En route

I found out tonight that something I wrote is getting published into a booklet with a number of other Christian women. It is an incredibly humbling thing, because while I don't know everyone who is in it, I know who quite a few of them are, and they are the most amazing women.

I like writing when the urge takes me, and while I have no idea what the book will look like, I know what it is intended use is. I am also amazed that I was asked to contribute, considering that the journey that took me to that point started years ago, and once I had made a decision that, well took over a year in itself, it was nearly thwarted again in a most disasterous way. I am so glad to be where I am at, to have been brought this far, and so very grateful that, while I have no idea what the destination is for much of the current things I am involved in, I know that God does, so in all of it, the crazy essay writing and random work, I am glad to be able to trust him in it all!

Story Water

A story is like water
that you heat for your bath.
It takes messages between the fire
and your skin. It lets them meet,
and it cleans you!
Very few can sit down,
in the middle of the fire itself
like a salamander or Abraham.
We need intermediaries.
A feeling of fullness comes,
but usually it takes some bread
to bring it.
Beauty surrounds us,
but usually we need to be walking
in a garden to know it.
The body itself is a screen
to shield and partially reveal
the light that's blazing
inside your presence.
Water, stories, the body,
all the things we do, are mediums
that hide and show what's hidden.
Study them,
and enjoy this being washed
with a secret we sometimes know,
and then not.

-Coleman Barks (Translator), the Essential Rumi

The foolish and the wise

At church this morning, we were looking at Psalm 1- a wisdom psalm. It sparked a search for a comparison between what a fool is, and who someone who is wise is. I didn't have to go to far- went back through Psalm 1, and was stuck into Jeremiah where I am reading at the moment.

So, here's a list of a foolish person, and a wise person, from God's perspective. It's not complete by any means, but covers quite alot for a few chapters!!

The fool is...
Wicked
Keeps company with sinners and mockers
Is like chaff and will blow away..
Will fall at judgement
Will perish
Doesn't know God
Has no understanding
Is skilled at evil
Doesn't know how to do good
Has no sense
Is foolish
Doesn't know God's ways
Doesn't see, hear or fear God
Is selfish, doesn't care for those in need.


The wise person.....
Is skilled at good
Is righteous and knows God
Has good sense
Deals honestly with others
Seeks truth
Delights in the Law of the Lord
Meditates on it
Is like a tree firmly planted
Stands in the time of judgement
Is among the assembly of the righteous
God watches over them

So, while I am not wise by Sydney (media portrayed) standards, it seems- half the time, well, most of the time...... hopefully I am definately not a fool by God's standards! I am so glad for God's truth, grace and how overwhelmingly and lavishly he loves us!