We are all captive

And ransom captive Israel....

I was thinking long and hard about being a prisoner. What it means to be captive beyond the physical bars. I was thinking about what lies I have believed, lived in and trusted that inevitable make me captive. If truth sets free, then lies make captive.

Our culture is captivated or makes itself captive...by power, beauty, wealth, security and freedom.  All of these principals can be neutral until they are made into idols. We reflect what we worship.
One of the lies that I have believed is that my value as a human being is wrapped up in how I appear. So this lie has permeated how I feel about getting older, how I react to becoming marginalized, if and when I gain weight, how much I exercise, how my clothes fit, when and if I can eat and how I am compared to those around me.
I read this the other day and it rings so true for those who wrestle with body image, eating disorders and self loathing issues. 


Food is my enemy as it is my addiction
exercise is my tormentor
clothes are my chains and
comparison is my currency of value

Our isolation cells are just that.
So the truth is
My body is the holy temple of the Holy Spirit.
I am not to worry what I should wear
Beauty is deceptive and charm is vain
Food is for the stomach, it is to be enjoyed
My mind is to be transformed from this culture..the mold where I cradle our 'truths' needs to be     broken and my mind needs to be renewed.
I am precious in the sight of the Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.

How this truth will set me free, is my every day prayer. Mindfulness and meditation will break the bars of molded lies that have wrapped around me a suffocating isolation and loathing.
NO MORE , I long to be free.
And you...what lies  strangle your joy and hold you captive?

O Come O Come...Advent

And ransome captive Israel, who mourns in lowly exile here until the Son of God appear..

REJOICE, REJOICE

It is in the waiting that  we understand hope. It is in the hoping we figure out Faith. It is in Faith that we love and it is in love, we know God.

What a poignant song this song of advent.  A lament almost, a plea for relief . Come, please come and see me for where I am. Collectively we sing and long for the begining of somethign differnt because our reality is suffocating. O Come, please Come.

In that longing is a simple command..REJOICE, REJOICE, He Came.

I have been listening to Rikk Watts of Regent College in Vancouver,WA. His series on Life in God is changing the way I think about everything I have learned and understood. I listen while I run to distract me from...well, running.  There have been times when he has said something so profound that I sit on my yoga mat and just ponder how this truth will change my life.

One thing I am hearing will  make Christmas different this year. It is the fresh perspective of God being here. God as a baby: the most approachable human being on earth, is a baby.  Not a baby in a temple, or a mansion, or hospital, or a suburb ranch house, but a baby in a manger.

O come, O come so we can.

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home