if you say marvel enough times it starts to sound weird

another one of my brother's great shots

i word-searched an
english standard version 
and found that all kinds of people
marveled when jesus was around...
the men
the crowds
the disciples
the pharisees
jesus's father and mother
the jews
everyone
including...jesus
jesus. marveled.
which makes him more human to me,
that he could be astonished, taken aback
he encountered a centurion-whose-servant-lay-dying
and jesus offered to walk with him home
but the centurion answered
just say the word
and
when jesus heard this, he marveled 
at the man's faith
but when jesus-son-of-god
returned to his hometown to minister
he was met with scoffs and questions
and
he marveled because of their unbelief
and
i want to be that centurion answering
just say the word
that jesus might marvel
at
my
faith
(lord help my unbelief)

where are you with faith these days? with the centurion (just say the word), with the scoffers, or somewhere in between?

continuing to count his gifts to 1000 -

899. single daffodil snubbing her nose at winter
900. spring's scent, if only fleeting
901. doe bounding over trail
902. work friends
903. imitrex
904. nutella on a spoon
905. wrestling tournaments
906. lunch out with friends
907. promise of husband's friday return


linking with -

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, emily for tuesdays unwrapped,

joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, jen for soli deo gloria, my freshly brewed life and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

brothels, sunrises & unbelief

over the weekend i read
a new kind of normal
and
god in a brothel
and i have to admit....
they scared me
not the stephen king kind of fear
but the
i-can't-believe-these-things-happen kind
and now i'm sitting on my corner
of the couch
staring out at the sun as she rises,
despite
she rises every.day.
even though people's worlds
turn upside down in an instant
even though children are sold
into slavery every minute
sometimes it's hard to
believe
that god is here
piercing the dark with these
incessant sunrises
so
today i'll borrow the words of a
distraught father speaking to
jesus
i do believe;
help me
overcome
my
unbelief

what about you? what challenges your belief?

despite the really yucky stuff in the world, i believe that all good gifts come down from heaven. and so i'm continuing to count them to 1000 -

693. time with relatives on the chickahominy river
694. coming home to garden, kitty, chickens and dog
695. books that challenge me
696. a new curriculum for next year
697. my girl, the one i mentor. thankful for the cheer in her texts yesterday
698. my husband's opportunity for travel to papua new guinea
699. getting together with friends
700. a seventeenth birthday for my son

linking with -
michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, l.l. for on, in, and around mondays

joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god jen for soli deo gloria shanda for on your heart tuesdays and kat for titus 2 tuesdays