an unhurried life.

'Earth's crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God.' Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I have the sweet lavish luxury of time. Moved to our baby bungalow at the beach for a couple months until home weather cools off. Jeff drives back & forth on the weekends....friends stop in for a night & a chat. My sister & I have a glass of wine||sweet words often. I have no agenda. No commitments. Not one thing I have to do any day each day. My plan is to have no plans. Just be. Sometimes lonely...there's a good kind of lonely. Sometimes overwhelmed with joy & wonder & gratitude. Mostly though, quiet, content, settled, at peace. Reading. Writing. Running. Yoga-ing. Listening. Noticing. Thinking. Being still. Keeping myself company. Transformed by the space. Happily unhurried.

Life is shaped from the inside out. It's a dance between making it happen & letting it happen.  Letting it happen feels like surrendering to what I believe is true. That earth is crammed with heaven. That God is madly in love with us. That life is rigged in our favor. That it's ok to walk away from systems & relationships that no longer work. That failure is part of the journey to success. That the greatest secrets are found in the most unlikely places. That suffering leads to clarity. That being still & unrushed & unbusy is when God speaks loudest. That being & living all of life in the now is pure magic. That learning to love each other without motive or agenda is SO MUCH FUN.

No need to rush & hurry & fill in every space on the calendar and in the margin. No need to be frantic or feel like I'm missing out on anything.  So much goodness is already right here in the quiet. Every common bush afire with God.  It's a sweet beautiful hum that sings to the soul. I think I'll stay in this stunning place a little while longer. Letting it do it's work. The unforced rhythms of the season.  Oh sweet summertime, you're completely enchanting. You're heaven on earth. You make me smile. You make me glad. You fill me
up. ❤️

afraid of nothing.

'There is no fear in love.' 1John 4:18

I'm living and breathing and waiting. Hoping. Praying. Counting on.....the day when I'm afraid of nothing. When we're ALL afraid of not one thing. Because I know then, love has won. Love wins. It's the one thing that wins every game. Wins every relationship. Wins every war. Wins every misunderstanding. Wins every heartbreak. Wins every lie. Wins every fear. Wins every political disagreement. Wins every religious divide. Wins every family break-up. I long for love to take up every ounce of me. Perfect love casts out all fear. His love is a fire in my soul that keeps burning and growing. Consuming & profoundly transforming me.

The love of God in Christ is abundant. I live in abundance. There is so much of everything good and right in this world. That's what I'm involved in. So much to preach FOR. Why waste a precious minute on anything else. Everyone is in. If you're gay, you're in. If you're transgender, you're in. If you're divorced, you're in. If you're an addict, you're in. If you're poor, red-head, pimply-faced, lonely, overweight, white, brown, black, orphaned, lonely, afraid, bulimic.... You're in. You're more loved and treasured and valued than you can even dream. By me. By humanity. By God.

You're enough. Just the exact way you are. Don't you dare believe anything different. You are a light. A child of God. The Maker of the universe. On behalf of Christians everywhere, I apologize if we have made you feel anything less.❤️