intimacy - 8

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Oh God I want to let you renew me,

so that your icon, and your seed, come in

to grow a model of the one who sees,

who notices1, and wants his kids to win.

I want to learn like him to cling not to

"some rights" or "my de-si-res", but instead

as one been matched, committed, continues

to give room for a loyal love, when wed.. 

So here I am, you're teaching me yourself2,

to see your world and people as you do,

and to commit and act in it in health-

y ways, displaying minutely one who

fills all the heavens, yet whose presence will 

not overpow-er or coerce his child,

his children are his centre-piece until

they grow and choose to not be, & run wild.

For he who made this Universe, and keeps

all matter/energy together, won't

make us to do good works, although he weeps

& grieves in heart, & we miss out when don't!

And what do we miss out on, if not him,

his friendship and his trust (and rightly so!)?

An intimate relationship ain't prim

& proper by this world's standards, I know.

Some part is public. Yet private affairs

can rightly be kept private, and they should;

unless all the stake-holders are aware,

& say that is the path to bring more good!

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Snippets from the story, or responses to it (or to the protagonist of it), to elicit in our minds that pericope or whole response: 

1. She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ Gen. 16:13 NIVUK

2. Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” Exodus 4:12

You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. Exodus 4:15

“See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. Deuteronomy 4:5

 

…Then Manoah entreated the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born.” Judges 13:8

"…then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel, indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land, which You have given Your people for an inheritance. 1 Kings 8:36

“He trains my hands for battle,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 2 Samuel 22:35

Good and upright is the Lord;

Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. Psalm 25:8

Who is the man who fears the Lord?

He will instruct him in the way he should choose. Psalm 25:12

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;

I will counsel you with My eye upon you." Psalm 32:8

"He leads the humble in justice,

And He teaches the humble His way." Psalm 25:9

He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke,

Even He who teaches man knowledge? Psalm 94:10

Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord,

And whom You teach out of Your law; Psalm 94:12

O God, You have taught me from my youth,

And I still declare Your wondrous deeds. Psalm 71:17

Teach me good discernment and knowledge,

For I believe in Your commandments. Psalm 119:66

I have not turned aside from Your ordinances,

For You Yourself have taught me. Psalm 119:102

Teach me to do Your will,

For You are my God;

Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10

Make me know Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

For You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4-5

Teach me Your way, O Lord,

And lead me in a level path

Because of my foes. Psalm 27:11

Teach me Your way, O Lord;

I will walk in Your truth;

Unite my heart to fear Your name. Psalm 86:11

Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning;

For I trust in You;

Teach me the way in which I should walk;

For to You I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8

So teach us to number our days,

That we may present to You a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

He trains my hands for battle,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Psalm 18:34

Blessed be the Lord, my rock,

Who trains my hands for war,

And my fingers for battle; Psalm 144:1

“To whom would He teach knowledge,

And to whom would He interpret the message?

Those just weaned from milk?

Those just taken from the breast? Isaiah 28:9

For his God instructs and teaches him properly. Isaiah 28:26

“All your sons will be taught of the Lord;

And the well-being of your sons will be great. Isaiah 54:13

And many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

To the house of the God of Jacob;

That He may teach us concerning His ways

And that we may walk in His paths.”

For the law will go forth from Zion

And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:3

"Many nations will come and say,

“Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord

And to the house of the God of Jacob,

That He may teach us about His ways

And that we may walk in His paths.”

For from Zion will go forth the law,

Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Micah 4:2

 They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction. Jeremiah 32:33

Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,

I took them in My arms;

But they did not know that I healed them. Hosea 11:3

for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.’ Luke 12:12 NIVUK

It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. John 6:45 

So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. John 8:28

Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 1 Thessalonians 4:9

As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit – just as it has taught you, remain in him. 1 John 2:27 NIVUK

(These Christian Scriptures are quoted, supposedly, from the NAS unless otherwise noted)

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• See intimacy - 1

• See intimacy - 2

• See intimacy - 3

• See intimacy - 4

• See intimacy - 5

• See intimacy - 6

• See intimacy - 7 

• See intimacy - 8

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Broken bones...

She is in a good position now it seems. The pelvis appears to have stayed intact After they took off the pelvic binder. The bleeding had stopped by last night and It appears the bleeding did not start again after the pelvis band was removed. she had ruptured a small artery.

This is the best case scenario. It may mean that her pelvis bone will heal without need for intervention. she had broken it in 5 places.

The surgeon also suggest her collarbone will heal of its own accord too. 

This girl has been allowed to move her torso a bit and her legs.( she had her legs tied together till they took the pelvic binder off. 

She may be a bit restricted in her movement for a while. This will be a challenge considering she was out before dawn in the rain and the dark trying to catch a Fox with some sardines ( she climbed up the pile of logs to watch him take the bait and follow him back to his den... mmmm)

Attached is a photo of the log that must have hit or rolled over her - bottom of pile

Thank God again with us for keeping her out of more harm and for the ways he has cared and provided for us through a very fast ambulance ride to Sydney children's hospital, kind and skilled doctors, nurses and good healing.

