The Uncaged Journey

Words are such powerful bits of life, aren't they? Recently, since venturing into the area of fiction writing, I've fallen in love with the beauty and power of words for the first time in my life. Though I've written non-fiction before, I've never really understood how beautifully captivating the artistry of words can be. Words are mystical- allowing us to get lost within their depths.  Words can be loud, echoing within us long after they've been spoken. Words can be as soft as a whisper, enticing us to lean in and hear. Words can heal. Words have roots which grow hidden beneath the surface, until they blossom with life or death. This summer I decided to pursue my secret dream of fiction writing. I've always loved reading and often would put a book down and say, "Ugh! If only I could write like that!"  How often do we dream of doing something but don't, simply because we aren't sure if we can? Sometimes finances, or other

Perhaps this will be my least read post in my blog. In truth, it really doesn't matter.  Tonight I am writing. Just writing.  I was first profoundly impacted with the raw power of what a book can do, when I read The Secret Place, by Dale Fife. Each word seemed to play a chord within my heart; picking at strings and creating melodies that I didn't know existed - drawing me beyond simple words on paper. I normally devour books, but this time I savored each bite, allowing myself to appreciate His presence in each page. It was then, after reading this book a few times, that I realized I too wanted to write something that could only be described as God's love on paper; wooing its readers to delve into His heart through the letters on a page. My desire has been and still is to see a creative stream of writing that can unlock even the most guarded heart. That was over twelve years ago. Since that time, I have written for a couple of ministries, authored two small bo

  Awakened As I lay my head upon Your chest, I hear souls, crying. With each beat of your heart- Nations, calling. As though awakened from a dream, I focus my gaze, Shake off the past, And give You praise. Unite my heart, Give me Kingdom eyes. Not denying my part, Letting destiny guide. Extending Your hand I see what you hold- The treasures of life, Are the jewels of souls. Dancing in the fires, Learning to hear Your greatest desire, To draw them near.   ©Gretchen Rodriguez, 2005

I'm so excited to have my amazing friend Rachel blogging for us today! She is one the most passionate people I know; beautiful inside and out, an incredibly anointed dancer, and an equally gifted writer. See for yourself! You can find Rachel's webpage at: www.rachelelizabeth.org Sealed in Jesus, by Rachel Koszka     Wonder at what the cross really accomplished has consumed me. I've discovered that everything changed in Christ's perfect act of love two thousand year ago. Everything.     Since the dawn of time, Jesus has longed for reunion. Creation echoes the mystical reality that my spirit is seated in heavenly places with Christ, our union of love beyond the borders of time and space. I have always been known by Him. God tells Jeremiah that before he was formed in the womb  he was known.      When Adam and Eve believed they were different from God, not already created in His image and likeness, shame and separation became their new reality. Our glory

As I sit to write, I realize that words, no matter how eloquently expressed, will forever be insufficient in expressing what I feel in my heart. It is the perpetual and earnest desire of God's passionate lovers, to somehow capture the love and beauty of the Lord that we feel and express it in a way that others can understand and embrace. Yet even the most gifted musicians, song writers, artists, dancers, and poets, will always fall short in expressing His fathomless beauty and limitless wonder. How can we describe One so profound that He Himself decided to create the heavens and the earth as a taste of who He is? How can we explain a  love so mystifying, it turned a sacrifice of death into a victory of life vast enough to save the entire world? How do we take a spiritual substance and attempt to encapsulate it in some perceivable way that makes it recognizable to the human mind? How does one dive into a realm of spirit with the efforts of a natural mind? The answer is, we don&#

This has been such a beautiful season with the Lord for me personally. I've been so aware of the burning desire in my heart for Him, so grateful that He has fanned the flames of longing. There has been a fresh grace over me this year - a consistent desire to remain aware of the Lord's presence at all times.  Yet in my longing to hear more accurately, see more clearly, and encounter His Kingdom more profoundly, I was actually losing focus. It wasn't that I was getting distracted from this overwhelming desire to know Him more, but the desire itself was becoming larger than the Object of my desire. As I encountered Him more deeply, I also felt the frustration of wanting to be closer. The desire has been so deep, that the Lord finally revealed to me that the desire itself was distracting me. Focusing on what we aren't experiencing, causes us to come to Him with frustration instead of expectation. No matter how much we have experienced His love and have encountered His gl

Breathing You in, effortlessly. My eyes adjust to the unrelenting glory of Your nearness and my mind settles into peaceful torrents of  stillness. Our hearts,Yours and mine, tangled knots of tangible affection. I can taste the sweetness of Love swirling all around me, flooding into me and surging through me.  Uncontainable. Heaven and Earth converge as I engage with what is vastly felt yet dimly seen.  His fragrance gently reveals itself until it penetrates deep into my being, demanding memories of love revealed. Distractions no longer persist, but vanish away. Unrelenting glory consumes me until there is nothing left but blood-washed fragments of who I used to be, revealing the true beauty of who I have become in Him. Unveiled glimpses of His face and the warmth of His embrace become my obsession.   Learning to live here - in this place that transcends the mirage of reality, announcing what is true. This is life in Him; the beauty and awe of a place I now call h

There is a simplicity of life offered to all, but sadly attained by few. It is a profound clarity in our identity and purpose that comes from knowing who we are in the Lord and how much we mean to Him. It is the place of peace that surpasses all understanding; a knowing that life is much more than what is commonly perceived. It is the discovery that the One who calls us to Himself, is worthy of our unhindered trust and unlimited love. In fact, for many this deep seated security is only found when God mercifully and lovingly swoops in to adjust our focus. He cradles our face with those big, strong, yet gentle hands, looks straight into our eyes and waits. He patiently watches as we strive to attain peace through ever spinning trinkets of man-made pleasure and trivial pursuits. He waits for us to stop wiggling around in fruitless efforts to quiet our soul and center all of our attention on Him. "And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and theref

I have written many times for this blog and as a guest author on other sites, encouraging others and myself on the importance of hanging in there & worshiping beyond our circumstances. But yesterday I realized how few write about the experience of dreams coming to pass. To keep writing about how things will get better and failing to write about how incredible it is once the breakthrough actually comes, sounds as though we are beating a dead horse ...always hoping but never realizing our dreams coming true. It's essential that we celebrate and shout our victories even louder and longer than we have bemoaned our struggles. Today I want to tell you that it is quite sweet on this side of the breakthrough! Years ago I led an amazing dance team in FL and felt so fulfilled and blessed to be doing what I loved. Then I gave it up to serve for many years on the mission-field. For all of the years that I was on the field, I taught ballet here and there, but longed for the day when I

In all of the years I’ve been dancing, I have never had a season where I have learned more about dance and myself in it, than this last year. Unfortunately, it has come out of a season of injury. This has been a difficult season to navigate through in the natural, but what the enemy has tried to steal, kill, and destroy, God has turned into a time of great discovery.  I have danced since I was 4 years old. I have no memories of a life without dance (except when having babies). As a result of a life woven into a beautiful tapestry of dance, my identity has been intertwined with dance as well. When I cannot dance, I feel incomplete. However, what I’ve recently been processing with the Lord is that my identity is not that of a dancer. When God looks at me, the most significant thing He sees is not that I am a dancer. The most significant thing to Him, is that I am His child.  I am much more than dance. Within me is the convergence of two realms – Heaven and earth contained in