Lexical Light

Thin Place Thursday: 6 yr Old Esther Heard God

Esther's Thin Place story, God in School, brought tears to my eyes, not because of the bad stuff Esther experienced, but because God spoke to her. It reminded me to pray that the Holy Spirit will minister to my children when & where I can't. I'll do my best to parent, but I'll fall short. Thankfully, God can fill in the gaps. 

(Thin Place Thursday at MaryDeMuth.com features reader submitted stories about God meeting them in a thin place, a place where heaven and earth meet. It's the theme of Mary's memoir, one of my favorite books. Because I like the book and helping others share their stories, I help get the stories online.)

Thin Place Thursday: Josey Tried, but Couldn't

Try and try again. That's what Josey did when she wanted to end her life. God didn't let her.  Read what happened before and after her suicide attempt in this week's Thin Place Thursday at MaryDeMuth.com. 

 

(Thin Place Thursday at MaryDeMuth.com features reader submitted stories about God meeting them in a thin place, a place where heaven and earth meet. It's the theme of Mary's memoir, one of my favorite books. Because I like the book and helping others share their stories, I help get the stories online.)

Truth in posting: I didn't finish this until early Friday a.m., so I backdated it. :)

Thin Place Thursday: Jessica, Shunned by Sheep

The silence of the lambs can be devastating. For Jessica being separated from her local flock lead her to a place where she could find the Sacred in the Ordinary.

 

(Thin Place Thursday at MaryDeMuth.com features reader submitted stories about God meeting them in a thin place, a place where heaven and earth meet. It's the theme of Mary's memoir, one of my favorite books. Because I like the book and helping others share their stories, I help get the stories online.) 

 

Thin Place Thursday: Laura & Les Miserables

Laura's struggle to accept grace almost killed her. God used the musical Les Miserables to give her a glimpse of the hope available to her. She shares her story on MaryDemuth.com today. 

(Thin Place Thursday at MaryDeMuth.com features reader submitted stories about God meeting them in a thin place, a place where heaven and earth meet. It's the theme of Mary's memoir, one of my favorite books. Because I like the book and helping others share their stories, I help get the stories online.) 

 

Thin Place Story: Fathers & Words

  Read today's Thin Place story where Janet Morris  Grimes shares a bit about the impact of losing her father when she was a baby. 

What do Word Gifts do? | Mary DeMuth

So perhaps being a word girl is okay. And perhaps the scope of my ministry isn’t just the readers of my books, but you, here, reading this blog. I heard today about Global Media Outreach who is using this great big internet as a place to teach, evangelize and disciple the world on the web. Perhaps this little corner is my way of doing the same.

via www.marydemuth.com

Word up. It's word girl! Mary DeMuth's post encouraged me well. I pray I will be a good steward. For you, I pray you will find your gift and use it well.

 

(Posted this with Typepad's "Blog It" button. Nice feature for connectors like myself.)

A 9-11 Thin Place Story

Jenny Thompson's Thin Place Story is on MaryDeMuth.com

Kelli Zaniel's Thin Place Story: God Met Her in Midst of Evil

I just posted the latest installment of Share Your Thin Place Story on MaryDeMuth.com.  It is  Kelli Zaniel's gripping account of how she survived a summer evening.

Working on this project is a humbling reminder of God's power.

Share Your Thin Place Story

I happy and honored to support Mary DeMuth's Thin Places book by facilitating the Share Your Thin Place Story section of her website. Why? Three reasons:

1) Readers will see how God can meet them 

2) Writers can share their work.

3) I get to help bloggers write and writers blog.

I first learned of Mary via her Relevantblog in 2005, when I started my blogging adventure. I immediately related to her, a fellow Texas girl seeking Jesus in the midst everything else. (She even had a brief stint in my high school town of Palestine, Texas.)

I've subscribed to her newsletter since then, receiving food for growth in writing and my walk with God. I've also noticed how she uses social media to bulid her author platform.

Early in 2010 I received a complimentary copy of Thin Places. So many things in the book resonated with my heart. It is one of the few books I would recommend to all of my friends. One of the biggest impacts the book had on me was being able to give a name to those times in my life where I was acutely aware of God's presence...a thin place. (Why is it that being able to give something a name helps so much?)

All this time I've figure how to develop my writing. So when she ran a "Share Your Thin Place" writing contest on her blog, I entered. I didn't win the Kindle, but it was a good writing exercise. After reading all the entries, it occurred to me that having a venue for others to share their Thin Places story could bring glory to God and encourage other writers. I suggested the idea to Mary. It simmered and launched as part of her site redesign this year. It's a win-win-win-win.

Take a minute to check out the Thin Place Story part of her site. You'll be blessed.

Dance with My Father (Thin Place contest submission)

Back when I was a child, my father would lift me high and dance with my mother and me. He'd spin me around until I fell asleep, then up the stairs he would carry me. I knew for sure I was loved. I'd like to say those words are mine, inspired by childhood memories, but they're not. Luther Vandross wrote and sang them.

A father's love is almost mythical to me, though I grew up with two dads. One was absent, the other harsh.  For whatever reasons, neither one fulfilled the emotional role of a father. I don't remember feeling loved by either of them. So, I cultivated a thick skin of low expectations and apathy in an attempt to protect the daddy-daughter part of my soul that longed for affection. The calluses meant to defend tender spots worked. I managed through life well enough. However, the healthy tenderness required for intimacy remained hidden within a calloused heart.

Some of that hardness is sloughed off during a worship service at church. Raising my hands as I sing, I'm suddenly dancing with my Father - my  arms lifted to God like a young daughter reaching up to dance with Daddy. As I sway, I envision a little girl's black patent shoes on her Daddy's feet. I feel as if I am standing on God's feet as He enjoys my presence. There it is - a thin place in this daughter's heart. As I dance with my Heavenly Father, my Daddy God (Romans 8:15), I know for sure I am loved.

This is my submission to a Win a Kindle 259 Word-Memoir contest as part of a social media tour for Mary E. DeMuth's new book Thin Places.