Musings on Art and Rembrandt

In January I will begin a Gateway Group focused on encouraging women to find their identity through hearing God's voice and creative expression. For me, this is the next step in a journey of self-discovery about my own identity and the way God has uniquely wired me for creativity.

In so doing I have dug into studying works of art and the artists who created them. I have also been allowing God to talk to me through a variety of creative media - movies and the books containing the stories of artists whose works I admire. Among the artists I choose to study one would find the names Rembrandt, Degas, Van Gogh, Renoir, Thomas Kinkaide, Georgia O'Keefe, Picasso, and Toulouse-Lautrec (whom I actually researched and studied in my one year of art at age 14). I also found myself researching the quotes of many more like Claude Monet.

Why all this focus on artists you may ask? Honestly, I do not know for sure except that something in me needs to discover why they painted. With the exception of Modern Artists, many of those considered masters from previous centuries ended up impoverished and saw little success in their work while living. It led me to questions.

What drove them to paint when most of them ended up paupers and penniless?

What were their beliefs about God and life?

And, so I write today after reading the first few chapters of a study on Rembrandt written by Greg Watts. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn born July 15, 1606 and died October 4, 1669. As I've perused his paintings and begun reading the history of this seventeenth century Dutch painter I realize a bit of what I know of myself. He painted because in painting life happened for him.

He painted during a time when many artists went to Italy to study the masters like Michelangelo, Raphael and Da Vinci. Rembrandt however, stayed close to his home in the Netherlands and studied under Dutch painters as an apprentice.

Rembrandt's work may be identified with the Baroque movement which Watts writes was "characterized by movement, strong emotion and dramatic light and colouring."

In his lifetime the artist created a large body of work centering on his own self portrait. His last portrait of himself painted in 1669:

Mr. Watts comments on this Self Portrait, "....we see a face that has tasted not just triumph, but also disappointment and suffering. Yet we can see in him wisdom and dignity: he has come to terms with who he really is and what the true meaning of life is."

Wisdom. Dignity. A man who has come to terms with WHO. HE. REALLY. IS. A Man who has come to terms with WHAT. THE. TRUE. MEANING. OF. LIFE. IS.

Here are two of his works that I think reflect such truth:



The first is Belshazzar's Feast. The classic story of the handwriting appearing on the wall from the book of Daniel which predicted the fall of the Babylonian Empire to the Medo-Persian Empire.

This painting depicts the adulterous woman being brought to Jesus for condemnation. The work reflects such light around the woman, she is not disgraced or nude, but clothed in brilliant white. A picture of redemption.

Watts goes on to say "Rembrandt's ability to penetrate what it is to be human transcends religious boundaries, and people of all faiths or no faith can be moved by it."

Greg Watts goes on to note that Rembrandt's education began at the age of six when he was sent to school for basic education in reading and writing. At nine he was transferred to Latin School but his interest in studies leaned only to drawing and painting. Watts writes, "...that only painting and drawing were able to fully engage his young mind."

Which brings me to the answer to that question I asked early, why did he paint?

Rembrandt painted because that is who God created him to be. His mind and his heart fully inclined into that which he was passionate about and his paintings reflect not only his identity as an artist, but his identity in Christ as well.

Visual arts by nature are creative expression. If we turn to the Bible to gain understanding about creativity we need look first to the book of Genesis.

Genesis 1:1-3 (NKJV)
¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
³ Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

God's Spirit hovered over the face of the waters, as the Us of God created light. If we look on into the New Testament, we find the role of Jesus in creation:

John 1:1-5 (NKJV)
¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

As God the Father orchestrated the plans of creation and the Spirit hovered over the body of the created, through Jesus all things were created. Scripture assures us that NOTHING was created without Him.

Now let me ask you this, how did God create? Go back to the first verse of each passage above. He spoke things into existence and the primary way He has spoken is through Jesus. Interesting right. Hearing the voice of God is really the only prerequisite for creativity. Understanding His creative nature can lead us to open doors we might never consider in our lives.

What is our role in this creative thing that is going on around us?

Genesis 1:27 (NKJV)
²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

We are created in the very image of God, and on earth we reflect His image and glory. If we are in Christ, He is in us and if He is in us then all of the nature of God fully resides in us. God in His very nature is creative. If His nature fully resides in us and we reflect His image on the earth then our identity in Christ, our position in Him, is the only qualifying indicator for creative expression.

Rembrandt realized this in his life's work and I'm beginning to learn it as I develop the ability to express creatively from my identity in Christ and the things I see and hear as I relate to Him.

God created you to be creative, too. A creativity that expresses His nature and glory on this earth. Technical art skill is valuable and may be developed but without the creative nature of God at work in you art would not be possible.

Many of the "masters" have been known to say that art is a lie that reveals the truth. I choose to believe that art is a light that allows us to express the truth of God within each and every one of us. In you lies a Masterpiece of God's design. My question for you today is this: How long will you wait to fully express it?

A Racing Champion

I buy the little matchbox size replicas of his race car. I have an Office Depot Coat sporting his sponsors and the #14 insignia. I watch NASCAR faithfully each weekend 36 weeks a year and pray to God that Tony Stewart wins the race because I enjoy it seeing him win. I tell people, "He's my driver."Last night I watched a very gracious Tony Stewart act like a grown up professional car owner/driver and stand up guy as he accepted his reward and addressed a group of fans and his peers in Las Vegas, Nevada. I guess you can say I am an obnoxious NASCAR fan.

Tony raced for Joe Gibbs Racing up until 2009 when he branched off with the help of Rick Hendrick to co-own his own race team Stewart-Haas Racing. Prior to that time some of the things that made Tony fun to watch happened to be his penchant for speaking his mind and his unwillingness to take any guff off of anyone. He remains the picture of a competitor by nature.

He is known as a bad boy of racing. Even last year he had an altercation at a race track in Australia that landed him in jail. And based on a 2008 Rolling Stone interview and a number of off color remarks on radio snip-its and interviews there is little question that the bad boy image rings as true as his stellar performance in this year's chase. Though the writer of the article in Rolling Stone suggests that he only depicted one side of Stewart and there is a whole other side that is an honorable gentleman you can't escape his on camera performance as a bad boy.

