Inspiration Nov 21 thru 25, 2020 What I am reading, seeing, hearing...

“... And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together now-a-days...” ~ William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream

"Because 'reasons'!" ~ one of my most favorite Being during a particular difficult time

Censured: expressed severe disapproval of (lies in this case) season 3 episode: 12 West Wing 

"Discipleship is not limited to what you can comprehend - it must transcend all comprehension. Plunge into the deep waters beyond your own comprehension, and I will help you to comprehend even as I do. Bewilderment is the true comprehension. Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge. My comprehension transcends yours." {Martin Luther qtd. God} qtd. p. 93 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's, The Cost of Discipleship Cost of Discipleship

"Everything"  by Lauren Daigle also...

 Ensorcelled: Enchanted; fascinated. The West Wing Josh re: Amy 

Foundation Leaders, It's Time to Shrink the 

Gap Between Words and Deeds

Hebrews 10:36-37 "For years have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come  will come, and will not tarry."

"I will listen and believe the voice of truth / Oh what I would do to have / The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant / With just a sling and a stone / Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors / Shaking in their armor / Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand... From on top of them lookin' down / I will soar with the wings of eagles / When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus / Singing over me / I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth." Songwriters: Steven Curtis Chapman / Mark Hall

"I don't think it's a good idea to be casual about the truth" ~ Sam Seaborn West Wing  "H. Con 172"

"Just Give Me a Reason" by P!nk (listen here)

"Keep me in perfect peace as my mind is stayed on thee, because I trust in thee." Isaiah 26:3

LeAnn Rimes - The Gift Of Your Love (Audio)

Mark 10:21 "And Jesus, beholding him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have, give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me."

"...Nullifies our arrogant presumption that we should get our way. With love, pride and fear fade." p. 91 Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Experiments in Spiritual Transformation

 p. 70 The Cost of Discipleship Cost of Discipleship 

Obfuscate: bewilder  ~ The West Wing Season 3 Episode 11

Quiet time : Chapter 31 Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice by Dallas Willard and Jan Johnson

"His is the only Redemptive efficacy" p. 92 The Cost of Discipleship (the best and most effective way for humanity to be saved from sin is through Jesus' suffering, crucifixion, Resurrection and ascension.)

"So few grains of happiness / measured against all the dark / and still the scales balance / The world asks of us / only the strength we have and we give it /Then it asks more, and we give it." from “The Weighing” by Jane Hirshfield

"Truth be Told" by Matthew West   

"Under His yoke we are certain of his nearness and communion.  It is He whom the disciple finds as he lifts up his cross." p. 93

Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns listen here

West Wing S3, E9: 2001 “The public will not forgive a President who withheld information that could have helped them or saved lives. Second, in a crisis, people need to feel like soldiers, not victims. Third, information breeds confidence, silence breeds fear” 19 years later. Same.

eXegesis : critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture. p. 84

"Zerubbabel— planted in Babylon— the great-times-eleven grandfather of Jesus! The Lord grew something beautiful from what was planted during a difficult season. And He still does that today!" source

My Heart by Corina Luyken

Across the splendid spare verses, against the deliberate creative limitation of a greyscale-and-yellow color palette, a sweeping richness of emotional hues unfolds."  

BrainPickings article

Corianna Luyken

"Defied myriad labels too small to hold its pulses..."  source: BrainPickings article

"Emotional Intelligence Primer in the Form of an Uncommonly Tender Illustrated Poem About Our Capacity for Love"

"From moments of great joy and exuberance to necessary times of quiet contemplation..."

Grow 

“How is your Heart?”  I recently asked a friend going through a trying period of overwork and romantic tumult, circling the event horizon of burnout while trying to bring a colossal labor of love to life. His answer, beautiful and Heartbreaking, came swiftly, unreservedly, the way words leave children’s lips simple, sincere, and poetic, before adulthood has learned to complicate them out of the poetry and the sincerity with considerations of reason and self-consciousness: “My Heart is too busy to be a Heart,” he replied..." source: BrainPickings article

"...It’s a whisper that can barely be heard... I get to decide..." 

Joy and solace in this labor of love

“Knowledge of each other, not of the flesh but through the flesh, Knowledge of self, the real him, the real her, in extremis, the mask slipped from the face.” ~ Tom Stoppard

"....Laid lovers and empires at its altar — " source: BrainPickings article about 

My Heart by Corianna Luyken

 

Newest publication Nothing in Common

"Ode to love and self-acceptance" ~ intro on flap dust cover :) I rec'd my copy. yay!

Public Library of New London "find" : Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group 2019

Question: "How does the human heart — that ancient beast, whose...

"...Roars and purrs have inspired sonnets and ballads and wars..." source: BrainPickings article

"Some days it is tiny, but tiny can grow… and grow… and grow."

"...Tessellated capacities of the heart...love as a practice rather than a state... how it can frustrate us, brighten us, frighten us, and ultimately expand us."

