a parable

I saw the aerial photograph
of our lives
we looked so small.
Too magnify small acts of love-
they add Up.

clowning around

I once knew a fool
who saw the world
standing on his head.
He turned around and
what he found-
turned him back again.

to live as loved for the first time

to live as loved
embraced by the wings of
metamorphsis.
take flight through
the stillness of the
ocean blue sky. and
notice again
for the first time-
that springs enters boldly through frozen
soil.
walls separate and divide,
walls yearn
to reach the sky.
love moves mountains and covers east
to west-returning to the exact same spot-
your heart
and rotates and spins with grace.
twirling endlessly twirling
always back to the same location-dizzly loving you

Joseph's Dreamcoat

Since graduating college in ‘98 I have worn many coats along with many new titles. The coats and titles pushed me down various paths, some paved and some pretty dusty.

There is a light inside my soul, pilot to blazing, that propels me to follow His radical love. Throughout the years, the coats have changed, the titles have been replaced and even the grass has withered but the thirst and hunger still burns.

Joseph was a dreamer and had a coat of many colors. Dejected, denied and pissed upon by his own family, Joseph responded (foreshowed) in a radically different path-one of peace, forgiveness, grace and love. Joseph’s ascension from the pit/grave of death arose to use his dexterity/foolishness converting his throne of power into a distribution center of forgiveness, unconditional love and food.

Joseph, I dream too, and have worn various coats and also wish to convert things of this world for His folly. To much chagrin I’m also much like your brothers and guilty of throwing soil over the head of family members (my Father) by desiring paths of selfishness/greed/power/death in pursuit of living my own life.

‘My own life’ sounds laden with cultural implications and religious abominations-that this is my time, my world, my right, my way. All these coats that I have donned along with the various titles that follow my name seem to fail in comparison to my birth-right title: little christ follower.

What coat will I wear next? What title will I hold and more importantly what path will I follow? Do all these things-appearance/occupation/lifestyle/desire reflect the life that the lover of the world asks of me?

What pin is on my lapel/coat? What flag is pinned in my heart? Why am I so easily swayed by the currents of this world? The trends and undertows of this world seem remarkably different than the swaying flow of Joseph’s coat-lture. Grant me the courage to live this dream. Grant me the will to die to things of the grave and become alive with a new title: little christ follower.

behooved

clamoring of the hooves
muddling up the blue sky
hard to be aware

stammering of our soles
frantically behind
a heavy leaden arm-time
unaware of thee hour

easier to be
herded through the aisle
picked, not picking
prickly unaware

when the dust finally settles
upon your vast, open field
just when the moment for.. choice
the rumbling stampede can be heard
nathanc

The joy of Grace

In simple, transparent light
The Sun shines upon us all.
If your vision is speckled and
Your spirit critical…you aren’t alone.
She patiently waits with her soft smile,Gift in hand.
Her name is Grace

His Kingdom Wants the Next Dance

Alive in Him, every breath is a gift from Him.
The spirit connects us together with a vision of love, understanding, wonder and joy for each other. The flesh divides us with anger, competition, resentment and hostility. The spirit is gentle/kind/accepting/as thoroughly forgiving as He is to you. We are in His image, not He in ours. The world knows not the rhythm of His soul.
To let down our guard/pretense and silently be washed in His love/grace/complete acceptance is the gift of our every moment. We must stop constantly neglecting His presence and end our wandering in this barren land alone- emptiness is typically how this land leaves us. It doesn’t save you-it only spends you.
The spirit connects us to each other/His creation/our true vocation-leads us back to the fundamentals of loving and enjoying Him here and now.
Maturing and growing always-His spirit is in us-not waiting for us over there/down the road-not waiting for us to mature into the next phase. The spirit calls us all day to be ‘In Him’, to live holy like Him. This starts today, now. This is His plan to enter His kingdom now.
To drift through our days in this dazed religiosity is not being awake and alive In Him. The Spirit of ALL creation lives within you right now and wants you to transform to His will now-to awake and rise in His love/vision/and new Kingdom.
There is no thunder clap arrival of this new you-this new life/vision…it is a quiet, daily revolution that occurs right in the cell of your heart and though the windows of your eyes-do you SEE Him in life??…the thunder clap is you loving others more than yourself/is you striving to be perfect in Christ/is you wanting to love others more than yourself….the signs and wonders is God entrusting His plan to people like you and me…what an honor and an obligation.
His Kingdom is an invitation to join the’ Lord of the dance’ in His cosmic ballroom. We need to rise from the comfort of our metal folding chairs and enter into the rhythm and beat of God’s soul music-hit the wooden dance floor of life….one that beckons us to grab the ‘other’ spin/dip/laugh/twist in His grace, love and thanksgiving.
Through time we will learn that all of life is His kingdom and that to live and be alive in Him is to join in the dance of life filled with the soul and rhythm of love and true engagement. Dance, dance wherever you may be…..nathanc