Tag: 2 Corinthians 3:18

Get Inspired

On By sashakatzIn FemmeFuel by Sasha KatzLeave a comment

Do you ever get inspired by people?  I do.  I gather these little gifts of inspiration that are passed to me all of the time.  I hold them in my heart.  The inspiration feels like it was made for me and travels into my heart like it has a key to the chest holding my dearest treasures.

I get inspired by God stories.  I get inspired by girlie stories.  I get inspired by books that I read.  I get inspired by movies about real people.  I love inspiration because it is something I can pass on.  When I am inspired, my mind starts rolling through its rolodex of whom I can share the treasure with.  My deepest desire is to pass on the right kind of inspiration at the right time.

James, the half brother of Jesus, is an inspiring gentleman. This morning I was thinking about James’ ability to intuitively gather all of the bias, motivations and intentions of those around him and, through the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, deliver a resolution that loops up the group in uniformity in Christ.  (i.e., the Jerusalem Council).  Wow.  I’m inspired.

Have you ever see the movie Miss Potter?  The life of Beatrix Potter gives me the idea that I can choose to do anything with the inspiration that resides inside of me.  I love Beatrix’ imagination and determination to be who she was made to be.  Or, have you read The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis?  I love the idea that God reveals to each of us the unknown in our own stories.  The knowledge of the invisible work He has done is for our own marvel.  “No one is told any story but their own.”

As for girlie stories, have you ever gotten a call in the night from your best friend where she shares in an intimate way how God moved through her in a powerful way against all odds?  This kind of inspiration draws me to be on my knees in prayer for my friends.  The knowledge of her experience builds my faith in a strong way.  I desire to see His work in her life and I want to be a part of her victories.

As for God stories, you are one and I am one and your neighbor is one.  We are all walking God stories, either already told or waiting to be written.  I can’t help to think that He made us this way so that we can take each other from glory to glory.  I hate to think that we all are guilty of hiding or sometimes smoldering our light.  Don’t do that.  Keep your heart open to what is meant to inspire you.  When the moment is right, write inspiration into the heart of someone else.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:14-16.

18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.  2 Corinthians 3:18.

The Pinwheel of God’s Creation

On By femmefuelIn Best of JMathis, FemmeBytes by JMathis, May 2011 (Motherhood)Leave a comment

By JMathis

The beauty of a pinwheel swirling fervently in a summer wind is self-evident. The individual spokes of color spin together to create fury and majesty, in the backdrop of a young child’s squeals of delight.

Looking back, I wish I had reflected more on the holistic passion and energy of the pinwheel that constitutes the entirety of my life. Instead, my youth and naïveté have led me to dwell too long on any one given color that represents only a singular sliver and season of my days here on earth.

In high school, the green and gold of my high school colors made me feel secure in its familiarity, yet continually lost as I searched for my place in this world. Did I want to be popular? What about being an intellectual? How about a beatnik or a goth?

In college, the blue and orange of my large state school made me feel comforted by its hearty embrace, yet stifled by its uniformity. Is there anything else I have in common with these people other than a deep love for college football?

In law school, the maroon and gold of my small, Jesuit law school enabled me to nestle into the cocoon of an intellectually vibrant community, but with the paranoia that I was a big loser if I did not seek after the big bucks. Maybe the best way to advocate for the homeless is to make a lot of money, so that I can give them a hefty tax-deductible donation at the end of the year?

Now, it is the brown of the poop, the chocolate milk, the spilled coffee and the muddy sneakers that fill the expanse of my days—days simultaneously roiled in both laughter and motherly madness. How am I going to explain to the client that I spilled finger-paint all over his one and only set of original documents I took home to review?

 Life is moving far too quickly for any of us to grasp, ladies. You spend too long on any one spoke of color and you get stuck in a tunnel-vision of greys and blacks, failing to see the all-encompassing glory and magnificence of the spinning pinwheel which represents God’s overarching design and destiny for your life.

 Your life is a pinwheel of color and light, made to glorify your Creator. Spin it with all of your might (Luke 10:27), and step back to gaze at His strength and beauty which faithfully carries you from color to color, winter to spring, despair to delight, aimlessness to divine purpose.

2 Corinthians 3:18. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.