Ecclesiastes (and the rest of the story)

Flavored with the first ancient taste
of separation fruit, offered and taken,
a knowledge shaped by nothing
and held up against and before truth.

Swallow the gaping hollow at the core,
death, where no seed may be found
and wonder at minds which claim
a grip upon the roots of alternate reality.
  
Jarring words clamor together 
then wilt and rot on the tongue,
while wisdoms begin with ignorance
and froth amid garbled theory,

vapors, winds that twist and fade
as water mists, falls and flows
in never-ending turns about the sun,
chasing long shadows against time.

The bloom of God's presence 
breathes vivid scents of truth 
to brush wandering senses,
aiding hearts flailing  for vitality. 

The tree of  new life subdues wild wills,
instills belief, and fruits wisdom,
reattaching souls to the meaning Maker.
Taste and know Wisdom, and live.

---

Image:  1 Cor. 3:16-17  Memory aide sketch. Another verse about the indwelling source of wisdom...

In our Sunday small group we're studying Ecclesiastes, and the questions it asks. We then look for the answers provided in the work and words of Christ and the Spirit as recorded in the Bible. It is fascinating, and remarkably encouraging to study this way.

Romans 12 (or Why I Like Strong's Concordance)

I looked up the coals of fire chapter again today and read a new version, which was different enough that it got me wondering what that phrase really means. So, I looked up what claimed to be historic research into the meaning of the phrase, which lead me to re-read it in context in e-Sword (oh, I love computer software sometimes) which has Strong's Concordance linked next to every word.

So ...

I did "my own translation" which is really just a study of the predetermined potentiality of each word as shown in Strong's, within the already provided structure of the King James version, aided by a general knowledge of God's Word as it has already been illuminated through the many ways he instructs and imbues wisdom.  Whew! Run-on sentences ...

Anyway ...

Here is:
What I Learned About Romans 12 by Reading It Closely.
Most of the following is actually implied IN the words. I tried to parenthesis my most overt assumptions or the places where I draw on other Scripture. Where there is error, it is in process of being eradicated from my heart by Christ. (And he might decide to use you to help me see it.) Where there is truth, it is sourced in Christ alone.





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Romans 12
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Because of the [gracious gift of salvation through Christ], I beg you, my brethren, that you yield your entire being as a living sacrifice, consecrated and pleasing to God by means of his mercy to us, which is a reasonable response of worship. Don't fall into the pattern of this age, but allow your mind to be renovated by Christ so you may test and prove God's beneficial, agreeable, and completely perfect will.

I say to all of you, through God's influence in me, that you should not be inclined to think too highly of your position and abilities, but remain moderate, knowing that God has distributed to everyone an ability to rely upon his character and promises in a special way.

We are many parts of a single entity and all of us do not have the same function. Each of us is a servant of Christ, and he unites our abilities into an [interlinked drive] powered by him and directed to his own purpose.

Since* miraculous gifts and abilities have been poured into you through Christ's influence on your heart....
- if predicting the outcome of a matter, then do so relying on the promise that Christ is working in you by faith;
- if helping others, then rest on his work in you by faith to help;
- if teaching what you've learned, then rest on his work in you by faith to instruct others;
- if comforting, then rest on his work in you by faith to call others near to comfort them;
- if giving, then then rest on his work in you by faith to give generously without self interest;
- if leading others, then rest on his work in you by faith to move forward eagerly, with diligence;
- if showing compassion, then rest on his work in you by faith to offer grace with good cheer. [*then you can] Show generous love without pretense.

Detest what causes hurt and demonstrates evil (within or toward character) but fixate on what is good. Demonstrate the bond of family affection and show kind interest toward each other, considering your relationships to be valuable so you will cherish each other.

Do not be indolent in respect to moving forward in the business of daily life, but bubble up energetically with the presence of the Spirit and bind your service to the control of the Lord.

Find your foundation of joy in expectation of Christ's promises. Choose to patiently remain under pressure and anguish while continuing always in worship [and communication with] the Lord, distributing [your portion of the gifts above] according to needs throughout the church, with a constant pursuit of chances to show hospitality.

