Earth Is Crammed With Heaven-Live Barefoot!

 Yesterday, my study time and subsequent blog post was about fasting and mastering sin and selfish ego-driven desires. I was shown how in Scripture, this is most commonly seen using "light shining in the darkness" imagery, and how this is an ongoing process, with rhythms and structure, or a more common word--habits.  I was also given the connection to the Hebrew idiom of the "evil eye" that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 6 and also of the practice of twice weekly fasts dictated in the Didache, which was the "instruction manual" of the early Christians during the first century.  I've mentioned before that I follow Nate Bramsen on social media. Yesterday, he shared a short video on a connection made with Jesus' words in Matthew 6:6 on the topic of prayer and the prophet's words found in Isaiah 26:20 and I took mental note of this so I could come back and dig in today because of the word he focused on.  But before I ended up here, I was meditating ...

 “Why are you angry ,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen ? If you do what is right , will you not be accepted ? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4:6-7 (BSB) “I sat with my anger long enough until she told me her real name was grief.” ~Unknown "...for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires." James 1:20 (BSB)

Today's #WordNerdWednesday post from She's So Scripture over on Substack was on the Hebrew word samakh (סָמַךְ). This word is typically defined as to lean, support, uphold, rest. Her post . This word. It sent me back to Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 11:46 p.m. Because it's found in the verse I ran to whenever Laney busted into the house wailing that Patrick was dead. Let's backtrack two years earlier. In June 2024, after literally starving for one entire year due to a medical condition later diagnosed as gastroparesis and autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, I started a study by Vaneetha Risner called 'Desperate for Hope', Questions We Ask God in Suffering, Loss & Longing. In Session 4: She walks us through "What If the Worst Happens" and in that section, on Day Two, she referenced Psalm 112:7-8 "He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his...

In this grief journey the LORD has been speaking to me a great deal of His daily provision. The most memorable lesson at the moment has been the connection of the word " broken " from Psalm 34:18 "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted" to the Genesis narrative surrounding the seven years of plenty with the seven years of famine.  I wrote a few days ago : *broken in Hebrew is the word שָׁבַר shabar — "to break, shatter, burst" but this same word is used in the Genesis narrative surrounding the 7 years of plenty followed by the 7 years of famine. It's used whenever Jacob sends his sons to buy grain. This points us to the theological doctrine preached by Jesus in John 12:24 that breaking is a part of the multiplying, being fruitful, process. AND that brokenness draws us near to God because it brings us back to Him for His sustenance. With each first breath of the day, I acknowledge my dependence on Him to get through all of what threatens to deplete me. ...

Today my prayer journaling took me to Isaiah 43 and as is always my form of study has me looking into the original language and definitions.  Isaiah 43 :10 &12 the Lord says to Israel "You are my witnesses." In Hebrew thought a word's first occurrence carries that idea forward throughout the rest of Scripture. The first time we see the word for "witness" is in Gen 31:44 Jacob and Laban at Gilead: "Come now, let us cut a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness ('ed*) between me and you."* They erect a heap of stones — Gal'ed — and Jacob says (31:52), "This heap is a witness."  This made me immediately think of Jesus at the triumphal entry whenever we read in Luke 19 "But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” “I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.” And now you might have a deeper understanding of how it was these men faced persecution an...

 "In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul." Psalm 94:19 ERV "When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul." Psalm 94:19 ESV In the wake of Patrick's death, I've told Jared I feel like I have Niagara Falls inside of me and all the talking in the world can't let out all that's trapped inside. The memories, the ache I can't find words for, the questions of wondering which was the first misstep that led us here. How long, LORD? How long until I can be reunited? What now, LORD? Why are hearts so stubborn and hard? Why do the thorns, the barbs, like briars keep us trapped in old patterns? Why my son? What didn't he get to survive? In Hebrew the word translated as "multitude" is rob (רֹב). It's first used in Genesis 16:10 when the LORD tells Abraham his offspring will be too many to count . Accurate. The thoughts, the questions, the quick succession of emotions and memories that r...