In 2004 just before he won his second NASCAR (Sprint) Nextel Cup Series a book about him was written and is available through christianbooks.com. He supports Christian Drivers in the sport like Morgan Shepherd and spent a lot of time with Joe Gibbs racing under the Joe Gibbs Racing Banner. I cannot say that Tony Stewart is a Christian, though his mother reports that she goes to church with her husband each week and prays for her son while he races.



I wrote a post called NASCAR and Perseverance a few months back when Tony won the first race of the Sprint Cup Chase at Chicagoland Speedway. The following week I watched again as Tony won the New Hampshire race as well. I later would share with my life group gals that I felt like God was redeeming time for me this year.

In 2005 Tony won the Nextel (now Sprint) Cup championship just a few short months after my son passed away. I rarely watched a race after August of that year and missed the final moments of Tony's big win.

Still, I picked up watching my beloved NASCAR the following winter/spring when we attended the Texas race in April and watched Tony finish second only to Kasey Kahne. A great time indeed.

I pray when Tony races. I know that seems weird, but I pray for the drivers and the race crews. I pray for them. I root for the Nationwide drivers who are more prominently known for their faith like Trevor Bayne and Blake Koch. I honor people like Joe Gibbs who so boldly live out their faith and I root for the underdog Morgan Shepherd who has been racing for 40 years and somehow gets his Victory in Jesus team to the tracks for the Nationwide series each week.

It is not lost on me that an invocation in Jesus' name is offered before each race and most drivers honor that time by bowing their heads and closing their eyes. That chaplains at the track pray with drivers, offer them the opportunity to do Bible study and mentor drivers along the way.

I sometimes think that Tony struggled so hard in those years after 2005 because something he was doing didn't mesh - there was no favor, just sheer determination.

So, come back with me to this year's chase. A win at Chicago and New Hampshire boosted him forward and then he won at Martinsville and again at our very own Texas track. My husband literally thought I had lost my mind - he even told the dog I am crazy, though he is the one talking to the dog. I whooped and hollered and jumped and celebrated each win. Now, let me just say that I began to pray at Martinsville, "Lord would You allow Tony Stewart to win this race, and if not Tony then the one who would give You the most glory to win the chase."

By the last race in at Homestead-Miami the standings had landed in a dead heat. Tony lingered just 3 points behind Carl Edwards. The two started a little back in the pack very close to one another. It would be a race to the finish and in the end a champion would be crowned. But, just a few laps in, Kurt Busch lost his transmission in the #22 car and Tony's car collected damage from debris that had been deflected into his grill off the track.

After a few lengthy runs down pit road during the caution, Tony's car restarted in the 38th position. Though the grill of his car had to be replaced that radiator had not sustained any damage - a miracle by the account of Larry McReynolds who is a NASCAR commentator and former crew chief.

He drove back up to 9th before pitting again and then restarted back in the 20s. In the meantime, Carl Edwards ran his #99 Ford up front most all day and received the additional bonus point for leading the most laps by race end. However, Tony continued to push through the obstacles he experienced on the race track

After a number of cautions and passing more than 100 cars to regain positions near the front of the pack on multiple occasions Tony took the lead in the waning laps of the race and beat out a very loose Jimmy Johnson for the race win which led to a tie between he and Carl Edwards for the championship title. The tie breaker would be determined by who had the most wins. With five total wins in the last ten races, Tony easily clenched the title spot over his competitor Carl Edwards who had not won a single race in the entire season.

Still, Carl Edwards walked out to Tony as he drove down the straightaway parallel to pit road and congratulated him. He later told a reporter, "I told my wife I would be the best loser that NASCAR ever had."

As I watched Tony cross the finish line, I praised God for answering my prayers and letting me enjoy the win of my favorite race car driver's championship season. And then, something totally unexpected that I have never seen before happened during the post race interview with Tony Stewart.

When asked about his emotions after winning both the race and the chase for the championship, Tony said: “Oh God, thank the Lord for this one. Man I’m telling you it’s been a tough summer and a tough fall for us, and you’ve got to believe in something and the Man upstairs (gestures with a finger to the sky) and He held this rain off long enough, just long enough for us to get this job done so this is for Sprint and for all these fans up here who stuck it out all weekend here…”

http://youtu.be/rTc4veTw1C0

His acceptance speech was peppered with gratitude and graciousness toward his co-owners, Darian Grubb (his outgoing crew chief) and especially to Carl Edwards of whom he said, "You are not a loser, you will always be a winner."

Worth every moment, and a reminder that God answers prayers in the most unexpected way. I've never heard Tony Stewart speak of God before in all the years I have observed him in NASCAR, but I heard him that night after I asked God all those weeks to allow the racer to win that would give Him the glory. Tony Stewart won and did. Thank you, Lord for even these little things that remind me of Your love for me.

Sometimes I get too far ahead...

I sit here this Black Friday's eve waiting for the pizza to arrive. My house will likely not sport the host of Christmas decorations this year. Normally by this time the day after Thanksgiving I am chomping at the bit to empty the attic and rearrange the furniture. This year, I am thoroughly content to put up our stockings and a little garland around the mantle and leave it right there.

My mind consumed with pictures, I barely move to anything that does not lead me to easel and brush. I cannot think of anything else. Which brings me to the point of this post.

I. APOLOGIZE.

I started something that I felt would be magnificent, gratifying and wonderfully insightful only to find that God did not order it off my menu. Sadly, I admit I got ahead of Him in a big way. The Names of Jesus may have never been my study even back in 2009 when life jumped the track and took down a path I never planned.

So here I am tonight, apologizing. For twice leading the readers of this blog on and then dropping you flat. For ambitiously jumping into things that are not officially mine to do. And for leaving you hanging all this time without word of why or what may indeed be happening.

I plan to come back to write this weekend - just not tonight. Tonight there are no pictures or Scriptures or anything more than just a simple, black on white apology and a prayer that you will return in the days ahead to discover anew the wonderful things God has me up to in this life. He indeed does a new thing in me... Something so fresh and alive I can hardly stand it.