Speak well of those who hurt or irritate you; offer them good and not harm. Rejoice with those who are well off and weep aloud with those who are overcome with grief. Show generous interest toward each other. Don't focus on those who are already honored, but bring those who are depressed and humiliated into your life.

Don't return hurt for hurt. Decide ahead of time to offer good to everyone, [no matter how they act.] Do as much as you can to live at peace with everyone.  [Find those you have hurt to ask their forgiveness. Go to those who have hurt you with forgiveness toward them. Restore love to every relationship on your part.]

Dear ones, don't retaliate or avenge yourselves, but give up your little foothold of offense because God has said, "All vindication and retribution are mine; I will distribute them." [And we should fear attempting to push God out of his rightful place when he so clearly states something is not our business.] Because of this, if the one who treats you with hostility is hungry, then nourish him; if he thirsts, then give him water. By doing this you will "heap coals of fire upon his head" [Figurative speech:  Give him the gift of a cooking fire, warmth, a blessing.] Don't be overcome by [fall into, be emptied by] his worthless behavior, but overcome the emptiness by contributing only what is beneficial and good toward the situation.

---

Images:  Various perspectives on a still life as seen in different lights, taken after the recent ice-storm. I think the concept associates pretty well with how we hold Scripture up in various lights to see more of its beauty.

Minor edit on 2/27: "offer good to everyone" is better phrasing

A Quick Thought

I exist
because God knows me.
I exist forever
because he does not forget.

Image:  Burning Heart, a quick painting from yesterday.

The Shape of Desire

If lust is all you find through me,
then it is not my heart you see.
Discard the lies before your eyes
and take a chance on truth perceived.
False forms will froth and fill your mind,
corrupt your hopes, crush love's design,
and when they fade, as they degrade,
destroyed remains are all you'll find.
Eradicate such fantasy.
Admit broken reality.
Hold close this art within your heart;
love truth with creativity.

---

The "me" in this poem is not myself, per se, but an inner commentary on ideals and how they change relationships. This poem could be about pornography, but it will just as easily apply to "the righteous Christian" or "the submissive wife" or "the godly husband" that so many worship as rulers over relationships.

If we pretend our brokenness is whole we fracture ourselves further. If we cling to our ideals for others, we fracture our relationships. "You don't fit in the idea I've set up over you, because it is perfect for me and you are not," is a concept that has consequences in our attitudes and actions toward others.

God doesn't do this to us, you know. He sees us for what we are. He loves us where we are. He takes us in as we are. And he fills our humbled brokenness with his own creative love until we aren't broken anymore.  It's not a Photoshop masquerade published in a magazine, and we can't assume a respectable veneer is enough.

He invests tangible beauty into the heart of reality. Love with grace and truth.

What's in a name?

I've always loved the meanings of my names, since together they are colored with faith. You may know--or not--why I call myself Karenee instead of using my real name for my art. It is simply a merging of the promises in my first and middle names. Ka-Ren-ee

Karen comes from the name Katherine, meaning "pure".
My middle name, Renee, means "born again".

God's promise is to make me pure, since I am born again in Christ. A new creature ... my old self has passed away, behold I am made new!

Is it any wonder that I associate this concept with the Phoenix? A purifying fire burning away all that is unworthy. Death of self and new life in Christ. New wings by grace, through faith. Salvation. Pure and born again...

My last name, Eck, means "on the corner" which seems to be associated with a rocky outcrop as a landmark on the boundaries of ownership. I like the idea of marking a place, identifying it,... especially when I think of myself as a belonging of Christ. He maintains my borders and marks me as his own, clearly and indisputably.

---

Images:
- Footprints in pure snow, taken this winter.
- Phoenix quilt, a surprise gift I received from friends just this week, made especially for me! Please admire it, because it's so beautiful and filled with God's love as it is poured out through friendship!
- A rocky boundary, marking the edge of the lake and preventing it from eroding the land ... new facets of the idea ... *grin*

Like a Sparrow

I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. She has encouraged me so many times through her poetry and writing, and now she has started a blog. Her first post made me cry because it touched a wound that needs this truth to heal. Here's a brief quote to tantalize you, then please link through to read, comment if you'd like, and welcome Saykha to the blogging community!

