The Love Song of Rhema Marie

Earth and Sky (part 2): Cloud Shadows

2008-12-16T13:29:00.004-06:00

Cloud shadows rumble across my face. Out of place fences reign in teeming green and jagged crests. Somehow, this violence preserved is a peaceful sanctuary. Angry earth crust can never really be tamed, just enough to inspire wonder and rest. Maybe this is because the mountains have faced so much over the years, yet remain stable and confident of their mark on the world.Cities and businesses are

Sky and Earth (part 1): The Tree of Life

2008-10-18T13:25:00.000-05:00

The waning leaves of fall inspire mystery. My camera craves to capture these moments, especially when the quaint historic neighborhoods of my home town play backdrop.Trees haunt when listened to, like an echo of a past image. Sturdy limbs thicken through storms and graciously allow squirrels to bury treasure among the roots. Bark toughens through adversity and blossoms intoxicate the senses. But

Final Surrender

2008-10-18T13:24:00.002-05:00

From my Utmost for His Highest:"Surrender is not the surrender of the external life, but of the will; when that is done, all is done. God never crushes a man's will into surrender, He never beseeches him, He waits until the man yields up his will to Him." How many times have I left you waiting, and only complained about how I am waiting on You?"It is after we have begun to experience what

Best beef in town

2008-10-18T13:24:00.001-05:00

It all started two days ago when I was editing copy for the Health Line magazine. My editor does a humerous piece each month. I was just strumming through the words, looking for grammar and general flow when this word jumped out:BEEFALOI quickly surrounded the word with question marks and promptly forgot all about the moment.Today we are getting the story ready to print. Jade casually looked at

Heavy

2008-10-18T13:23:00.000-05:00

My heart is a little heavy today.I ache with the deep desire to see His freedom and redeeming love truly restoring my family, close friends, even myself...I have never really experienced the de-valuation of a close friend until now. I am sad at the loss of confidence and the complete take over of stony lost remorse.Does true restoration ever completely happen on this side of eternity?The kind

Corn on the Blog

2008-10-18T13:22:00.000-05:00

The corn silk flew at an alarming rate."Give me an S!" Jack yelled."S!" We all chanted back."Give me an H!" He encouraged again as we all did the wave around the room."H!""Give me a U!" "U!" "Give me a K!" "K!"And all manner of corn jokes skimmed across the crowd as the Reporter-Herald staff participated in tryouts for the corn shucking team for the Corn Roast festival here in Loveland in two

Realized Dreams

2008-10-18T13:21:00.001-05:00

Since moving home from Tulsa, I have really been seeking God about my place here. This city I live in, Longmont, has a tendency to turn fire into apathy and lure people into only fighting for the American way of life. Not that working hard and having a family with a white picket fence is a bad thing; I just have a problem when those dreams take on life’s sole determination. One of the greatest

Empty Life Redeemed

2008-10-18T13:20:00.001-05:00

Today I find myself wrestling with steadfast hope.Hope that begs to be fully rested on the grace brought to me by the revelation of Jesus - He is everything. He is Kingdom in life-interrupting motion. And I grapple with the fact that He calls me to be holy.Many days I fall so short of that steadfast hope.I want to creep back into convincing myself that I can't take on the daily

Colorado Paper = Recycle

2008-10-18T13:19:00.002-05:00

As if I now do not write enough, I had a craving to write a blog.You see, this week I started my first full time job at a news paper as the special sections reporter. I can't even believe how much has happened this summer... I am finally waking up from an intense season of challenges, mishaps and general numb.Monday: Day 1I am introduced to people. And more people. Then meetings on benefits and

Finger Slide

2008-10-18T13:19:00.001-05:00

My dog always makes it first to the front door, eager to catch what ever adventure exists inside. The kitchen waits for us to walk through with all of our luggage and my grandmother usually sits at the table ready to visit. I grabbed a bag, smiled hello and walked up the familiar stair case. The air conditioner blew my hair one zillion directions as I turned to set everything down in the study

Wasted

2008-10-18T13:18:00.000-05:00

I recently saw this really corny advertisement in a magazine for a ministry school. The headline of the page was, "Get Wasted." The underlying theme of the message was to give your life for causes that the world considers foolish.For some reason, this message always makes a crunch inside of me. Shane and Shane sing a song begging God to waste them and use them for His name. Misty Edwards sings in

Machine Expectations

2008-10-18T13:16:00.000-05:00

The machine never puts out like expected. I handed my card in for a stamp, breath held for the future painted in my mind. I followed every step with calculated punctuation. I took risks at the expected times, not anticipating the deep marks other people could leave. I never realized how much the world would change or how the awareness of reality would creep into life perceptions. Oddly enough,

