July 2004 archives

Texas summer sky--grandeur, the vastness of the Father. Ashy blue sage brush illumined by stark moonlight. Things here are out in the open not hidden and misty like where I grew up in North Carolina. There, river scents, tobbacco leaves, mounain laurel and honeysuckle. So many parts of God, so many nuances and expressions. His contours endless. Each of us, a collection of these nuances, a composition, a poem, a night somewhere taken in, beheld by someone. The saints and angels behold us if noone else, and friends. Outside of marriage, friends seems to be one of the clearest expressions of how God is--accepting us as we are, loving us through seasons and geography.

I'm rereading Brennan Manning, feeling his struggle to see himself as a royal friend of Jesus. Seeing his struggle to overcome self hatred and seeing himself as nothing more than ragamuffin. Thinking of Rich Mullens and how keen a eye he had, how authentic amid so much religion. We remember ones who managed to be themselves, and let God love them as they were. Things are beautiful when they are being themselves.
St Patrick tumbling between the church and the druids, managing to follow The Spirit and feel God's pain and love for both. Realizing it was all grace from the beginning. That we can't even tie our shoes without the cross. And then back to the night--the distances, the silences between states, coasts, countries. Thinking again of how it will all look when it surrenders and is once again itself, cored in Christ. How people, places and things ache to be.

really musing on this teaching of God's ability to bring about accelerated growth--making a wine vintage suddenly. On one hand it pushes against His usual wisdom parts, but on the other--with the compression of things which is currently going on, it just makes sense that many would be quickly brought to greater maturity!
In three days I will build My Temple.
It was a spiritual time He was speaking of. Spirit time is unique from regular time. God can IMPART whole annointings in an hour, which can utterly alter one's course.
When you look at this moment of things, it is clear that there would need to be radical and deep growth in order for people to hold and comprehend the spiritual realities of our time in history. So few are even poking into their spirit lives, while it is time to be spirit strong by now.
I am praying for a release of green! Really verdant green into His People.

So, just after the miracle of acceleration of water into mature wine, Jesus goes to the temple. When asked for a sign there, he told the teachers, tear down this temple and I will rebuild it in three days (whose temple we ARE). Again, this promise of accelerated growth.
Jesus is able to bring people to full maturity instantly. Often it takes time, so that we can learn of God and His Ways as we grow; but He can also do it in a moment, or three days-- making our spirits suddenly older.
Our day, is one of accelerated growth. We see this even in the natural world around us, increase, jumps ahead..Jesus is preparing us. He is the one who causes us to stand (Romans 14:4)--the same one who called and wooed us is able to mature us in an instant!

Jesus turned water into wine instantly. This accelerated maturation process is being made available to many now, as He starts to prepare us as Wine for His Master, The Father. Many who've been stuck at one season of development will be accelerated to a subtle blend of the best grapes. Jesus made very good vintage instantly. He is able to bring things to subtle levels of balance as a good wine has, just at His Word!
Accelerated growth has been spoken by many of the prophets recently, and is available for those who want to receive this wine miracle into their lives.

About six months ago as I was praying I felt a nudge to pray for the elections this year. Praying for government leaders is a fairly new thing for me, and didn't come without a lot of resistance and habits of thinking getting in the way of me caring for God's thinking. For most of my twenties, I felt pretty cynical about being an American, much less cared for the leadership of my country. I refused to vote in two elections; I worried when all my friends sprouted American flags on their cars, doors, mailboxes, lunchboxes, etc. after 9/11. I worried that Europeans might see me as one of those insensitive Americans; I over-apologized for my government. After awhile a lot of that internal apologizing got old. So something started to change. It happened slowly, over time, but the more my heart changed, the more I began to see the beauty of America through His eyes.

I think it took living abroad to see her objectively. First I noticed that my generation was very quick to criticize her, that we love journalists and artists that cleverly point out the naivete and stupidity of patriotism, and which critique what has become a consumerist monster. At the time I was living in a European nation that suffers from so much self-hatred from nearly a century of being raped and controlled by stronger, surrounding nations. I saw how beautiful these people were underneath all the crushings. Some day their nation would be worth something in their own eyes. He said to me, “Amy, I love America. Do you believe that?” He showed me that I had been hating myself and where I was born, and that this was hurting Him. He started showing me a new part of Himself, the Maker of Nations. He makes and shapes nations to teach things about Himself, and America has a very special and obviously powerful identity in the world--for good or ill. He showed me the difference between patriotism and love of what He has made, which is ultimately accepting ourselves. He chose me before the foundation of the world to be born here, and he saw that that was good.

I had a friend who drove around his beat-up van with this sticker on the back that said, “Whirled Peas.” He was one of the first Christians I ever met who sincerely tried to practice a justice in his heart, and love on those he felt were less fortunate than he. I remember one time he locked himself out of his apartment for a day and gave the key and all his money and identification to a friend. I drove by him that afternoon in the ghetto where we lived (I lived in section 8 housing at the time) and he was still in his pajamas. “What are you doing!” I shouted from my car, and he told me that he decided he wanted to live a day in our neighbors’ footsteps, find out where they ate, where they hung out, and figure out how to do it without any money or credentials. I knew that with him, it wasn’t just an idea but that he actually loved the people he met.

