Beyond The Wardrobe: Under The Waterfall

"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink! Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  John 7:37-38


So....that week back in July when I stepped through the wardrobe....when I entered this unique fellowship called the Lamplighter Guild?

It was like standing under a waterfall.

I was overwhelmingly drenched in the love of Jesus, in the living, transforming power of His words, in the intimacy of His call for me to share in His creative work on earth!  I surrendered my whole being to His fullness and was carried away in the flood of His glory!

I was experiencing the water of Life....the Life of Jesus coursing over me and through me as I had never known before.  I can't describe to you the wonder of the moment when this revelation began to break over my heart and mind.  I felt as if I'd been waiting my entire life for this.  Even though I became a child of God at a tender age, I spent much of my life drinking from polluted, broken cisterns.  How do you explain the way God breaks a dam, the way living water suddenly flows freely through a soul?  I knew that at last I was drinking deeply of the Living Water, deeper than I had ever tasted before.....and it drove out every other thirst.  All those years, I had known with my head that Jesus offers Living Water that is supposed to satisfy my soul.  Since that week at the Guild, I know it is real.  I know it in the depths of my being.

Do you want to know what happened as I was caught up in the exhilaration of the waterfall pouring over me?  The enemy tried to sabotage my joy.  He sent fear to present me with a picture.  I saw myself standing under this immense waterfall with a measly little cup.  There I was, trying desperately to catch what I could of this life-giving water, so I could hold onto it after the rush was over.  You know what it feels like when you have a spiritual mountaintop experience,  It is so wonderful while it lasts....but then you have to go back down into the valley, and soon the glory fades away.  Fear was telling me that when I left the atmosphere and community of the Guild, I would be leaving the waterfall behind.  What precious little I could keep contained in my cup was all I would retain of this water.  I would try to hoard my treasure to make it last....but it could only last so long.

When I asked Jesus to confront this fear, He showed me what I wasn't seeing....I was never meant to hold this water.

Yes, you can hold a bit of water in a cup.  But you can't hold a waterfall.

I never had the waterfall in my hands.  The waterfall had me.  Captured in the torrent of Someone far stronger than myself.  Filled to overflowing with a Life that has no limits.

And this idea that leaving the Guild would mean walking away from the waterfall?  Lies.

No one lives under a waterfall.  But although I stepped out of the torrent, I never have to leave this driving force, this source of vibrant life.

The waterfall is inside me.

I will not always or often experience this rushing, roaring, soaking, euphoric force....rather it becomes the very life flowing through my veins, my entire essence....as I continually drink from the essence of Christ in me!  This is the Living Water that Jesus speaks of in the Bible.  It is Jesus Himself, His very life flowing through us.  He is always filling us, spilling over us, flowing through us, sustaining us in every aspect and every season of our lives.

Jesus invites every one of us to come to Him and drink.  He says,  "Everyone who drinks of this water (anything other than Christ that we seek to satisfy ourselves) will be thirsty again.  But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a SPRING of Living Water WELLING UP to eternal life."  John 4

Scripture describes the water of life as a well, a fountain, a spring, and a river.  As I meditated on these things, the Holy Spirit showed me different ways that this water can work in our lives.

One of the key Scriptures we looked at during the Guild is Romans 5:3-5.
"we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

God was emphasizing to us the necessary work of suffering in the believer's life.  We saw that sometimes He chooses to wound us, out of His sovereign love, in order to bring us into deeper intimacy with Himself, the only One who can complete us.  That deeper intimacy expresses itself in worship.

A well is deep.  Some wells are drilled deep into rock to find a source of pure underground water. Suffering in our lives is like the drill, painfully penetrating deep into the layers of a heart, producing intense pressure, until it seems that something must break.  But God says He is near to the brokenhearted.  And when our hearts break under the pressure of His hand, what comes forth is the life of Jesus Christ!  Only God knows how to tap into the deep waters of a heart that is trusting in Him, and so the suffering produces character....like drilling into rock to reach pure, cold water.  And the Living Water begins to well up stronger in joy....the joy of the Lord is our strength!  This joy is greater than the pain of temporary circumstances and the trials of life.  The greater the pressure of the underground water, the stronger it wells up towards the surface, until it flows out in a spring of fresh hope....hope that will not disappoint us because it is not based on earthly things, but on the eternal promises of God.

