Future's So Bright...

Sure, if even dark is light to Him...imagine what it will be like, dwelling with Him!

[Sigh] To quote a dear friend of mine, "He's dreamy." Mhm. He sure is...

Good nite Echo. May Jeff's message 'echo' in your ears... God knows u intimately, and still loves u! Instead of trying to hide in the dark, may u welcome His light which brings life!

Love u all...

Side-line encouragement

I am still bumming about it...

missing the message Jeff will be sharing this week.

Sure I'll be able to listen later but it's different than being there.

Being there physically has a two-fold purpose...

1.) I am able to hear and learn about the word God has prepared Jeff to speak.

2.) I can let Jeff know that I care about him by being there to support him.

Being in the presence of and surrounded by those who support and love you means a lot. This was the main topic of discussion at Bible study last night. How we require the body to be there with us, standing along side of us encouraging us. There are so many reasons we discovered last night why we need to be in fellowship with the Lord and with the body of believers.

GIMME A J-E-F-F!

Brother I'm sorry I won't be there but I've been assured I can listen in on weekend cell phone minutes. I can even respond if you mic Rochelle's phone. No only kidding!! I considered making life size cardboard cutouts of myself and my family. Especially of Bob n his buddies with J-E-F-F painted across their chest, you know to encourage you and spur you on. Somehow I doubt that will be necessary either.

Know that I will be with you and the rest of those assembled at Echo in prayer this Sunday morning. I may even break into a little cheer for you somewhere along the prayer. Be encouraged most of all by knowing that you are among family who love and support you. Know that He has given you a place to grow in love as you grow in Him and become more like He is. Know also that it's not you but the Glory of God in you that will be evident. Thank you for being a model of obedience and faithfulness Jeff.

May the words of my brother's mouth and the meditation of his heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, our rock and our Redeemer Psalm 19:14

Too Wonderful for Me

"You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it." Psalm 139:5

Wonderful... from "pala" which is to be inaccessible, beyond one's capabilities (TWOT). Without Him, the heavens are unreachable, unsearchable, inaccessible...

With Daddy's help, though...

...we can climb a little bit...

May you find comfort in His hand on you... His rod and staff, His correction and His direction. His Helper. May you delight in His Law, and in His Sabbath.

Shabbat Shalom!

Love Feasts

It has been tugging at my heart and definitely a part of my prayer time. Should we change our services to a communal meal? Are we being called to practice physical Love Feasts?

Every time we look at a new house I wonder if it will be a home fit to gather the body in. I get little visions of you all standing at the kitchen counter, or in the dining room. It's as if it's a criteria that He's given me as we house shop. Will we all be able to assemble and eat together? I never see it as a formal dinner it's casual, family style. We are all comfortable and ourselves. No stuffy fake stuff.


This morning again as we prayed about it He brought to mind what I have always imagined the scene to look like when Jesus is seated at Simon's table and the sinful woman enters and cleanses His feet. He's lounged on a big cushion seated at a table dining. They are chatting and it's a casual meal. I don't know what it actually looked like it's just how I picture it.

We've all "done church" before. How much relationships really occurs in the pews? How well can you get to know someone in that setting? How close do you sit to the rest of the body in our orange pews?

Now think about how much relationship occurs at the family dinner table! We exchange so much at the dinner table. News, schedules, ups and downs of our day, love for one another, anger towards each other ... I could go on. It's one place where we just relate. It's also one place where we are truly our self. I think I've learned more sitting at the dinner table about my family than anywhere else.

Studies show that families who regularly eat meals together have better relationships, are healthier, have less stress, have children with better behavior...

Pray about it. Ask Him. He hasn't given me an answer yet. But, every time I mention it to Him I feel good about the idea of it. I think "how can it be a bad idea"?

Look at the early church...they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42).

I don't know if we will change, it's not up to me. But I want to hear what the Father has to say about it. I've been asking him since mid June (according to entries in my journal). Maybe he has given you a "feel good experience" when you mention it to Him. Maybe you become anxious about the idea or see it as an inconvenience. Whatever your response is I would ask that you share it with the body.

We must be of one mind in this decision. Share whatever He speaks to you whether it be yes, no or silence.

Shabbat Shalom

Peace... and rest... and awareness of His loving presence.

I'm delighted to be yoked to Him, with you, as we wait together!

Shabbat Shalom, Echo.

Hurry up and Wait!

