Fear or Freedom?

"So why do I have so much fear in my life?"

" Because you don't believe. You don't know that we love you. The person who lives by their fears will not find freedom in my love."

(p. 142)

Independence and Rules vs. Sharing life with us

"Humans have a tendency to restructure language according to their independence and need to perform. So when I hear language abused in favor of rules over sharing life with us, it is difficult for me to remain silent." (p. 201)

He Knows

"He knows every person ever conceived, and he knows them so much deeper and clearer than you will ever know your own children." (p. 162)

A New Cleansing

"Well Mack, our final destiny is not the picture of Heaven that you have stuck in your head - you know, the image of pearly gates and streets of gold. Instead its a new cleansing of this universe, so it will indeed look a lot like here." (p. 177)

Anger - an expression of love

"There is a lot to be mad about in the mess my kids have made and in the mess they're in. I don't like a lot of the choices they make, but that anger - especially for me - is an expression of love all the same. I love the ones I am angry with just as much as those I'm not. (p. 119)

A magnificent tapestry

"Each choice ripples out through time and relationships, bouncing off of other choices. And out of what seems to be a huge mess, Papa weaves a magnificent tapestry." (p. 176)

No Expectations

"Humans try to control behavior largely through expectations. I know you and everything about you. Why would I have an expectation other than what I already know? That would be foolish. And beyond that, because I have no expectations, you never disappoint me." (p. 206)

The Nature of Love

"It is not the nature of love to force a relationship but it is the nature of love to open the way." (p. 192)

A sense of security

"People are afraid of uncertainty, afraid of the future. These institutions, these structures, and ideologies are all a vain effort to create some sense of certainty and security where there isn't any. It's all false! Systems cannot provide you security, only I can." (p. 179-180)

Its just this simple...

"Mack, you don't need to have it all figured out. Just be with me."
(p. 178)

Can't do it alone

"Remember you can't do it alone. Some folks try with all kinds of coping mechanisms and mental games. But the monsters are still there, just waiting for the chance to come out." (p. 175)

I'm about the inside

"Seriously, Mackenzie, it's not about feeling guilty. Guilt'll never help you find freedom in me. The best it can do is make you try harder to conform to some ethic on the outside. I'm about the inside." (p. 187)

When the light shines

"The darkness hides the true size of fears and lies and regrets," Jesus explained. "The truth is they are more shadow than reality, so they seem bigger in the dark. When the light shines into places they live inside you, you start to see them for what they are." (p. 174)

This mess is perfectly in process

"This mess is you! Together, you and I, we have been working with a purpose in your heart. And it is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process. To you it seems like a mess, but to me, I see a perfect pattern emerging and growing and alive - a living fractal." (p. 138)

No Plan B

"Like I said, everything is about him. Creation and history are all about Jesus. He is the very center of our purpose and in him we are now fully human, so our purpose and your destiny are forever linked. You might say we have put all our eggs in one human basket. There is no plan B. " (p. 192)

Connected but moves with the wind

continued from yesterday... "when I live in you, then together we can live through everything that happens to you...

"Rather than a pyramid, I want to be the center of a mobile, where everything in your life - your friends, family, occupation, thoughts, activities - is connected to me but moves with the wind, in and out and back and forth, in an incredible dance of being."

"And I," concluded Sarayu, "I am the wind." She smiled hugely and bowed.

(p. 207)

At the Center

"Mack, I don' want to be first among a list of values; I want to be at the center of everything. When I live in you, then together we can live through everything that happens to you." (p. 207)

more about this beautiful concept tomorrow!

To see with our eyes...

"I came to give you life, real life, my life. We will come and live our life inside of you, so that you begin to see with our eyes, and hear with our ears, and touch with your hands, and think like we do. But we will never force that union on you. If you want to do your thing, have at it. Time is on our side. (p. 149)

What defines us?

"A bird's not defined by being grounded but by his ability to fly. Remember this, humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image." (p. 100)

What do you think this means...?

Everything according to....

"We created you, the human, to be in face-to-face relationship with us, to join our circle of love. As difficult as it will be for you to understand, everything that has taken place is occurring exactly according to his purpose, without violating choice or will. (p. 124)

It's my Joy...

"I am not who you think I am Mackenzie. I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is it's own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it." (p. 120)

Why would you even bother...?

Mack: "But why do you love someone who is such a screw-up? After all the things I've felt in my heart toward you and all the accusations I made, why would you even bother to keep trying to get through to me?"

Papa: "Because that is what love does..."

I am Light and Good and Love

"Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to Light and Good; they do not have any actual existence. I am Light and I am Good. I am Love and there is no darkness in me. Light and Good actually exist. So removing yourself from me will plunge you into darkness." (p. 136)

He knows so much deeper

"Mackenzie, I am only asking you to do something that you believe God does. He knows every person ever conceived, and he knows them so much deeper and clearer than you will ever know your own children. He loves each one according to his knowledge of the being of that son or daughter" (p. 162)

He wants us to Re-turn to him

"Women, in general, will find it difficult to turn from a man and stop demanding that he meet their needs, provides security, and protects their identity, and return to me. Men, in general, find it very hard to turn from the works of their hands, their own quests for power and security and significance, and return to me." (p. 147)

All of You

I open the book at random each morning and see what's on the page I opened to. Incredibly, there is always a quote there that is just what I needed to hear. This is truly a blessing and a great way to start each day. Check this one out!

"You see, Mackenzie, I don't just want a piece of you and a piece of your life. Even if you were able, which you are not, to give me the biggest piece, that is not what I want. I want all of you and all of every part of you and your day." (p. 207)

Missing the Wonder

"Hierarchy imposes laws and rules and you end up missing the wonder of relationship that we intended for you." (p. 123)

You are Important

(Friends, I left my book at home today so this is a repeat from a January posting! Hope it still has meaning for you :D)

"Mack, if anything matters, everything matters. Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again." (p. 235)

"Forgiveness is first for you, the forgiver, to release you from something that will eat you alive; that will destroy your joy and your ability to love fully and openly." (p. 225)

"Don't ever think that what my son chose to do didn't cost us dearly. Love always leaves a significant mark. We were there together."

Mack was surprised. "At the cross? Now wait, I thought you left him - you know - My God, my God why has thou forsaken me?"...

"You misunderstand the mystery there. Regardless of what he felt at that moment, I never left him...Mackenzie, I have never left him just like I have never left you...

Will you a least consider this: When all you can see is your pain, perhaps then you lose sight of me?" (p. 96)