Thrilling Guest Thursday: Jeanie Kelley

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

(Romans 12:2 NLT)

Making changes in our lives or giving up old habits can be like wandering through a maze.

Today, my friend Jeanie Kelley shares about her honest struggle with giving up certain habits. She is studying with the Online Bible Study hosted by Melissa Taylor. They are discussing the book, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God: Experiencing Life in Extraordinary Ways by Lysa TerKeurst, of Proverbs 31 Ministries.

Here is the beginning of Jeanie’s post:

What I am willing to give up to say yes to God? I continue to ask myself that on a daily basis. There are a couple things I would love to give up. They will take up time and effort on my part to rid myself of them. Now, these are coming straight from the heart and they are things I would give up to say Yes. (To read what Jeanie wants to give up click here.)

I appreciate Jeanie’s vulnerability and honesty.

What are you willing to give up in order to say “yes” to God?

Posted on August 15, 2013November 15, 2013 by kelrohlf 0

Lessons from the Butterfly

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplatethe Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

(2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV)

” . . . I noticed a chrysalis collection in a case on the wall. Though all different in size and shape, they shared one thing: Each was a tomb of transformation, a womb of waiting where the caterpillar must die, in a sense, in order to be born a butterfly.”

(Lynn Morrissey, Love Letters to God:

Deeper Intimacy Through Written Prayer)

Last Friday, I tried to capture the glory of the Blue Morpho butterflies swarming around the tropical setting of the Butterfly House. They were just too swift for me to snap a picture of them in flight. I had to be content with experiencing their beauty standing still in the moment.

The beauty of a butterfly is fleeting. Did you know the Blue Morpho butterfly only lives for three weeks after it breaks out of its chrysalis? Some may think this is a gross waste of such beauty, yet God in His wisdom and grace grants us this brief glimpse of His glory.

Here’s another fascinating fact about butterflies: The delicate butterfly inherits the honor of laying the eggs to reproduce this species, not the caterpillar.

What a picture of spiritual growth! What would happen if we didn’t progress past the egg, the caterpillar and the chrysalis stages? Our spiritual growth would not only be stunted, it would be aborted. To become the most beautiful reflection of the glorious One, one must die to self.

It is imperative to mature into a spiritual butterfly, or we will not multiply. We will not see others birthed into the kingdom of God.

Posted on March 19, 2013November 15, 2013 by kelrohlf 10

Repent and Believe the Gospel

Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.

(Joel 2:12-13 ESV)

We offer You our failures,
we offer You attempts;
The gifts not fully given,

The dreams not fully dreamt.

Give our stumblings direction,
give our visions wider view,
An offering of ashes,
An offering to You.

(Ashes, verse 2, Tom Conry)

As the ashes were applied to my forehead, these words were declared over me:

“Repent and believe the gospel.”

I was jarred. I reeled with tears stinging my eyes. I followed the procession back to the pews, smarting from this direct address. Jesus spoke with piercing authority to my exposed heart.

“Do you believe the gospel?”

That was the question caught in my throat. Of course, I believe the gospel. But today, I wondered to what extent do I believe the gospel? Hard questions. Questions that will deliver me into the season of Lent.

Lent, like Advent, is a season of fasting punctuated by a feast. Lent culminates in the Paschal mystery, the resurrection of the Lamb. Advent gestates and leads us to the birth of Emmanuel: Jesus, the Lamb who came to take away the sin of the world. A scapegoat who will die outside the city, in order to reunite us with our Father.

When I returned home, the beginning of answer greets me in this quote,

“Looking at myself in the mirror I see the ashes not as death,

but transformation in the fire of love.”

(Patricia Livingston, Turning Our Hearts to God)

The gospel is fiery, transforming love.

Will I open myself to the love that pours from His Word today?

Linking up with:

Posted on February 13, 2013November 15, 2013 by kelrohlf 6

Mind: Intention and Desire

With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him.

Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

(Romans 12:1-2 Phillips)

I was fascinated by these sculptures. One of my nephews, walked right up to the open mind sculpture (middle photo) and proclaimed, “This is the Conscience.” (He is seven years old.)

I was captured by the ingenuity and creative expressiveness the artist renders in these Lego creations. I surprised myself with the third photo. I am not certain, but most likely the curator placed these three sculptures in such a way that if you stood in the right spot, you’d be able get this perspective. A scribe overshadowing a brain with ideas generating an image on the back wall. To me it spoke to the process of transforming one’s mind through the creative process.

Here’s a description of the exhibit from the Magic House website. If you live in the area, I recommend a day at this magical place, with or without out a child.

The Art of the Brick®

September 22, 2012 – January 27, 2013

The Magic House will play host to The Art of the Brick, a one-of-a-kind art exhibition featuring more than 30 large-scale sculptures created out of nearly one million iconic LEGO® bricks by New York-based artist Nathan Sawaya. The Art of the Brick is sure to stack up to the expectations of LEGO and art fans alike as it is one of the largest and most popular exhibits currently touring the globe. Sawaya has taken the small scale toy and transformed it into an art medium all its own, resulting in awe-inspiring and thought provoking sculptures.

Linking with:

Posted on January 22, 2013November 15, 2013 by kelrohlf 2

Intuition Diaries