Faces of Cozy

A Sobering Poem to Contemplate

She asked to be made like her Saviour,

And He took her at her word,
And sent her a heart-crushing burden
Till the depths of her soul were stirred.
She asked for a faith strong, yet simple.
He permitted the dark clouds to come;
She staggered by faith through the darkness,
As the storms did her soul overwhelm.


She prayed to be filled with a passion
Of love for lost souls and for God,
And again, in response to her longing,
She sank 'neath the chastening rod.
She wanted a place in His vineyard;
He took her away from her home,
And placed her among hardened sinners
Where she humanly stood all alone.


She gave up all wordly ambitions,
Those "castles in air" of her years,
And she knelt in deep consecration,
And whispered, "Amen," through her tears.
She wanted a meek, lowly spirit -
The work He gave answered that cry;
And those who had been her companions
With pitying smile passed her by.


She asked to lean hard on her Saviour;
He took human props quite away,
Till no earthly friend could help her,
And she could do nothing but pray.
I saw her go out to the vineyard
To harvest the golden grain;
Her eyes were still moistened with weeping,
Her heart was still throbbing with pain.


But many a heart that was broken,
And many a wrecked, blighted life
Was made to thank God for her coming,
And rejoiced in the midst of the strife.
She had prayed to be made like her Saviour,
And the burden He gave her to bear
Had been but the great Sculptor's training:
Thus answering her most earnest prayer.

Why All Things That Glitter Are Usually NOT Gold

I certainly thought I had the world wrapped up in a nice shiny package for myself at this age. (actually,at 24, it would be less than a year before The Lord showed me a dramtically different reality)
... I thought, I certainly did, But He had a few things to say to me and about my life.

Below is a piece I wrote a few years back, and it pretty much sums up he way I find myself feeling about the futility of the status quo...
I didn't wan't it then and I don't want it as a believer now... I want the Lord in all of His fullness and a radical Chriistian Life that goes all out, every day, in every way! I am trying (praying) to recpature this zeal... I have some, but nothing like what I had when I met my first love... and nothing compared to where I desire to be again...
Are you happy where you are?
Do you sense something, maybe even something big, missing?
I pray we will meet up on our quest :) Blessings all, till then,


Why are all things that glitter, usually not gold?

The way is narrow and few will find it
What is esteemed among men is usually an abomination to God..
Why?
Mans heats are wicked.. The Lord knew only few would seek Him and be satisfied
He knew that only a few would sell out for Him and not fool themselves into believing that what they wanted must be one in the same..
He knew that to seek out own life.. (fame, power, position, influence, luxuries… we would lose.. it
But to lose it (forsake all our efforts and our own ambition and be satisfied with what he sees fir) THEN we will find it!

True life, authentic life, HIS life!
Eve bought the lie… “there is more, your gonna miss it! Is that ”really” what God said (or meant)
When Eve sinned in the garden… it was then that she then knew! Her eyes were opened to her “self life” and she wanted to know more…. To seek to find life (herself, and her way)
Her eyes were opened to the difference between light and darkness, good and evil.
She then had a dark heart when it had been full of light.
Misery loves company! So she pulled Adam in on it all!

He joined her there.

What does this have to do with the world or the church at large (the majority of it) …
Everything…
Today’s watered down Christianity has swallowed the easy to digest pablum
They want nothing too hard to swallow…
Again, narrow is the way, and few will go that way….
What seems right to man in THIS state is really tragic with the lies and heresy’s it perpetuates by default and probably at times , wittingly.
Mans ways are not God’s ways… We want to know more, we want to self to be exalted, we want things to be a little easier, more convenient.. “ambition”.. for things to go OUR way! (like it was with them .. in the beginning.. Nothing has changed, things have just taken a different shape … a different face… same agenda, different means…
For example…
If it is popular to the sell out crowd, it is most probably not God’s pure heart on a subject… He tells us this, Life examples and the signs of the times tell us this and today’s comfort driven , liberal minded compromising Christianity tells us this.. (If WE have ears to hear… In fact some people hear it screaming this!

If your ears are attuned to the frequency, you will hear it screaming!

A few end-of-summer pics

My sweet deer at our apple tree Ricky the neighborhood hood ;P
on his scooter-bike. No, seriously, he is a good kid ;) ~A cozy pair in the slight chill of the morning
Everyone loves to cuddle with Boo...Fall must be on the way, as she is getting really nestle-oriented :)

The Story Of Crabs (a spiritual allegorical paradox)

~ a note of thanks to Noelle to model an example of spiritual angst via a pic, possibly (I tried) depicting apathy...

disclaimer-- this is anything but my daughter's stance and outlook toward her life and walk...

The Story:

Suppose it would be worthwhile to put into practice the Nee note on a daily basis, based on the Story of Crabs? Pretty serious implications for your life and mine! Passivity or "comfort" or "conflict avoidance" are totally debilitating choices for a true Christian. Jesus certainly didn't try to avoid conflict or pain; we share in HIS Glory only when we share in His purpose and ways and His death.....

"A spiritual life is one of spiritual usefulness because it is lived to mount assault upon assault against God's spiritual enemy. We ought to be zealous for God, relentlessly attacking that enemy and never allowing this spirit of ours to sink into passivity."

- Ní Tuòshēng

I recently read a biologist's study on crabs, creatures that live in a rough, dangerous environment among jagged rocks. Crabs are dashed
about daily by waves and attacked on every side by creatures from
deeper waters. They battle continually to protect themselves, and
over time they develop a strong shell and powerful instincts for survival.

Amazingly, some in the crab family give up the struggle for life.
Searching for a safe haven, they take up residence in the cast-off
shells of other ocean creatures. These crabs are known as hermit
crabs. Settling for safety, they retreat from the battle and escape
into secondhand houses that are ready-made.

But hermit crabs' "safe houses" prove to be costly and ruinous.
Through their lack of struggle, crucial parts of their bodies deteriorate.
Even their organs wither due to lack of use. Over time the hermit
crab loses all power of motion, as well as vital parts needed for
escape. These limbs simply fall off, leaving the crab out of danger
but useless to do anything except exist.

Meanwhile, crabs that continued the struggle grow and flourish.
Their five pairs of legs become meaty and strong from resisting the
powerful tides. And they learn to hide from their predators by skillfully
scuttling under rock formations.
dw

Hmmmm.

For more really cool and challenging reading go to :

www.allathisfeet.org