so faithful.

His faithfulness
is shown in glorious color
to a self-centered, self-seeking and self-promoting ninny.
Harsh though it may be to see the grime and gunk and filth in me,
It is real,
and to see it makes His saving work,
His faithful love,
His unspeakable grace clearer and more beautiful to me.


I wish I were hiking today,
I must admit.


I spent my Easter in Tucson, Arizona, a bit of a leap away from the original plan of Texas' Guadalupe Mountains. Such an unexpected present
;I do love a dash of spontaneity.
you see, we woke up Saturday in a tent covered in snow, my two friends and I,
and so with numb fingers we clumsily packed it up
And we drove till the weather map turned from blue to yellow.


One foot in front of the other,
One foot in front of the other,
One foot in front of the other.
Sunday after a church service attended in a 'happy hiker' tshirt and dusty running shoes,
we headed up the mountain to Douglas Springs.



I feel
cleaned up
cleaned out.
Five days with two people who are not impressed by what the world tries to impress with.
Five days of quiet, simple conversation,
Not so much profound
As clear--
like a stream you can see the bottom of,
no hidden motives clouding the water.
And the days were peppered with simple prayers.





Pressing into a desert landscape, surrounded by saguaro, I find once again,
as I can only learn in this way,
that there is Beauty in simply pressing on.



Seeing the web of streets and houses and stocked superstores from the mountains,
it looked like a toy town, where Playskool people
buzz back and forth,
round and round
and round.


There is something about a sweaty t-shirt
and a sun- and wind-burnished face
and the pleasant, unavoidable prospect of simple tasks -
finding water,
making dinner,
washing dishes.
I think I would be a more beautiful person if I lived in a tent all the time.
I'm looking into it.


This weekend,
God showed me again what Grace is:
knowing I am n o t h i n g but what He lets me be,
what He empowers me to be;
it is all by His gifting.
This is Easter. This is grace:
as I am beaten with the fact, over and over, simply by observing my own thoughts, that I am low, humiliatingly shallow, selfish, petty, undedicated, clumsy, ...
even as this is happening, at the same time-- the same time --
I am being showered with good and special
-- and detailed --
gifts,
coming purely of love.


One foot in front of the other,
One foot in front of the other...
The simplicity is like good food for my spirit.


The journey is simple, really,
Because He provides it all--
We just walk in Him.
Grace, grace, increasing grace--
Stir up my song of Hallelujah! , all my life.

Pare me down however You will,
however You want to.
Anything You have to do
to get me back to "Thank You"
and a quiet spirit.
He's always been faithful to me. He's always been faithful--to me!