Aren't we like these little sparrows? We are so fragile, killed so easily. I'm not only talking about physical death and fragility, I'm talking about emotional fragility - spiritual fragility. The smallest remark from someone can hurt us. Just like the smallest stone, when it hits the right place, can kill us. We're vulnerable. We die so easily. We're so ... mortal - emotionally and physically. [Read more...]

I won't speak

today I don't speak words
afraid
of being seen for who I am
revealed
in the silence promises grow
precious
and I remember I am dead
gone
Christ in me removes fear
alive 
a breath of life and truth
exhales
a song of gratitude with joy

---

Photo:  Reflection ... captured last spring.

The Other Side of Hope

They are precarious times in life, the moments when the struggle toward hope ends. Looking around brings a sigh of relief. There is so much to see, looking along the path behind before glancing ahead.

Realization sets in. The top is narrow. Both sides are equally far below. To stay above requires precision and balance. There is no certainty here.

Life proceeds on either side of the boundary. Both sides have their complications and their benefits. But staying on top isn't life, and it becomes clear there is no way to remain unaffected by events and interactions.

Choices.

It's easy to make many decisions and go nowhere. Planning does not force the world into an ideal mold. Climbing to the top of the world may bring perspective, but vision is a gift easily distorted and often ignored.

Salvation isn't on the other side or even above. It's here and now, moment by moment, amid decisions made from a perspective that cannot be framed by anyone no matter their defiance or acceptance of limits. Access to this miracle is offered freely to those who seek to know and follow the only man who ever lived beyond the reach of fences.

In Christ alone all hope is found.

Faith and Growth

We don't consider it that closely, the mood we call faith. Some think it can be gathered up with a deep breath or rigid concentration--but really, faith is just moving forward in confidence that what we believe is actually true. It's resting.

Some of our faiths are placed on unreliable objects or conditions. Chairs break. Planes crash. Lovers give up. Random accidents happen on ordinary days. We expect this. Even the most reliable man can miss a promised appointment due to events beyond his control. We tinge our faiths with a touch of realism, or give up entirely and suspect every moment of impending collapse to the detriment of our health and relationships.

But...

Christ is a solid and eternal foundation. He cannot be prevented from keeping his promises. I wonder what it would look like if I really did believe who I say I believe? How would I act differently if I actively relied on him for life and love? How many silent hesitations do I hold up between us? What relationship could we have if I chose to believe him when he says he loves me, and that he is the way to escape from inevitable destruction through death-corrupted living?

I'm looking forward to learning what possibilities open as I turn from small and temporary faiths, to instead focus on the only eternal confidence available. We have been given many great and precious promises. I choose not to doubt his good and loving character.

Faith is more than a mood. It's a lifestyle.
---

Above you see the first of eight photos I took last year. I'm calling the collection "A Solitary Life". This is Faith. It's my first attempt at a series, and I'm rather fond of it just now, though it's possible this feeling will fade over time. *grin* I plan to wrap a series of posts around the images in the process of showing them to you. If you like them, they are available on my Flickr account for non-commercial use.

Valentine Art

I got into the spirit of the day ON the day. Here's the result.

The place of nothing

Today I am nothing; broken and weak,
torn at the edges, willing to be meek
Today I am nothing: this doesn't mean
that yesterday's good was right as it seemed.
All my contributions break down in time.
No excuse or reason could redefine
the empty places of life, unfulfilled.
Trust blessed promise, not my work instilled.
Enough and completion paid from outside,
untainted by lust or self-centered pride.
For everything good that I'll ever see
is shaped by God's grace, through faith gifted me.

---

Photo:  a weathered picnic table from last summer.

Switching the Name

 Sometimes people think up Christian memes that are meant to promote new perspectives. The only problem is they can be used so often that I know what I'm intended to know before I even begin, and feel the obligatory feeling because I know it's what I ought to feel. And I wince or rejoice and move on, essentially unchanged.