I know a lot of us wonder how we can better live a life of social justice and being real activists of peace in the world. The church will, one day, be the total agent of peace between races and classes. Even now there are some wonderful peace processes happening because the church has taken seriously her role as a “minister of reconciliation.” But she cannot do it in her own power, or out of guilt, or just because she thinks it’s a good idea. She must first know Him as Peace. The kind of peace we try to make ends up feeling more like whirled peas than true harmony between people and nations.

So, here 'tis. Another version of our blog... we dropped the "sion bubbles" name because sometimes you outgrow things, right? Just to confuse things a bit, there is also a website at www.thebearablelight.com, and this is the blog part... Does anyone read non-blogs these days? Hmm.

At the moment there are some links that don't go anywhere and other missing things, and I kept working on it to make sure it was all just right the way I wanted it, but I felt that Nudge telling me to not be such a perfectionist. Let it go as it goes.

Now for the techy minded people... In the process of moving everything around, I learned how to use Movable Type and Typepad and also investigated a whole host of other blog engines. (And ooh, Jess's site is so pretty with Inknoise.) I still think Blogger is the easiest and simplest, but sometimes you just outgrow things. It's really amazing how easily one can make a goodlooking website these days. I made my first one with the ghastly Microsoft Publisher back in 1997 when Geocities was the bomb, and boy it was horrid-looking. But I have learned so much. I am one of those geeks who really likes to look at code and solve problems, so I have learned a bunch along the way. The main thing I learned is that things change and change FAST. The internet is dynamic. I went without a computer for almost a year in Prague and during that time I got so "behind" all the changes in browsers and CSS code and stuff that I felt like I had to relearn everything. The exact day I installed Movable Type (the older version), both Blogger and Movable Type came out with new and improved versions. Ah well. But my advice is to enjoy the ride and choose the way that fits you most. As much as people try to put rules on it, the web is one of the few refreshing mediums in the world that hasn't gotten so institutionalized and rule-bent that no one can make a go at it. Let's hear an amen for that and hope it stays that way.

so on a less funky note, just thinkin about how each of the nations are linked. Been getting a lot on Japan and China and thinking of their stories. This sense of how each nation fits into a larger narrative and expresses unique aspects of God.
America likes to help people by nature. You know, on the surface--especially through the cynicism on my own generation-- it may not look like that, but I am speaking of the spiritual identity of America--what it is as seen through the Eyes of The Spirit. Well...it likes to defend things, partly for the adventure of it.
In many ways, it lacks the wisdom to parent, but it has guts and goes for it! And loves to bring life. Looking over this declaration of independence again today...that word LIFE keeps sticking--established to bring Life places..partly the inherent life in things--not to parent other nations, but to call forth their own life in them....to defend the weak and fatherless (again from the natural, sounds so idealistic, but look at US movies---all about Justice, and going in on adventurous missions to help the weak)
Not to say that this nation or any other nation has lives up to its calling, or lived out its destiny--obviously not. But then we immediately look at god's Mercy. I mean God never wanted Germany to be shamed after the last war..that is not God's Way. He was not wanting to say, see you are evil for being strong, and should really not come back to the table--no that is not God's Voice. God's Mercy means He does not choose to humiliate us, even when we make large mistakes--think of our own lives. Now America has recently made some mistakes. But America has a story to fulfill, and God takes into account her whole story, when He deals out judgment. God loves America, as he does all the nations, but He parents uniquely with each. Some nations need more overt shaking; others like the one I am writing from, gentle swaying (Czech republic was oppressed repeatedly, and is much as a recovering abuse victim--a very meek and special people to The Lord). Anyways, my points are that God's mercy is bigger than our own, and that God loves the nations and is bringing each to its deeper destinies.
Coming to know the nations as people in His family is so very helpful to keep out from under racism, and stereotyping of all kinds. Looking at what part of God each nation reflects really helps us see ourselves with greater clarity.
This month we have been in four nations, each with its own story. It is just so worth it to get to know each, and that part of God which each reflects!! Happy birthday America, may He continue to bless you!!

i gotta sing, oph how God loves the nations!!!! Oh how He trains and raises them up in His Love and Patience to reflect Him...got to love them...got to see them as parts of Him...got to jump in the continuum!!! trace it through Jesus baby...go...

..get down, get back up---got to love each nation like a person on a journey...and here is America jump-dancing into the banquet party, and you gotta like that commission on her to defend the weak, protect the weak...GOD GOT HIS EYES ON YOU GIRL!!---not done with that lovely girl, though she falter, you gotta know His Mercy...she just got a strut, willing to rush in....how can you hate Japan..how can you hate america, how can you hate korea, how can you hate china..when you start to see HIM IN each nation as a person---oh her JUSTICE---she wants to be the first one in to defend...that adventurous leader as Pieter Bos names America... got to celebrate, got to hate all that projected self hatred onto her...she got destiny baby...she got destiny, Psal 82:1-3...come on God gettin up in her assemblies---all that might isn't meaningless its to fulfill her destiny----don't understand all this hatred and fear of other...how you gonna aim all that hatred at a nation...oh you hurtin God.....america it's your birthday, and God got mercy on you...knows you aren't always wise, but you going in and doing it...knows you lack wisdom, but that you wanta lead that adventure...your youthful life giving energy gives life wherever you go...there is now no condemnation baby...get funky today, renew, dance, let your hair down, clean off and pray