Bless you all as these Holidays begin. Bless you with truth and love and hope and peace at Christmas and throughout the coming year. And most of all bless you with all you were ever created to be and more. Much favor. Much love. Much of Him who gives us life.

Tuesday's In Other Words: Thanks Living for Thanksgiving

THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT THE "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU" Blog on November 25, 2008. I pray it blesses you as we walk through this Thanksgiving Week! Much Love to you all.

Deborah at Chocolate & Coffee is hosting today's "In Other Words" writing challenge. Stop by her place and check us out. For more information about IOW visit Loni at Writing Canvas.

Whatever happens, give thanks,

because it is God's will in Christ Jesus that you do this.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (God's Word)

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I have chosen to go back to the original passage that this Scripture is found in because I believe we find several keys to "thanks living." (NOTE: This is a long post, my speciality :o). Please hang on with me until the end.)

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Shall we take a look?

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KEYS TO THANKS LIVING:

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Key 1: Be Happy In Your Faith.

"Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always);" 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (AMP)

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In the Greek the word chairo is translated "rejoice" in verse 16. It is defined in Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary as "a primary verb; to be “cheer”ful, i.e. calmly happy or well-off; impersonal especially as salutation (on meeting or parting), be well :- farewell, be glad, God speed, greeting, hail, joy (-fully), rejoice.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary"

 

Vine's demonstrates all the occasion for which one is commended to rejoice in it's definition:

"to rejoice," is most frequently so translated. As to this verb, the following are grounds and occasions for "rejoicing," on the part of believers:

1. in the Lord, (Phil. 3:1; Phil. 4:4)

2. His incarnation, (Luke 1:14)

3. His power, (Luke 13:17)

4. His presence with the Father, (John 14:28)

5. His presence with them, (John 16:22; John 20:20)

6. His ultimate triumph, (John 8:56)

7. hearing the gospel, (Acts 13:48)

8. their salvation, (Acts 8:39)

9. receiving the Lord, (Luke 19:6)

10. their enrollment in Heaven, (Luke 10:20)

11. their liberty in Christ, (Acts 15:31)

12. their hope, (Rom. 12:12) (cp. Rom. 5:2; Rev. 19:7)

13. their prospect of reward, (Matt. 5:12)

14. the obedience and godly conduct of fellow believers, (Rom. 16:19, RV, "I rejoice" (AV, "I am glad") 2 Cor. 7:7, 9; 2 Cor. 13:9; Col. 2:5; 1 Thess. 3:9; 2 John 1:4; 3 John 1:3)

15. the proclamation of Christ, (Phil. 1:18)

16. the gospel harvest, (John 4:36)

17. suffering with Christ, (Acts 5:41; 1 Pet. 4:13)

18. suffering in the cause of the gospel, 2 Cor. 13:9 (1st part); Phil. 2:17 (1st part); (Col. 1:24)

19. in persecutions, trials and afflictions, (Matt. 5:12; Luke 6:23; 2 Cor. 6:10)

20. the manifestation of grace, (Acts 11:23)

21. meeting with fellow believers, (1 Cor. 16:17, RV, "I rejoice;" Phil. 2:28)

22. receiving tokens of love and fellowship, (Phil. 4:10; the "rejoicing" of others, Rom. 12:15; 2 Cor. 7:13)

23. learning of the well-being of others, (2 Cor. 7:16.)

(Emphasis and enumeration added)

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So my question becomes: Do I live happy in my faith in every one of these circumstances. The Bible gives us twenty-three specific instances where we are to be happy in our faith, rejoicing and glad-hearted. I'm good with that list until I get to 17, 18 and 19. I can be thankful for those circumstances, but happy and glad-hearted about them. Not so much. And then the passage gives us the trump card: In the amplified the word is translated "continually" but in the Greek the literal translation is "every when." Which is translated in the KJV: "evermore." Are you Happy and Glad-hearted in your faith always, continually and evermore? As for me, I'm going to have to work on that. Our faith will sustain us - we must realize this to be Thanks Livers.

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Key 2: PRAY PERSEVERINGLY.

17 Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];

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Persevering Prayer. Like the praise and prayer that went up when Paul and Silas were in the prison and the earth shook, the walls broke and the doors clanged open free. Like the prayer that Nehemiah prayed even as he spoke his heart before the king. HMMM!

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Persevering, prevailing, powerfully unceasing prayer. That is what I think of in this case. Our prayers will give us endurance when we believe by faith we have what we ask for. As I read this and consider how it applies to Thanks Living, I think of Justin's last year of life. I had prayed... prayed... and prayed... even asking God if I was praying for the wrong things. I was given Philippians 1:6 by a friend for Justin and instructed to pray that God would continue and complete the good work that He began in Justin at Salvation - so I did. Night and day, in tears and with the laying on of hands... If you can imagine a way to pray it I did. I prayed it in groups, wrote it into prayer requests, I prayed. But, when fall of 2004 gave way to winter and winter to spring, the roller coaster ride of emotional and behavioral highs and lows went into overdrive.

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The entire process of watching my oldest child self-destruct up close and personal was not only devestating, it was defeating. But I held on, I prayed harder - if that is possible. I went face down, on my knees and any which way that the Bible indicates to pray. For heaven's sake I would have prayed to the North, South, East and West if I thought it would help God hear my prayers. I was more than desperate - I needed a lifeline for me and my son.

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Beth Moore's "Living Beyond Yourself" was on my plate that spring as life spun continually out of control. I was hanging on by a thread. In the lesson one night was a representational response to prayer: the instruction was to write our most ardent prayer request, the one we take continually before the Lord, on an index card. I didn't even have to think: "JUSTIN." That was all I wrote.

 

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The next part, thank Him for the answer by faith in advance. ... O...kay. I lifted my index card to heaven and thanked God for hearing those prayers I had offered for my son, and acting on them providing the answers in His perfect time. The conclusion: Each time I felt the burden to pray for that request, thank God for the coming answer instead. And I did...

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After we had him arrested, I thanked God all the more.

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When he ran away, I thanked God all the more.

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When the police were at our house, I thanked God all the more.

