Daring to be Restless

Curiosity, according to the Webster’s 1828 dictionary, means, “A strong desire to see something novel, or to discover something unknown, either by research or inquiry; a desire to gratify the senses with a sight of what is new or unusual, or to gratify the mind with new discoveries; inquisitiveness … a nice experiment …”   And overall, the connotation is a positive one.   But is curiosity always a good thing? I’ve been reading in Exodus this week, and last night came across a verse in Exodus 9, talking about the plagues of Egypt.   Exodus 9:6-7 the ERV say, “The next morning all the farm animals in Egypt died, but none of the animals that belonged to the Israelites died.   Pharaoh sent people to see if any of the animals of Israel died.   Not one of them died .   But Pharaoh remained stubborn and did not let the people go. ”   Do you see?   Pharaoh sent people to check on the Israelites’ flocks because he was curious , because this was new, b...

“Every morning, Lord, I lay my gifts before you and look to you for help.   And every morning you hear my prayers.” ~ Psalm 5:3, ERV It is the fifth day of January in a brand new year.   And this morning found me doing what I normally do in the morning – laying in bed, reading through the daily allotted Scriptures on my reading plan, trying to stay awake.   It was terribly normal.   And yet it didn’t remain normal.   Because today, in a translation I had never read it before, I stumbled across this verse – Psalm 5:3.   And something in me jumped, startled.   Did you hear the prayer in that verse, the passion, the intentionality and the desperation for God to move.   The psalmist writes, “Every morning, Lord, I lay my gifts before you and look to you for help …”   Everything I’ve been hearing about lately has been about identity, about knowing who God created you to be, about looking at the talents and the passions God has laid on your he...

The temptation, on some days, to think that I am somehow a disappointment, that I am not as I should be, that I am somehow too much and too little all at the same time … is overwhelming to say the least, as I’m sure many women know.   And yet, this week, as I was listening to a sermon by Lisa Bevere about Isaiah 52:1-2, God began showing me something powerful about who I am called to be as a woman, and who you (if you are also a woman) are to be.   Isaiah 52:1-2 in the Knox translation says: “Up, up, array thyself , Sion, in all thy strength; clothe thyself as befits thy new glory , Jerusalem, city of the Holy One!   The uncircumcised, the unclean shall enter thee no more.   Shake the dust from thee, Jerusalem, rise up and take thy throne ; rid thy neck of the chains that bound it, Sion, once captive queen! ” Once captive queen … that phrase captures my imagination, calls to the deep, long forsaken places of my heart and beckons me to awake.   Even readi...

Exodus 17:15, LB: “Moses built an altar there and called it ‘Jehovah-nissi’ (meaning ‘Jehovah is my flag.’).” Four simple letters; one syllable; three consonants and a solitary vowel … The word “flag” in and of itself is not at all extraordinary. Any child can sound it out phonetically and print it sloppily on a page.   And yet, the emotions it conjures up, and the images it summons to one’s mind are remarkable.   The one word “flag,” in one instant, can cause someone to think of countless things: -           classrooms of small children with their hands over their hearts reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with childlike innocence,         - stirring scenes from Mel Gibson’s movies The Patriot and Braveheart where the flag summons courage and valor form ordinary men,   -      the tears of a recent widow as she’s handed a folded flag to represent he...