"...Unbusy itself from self-consciousness and learn to be a heart ... and Ultimately expand us"

Visionary: someone who imagines with wisdom what the future can be 

"With lyrical text and breathtaking art, My Heart empowers all readers to listen to the guide Within in this ode to love and self-acceptance." source 

eXceptional! This post is my review :)

"Your heart is your guide."

"recogniZing its many manifestations" from review @ www.corinnaluyken.com

November 14-21 Inspirations

"Alone, quiet, and still. A divine retreat." 

Source

Being "accepted and beloved" Ephesians 1:6

Day 2 of Seeing With New Eyes "God of the Possible"  YouVersionBible app

Eliminated as we make the first move: going toward love, joy, and peace, based on faith and hope in God." p. 88 Chapter 29 Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice

Feelings can be transformed by discipleship to Christ and the power of the gospel and the Spirit, through which the corresponding ideas and images are changed to positive ones."~ Chapter 29 Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Experiments in Spiritual Transformation

 thank you, Ken

"Humility is an actionable practice modeled by Jesus." ~ Mark Moore Core 52 p. 322

"Indispensable foundation for the reconstruction of all these positive feelings,  moods, and their underlying conditions. p. 89

"Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." Matthew 19:26

"Keep the pathway open to the house of reason and go there regularly to listen." p. 87 Chapter 28 Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice

"Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple..." Psalm 19:7

May our minds, hearts, and our patterns of being be fully renewed. May our souls be filled with the intense abiding presence of God. May the Kingdom of God be our deepest desire, our constantly tuned focus and vision, and our treasure that we bring to bear to heal the hearts of many. May God give us this bread daily to feed every need. May our love be complete. May our joy be full. Amen

Morning light November 

"Nourishing our mind with good and godly ideas, images, information, and the ability to think creates our vision. From these, we intend to be formed so that God is a constant presence in our mind, crowding out false ideas, destructive images, misinformation about God, and crooked beliefs. As for means, certain tried and true disciplines aid us in the transformation of our thought life toward the mind of Christ. We cannot transform our ideas, images, information, or thought processes into Christ-likeness by direct effort, but we can adopt certain practices that indirectly will have that effect." ~ Chapter 26 of Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice  

"Overwhelming Worry - Week 48 of Core 52 by Mark E. Moore focuses on one of my favorite passages:

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

"Questions: Is it really possible to ... put to death whatever belongs to my earthly nature? take off my old self with its practices? put on a new self, which is being... 

Renewed in knowledge in the image of my Creator? Colossians 3:5-10 p. 85 Chapter 27 of Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Experiments in Spiritual Transformation" by Dallas Willard & Jan Johnson

Scribd Inc. is an American e-book and audiobook subscription service that includes one million titles. Scribd hosts 60 million documents on its open publishing platform 

"Teach me to do your will for you are my God! Let your Spirit lead me on level ground!" Psalm 43:10

"Unseen" good not yet here [hope]. Faith sees the reality of the Unseen and includes a readiness to act as if the anticipated good were already in hand because of the reality of God. (compare Romans 12:12 and 2 Corinthians 4:17-18) p. 90 Chapter 30 of Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice

Verse 2 Chronicles 15:4 "but when in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them."

His ministry (and death) eXemplified his eXpectation of how we should posture ourselves for influence and leadership."~ Mark Moore Core 52 p. 322

Yoke :"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my Yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my Yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

"Zippity-do-dah, Sam." Bruno "Excuse me?" Sam : The West Wing Season 3 Episode 7 "Gone Quiet"

This week's inspiration...

"An idea is like a virus, resilient, highly contagious. And even the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you." ~  Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) Inception 

"...By testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." 

Christ says in John 14:15, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..." Romans 12:2

"Evidence" by Josh Baldwin  listen and watch here

"Face to Face" by Natalie Grant listen and watch here or here for the lyric version

"Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible." Ephesians 6:24

Happy Birthday to Lynette Groton Long Point dive in November!

It takes the love of God to keep the commandments in the spirit—Intent—and It is love working and active when they are kept." source

"Joy heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22

"Keep His commandments is expressing love. It is working, in action." 1 John 5:3 

"Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes..." Psalm 19:7 

"May our minds, hearts, and our patterns of being be fully renewed. May our souls be filled with the intense abiding presence of God. May this (Kingdom of God) be our deepest desire, our constantly tuned focus (vision) and our treasure that we bring to bear (ointment applied to feet and poured upon the head) to heal the hearts of many. May God give us this bread daily to feed every need." Amen

"Not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasure, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man." Ephesians 6:24

"Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17⠀

"Put to death, therefore,  your memories which are upon the earth" ~ Colossians 3:5

 Quinnipeag Ave. Quinnipeag Rocks, New London

Renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created [me]." ~ Colossians 3:10

"Seashell in the Sand"  by Jackie Law
“This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

Underlying feelings are settled conditions that lie beneath feelings. P. 86 Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice

