Recently I heard the Lord in my heart. He said, "Either you trust me or you don't."
I decided that I do.
I hope and pray that you do, too, whomever you may be, and wherever you may be right now.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Trust
Sorry I've been so unfaithful to this blog. My commitment to prayer hasn't wavered. But sometimes life, and all its sticky widgets, gets in the way a bit.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
You Say You Want a Servolution
Okay, so I said I was going to start blogging more often, and I haven't really done so. I wasn't lying; I meant well, but it didn't happen. Starting a new job and all that entails, and working on the prayer team for Servolution, there just wasn't much of me left. Trust me, I'm not complaining. I'm extremely thankful for both of those activities. Especially after today.
It's 3:30 in the afternoon on a Saturday, my house is a mess, and I haven't lifted a finger to alter that situation. Yet. But I'm so excited about today, I want to write about it while the high is still fresh. Servolution was awesome. I have never experienced prayer like I did today. I'm sure anyone reading this has (I'd say "everyone" but there's a good chance it's "no one," especially given my faithlessness of late, so I chose to say "anyone"), but I hadn't. Experienced prayer like today, I mean, in case you lost track of where that sentence was going. Like I did.
I'd have thought praying with a group of people over the course of four hours might have gotten tedious, but it DIDN'T, at least not for me. I had a sense of knowing beyond any doubt that God was honoring our prayers in specific concrete ways. It was as if the Lord was sitting in the room with us, smiling and nodding at our every request, no matter how haltingly or falteringly or presumptuously it might be made, then sending orders instantly to the troops on the front lines.
When people starting trickling back to the church and we began to hear some of the stories, I heard myself sounding like a broken record, saying "Wow, we prayed for (or about) that exact thing!"
For instance: When one member of our group starting praying for the dogs and cats that might be impacted by our doings, and how that might garner the notice of some humans, I thought "Hm. That's kind of different, but who knows?" Later I heard how one team ended up rescuing a litter of kittens that had been abandoned by the mamma cat, bought formula and kitty baby bottles to feed them (I didn't even know there were such things!), then found a worker at the pet store who was willing to take the babies under her care (when she gets off at 5:00). And those folks saw another one of our "yellow shirt" teams at the pet store doing whatever they were doing, obviously something to do with animals, as well.
I thought how odd it must have sounded when I said, "Oh my, we prayed about that!" Sure... People get together to pray for those going forth to show the love of Jesus and just... pray about dogs and cats! Happens all the time!
There were the folks who went to nursing homes to visit patients, and later told us the patients loved that, but that it was the nurses who seemed the most touched. "That's exactly what we prayed for!" And so on.
And I'm certain that as more of the stories come out, we'll be saying that over and over again. Hopefully I can and will update this blog with additional news from the prayer front as news from all the other fronts comes in.
Almost sounds like a battle, all this talk about fronts and troops. Well that's pretty much how it felt from the situation (prayer) room. But it ALSO felt like our Father's Kingdom made some huge inroads into many hearts and lives, including those of some very small creatures whose eyes aren't even open yet. Because of God's love, they soon will be...one thing, at least, that they will have in common with the tens, the hundreds, maybe (down the road) even hundreds of thousands of their human counterparts. All because of one day called Servolution and one mighty, awesome God who isn't bound by our imagination, even when we're at our most imaginative!
Never underestimate the power of prayer. MORE IMPORTANT, never underestimate the power of LOVE!! Jesus was in the house and He rocks!
Oh, and what about that first song the worship team did this morning??? More on that in the future!
It's 3:30 in the afternoon on a Saturday, my house is a mess, and I haven't lifted a finger to alter that situation. Yet. But I'm so excited about today, I want to write about it while the high is still fresh. Servolution was awesome. I have never experienced prayer like I did today. I'm sure anyone reading this has (I'd say "everyone" but there's a good chance it's "no one," especially given my faithlessness of late, so I chose to say "anyone"), but I hadn't. Experienced prayer like today, I mean, in case you lost track of where that sentence was going. Like I did.
I'd have thought praying with a group of people over the course of four hours might have gotten tedious, but it DIDN'T, at least not for me. I had a sense of knowing beyond any doubt that God was honoring our prayers in specific concrete ways. It was as if the Lord was sitting in the room with us, smiling and nodding at our every request, no matter how haltingly or falteringly or presumptuously it might be made, then sending orders instantly to the troops on the front lines.
When people starting trickling back to the church and we began to hear some of the stories, I heard myself sounding like a broken record, saying "Wow, we prayed for (or about) that exact thing!"
