it a great joy to introduce to you today, my dear friend Marijo Blair. Over the years we have prayed together, shared our writing with  a writer's group she helped found, and encouraged one another to cling to God in the good times and the hard times. Marijo is both an artist and a poet. Her works convey her steadfast love of Jesus and a heart tuned to His voice.

 

And without further ado, her poem and artwork:

 

As He Has Done So Should We

Holding his foot,

He washed it clean.

Sprinkled, refreshed,

What did it mean?

As He has done,

So should we,

May the Lord’s hands refresh

a sojourner through me.

 

(Marijo used scraps of paper and glue,

with pen and ink technique to create

 this tribute to our Lord Jesus.)

(2013. Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Poem and Original Artwork by Marijo Blair)

 

 

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?  You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.   If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.   For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.   Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.  If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

(John 13:12-17 NKJV)