tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47164465351730898502024-03-13T14:47:37.650-07:00Lily of the valleyInsights, revelations, ponderings, love songs to and from my Father, reflections. My aim is to reflect the Lord to all who enter into this sanctuary. Everything that is good in me is Him, so discard the "me stuff" and hold onto the "God truth." I pray that you get a glimpse of Jesus through my insufficient words.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-67580205458342357572010-02-04T20:17:00.000-08:002010-02-04T20:18:27.954-08:00FriendThis week, I sat in a room with a friend, who may or may not know Christ. We were in a group setting, and she was in an eating disordered frenzy, ranting, hating herself for giving in to ED. As she shared her story, I noticed a cube in her hand that she was rapidly and manically playing with. Her anxiety so powerful that she could not keep her hands still. I was shocked at what she was furiously Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-47032198473951544422010-02-02T21:11:00.001-08:002010-02-02T21:11:19.187-08:00HealingWho knew healing would hurt so bad?Who knew getting better would make me so sad?Years of not feeling pile up like mounds of snow,Ages of thawing and so much more to go.Who knew right would feel so wrong? It makes sense, considering wrong was right for so long. Re-defining life means stirring up the put.Though it is ultimately best, I would rather not. The paradox of descent to rise above,Joins Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-4553114134365968742010-02-01T21:27:00.001-08:002010-02-01T21:27:49.170-08:00True VisionThe looking glass,What a strange invention,More so than a sea of faces,The mirror captures our attention. Accurate reflection?I plead no,Yet look all the more intensely. Reflecting phantom images,Mere perceptions,Distorted colors, shapes, sizes, contours.Why gaze at an imitation? Maybe…There is a reason we can’t look ourselves (our real selves) in the face. Maybe…There is a reason why we can’t Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-30114031773346215192010-01-31T21:05:00.001-08:002010-01-31T21:05:56.399-08:00SomewhereSomewhere between the slimy pit and the solid ground,Somewhere between depression and joy,Somewhere between crippling anxiety and perfect peace,Somewhere between curses and blessings,Somewhere between bondage and freedom,Somewhere between sick and healthy, Somewhere between despair and hope,Somewhere between doubts and belief,Somewhere between starving and nourished,Somewhere between comfort and Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-52232041996101206372010-01-29T17:30:00.001-08:002010-01-30T08:18:25.405-08:00The SymptomOh skinny vanilla latte,You claim to bring satisfaction with less,But you only give less with longing.Oh skinny jeans,You claim to slim the frame,But you only “look good” on those who are without curves. Oh skinny models,You claim, with your sunken cheeks, Pre-adolescent stalks for legs,Painful collar bones,shoulder blades and spines,To be role models for youth,But you only advertise death. Your Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-5793115278896534782009-11-24T22:40:00.001-08:002009-11-24T22:40:25.884-08:00FriendshipI have encountered multifarious difficulties this semester. I did not anticipate these types of obstacles. I am glad that I did not know ahead of time the traumas that I would face, or I would have hidden away in the safe town of Clemmons, surrounded by the cocoon of my church family and friends. I didn’t know, and that was better. What has felt in many ways like dying is emerging into a Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-56782790622813858682009-10-30T22:16:00.000-07:002009-10-30T22:17:10.738-07:00ChosenI was just given the most simple yet absolutely perfect revelation. God chose to create me. Because of that, I am the Beloved. He did not have to choose to form me. He did not have to breathe life into my lungs. Every individual, everywhere, historically, presently, and in the future is infinitely valuable because the God of the universe breathes His life into them. He chose us the moment He Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-64941987939871549792009-10-30T11:09:00.000-07:002009-10-30T12:10:42.221-07:00The Samaritan's Legacy of LoveWhen I say "Samaritan," what do you automatically think of? Before I understood Bible history or different people groups in the New Testament, I thought a Samaritan was a good neighbor. I did not realize that Samaritans were frowned upon by the Jews. I did not recognize the negative connotations that were implicitly held by the word "Samaritan." Samaritans were half-breeds. They had a defective Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-88803580389107327752009-10-26T20:58:00.001-07:002009-10-26T20:58:48.715-07:00Making Me BeautifulEvery cloud has a silver lining. What the heck does that mean? Clouds don’t have linings. They are vapors. And if they had linings, they couldn’t be made of silver. It is not flexible enough. It is metal, not cloth. Silver lining in clouds is impossible. Can there be good embedded in every situation? Finding out from the doctor that the growth is malignant? The dreaded call that brings your Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-70549397578894302342009-10-05T20:56:00.000-07:002009-10-05T20:57:08.069-07:00What if it wasn't your fault?I lived in a world of fault. It was my fault for everything, down to natural disasters. It was my fault for family dysfunction and illness. I was somehow responsible for everything. I was the one who deserved punishment. Now, this is natural in some stages of development, when the world seems to revolve around the child, but somehow I maintained this weight of responsibility. It was like I Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-89165538948587366792009-09-25T19:28:00.000-07:002009-09-26T17:23:20.720-07:00Talitha koum (Jairus' story)She was dying. She was just twelve. I didn’t care anymore how it looked. I could pretend that I didn’t believe to save face in front of the other leaders, but it wasn’t about saving face anymore. My little girl was dying. There was no hope besides this Man. I may lose my position. But it didn’t matter. She was worth it. I couldn’t remember life before her. She was the sun that lit my daysMeganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-79618559321052740492009-09-18T16:22:00.000-07:002009-09-18T16:23:16.009-07:00Degrees of HealingAs I studied Mark 8:22-26, I was astonished at an element of the story that I have always overlooked. Here is the passage in the NIV: “They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put His hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-36289108019128876452009-09-16T21:22:00.000-07:002009-09-16T21:23:01.256-07:00FullI