So out of the deep places of suffering, the water wells up in joy and flows out in hope.....and now picture a fountain springing high into the air....this life of Jesus within you can no longer be contained, and it springs up in worship....this greater, intimate knowledge of Jesus that comes out of suffering and being formed into His character!  As you see Him better, you will be in awe of His beauty, love, and mercy.  His beauty makes your life attractive to others, just like a sparkling, gushing fountain of refreshing water.

And then come the rivers....as Jesus proclaimed, rivers of living water flow out of your heart.  Not a river....but RIVERS!  So the life of Jesus flows from you in different directions, touching the people close to you, and running farther out to everyone who encounters your life, until the influence of your life in Christ is reaching people you don't even know about in ways you can't imagine!  All of us who have been re-born in Christ carry His life to the world....we carry His Story to all the people, the objects of His unfathomable love!

The last thing I want to bring out is that water is fluid.  It is like art....creative and unique in every life.  It is always in motion, changing shape and direction and intensity.  But this life of Jesus in us will steadily increase in its intensity, through the constant working of the Holy Spirit.  It keeps welling up stronger into the eternal life that is ours in Christ, and as we grow in our intimate knowledge of Him, we grow in the conscious experience of eternal life.  This water keeps moving forward, keeps cleansing us of every impurity, keeps carrying us further in to the grace and power and presence of Jesus.


And the Water of Life never runs dry.  It is endless, relentless, and will never leave you.

The waterfall is inside you.

Amen, Lord Jesus.....let the river flow!

Romania: Our Doings and Celebrations

Now that I've been here several weeks, Romania is beginning to feel a bit more like home.

Life here is not so different from America, but it does take some getting used to, and it has been a great learning experience so far.  We've had some highlights and celebrations in the last couple weeks, and I thought you would enjoy a peak at life in our little nest.

We celebrated Chili Bean's third birthday.  The hats were endured, but the treats were a huge hit!

Chili is the one is the pink hat.  Snoopy is her mom.  She seemed less than thrilled to celebrate her baby's birthday.  

This past Sunday, I was blessed to be part of a special event in one of the girls' lives.  Rachel (name changed for security purposes) was baptized into Christ, along with 29 other believers!  The wonderful evangelical church they attend makes a beautiful celebration out of this step of faith.  They held a special service in a pretty location.  Each emergence from the water was met with joyful song and applause.  The radiant smiles on the faces of those baptized was the most beautiful thing of all!

With Rachel before the service

Me and my girls!

Buried with Him in death....raised with Him to new life!  She has the most beautiful smile!

Beyond this, I am learning a little of the Romanian language, with the help of Ana (name changed), who is a willing and encouraging teacher.  I am helping her to grow in English vocabulary and comprehension as we are reading Bible stories together in English.  We have a lot of fun with this!

I've also enjoyed attending the Friday night youth church with the girls and taking part in a special craft day with the ladies of the church to help raise money for their new building.  It is a vibrant and growing church body, so they are needing to expand their facilities.  

Once a week, I go with a small group of missionaries and volunteers to a mental hospital quite a ways outside the city.  This is a ministry I was introduced to on my first visit to Romania, and now I get to be involved again.  We go in to to bring some sunshine to the residents.  We'll do some kind of simple craft or activity with them, sing some of their favorite songs, and supply plenty of snacks.  It is something they look forward to every week.  The lady who oversees this ministry has been going in for many years and by God's grace has been able to help facilitate significant improvements to the hospital.

As with all of life, some days here are pleasant and meaningful, while other days I feel down, listless, and weary.  One day I can feel a great sense of purpose in being here, and the next day it feels pointless.  And in the midst of it all, God's grace remains sufficient!  He continues to teach me to fix my eyes on Him for the strength to walk on the waves rather than tangling myself in the tide of my emotions and human understanding.  His thoughts are infinitely higher than mine, and His ways are astonishingly greater than I can fathom!  The prayer of my heart is to press deeper into Him each day He allows me to be here and wherever He leads me after that.  If you pray for me, ask Jesus to give me the grace to grow in surrender to the flow of His life, and that all who encounter me will encounter Him.  Let all the glory and honor and praise go to Him!

May your souls grow and prosper in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Swimming Upstream

Procrastination has been making itself quite comfortable in my life lately.

