Christianity

Time in a bottle

/ Jaimie / Leave a comment

If time really were in a bottle, I would drink deeply.

I don’t always know who I am

But I’m me in this moment

So sound the alarms and ring the bells because I’m present

And maybe I’m the me I thought I was yesterday

Or maybe life is okay when it’s half-lived and the night is blocked by the sun

And life is great when the sun shines

But no one promised us a rose garden (quote the old author)

But life is greater when you know who you are and where you stand and when enough is enough or there’s light on the horizon, peaking.

I don’t back down! I never have and I don’t plan on changing.

So bring the dusk or the dawn but watch me rise! Because I always RISE!

Moonlight and yesterday and maybe tomorrow

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I once basked in moonlight

I found it glorious

I remember writing cheesy poetry about the moon being a “rock ball reflection of the brightness of fire”

The moon was a magical reflection of what could be in the dawning of the SON.

I never shied away from night because I see it as an integral part of living.

I’m still not a morning person.

I don’t sleep well.

I don’t enjoy waking

I want to stay in bed in the embrace of the solitude

It’s a flaw I live with every day when the 5am alarm blares.

But in darkness, we can remember light and that is crucial.

I am scrambling tonight in pursuit of bedtime while my to-do list beckons.

One thing I know…

Tomorrow is coming and I will tackle whatever it brings.

Live

Like there’s no tomorrow

Find the light when the moon hides and the sun doesn’t show its face.

Get up! Breathe again and remember why!

Sometimes, that’s all we’ve got.

So go!!!

Me

/ Jaimie / Leave a comment

I think I was me once, when nothing else interrupted the light.

I could call out and hear the echo of tomorrow, regardless, the darkness that threatened.

But I think I forgot

What does it mean to hold a candle and illuminate the shadow?

Am I here in the midst?

Am I breathing?

I guess we will know tomorrow.

And even if we don’t, I’ll get up and start again

Because that’s what it means to fight!

The embrace of every day

The inbounding hope that fills the gap between dark and dawn

We get up and go again and hope the light can find us when we’ve lost our way.

So step forward, one tentative step at a time

And keep going

One foot, then another.

Tomorrow brings no promise of light and life but it’s what we have.

So push through the breech and find your strength dear friend.

Tomorrow is worth the fight!

Segmentation

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I think I may live in segments. Moments between where the great is and where it was and who I am now and who I used to be.

Segmented arthropods or a life once lived draped in shadow. And I’m okay this way…maybe…

I stare at the moon.

I stare at the memory.

I stare at life.

And I’m breathing

Wondering what that means anymore.

But my voice is strong and so I stare and yell to the void

Maybe that’s enough.

Maybe not.

Time will tell.

Where the night falls…

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I walked where the night falls

Flickers of light when I can’t really see

And I watch the broken and the burdened

And I see me

Who knows who I am

Certainly not me

But here in the void, where I wonder at light or day, I am found.

So scream angels

And cry holy

Because he is!

And fight for tomorrow

Because it’s coming.and you and I are here.

So breathe!

Honesty…putting it out there

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I’ll be honest,

Sometimes I don’t know if up is down. Or right is left or who let the dogs out…cue the song “who…who”

But I know who I am.

And maybe. That’s enough…

But in the morning, it feels like nothing, as I start again. And that can be debilitating.

So we scramble from night to day and wonder where the light will land.

And we are more than conquerors even when we don’t feel it.

But sometimes we don’t.

And we walk forward because the light calls to us and there’s no other choice.

Keep going or die here. So we walk.

But if the light had eyes and voice and tears, would it beckon us into the void?

I don’t know but I’m walking and so are you.

Let’s go together

What else is there?

There is rhythm

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There is is rhythm and life to who we are and what we expect and all the things we leave unsaid.

It pulses in the background until the smallest thing becomes the biggest in the room

Sing into the night, melodies, only you can hear’

When the moments of peace give way to tsunami.

But love can conquer all if we let it.

Find the counterpoint and disrupt the rhythm.

Be brave

Be strong

Or fall apart for a minute and pick up the pieces.

Be you

Cry, if you must.

Scream, if you must.

Then walk forward.

Don’t be silent

But don’t let the need to be heard consume you.

Just keep walking.

This is life.

This is real.

This is fabric knit together to make us more.

Don’t miss out because all you see is, “the thing”

And don’t miss out because you are too afraid to find your voice.

Be real. Be raw. Be you!!!!!

And forget the crowd that may not approve.

Find yourself in the author of life.

Walk in the discovery because THAT is everything!

/ Jaimie / Leave a comment

Who are we to claim the stars when the earth crumbles around us?

Human, and breathing, and grasping for eternity in the midst…we flail and fall and try again and get up

Because we are breathing and, despite the broken, we find light.

And if light isn’t enough, we claw at the darkness and rise again in the morning

And that, is life…

The rising and falling of tides and moonlight

Don’t dream of a world without pain.

Dream of a world with resilience.

The latter is so much more important!

Find yourself in the beginning of tomorrow instead of the end of yesterday

And maybe that’s enough.

The stuff that brings the “real” and the “raw”

And find yourself devoted to being real.

Find yourself devoted to who you are in Christ and who you are in the midst of the the hurt.

We cannot be salt and light without being willing to “cure’ and wade through the dim.

Don’t expect “easy”, expect “ hard” and be willing to walk through it to the other side.

Why we think we’re exempt is beyond me.

You are meant to be light! So SHINE!!!

Hurricane Ian Update

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Hi everyone. I’ve started and stopped this post a hundred times. It’s hard!

My family is safe and fine. We had several days without power and some downed limbs in the yard but we were so blessed! We are okay.

But I live here. In the midst. I know people who lost their lives, people who almost lost their lives, people who lost their homes and everything they own. It’s hard.

So I wanted to write a quick post to let you all know we are okay and we are dealing with the aftermath in our community. The devastation is overwhelming. It sinks in, slowly, in layers. You can’t fathom it all unless you’re in it.

And we were without power, internet, and cell service for days; so many others knew what we couldn’t see before us, right next door to the ‘thick of it’.

Thank you for all of your prayers! Thank you for reaching out! Thank you for realizing that things that aren’t on your doorstep may be on someone else’s.

Be the light! Keep reaching out to the people you know because you never really know what tomorrow will bring.

Be kind!

Speak your mind!

Let truth ring on your lips.

Let the love of Christ dwell in you richly!

We’ve seen miracles and heartache and we are holding on through it all.

Be grateful!

Sending love to everyone who hears my voice through written word. We are strong and we are recovering! ❤️

Love, Jaimie