For instance: When one member of our group starting praying for the dogs and cats that might be impacted by our doings, and how that might garner the notice of some humans, I thought "Hm. That's kind of different, but who knows?" Later I heard how one team ended up rescuing a litter of kittens that had been abandoned by the mamma cat, bought formula and kitty baby bottles to feed them (I didn't even know there were such things!), then found a worker at the pet store who was willing to take the babies under her care (when she gets off at 5:00). And those folks saw another one of our "yellow shirt" teams at the pet store doing whatever they were doing, obviously something to do with animals, as well.
I thought how odd it must have sounded when I said, "Oh my, we prayed about that!" Sure... People get together to pray for those going forth to show the love of Jesus and just... pray about dogs and cats! Happens all the time!
There were the folks who went to nursing homes to visit patients, and later told us the patients loved that, but that it was the nurses who seemed the most touched. "That's exactly what we prayed for!" And so on.
And I'm certain that as more of the stories come out, we'll be saying that over and over again. Hopefully I can and will update this blog with additional news from the prayer front as news from all the other fronts comes in.
Almost sounds like a battle, all this talk about fronts and troops. Well that's pretty much how it felt from the situation (prayer) room. But it ALSO felt like our Father's Kingdom made some huge inroads into many hearts and lives, including those of some very small creatures whose eyes aren't even open yet. Because of God's love, they soon will be...one thing, at least, that they will have in common with the tens, the hundreds, maybe (down the road) even hundreds of thousands of their human counterparts. All because of one day called Servolution and one mighty, awesome God who isn't bound by our imagination, even when we're at our most imaginative!
Never underestimate the power of prayer. MORE IMPORTANT, never underestimate the power of LOVE!! Jesus was in the house and He rocks!
Oh, and what about that first song the worship team did this morning??? More on that in the future!
Friday, April 18, 2008
SERVOLUTION PRAYER
"No work for God has ever been know to prosper without prayer to support it." -- John Paterson
TWELVE PRAYERS FOR SERVOLUTION
(1) That God's love would shine through us for all to see... that Servolution would be first a work of God, and not of man.
(2) For each of us to have a servant's heart toward one another and those we serve.
(3) That no one would judge another's work, but "let each do according to what God has put in their heart."
That each project would:
(4) Come together exactly as God would have it--people, timing, resources.
(5) Would have a supernatural anointing of the Holy Spirit.
(6) Demonstrate a true "doing of the Word."
(7) Demonstrate that God can do BIG THINGS even in LITTLE THINGS.
(8) For God's supernatural protection on teams and project leaders.
(9) That the wiles of the enemy would be turned to even greater opportunities to bring glory to God.
(10) That those who get involved at the "last hour" would have no less impact than anyone else (Matthew 20:16).
(11) That Servolution would produce a plentiful harvest and that those who are helped through it would then "go and do likewise."
(12) That we all would be Reminded to pray, PRAY, PRAY!!
If you would like to learn about additional Servolution prayer opportunities, please contact Michele @209-535-8359
(8) For God's supernatural protection on teams and project leaders.
(9) That the wiles of the enemy would be turned to even greater opportunities to bring glory to God.
(10) That those who get involved at the "last hour" would have no less impact than anyone else (Matthew 20:16).
(11) That Servolution would produce a plentiful harvest and that those who are helped through it would then "go and do likewise."
(12) That we all would be Reminded to pray, PRAY, PRAY!!
If you would like to learn about additional Servolution prayer opportunities, please contact Michele @209-535-8359
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Moving On/Servolution
My thanks to everyone who has prayed for me these recent weeks. It's humbling to feel so loved and cared for!
So I'm trying to get back to normal, including blogging. I realized I was feeling overwhelmed by the fact that I'm so behind on the blogs I like to read, overwhelmed by the idea of reading EVERYTHING I've missed. So I decided to give myself permission to just read everyone's latest entry, or maybe a little more. I really doubt anyone will notice I'm not going back a month and a half. But I've really missed it!
I'm starting a new job on Monday at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. Thank you, Lord! At least, provided I pass the drug test. I'm fretting that the Sudafed I took last week or the poppy seeds Mike recently put in the beef stroganoff will result in a positive drug screen. Well, those are some of the reasons I've heard claimed for a positive test...