Visible manifestation of God: Shekinah 

"Walking with God and Misty" photo by me

break out of our little world of eXperience and step into abandoned devotion to Him... He can present us faultless before the throne of God, ineXpressibly pure, absolutely rectified and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith in Christ Jesus, who became for us "wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." ~ My Utmost for His Highest on Scribd 

"Your part is to be so rightly related to God that His discernment comes through you all the time for the blessing of another soul."  ~ My Utmost for His Highest on Scribd

Zeal: diligence and discipline

Living in Christ's Presence by Dallas Willard

 source

"As you go, make disciples." Immerse them together in the presence of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yes, baptize them in the name, but, dear friends, that doesn’t just mean getting them wet while you say those names. It means to immerse them in the Reality. After you have done that, teach them in a way that they actually do what Jesus said. That is the process of spiritual formation. And what comes out at the end is the joy of living in the easy yoke, for you find that to do what Jesus said is the easy and strong way to live forever and in time." ~ Dallas Willard

Be the light. Bring the kingdom to people. Biblically, the heart is the will or the spirit. ~ Dallas Willard

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

"a Disciple is someone who is learning by going through the process of change. All the things that we moan about... are things that can be dealt with effectively only by bringing change into the mind and the spirit, into the will, into the body and into the fellowship of the person." ~ Dallas Willard

"Eternal life is the life we have now, because our life is caught up in God’s life. It is not later. What Jesus is doing is a part of what we are doing, and what we are doing is a part of what he is doing." ~ Dallas Willard

"Faith is never meant to exist apart from knowledge, where knowledge is possible. What is possible through the Scriptures and the actions of God in history is knowledge—knowledge of God, knowledge of human life—and that dignity has to be restored." ~ Dallas Willard Living in Christ's Presence

Golden thread that runs through all of Dallas Willard's primary writing: it is possible to know the Trinity intimately and to step into their glorious kingdom. used with permission. 

click here for source

Hosea 4:6 doesn’t say, “My people perish for lack of faith.” It says, “My people perish for lack of knowledge.” as qtd. by Dallas Willard p. 15 of Scribd version Living in Christ's Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God 

In life, some things that can be pulled cannot be pushed, and some things that can be pushed cannot be pulled. Making disciples is a matter of pulling people, of drawing them in through who we are and what we say... I must have that." p. 21 (Scribd) Living in Christ's Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God

 "Joy of living in the easy yoke" of walking side by side with Jesus in every moment of every day.

photo by me, lyrics by Matt Maher

“Knowing Christ Today” was the theme around which the conference this book reflects was written and as a way to present the golden thread that runs through all of Dallas Willard's primary writing: it is possible to know the Trinity intimately and to step into their glorious Kingdom.

Listening to: "Lord I'm Ready Now" by Plumb

May you experience grace—God acting in your life, in your thoughts, in your feelings, in your rest. May his face shine upon you. May his shining face lift up over you as you lie down, as you sleep, and give you the thoughts you need to have. The blessing of the Trinity rest upon you and everything you are and do. Let it be so. Amen. Dallas Willard

NEEDTOBREATHE - “Who Am I” [Lyric Video]

"Only as we do that do we begin to draw the strength and direction that straightens out everything that is wrong in human existence. It does sometimes lead to a battle with a world gone wrong around us, but that world needs that battle, and they need us to stand steady in the easy yoke with Christ." ~ Dallas Willard

"Put His words into practice and find them to be true." ~ Dallas Willard

Question 'Who has mastered life? Who is worthy of being the teacher that I sit under?' Many people think of Jesus as Savior... the disciples, began with 'Have I accepted  Jesus as my teacher?'

"Rethink your thinking. Repent, as Jesus commanded in Matthew 4:17. Repent just means to turn back on how you are thinking about things and to Reconsider. Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is now available to you. That was his message." ~ Dallas Willard

"Spiritual formation doesn’t run with the orthodoxy of a position. Jesus is saying:

 “Take my yoke.” Take the yoke of official religion off your neck. Then you can go back and redeem that, but first you have to learn from him how to live in the yoke of the kingdom of God." 

Until we go through discipleship, we can’t bring people together in trinitarian fellowship, because a commitment to God, to Christ and to the Holy Spirit is not adequate to allow people to come together in the intimate form of relationship that is life transforming."

 source

"What is the yoke of Christ?" ... this language referred to oxen in Jesus’ day ... It speaks of two animals being yoked together to pull a load. To be in the yoke with Christ is to pull his load with him. What is his load? It is to bring the reign of God into ordinary human life. That is why he came the way he did, lived the way he did and died the way he did. In the midst of a world of ordinary human life he was pulling the load of bringing the kingdom of God into ordinary human life. That was his message. And his message was to everyone." ~ Dallas Willard

who are the eXperts on life transformation in our day? Who really knows what life can be and how we can pursue it?” Human beings are creatures that have to learn. Whether or not we want to, we are just that kind of a being. So we will always search for teachers..."

“You grow your roses on my barren soul.” ~ "Who Am I" by NEEDTOBREATH

Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."