Renewal

2008-04-07T10:18:00.001-05:00

Somewhere along the way, my heart started to ache from not “hearing the voice of God.” Perhaps I only sought big clanging action words like “BAM!” and “HUTAH!” Or perhaps I craved someone reading my life like a book and just telling me what to do. Little by little, God has started to reveal the small and big ways He speaks: Community Daily people around me

Patron

2008-03-18T13:00:00.001-05:00

They sat in row H.Both in black, her red scarf matched the red stripes of his tie.They looked comfortably married, like typical Opera patrons. Nearly all patron wives wear black dresses and bright scarves.Nearly all patron husbands wear a tie and pin stripped pants. What would it be like to spend such evenings, dining on rooftops and drinking decaf coffee together? I sat in row G, very close to

Birthday Song: February 18

2008-03-18T12:57:00.001-05:00

You unravel me.I only hope my eyes are one year wiser, my song one year sweeter.For 21 years of breathing Your grace are matchless to how much You deserve.After a tough time of searching, blaring sirens and shifting-PLANT me.Show me the deep desires of my heartThe ones You planted thereTo yield in due seasonHear Your voiceNever witheringTo know Your loveAlways better then what I rememberMay this

Open Sky Communion

2008-03-18T12:56:00.000-05:00

The quiet at the ranch was as wide as sky. I could hear my notebook scratching against my jeans as I walked down the hill. The crunch of November grass was deafening. Such silence is a rare treasure. “What do you have for me? What song will rise up in me?” I questioned the blue. Perhaps the words I will someday speak will be a healing force. Or maybe their power will be formed in contemplative

Anywhere You Are

2008-03-18T12:55:00.000-05:00

From house church one Thursday night:One moment is not enough to hold YouYou call me to see life from Your perspectiveTime is not fit for our loveOnly forever can hold YouSometimes I struggle with how to love You for a lifetimeA paradox when time is not enoughMy heart waits in eternityCatching the song of longing the remnant singsMy inadequacies in reaching out to others comes to the

Sapphire Steps

2008-01-08T10:53:00.002-06:00

My feet are paused, looking to start down this path ofAnother last semester book endOne year brings changes I could never imaginePerhaps dreams I never allow myself to think aboutOr myself as completely different, a present for next New Year's EveThey are unsure, my toesOf where to lead my legsI wish I were no longer in bed with hesitationBut Your simple, undergirding love never changes.Grace is

Day 7,614: Stuck on the Side of a Mountain

2008-01-08T10:53:00.001-06:00

Even though my dad had his pedal to the metal, Ophelia the 1987 Honda Accord was decelerating up the mountain. We pulled over to the side of the road and sighed. I sat in the front seat, making GRE root word flash cards with the remaining sunlight of the day. My mom and grandma sat in the back to provide a mattress for our sleeping dachshund. The trunk was packed with opened Christmas presents. "

MoonShadows

2008-01-08T10:52:00.000-06:00

Moon shadows are stolen eveningsA sliver of time God forgot to tuck awayThe earth should never have witnessedSuch quiet begging to be listened toAny time you chance upon a moon shadowIt is written in the book of "How to Live Life Right"That you must dance on a frozen lakeAnd watch your breath float away like fairy dustOr crunch in slippery cold shoesAcross snow that is six days oldThe

Life of Living Hope

2008-01-08T10:51:00.001-06:00

I have a philosophical corner in my room. I sit there and think about the deep meanings of life while listening to an inspiring play list on my Itunes. Or, as many of you know, I am philosophical all of the time. So much so, that when roommate date came around for my floor, Amber jokingly told me not to talk about the cosmos with my date. When I made up a list of possible

Recovering Evangelical

2008-01-08T10:47:00.004-06:00

The past couple of months have been some of the hardest I have gone through yet. For the first time in my life, I am realizing that all I had planned for my future from my elementary days at Aurora 7 is coming to an end. I never really thought beyond college, other than ambiguous plans of wanting to be wonder woman and eventually have a family. But it seems I am now unraveled at every point. So

On Finding my Song and the Goth Momma

2008-01-08T10:47:00.003-06:00

On Friday night, my mother and I set up the TV room for our hair dying ritual that occurs every time I come home for a break. We use the same plastic tarps and trash bags to cover all of the furniture and the floor. Then we burn this candle that smells like Boulder and melts into massage oil. We turn on a chick flick, this time it was "Mistress of Spices," a rather odd Bollywood movie that I am