No matter how many noble intentions I hold, they will never translate to one word written on this page.

So this desperately needed reminder from God yesterday?
Your actions will always follow your beliefs.  If you accept defeat, than that is what you will get.

That is a favorite quote from one of my all-time favorite movies, which I have previously quoted here....Facing The Giants.

When I opened my journal back several months and there it was on the page....Bam!  Gotcha!

I thought I'd have all kinds of time to write while I am in Romania.  But guess how that is working for me?  The more freedom I have in my schedule, the more I dance with procrastination and distraction.  A fog of confusion and mental lethargy seems to hang over my mind.  And I begin to crack the door open to listen to the whispers of defeat.

But God.....


My God, in His unstoppable love and extravagant mercy, is not holding the past against me.  Not even my failures of yesterday.  Instead of guilting me, He is cheering me on!  He's saying, Forget yesterday.  Forget what is behind.  Leave it under the blood of my Son.  Move forward today.  Press on to what is ahead!  Never give up to Satan, for he is a defeated enemy!  Never, never, never, never give up!  Don't you make an agreement with defeat.

Because I am greater.  I am greater than your fears of failure, greater than your mental fog, greater than your weariness, greater than your distraction, greater than the perfectionist illusion that paralyzes you....I Am in you, and I Am greater than the enemy of your soul who is doing everything he can to render you unfruitful and ineffective in your knowledge of me and to prevent you from bringing me glory with your life!

He speaks to me in language I understand.  "Kari, don't you put down that pen having done any less than your best.  Don't fear those giants.  Just write for Me.  Give Me your absolute best and leave the results up to Me.  You'll never know how far I can take you until you step out on the water and keep on putting one foot in front of the other, and never take your eyes off Me!"


So this is what I want to do.  God gave me some revelations of His Word during and after my week at the Lamplighter Guild that were amazing to me at the time.  Now I need to recover some of that amazement, and I'd like to invite you to go back with me as I share some of the treasures He gave to my heart.  I hope to make this a series of several posts in the next few weeks.  And you may also see some updates on my experiences here in Eastern Europe sprinkled in for a change of pace!


For our mutual encouragement, I will leave you with the word God gave me as I was embarking on my adventure to Romania, and what I believe He is still speaking into me as I wrestle with the daily conflict, whether it be over my responsibilities here, or my stewardship of the time and resources He gives me, or how to develop the gifts He has created in me, or how to fight my battles in prayer, etc.


"Fear not, for I am with you.  Be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10

Lord Jesus, train our eyes on Your face today.  Take us deeper into Your fullness.  We are Yours.

Lord.....help us.

Romania: Settling In

Hello from the other side of the pond, my friends!  Unless you happen to be reading this blog from the same side....which would be totally cool.

So here I am in Romania....it's already been two weeks!  Thanks to Father for a smooth journey and an enjoyable week traveling around the country.

After resting up a bit from jet lag, I spent the first few days here poring over destinations, travel itinerary, and accommodations with my new friend, Edith.  We set off on a Saturday morning to catch the train that would take us to explore various parts of the Romanian landscape.

Our first stop: Alba Uilia, where we explored an old citadel.  Romania has many such fortress cities, remnants from the old days when this was not one united country and they needed protection from invaders.

 Inside the citadel....the gate.

Orthodox church in the citadel.

We got plenty of exercise and enjoyed a night's stay at a four star hotel....it was actually quite affordable here!

Then we were off to spend a few days in the Transylvanian Alps region in central Romania.  We stayed in the historic town center in Brasov, an old fortress town built against a mountain and quite a popular tourist destination.  Taking advantage of the free walking tour was a great way to learn about the history of the town, see the main historical sites, and learn about the legends and truth of the mysterious Transylvania and its famed villain/hero, Count Dracula.  

Both Edith and I being lovers of natural beauty over historic, we made sure to take in some of the surrounding mountain scenery.  We did visit Bran Castle, the place made famous by Bram Stoker's Dracula, although the real person upon whom the character is based may or may not have actually ever lived at the castle.  

Approaching the castle....an imposing fortress built on a rock.

Inside Bran Castle.

But the best day of all was when we visited Poiana Brasov, a nearby ski resort, and took the cable car to the top of the mountain.  The views were breathtaking!  You'll be seeing a lot of mountaintop pictures on Facebook...being on top of the world always gets me carried away!

