“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 

 – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

A person who completes or makes something perfect

This word appeared to me in the middle of a Bible Study Class. We were reading Hebrews 12:2, and the word used in the KJV was finisher. 

However, due to a WIFI issue, my phone Bible app did not work; the only one that worked was my Messianic Bible app. And it was there that the word perfecter was written in place of finisher. 

We may all relate to this word or this verse from a different perspective. The word that has taken residence in my soul is perfector. To me, the finisher seems so final... The end... I am finished... Whereas perfector can go on to infinity and beyond. And if this walk with Christ has taught me anything, it's that I am far from perfect... And my Creator is tenaciously making changes in me every day.  I love to think of how perfect Jesus is... He is a beautiful example of perfection. And He knows better than anyone what it takes to get to that level of perfection ... I can only place myself in His hands... And allow Him to mold me into who He wants me to be... His magnetic pull on my heart is irresistible, and I surrender my heart and soul to Him daily. He is my perfector... He is my creator; He is my first love. 

It's Him. It is always Him. 

And I am putty in His hands.

Perfecter of our faith. This word in Greek can be translated as “finisher” or “completer.”

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer

Bible collaboration - Joann Turnbull

Inspiring Music by (YouTube) 

“Consider your ways” were words spoken to some 42,000 people who had returned to Jerusalem in 538 BC after spending seventy years in captivity in Babylon.  

The king told them to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple that had been destroyed, and he gave them all the supplies necessary to do it.  

Fast forward 18 years.  The people had only the foundation of the Temple built.  But they had built themselves fine cedar-lined houses fit for a king.  They had plenty of food and drink but were still hungry and thirsty.  They had plenty of clothes but were not warm.  And plenty of wages, but they were put in a bag with holes. 

God said to them, “You, you have built your fine houses, and My house still lies in ruins.  Consider your ways!” 

What was the problem?  What did they need to consider?  Was it their priorities?   They had lived to please themselves instead of pleasing God. 

The Temple was the place where they could come to hear the words of God, read, they could pray, and feel His presence.  God wanted the people to have that beautiful fellowship with Him as they worshipped.  The younger generations could hear Him say, “Love Me with all your heart, soul, and might.”

The Scrolls containing His words had not been read, nor had they sung the Psalms together for seventy years.  

The words in this little two-chapter book in the Bible took place over 2,500 years ago.  What is it saying to us today?   He is still saying, “Consider your ways!  Examine your priorities.  He is calling you to come closer to Him.  To really get to know Him and love Him with all your whole heart, soul, and mind.”

The time is now, not next week or 18 years from now.  He is waiting with open arms.

Photography by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer

Bible collaboration & Written by - Joann Turnbull

Inspiring Music by (YouTube) 

Casting Crowns - The Change in Me, Only Jesus Visual Album

The meaning of intensity the quality of being intense. 

The word intensity is only in the Bible 5 times. 

When we look at this word and the Bible, I would guess that most would look to the last chapter Revelation. It’s there that our world and our lives will see and feel things on a very intense level. 

I will not go there… because with God there is so much more to understand and feel… 

God Himself is intense… He is intense in His creations. His personality is intense. So, when He loves it is intense!!!

It is a beautiful gift to feel even if it is just a fraction of His love. To this day I question why? Why did He touch my heart with such intensity?  The day this happened everything changed. I can say I will never be the same…  He blew my soul wide open… I felt like I was coming apart at the seams, and He was putting me back together one layer and one day at a time… I felt lighthearted and carefree. I was indeed like a child running through life seeing things as for the first time. I began to feel raw emotions with such intensity. He let me in so close, I could feel His love so soulfully deep it is difficult to describe … Somewhere during this process I will admit I fell in love with Him and the intensity He shares. 

I can tell you it has left me wanting more… He is the master at sharing His love just enough to leave us craving more. I believe He does this so His children will continue to chase Him with a vigor and intensity that many on lookers will not understand… 

When I look at the word intensity, I see HIM!!! I feel a love beyond this world… 

I can only surrender to the intensity that I feel in His presence. it is not of this world…  

I stand in AWE, He renders me speechless. He consumes me.  

Its Him, It will always Him! 

The LORD your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God. 24 God, your God, is not to be trifled with - he's a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4:24 

Because of the dazzling glory of the light, I couldn't see—I was left blind. Act 22 

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer

Bible collaboration - Joann Turnbull

Inspiring Music by (youtube) 

Reckless Love (Official Lyric Video)

Timeless means not affected by the passage of time.. 

This pass week was so busy… I had this thought dance through my head as I moved forward with the crazy days ahead. “STOP the world I want to get off” ! Have you ever felt that morning urge to kill your alarm clock ? The rush of the day pulling you from one life event to another?  Schedules and deadlines to meet?

Time… tick tock, tick tock with each stroke of the clock,  time becomes more precious… 

How can we stop time??  

You say thats impossible!! 

But with God everything is possible!!! There is a place I run to stop the worlds madness… a place where I can catch my breath … a place where I can fill my soul with the sweetness of a love far beyond this world… 

His beauty, His love, His kindness has no beginning it has no end… 

He is my alpha and my omega… He does not count hours, minutes 

or days … When I am in his presence I have His undivided attention… 

He makes me feel like He has no better place to be than with me… 

no rushing, just calm serenity… the world as I know it quietly fades… 

No clock ticking, tick tock tick tock.. just the rhythmic beating of 2 hearts… Mine and my beautiful Creators… 

To be swept away in His timelessness… is a gift that I can never truly explain…there are no words … It a soulful experience… 

Timeless

It’s Him, It will always be Him… 

Stop the world… even if it is just for a brief moment in time to be with Him…  Your life will be forever changed. 