I have been waiting since last Thursday. I am a lousy "waiter". Every morning when I wake I log in to check to see if grades have been posted. I am repeatedly greeted with disappointment and a blank box where my grades will eventually be posted. My classmate emails me regularly to share her mutual frustration. She reminds me that the professor said he'd post our grades on Monday. She too is a lousy "waiter". Well, we have not choice but to wait it's out of our hands.

Finally this morning I logged in and sure enough there they are! Oh, but it's not what I had hoped for! I'm crushed, disappointed. The anxiousness and excitement I experienced in waiting was driven by the expectation of receiving an "A". All that waiting and at the end I didn't even receive what I thought I would! Rats!

Then I see my blue cord. You know, the one that symbolizes Echo waiting together for what the Father has promised, our baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). I also think of waiting for His return. He said he would come again and take us to the place He is preparing for us (John 14:1-3).

I know that when the waiting is over He won't disappoint. May I wake each day anxious to see Him. I want to be excited every morning just thinking about what He has in store for us.

I am a lousy "waiter". I need to practice it a lot more! You would think that after six years of the Marine Corps' "hurry up and wait" I'd be an old pro by now.

I love that the Hebrew word for wait qavah has to do with twisting together, becoming one accord. I love that the Greek word for wait perimeno has to do with waiting for the fulfillment of a promise. I have a body to wait with, my weakness in waiting will be strengthened as we become twisted together and grow as one accord. When the waiting is over He will have fulfilled His promises. There will be no disappointment.

There's no logging in every morning while waiting on Him. Instead I can talk to Him directly and He answers me if I know where to look for Him and how to hear Him. He gives comfort and encouragement to me while I wait. He gives me others to wait with. He gives me direction on how to spend this day of waiting. He gives me correction when I get it wrong. The rewards for waiting on Him are far greater than a 4.0 GPA I no longer possess.

Are you excited and anxiously waiting on Him? Echo may we be strengthened in our waiting. We see only in part of what lies at the end of the waiting. He has wonderful rewards and gifts in store for us when we have waited for His perfect timing. All for the purpose of adding to His Glory. Until then may we wait together and grow in love and faith and hope (those things that Paul says are eternal, 1 Cor 13:13) .

He will deliver and there will be NO DISAPPOINTMENT.

Hurry up and Wait!

Is it much farther? Are We there yet?

Aha! Gotcha, Sheep!

Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?"' Ezekiel 34:2

"I will deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another. Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd." Ezekiel 34:22-23

No matter how "shepherdy" a pastor can be, none of our own work has any lasting value... only that which the One Shepherd does through us, with His Name on our heads. In this way, the shepherds after His heart and the One Shepherd are one in the same. When we act in our own strength, under our own banners, we might as well class ourselves with those who received such stern rebukes from the Lord.

I pulled over this morning and chatted with my new friend Jim for about 1/2 hour. This pasture isn't fenced, so he sits with the woolies while they eat breakfast, making sure they don't go out to the road. Last week he had what looked like a fishing line; I asked him about it, and he said it was a horse whip. The sound of it scares the sheep away from the road. "I don't bring it out when I have the chair, because they're just as afraid of the sound of the chair when I rattle it!"

Jim's a lifelong shepherd, working the farm his grandpa used to own. May we never get so itchy for adventure "out there" that we miss the adventure in our own back yards.

Oops, speaking of being itchy for adventure... there they go, trying to sneak past Jim while he's busy talking to me! I got back into my car while Jim strolled over to have a few words with his wayward "congregants."

Bless

When I think of blessing, I imagine the repentant sinner on his knees before the priest, who places his hand on the man's head and says, "Bless you, my child."
The Hebrew word for "Bless" is Barak. It means to bend the knee, to kneel down, to bless, to invoke. The image I have of the priest needs to be reversed. It's the priest who does the kneeling. When you bless someone, you're not standing over them. You're bringing yourself down to their level, an act of humility.

If that isn't enough to chew on, consider this: there are numerous instances in which God blesses man. In Genesis 1:22, God blesses the whole world. He didn't create the world, wave His arm over it and let that be that. He came down to our level, because He's our heavenly Father. He did it again when He came down to us as Jesus. Wow. He must really care about us.

I hope this is enough to make you pause the next time you see the word "bless". I've come to notice just how often it's used. At least for me, it makes the thought of "blessing" people a more thoughtful process, knowing that it requires some kneeling on my part and not just a flick of the hand.

Have a good day.

"Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech haOlam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav..."
Blessed are You Lord our God King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the light of the holy Shabbat.

Shabbat shalom, Father. Shabbat shalom, Echo.
Rest well and may you find your delight in the Lord of Shabbat.
See you on Sunday!