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Sitting outside the justice's chamber while my son sat a bench away in handcuffs I thanked God all the more.

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I thanked God and thanked God and thanked Him for my son, his life, the future He promised Justin.

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I thanked Him for the answer and believed by faith I had what I asked for - and then the accident happened.

 

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And in the midst of the almost hour long drive to the hospital not knowing how my son was doing, whether or not he would live or die... I began to pray and praise God all at the same time. I thanked Him my son was still alive and asked only that he remain alive until I get to the hospital. I thanked God for successful surgery, and for the surgeons who operated on him that first night. I thanked Him for getting my son on the helicopter and taking him to the #2 trauma center in North Texas. I thanked Him.

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On the day my son died I thanked God for having mercy and making it sure. I thanked God for the life of my son and the 17 precious years I had with him. I thanked God. And, somehow on that day when I could not thank God for the financial blessing of an insurance check - I asked, "How is Justin dying a part of you blessing us? God, I don't understand." Philippians 1:6 began to roll around in my head, dusting off the corners of my memory and resurrecting that faith that prayed it all those months before. I heard in my spirit that day, "It is not the money, but that Justin is now Complete. He was made perfect the day he came home to heaven." And I praised Him through tears and through anguish I praised Him for every detail of my grief until today I can count myself blessed for the privilege of suffering in this way, for knowing the heart of God through agony and for seeing His hand in spite of the pain. Thanks living...

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Key 3: Thank God In EVERYTHING No Matter What The Circumstances May Be.

18 Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].

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Before my son's last few years of life, before that deep relationship with God was built... I don't think I knew what it meant to be thankful. I was grateful for things that benefited me and despised experiences that did not.

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When Justin's life went beyond my ability to control, manage and define it... I had to depend utterly and solely on God for the well-being of my child. Then I became grateful for the smallest victories and even for the lessons learned in the most agonizing defeats. The war was fought long and hard and in unconventional ways. It hurt, spiritually I felt like our entire family must have bled out (spiritually) a few times, but somehow God sustained us and even now the good outweighs the bad in those volatile and turbulent years.

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Cultivating Gratitude in the smaller battle made my heart able to rejoice, to be not just grateful but truly THANKFUL (not just going through the motions of thanksgiving but really meaning it from your heart in any and every circumstance), even in spite of the circumstance, and being gracious even as I walked out the death of my child - my worst confessed fear.

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Key 4: Walk In The Spirit Every Day.

19 Do not quench (suppress or subdue) the [Holy] Spirit;

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Galatians 5 strikes me always as the Holy Spirit chapter and towards the end of that book you read about life in the flesh versus life in the Spirit. Quenching the Spirit involves any one or all the matters our flesh, (really our soulish behavior demonstrates). This is behavior driven by our pre-salvation will and desires, our unchecked emotions and our intellectual minds.

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Living by the Spirit is a conscious choice to stay vitally connected to the Lord at all times. It means not letting sin go unchecked, but being intentional in confession. Naming sins rather than blanket confessing them, and then appropriating the forgiveness God has already settled our accounts with. Confession is one of the most freeing things in our Christian walk, because it reopens the door between us and God and allows the Spirit to flow unhindered into our hearts, our souls and our minds. The Spirit of God is the only way God administeres the Freedom that Christ came to deliver to us as His children. We must seek to walk in the Spirit everyday.

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Key 5: It Doesn't Depend On Me.

20 Do not spurn the gifts and utterances of the prophets [do not depreciate prophetic revelations nor despise inspired instruction or exhortation or warning].

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Despising things we don't understand is a huge way to quench the Spirit. Knowing that the gifts and call of the Lord do not rest upon my understanding of them frees me from judgments and calloused behavior toward Christians of different denominations. It also gives me understanding of limitations and the guiding of the Holy Spirit and the call of God. I am not advocating here the gifts of prophecy and "utterances" (speaking gifts) - I recognize that we each must come to our own understanding of the administration of the giftings in the New Testament and the call of God upon our individual lives.

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My personal preferences and opinions matter little when weighed against the infallibility of God's Word. Even if I do not cognitively agree with or prefer the teacher who is speaking on a matter of Scripture, I can be like the Bereans and examine everything against what I know to be true, God's Written Word - the Holy Bible - and ask the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom in discerning whether what I am engaging is of Him or of something else.

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It is our responsibility not to base our assessment of God's calling, giftings and Scripture circumspectly on the teachings of other men, no matter how credentialled or scholarly - we must test it all which brings me to Key 6.

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Key 6: We Must Prove ALL Things Against God's Standard - His Word. Holding Fast only to what His Standard says is GOOD.

21 But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast.

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All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)

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Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ~ 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

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And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. ~ Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

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These three Scriptures indicate a personal relationship that involves more than submitting yourself to the teachers of the Word you subscribe to. It indicates a personal relationship born of meting out the Word of God for yourself. Comparing what you are taught with what is true and discarding anything that does not resonate with the Word of God itself, regardless of whether the one teaching has authority and credentials. It doesn't mean tearing down another's ministry, but it does mean not staking your sole response to God and His Word on the teaching and reliability of human interpretation. We must be groomed for godliness and that comes from God's Word, taught, caught and applied.

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Key 7: Avoid Willful Sin And Flee Temptation.

22 Abstain from evil [shrink from it and keep aloof from it] in whatever form or whatever kind it may be.

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We are to be innocent of evil and experts in what is good. How can we know that ourselves if we never ever open God's Word and discern from it what His Will is? There are more than ten standards of "Hebrew Law." All of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy overview and outline the extent and the consequence of God's Law. But, what of the Law of Grace, and atonement. How do we avoid the sin of pride and piety that so plagued the Pharisees in Jesus' day. By exercising mercy toward others who are caught in sin - love the sinner, hate the sin and applying any judgment or measure of justice we deem necessary to absolve sin toward ourselves... then CONFESS IT to God in humility and ask Him to make you contrite and repentent over your sin.

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""Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." ~ Matthew 7:1-5 (NKJV)

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Galatians 6:1 says it this way: "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load. " ~ Galatians 6:1-5 (NKJV)

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And for good measure, here is the word I love: "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?" ~ Micah 6:8 (AMP)

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Key 8: Be Set Apart, Sanctified by God Himself.

