Whatever is Pure Archives
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Prodigal Brother By Sue Thompson Having a prodigal affects families profoundly especially a sibling who remained obedient. Sue Thompson shares her story of struggle, shame, and hope in this book. Recognizing the unresolved anger that the sibling may experience, this book offers ways to heal the pain of feeling second-place in a parent's attention. Thompson writes with sensitivity about forgiving a wayward brother of sister without excusing the behavior. Anyone who's been "the good kid" in the family will find answers, understanding, and the knowledge needed to unload the emotional baggage of growing up with a prodigal in the home. |
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Forgiving & Reconciling: Bridges to Wholeness and Hope By Everett L. Worthington, Jr. Psychologist and counselor Everett Worthington, the leading Christian researcher on forgiveness, says that forgiving is a gift we give to others. When we offer forgiveness to others as an altruistic gift, it is more effective than when we forgive only for our own benefit in an effort to "get over" the hurt. True forgiveness is accomplished through a careful process of understanding both the offense and the offender, and taking active steps to forgiveness. In this insightful and practical book, Worthington provides a clinically proven strategy and a wealth of resources for moving toward forgiveness. |
Whatever is Pure - May 2005
Lily Pads
Lily pads at the pond
Grow on stalky stems.
Leaves unfold an opened palm,
Cupped at center point.
Summer shower starts to drop
Mercurial glistening spheres,
Gathering in the center palm
Until the bulbous weight
Smears shower drops
Into glistening globs
And tips the pad so full,
To pour its contents overboard,
And rising from the spill,
Stately shielded lily-palm
Begins the cycle once more.
Drench me Lord
In Your shower of love
Let me gather and drink my fill,
Then spill it over on those around
And rise to await Your holy will.
Keep my stalk flexible,
My palm open and cupped,
Eager to receive Your all,
Questioning not Your skill,
Only trusting the shower of love,
To melt my rigid will.
Send the wind of Your Spirit
To tip me over, pour me out,
Then drench me once again
With cleansing water of holy Word.
Let Your light shine through
My enshrouding mist.
Color me with Your promise this:
Abiding presence and constant love,
Indwelling grace that conquers sin,
Transfigured rigid
I Yielded and bent
In the service of Christ,
Spilling forth rivers of living water
And giving rest unto croaky voiced frogs
Who, when Spirit-kissed,
Become priests and kings
Singing their praises to You.
© Molly Lin Dutina
dutina@juno.com
Email the author to gain permission to use this poem.
Raindance
Raindrops are splattering on the surface of the pond.
...when do they cease to be raindrops
and become part of the pond?
The surface of the pond is alive...
...circles running into each other
...creating colliding dashes.
Turtles break the surface and
burst below again
in a hurried hunt for brunch.
They seem delighted by the pond's behavior...
...bouncing water
...dancing circles that make turtles
carefree and rambunctious.
You promised repeatedly Lord that
"In returning and rest we are saved,
In quietness and trust is our strength."
You said we will be like a well-watered garden.
Lord, when does the anointing become a part of us
and no longer distinguishable as something separate?
Dance on my pond, Jesus.
Splash my mirror surface
until I ripple
and the ripples intersect
to where the pond no longer looks like me, but You.
...blended in holy, bouncing raindance
...boisterous with Your presence
...glistening indescribably
and like the turtle
I will dive into the center-down silence
to feast on the fruits of Your presence.
© Molly Lin Dutina
dutina@juno.com
Email the author to gain permission to use this poem.
How Big Is Your Bowl?
I've been thinking, why do I not see the blessing of God in my life as of late? Finances are tight, relationships are stale, my personal devotions are lagging. As I was recently updating the archives for the Daily Christian Quote , I came across my own words from 2003 and was convicted.
September 25, 2003
When I was leading a home group, it began to irritate me when over the period of a year, people would ask for a "little prayer" or worse yet, they'd ask for a "little blessing". I have a huge yellow plastic bowl I used for making popcorn, which was the staple of this home group and everyone was well acquainted with the bounty this bowl would hold. On one occasion where we had cookies instead of popcorn for the snack, I asked at prayer time, "Does anyone want prayer for anything, or for a blessing in general?" A woman requested "a little blessing". I stomped out to the kitchen, got the yellow bowl and a small soup bowl and brought them both out. "Which do you want? All of God's blessings and more? Or just a "little" blessing?" It made such an impact that people started asking for a "yellow bowl" blessing.
Don't you just hate when you are reminded of your own words and expected to live the testimony that you have preached? That's where the rubber hits the road, so to speak, in our Christian walk.
James 4:2 You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. NLT
How simple God has made it for us. All he asks, is that we ask. We grumble and complain, live within the 'Elder Brother' mentality, jealous of the blessing God pours out on others but have we actually paused and asked? If not, then why not? Fear that God doesn't love us as much as He loves others? Fear that we are not 'good enough'? Are we of the mistaken belief that God doesn't care about the practical aspects of our lives?
Luke 11:9-12 So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" NKJV
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