Magnificent Obsession

A while ago I posted a short version of this picture I had on my Facebook page, but this weekend while I was resting in the presence of Jesus I saw again this picture which still blows me away with its significance and I felt it was something to share here.

So let these words and the picture I paint  take you to a new place today with Jesus....the lover of your soul and let Him minister His love and and intimacy to you. Just imagine Jesus coming to you and speaking your name.

It was warm and sunny. The Dogwood was out, and everything was fresh and green. The sky was an unbelievable blue with wispy white clouds. As I sat there drinking everything in, I wondered what Jesus would say about His beautiful creation if He was to walk down the garden path.

Would He comment on the lovely Dogwood flowers, the Laburnum just coming out, the Lilac or the endless blue of the sky, the sweet beauty of the roses, the grass so green? After all, He must think it all beautiful as He made it.

Then it came to me that no!! He wouldn't comment on any of these, wouldn't even see them - because He would be looking only at me!!!!! I would be the only object of His gaze. He would hold out His arms as He walked towards me, pure love in His beautiful eyes. What would I do? I would run over the plants, the garden, the flowers to go to Him and be totally embraced in His strong loving arms.


After all, unbelievable though it may seem, I am His Magnificent Obsession, His Magnificent Creation, more lovely than anything else He has created.

Selah - stop and think about that!

Reunion with my Beloved

A couple of days ago I was watching a mother deer and her fawn in a neighbors yard. The mother was able to jump with ease over a 4 foot fence, but the fawn could not and was highly stressed at seeing its mom over the other side and not able to get to her. It ran up and down several times trying to figure out what to do....mom just waited patiently on the other side. Finally after maybe ten minutes the fawn ran to one end of the fence and right where it butts up against our hedge saw a tiny space and within seconds had squeezed itself through. It literally flew to its mom with jumping steps and little tail upright. That reunion was something to see!!!!!

As I watched the reunion of mom and baby (the separation which had lasted all of ten minutes) I heard Jesus speak to my heart. " Janet, do you do everything in your power to cross any obstacle that keeps you away from Me? Does your heart long for my touch and living water after being away from Me for just a few moments, a few hours? I want you to be like that fawn, longing for my presence and overcoming any obstacle in your life to reach me, being ecstatic when you do...valuing Me more than anything else."

It made me think of the obstacles that keep me on this side of the fence away from my Beloved. Daily chores, tv, computer and just the busyness of life. How much am I desperate to be with Him?  Am I running to find that space where I can squeeze those precious moments with Him that will bring me life today?

Think about what keeps you from being close to His  heart today.  He's waiting for you..............

My Beloved waits for me,
Always looking, turning, watching.
His hand, nail pierced, open
To hold my insecure heart.

My love rises to touch His heart,
As He takes my hand and
Walks beside me -my Lover
And the only one who waits for me.

Secret Places of Awakening

Have you a special place that you meet with The Lord? A secret place? I think we all need that, and if you don't have one ask The Lord where it could be. 

I have had many over the years. When we first came to YWAM on Battlecreek Road here in Salem, I used to walk to an old quarry where I would climb down for a few feet and sit in the long grass and not be seen by anyone other than the Lord. Sometimes I was so quiet I saw deer and once a possum down in the bottom. The Lord would take these natural simple things of nature to show me His heart. Another secret place was in Yachats. Whenever we went to stay , I always went out early in the morning to a little path leading around the cliff, and just below this path I found a small dip where I could sit and not be seen from the path above, and where all I could see was the sky and the ocean waves in front of me. Sometimes The Lord would speak to me from the seals playing in the waves, and sometimes from the ever changing ocean. Now it is my garden, a place where I am hidden from the world, and can just be with Him.  It can be as simple as a corner of a room with your favorite things around you, as it has also been for me many times.

We all need that fresh awakening of our hearts and minds to His thoughts and desires on a daily basis. Awakening our sense of wonder so the world doesn't come in and overwhelm us.

Awakening spiritually means worship and praise. Awakening causes our spirits to soar with the eagles above all our circumstances and allows our minds to marvel at our King. Awakening slowly melts any ice cold hardening of our hearts. Awakening is an enlargement of our heart, our soul and our spirit. The proof of authentic awakening sparkles from a inward attitude of gratefulness, thankfulness and abounding love towards God for His special gift of life.

Promised Land.

YOU are my Promised Land,

YOU are my milk and honey ,

Without  You -

There is only barren desert.

YOU are my Living Water,

YOU are my tumbling waterfall,

Without You - 

There is only empty cisterns .

YOU are my Life and Love,

YOU are the wind beneath my wings,

Without You -

I am earthbound with aching heart.

The title for my blog comes from 2 Corinthians 2:14
"But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him"
I have always thought this scripture is absolutely amazing. To think that every place we go, every person we see, there is through us a fragrance of Jesus....a tangible, loving presence , that lingers like a beautiful perfume on the air. I think of my roses that spill out their fragrance as I brush past, and how I want to be that fragrance that spills out Jesus.