23 And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

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Santification has its work in setting us apart when we submit ourselves fully to God through Salvation, Confession, Repentence, Discipleship or Instruction, Ministry and Relationship or Fellowship with both God and His People. He finds us blameless when we surrender ourselves and allow ourselves to be cloaked in the righteousness of Christ for in and of ourselves there is none righteous, no not one. Only Christ who gave Himself to be righteousness for us and in turn made us His righteousness before God. His righteousness preserves us blameless before the Lord. Be sanctified, set apart for the purposes of God through and through.

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Key 9: Trust God To Finish The Work In You. (See Also Philippians 1:6)

24 Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].
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He alone is faithful and trustworthy to finish all that He has called us to, all He has gifted us for and anything and everything in between. It doesn't depend on you - It all depends on Him.

 

In conclusion I would like to reaffirm Romans 12:1-3:

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Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God's compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you. 2 Don't become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect. 3 Because of the kindness that God has shown me, I ask you not to think of yourselves more highly than you should. Instead, your thoughts should lead you to use good judgment based on what God has given each of you as believers. (God's Word)

Names of Jesus: Emmanuel (God with us)

For the study notes that accompany the video blog this week, please visit: scriptureandprayer.com or email me and I will send you a Word.doc with the study notes. Enjoy Him today!

http://vimeo.com/29954244

Names of Jesus Bible Study

In 2008 I did a weekly in-depth Bible study on the Hebrew Names of God. In those days I had all day everyday to dig through the tissue paper pages and volumes of commentary on my bookshelves to develop a post of this nature. These days I slide it in as I have time between family, work, domestic responsibilities and my newest passion - PAINTING.

Still, tonight as I began a series of posts on Colossians and began to consider the mysteries of God in Christ I remembered my desire to do a study on the Names of Jesus that life preempted in 2009. I believe God's revelation of His nature and character await us in this season of study. I will be posting video blogs each week here at my personal blog, and a detailed written post at my Scripture & Prayer blog if you would like to print out and review the notes. Check back here each Monday for a new video blog and link to study notes focusing on one of the names of Jesus referenced in Scripture.

Please feel free to comment and bring your own insights to the table as we trek through the pages of our Bibles and discover Jesus through the names used to identify Him in Scripture. Let the study begin!

First name we will study: Immanuel | October 3


And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. ~John 1:14 (NKJV)

When there are no words...

When in Colorado I saw things that took my breath away and left no room for words. I didn't just see the majesty of the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado - I felt it. Deep inside of me something awakened, a new sense of awe and childlike wonder I had no words  to describe.



Colors jumped to life before my very eyes. My heart found a place to be thrilled and quieted all in the same moment. As the two vehicles in our vacation caravan kept pace, one with another, I allowed my eyes to trace every line and explore every crevice it saw. I pulled out my phone or the camera and snapped away as the Lord whispered sweetly in my ears. "I planned this for you."

Light beckoned me in Colorado. It danced among the clouds just ahead or above the fray on the interstate before us. When the clouds proved dense, the sun would peek out now and again as if to say, "I'm still here. I'll be with you all day."

Rain fell and fear threatened. Skirmishes broke out in the caravan still we all arrived in one piece. The storm in my heart over the treacherous drive all but subsided. I felt quiet, and did not want to talk. Disappointed does not even begin to describe the way I felt. I felt submersed in dark water. This is vacation?

Would the storms remain?

Decidedly no. :)



As the Sun came up... The Moon went down...

Sunset atop Lionshead at Vail. At a cool, crisp 40 degrees it is one of the most beautiful moments we experienced on our trip.



This little birdie met us on the Spruce Loop trail up the mountain from Beaver Creek Village. It taunted me with a spirited little flounce across the path I ventured down. I followed into a narrow trail and snapped a few photos as he flitted and flew among the branches of the evergreens there. Sweet Tweet! :)



SO.  GRATEFUL. that I did not see this sign before we walked in the woods. Running into a bear was NOT on my list of things to do in Colorado. I think my favorite one is to talk calmly if the bear sees you so he knows you are not a threat. Stand your ground on the ground... Why? Bears climb trees. Yeah, it is useful information but I am pretty sure all that information would fly out the window if I ever stand toe-to-toe with a bear.





I mentioned the pottery painting tent we discovered the first day... This is the fruit of our labor. I painted a cereal sized bowl for my niece, Eva. We also did two smaller bowls, four dragons and a cute little police car.

Friday morning as we rode the ski lifts up to the Spruce Loop, little chipmunks pranced across the green grass covering the ski slopes below. My heart giggled at the sight of them. I wanted to see one up close and personal. Yes, I did. I prayed, Lord would you let me get a picture of a chipmunk.

We made our way back down the mountain on the chair lift without snapping a photo of a furry friend. But, the bird I met on the path certainly gave me great joy. At least not on Friday...

The next day shaking hands almost did me in when Scott pointed this little guy out to me at an information center in Pike's National Forest. I shook and had a hard time finding the little guy in the zoomed in digital display of the camera. I thought I needed to hurry, but when he saw me coming toward him with my camera he ran right out on the rock and posed. YES. POSED.

We ventured further up the path and found Sherry and Kevin atop a stone terrace. Sherry was snapping pictures of a small herd of chipmunks who were frolicking all around her in the warm afternoon sun. This is the perfect way to end a vacation - in case you are wondering. I think we met Chip, Dale, Alvin, Simon and Theodore. :)







The other view from the terrace...

And the rest of the trip on our last day in Colorado... Simply beautiful. We did take two excursions away from the older folk in our caravan. We drove all around Pike's Peak area for several hours actually and happened into a town with a motorcycle rally in full swing. Thousands of bandana and leather clad Harley riders lined the streets - every street all over the town. The second turn off the beaten path was near Pueblo when we set out to find yarn. We called these two jaunts around the mountains "The Great Pike's Peak Excursion" we literally drove around in a circle. Then when we got to Pueblo we lit out on "The Great Yarn Excursion." I didn't get to ride the cog train or see Pike's Peak up close and personal, but I saw a pyramid made out of gold dust and old abandoned mines set all through the curving mountainous roads we traveled that last day in the Rocky Mountains.

