Things to Cultivate

Earlier this year I started a twitter feed on #thingstocultivate.  Today I want to share with you those ponderings.

But firstly….let’s take a look at the word Cultivate from the dictionary:

cul-ti-vate [kuhl-tuh-veyt]

verb (used with object), -va·ted, -va·ting

1. to prepare and work on (land) in order to raise crops; till.

2. to use a cultivator on.

3. to promote or improve the growth of (a plant, crop, etc.) by labor and attention.

4. to produce by culture: to cultivate a strain of bacteria.

5. to develop or improve by education or training; train; refine: to cultivate a singing voice.

Here are my ponderings on #thingstocultivate.

Cultivate a heart & mind that focuses on what is pure, good and holy

Cultivate a lifestyle of worship

Cultivate a kind response

Cultivate an appetite for God's word...hunger & thirst

Cultivate healthy relationships

Cultivate an awareness & sensitivity to the presence of the Holy Spirit

Cultivate a heart response that makes God smile

Cultivate eyes that see & ears that hear

Cultivate good self care & rest

Cultivate good soil, great environment…and you will bear good fruit

Cultivate gracious speech

Cultivate a gracious spirit

Cultivate a view that carries a God perspective

Cultivate a hunger for the presence of the Holy Spirit

Cultivate a hunger for the Word of God

Cultivate a hunger for the things of God

Cultivate the ability to see yourself and others as God sees

Cultivate the ability to see potential in yourself

Cultivate the ability to see potential in others

Cultivate a generous spirit

Cultivate a grateful heart

Jigsaws

As I sit to write, I am aware that months have whipped by. My last entry was March…and now it is September. I ask myself …“How does 6 months come & go so quickly?”  My plan this year was to take time out each month to write, to muse, to ponder aloud on this page. Something I so wanted to do, but life has crowded it out.
So today, I am choosing to stop and take a bit of time to reconnect with this place in me. I hope to draw out a few of my ponderings.

A Jigsaw Puzzle
I reckon that our lives are like a Jigsaw puzzle. God sees the final picture, and often he gives us glimpses of what that picture will look like when displayed in our lives.  Sometimes that glimpse comes through a prophetic word.  Yet the pieces still need to be added to reveal that image.

Bit by bit, step by step, as we follow God, he adds the Jigsaw pieces to our lives.  Sometimes these pieces come via the people in our world, sometimes via our choices and other times they are divine encounters with Jesus himself.  So many things form this jigsaw puzzle, our struggles, our delights, small pieces, large pieces, and uniquely shaped ones too.  Every piece has a designated place in our jigsaw, when joined together they will complete this image of love.

The jigsaw of our lives, is an expression of the love of God.  His plan for our jigsaw is good!  He sees a complete image, that can only be fulfilled with his love infused into every piece of the puzzle.  The image he sees for your jigsaw puzzle is seen through his eyes of love.  Will you let him form your jigsaw puzzle?  Will you let him complete the work that he has begun?  Will you let him place the pieces?  He so wants to be a part of your completed image.

He knows your name

As the days roll on, the names roll by....

It is now 9 days since the people of Christchurch had their lives turned upside down as the earthquake struck.  Day after day people have been searching for their loved ones.  As I followed @safeinchch on twitter, the names of missing and located people rolled by...one tweet at a time.  As I read each name, these people became more than just another person, they each have a name, they each have someone who cares for them.  I could now pray for a name, they were now somebody that was known, not just a missing person, or a family or friend that was searching or grieving.  They have a name.

As I read the names & prayed I became very aware that God already knows the name of every single person that is impacted by this tragedy.  I do not know them all personally, but he does.  I have just heard some of their names for the very first time, but he has always known their names.  He cares about each and everyone of them, he wants to walk this journey with them.  He knows their names.

It blows me away to think that God knows the name of every single person on planet earth and he loves everyone of you.  He knows you intimately and loves you soooo much.....HE KNOWS YOUR NAME.

Things Unseen - To See as He Sees

Lord open my eyes to the things unseen
That I may gaze with a new clarity
To see as though I am wearing your eyes

New sight I will behold

What was once hidden will now be revealed
Seeing as you see

The Gospel is Inclusive, not Exclusive

As the year begun, I settled into my first book.  I began reading a biography about William & Catherine Booth, founders of the Salvation Army.  I found myself inspired and challenged by their journey.  My God is SO BIG, wow....who wouldn't want to know him more intimately.

As I read, my thoughts turned to 'The Gospel is inclusive, not exclusive'.  They were reaching out to many in society that somes churches and doctrine of those days did not embrace.  Many churches had a special area in the back or off to the side that was designated for the poor.  Sure they were allowed to come to church if they sat there, but they were not embraced.  A specific doctrine taught that there was a select group who were already chosen and that the sacrifice of Jesus only applied to them.

I pondered on these things, wondering how I do life today in 2011.  Am I living a life that presents an inclusive gospel or an exclusive one?  I have a heart for a particular group of people, but am I excluding others?  Things for me to ponder.  God may call me to minister in specific areas, or to specific people groups.  But does he want me to ignore the other people in my life that don't fit within that group.  NO he does not.  His heart, His sacrifice was and still is for ALL. 

As I cotinued to read, I discovered that even though the majority of the Booths work was amongst the poor, Catherine also ministered regularly amongst the wealthy of society.  Inclusive gospel, not exclusive.

I am challenged to see EVERYONE through the eyes of Jesus, I am challenged to live a life that presents an inclusive gospel.

His arms are always open, waiting for us to come home, are our arms open to embrace them as they come?

A New Year, A New Decade

Expectancy
A sense of being positioned in exactly the right spot.
Obstacles have moved out of the way, other things have found their place, and in turn this has made a way, a path that is wide and clear to navigate.
The train has found the right track to continue its' journey. It is lining up with the rail, locking into place and ready to head in that direction.
The chess pieces are being moved to their correct positions, the strategy is clear.