Today, when I read my aunt's Facebook post about 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, asking us to put our names in place of the word "love" I almost followed the usual path. I know what the process does, since I've done this before.

Usually I read it through and put in my name, feel the shame of not living up to the words, wish I could do better, ask God to help me do better, and go on with life.... Maybe I would even try harder to love for a few days.

But today I changed the verse even more and made it tell the truth.

Karen is not patient, nor is she kind. She is frequently envious, boastful, and proud.  Karen dishonors others by thinking the worst of them or refusing to accept their authority, and is self-seeking (especially when she seems to be doing good). She is easily angered and keeps wrongs in memory, recycling them to make sure she won't forget.  She delights in evil, though she relabels it "good" first, and thinks the truth should fit her perspective on the world or she resents it.  She doesn't know how to protect, or trust, and fixes her hopes on empty daydreams. If she does always persevere, it is in pursuit of her own way, and even there she will often give up in a resentful fury when things don't work out right.

There is only one way to make this verse hopeful.

Christ is our substitute, not only for the things about ourselves that we know are evil, but also for those parts of us we think are pretty good, way better than other people, or even righteous. We often tack his name on our best attempts at love because we're so sure he doesn't need to substitute for us, there.... Well, I do anyway.

How does the chapter read with his name? It reads true, without exception or excuse.

And the only way I can have true good spoken of me is to accept that my name will never deserve a place in these verses, and to take up God's offer of redemption, adoption, and restoration. "Not my will, but thine!" is the only way to let the heart of these words live in me.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have Christ, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have Christ, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have Christ, I gain nothing.

Jesus Christ is patient, and he is kind. He does not envy, or boast. He is not proud.  He does not dishonor others, and is not self-seeking or easily angered. He keeps no record of wrongs.  He does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Jesus never fails. [...] Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

It is not I, but Christ who lives in me.

In heaven,
we will cast our crowns at Jesus' feet,
not because they are ours to give, 
but because we know who earned them.

Childhood Lessons Made Real

Tonight I learned that green and red make brown.

Since I tend to experiment while cooking, there are a few lessons I've learned through the years by the simple method of making a mistake.  At least this time the result tasted good with my eyes closed.

I frequently make a quick italian sauce with tomato paste, dried parsley and basil, and a few other ingredients. It was given to me by my dear friend Terra during a desperate search for vegetarian menu options after my husband suddenly switched diets one day. My kids like it because there are no tomato lumps.

Tonight, assuming fresh tastes better, I took out the leafy parsley and basil and considered how to make them small enough for my children to ignore. Bright idea! I would blend them ... 

Since my little bullet wasn't chopping them sufficiently, I added the oil, then a touch of water, then the garlic ... It was a lovely, creamy green when I finished, perhaps a little more pureed than I had intended, but still the flavor was all I needed, right? (One of these days I'll do this again and stop before the tomato paste, since I think this would taste good on pasta all by its lonesome.)

So ... the next step was to mix them! There was no consideration of color facts, but only flavor ... oh, my! Side note--there is a reason they tell you to mince the green bits when you're making Italian sauce.

lovely green herbal puree + bright red tomato paste = nasty looking brown goop

Learn from my mistakes, all ye people! (Or take advantage of them for April 1, Halloween, and small boys that think gross is good.)

However, it still tasted delicious. And my children ate surprisingly well, even if I did have to bribe my youngest with black olives and my son with a granola bar.

Next time, I'll just mince the greens.

Hesitating at the Change

It's a decision every time,
moving into a new day.
It would help if there were a sign
(aside from sunrise) to show the way.
Every moment shines bright;
we cannot know what it will hold.
Knowing shadows contrast light
makes it easier to be bold.

Everyone else covered the drifts...

Snow. Wind. Window screen. ... and a tree.
Storms bring more than drifts, and provide some fascinating photo possibilities.

Full size view to read the poem.

I'm not sure I'm completely done. Do you think it's too dark?

Thinking

 Grace only works out in a humbled and repentant heart.

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I've been working on a rather more detailed painting than I thought I was getting into when I started. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow.