Uninhibited Dance

"David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets."

2 Samuel 6: 14-15

Our hunger was satisfied. The dinner plates were cleared. The music segued from light jazz to up beat, jitter bug. It was time to kick off our shoes, let loose and celebrate this happy occasion. But, who would lead us out onto that dance floor? Who would be first? Not wanting to upstage the bride and groom on their special day, I waited patiently, tapping my toes in time to the beat.

Behind me I heard the running feet of my 23 month old granddaughter and in an instant she was at the edge of the dance floor, stopped only by the vastness of that great space. She stood there in her pink foofy dress, with a huge smile on her face, clapping her hands and tapping her feet in her sparkly shoes to the beat of the music. Instinctively she knew it was time to dance and she was ready!

Pops took her by the hands and led her out onto the floor. Her joy uncontainable, she squealed with delight, jumped into the air with all her might and with the aid of her Pops. Totally uninhibited by who was watching or what people were thinking she was the first onto the floor. That was it. The party had begun!

God calls us to be uninhibited in our worship and our ministry, just like little children. He's placed all the right instincts in our hearts from birth to help us not only survive but to thrive. The catch is He's left it up to us to step onto the dance floor. He'll never push us. He only stands before us with an outstretched hand waiting for us to follow His lead. Once we take hold of Him and start to dance, others will follow and the party will begin!

The world is waiting for you to step out. What's holding you back?

Word for Words: Writing in Multiple Genres: Challenges and Conflict

Word for Words: Writing in Multiple Genres: Challenges and Conflict

The Arms of the Father

"The Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with his children's children." Psalm 103:17

Dreams are instilled in us as children from the time we start to use our own imaginations. Some are played out by imitating our world and others are brought forth from what's within us, (our dna, our interests, talents and desires). How we nurture the dreams of our hearts depends on our childhood experiences and many times, our relationship with our fathers.

My husband and I are fortunate to live close to our children and grandchildren. For two years now, we've watched our son's daughter grow. We've seen her personality emerge, her language develop, her legs get longer and marveled at how God made her so much like her parents but so much His own. We love to interact with her face-to-face but we also enjoy watching her from a distance, interacting with her father.

Thanks to her mom's talent for capturing the moment on film, we caught a glimpse of them recently, playing at the local playground. There she was, arms wide open, a giggle on her lips and with free abandon, sliding into the open arms of her daddy at the bottom of the slide. Their joy in each other was evident, the trust in her father assured by his presence. I sighed to myself, "What a great picture of our freedom in Christ!"

Two weeks ago, our daughter married. It was a day that held great anticipation and tremendous joy. As I watched her walk that lacy aisle, arm in arm with her father my heart reminisced of all the steps God walked her through these past two years to get to this moment in time. And, as her father placed her hand into the palm of her husband he exclaimed his approval of their union by saying, "(I give her to David) with all my heart!" Those words surprised me and before I could silence myself, I choked out a sappy, "Awww." Again, I thought, "What an awesome picture of our freedom in Christ."

God places dreams and desires within us. If we allow it, He nurtures them throughout our lives with His unconditional love, discipline, guidance and trust. He brings healing to our wounds with his gentle touch and protects us from our enemies with his strong arms. He celebrates the fruition of our dreams with joy and gives us away with all His heart to play out our role that He's orchestrated for our lives.