The Teeter Totter of Faith

It seems so much about faith in Christ is a paradox -- almost an "unlearning" of my comfortable ways of operating in this world. There's tension involved in the life of faith and this poem demonstrates that tension through the visual of a teeter totter.

The Teeter Totter of Faith

Teetering between. . .

weakness and strength

letting go and holding tight

hiding and seeking

waking and resting

urgency and patience

endings and beginnings

losing and finding

questions and answers

emptiness and wholeness

waiting and acting

dying to self and living into Christ!

© 2007 by Lana Gray

God's Grace

The Bowl of Grace
Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that is greater than all our sin.

-Julia Johnston

While watching a dog eagerly lap up water from his bowl,

I smiled at the joy of our Lord

when His children devour His water of grace.
Holding onto hurt

prevents me
from lapping up God's water of grace;
unforgiveness keeps me on a
short leash
unable to move closer to the bowl.
As I squirm and twist,
I am finally able to leave behind
both leash and collar.
Rushing toward the illusive bowl,
I bend my head down and
lap up the water of grace.
God laughs as my big tongue
jerkily rotates from side to side,
spraying water in all directions.
There is no bottom
to this bowl of grace!

© 2007 by Lana Gray 

Change Your Shoes, Change Your Life

Change Your Shoes, Change Your Life

While visiting my sister in Spokane a few months ago, I ran across the quote "change your shoes, change your life" and entered it in my journal. Little did I realize how these words would penetrate my heart!

A book by Mark Labberton, The Dangerous Act of Worship, gave me further insight into that quote. The author explained how the worship of our God should propel us out into the world to do acts of justice and mercy, stressing the importance of stepping into the lives of broken and hurting people.

I admit that I don't always enjoy stepping into the shoes of a needy person, yet maybe this is my most important assignment as Jesus' disciple. There have been special people who have worn my shoes of sorrow in the past and others who have danced in my shoes of deliverance and hope.

So I wonder whose shoes I am to step into today. . .

© 2007 by Lana Gray