The last few days of our trip were spent on the Black Sea coast, walking on the beach and relaxing in our apartment.  We were on a summer vacation strip which was practically abandoned, except for the busy traffic flow....we basically had the beach to ourselves!  There was no swimming, but I may have gotten slightly wet.....

 Captain of me own ship....but I don't think she's goin very far!

Yeah, you have to at least get your toes wet.

It was neat to be able to cross an entire country in a week (without traveling every single day!) and get a varied glimpse of the history and scenery Romania has to offer.  There was much more we could have seen, but I think we got a good sampling.

Edith and I returned from our wanderings on Sunday morning via the overnight train....we crossed from the western border to the eastern in one night!  The last few days have been filled with various things.  I was able to get more settled in at the apartment where I'm living with three girls, and I've had time with the girls' houseparents, Scott and Carolyn, getting up to speed on what I need to know and the responsibilities I will be covering.

Scott and Carolyn left for the States early this morning.  So it's just the four of us now!  I wish I could feel like I have it all together....but I don't.  Maybe I'm not supposed to.  We cling so stubbornly to our own understanding and capabilities, do we not?  I hate feeling helpless, inadequate, being at a loss for what to do or say next or how to plan.  But all the time, God is gently drawing me to look to Him for every need, to trust Him fully, to let go of what control I think I have and depend on Him for everything.  I have a feeling He's getting ready to teach me a lot of this during the next six weeks.  To be honest, this isn't such a difficult place to be in or a huge mountain to climb....it simply looks huge when I look to myself.  And I think God uses so many of the "little", everyday kinds of challenges to teach us to move our trust from ourselves to Him.  Sometimes He uses a truly insurmountable obstacle....but more often than not, He is simply teaching us the difference between our perspective and His in the small stuff.  And in truth, as Jesus said, without Him we can do nothing....so even those little things we think we ought to be able to handle?  We can't even trust ourselves there!  

I will confess to feeling scared in my current position and a bit cut loose in a strange sea....But it is my Heavenly Father who brought me here and I trust His grace to see us through.  Thank you for every prayer on our behalf, as we start to figure out a routine for the next six weeks, and as I seek the Lord to lead me by the free inspiration of His Spirit in doing life here with these beautiful young women.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits today.

Romania: The Return

The days fly by and I promised to write about my upcoming adventure which is now almost upon me!  So for those of you who keep up with my sporadic writings and have not been in the circles of the knowledge of my latest doings....

Here's the short story....on Monday I am hopping on a jet plane and taking off across the pond to spend two months in Romania!

If you wish to stay for the long story, you are most welcome!  It follows hereafter.

You may have noticed I've been talking a lot about the Lamplighter Guild.  I will be talking about it again, you may be sure!  This trip, in a way, is connected to the Guild, because God opened the door to Romania that very week in the mountains of New York!

Two years ago, I visited Romania as an intern with Rock of Hope Ministries.  Some of the memoirs of that trip can be found on this blog.  The missionaries I stayed with have a ministry to young women in one of the cities.  They take in young women from late teens to early thirties who have grown up as orphans and never received the training and skills for healthy independence.  The girls live in an apartment, with their "houseparents" right across the hall.  So they live in an atmosphere of semi-independence while gaining the security, counsel, and help of parents which they still desperately need to gain stability in life.  The missionaries help them get jobs or go back to school, learn to handle finances wisely and deal with the ins and outs of life as an adult.  They are also giving these girls the experience of family and a place as daughters in their hearts.  Above all, they point them to Jesus.

When I was in Romania the first time, I stayed in the apartment with the girls and got to be part of their daily life, to learn much about the culture and spiritual climate of Romania, and to get involved in some other ministries around the region.  I did not feel specifically drawn or called to long-term ministry in the country, but I have stayed in touch with the missionary couple.

So, while I was at the Lamplighter Guild, I saw that I had received an email from these friends in Romania.  I ignored most email and other communication that week, in order to focus solely on the projects and everything God was pouring into me during the experience.  So it wasn't until a few days after I returned from New York that I opened and read the email.  I thought my friends were just wanting to catch up with me a bit, but I never expected what they put before me.

