Sloppy Wet Kiss!

While listening to Jesus Culture today, I was struck by the way Kim Walker sings/writes about Psalm 85...
"So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest.  I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way...that He loves us..."

Very powerful and yet, FUN for me to think about a "sloppy wet kiss"!  The first thing I think about when a kiss is described this way is a dog and it makes me smile!  I love dogs!  I believe they can be used by God so we can experience what His love, forgiveness and loyalty truly is!  Have you ever heard of anyone talk about the "Heavenly Hound"?  The way God just keeps loving us over and over and over again every time we "come home to Him" and He is just SO HAPPY to see us and SO HAPPY we're home!  It doesn't matter if we really screwed up the day before or just an hour ago or whatever, He greets us at the door with a "sloppy wet kiss" and loves us anyway!  He's happy...we're home!

Now, I'm not trying to take away from the beautiful depth in the way Psalm 85 describes the Cross.  I just think it's fun to think about and it brings me JOY!  Joy is definitely found at the cross!  And to add this to what I previously have held in my heart when I've read Psalm 85 just blows me away!  I think my heart DOES want to "turn violently inside of my chest"!  I really don't think our hearts could handle all that the Cross represents!

Psalm 85 is sometimes one of my favorite Psalms to meditate on.  To sit and just imagine the God of the Universe reaching down to us as we reach up to Him with the VERY faith that HE gave us?!  It IS what my heart wants and NEEDS in order to TRULY surrender to Him and worship Him!  Here's the main verses I'm referring to...

"Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.  Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky. Yes, the LORD will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way."
-Psalm 85:10-13(ESV)

And, if you have time, you should listen to Jesus Culture's, "How He Loves Us"...

Beloved, I pray Psalm 85 touches the depths of your heart and soul like it did for me today! And, as His Beloved, may we all experience the JOY of a "Sloppy Wet Kiss"!

The Few & The Narrow

So often I have to remind myself of a couple of scriptures when it comes to the lack of interest in serving the church. I was a member of a pretty big church for 10 years and I remember how it seemed like the same few people did all the “work”.  Same people interceding, same people serving communion, so on and so forth. AND, well serving His church also includes reaching out and including the broken-hearted, the lost, the lonely…the “least of these”.

2And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. –Luke 10:2-3(ESV)

Graham Cooke often says his ministry is “reaching Christians for Christ”…and, while I laugh at that statement (because it’s funny), I also ache inside a little because so often that is the case! We as Christians just sometimes don’t GET IT!!! We are SO COMFORTABLE in America that if reaching out and including people doesn’t fit into our schedules, life-style or clique…well, we are just not going to do it!  It seems to me that Jesus’ ministry was primarily filled with finding…even going out of His way (Woman at the well) to reach the fatherless, the rejected, the needy…which can be any of us…anyone that is HONEST with their brokenness!

It’s hard to be honest about brokenness, but sometimes, when we are, we realize we are not alone…ALL of us are broken! And, the interesting thing to me is the way God reveals this is often through those in our community in which we least expect it!

“Community is the place where the person you least want to live with, always lives!”-Henri Nouwen

So, I tried another big church for awhile and well, I wonder why this was the same case with a "few workers"!? Hmmm…can Satan have us so deceived that we don’t follow our mission? Do we need to have a “come to Jesus meeting” with each other? OR, do we need to pray that we would LIVE the mission and connect with each other? Well, YES, PRAYER is the obvious choice, but I believe we also need to just realize that maybe FEW will truly reach the harvest?! Few because I believe the choice to serve like Jesus wants us to also is HARD and well, NARROW!  Few actually choose to connect with those in their community and serve.

13"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. –Matthew 7:13-14(ESV)

The narrow gate is hard because it often is the uncomfortable route for most of us. It includes obedience, discipline, suffering, pain and SURRENDERING! Surrendering our lives daily to God’s will! Just this past week, my small group studied and discussed surrendering.

I have to admit…a VERY hard thing for me sometimes! Probably because it IS including the narrow way! But, WHY is it that I want the wide gate? This gate leads to destruction? Probably because I believe the wide gate IS the best and may be “easy” in the short-term, but then, eventually leads to my harm. So, right now, the choice again is PRAYER! Prayer that I would have the COURAGE to enter that narrow gate, surrender and serve those Christ wants me to serve!

Again, I would like to share a poem God gave me as I processed surrendering…

Heartbeat of God


Laying my head
Upon Your chest
Your pulse I hear
As I rest.

You gently say,
“I am here.”
“No more worry,
No more fear!”


Heartbeat of God
Beat with mine
Restore my soul
Take my life.


In Your Comfort
I am still
Beside Your stream
In Your Will.


Walking in peace
Guide my step
Your rhythm leads
Right or left.


Heartbeat of God
Beat with Mine
Restore my soul
Take my life.
     -Tammy Carter

So, as His Beloved, I pray we would be part of the few to reach the harvest, enter the narrow gate...AND surrender to Him! Surrender because I believe He will restore our souls giving us rest, peace, trust, faith and HOPE!

Triune Comfort

Holy Spirit, Comforter
It is You I breathe
In my sorrow and despair
Deep calls to deep.

Jesus my Savior
It is You I need
In the Garden, with Your Father
My shame at Your feet.

Oh Lord, my helper
It is You I seek
In my coming and going
You neither slumber nor sleep.

Spirit intercede
Bring Your Garment of Praise
As I grow Faint
And call out Your Name.

Jesus, Maranatha
Today for me
A faintly burning wick
And a bruised reed.

Lord be with me
Your promise I read
Neither leaving nor forsaking
In days of grief.

Indwelling Holy Spirit
Rejoicing in me
During my struggles
In flesh that’s weak.

Jesus, Prince of Peace
Bringing good cheer
Overcoming the world
Overcoming my fear.

God of Compassion
Source of my Strength
Mourning to Dancing
Declaring Your Praise.
-Tammy Carter