am sick of swallowing my emotions. I am nauseous all the time, and I know that is why. Somehow, somewhere along the line, I bought into the belief that people can’t handle my emotions, that I can’t handle my emotions, and that God doesn’t want to handle my emotions. I have believed that they are morally wrong to have. I have bought into the lie that true healthy Christians can’t feel fear, Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-77453127120597238422009-09-09T19:46:00.000-07:002009-09-09T19:48:00.876-07:00The Advocate-CounselorThe Lord calls His followers to justice. I love the verse in Micah 6:8 which says that the Lord requires of us to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God and with men. Until tonight, I have had yet to experience such a heavy weight of responsibility as a counselor. There is a call for justice, and those who cannot speak for themselves need someone to speak for them. If it is trueMeganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-83910321862228505052009-09-08T20:54:00.000-07:002009-09-08T20:55:47.624-07:00Chewing Gum?I sat enjoying my first meal in the ATS cafeteria last week, when my eyes landed on a little sign that was posted on the napkin holder. The sign, which may be helpful to some, was troublesome to me.It said: “Chew gum. Curb snack cravings.” First of all, on a research based level, gum has been proven to be somewhat unhealthy to the stomach. The chewing process causes the stomach to secrete Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-8655934191158667232009-09-05T22:17:00.000-07:002009-09-05T22:20:04.715-07:00Patron-Client Relationship and God as BenefactorI have been given a new picture of God as benefactor. This picture is the ancient Greco-Roman patron-client relationship. In this relationship, the Patron is the benefactor who gives altruistically, without expecting anything in return from His “client.” He makes the gift strictly for the sake of giving. The goal is not to create servants, but to serve. The term for this altruistic Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-31768797885592166812009-09-04T20:48:00.000-07:002009-09-04T20:49:34.408-07:00The Consecrated PearlAt the risk of sounding narcissistic and self-absorbed, I have done some extensive research of my name. My name is Megan Elizabeth. My mom had a card that she stuck to our refrigerator as I was a child. It had my name on it and its definition. I would read it and feel precious and seen. Megan means “pearl”. Elizabeth means “consecrated unto God”. Specifically, the Hebrew definition for Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-82782411890408090362009-09-03T20:55:00.000-07:002009-09-03T20:57:34.259-07:00The Table“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Psalm 23:5I find myself back in the place of former oppression, death, and darkness. This is the place where my enemies triumphed and almost had my life. This was the place of the greatest promise and the most devastating loss. The enemy stole the table set before me. There was food that the Lord had prepared, but it was stolen, Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-44183202985317633692009-09-03T20:11:00.000-07:002009-09-03T20:12:34.971-07:00OrientationToday held a lot of significance in the healing process for me. As all of the new students have arrived on campus, I have found myself experimenting on self-disclosure. People here are incredibly kind, friendly, and sincere. It is a great environment. I also fear some judgment and condemnation (based on my own judgment and condemnation but also based on experiences at church and at college). I Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-88820475304686959402009-08-28T20:49:00.000-07:002009-08-28T20:50:00.122-07:00The Turtle and MeI, Megan Coe, am a turtle. I have the capacity to stretch my neck far enough to get my head out of my shell into the world. But one little discomfort or threat causes me to thrust my head right back into the safe, dark, familiar home of my little shell. I am an introvert. I thrive on alone time. This does not mean that I was designed to be alone. Why would God make introverts if He designed us Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-58466943240833932312009-08-20T20:38:00.000-07:002009-08-20T20:39:33.826-07:00The Difference is Night and DayThe first two and a half decades of my life were riddled with fear, darkness, and death. As a child, the night was the time of evil, oppression, and turmoil. Bed time was terrifying, because I was left alone in the dark with the demons that flooded my waking and sleeping hours. Night after night I faced with terror and dread. I stretched out the evening. I did not want to stay up late for Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-73717739691313542882009-08-17T20:27:00.000-07:002009-08-17T20:35:33.198-07:00Where is God?Where is God?Where is He to be found?Only in the churches, clothed in holy robes?Where is God?Let us look around,He is walking the streets, garbed in tattered clothes.Where is God?Woven through our being,We reflect His true visage, formed by His own hand. Where is God?Are we blind, not seeing,His own divine shadows, now cloaking this land? Where is God?Cooped up in the temple?He will not be Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-27367921773208976252009-08-13T19:48:00.000-07:002009-08-13T19:49:29.257-07:00The Mind of ChristWho has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. 1 Corinthians 2:16What does it mean that I have the mind of Christ? This is a verse that I have mindlessly quoted, but I have not fully absorbed what this Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-34783546041900144002009-08-05T21:33:00.000-07:002009-08-05T21:35:06.712-07:00You Hold Everything Together“ And He [Jesus] existed before all things, and in Him all things consist, cohere, and are held together.” I found myself caught up in the rat race of striving and straining in class. I got a B+ on the first test of my graduate school career, and I was furious. I worked so hard. I thought I was smarter than that. It was easy. It is so simple, really. So how did I get it wrong? (Oh wait, there is Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4716446535173089850.post-86163713285956812952009-08-01T15:14:00.001-07:002009-08-01T15:14:48.881-07:00FloodBurning orange blaze,Cascading like a torrentThrough the sky.My eyes can nowReceive its passion. Little yellow lily,Face lifted radiantly,Blushing in the glow.My heart at lastAbsorbs its glory. Stabbing pain of loss,Piercing like a dartThrough my wounded soul,My sobs forming withinCannot be silenced. Fears once held at bay,Bubble forth beyondTheir well-kept banks.My once forceful strengthNo Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367788837100128767noreply@blogger.com0