hands

Sunday Psalm: Humpty Dumpty no more

Karla LeesLeave a comment

I was Humpty Dumpty,
sitting on the wall,
shakily leaning
one way then the other,
until one great shake
caused me to lose my balance
& have a hard fall.

I hit the ground hard,
shattered & cracked
and there I lay,
hurting, in pain, broken.

And then
You came along
& gently picked up my pieces,
lovingly restored me to life,
and painstakingly
mold me into Your vessel again.

Through the fire
You walk with me
as I am lead
to become strong again,
an increasingly used vessel
in the hand of the Potter
who made me
for just such a purpose.

My value is set in Your eyes,
the glow i give off after the fire
radiates Your glory
to all those around me,
as I seek You
for daily filling,
that You may overflow out
through me,
now Your
beautifully broken vessel.

Now fully
put back together,
in the hands
of my King,
shining with His passion,
beating with His heart,
standing in His Presence
scarred but firm in His grip
secure on His sure foundation.
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#SundayPsalm

snapshots along the way: He cares

Karla Lees2 Comments

Jesus showed how much He cared for all people as He walked closer and closer to the cross.

And that same care shines through as alive as if the Easter Story was happening today.

For it is.

When Jesus reached out to feed, comfort, encourage, teach, heal this around Him, His care was evident.

Every thing that matters to us matters to God.

He took the time to heal the ear of the guard who was there to arrest Him.

He took the time to build up Simon Peter, the Rock before the denials occurred.

He took the time to be with all His disciples, even the one yet to betray Him.

He took the time to pray, not stress over what was to come, because everything that matters to God mattered to Him.

Our eternal care was weighing heavy on His shoulders as the cross approached… yet He still took the time to show those He loved how much He cared.

His best friend & mother.

The thieves on either side of Him.

The tearing of the veil to let His people know for certain their Messiah had come.

There was no detail too small or overlooked in His life, especially His public life, because He took great care to reveal His care.

By giving up His life, Jesus demonstrated His extravagant love and care for the world in a costly, painfully necessary way.

He gifted us with the full weight of His care on the cross.

He took our sin upon Himself because He cares.

The Word has many verses that stand to remind us how caring our God is….but only one is needed to show the full picture of His heart for us.

For God so cared and loved the world, He gave up His only beloved Son, the One He adores, to death on the cross. Who ever chooses to believe in Jesus, and accepts His free gift of His heart poured out for our wrongdoings, will live with Him forever and ever.

John 3:16, my translation

There is no better illustration of His caring for us that giving up His own Son to help us make our way Home to Him.

And this care?

Lives on in the hearts & lives of those who follow Him. As we reach out our hands to help the needy, comfort the grieving, come alongside the lonely, support the hurting and love up on all we can, His care lives on through us.

Like fragile eggs, we the weak become His care package to the world.

#snapshotsalongtheWay
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proof is in the…grace?

Karla Lees4 Comments

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When I try to control my life, I make an utter mess of it.

And I know I have been doing so when I feel surrounded, inside & out with mess.

God, however, sees my mess far differently than I do.

I want to clean up my messes until I am spotless, and no sign of the mess remains behind to give a viewer any inkling there had been any mess at all.

I sweep my messes under my internal carpet & put on my public face before I go out…but the mess remains within.

God says He has washed me pure as snow, and He doesn’t see the big pile of mess that I do.

He sees building materials for the message He wants to make out of my mess.

I am made 100% clean through Jesus, but the scars that remain behind? They speak to Him of where He is taking me; they speak to me of all the struggles, guilt & shame i see in those same scars.

I see remnants of mess, He sees beauty in the making.

In the last few years, I  have been learning its okay to let people see the mess within. Not everybody, but as God has led me to share to a chosen few, my stress has ebbed from trying to hide my mess.

Because we all want to be known and accepted for who we are, right now, in the middle of the newness He is making from the mess on hand.

For we can’t always see what those around us do, how far we have come as we have followed Him.

