The Kneady.

I knead you.

You knead me.

We need the Bread of Life.

The Glory of God’s Will- excerpt 2.

When the rams had been dipped, John rode out again on his horse to herd the ewes which were on a different pasture. Again I watched with Mari as John and Mack went to work. One in charge, the other obedient. Sometimes tearing at top speed around the flock, Mack would jam on four wheel brakes, his eyes blazing but still on the sheep, his body tense and quivering, but obedient to the command to stop. What the shepherd saw, the dog could not see; the weak ewe that lagged behind, the one caught in a bush, the danger that lay ahead for the flock.

“Do the sheep have any idea what’s happening?” I asked Mari. “Not a clue”, she said. “And what about the dog?” I can’t forget her answer. “The dog doesn’t understand the pattern. Only obedience.”

There are those who would call it blind obedience, a conditioned reflex, but in that Welsh pasture, in the cool of that summer morning, I saw far more than blind obedience. I saw, acted out, two creatures who were in the fullest sense, in their glory. A man who had given his life to sheep – who loved them and loved his dog, and a dog whose trust in that man was absolute, whose obedience was instant and unconditional and whose every meat and drink was to do the will of his master.

He never stopped wagging his tail. “I delight to do thy will…” was what Mack said, “..yay thy law is within my heart.”

-By Elisabeth Elliot

The Glory of God’s Will – excerpt 1.

When all the animals had been shut inside the gates, Mack the shepherd dog, tore around the upside of the pens and took up his position at the dipping trough, frantic with expectation, waiting for the chance to leap into action again.

One by one, John ceased the rams by their curled horns and flung them into the antiseptic. They would struggle to climb out the side and Mack would snarl and snap at their faces to force them back in. Just as they were about to climb out the ramp at the far end, John caught them by the horns with a wooden implement, spun them around, forced them back under again; eyes, ears and nose, and held them for a few seconds.

I’ve had some experiences in my life which have made me feel very sympathetic with those poor rams. I couldn’t figure out any reason for the treatment that I was getting from the Shepherd that I trusted and He didn’t give me a hint of explanation. As I watched the struggling sheep, I thought, “If only there were some way to explain”, but such knowledge is too wonderful for them. It’s high and they cannot attain unto it. So far as they could see, there was no point to it whatsoever.

-Elisabeth Elliot

Hast Thou No Scar.

Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,
I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,
Hast thou no scar?

Hast thou no wound?
Yet, I was wounded by the archers, spent.
Leaned me against the tree to die, and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed me, I swooned:
Hast thou no wound?

No wound? No scar?
Yet as the Master shall the servant be,
And pierced are the feet that follow Me;
But thine are whole. Can he have followed far
Who has no wound nor scar?

-Amy Carmichael

Proverbs 24:11

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

Eye.See.U

Whenever she smiled, her eyes reduced to chinks,
Today, she only smiled with her teeth
She prayed she wouldn’t think
hoped she wouldn’t blink
hoped she wouldn’t sink

Whenever she cried, her eyes turned red so quick,
No matter how hard she tried to hide
hoped they wouldn’t see
hoped they’d believe

Mascara here- the darker, the better “Make my eyes look brighter, whiter.”
Lipstick there- the redder, the better “Make my smile look brighter, wider.”

But still He sees it…
“Tough month?”
“Huh?” She offers her best fake smile.
“Rough one, I see… two in fact.”
“Wait, how did you…”
“Your eyes, my dear- those lines share signs.”

The Heart Asks Pleasure – First –

The Heart asks Pleasure – first –
And then – Excuse from Pain –
And then – those little Anodynes
That deaden suffering –

And then – to go to sleep –
And then – if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor
The liberty to die –

        – Emily Dickinson

🙏🏾

How I’ve fallen.
How I’ve failed.
To get back up.
With my own strength.

Energy. Spent.

How I’ve pushed.
How I’ve prayed.
For wisdom.
For your strength.

Tears. Cried.

My heart deceives me.
My mind confuses me.
My body misleads me.
My Your spirit reminds me.

Your Voice. “..the way, walk in it.”