Intoxicated... seeking the sobering grace.

I can breath easy here, oxygen flows freely. I can clear my mind, the noises here seem to attract and never distract from God's presence. I can see the stars, even the sky is clear of smog and city lights that pollute our vision.

This place is full of untouched beauty, the purest setting for a deep detox. We are all such intoxicated beings. Always under the influence of something. But what does it look like to strip those toxins from us? Are we able to deprive our minds, or our bodies of the things we think bring us satisfaction? Or are we addicted? Do we seek them to bring comfort? Do we crave these things? Are we slaves to these masters? Do we feel trapped, caught amidst the stormy seas as we loose sight of the one walking towards us?

The freest I could ever be would be to never feel the pulls of the things that intoxicate me. To never feel the pollution in my thoughts, to never let them grab control, grab my foot and watch me slip under water.

But this place, its pureness, brings such a clear image of freedom. For where the Spirit is, you are free, you are detoxed. This is a place for renewed minds to cultivate, generate, and contemplate the pureness of the Spirit that is in control. The Spirit is in control.
"For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are daughters of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of daughtership."

So let us be.
Be still and know that You are God. You are the Truth that finds our intoxicated beings somehow beautiful enough for your sobering grace.

Back in Renaissance Times

I haven't macro blogged for awhile now.... it's been since the "lost heart" entry. Well, I think it has been found, but I'm not too sure about the condition.

My "so called" life for the past year now has been separated by compartments, two week spans, and land borders. I have been here in Lake Hughes for almost two months and I have found myself once again calling a quite foreign place "home."

This summer I am living at THE OAKS camp as the arts and crafts director. Our theme for the summer is THE KINGDOM. I have been in charge of much of the behind the scenes work in transforming our camp into a medieval kingdom filled with God's princesses and knights from the inner city.

It makes sense to me that I was struggling so much in the beginning of being here. A couple weeks ago I repeated the same thing over and over again, in my head, in prayer, saying "The kingdom is already here, and you had nothing to do with it." "Tricia, the kingdom is already here, He is already reining, even if the sets are not finished." "He is already in control, even when you fight Him." "His love is already changing everything, turning things upside down, even when you are being stubborn/ unchanging." " The kingdom is already here and you had NOTHING to do with it."

The Oaks is no Italy, but Italy is no The Oaks. But luckily this kingdom I have been talking about is not separated by land borders, two week spans, or compartments. It reins in my life.... not just my "so called" life.

Italy has come up in conversation, because of my necklace, art interests, our theme, or my longing, I am not sure. I might go with theme on this one though. One of the things I learned in Italy and have been reminded of plenty of times here, is that I am a theme girl. I like the cohesion of outfits, decorations, and well, life lessons.

Lesson number one for The Oaks then is..... dun da-da-dunnnnn!!!! :

If Florence is the birth place of Renaissance art, then The Oaks is a safe home for new born artists.

(Renaissance means "re-birth")

More to be explained soon.... for now, I'm taking baby steps.