The missionaries told me they were planning a six week trip to the States in the fall, and they had been praying about someone to come and stay with the girls currently in their program, while they are gone.  They had been following some of my doings on social media, and God put me on their heart as someone who would be a good fit for this need.  They were asking me to consider coming to stay for two months, as a sort of housemother for the girls.  I was absolutely blown away by this proposal!  It seemed like a huge deal at the beginning.  They would trust me with this kind of responsibility in a foreign country where I only spent a few weeks?  I was staggered by the hand of God, as I was just coming off the Guild week, filled to the brim with new things God was doing in my heart, in a place of fresh surrender to Him, and ready to say yes to whatever He might put before me.  I believed from the first that this was a total God thing, and although I took my time to pray and think and give my final answer, I knew right away that there was nothing legitimate keeping me from saying yes to this.

God was working on my faith during the time I was considering this opportunity.  In a short time after being asked to consider Romania, I was presented with a possibility of getting involved in Lamplighter ministries and developing my creative gifts in a venue that could open all kinds of doors!  The privilege of serving with a ministry that has so profoundly impacted my life and follows a vision that I now passionately believe in would be a dream come true!  While I sensed that God was also in this, I wondered if I would be able to take both paths.  I was hesitant to make the decision about Romania until I knew for sure what this other opportunity would entail and how the timing would work out.  As I was praying one morning about this dilemma, I sensed God telling me to move ahead in faith and give a sure yes.  If I believed He was inviting me into this opportunity to work with Him in Romania, and I knew the only thing holding me back was a need to control the direction of my own future, I needed to surrender other possibilities and hopes to Him and follow the light He was giving me at that time.  So I told God I would go to Romania.  And I gave my friends the final answer.  The very next day I finally got to touch base with someone about the Lamplighter opportunity, and it turned out I wouldn't be able to do what they had in mind because I was going to Romania.  However, that doesn't mean that door is absolutely closed.  God gave me peace that I made the right decision.  I think He has some preparation He wants to do in me while I'm in Romania, some things to teach me that I will need in the next season, whether I get to follow a new dream or something God hasn't even put on my radar yet.

So there you have the gist of it.  I leave on Monday.  The last month has been crazy and I have been fighting a lot of stress and anxiety.  I don't handle it all properly.  But I'm learning.  Jesus is using the pressure to shape me and teach me how to get into the battle and fight in His strength.  What I want above all else is to bring Him glory.  He knows our hearts and He honors those who are set on Him.

So what will I do in Romania?  My main purpose is to be a steady presence for three Romanian young women in their apartment.  I don't need to do a lot for them as much as be there as a friend and mentor, a stabilizing influence, and just do daily life with them.  Beyond that, I can participate in other ministries around the city and surrounding area.  I'll be connected with a network of other missionaries and ministry partners, so I'm not going to be entirely on my own.  And I was invited to tour Romania with another missionary for a week before my friends leave for the States!  Can you imagine how much fun I'll have with that?  More travel, new experiences, beautiful country....I'm totally up for this!

I'll work on keeping you updated along the way.  You'll see me here and on Facebook.  No doubt there will be pictures!  If you want to ask questions or chat, feel free to leave comments here or on my Facebook, or message me!  I love the ability we have to stay connected around the world!

I don't know who is reading this blog.  So let me just say, to those of you who have been or will be praying for me on this adventure, to those who have supported me financially, to those who have encouraged me in the Lord, and to those who actually read what I write here......THANK YOU!  Each of you is a gift to me and a unique part of the story God is writing.  And do you know what's even more amazing?  Not only do each one of us get to be a character in God's story, but we get to intertwine with and influence each other's parts in the Story!

So here's to all of you, my friends, my brothers and sisters in the Spirit....YOU ARE AMAZING! AND YOU ARE SO LOVED BY OUR FATHER!

Live the adventure!

Poetic Inspiration On The Back Roads

So obviously my hopefulness towards posting a prompt follow-up to my last blog never translated into action. I've been diverted from my track. Again. So I thought I would share this little slice of inspiration that came to me while meandering down the gravel tracks of my old stomping grounds.