My sweet Mom and Dad keeping warm at Lionshead. :)

Sherry and Kevin at Pike's National Forest.

Uncle Sam and Aunt Laura on the Georgetown Loop railroad heading out of Silver Plume, Colorado on Thursday.

And finally, a few last glimpses of sunset over Vail.

I still want to share the artistry I saw in Beaver Creek Village and will do so soon! Still... Colorado captivated me and I hope the pictures delight you as much as they left me breathless.

Hidden Treasure

Six years ago I pressed into Colossians 2 with a deep yearning to know more about the "circumcision of the heart" Paul speaks of in this chapter. I remember studying this at a time when I was searching the Scriptures and God's heart seeking a greater understanding of His deep grace and the workings of that grace to bring us to completion in Christ.

The journey through Colossians 2 led me to a decision. On February 6, 2005 I put on my t-shirt and shorts in the small dressing room behind the platform at Chisholm Trail Baptist Church and walked out into the baptistry for the second time in my life to receive water baptism. That day I asked the Lord to cut the flesh nature away from my heart so that only He remained.

This past weekend, I experienced this chapter of Scripture in a brand new way. I experienced a baptism that served as both circumcision and deliverance and what I feel signifies completion of what I began searching out in those cold winter days more than a half decade ago.

My heart leans again toward this chapter, I hope it is all right if I share what I discover anew with you.

Colossians 2:1-3 (ASV)
"For I would have you know how greatly I strive for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, even Christ, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden." 

Let's start with Paul's great concern for the Church at Colosse. The Greek word translated in verse 1 as "strive" is ἀγών (Strong's Greek #73) which is transliterated, agōn. In the Complete Word Study Dictionary this definition is shared:

ἀγών [See Stg: <G73>] agón; masc. noun. Strife, contention, contest for victory or mastery such as was used in the Greek games of running, boxing, wrestling, and so forth. Paul applies the word to the evangelical contest against the enemies of man's salvation (1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7 [cf. 1 Cor. 9:24]). A race, a place to run (Heb. 12:1). A struggle, contest, contention (Phil. 1:29, 30; Col. 2:1; 1 Thess 2:2). In the NT, it is presented as the life task of the Christian. (AMG's Complete Word Study Dictionaries - The Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament.)

In the American Standard Version, the word appears as an English verb, but in the Greek the word is a noun: A contest or contention. This word implies a striving toward a specific end, victory or mastery.

Paul had never met the Christians at the Church in Colosse, but in his heart he fought for them. He contended for them spiritually. Paul's zeal for believers commended them to a greater understanding of the mysteries of God - even Christ. Can you hear his heart speaking to them?

He said he wanted them to know how he contended for them and the believers at Laodicea, as many who had not seen his face. Paul had so great a burden for these, and he had never met them. He did not know them personally, but he was connected to them by God's heart.

Paul's desire was to encourage and comfort the believers at Colosse and Laodicea. That there would be unity in their body and that as they grew close in heart to one another - they would also grow close in heart to God. Who has God laid on your heart to contend for their faith and understanding of the mysteries of God?

He speaks of an abundance of riches, a wealth, of understanding. A full assurance - a full measure-of understanding which brings revelation of the mystery of God-and that mystery is wholly found in Christ. I do not know about you, but early in my walk with God I had a hard time understanding how Christ could be both God and man. How did divinity within humanity make his experience tangible?

As a young teen, I pictured Jesus as a "super hero" type of God. You know... If he fell down it did not hurt, or if he was wounded he didn't really feel pain. The hurtful things had to bounce off of Him. After all He did not stop being God just because He became a man. His flesh a costume, like that of Clark Kent in the Superman story. But, that God thing He had going that really meant He just did what He had to do to save us - but somehow my picture remained void of experience.

Fast forward to spring 2004. Mel Gibson's graphic depiction of the Passion of the Christ demonstrated a side of Jesus that I struggled to identify.  Suffered. Anguished. Died.

His existence and humanity warred with His divinity in knowing He must suffer. He must anguish. He must die. Redemption could not satisfy the justice of God without a perfect sacrifice. Sacrifice involved pain, suffering, anguish and death - giving up the precious in place of the vile.

He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. ~Luke 22:44 (NLT)

He agonized. He prayed. He suffered there in prayer. He surrendered.

His divinity knew necessity. His humanity knew pain. His beloved knew redemption.

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” ~Matthew 26:39 (NLT)

When the Passion of the Christ came to theaters seven years ago, I collected money and names of people in our church to attend the first evening show on opening weekend. Still, I went early on opening day, purchased a ticket and sat through the movie alone weeping profusely at the agony of my Christ. My heart writhed as I witnessed the dramatic recreation of His suffering and my heart finally knew that Jesus boasted no super power - He laid aside His power, miracles and zeal in favor of the cross so that I could be free.

For me, that day watching the suffering of Christ, "cut me to the heart." It exposed the foolishness of my idol, Jesus, and opened my heart to the reality of my Savior and Lord, and all He did to make me His own. He came for me. What love? What Grace? What Sacrifice? For me?

Think of the wealth of this understanding. The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Walvoord & Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary) gives us insight into the depths of this passage. The commentators call Paul's stiving a "Labor of Love."

2:2-3. Paul’s stated purpose was that they might be encouraged in heart and united in love. Confidence and strength of conviction as well as cohesive unity yield a full understanding of the truth. There is no full knowledge apart from moral commitment. Complete understanding (syneseōs, “insight”) results from complete yielding. And this understanding is Christocentric. This insight into God’s ways enables believers to know (epignōsin) Christ fully. Christ, as the true mystery of God, reveals God to man (cf. John 1:18; Heb. 1:2-3). For in Him are hidden (cf. Col. 1:26) all the treasures of wisdom (sophia, cf. 1:9) and knowledge. Knowledge is the apprehension of truth; wisdom is its application to life. Knowledge is prudent judgment and wisdom is prudent action. Both are found in Christ (cf. Rom. 11:33; 1 Cor. 12:8) whose wisdom is foolishness to the world (1 Cor. 1:21-25), but who is the power of God by which a believer receives “righteousness, holiness, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).

