crowns, coronets, and hoop skirts of light

"Milk Drop Coronet" by Harold Edgerton

Sometimes it’s just a word that connects-the-dots to memory. Like the word, “crowned” in Psalm 8:5, "crowned him with glory and honor." A word study of the Hebrew word used for “crowned” is `atar (aw-tar') meaning "to surround, encircle (for protection); especially to crown -- compass, crown, to cover, enwrap, wrap oneself." The moment I read this definition the image of another “crown” came to mind, but now with the added meaning, “to surround, encircle, enwrap.” The “crown” I pictured was actually a photograph of the “Milk Drop Coronet” taken by Harold Edgerton in 1957, an unseen world of objects in motion, capturing that which is ordinarily invisible to the human eye...yet it was real. I wrote a blog post about the first time I saw the photograph in 1963, a memory that came back to me in 2007 as I wrote a journal entry in response to a Christian counselor’s prompt, “Tell me about a time when you felt special as a little girl.” As I wrote the journal entry, I drew a sketch of the photograph as I remembered it. 

Amazingly enough, just a few days later, the Lord would remind me of His Presence, Emmanuel—God with us, when I saw this same photograph at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. The symbolism was unmistakable to me, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has been with me all along—when I was knit together in my birthmother’s womb, when I was chosen, adopted, by loving Christian parents. He was with me when I first saw the “Milk Drop Coronet.”  He was with me when I recalled it in my journal following the counseling session, and He was with me when I turned to look at the darkened alcove in the museum to snap a picture of the “Milk Drop Coronet.” He is with me today and everyday into the future. He is with me. He is intimately involved in the tiniest details of my past, my present, and my future.

Now, this word study of the word “crowned” with the added meaning, “to surround, encircle, enwrap” reminds me that He “crowns” me with His glory and honor everywhere I go, surrounds me, encircles me, like a hoop skirt of light, visible in the heavenlies. One of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received, included in the newspaper article in this blog post, was, “She was like a shining light coming through the door.” Then recently, another friend described me the same way. I know that “light” is Jesus shining through me, surrounding me, encircling me.

A pastor’s wife once told this true story of a time she was walking down a path in a park, when suddenly, she could see a man running toward her with an evil intent and expression on his face. She cried out, “Jesus, help me!” and instantly she said she actually saw a “hoop skirt of light” shining down around her, and the evil man just kept running past her, as though he had not seen her, and she was safe.

Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Just to know that I know that I know that because I have placed my trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, I am redeemed by His precious blood, He has crowned me, surrounded me, encircled me with His glory and honor… as this song says, I am a greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved child of God.

Heavenly Father, thank you, that in Christ, You have crowned me with Your glory and honor. I am a greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved child of God. Thank you for how Your favor is operating and functioning in my life. It surrounds me and encircles me like a shield. Your favor goes before me and prepares my way. Your favor opens doors of blessing and opportunity in my life. Wherever I go and whatever I do, Your favor is with me, surrounding me, encircling me. Your favor fills my life with overflowing blessing, peace, joy, fulfillment, and abundance.

How about you, does this encourage you? Please feel free to leave your comments in the box below, I’d love to hear from you.

Linking up with Holley Gerth's Coffee for Your Heart as an encourager.

encouraging resurrection power words

the empty garden tomb in Jerusalem, Israel

I find great encouragement in a word study of the four different Greek words used in this Scripture for the resurrection power with which God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and toward us who believe...

…what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…(Ephesians 1:19-20)

power (dunamis)—dynamic—it refers to intrinsic power. The gospel is dynamic, God’s dynamic, and so is powerful in the transformation of human lives. Dunamis is the same power that resides in believers because we are in Christ and He is in us.

working (energeia)—describes effectual working, efficiency or active, effective power. In this passage, energeia describes the active, energetic, productive power of God at work. Energeia describes God’s power in raising Christ, Paul instructs us that we have it, too.

strength (kratos)—refers to manifested power or power that is released, put forth in action. It is power to overcome what stands in the way. It is power which is able to overcome resistance. Kratos means strength or might, the power to rule or control, supreme authority, sovereignty.

might (ischus)—inherent power or force. A muscular man’s big muscles display his might, even if he doesn’t use them. It is the reserve of strength. Ischus conveys the sense of endowed power or ability. The idea is that it is the active efficacy of the might that is inherent in God, His indwelling strength. He is able!

As a believer, I know this is the same resurrection power that dwells in the innermost part of me, giving me strength to face every day’s challenges.

