Sometimes it seems it's impossible to love like Christ. Navigating through the complexities of love is beyond challenging. I have resolved that if we are to love like Christ we must love not because a person is deserving of love but rather because we have the capacity to love.

Experiencing the Beauty of God's Creation

Riding through Flagstaff, Arizona on the way home from my son's track meet we came face-to-face with an awesome reminder that everything God made was good.

I may have taken these pictures but I think Maya Angelou captured the feeling.  

This poem, The Rock Cries Out to Us Today, by Maya Angelou, truly expresses what I was experiencing.

A Rock, A River, A Tree 

Hosts to species long since departed, 

Mark the mastodon. 

The dinosaur, who left dry tokens 

Of their sojourn here 

On our planet floor, 

Any broad alarm of their of their hastening doom 

Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages. 

But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully, 

Come, you may stand upon my 

Back and face your distant destiny, 

But seek no haven in my shadow. 

I will give you no hiding place down here. 

You, created only a little lower than 

The angels, have crouched too long in 

The bruising darkness, 

Have lain too long 

Face down in ignorance. 

Your mouths spelling words 

Armed for slaughter. 

The rock cries out today, you may stand on me, 

But do not hide your face. 

Across the wall of the world, 

A river sings a beautiful song, 

Come rest here by my side. 

Each of you a bordered country, 

Delicate and strangely made proud, 

Yet thrusting perpetually under siege. 

Your armed struggles for profit 

Have left collars of waste upon 

My shore, currents of debris upon my breast. 

Yet, today I call you to my riverside, 

If you will study war no more. 

Come, clad in peace and I will sing the songs 

The Creator gave to me when I 

And the tree and stone were one. 

Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your brow 

And when you yet knew you still knew nothing. 

The river sings and sings on. 

There is a true yearning to respond to 

The singing river and the wise rock. 

So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew, 

The African and Native American, the Sioux, 

The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek, 

The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh, 

The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher, 

The privileged, the homeless, the teacher. 

They hear. They all hear 

The speaking of the tree. 

Today, the first and last of every tree 

Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the river. 

Plant yourself beside me, here beside the river. 

Each of you, descendant of some passed on 

Traveller, has been paid for. 

You, who gave me my first name, 

You Pawnee, Apache and Seneca, 

You Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, 

Then forced on bloody feet, 

Left me to the employment of other seekers-- 

Desperate for gain, starving for gold. 

You, the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot... 

You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru, 

Bought, sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare 

Praying for a dream. 

Here, root yourselves beside me. 

I am the tree planted by the river, 

Which will not be moved. 

I, the rock, I the river, I the tree 

I am yours--your passages have been paid. 

Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need 

For this bright morning dawning for you. 

History, despite its wrenching pain, 

Cannot be unlived, and if faced with courage, 

Need not be lived again. 

Lift up your eyes upon 

The day breaking for you. 

Give birth again 

To the dream. 

Women, children, men, 

Take it into the palms of your hands. 

Mold it into the shape of your most 

Private need. Sculpt it into 

The image of your most public self. 

Lift up your hearts. 

Each new hour holds new chances 

For new beginnings. 

Do not be wedded forever 

To fear, yoked eternally 

To brutishness. 

The horizon leans forward, 

Offering you space to place new steps of change. 

Here, on the pulse of this fine day 

You may have the courage 

To look up and out upon me, 

The rock, the river, the tree, your country. 

No less to Midas than the mendicant. 

No less to you now than the mastodon then. 

Here on the pulse of this new day 

You may have the grace to look up and out 

And into your sister's eyes, 

Into your brother's face, your country 

And say simply 

Very simply 

With hope 

Good morning.

Today, say GOOD MORNING to a new beginnings, and remember Luke 19:40.  Jesus says that if his disciples did not praise Him, the very rocks would cry out.  Don't force the rocks, rivers and trees to worship when you are perfectly capable.  Do not be bound by your perceived shortcomings.  Just like in the poem, raise your face to the sun and walk in the glory of God's majesty.

An Ice Cream Social

My daughter celebrated the anniversary of her engagement tonight and I got to keep my grandchildren

We had an impromptu ice cream party.

It's nights like this that I am reminded of the blessing of family.

Songs That Can Inspire

Earlier  today while driving I heard the most incredible song on the radio, it talked about not giving up on your destiny. The lyrics basically said, there will be challenges and obstacles when you trying to reach your goals in life but you must remain focused. If it is in you then work to get it out. You can sometimes be the greatest obstacle you will ever face. Doubt and fear are real and have to be faced and conquered. Your destiny is just that, YOURS!  I got lost in the lyrics and was inspired to make a difference today.

Family Day

I just spent the most extraordinary day with my family.  There's a reason they God instituted the family and I have come to believe that it is to enhance and embolden your life. With the support of your family you are free to take risk, explore new things and and even fail. I blessed beyond measure to live the life that I live.

He's Calling You

Today I am making an appeal to all of you out there that are no longer in church because something was done to you in a church setting that has caused you to make the declaration that, "I will never set foot inside a church building again!"  The reason that I need to establish contact with you is because you probably have the greatest assignment locked in you.  There is a reason that the enemy went for the knockout punch where you are concerned.  I have an incredible task before me and I  believe God will use you to get His work done.  Every Sunday some of the greatest apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and psalmists sit at home hungry for a touch from God and the burning inside to touch others.   I am launching a new ministry in Arizona's West Valley and I need you prayers.  I need you expertise and wisdom but more important than that I need to assist you in the healing process.  Let's take this journey together. I am Pastor Brenda Pratt, my ministry is Freed Indeed Christian Center.  Feel free to email me your prayer request and stories so that I know how to begin to pray for you as we come together to take the West Valley for Christ.


Twitter: @urfreedindeed
GMail: youarefreedindeed@gmail.com