This statement from the commentary gives me pause, "Knowledge is the apprehension of truth; wisdom is its application to life. Knowledge is prudent judgment and wisdom is prudent action. Both are found in Christ..."

Beth Moore has been known to say, "Wisdom is knowledge applied." AMEN.

So if Jesus suffered so greatly on my behalf - what else about my image of God had to be examined?

God the Father represented all authority I had ever known. Demanding obedience and giving little attention to the positive only observing the negative when my actions or attitude required correction. Grace eluded me, and my picture of God the Father for my first 34 years of life resembled an angry Judge/Father who boasted too many responsibilities to be really concerned or available to me, but waited for me to screw up so He could prove my need of Him.

One night, I sat in a "Hearing God" class at Church. Bob Hamp walked casually back and forth as He shared Scripture's testimony of God's deep desire to communicate intimately with me.

He paused in his paces and quieted the room. We bowed our heads and closed our eyes. Then he asked the question, "God, is there a lie that I have believed about you?"

My heart sped up as I awaited the verdict that loomed in my heart. But, God didn't issue a verdict. Instead, He issued a pardon.

You think I've been sitting up here waiting for you to screw up so I can say, "Gotcha!"

I picked up my pen and wrote down the words that rolled through my mind like a kiosk in Time Square. Bob then asked the next question, "If that is a lie, then what is the truth to replace it? "

Laughter began to bubble up in my heart as I realized the answer to this second, more important question. I've got you, stop trying so hard.

And just like that my judgment against both myself and God fell away to the truth of His Spirit at work in my heart. Repentance.

These last few years I have allowed that word the opportunity to marinate in my soul. As I rehearsed it again and again, I also refuted the accusations of my accuser and the evidence of my past that threatened to steal my righteousness in Christ.

God has spoken new truths to me since those early days when I learned to recognize His voice and embrace His truth. Little by little the natural way I think and live has ebbed away while new life has sprung up in unexpected places. Every once in a while I will ask the Lord, "Would you tell me a secret thing?"

The answer remains the same, Watch and see. And when you see you'll know.

And I always know. When He shows me the revelation, I always know that it is God revealing to me "a secret thing." He even tells me He loves that I know He will show me if I ask Him.

Over time I have grown to discover the intimacy and beauty of my Father God and His precious Son, Jesus. Their intimate connection with my heart opens me to new arenas of blessing, new areas of ministry, and new revelations of His love. Complete. A full measure of understanding? Perhaps, but the well is deeper. I love that I can be satisfied here, but still yearn for and attain more without even trying. He just speaks it and it is so.

His love is extravagant and there is so much more of Him for us to know. Christ is our Hidden Treasure. Will you come along and see what we can discover about Him together?

"It Ain't Easy Being Green"

NOTE: If you have not taken the opportunity to read these two posts about my relating to things in my brain through colors please visit: Embracing My Colorful Self and Self Awareness, Self Observation and Hearing God before reading this post.

In the movie "Hope Floats," Travis is a young boy living with his grandmother because his mother abandoned him to pursue an acting career in California.

Travis spends much of his time in costumes created by his grandmother where he pretends to be something or someone different than a child abandoned by his mother. Travis, in turn, abandons his reality and creates another one through these costumes to avoid the painful reality that his mother really didn't want him.

In one particular scene the family is seated around the dinner table and Travis is dressed up like a frog. They eat their soup out of bowls made from tortoise shells. When the grandmother asks, "How's your dinner, Kermit?"

Travis responds in a frog voice, "Good."

"Well, we seem to be the only ones enjoying it. Did you ever see two such mopes?"

She points to her daughter, Travis' Aunt Birdie, along with his cousin, Bernice, and says, "That's a mope, and that's a mope."

Ramona Calvert shares how difficult and pointless her life is, but she chooses to be happy. She goes on to encourage them to brighten up and then she says, "Look at Kermit here ... Do you think it's easy being green?"

Later in the movie Birdie explodes at her mother. "I had to be pleasing, Mama. With the town joke as a mother. I had to be pleasing, when you'd come flounce yourself into school with your roadkill hat and your freshly skinned bag, Mom. I learned how to be pleasing."

Her mom snaps back. "You're pleasing nobody. You're miserable, yourself, and I've never been unhappy. So the joke is on you, honey."

Clearly it was not easy being part of the Calvert family.

Green in my brain family represents all things related to my family of origin. God and my own growing up have contributed to a great deal of healing in my life and my relationship with family. Still, growing up in a 70's era household with parents who loved hard and fought even harder can be a traumatic thing. I knew from my very first collage when I saw a picture of "Kermit the Frog" in the area where Green had turned up in my brain map that he came to say, "It's not easy being part of this family."

But, if you polled even the Cleavers or the Nelsons I think you would find that they would also say, "It ain't easy being a family."

Families made up of individuals with different dispositions and personality types can be wonderful and dysfunctional all at the same time. The same holds true for me and my family.

Green had a problem after Gray left. Green thought I didn't need her anymore. Her fear and anger rolled around inside of me for a few days before I finally collaged her with Pink. Turns out Green took on the attributes that a lot of the women in my family carried.

• Green is strongly connected to family.


• She even idolizes the family.


• Family history is very important to Green.


• Family is the only thing that matters to Green.

I knew addressing Green's feelings and memories would be difficult at best and even painful if I dug in hard. Dr. Mungadze helped me to understand that Green had a couple of problems that I would need to help her along with in terms of understanding. The first area we would need to work on would be Green's connection to Gray, and the idea that I wanted to get rid of Green like I'd gotten rid of Gray. The second thing would be introducing Green to the beneifts of God's family.

I'm going to share most of my dialogue and praying through my Green color because it really is a powerful thing that God did in this exchange for Green and for Me.

ME: Green, are you there?

GREEN: Yes. Are you going to make me leave, too?

ME: No. Pink chose to leave, I’ll let you go when you choose to go, but not before.

GREEN: It makes me really sad.

ME: I know it does. Tell me about what’s happening with you.

