by Kathy Brasby | Dec 21, 2024 | The Listening Project
I know the ground is covered with snow now, but you have touched a flower’s bloom.
Remember the silky petals, the sweet scent, the contrast between the colors. The petal is pink or red or purple while the stem and leaves are vivid green.
Not only do all these parts have a utilitarian purpose but they also bring lovely contrast of colors, don’t you think?
They please me.
Notice the bee nestling gently into the stamen. He has a job as well, to spread the pollen and produce life-giving honey. Isn’t it all wonderful?
My creation will encourage you and strengthen your heart. Don’t be so deep in your grief that you don’t see.
Notice, my child.
…the LORD made the heavens!
Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary.
O nations of the world, recognize the LORD; recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong.
Psalm 96:5–7
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Dec 19, 2024 | The Listening Project
(God spoke this to me on Christmas Day seven months after Matt passed.)
Look back – a quick glance – to see how much progress you’ve made on this mountain. Notice the rugged stones beside your path – and the yellow and purple and blue flowers.
Breathe in.
Up here, the air is thinner, but sweeter too and cool. Let that air go deep in to your body, burrowing into your soul, refreshing your heart.
The breeze whistles as it carves its way around boulders, rushing onward and caressing your skin. A bluebird overhead joins the new song.
You are ascending a height that not everyone has conquered. Continue by my strength.
It’s a special day – but you live today without your precious ones lost til eternity. Don’t focus on the loss, but strive to see.
Embrace the view before you–a magnificent slice of my creation. You have endured. I haven’t let you fall and I never will.
Breathe deeply once more. The air is thin and your legs are weary. Go one step further. Don’t think of turning back. Be tenacious.
Take one step. Then another. Then another.
The coming year holds beauty. You only see it if you keep climbing higher. Stay alert for the splendor and the love and the truth that awaits you. In me. In my presence, my beloved.
Notice how much progress you’ve made! Majesty lies ahead.
The Lord, the Mighty One, is God,
and he has spoken;
he has summoned all humanity
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines in glorious radiance.
Ps 50:1-2
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Dec 12, 2024 | The Listening Project
My child, I could sit in a grand palace and control my creation with an iron fist. I could create robots who obey perfectly. But what relationship would come from that?
Do you have a friendship with your broom? Or your car? Or your computer?
They are tools to achieve an end. You don’t take your gadgets to coffee or laugh at their jokes.
I don’t desire a relationship with robots but with created beings who have minds of their own.
I created a world of wonder and I knew the downside: that many choose their own path that doesn’t include relationship with me.
But many do.
In these I delight. I laugh with those humans who desire relationship. We dance and sing and hike together.
I give choices. You have free will, my love, because I delight in the authentic. When you stumble, I help you. When you cry, I kiss away the tears. When your anguish drops you to your knees, I hold you close.
I value our relationship. I love you infinitely.
I love you more than you know.
But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
who demonstrates unfailing love
and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Jer 9:24
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Dec 10, 2024 | The Listening Project
Look deeper. Further down your path. Let your imagination capture my message.
Do you see a waterfall cascading in a steady rumble, flowing in magnificent shades of blues and teal and green? Light glistens as the water rushes down the river.
This is my grace, flowing in thunderous beauty.
I love you, my dear. I want you to succeed and to heal and to have joy. I haven’t left you. I alone can whisper to your spirit and I alone can heal the dark places within.
Allow me fill you like that waterfall fills a canal with a spray of bubbles joyfully rippling downstream. Let my Spirit wash through you and remove the strongholds which resist me.
Trust me to unleash healing gushing water that bring fresh hope to your heart.
I am with you always, my dear. To the very end of the age. To eternity. I am with you. Rest in me and let me heal your heart.
You will be scarred. That is the way of this broken world.
But you will be able to continue your walk. I will give you the strength to bring my joy and love to others.
Step into my waterfall.
For I hold you by your right hand—
I, the Lord your God.
And I say to you,
‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.
Isaiah 41:13
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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by Kathy Brasby | Dec 5, 2024 | The Listening Project
Do you see the frosty crystals swaying before you? Remember when you thought the winter season of life meant you’d be alone? And you were afraid.
Then you gained a family. Now your husband has been torn away and you are walking without him–alone again in a cold, empty season.
But hear my song! Clear, sweet harp notes pierce the icy silence. They carry peace and comfort, each note pulsing with love. My love.
Let these notes wash over you, softening the ache while renewing your tired heart.
Healing will come, my love, but not in a flash. It will not erase the scars, and it cannot fill every hollow place. But it will come.
I know your pain and I know the stabbing in your heart. The emptiness.
The frozen winter you once feared is no longer a lonely path. You don’t walk solo, but are wrapped in sweet love by many.
They sing harmonies of love and mercy–my songs to you.
Soak in my warmth and light and the sounds of life itself.
If you think you now are in frigid futility, think again.
You are not alone.
For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.
Jeremiah 31:25
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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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
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
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