Thirsty Thursdays
by SheriBull × on April 11, 2013 at 7:00 am ×
“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ? ‘ They came out of the town and made their way toward him.” John 4:27-30 A Samaritan woman was drawing water in the heat of the day, to avoid the crowd. She encounters Jesus, leaves behind her water jar and runs to the very people she had been avoiding to tell them what she had learned. What caused this dramatic change? Her Messiah speaking truth to the [...]
Thirsty Thursdays
I find at the end of the day when my To Do list is as checked off as it will be, my belly is full and the dishes are clean, the kids are tucked in, and there is a moment of quiet, in that moment I often make a really bad choice: I fill it with noise. I turn on the TV and see what’s recorded. I go back to the that To Do list. I scroll through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Pinterest. Or, even, pick up the book that’s gathered dust on my nightstand. And just like that my moment [...]
Thirsty Thursdays
Imagine you are an artist. You create a masterpiece. The painting is exactly what you want it to be. Each intricate detail has been carefully crafted and flawlessly formed to perfectly fit your vision. It is: beautiful. Now, look at you: A masterpiece as well. You were crafted and formed in your mother’s womb. Wonderfully whole and intensely individual. You are: beautiful. When I look at our society – the way we determine value in appearance and pry into molds to stand out – it crushes me. Not just because this pressure is so weighty, but because it slowly kills [...]
Thirsty Thursdays
by SheriBull × on March 21, 2013 at 7:00 am ×
Sixteen years ago my Dad suffered a massive heart attack and underwent a quadruple bi-pass. The invasive surgery was painful, and the weeks of recovery were grueling, slow and draining. His tender chest ached with each breath; coughing was excruciating. He would hold his heart shaped pillow close, grimacing with each cough. The incisions down his legs from the veins harvested for the bi-pass were almost as painful as his cracked chest. Though the weeks of healing were slow, they were steady, and in time he not only recovered completely but had more energy and vitality then before. Fast forward [...]
Thirsty Thursdays
As I walked between the pews toward the beautiful stained-glass window, my eight-year-old mind was racing. I want to love God. My smiling pastor hugged me. After the song ended, he announced that I had made a profession of faith. I thought, A profession of what? But, I just smiled. He asked the congregation to say “I” if they agreed for me to be baptized and become a member. What did I sign up for? Again, I smiled. The sweet people excitedly shouted, “I.” And, just like that … I was in. Over the next five years, I was a [...]
Thirsty Thursdays
Thinner in width than your average sorority paddle, but just as long and just as dense, it was red and worn. Her name painted in cursive white on one side, a scripture and “You are loved.” painted on the other. The first time I saw it, I had a hunch, but I didn’t brave asking. Months had passed and I felt enough at ease to pry. “Can I ask you a question?….Did you all have one of these?” She smiled and said with words rich in love and gratitude, “Yes. My dad gave each of us kids our own one [...]
Thirsty Thursdays
She just showed up on our back porch one day. I thought she was beautiful, but she was scary to my girls. We didn’t approach her, but just watched her through the window. She was just hanging out, and quite frankly, she was in our way. My husband didn’t even notice her, and walked right through the temporary home she had made for herself. What she did next, I found to be truly inspiring. While we were asleep, all through the night, she worked. The next morning there it stood, more magnificent, more intricate, and more creative than the day [...]
Thirsty Thursdays
I can’t get my mind off of it now. A few days ago I read again the account of when Moses saw the burning bush, you know the one that was burning but would not burn out. Moses was curious, but completely unaware that he had actually stumbled into the very Presence of God. The thought came to mind, “Moses, HOLY was in your face!” Exodus 3:3-6 (Msg) gives me the impression that had God not spoken out loud, Moses may have paused, but then just walked on by. “Moses said, ‘What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! [...]
Thirsty Thursdays
by SheriBull × on February 14, 2013 at 7:00 am ×
It was another drizzly day in the Pacific Northwest, but my sister Cindy, a preschool teacher, decided to take her rambunctious little students out for recess anyway and chose to play, “The Farmer in the Dell.” ( she was hoping it would release some pent up energy without getting the kids too wet.) Soon the children were having the time of their lives as they pretended to be all the animals. One by one the happy little critters joined the farmer in his circle, until there was one little boy left standing by himself. . . the “cheese.” As the [...]
Thirsty Thursdays
Tragedy, poverty, starvation, abuse. Technology has now made them just a channel button, mouse click, or app tap away these days. Yet awareness has not solved the problems. Following a sermon series, our small group was discussing this phenomenon: how there can be such wealth throughout the world yet millions starve in the streets or die of abandonment (even as millions are poured into the causes). What was our response to all the hurting, suffering, and need around us? do nothing: the need is so overwhelming, it paralyzes us to any action limit exposure: the pain can be so gut-wrenching [...]
