Whispers of Truth

An Offering of Emptiness Tonight an offering of emptiness Is all I have to bring, When what I really want Is to offer you everything. I realize how little I could ever offer you; My heart drops in sorrow. What could I bring to you From a heart so hollow? Tonight an offering of emptiness Is all I have to bring, When what I really want Is to offer you everything. Then a thought takes root-- My brokenness calls out in need-- And the emptiness inside me answers Your call to be my everything. Your word promises strength in weakness-- to fill the empty void. Tonight an offering of emptiness Is all I have to bring, When what I really want Is to offer you everything. In what I thought I lacked You have given back-- My offering of emptiness You fill to overflowing and leave me Full. Tonight an offering of emptiness Is all I have to bring, With the realization that offering you all of me-- even empty-- Is to offer you

“There is a way to be good again.”   This thought-provoking statement screams to the reader in the short opening chapter of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. In fact, I believe that statement is the essence of the appeal of this difficult-to-read, yet beautifully written novel about guilt and redemption. The very idea that a bad act (or non-action) committed in the past could be undone or corrected appeals to all; which of us hasn’t struggled with at least one life-altering decision—an “if only” of life? Unfortunately, we cannot undo the consequences of our bad actions (our sins). Somewhere deep down most know this, but many of us struggle to redeem ourselves, which is totally impossible, but . . . there is One who can free us from the guilt and stain of our sins.   For this I am thankful; if you really knew me, you would know that I am a sinner who has made a lot of bad decisions and committed a lot of sin in my lifetime. (It isn’t all big stuff, but sin does have a way o

I am a firm believer in practice. In fact, I guess you could say I have pretty much banked most of my life on it. As long as I can remember, I have been practicing something--dance (very early in life before my awkward stage), softball (to get out of much-hated summer garden work from 3rd-12th grade), band (years and years of playing the flute), piano (my dad wouldn't let me choose between piano and flute when I wanted to quit, so I kept both), teaching (seemed like a good idea at the time), marriage (24-plus years now, but I am not sure how much better I am than when I started at being a wife),  mothering (currently to 18-, 20-, and 21-year-olds), friend (ugh this one is tough and I stink at it), and the list could just keep going . . .but I won't bore you! The point is, practice is something we all engage in, whether eagerly for something we love or out of obligation or a hundred other sometimes nebulous reasons. However, Galatians 5 tells me that if I practice the wrong th

Recently, the Tenth Avenue North song entitled “No Man Is An Island” has been ringing through my head on an endless loop. It probably doesn’t help that I am beginning an Old English unit in my AP class that features an excerpt from a poem by John Donne featuring the same key phrase. The work by Donne is called Devotions upon emergent occasions and several steps in my sickness - Meditation XVII (1624) and leads into the well-known part of the excerpt that includes the title of the song mentioned above by saying, All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness.... The poem speaks to the idea that all men are connected and share t

Psalm 31:1-6 in The Message  reads like this: "I run to you, God; I run for dear life. Don't let me down! Take me seriously this time! Get down on my level and listen, and please--no procrastination! Your granite cave a hiding place, your high cliff a place of safety. You're my cave to hide in, my cliff to climb. Be my safe leader, be my true mountain guide. Free me from hidden traps; I want to hide in you. I've put my life in your hands. You won't drop me, you'll never let me down. I hate all this silly religion, but you, God, I trust." That's how I feel today. Actually, that's how I feel a lot of days. I need a safe cave protected by a great God to climb into. Often, I walk into hidden traps--I really want to act in a way pleasing to Him, but I fall so abysmally short and feel woefully inadequate. It is very easy to play "church," but it is very difficult to live like a "little Christ." The older I get, the more I truly unde

Early Friday morning, a young man by the name of Kevin Teague came to the school where I teach to speak to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes or FCA as the club is known. Kevin, who is 22 years old, suffers from cerebral palsy, yet he came to encourage others to trust God and not to quit when things are hard. His mom had to help him with his speech because he has limited control of his movements and is confined to a wheelchair.  As he spoke, it made me think of how many times I grumble and complain about very minor things, which God hates. I don't stop enough to think how much he despises this in me. These things laid the Hebrew people low in the desert. It cost them an entire generation. Philippians 2:14-15 remind us to do everything without grumbling or complaining. I like the way the message puts it: "Do everything readily and cheerfully--no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted societ

