by Kathy Brasby | Nov 27, 2024 | The Listening Project
It snowed last night and the drifts are tall this morning. The air crackles with the tang of ice. Frost paints your windows with frigid patterns.
You want spring now.
It’s coming, but not yet.
Today’s temperature is cold, but you need to go out.
As the cold wind bites and towering drifts beckon, my words aren’t just about weather—but a reflection of Kingdom Living.
Your furnace, your insulation, stout walls, tight windows – these are a benefit to you. Or a cave and a trap.
Don’t trust your house for your comfort.
As a child of Abraham, you are called to step past comfort into courage. To bless others. To be a gift.
Look beyond the demanding tasks waiting for you.
Get cold. Get tired. That’s often the path to bless others.
Step into the challenging snowy drifts and trust that we will find someone who needs favor and grace today.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.
Gen 12:1-3
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by Kathy Brasby | Nov 20, 2024 | The Listening Project
You never need to work for my love. My love is never earned but sacrificial and full. Beyond what you understand.
But I know you crave the love of others as well. This isn’t bad but be realistic. Plan for this love.
If you chase after love in the wrong way, you’ll find that this world is like a broken mirror with shards of jagged glass jabbing your path. You risk gashes and bleeding. The pain of these wounds would pierce your heart. Love apart from me is a risk.
You know this.
Love has given you scars of loss and disappointment. You will never again have a newborn’s pure skin. But the blemishes need not steal away the satisfaction of loving others.
You have seen glimpses of love and you will experience more. The joy of a child’s fierce hug. The pleasure of a newborn sleeping in your arms. The treat of sharing a cup of steaming tea with those who choose to love you.
Delight surrounds you. Look for it and not your pain.
You long for love and you shall have it. But expect to find it in extraordinary places.
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.Phil 2:1-2
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Nov 15, 2024 | The Listening Project
You would extract the sword piercing your side.
The pain is unbearable and you’re unable to escape it.
I can.
Your wound will heal but, like Jacob, you will limp. The ache will remain. Less over the years, but when the storms roll in or a memory rises in a morning’s mist, the injury twinges.
Escaping the pain can’t be your goal.
The sword is death, and you were never meant to feel it. Matt was never meant to succumb to cancer. Both of you suffered, both physically and emotionally. My children were never meant to endure such agony.
Lean on me, even as you limp. Your steps ache. But don’t expect the throbbing to evaporate. The scars of loss will mark you, but they will also transform you.
Could you be better than you were before? Only by my hand and at my mercy.
Healing will come on our journey forward. Even if you limp. Your pain will lessen.
Stay with me.
I won’t leave you.
The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them. Ps 91:14–15.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Nov 12, 2024 | The Listening Project
A fierce tidal wave shocked you yesterday. Disturbing waves washed over you, drawing you into a curtain of darkness. Take heart: you didn’t drown. I pulled you out.
Yes, you’re in pain. I feel your misery.
Call to me when the waves get monstrous. Don’t give in to grief and do foolish things.
I pulled you from the churning waves and now I sit with you by the crackling fire. Can you feel the warmth? My arms embracing you? I pull you close and kiss your hair. You are my child, my beloved daughter, and I hold you close.
Sense the warmth of my embrace. My words caress your cheek. I know your heartbeat and your breath.
You will ache with loss–sometimes engulfed by it and other times only a whisper– for the rest of your life here. This world is not a safe one. It is rife with chaos and evil and struggles.
But don’t give in.
I walk with you always and there are days when I carry you. Some days I will be your life guard, pulling you out of an agonizing tidal wave.
But I will never leave you. Never.
Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice. He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me.
Psalm 55:17–18
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Nov 5, 2024 | The Listening Project
Don’t hide in the brush as though wolves were coming to split you open.
Don’t crouch behind the leaves so that the twigs gash your face.
Yes, the wolves howl.
They are your emotions demanding you remain riveted to the pain.
Panic takes you into the tangled thickets.
But nothing will harm you if you stay on my path.
Remember how my son hung on a cross, refusing to give in to the pain because he had a greater mission?
You will have pain, too. But remember your mission.
Don’t run into the dense green forest. You can’t hide from the wolves there. The forest is where they prowl, ready to pierce your heart again and again.
You are safe with me. Trust me and forge ahead with courage.
I am your protector.
O Lord, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced. Save me, for you do what is right.
Turn your ear to listen to me; rescue me quickly. Be my rock of protection, a fortress where I will be safe.
You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger. Ps 31:1-3
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Oct 30, 2024 | The Listening Project
Listen to the music of my creation, the sounds of colors flowing into the sky.
This world is in constant change. Have you noticed?
Observe the colors and songs of the sunrise.
Note clouds frolicking across the sky. Do you see swirling snow doing celebration at midday? Heed the restful oranges and purples of the sunset.
Birds fly overhead. Rabbits skitter by in search of fresh greens.
Nothing remains the same. Sunrise. Sunset. Summer. Winter.
My world changes. My creation transforms.
Nothing is the same as yesterday.
Neither are you.
I am transforming you by pouring life and love into your heart.
Beloved, let’s embrace this day with anticipation. It will be new and it will be the music of my creation.
But the Lord made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
With his own understanding
he stretched out the heavens.
When he speaks in the thunder,
the heavens roar with rain.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
Jeremiah 10:12-13
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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