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Oh, thank you God that Ellen's been allowed 

to move, a bit, her torso and her legs.

We understand your healing comes, somehow,

with more time to reflect. This ain't the dregs,

the bottom of the barrel, or the slops.

For curses you give are to bless us more.

I think your blessing prob'ly never stops,

just like your love that's never failed before.

Please help her with these challenging demands.

Your love of life still grows within her now.

We're glad that God knows, and he understands.

We thank you God - you've helped her not to sour,

and lose her impish, "Dad-joke" sense of hue-

mer - that would be the worst thing of the lot.

Provisions and the care you've given too,

the speed and skill that blessed her, she has got!

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intimacy - 7

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(for a meaning-making, word-studying, male, geek - from the end of the 20th Century)

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It seems to me that intim-a-cy is 

a funny thing, for it has diff'rent parts*:

one part is special, sep'rate from the biz-

nus of the normal stuff of life. It starts

to seem distinct and private from the flow

of gen'ral stuff revealed to ev'ry one.

A bit like salt to flavour life below,

it also has a smell, that has begun

to infiltrate the rest of life, to bring

it all to higher levels of delight.

For all of life's a tender, kinder thing,

an afterglow, or foreplay - It's more bright,

when intimacy of that private kind

is given space, allowing it to live.

But when they're both allowed to intertwine

there are more chances for each one to give,

contribute in a combinat'ry way,

where each side of the coin adds to the whole. 

The gen'ral kind of intim-a-cy plays

a part in building honesty (that's gold),

and openness (that feeds back to the part

that's private - just between the two - not all).

And that feeds back to all of life - an art,

creative love does more, and will not fall.

Oh how encouraging to now recall

this forward way that beckons us to "come 

& see", to share our lives (with wins and falls),

so in this way our spirits don't grow numb.

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* a bit like humanity generally has two parts that metaphorically (& literally) make a whole. Biologically Male, & Female. True, they only objectively cover 99.999% of people, but that is actually a very good category, if it holds that much validity. Better, in fact, than most of our categories.

Or to put it another way, in my world-view (& in my view as derived from the experiences of this individual, small, life), Sex has two aspects to it: The sexual act, an encounter that heightens intimacy, and brings it to a point (that wasn't there before). And that becomes a metaphor for the other aspect, the act of being a sexual creature that represents (in its mind-gender, that it carries about through all of life) one side of humanity to the other (females to males, or males to females), and even helps build and solidify broad real categories of mind-gender - male-ness and female-ness, among its own ranks (i.e. females with females, & males with males).

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• See intimacy - 1

• See intimacy - 2

• See intimacy - 3

• See intimacy - 4

• See intimacy - 5

• See intimacy - 6

• See intimacy - 7 

• See intimacy - 8

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danger & safety *

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Txt2me: Paul, could you pray with me this week. I read Prov. 29:25* in The Message the other morning, it had quit an impact. 

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TxtFromMe: … About the prayer... Yes...

Oh God, please help this man who has now heard

the truth of dangers that are rife round here,

much worse than COVID - we learn by your WORD

(which we now follow, since that WORD appeared,

which also shows us how to stay safe in

this deathly setting (masks won't be enough).

We'll grow in favour with both God & men,

and wisdom when things are so very tough!

We thank you for those simple proverbs which

can hit us like a missile hits a boat,

we trust you now to send along some "fish"

to carry us, that's if we can not float.

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       *      Danger & true safety: Prov 29:25

• The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, ‘This is the one I spoke about when I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” ’) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:14‭-‬17 NIVUK

• "Then I saw Heaven wide open, and before my eyes appeared a white horse, whose rider is called faithful and true, for his judgment and his warfare are just. His eyes are a flame of fire and there are many diadems upon his head. There is a name written upon him, known only to himself. He is dressed in a cloak dipped in blood, and the name by which he is known is the Word of God" (J.B.Phillips NTIME) Rev 19:11-16 

• And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. … And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. NIVUK Luke 2:40‭, ‬52 

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ol' mate

ol' mate

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Found this ol' mate on way to Gosling Creek 

today and strangely didn't hear a squeak

out of him, but alive, not well, to speak

of body, but his spirit seems quite meek.

He asked by signs for me (& maybe you)

to pray for him to keep looking up to

the one he's trusting even more to do

as he has said - to help folk to renew

their minds (and bodies). Books he showed me there

do testify that gladly he's aware

in fresh ways of his need to not just care,

but keep on choosing well. He asked for prayer.

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Ol' mate is here alive; not well at all,

in ICU with dozens of these leads

& tubes into him, from him, some not small,

both down his nose & gullet. Still he reads,

and lets these folk help him to heal up, and

get rid of this infection in his lung,

One day I reckon he will talk, and stand

again and sort out some of what is bung.

.. (t.b.c.)

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