Alive

I was riding my bike home from a friends at midnight Sunday evening. The air was warm and the wind was blowing strong all around me and even as my body was tired it felt good to feel the leg muscles straining as they grew stronger with each rotation of the pedals... the trees were bowing low the wind was so strong, and it just happened to be blowing against me with every hill I came to... it was invigorating to throw myself at each hill with all my strength; even with all of it my legs seemed to be moving in slow motion the gusts were so strong against me. I was reminded that even as we are walking with God and sometimes we feel we are giving Him all we have yet things feel like they are moving in slow motion, He is strengthening us all the more, building endurance, testing our patience and ability to trust in Him. Often when things seem to be going in slow motion He is doing a deeper work than we will ever know but the fruit will come in due season. There are times when patience has been a fairly easy thing for me.. these days I find it tested on an almost daily basis and I thank God for His grace and Spirit which allows me to do all things (or refrain from other things) in Him.

I was tired but the wind sneaking through the fabric of clothing and the silence of a warm summer night reminded me of how amazing it is to be alive. I never tire of the magic of riding darkened streets late at night in the stillness while most are slumbering in oblivion, buildings closed and quiet... open streets and lanes all my own. I often find I am most aware of my surroundings and I feel most alive in the world during these quiet moments alone when no one can see or hear me... I feel the awesomeness of the One I love as I float in the middle of a deep river, head back and the current swirling around, above, and beneath me... I am encompassed by it's power but not overtaken. As I float and meditate, or lay in the grass and stare at the stars... taking in all He has made... the more I fall in love and find that peace running deeper than ever before. I never want to leave this river.

Yes it feels good to be alive.

Isaiah, a true prophet indeed.

Excerpts from Isaiah 58, The Message version. I just can't read this too many times.


6-9"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'


9-12"If you get rid of unfair practices,
quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people's sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again.
13-14"If you watch your step on the Sabbath
and don't use my holy day for personal advantage,
If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy,
God's holy day as a celebration,
If you honor it by refusing 'business as usual,'
making money, running here and there—
Then you'll be free to enjoy God!
Oh, I'll make you ride high and soar above it all.
I'll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob."
Yes! God says so!



I have never been very good at fasting food as my body gets so weak so quickly I don't have energy or brain power to do much but stay at home and in the working world that just isn't an option. I think the longest I've lasted was 5 or 6 days. I don't mind not eating but the side effects long term fasting has on my body are lightheadedness and almost no energy so I become quite useless. It is a relief that although God sees and can use our food fasting prayer focussed endeavours, He is looking more for a lifestyle change, not just denying our bodies some food every once in a while. I think it is much easier to deny our bodies food than to let God change our hearts, habits, ways of thinking, and very lifestyles.

I love that I am called to break the chains of injustice, to abolish exploitation, free the oppressed and cancel debts. I want my lifestyle to be one of always sharing my food with the hungry, of having a home with guest bedrooms so I can invite the homeless to come live with me and disciple them through relationships... to clothe those who are cold and to always keep family a priority. I want to restore the old ruins and rebuild foundations.


61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor; [1]
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; [2]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. [3]
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.

5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
6 but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and in their glory you shall boast.
7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
they shall have everlasting joy.

8 For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong; [4]
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.


As my sister Rachel so amply named her blog I echo her desires to "do justice, love mercy, walk humbly" ... this is how we are called to live. Taken from Micah 6:8

"He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God."

Or the message version puts it well too:

But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.