Our emotions can fog up our vision if we let them have them loudest voice.

I don’t want my stress or mess to be the loudest voice I speak, I want His message to be the words i cling to, and the words i share as He leads.

When you move beyond standing in the midst of your mess, you may catch a glimpse of the message He is knitting together from the broken strands left behind.

Master Creator, His tapestries reveal the glory of their Maker.

You, and i? We are examples of His abundant grace, with which He covers our mess.

Say yes to His dress for you.
Let Him weave the mess into a stunning array of grace, to be worn every day.

Our mess will become something so much greater in His loving hands!

scarred

Karla Lees2 Comments

God’s proof of love for us is found in the scarred hands of Jesus.

@1Tim6_11Men tweet

I often try to hide my scars.
Some of them are physical, many are emotional.

We tend to hide what we don’t want people to see in us during first impressions. Especially if we really like the person we are with.

We hide under bulky clothing, hair over our face, makeup, shrinking so we don’t seem as tall.

Because we may be scarred from the words of those we encountered before…who wounded instead of accepting us for who we are.

Imperfect creations of the perfect Creator.

We have fallen into the world’s belief that scars mar the goods and make them worthless.

I disagree.

Jesus’ hands and side might have marred Him physically, and wounded Him on all levels, but they didn’t make Him worthless.

Quite the opposite.

They expressed just how much He valued us, those scars.

Each welt- an I love you demonstrated for all to see.

Each thorn- a reminder of His purpose, to set us free.

Each piercing- overwhelming His heart with His plan, our redemption.

I find it fascinating that when Jesus rose again, His hands & feet still bear the scars of His sacrifice.

Scars meant for destruction became declarations of freedom.

I have a few scars.
Literally.
Figuratively.

Some I continue to try and hide away, but i no longer have the same sense of fear to keep them hidden.

I am waiting for His timing, and His loving words to draw me in, to touch my scars and make them beautiful with hope and possibility.

Where Love sees the whole person, not the marring of their scars.

One day, I will see His beautiful scars up close. An eternal reminder of how much He loves each and every one of us…enough to inscribe us in the palm of His hands.

I believe He will see me as the pure spotless bride He calls me to be, scars, flaws and all.

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Scars remind us to never forget: where we came from, and who is bringing us Home.

His scars? that Jesus will never forget us, nor does He want to.

Scars are part of His plan.

start with me

Karla Lees2 Comments

I want to comfort, offer hope, lift up and be a help to those in need.

Where do I start?

It has to start with me.

I can’t lead someone where I have not been willing to let You lead me.

I can’t express the joy of freedom when I don’t turn to You to be unbound.

I can’t offer what I am not willing to take from Your hand.

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I can’t let the music well up within me when I keep myself dry and closed off to Your love.

Changing the world begins with allow God to change me.

So where do I start?

On my knees.

Asking Him to meet with me.

Seeking His word.
Seeking His Presence.
Seeking Him.

Resting in His promises.
Trusting in His ways.
Knowing He is for me,
with me,
in me.

When i pour myself out before God, He pours Himself into the places that make way for Him to enter.

As I give my burdens to Him, He carries them, lightening my load.

As I offer my brokenness before Him, He strengthens me to hold it together in the storm.

As I place my desires in His hands, He breathes new life and hope in my heart.

As I leave my pain at His feet, He touches me with more than enough for the day.

Want to offer a helping hand to a hurting world?

Say it with me, “Lord, it starts with me. Here I am. Use me, mold me, break me, fill me, move in me, shape me.”

And with unswerving faith and trust in the One I follow, I know He will.

He reminds us, “Start with Me.”

Today, Lord, start with me.

