“At the center of the Universe is a loving heart that continues to beat and that wants the best for every person.” – Fred Rogers

The meaning of center is the point from which an activity or process is directed or on which it is focused.

We located the word center in the Bible 51 times…

This word could have taken me down many avenues …

The center, the core, the heart? When we are centered, we are in balance, and our strength is at its peak...

As I unwrapped this word, it landed firmly in my heart, and my mind had no choice but to follow… ...  I yearned to discover more about this word center.

Are we centered? What is our center? Our core? 

I then questioned is our heart our center? Is our soul our center? Can one live without the other? Is our heart only pumping to keep our bodies alive? The question then becomes, do we have a spiritual heart and mind? Or do these organs only exist when we are physically active?  Does our spiritual and human essence coexist, or do invisible threads hold them together? 

So many questions? If our hearts stop beating with time. Why is God after our hearts? Our physical nature has a shelf life… So, is it safe to say our soul carries our spiritual heart and mind? These physical and spiritual elements make up the center of who we are… 

When God is after our hearts…! He is after the complete package… the center is where all of the elements God gave us come together.

I then ask you, when you surrender, do you give Him all? 

Mind, body, and soul, physical and spiritual? 

Is He the center of all living things, great and small? Does our spiritual persona yearn to coexist with Him in the center of His great love for eternity?? 

I will be so bold and say yes!!  

Our spirit is drawn to Him. This is the pull we feel to belong to something or someone greater. This desire has been embedded in our molecular makeup at conception. He placed that homing gene in our DNA. He yearns for our return.

It’s Him! It’s always Him !!! 

When will we realize He is the center of our world… both our physical and spiritual… 

One day, we will willingly surrender all… The center of His love is beyond my human understanding… but in the very core of my existence… my soul hears and feels His sweet voice … 

I love Him for the gift of Him. There is nothing in the universe that can compare!!  

In the same way, you and I can put Christ at the center of our lives and become one with Him as He is one with the Father (see John 17:20–23).

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer 

Inspiring Music by (youtube)

Vineyard Worship ft. Michael Frye & Kathryn Scott - Be The Centre [Official Lyric Video]

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. Elisabeth Kubler – Ross 

The meaning of stained glass: it’s glass that has been colored and cut into various shapes to form pictures or patterns, used primarily in church windows.

Stained glass is such a beautiful work of intricate artistry. Is it a lost art??   Stained glass has been used for thousands of years, beginning with the Ancient Romans and Egyptians. 

I am drawn to the stories that these beautiful works of art hold…As I stood and gazed upon the colors, the story of my Savior became alive. The colors danced as the prisms of fractured light kissed each piece of broken glass. 

And I thought each of His children, we are much like the fractured pieces of glass, different shapes, colors, and sizes… When we look at each piece separately, there is not much to see… We can hold it up to the light, witness the color, and perhaps catch a small amount of beauty. But when our Savior brings all the broken pieces together … it is indeed a sight to behold… one can stand back and witness His story coming to life… The colors shine with a beautiful heavenly glow. Each intricate piece is just as important as the next… 

Are we all just a piece of fractured glass?  Is the lead that holds the pieces together our faith in our Savior? 

Did you know that the light that passes through stained glass windows is often seen as a symbol of the divine light of God? 

Yes, it’s His light that brings fractured souls into unity. It is a masterful plan born from our Creator's hands.  I love how art and everything I see in this wondrous world point me to Him!!  

I am but a fractured piece of glass waiting to find my place in His beautiful work of art …

And I will never look at another stained-glass window without seeing Him!  Yes, it will always be Him!  

Art & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer

Bible collaboration - Joann Turnbull

Inspiring Music by (YouTube)

Cochren & Co - Stained Glass Window (Lyrics)

 

 'To have another language is to possess a second soul.' - Charlemagne

Aramaic meaning: Aramaic. / (ˌærəˈmeɪɪk) / noun. It is an ancient language of the Middle East, still spoken in parts of Syria and Lebanon.

Do you know that just over 700 different Aramaic words in the biblical text occur just over 7,000 total times? Aramaic is the oldest continuously written and spoken language of the Middle East, preceding Hebrew and Arabic as written languages. Equally important has been the role of Aramaic as the oldest continuously used alphabetically written language of the world.

When we embark on this spiritual quest to know more about the child, the man, the Messiah, many of us only skim the surface. There is so much to discover …  I am afraid there will not be enough time on earth to know Him so intimately… But we are told to have an intimate relationship with Yeshua, our Savior…  

In attempting to grow closer to Him, my travels brought me to this eloquent language that pressed through His lips… and rolled off His tongue as  He delivered His message of love…

And then I found the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic set to music… my soul seemed to gravitate to the soothing sounds even without knowing what the words meant. 

 Finding out that  Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic even intrigued me more…Many of us think  He spoke Hebrew… 

A thought we should consider: Perhaps He was multi-lingual…Have you ever wondered what language will be spoken in Heaven?

When we speak several languages, I believe there will always be that one that is our most vital, and we feel the most comfortable using … especially under pressure…  

And then I landed here Matthew 27:46

Aramaic phrases “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani”—“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

I do not speak this language..will there be a learning curve? How does He understand the language I speak??? I can only try to understand within my limited “human” knowledge… 

We must speak to Him with our soul…our mind thinks in our home language, our heart cries out, and the Holy Spirit intercedes our thoughts and translates the communications. 

Romans 8:18-27

He can speak to me in any language because I feel Him with my soul… Thank you, Holy Spirit… You are my soulful connection to my Creator… 

It’s Him; it’s always Him!!! 

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer

Bible collaboration - Joann Turnbull

Inspiring Music by (YouTube)

The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic | Jim Caviezel | Must Hear