Maria Southman

Cultivating community under the lordship of Jesus in West Norwood (Vineyard Central). Editor by day. Mostly here to listen, learn, and retweet.

[Malcolm Guite @malcolmguite]

We saw him go and yet we were not parted
He took us with him to the heart of things
The heart that broke for all the broken-hearted
Is whole and Heaven-centred now, and sings,
A Sonnet for Ascension Day https://t.co/grP9SDhgkQ

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@ryanhallyall Can confirm! It’s absolutely gorgeous right now.

[Graeter's Ice Cream @graeters]

No ice cream for that team in Baltimore.

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@suzy_redd No, I don’t believe I did! (at least not until after surgery)

[Rachel Joy Welcher @racheljwelcher]

The Finale of Grief
a poem

I miss the ocean with the ache
of a coming kingdom.
And I miss the purity of a Church
I can only anticipate.

In a day or a thousand years
we will see all the creatures
we never got to meet this
side of heaven.
As a friend of mine says,
“We will finally get to
hug a bear.”

And we will watch flowers grow,
the ones our yard rabbits ate away
before we could gather them into a bouquet.
In the coming kingdom, we will gather
the rabbits and the marigolds
in one scoop of our arms, and
sit with them under the same tree
where the lion naps beside the lamb.

Can you imagine?
There our tired bones will
settle down into the soft grass,
our fractured hearts will be mended
with everlasting thread.

And finally - finally we will feel
the conclusive rest of justice,
the satisfaction of bellies made full,
and the relief of shame evaporated,
sorrow eradicated;
the finale of grief.
All the family of God;
all of us adopted ragamuffins,
the former addicts of phones,
whiskey, and Amazon, of
selfish ambition, selfish sex,
and empty religious gestures,

The ones never picked first
will be at the front of the line
for heavenly manna. And we
who denied Jesus three times,
thirty times, almost every time,
will be given the keys to the
kingdom of God.

Can you imagine?

[Beth Moore @BethMooreLPM]

On a walk in the woods before church and, even though it’s still hot, I have joy in my heart just knowing autumn is inevitable. It may seem overdue but it’s coming. I feel that way about the new creation. Though we walk in a world quaking wide open with sin, hate, oppression, violence, suffering and death, this is not the way it will always be. A new creation is inevitable. I know that because the Lord keeps his word.

Take a deep breath this morning, you who place your faith in Jesus. Breathe so deep you get way down there to where hope hides and let it up again. The new creation may seem overdue but, brother and sister, it’s coming as sure as the sun rose this morning.

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@crosby_katie This makes me feel better. (also having a tough go keeping everything together lately)

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@WhiteHouse Mr. President, Christians are instructed to love and forgive their enemies. This message (and many others of yours) plainly reveals that you do not understand the message of Easter, that is, the gospel. Jesus died for his enemies. Repent, and believe the good news!

[Sharon Hodde Miller @SHoddeMiller]

The Jesus of Holy Monday is, for many people, their favorite Jesus. This is the Jesus who finally gets angry, confronts injustice, & overturns tables pro wrestling style.

We love this Jesus because we want to be this Jesus. But we are not Jesus in this story. We are the temple.

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@elimcgowan @AlyssaDegraff The Vineyard has up to this point had a very loose “ordination” procedure (as in, no official process, usually up to the individual churches). FYI. There is an effort underway currently to beef it up.

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@lisashack378288 @jenniferstull7 @Samuel_Storms They weren’t quiet about taking those down. They posted a statement about why they were removing them and have since posted several videos following this situation to show accountability for platforming those videos.

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@danae_hudlow I’m heartbroken because my
niece started with Magician’s Nephew and when she got
to Lion Witch Wardrobe stopped reading because she said she got frustrated by “contradictory creation accounts.” 😭 She never got to the main story that would have pulled her in.

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@SideB4Christ Praying for you now!

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@ThabitiAnyabwil Thank you for posting this, because about the time you did I was lamenting to God about how I couldn’t see tangible results in some things and my efforts felt wasted. Your post feels like an answer to my prayer.

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@philipnation Hinds’ Feet on High Places, Ragamuffin Gospel, The Divine Conspiracy

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@ianharber Wow.

[Maria Southman @MariaDeeAnn]

@Joe_MainMixon Watching you enjoy success was a bright spot for this Bengals fan yesterday! So happy for you.

[Andrew Wilson @AJWTheology]

If we could see the extent of the church as she gathers today—the billions, the colours, the outfits, the range of languages and liturgies—it would be beyond our imagination. She is glorious. And she reflect the glory of an even more magnificent Saviour. Happy Lord’s Day!

[Beth Moore @BethMooreLPM]

If your Christianity sees kindness as weakness and compassion as compromise and treating with dignity those with whom you disagree as collaboration with the enemy, you have utterly lost touch with Christ.