The GAB 30.10.25
The sound of Autumn, Black Holes and dry bones coming to life.
‘Happy are the people whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a source of spring water;
even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.
They go from strength to strength;
each appears before God in Zion.’
Psalm 84: 5-7 (CSB)
For all whose hearts are determined to walk with God, through the valley of tears, through weakness and disappointment. For all who recognise their limitations, leaning into the strength found in Christ.
I pray you find a source of water deep within that valley today. I pray that our God who sends the Autumn rain will cover any drought in your life with rich blessings.
May you be strengthened in His presence.
I hope these works lead you to encouragement in Christ and consolation in His love.
Is there anything more soothing than the rustling of trees and the crunching of leaves underfoot? I think not…
To listen to
‘Life is a mysterious gift—a gift meant to be given for the sake of others. While our individualistic and speed-driven culture urges us to prioritise our own needs and desires, serving others can offer us not only a profound sense of freedom but also a heart more attuned to noticing God every day. By lifting our gaze from ourselves, we recognise that walking slowly with God includes an invitation to live at the countercultural pace of his love.’
‘What does it mean to walk with God? The spiritual life is so often described as a walk, journey, or pilgrimage that it can be easy to dismiss the practice of walking as a mere metaphor.
But in God Walk, author, pastor, and professor Mark Buchanan explores the way that the act of walking has profound implications for followers of the Way:
“Hurry is the enemy of attentiveness. And so love as attentiveness is listening and caring and noticing, cherishing, savoring, being awestruck, these things that we feel in a relationship. I am deeply loved by this person because they notice me. I think that that’s how God’s built it. And we can’t get that if we’re moving too fast, if we’re in a hurry.”
Pierce Taylor Hibbs shares lessons from a wise Christian counsellor.
‘Hearts are unsearchably insane. The writer of Ecclesiastes said, “the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live.” There is, according to Scripture, a deeper sense of insanity than what the contemporary mental health world talks about. Insanity is not a label only for common neuroses in DSM-5. It describes the insane movement of the heart away from God. If God is the best—the most beautiful, the purest, and the brightest—then fleeing from him is insanity.’
Sleeping Bag Guy on the baggage we carry.
‘If you carefully observe, you can see it. A friend brushes you off and you pick up a little hurt for the backpack. A spouse doesn’t meet your expectations and you snatch some bitterness to stuff in the bag. A child doesn’t act the way you desire them to so you yank animosity up and cram it into your baggage. A stranger cuts you off in traffic and the underlying simmer you already possessed in your backpack goes full-on boil.’
Will Parker Anderson reminds us that our calling is a zig zag.
‘You won’t hear this from most life coaches out there, but the idea that you can work hard and achieve whatever you want is a lie. Life isn’t that simple and too many of us want the same things: demand outweighs supply. Alas, life is riddled with “almosts”.
I’ve received so many no’s that crushed me in the moment, but over time, I became grateful. Turns out, what I thought I wanted so badly in the moment changed five years later.
It’s deflating to encounter slammed doors and dashed hopes. You may not feel it in the moment, but it’s usually a good thing when opportunities slip through your fingers. If your plans aren’t pliable, you become breakable, so learn to loosen your grip (or else lose your mind).’
I saw this Chris Dunn illustration on a card recently and had to bring it home with me. It now takes pride of place by my bedside table, bringing me daily cosiness and joy…
Speaking of cosiness (tis the season after all), years of healthy indoctrination mean my children embrace all things cosy. They love these background ambiences…
Jessica Hanke wonders ‘can these bones live?’
‘…I believe that God is still in the business of restoring hope. I have seen dead things in myself come to life, I have seen relationships restored that I thought were only dry bones. I have wept in awe at the beauty of Jesus while dreams walked out of graves in the lives of people I know. I believe that God speaks. That just like in the beginning when the sun was flung into the sky with a sentence God is still creating life and beauty. We get to partner in that, we get to listen and pray. We get to sit in the presence of the Creator and ask him to align our hearts with his.’
Jake Lloyd highlights how black holes illuminate love’s greatest story.
‘Do Christianity’s attempts to explain everything that went on here really do justice to a story in which divine love does some of the unfathomably strange things that a black hole does? Or do these explanations tell us more about our own way of thinking than they do God’s?
I think there is a tendency – which I see in myself and in most churches I have attended – to resist the weird, mysterious and inexplicable nature of this story. We draw heavily on logic and evidence to try and explain a story that defies both. But just as it is within the boundaries of a black hole, so it is within the frame of this painting: the old rules no longer apply. Divine love manifests itself in ways we cannot yet fathom. Pretending otherwise saps power from the story.’
Zack Sigmon’s beautifully moving hymn praising our Matchless King. Click through to view the whole hymn. Just stunning.
Matchless King of matchless beauty, Fairest of the sons of men, May your majesty and glory Turn our hearts from self and sin. We, your bride, present our love song; From your lips flow words of grace. Loved one, bring us to our true home Where we’ll see you face-to-face!
Zack also provides sheet music and a Bible meditation guide to accompany the lyrics!
Belle Tindall on creating meaning amid the mundane.
‘Because to do such - to permeate the mundane with joy, beauty and meaning - is to defy distraction and disenchantment. It is to be in the present without wishing it were somehow otherwise. It’s a good thing.
I just wonder if it’s enough.’
Jessica Hanke ( I’m really enjoying her writing/poetry!) on quotidian transformation.
Christian Art ‘I came to cast fire on the earth’…
‘Fire is one of the most powerful and recurring images in Scripture. It is both destructive and purifying. Moses meets God in the fire of the burning bush; the Israelites are led by a pillar of fire through the desert. Fire consumes, but it also renews. In nature, a farmer burns the stubble of a field so that the soil may be refreshed for a new crop; on the moors, the heather is burned to make way for new shoots of life. So it is with the human heart. God’s fire burns away what is dead or overgrown within us (pride, selfishness, sin). not to destroy, but to make space for something new to grow. The divine fire purifies us so that new life, new grace, and new love can take root.’
My 8 year old Lego loving son was enamoured by this Bible in 90 seconds overview…
One more day left to get A Holy Lens E-Book on sale for 99p!! This book contains my own prayer devotionals alongside many other prayerful writers.
The last word
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
whom should I dread?
When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.
Though an army deploys against me,
my heart will not be afraid;
though a war breaks out against me,
I will still be confident.
I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
gazing on the beauty of the Lord
and seeking him in his temple.
For he will conceal me in his shelter
in the day of adversity;
he will hide me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.
Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;
I will offer sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Lord, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me.
My heart says this about you:
“Seek his face.”
Lord, I will seek your face.
Do not hide your face from me;
do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my helper;
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord cares for me.
Because of my adversaries,
show me your way, Lord,
and lead me on a level path.
Do not give me over to the will of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing violence.
I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27 (CSB)
As you wrap up warm, watch the leaves fall, and light a fragrant candle. Remember that Christ is before all things—and in Him all things are held together.
With love,
Ishah Xx
Ishah, what a lovely surprise to see my name and writing pop up in your post! I so enjoy your thoughts and reading suggestions. Thanks for featuring me. And thanks for compiling such thoughtful collections of writing and podcasts. What we take in is so important. ❤️
Thanks for the wisdom and the comfort. And hey, hedgehogs are one of our favourite animals - we feed them in our garden.