Back to the Porch

It has been a long time since my writing has surfaced here, but I have been feeling nudges to come back for a while and this seems like the right time.  For those of you who have been reading my posts on facebook and have been encouraged by anything there or asked me to keep at it, this is the next step, so thank you to those who helped oil the gears.

My writing has been a simple way to share with others what God has woven into the lessons of my day.  I write and post them believing that if it is something I need to learn, perhaps someone else is needing the same words. The ride of my life is bumpy sometimes and I trip often; the lens isn't perfect, because I can only see in part.  It always will be that way as I maneuver earth's dips and inclines with feet that are still trying to be well-sandled with grace and love and truth, and eyes that are trying to focus well.  But He also speaks into the real lives and thoughts of human men and women and children, and gives us words and encouragement for the building up of one another.  It is good to share what He is doing in our lives, what we see, and what we are learning.

I will tell you that I am compelled to believe that He truly is God--I've seen enough glimpses of the miraculous to be convinced of that.  I try my best to lean high and far to stay vulnerable and willing for Him to enter my life in any way He wants.  I try to dig deep and hard into facing my own junk and to let Him have permission to clean me out and reshape me to something He can readily use.

I also believe we are to remember what He has done.  This place will be one of several in my life where I keep record of the manna that He brings for my day.  The most significant ones are my regular journals, my charm necklace--a collection of symbols of the major life lessons He has taught me, my "Peace by Piece" journal--a written record of how He brings together the elements of a specific promise He made me, and the collection of my daily writings.  As I've kept these things at hand, they have sometimes been put to use back into my life as crumbs of that precious daily bread that can help me find my way back home when I am lost in darkness or fog or weariness or doubt. Sometimes the crumbs have also enlarged, it would seem, into a massive stone that prods me not to deny His presence, His power, and His provision.  "Remember, I did this amazing thing back then because I love you.  Please trust Me. I have not changed."

So here I will be, a place a little better accessible for those beyond my facebook circle to share the bread that I've found nourishing that day.  If you find something helpful here, please feel free to share the link or invite your friends to visit the porch.