It's Gone!

It's gone! My scraggly blue cord that is. I'm sure I remember seeing it this morning. I haven't any idea when or where it went AWOL. Hmm now what?

Ask...

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind."
Jam 1:5-6

It felt like the most natural thing in the world to pause as a Body on Sunday and ask Him to direct us in a (seemingly) small matter... "Do we, Lord, allow a family (unknown to the body) to use this property for a yard sale?" I don't know how long we waited in silence, maybe one minute (it always seems like more when you're in the middle of it!)

No one seemed surprised when He answered clearly and without hesitation. It was a solid, unanimous "YES" in spite of any natural misgivings held by those in the Body.

Perhaps this little exercise will strengthen our faith to trust Him with more of our decisions, individually and as a Body.

"Ask," He says, "and it will be given..."

"...open the door, where are the sheeple?"

[no picture]

Every morning I drive by this sheep farm on Grange Hall Rd. It's on the south side of the road before you get to I-75, coming from Holly.

So anyway for years now, I've been taking notice of these sheep as I drive by, and each time I see them I tell myself I'm going to get a picture of them. It's a busy road, though, especially at the time I go through, wanting to catch them at their dewy breakfast.

Well, this morning as I got into the car I had this strange resolve to snap a pic TODAY regardless of traffic. I had noticed that lately they've been pastured in the first field, and since I always forget where it is exactly until I'm RIGHT THERE, I knew I was going to have to be ready to stop as soon as I saw them. As I neared the farm I got myself ready, slowing down a little... but what I saw made me suddenly very stupid and very shy.

There, in the field with the munching sheep, stood the SHEPHERD!

Understand that in all these years I have never seen the shepherd, only the sheep. This fact has been tucked away in my mind as an illustration of the Church being the visible representation of the ever-present but seldom-perceived Shepherd of our souls.

Well, with that image embedded in my mind, seeing this shepherd was just too much for me. He turned and watched as my car went by. Did he see my dumb stare? I don't know. One thing I do know: I'd better not be so shy when the Beloved appears!!

Ah, Papa, go ahead and laugh... You know I love You. And yes, I will feed the sheep, until either their Shepherd comes or I go to Him.

Stay tuned folks... I WILL get that picture yet!

Fit To Be Tied

This morning half way through my shower I realized I no longer had a blue cord on my wrist. My first thought was..."awesome, that thing was getting scraggly looking and I'm glad to be rid of it!" As if almost within the very same thought I grieved over the loss of my scraggly blue cord! I realized that I would be different than the rest of the body. I would no longer bare the mark that the blue cord represented...


That of a group waiting together. A select group with a specific focus. Waiting together on Him.

It reminded me of a moment in Kid's Church yesterday. We reviewed our ever growing Hebrew vocabulary with our visitor "Little Zack". Specifically the word "B'RIT". In Eli's words "it means circle" (he's so smart)! He's so correct also. It means circle or cut if I remember correctly (Rochelle taught that word). Think of a circle, cut, or covenant as a way of selecting something. He has selected us ECF!


After my shower I searched my bed for that scraggly blue cord and was relieved to find it hidden in the bedding. The next time I look at it I won't think of it as an eye sore but as a reminder of ECF's task to wait on Him together. I'll be reminded to practice perseverance and to trust in Him together with you all as people selected (circled) scraggly or not. Once more it echo's in my soul: Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary Gal 6:9


I'll continue to wait comforted in the knowledge that He's given me a family to wait with!

Big Boy Coffee

A sermon in the making... Glamorous isn't it? What used to be known (in these parts) as "Elias Bros" ain't quite Panera, but it serves well enough as my "solitary place" today; particularly fitting, considering I'm studying "Elias" (the Greek transliteration of "Elijah")...

Delighting in Him, and looking forward to hearing from Him with you tomorrow.

Shabbat shalom!

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead... it's (sometimes) what prophets do.

This week, take a look ahead by reading Elijah's story in 1 Kings 18. We're going to be here throughout the month of August as we learn about loving God with a prophet's...

• Heart (Aug 10)
• Soul (Aug 17)
• Strength (Aug 24)

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.

Pro 29:18

Mmmmmmmoooooooooo!

Or was it Baaaa! I forget. Happy Friday everyone... and Good Sabbath to y'all! May you delight in her...

"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your {own} pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy {day} of the LORD honorable, and honor it, desisting from your {own} ways, from seeking your {own} pleasure and speaking {your own} word, then you will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you {with} the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." Isa 58:13-14