They thought of God as eternal, in the sense that He is timeless or atemporal.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer

Bible collaboration - Joann Turnbull

Inspiring Music by (youtube)

Enya - Only Time (Official 4K Music Video)

The Good Shepherd

Have you ever felt lost as you travel among a flock of people?

Have you ever felt isolated and alone, as life seems to be spinning around you? 

Do you have a longing for more? Is there something missing?

Have you traveled down dark roads not knowing what may lie ahead?

Are you spiritually lost?

Are you the one? Is it you?

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Luke 15:4

Don’t let this come as a shock but we are all that one, out of ninety-nine at some time in life. The good news is we are all equally important to our gentle-hearted loving Shepherd.  

Our Shepherd makes each one of us feel special. He always drops everything in His busy life to listen to our hearts, soothe our souls, and give peace to our very existence. He gives us His unwavering attention… Day or night, With no distractions. He does not say wait I have another call can this wait. Never will He make you feel less important. To Him you are everything. We can rest safely knowing He has a watchful eye. 

He is the protector of my heart, the lover of my soul… He has chased me for many years…Sadly I never knew it was His voice calling my soul… However, I am so grateful that He never gave up! He is relentless in His pursuit of the ones He loves… 

Since that pivotal day in May, I have grown to recognize the melodic sound of His alluring voice. Now even in a flock of souls, I can hear Him singing His love song to my heart.

Shhh, Be still, Listen with soulful ears… 

Be still my heart! 

Its Him. It has always been Him. Can you feel His love? His love can take you places your soul can only dream of… 

I will follow Him on earth as I will in Heaven… Matthew 6:9-13

Signed … the ONE

He found me… even when I did not know I was lost. 

Art & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer

Bible collaboration - Joann Turnbull

inspiring Music by (youtube)

Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much,” is a truism. - Helen Keller...

Meaning of gathering an assembly or meeting, especially a social or festive one or one held for a specific purpose.” a family gathering"

We were able to gather 46 verses in the Bible that speak of the word “gathering”

As I started to peel back this word I began by asking myself... “Gathering” What is it that I am gathering?  In our lives, we all seem to have interest and we begin the art of gathering things?  Stuff that has meaning to oneself... We seem to hold them tight... perhaps it is a collection that you have worked hard to obtain... Bobbles and trinkets galore!!! 

But when we are faced with transitioning from our earthly life to our spiritual life... Those things that were so important somehow lose their luster... Have we been sucked up into a false sense of what is important by our own human desires?  If you were told you have 48 hours to live... What would gather??? 

I can not answer that in generic terms... but I can share my heart. I would gather my family, my friends, and all who are willing to listen...

That although my time on earth may be fleeting... I have been given some exciting news that I know there more... 

He has loved me further than I ever thought possible... He has shown me a world far beyond the stars... 

He is gathering His children the most precious gifts that he has created... He has given us the freedom to experience life... But He has also poured love into each of His believer's souls... That love will guide us home...

It is there we will be given the privilege of worshiping our Heavenly Father, His Beautiful Son, and His Holy Presence (Spirit)... Like never before!!! I have tasted this love and my life will never be the same... 

Gather with me today and analyze what is it we are gathering?  Will it last the test of time when you leave this world??  Will you be able to take it with you? How will you be remenbered ?

He has taught me the most important thing to gather is LOVE... LIFE WITHOUT LOVE IS VOID... 

Gather your loved ones and anyone who will listen to His love song... Be ready for His time is drawing near... 

It's Him!! It will always be Him!   

God Is Love

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer 

Inspiring Music by (youtube)

Bible collaboration - Joann Turnbull

Philippa Hanna – Everything is Possible (Official Live Video)

I soar my spirit and unfurl my joy.- Jonathan Lockwood Huie...

Meaning of unfurl: to open up by unrolling. (intransitive, figuratively) To turn out or unfold; to evolve; to progress.

In our search for this word we unfurled the beautiful pages of God's words we found two instances where this word was used. 

I am unclear why this word dropped into my heart today… But as I closed my eyes and began to relate to this word … 

I found myself being directed to a time in my life when I was on autopilot… I believe many of you can relate… We seem to get caught up with our daily activities… and one day just overflows into the next… We become so tightly wrapped that we miss God's beautiful gifts before us… Do we take the free moments to see life? Or has our lives become just a blur… 

I can speak of feeling tightly wrapped because I lived it. I too was caught up in the tidal wave of life… Do we know where to go when we are drowning? Or do we wait to gasp that final breath before we look for Him??? 

I can not take any credit for finding Him. Because He is the one who found me… even when I did not even know I was lost!! 

He came soft as a whisper in the wind…  and spoke a love song to my thirsty soul. At first, I was so confused? I was not sure what this love from heaven wanted from me?  What was the cost??? As each day passed I became more drawn into this presence that would greet me every morning … I began to trust Him more each day… I relaxed and His love began the slow deliberate dance as He began to unfurl my once-bound heart!!! There was a transformation in my soul that I could not contain… I began to see life in new vivid colors... I began to seek His face in every instance … I began to discover His eloquent words... Words that have been passed down from generation to generation… it’s His love story being unfurled right before our eyes… He loves us like no other !!! 

Unfurl my heart Lord … take it it belongs to you, as you well know my life will never be the same… 

It’s Him, it is always him !!!

But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow.Psalms 60:3-4 

 Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer 

Bible collaboration - Joann Turnbull

Inspiring Music by (youtube)

John Mark Pantana - Made For Jesus (feat. Olivia Dyer)