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers] (Philippians 3:10 Amplified Bible)

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].(Philippians 4:13 Amplified Bible)

Take a few minutes to listen to these heart-felt lyrics from “Resurrection” by Nicole Sponberg

Here I am at the end, I'm in need of resurrection

Only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead 

What I've lost to the world, what seems far beyond redemption 

You can take the pieces in Your hand and make me whole again

 

This is encouraging to me, because it’s not my power, but the power of the Spirit of Christ Who dwells in the innermost part of me, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

How about you? Is this encouraging to you? Please leave your comments in the box below. I’d love to hear from you!

Linking up with Holley Gerth’s Coffee for Your Heart as an encourager!

Vivit! Vivit! (He Lives! He Lives!)

Martin Luther was once found at a moment of peril and fear, when he had need to grasp unseen strength, sitting in an abstracted mood tracing on the table with his finger the words, “Vivit! Vivit!” (He Lives! He Lives!) It is our hope for ourselves and for His truth and for mankind. Men come and go; leaders, teachers, thinkers speak and work for a season, and then fall silent. He abides. They die, but He lives. They are lights kindled, and, therefore sooner or later quenched; but He is the true light from which they draw all their brightness, and He shines for evermore.–Alexander Maclaren, Streams in the Desert devotional

Two simple Latin words proclaim the Truth of the Gospel that changes everything about our everyday lives and our eternity--Because He Lives, we too, shall live...Pass It On!

When I was a senior in high school, our youth group performed the 1970’s folk musical “Tell It Like It Is.” It was such a spiritual milestone in my life, standing up for my faith before secular audiences.

It only takes a spark to get a fire going

And soon all those around, can warm up in glowing

That’s how it is with God’s love

Once you’ve experienced it, you spread His love to everyone

You want to pass it on

What a wondrous time is spring, when all the trees are budding

The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming

That’s how it is with God’s love

Once you’ve experienced it, you want to sing

“It’s fresh like spring”; you want to pass it on

I wish for you my friend, this happiness that I’ve found

You can depend on Him, it matters not where you’re bound

I’ll shout it from the mountain top

I want the world to know; the Lord of love has come to me

I want to pass it on

 

The providence of God is like Hebrew words—it can be read only backwards, wrote Puritan John Flavel, referring to the fact that the Hebrew language is read backwards from our perspective–that is, right to left instead of left to right. A component of the Beth Moore Bible Study, “Believing God,” was to complete a timeline of our life in 10 year segments, asking God to reveal to us all the spiritual mile markers in our lives--broken places, hurts, disappointments, accomplishments, and joyful times--to help us see that God had been there all along. His grace is sufficient. To accomplish this task, I discovered a very helpful tool for a “Timeline Template” through Microsoft. It’s free, and it’s very easy to use, the text boxes expand to whatever size you need, and the arrows on the boxes can be moved to any location on the timeline. It really helped my memories come to the surface, and God has used it to encourage me in so many ways.

Looking back at spiritual milestones in my life encourages me. How about you? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments box below, I’d love to hear from you!

Linking up with Holley Gerth’s Coffee for Your Heart as an encourager!

location, location, location...



Ask any real estate agent to list the three most important things to consider when buying a home, and you’ll likely hear: “location, location, location.” That phrase has been in use at least since 1926, according to The New York Times.

However, I had a different experience with the phrase, “location, location, location.” The year was 1996. My husband, Jack, our daughter, Tracy, and I had just participated in a low-impact family ropes course. It included a series of challenges that we had to solve together as a team. There were several times that I personally didn’t see how we would solve the problem. But we worked together and we tried out different ideas until we completed the task. One of us always had an idea that worked. We learned we could relax and trust that we could figure it out together.

As the challenges came to a close, the facilitator had us gather in a circle, and asked if we wanted the final debriefing questions to be spiritual. We said, “Yes!” That’s when he asked the location, location, location question...

On a scale of one to five, with five being as close to God as you could be, where are you?

I don’t remember what anyone else in my family said, but I will never forget what I said, “I’m a one.” It was an epiphany for me, which Webster’s defines as, “a sudden realization, a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence.”

I had accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior as a ten-year old child during a revival. My fingers formed a heart as I sat on the front pew after filling out the decision card. I had been enrolled in our church’s cradle roll nursery at four months of age after my parents adopted me from the Salvation Army hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. I grew in my knowledge of Jesus through Sunday School and missions organizations, memorizing many of His wonderful words of life. And yet, here I was, a busy wife and working mother feeling like a “one.” How did I get here? Jesus had not moved, but I felt far away from Him. Later that week, I heard this heart-felt song by Larnelle Harris, “I Miss My Time with You,” as the lyrics say,

…I miss My time with you, those moments together, I need to be with you each day and it hurts Me when you say you're too busy… 

I knew in my heart that prayer, time in God’s Word, and worship with my fellow believers were the choices I needed to make to move from a “one” to a “five.” I began to pray this prayer as part of my quiet time each day...