I recently had an experience that made me question some things about my life. As I do each year, I went to have a routine medical diagnostic procedure completed. Unfortunately, a few days later, I received a call that I needed to come back for some follow-up testing necessary in order to determine whether I had cancer or just some benign cysts. The minimal imaging I had originally was not enough to determine exactly what the radiologist was seeing on my scan. So after a week of praying and trying very hard not to be anxious, I took a day off from work to go have these tests run. The first one didn’t reveal what the masses were, so I had to have yet another test—an ultrasound this time. That test finally allowed the doctors to determine that what they were seeing was benign. They then measured the cysts, documenting their sizes and locations for future reference next year. . . because each year, I faithfully go for tests that are expected when one turns a certain age. Like many, I want

We have been experiencing some of the hottest days of the year here in the Deep South this week. It is easy to be comfortable if you are sitting inside with the air going full blast, but step outside and the blast of heat that assaults you is withering. After a few minutes breathing becomes labored (at least for me--a confirmed indoor sort of girl). Recovering from physical activity outside takes some time as well. The body just doesn't bounce back easily from such stress. Similarly, our lives can sometimes be scorched by blasts of heat that rush in and leave us tired and bewildered, if not in pain. The Tuesday night Bible study group has been studying 1st Peter (Ch. 1) this month. In this epistle Peter writes to believers in what is now modern day Turkey to encourage them as they encounter persecution, hardships, and trials related to their faith in Christ. He reminds them that they are strangers or aliens in the world and encourages them to hope. When we are faced with physical

     Have I mentioned before that I like words? Maybe that I like to follow words down trails...? Today I came across the word "continually" in Acts 1 in relationship to the idea of prayer. The verse reads as follows: "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer..." The verse led me to the explore the Greek reference in the back of my Bible via a Strong's NT Dictionary, which directed me to Strong's 4342, and I found the word abundance , which is a transposed participle of Strong's 3257 meaning "shovel." Ok! Now, I was really excited because the idea that came to me is that the early church abundantly "shoveled in" prayer as they waited in the Upper Room for their baptism with the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised.  This is a concept I need to understand and grab hold of....and I need that, truly I do...but really, I can't see very well early in the morning and the numbers (and letters) are small, so what it

 Often we expect perfection of ourselves, and it is a heavy burden to bear. I am a sinner...saved by grace...but still living in the flesh and fighting it daily. One thing I continue to learn is that God can use my brokenness. Psalm 51 is a beautiful example of brokenness. Written after Nathan the prophet came to David and confronted him with his own sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband and his hypocrisy, it reveals why David is described as a man after God's own heart. Even though he had committed gross sins, David flings himself on the mercy of God and asks Him to be gracious to him not on his own merit, but on God's lovingkindness and compassion (v. 1). Like most of us when we sin, David's sin was "ever before" him (v. 3), but he realized that God was the one he had offended and held the right to judge him (v. 4).  He acknowledges that we are ALL born sinners (v. 5), but God desires for us to see ourselves as we are (i.e. "You desir

As I shared in my last post, I recently had the opportunity to go with a group from my church, FBC Tallassee, on a mission trip to Ecuador. We returned a week ago today, and I have yet to post anything, which might seem rather strange for someone so excited about going. But I have to say that each time I have been on a mission trip, it takes me a while to process what I encountered. Ecuador is a beautiful country full of beautiful, generous people--many of whom are hungry for Jesus. We had the privilege to share in the market places, and I found that the thing I was most scared of doing became the thing that I enjoyed the most. God reminded me that getting out of my comfort zone is good for me. He stretched me, and I will continue to grow from the experience...for me, it was a neat experience to go where the Elliots had helped to lay a foundation so long ago among the Quichuas. The following report shares some of what we did while there if you're interested: On Saturday, Jun