Can I just say, it's been a great summer? Different, in a good way. The time with my grandparents has been precious. We've been through quite a season together. I have truly enjoyed the flexibility in my daily schedule, been spoiled with the space while living in my grandpa's house, and loved the opportunity to explore some of the beautiful area in the surrounding mountainous regions! I am grateful that we've been able to get my grandparents settled in a new situation now where they are receiving the care and attention they need. But honestly, I'm a little sad to see the season pass. I've lived the life of a nomad for several years now, and there's been a lot of adventure and fun and joy in the journey, but it's always a discomfiting and forlorn sort of feeling to pull up roots again and move into the unknowns of the next season. We humans work so hard to establish our little "normal" wherever we are, and we are such creatures of comfort. In fact, I'm still trying to figure out my new normal since the Lamplighter Guild and other new things God has been bringing into my life the past couple of months....and now it's all getting shaken up again!

The last month has been crazy. Moving my grandparents from a cottage to a small assisted living apartment, a hastily put-together family reunion/moving party, starting some new lifestyle habits, trying to prepare for two months with a ministry in Romania, and getting in a short visit home before I leave....I've been feeling the heat.  

The day I left my grandpa's house to come home, I was struggling to keep from getting sucked into a major funk. It didn't help that the gorgeous, warm, sunny days of late summer which I'd been milking for every last drop abruptly turned into a chilly, grey, rainy morning. It fit my emotions perfectly.

But in the mercy of my God, that day ended like this.

 

And the next afternoon, as I was enjoying a refreshing bike ramble down the back roads, I had a moment of inspiration. This is loosely composed and not too deeply thought out, but here you go.

Seasons

Pulling up roots again on a cloud smothered morning

Sky dripping cold tears as I drive

My world grey and drizzly as if in deep mourning

Fall is too soon to arrive

But look! in the West a red sun descending

Promising joy in the journey ahead

Fear not the future at the new season’s dawning

This change is not something to dread

So climb higher, dive deeper, there’s a prize to be won

Take courage, O Traveler, keep faith

Follow the road that goes ever on

Seek first the light of the Face

For as sure as the sun rises and sets

The rain falls, and Time marches on

A glorious dawn where no shadow falls

Awaits those who follow the Son!

Lamplighter Moments Part 2: Through The Wardrobe

Do you know the story of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe?

It begins with four rather ordinary children, exiled from London during the war and sent to live in this huge house with an ancient professor for the summer.  Lucy, the youngest, discovers a beautiful old wardrobe in an otherwise empty room during a game of hide and seek….and she is inexplicably drawn inside.  Lucy discovers she has stepped into a whole other world….a world called Narnia.

In the course of time, all four children are drawn into Narnia and embark on the adventure of a lifetime….they find themselves in the midst of an epic struggle in a land that has long been held under an evil spell, one in which they themselves must play a key role.  Through intrigue, danger, hope, betrayal, and redemption the children journey….and in the process they are changed.  These four ordinary children become something for which they were destined but could never have imagined….kings and queens of Narnia! 

At the end of the tale, the children, now fully grown kings and queens, wise and experienced in their rule, come upon a place of long ago that seems vaguely familiar.  They stumble back into the wardrobe from whence they came and tumble out the doors, children again….only to find that almost no time has passed in our world while decades passed in Narnia!  Yet they are not the same children who first stepped through the wardrobe.  Life is never quite the same for them after that, and there are more adventures to come.  And this one statement sums it up:  “Once a king or queen in Narnia….always a king or queen in Narnia.” 

This is my story of stepping through the wardrobe. 

My Narnia is a heavenly place in the Catskill mountains of New York….the Mohonk Mountain House.  This is where I attended the Lamplighter Guild, a week that has changed my life.  As I attempt to wrestle words to the screen to express what happened to me during that week, please remember that words can only say so much.  There are some things words cannot express.  And there is far too much in my heart to ever tell the full of it!  But I seek to proclaim the glory of the Lord with my life and my words, to the best of my ability, so that others may be drawn to Him!

This is a teaser.  I know my readers have busy lives.  Even someone like me, who appreciates many of the engaging, insightful writers out there in Blog Land, only has so much time to spend reading articles and things online, and I know that a long post looks laborious to read and makes a person wants to pass it by.  So for now I will leave you with this introduction, and maybe you’ll want to come back later and read the next installment, which I will hopefully have written in the next few days! 

I hope you’ll come back soon.  To borrow unashamedly from the best….namely Lamplighter Theatre….”you’re always welcome here!”