Authors

Late one evening,

Which is nine thirty in my world,

Covered in quilt, supported in pillow, book in hand,

I took a long, scenic walk with a favorite author.

This man is using English,

And yet he’s speaking another language.

Anyone can will a pencil to write these same words:

Tree, bird, song.

But to orchestrate the words as he does,

Bending, molding, placing with purpose and wit,

Just so.

It’s a beautiful gift,

One that I was very pleased to receive,

On that late evening,

In favorite old pajamas.



Early one morning,

Sun opening one eye from under soft folds of night,

A little library of journals and devotional books in my lap,

I sought out my God, my Love, in the pages of His Book.

Jesus, God with us, has a gift with words too.

He said, “Follow me,” and twelve left everything.

The word “Go” released a man to see.

“It is finished,” took every sin,

From everyone,

Everywhere.

We all have access to the same words,

Jesus’ grand vocabulary wasn’t the distinguishing factor.

But when He spoke, when He speaks,

His Spirit is given full sway,

Accomplishing heaven’s reality on earth.



Let my words,

Of mouth or pen,

Be words deliberate.

Nouns, verbs, adjectives,

Carefully selected from a divine thesaurus.

Messages crafted,

Before time began,

That the work of the One I serve,

May flow forth,

Through me.

Let these utterances, like a sword,

Protect and not wound.

A hammer to build up,

Rather than tear down.

Let my words be Yours, Holy God.

Let my words be Yours.





Photo Credit

Believing God is Like Submitting a Poem to an Encouraging Website

God is so good.  He chose to pair my name with the word "author" for the first time.  Wow! 

Today, I am a Guest on (in)courage! 

Please check it out....  (in)courage

Believing God Is Like Eating at a Vegan Restaurant

God is teaching me how to think on and accept His truth above all I see, hear, and feel.  This has been a place of rich joy as I let go of old ways of thinking.  In the next few posts, I’ll give examples of how this has played out.

This summer, as a birthday gift, my brother and his wife treated me to a meal at a fancy vegan restaurant. My other brother and my brother-in-law joined us. At the time, I was in the midst of a stubborn mental block against eating out. Without being in the kitchen watching every step and reading every ingredient list, I couldn’t be sure that the food I ordered was safe for my allergy needs. I was excited to spend time with my siblings and even put on a dress to revel in the special treat of a nice meal.




When it was time to order, my heart sped up even though I knew I would be fine. It was a vegan restaurant. The menu was peppered with exotic tofu creations. These chefs weren’t going to let an animal product get near the kitchen. The dish I wanted came with garlic mashed potatoes on the side. In the days before knowing my allergies, I used to order my meal based on the mashed potatoes - whatever came with the potatoes was secondary. I’d never experienced mashed potatoes without heavy amounts of butter and milk.


I told the waitress what I wanted and said, “These potatoes are vegan?”
“Yes,” she said, “Everything here is vegan.”
As she turned to my sister-in-law for her order, I blurted out, “No butter in them, right?”


Folks, I kid you not, my eyes were tearing up. The waitress reassured me and my sister-in-law comforted me with empathy from her experiences as a vegetarian.


At the end of the day, dairy is not going to kill me. Stomach discomfort is probably as bad as it’s going to get. Unbelief, mistrust, and doubt, however, are poison for my mind.



Believing those amazingly creamy mashed potatoes were safe to enjoy is in some small way akin to believing what God says. Too good to be true? Not in His economy.


Each verse is a rich, delicious bite of intimacy with my Savior, when I choose to believe Him:


I am God’s child. (John 1:12)

I am God’s friend. (John 15:15)

I have been redeemed and all my sins have been forgiven. (Colossians 1:14)

I am free from condemnation. (Romans 8:1 &2)

I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)

I cannot be separated from the love of God. (Romans 8:35-39)



Thank You, Lord God, for feeding me with Your Word. (Matthew 4:4)


Photo Credit:  acme

I Was Just Trusting That….

Matthew 6:25  

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes?"

I have been reading Joyce Meyer’s book, Battlefield of the Mind.  As I ate dinner tonight, I read the section on anxiety and worry.  It came as no surprise that anxiety and worry are ways the enemy has us squander thought time that could be put to kingdom-centered thinking.  I am quite a worrier.  I’ve read the Bible verses and I do believe that trusting God is the answer to worry, but still, I have to admit that a large percentage of my thought life is in the service of worry. 

Now, if you ever want to get rid of a bad habit, I suggest you do what I do:  tell 25 fourth graders about it.  Last Spring, I was convicted about how much I worry and I recognized how even the word “worry” is prevalent in our daily speaking terms.

“Oh, we’ll worry about that later,” I’d say about a project that the kids hadn’t finished.

“I was just worrying that something had happened to you!” I’d remark with concern over a student who didn’t return on time from recess.

“I’m worried that it might rain on our field trip.  Let’s bring jackets, okay?” Sounds like a responsible teacher, right?  No!  It’s an anxious teacher who isn’t thinking about the power of her words!

During a class meeting, I told my crew of fourth graders that I believed we don’t have any reason to worry and that I was trying to get that word out of my vocabulary.  They were totally on board with this.

I’d start to say, “Oh, we’ll worry about that later…” only to get eager hands raised and calling out, “No we won’t!  We won’t worry about it at all!”

Beginning a sentence with, “Class, I’m worried that…”  would receive a chorus of “Aaaaah!  You said it!  Take it back!!”

Tonight, as I sit here on the eve of a fresh school year with verses and Joyce Meyer’s bold words in my mind, I wonder, what would it sound like for this new class to not learn the language of worry from me at all?  What do I say instead?

The reason I can refuse worry is because I choose to trust God.  It may sound funny at first, but what if I started declaring my trust in places where I used to express worry?

Johnny is late from recess….  “Hi Johnny!  I was just trusting that you were safe and well cared for.  Have a seat!”

The Science project looks like it might be messy…. “I am confident that we will figure out a solution if this ends up exploding.  It might be smart to have paper towels ready.  It’s going to be a learning experience no matter what, right kids?”

By the grace of God and the power of His Holy Spirit, I believe that this class will learn the language of trust!

Singing A New Song

Today, I felt like a yo-yo between hope and sadness; pressing on and giving up. God was mighty in the battle and led me through some powerful work on places where I doubt Him. I usually walk home from a meeting I go to on Sunday nights, and I like to sing worship songs as I walk. So tonight, I was puffing my way up a steep hill, singing away. I’ve been really liking this song and I sang it again and again.


I felt God say, “Sing me a new song, Brooke.”

“Okay, Lord. About what?”

“Sing me a new song about what I did today.”

I sang away. It was so great. I couldn’t help but laugh and smile, as each verse roughly came together based on the beautiful goodness He accomplished. Here’s a small taste:

Oh sweet God, You are so good. You had good plans for today.

You gave me hugs at church and empowered me to talk to new people.

And I will sing……sing a new song! I will sing….sing a new song!

I can’t believe how good blackberries and nectarines taste together. That was such a good gift.

When I felt waves of emotion coming, You told me who You are.

Your peace replaced my turmoil! Your power inhabited my weakness! Praise Your Name, sweet God!

And I will sing…sing a new song! I will sing because your plans aren’t over yet.

I will sing…..because it’s only 6:30 and there’s more goodness to come from You!

What new song would you be willing to sing to God today? He is so blessed by our praise!

Psalm 40:1 - 3

I waited patiently for the Lord;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

Photo Credit: CarbonNYC