START WITH ME:
Meredith Andrews
You are air for desperate lungs
Water falling on the sand
Silence to an angry storm
Sight to a blind man
You’re still the God, a miracle
So if You’re gonna move again
The would You move in me?
Move in me

You’re the beat to a broken heart
Bread for a hungry crowd
A warm word from Your voice rings out
And the dead throw the grave clothes down
Cause You’re still the God of the empty tomb
The one who came alive again
So come alive in me
Come alive in me
Come alive in me
Come alive in me

chorus: My life is an empty cup
Fill it up, fill it up!
I wanna hear
every rescued heart cry
You’re enough, You’re enough!
Break what needs breaking
‘Til You’re all we see
And start with me, start with me

Whose arms hold the fatherless?
Whose voice do they hear?
Who sits with the prisoner
And stands for the one who fear?
You’re still the God of what is just
And You’re still the God who loves
So would You love through me
Love through me yeah
Come and love through me
Would You love through me, yeah

chorus

Your kingdom come
Your will be done
Lord let it be
Let it start with me, start with me
Yes, Your kingdom come
And Your will be done
Oh Lord let it be
Let it start with me, start with me

chorus

Meredith Andrews – Start With Me: http://youtu.be/b4izl8DjGHQ

beckon

Karla LeesLeave a comment

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thee pressure cooker of problems aren’t designed to see how much heat we can take, but to remind us to come to Him.

Sounds good on paper, but is it true?

Being refined is a hard process.

God tries reaching us with His words, but many of us ignore them.

He may try using kind people around us to remind us He is for us and we are never alone when we are His, but we just think they are nice, and miss His prompting behind the scenes.

He paints majestic pictures in the sky, in the waves, in the lightning, with each birth, and every season….and many of us take just complain about how terrible the weather is, and miss His reminder in the scene.

When all we can see is the problems, we can miss His outstretched hand inviting us to come.

He beckons us with love.

A heart overwhelmed with wanting to care for us.

To be with us through the storm.

To strengthen us in our pain.

To give us peace amidst the chaos.

Are you missing Him beckon?

Whatever you are facing, He is greater.

I can say that with absolute faith, as He has been with me through more trials than I could share in a month’s worth of straight writing.

He has beckoned me to come through them all.

My husband is facing some serious back issues again.
My eldest started university, my baby will start next year.
I have pain that has been an almost constant companion for decades.

God has beckoned me to come into His wide open arms, and been there with me every nanosecond of every moment along the way.

I can be real with Him, cry with no comprehensible words, and He gets me.

He reminds me of His presence throughout my days, through an unexpected kindness, a smile, a song lyric, a sunrise, a chirping bird or a sudden gopher popping its head up (that is a story for another day).

God put it on my folks’ heart to loan me their car for a few weeks while they were vacationing…and I have needed it more than any of us realized this past eight days.
God put it on their heart because He knew I would need it.

I am safe when I rest in His care.

He has always provided what I needed no matter what I was facing….every single time.

Don’t let your problems bury you.
Allow them to point you to the God who is beckoning to be all you need with each problem.

Lighten your burden by sharing it with Him. Let Him show you the way through.

hands…

Karla LeesLeave a comment

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Hands speak of so much to us:

Words, in action.
Comfort as we offer a hand.
Provision, from the work of our hands.
Therapy, healing- with a touch of a hand, release can occur.

Whether your hands are small (like  Jewel’s hit song “Hands”.) or large, they have the potential to impact not only your life but the life of those around you.

My grandmothers had very different hands.

One used hers to serve in the hospital and auxiliary.

The other cleaned, and grew gardens of flowers & produce, offering the surplus to those in need.

Both created with yarn, and could be counted on for a hug if you felt blue.
One loved to talk on the phone, the one further away loved to talk with her hands and write letters in cards she designed with pressed flowers from her garden on the covers.

They impacted those who knew them with the work of their hands.

You too can do the same.

God has placed each of us in the right time and place to lend a hand, to serve someone in need.

He offered His hands willingly to serve all humanity, including outsiders, lepers, the social outcasts and oppressed peoples.

His hands have never stopped reaching for us, to this day, evening, moment in time.

He gives us a hand when we offer ours to Him, to use as He would lead, to touch all those He had for us to bless and serve with our willing hands.