GREEN: Well.. first Gray left and then Blue released all the pictures… and Purple… well it just doesn’t feel safe anymore.

ME: Why doesn’t it feel safe?

GREEN: B’cause Gray has always been with me.

ME: What do you mean?

 GREEN: B’cause we’re family. You know… WE. ARE. FAM-I-L-EE.

 ME: Green, Pink, Blue, Purple, Red, Yellow, Aqua, and Brown are our family in here, Gray was not our family. Green, Gray lied to me.

 GREEN: So. He has been here as long as I remember. That means he’s family.

 ME: No. He moved in and for a while I agreed for him to stay, but Gray wanted to hurt us… all of us.

GREEN: NO! Gray wanted to hurt YOU! I’m different than YOU!

ME: How are we different, Green?

GREEN: I take care of myself. I keep the family records, and I even know a lot of the history. Knowledge is power, and I’m powerful.

ME: Green, do you ever get tired?

GREEN: What do you mean?

ME: I mean, do you ever get tired of thinking so much?

GREEN: Sometimes…sometimes I wish I’d forget.

 ME: Green, how old are you?

 GREEN: Twelve. 

(At 12, my maternal grandmother died, my cousin’s fiancée was murdered, my uncle and his entire family was killed in a car accident, and at the end of that year I received Christ as my Savior and was baptized. This was the second or third year of regular church attendance for my entire family in my life.)

ME: Green, why is family important?

GREEN: B’cause it tells us who we are. The genes, the DNA – even the way we look is tied to them. If we don’t have family – who are we? Orphans?

ME: What about me is like my family?

GREEN: You like to argue like your dad. You look like your dad’s mom and your mom. You have a quick temper. You like to tell stories. You like to be the best at what you do. You press through and don’t give up. Your son died. You had sex before you married. You love hard. Your eyes are brown. You have back problems. You can be a bully with your words. Shall I go on?

ME: That’s enough. I guess when I hear all that there’s a lot of pain there.

GREEN: Well… It’s true.

ME: Green, those are the facts, but they are not who I am.

GREEN: How so?

ME: When I had my love encounter with Jesus in 2003 He began to show me who He created me to be?

GREEN: You meant that knit us together in your mother’s womb CRAP?

ME: You were here when Blue met Jesus?

GREEN: Yes, and I was none too happy. Did you see what He did to our tree? The roots have been cut.  

ME: Green, I asked Jesus to sever the roots. The tree is sick and we have to treat it at the roots before God can heal us.

GREEN: I like us the way we are.

ME: Why?

GREEN: We’re real, I can be myself. Change scares me.

ME: What has to change?

GREEN: I don’t know. You changed husbands, lots of times (promiscuity), you changed churches, houses… You even change the way you look all the time. I can’t even keep up anymore. I don’t like it. You want me to change families now?

 ME: Do you want to change?

GREEN: I don’t know.

ME: What are you afraid of – really?

GREEN: That for this change to happen I have to die.

ME: Who told you that?

GREEN: They didn’t have to tell me. I know.

 ME: What do you know?

GREEN: You’ve been trying to get rid of me for a long time now.

ME: I don’t believe that is true. I love my family and I value them and I value you. Good or bad my experiences with them have shaped who I’ve come to be, but God’s family has also help shape me into who I am.

GREEN: How?

ME: They love me for who I am, not what I do.

GREEN: And?

ME: They help me overcome the bad things that happen, like Justin dying, with God’s good.

GREEN: I remember. It was like that whole church had a son, brother, grandson die. That really was incredible. I mean, your --- MY Family --- was there for you, too.

ME: Of course they were. They always have been. But I need both my natural family and my church family.

GREEN: I guess you are right. Where does that leave me?

ME: What if you’re wrong about Jesus, Green?

GREEN: What can I do to change that?

ME: Would you like to talk to Jesus, Green?

GREEN: Do you think He can help me?

ME: I do, but you have to choose.

GREEN: Okay. Will you take me to Jesus?

ME: Jesus, Green wants to talk to you.

JESUS: Hello, Green.

GREEN: Jesus, is what Michelle said true?

JESUS: About what exactly?

 GREEN: We need the church family just like we need our natural family?

 JESUS: Yes, Green. It’s true.

GREEN: Why?

JESUS: Because when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil  they stopped looking to me for what they needed. Do you understand?

GREEN: I think. Bob Hamp taught us about this. He said it is the problem you came to solve… Right?

JESUS: Yes, that is right?

GREEN: So how does that help me?

JESUS: Well, because all mankind is born with the same problem, God the Father made a way so if I died and rose again alive then you could be adopted as His daughter.

GREEN: But what about the rest of our family?

JESUS: Because Michelle has chosen to let Me deal with the roots you are able to stay close to them.

GREEN: But didn’t you say people who follow you have to leave their family behind?

JESUS: Yes, I did. But those families hurt you like my own family rejected Me and those who followed Me. Michelle’s family isn’t doing that.

[Omitted due to family issues that I do not have permission to disclose.]

GREEN: So, we can have two families?

JESUS: Two that are really one.

GREEN: Okay! Does this mean I can go with Pink?

JESUS: Michelle, Green would like to go with Pink. How do you feel about that.

ME: Grateful. Green you’ve been the glue that has held us together, but now that you have chosen Jesus, He can take care of that for us now.

GREEN: So, I can go now?

ME: Green, you will be a part of me always. The part that connects me to both my family and God’s family. I love and the families you represent. You can go now.

GREEN: (hugs me tight) Thank you.

ME: Go in peace.

GREEN: I’m ready, Jesus.

JESUS: I have some really cool archives I want to show you. It’s all about Michelle’s family’s hall of faith.

GREEN: Cool! Can Pink come, too?

JESUS: She’s already there. Let’s go.

ME: Goodbye, Green.

Green and Pink joined my core identity by joining me in accepting Jesus. I now feel more free to embrace the wonderful things about my family while learning not to give into the negative patterns, renounce and come out of agreement with generational roots of iniquity and dysfunction, and learning to love myself as a part of them.

Even though it's not easy being a part of my family... It's so worth it. I would not be who I am today without them.