Lord Jesus, give me a heart which yearns for Your Presence, a yearning for You that draws me over and over into Your Presence, a yearning that makes only a few days without time in prayer and Your Word seem like an eternity. Give me a heart which is motivated first and foremost by a desire for You, not for what You can do for me, but a yearning for Your Presence. Give me a heart that wants You more than anything else You could give, to love You and know You more than anything in life. Give me a heart that takes what You have made known to me and makes You re-known to everyone else, a heart that makes Your name and renown the desire of my heart. Give me a heart to feel Your Holy Spirit woo me once again to the place where I meet You. In the simplicity of my prayer time, give me a heart to be suddenly confronted by the majesty of my Redeemer—the One Who is responsible for any good in me. I bow at Your Cross, and I experience anew Your forgiveness, redemption, mercy, and grace, as I sense Your blood dripping over the Crown of Thorns pressed into Your brow, onto my heart, covering my sin, I get up from my knees wearing Your Robe of righteousness as I face the day ahead, welcoming Your fresh mercies which fall like manna from Heaven, and once again move my heart. I surrender all. Morning after morning.  

For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.—Philippians 2:12-14

How about you? How would you answer the location, location, location question, “On a scale of one to five, with five being as close to God as you could be, where are you?”

Please feel free to leave your comments in the space below, I’d love to hear from you!

Linking up today with Holley Gerth’s Coffee for Your Heart as an encourager!

connecting the dots to a blessing...

Have you ever had the experience of saying, “Yes!” to something our Lord Jesus Christ has placed on your heart, and then having the veil lifted just a little to see how God used your willingness to say, “Yes!” to connect-the-dots to a blessing?

Linking up with Holley Gerth’s Coffee for Your Heart Encouragement Challenge to share one of my very encouraging connect-the-dots experiences…

The missionary from Burkina Faso, West Africa, Jay Shafto, had a table display set up at a small mission fair in my hometown. After speaking with him for a few minutes about his family’s need for a teacher for their three young children, I agreed to leave my name and contact information and take their photo prayer card and lift them up in prayer every day. Beginning in November, 1999, I faithfully began to pray for them daily. One day in January, 2000, I received a phone call from Jay’s wife, Kathy Shafto. The minute she identified herself, I shrieked, “I prayed for you and your family this morning!” She thanked me for praying for their family, and she asked if I would be willing to make copies and distribute a flyer that she had created with a job description for the teacher they needed and their contact information. I was more than willing to do such a small thing. I made 50 copies of the flyer and distributed them at my local church and continued to pray for them every day.

A few months later, I received another phone call from Kathy Shafto, in which she excitedly told me that God had used me as “His willing vessel” to connect them with Elsie McCall, a dear 64 year-old single woman who attended my church. Elsie had picked up one of the flyers I had copied and distributed at our church. She generously responded to the call to Burkina Faso, West Africa, as one of the first people to serve with the International Mission Board’s Masters Program which gives people who are 50 years and above the opportunity to work alongside career missionaries for a two-to-three year term.

During her time over eight years on the field, Elsie generously homeschooled the Shafto’s three children, Madelyn, Robby, and James. Through her teaching, Elsie was able to free up Kathy Shafto to minister along with her husband, Jay, through women’s and literacy ministries among the Bissa people of Burkina Faso. The Shaftos refer to Elsie as an answer to prayer, and so do I. “The neat thing is that it was a whole God thing,” Kathy Shafto said. “I felt God was calling me to be involved in full-time ministry. So, the only way I was going to do that was if I had a teacher. Without Elsie, I would not be able to do that."

I am still in awe at how God answered my prayers for a teacher for the Shafto family.


It gives me hope in my prayer life today, even when something seems impossible or very unlikely, I’ll say to myself, “Nothing is impossible for our God—remember how He used your prayers and willingness to copy and distribute the flyers, to connect a sweet missionary family to the teacher for whom they were praying.” The generosity of these missionaries and memory of the effective power of prayer has strengthened my faith and my belief that trusting God means looking beyond what I can see to what God sees. God already saw Elsie as the answer to the Shafto’s prayer, and He used my prayers and willingness to copy and distribute the flyers as His way to connect-the-dots to get Elsie to Burkina Faso. What an awesome God we serve!



How about you? Have you ever had the experience of saying, “Yes!” to something our Lord Jesus Christ has placed on your heart, and then having the veil lifted just a little to see how God used your willingness to say, “Yes!” to connect-the-dots to a blessing?

Please feel free to share your comments below, I’d love to hear from you!