The Newsboys have captured the image of hands beautifully in their song, “Hands & Feet”

An image flashed across my T.V. screen, another broken heart comes into view. I saw the pain and I turned my back.Why can’t I do the things I want to?

I am willing yet am so afraid
you give me strength when I say …

Chorus: I wanna be your hands, I wanna be your feet. I’ll go where you send me, go where you send me. I’ll be your hands, I’ll be your feet. I’ll go where you send me, go where you send me
And I’ll try, yeah I’ll try, to touch the world like you touched my life
And I’ll find my way
To be your hands

I’ll abandon every selfish thought
I surrender everything I’ve got
You can have everything I am
And perfect everything I’m not

I am willing, I’m not afraid
you give me strength when I say …

Repeat Chorus

This is the last time I turn my back on you. From now on I’ll go out, send me where you want me to. I finally have a mission, I promise I’ll complete.
I don’t need excuses
when I am your hands and feet
I am your hands and feet.

tattoo

Karla LeesLeave a comment

I had my midlife crisis moment earlier than some.

I didn’t run away from home, break up with my hubby, leave my job, or buy a dream ________.

I got a tattoo about three years ago

Technically its three in one.

I am guessing you may have a glimpse of where this post may be going now with that last comment.

But maybe not.

At the time, I had a lot of emotional pain & baggage pent up over the previous couple of years.  I lost three important people in my life in the prior three years, three people I hope knew how much I loved them. I have three family members I adore 95% of the time, and with the many circumstances swirling in my head at the time, I wanted a tangible reminder of those two facts, as well as just how much God (in His three distinct persons) loves and is there for me.

So i walked in and got three quarter sized flying bird tattoos in a place I felt comfortable with.

Immediately after, it dawned on me rather abruptly, that I didn’t know how my hubby felt about tattoos.

I have grown up around people with them, a few in the military, several artists and found them visually interesting. Didn’t think I would ever get one, never really thought about it much over the years.

My hubby doesn’t like them. And we didn’t need any more stress in our home at the time.

You see, I had a history that hadn’t been fully uprooted of minor cutting, which I know now was my way to trying to relieve pent up emotional angst. Not a healthy choice, but I am thankful i was set free from the bulk of it before I fully was aware of what it was & could have led to for me.

I had unknowingly tapped back into that physical relief with the tattoos, doing something concrete to serve as the reminder I felt I needed at the time.

We ended up in some pretty intense arguments, counseling and prayer times.

While my hubby will never fully get why I got tattoos, he has accepted me as I am now and forgiven me for hurting him. I had a few lightening treatments to help them fade more quickly, as their starkness was part of what bothered him.

I more clearly know sometimes our actions have consequences we may not understand.

I also know through it all, God understood:

Look, I’ve written your names on the backs of my hands.
-Isaiah 49:16 MSG

See/Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
-Isaiah 49:26 NIV/ESV

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I am important enough to Him for Him to have my name written on His hands, as are you. As is my husband. We are forever etched in the nail pierced hands of Jesus.

The simple act of doing something without understanding the implications or fallout is a reminder that we can hurt those we love most by not thinking of them in the decision making process.

Had I turned to God and poured out my heart in that moment, I would have made a wiser decision, and likely taken the time to work things through. I might still have gotten a tattoo, or not, but my hubby wouldn’t have felt the same punch to the jaw he did with my actions, as I would have clued him in to what was going on inside me.

I am not saying tattoos are wrong. I love mine. Most of us have enough stresses we are trying to deal with in our relationships, and don’t need a mid life crisis type event to knock the wind out of us or our loved one, causing a tidal wave release of unexpected emotion.

While it is good to remember, we need to also keep in mind our actions are to be made with love in the forefront, not an after thought.

Jesus knew the implications of his sacrifice.

The man in Him wanted another way.

The God in Him chose to blaze the pathway to freedom at great cost to Himself; knowing He is, was and will ever be the only Way.