Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Engraved With Scars

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." - Jeremiah 31:33

Do you long for God to fulfill
this word in your life?
Be careful how you answer,
it may depend on how he writes.

The other day, while lamenting my old soul, my spiritual fingers caressed the scars on my heart, and I grieved the hardships of this life:

How do we "consider it pure joy"?
Where is joy in such pain?
The treasure in darkness is not plain.

Each trial had cut me deeply, an inscription on my tablet.
Written forever by the cutting and removal.
Not pleasant, hard work.

And when you're in the trial, all you can see is what has been taken.
All you can feel are the grooves and crevice of loss.

But long after,
When stepping back to observe the totality of the mosaic,
Epiphany resounds like a symphony of light:
These scars bear familiar resemblance -
The handwriting of God.

As a sculptor carves the stone, and a vintner prunes the vine,
So our scars bear the seal and sign of the Divine.

I will not soon forget:
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
In quietness and trust is your strength"

Engraved with scars,
This Word on my heart.

As a sculptor carves the stone, and a vintner prunes the vine,
So our scars bear the seal and sign of the Divine.

"He who did not spare his own Son,
But gave him up for us all."

This Word written on his hands,
Now engraved in his side.
These scars consider it joy,
So pure joy can be mine.

As a sculptor carves the stone, and a vintner prunes the vine,
So our scars bear the seal and sign of the Divine.

APK



Sunday, August 28, 2011

He's TWO: day 1

Heaven help us.

"Where was his mother?" one might ask.
"In the bedroom, cleaning up a mess he had just made," she would answer.
He's a beautiful, wild, crazy mess.
ejk

Friday, August 26, 2011

Happy Birthday, Lion Cub!

*click to enlarge (once enlarged, you should be able to click on the image again to further enlarge it...sorry, unable to format the photo larger on blogger)

Monday, August 8, 2011

when daddy trains for a tri

Someone watches very closely.

He grabs his boots to hit the trail, but must resign to watch from afar.

Until...now!

He BEAMS with pride and testosterone when daddy gives him a chance on the ole pull up bar.

And then, he never wants to get off.

Ever. Aron and I switch back and forth as our arms tire out.

"UP! DOWN! UP! DOWN!" he commands, as he simulates daddy's chin ups!

Meanwhile...this one, sick as can be, tries to sleep off an unrelenting fever, but keeps waking her self up unable to breathe. Poor thing sounds like a freight train. She isn't too congested, so I'm wondering if its not her tonsils/adenoids making all that ruckus (they are pretty swollen)?!

Life in a nutshell for us this week,
ejk

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Blazing August

we love august 'round here.
half our little family's birthdays fall in this month,
as it shimmers with the final flying sparks of summer's glory.

(look at lion cub's smile...he's been flashing that grin so often lately - especially when he's into ornryness!)
and if two birthday's weren't enough,
there's a love story to celebrate to boot.
august: chalked full of moments of the divine coming near,
smiling on his children, giving gifts so abundant, his fingerprint is unmistakable.
we thank you, our God, for every passing moment,
the overflow of your presence so tangible
and worth more than any treasure or fame.
You are our Very Great Reward,
the delight of our collective heart.
Blaze on, August!
you lead us through life and love,
into autumn's bounty.
ejk

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

(mis)parenting 101


rule # 63: allow your child that first sip of soda. it only takes one. so that every time you crack one open to enjoy the bubbly, fizzy wonder, your children will swarm at your feet - bouncing, begging, pleading - until you can no longer enjoy yourself. and in desperation you give in, defeated and guilty.

ejk