But more important, I'm now the designated prayer person for Servolution. Arrrggghhh!! What have I done!?!? What have I agreed to? No, seriously, I've received such encouragement and confirmation, for which I'm most grateful. This is God's project, not mine! Also I've been reading "Messy Spirituality" lately, and I'm encouraged. I guess maybe it's just possible that my extremely messy version of Christianity can contribute something. Or rather God's version in me.
Isn't it awesome how God so uniquely re-creates His Son in each of us?
So I'm moving on, growing up, and generally getting on with the details of life. Balancing my checkbook after two months. Starting a new job. Gearing up for Servolution.
Nothing stays the same, everything changes... Everything except our Lord, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever. He knew every nanosecond of my life and of your life, and the lives of all who will be touched by Servolution from the foundation of the world. Nothing surprises Him. Nothing comes as a shock. Nothing changes His incredible love for the world. To think He wants to shine forth His love through us on May 10th (and every day)... I can't wait!
God bless!
So I'm trying to get back to normal, including blogging. I realized I was feeling overwhelmed by the fact that I'm so behind on the blogs I like to read, overwhelmed by the idea of reading EVERYTHING I've missed. So I decided to give myself permission to just read everyone's latest entry, or maybe a little more. I really doubt anyone will notice I'm not going back a month and a half. But I've really missed it!
I'm starting a new job on Monday at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. Thank you, Lord! At least, provided I pass the drug test. I'm fretting that the Sudafed I took last week or the poppy seeds Mike recently put in the beef stroganoff will result in a positive drug screen. Well, those are some of the reasons I've heard claimed for a positive test...
But more important, I'm now the designated prayer person for Servolution. Arrrggghhh!! What have I done!?!? What have I agreed to? No, seriously, I've received such encouragement and confirmation, for which I'm most grateful. This is God's project, not mine! Also I've been reading "Messy Spirituality" lately, and I'm encouraged. I guess maybe it's just possible that my extremely messy version of Christianity can contribute something. Or rather God's version in me.
Isn't it awesome how God so uniquely re-creates His Son in each of us?
So I'm moving on, growing up, and generally getting on with the details of life. Balancing my checkbook after two months. Starting a new job. Gearing up for Servolution.
Nothing stays the same, everything changes... Everything except our Lord, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever. He knew every nanosecond of my life and of your life, and the lives of all who will be touched by Servolution from the foundation of the world. Nothing surprises Him. Nothing comes as a shock. Nothing changes His incredible love for the world. To think He wants to shine forth His love through us on May 10th (and every day)... I can't wait!
God bless!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Bump in the Road
There's something so doable about sameness. I'm so sorry to keep making everything be about me, but I feel I need to explain about not blogging so much lately. And not keeping up on everyone else's blogs like I'd like to.
It's ever since losing my job. I don't feel depressed or worried... just different. Nothing really appears to have changed much in my life, other than the person signing my paychecks. I work the same basic days. I sit at the same workstation (for now, but that's to change). I eat lunch with the same people (except for others who are gone and I miss so much).
But at the same time everything feels eerily different. My life, at least for the short-term, is now more or less defined by what has happened. Almost like how everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard about 9/11. But it's just my own private 9/11. Every event in recent memory gets automatically (but consciously) put into pre- or post-job loss status, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about that.
Life just seems to take a lot more energy, and I'm not sure why, exactly. It's such a minor bump in the road compared to what could be. And compared to things I've dealt with in the past. I trust there will come a time when my laundry and housework are again done on a regular basis. When I don't wake up and realize I haven't watered my plants in nearly two weeks. (Some plants will forgive this, some will not.) Or blogged about anything other than myself in who knows how long!
In the meantime, I find myself very thankful for the privilege of being able to keep up a steady dialogue with the Lord through this time. He sustains me and gives me peace. He calms the little storms of frustration at learning new systems, policies and procedures. And reminds me that by no means did my future fall from His hand when my job went bye-bye.
My little bump in the road, while bringing its bit of angst, also feels like I've hit a sacred time in my life. I'm learning big new things, taking a Big Girl Pill now and then, and continuing to grow up. That's in no way a bad thing!
It's ever since losing my job. I don't feel depressed or worried... just different. Nothing really appears to have changed much in my life, other than the person signing my paychecks. I work the same basic days. I sit at the same workstation (for now, but that's to change). I eat lunch with the same people (except for others who are gone and I miss so much).
But at the same time everything feels eerily different. My life, at least for the short-term, is now more or less defined by what has happened. Almost like how everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard about 9/11. But it's just my own private 9/11. Every event in recent memory gets automatically (but consciously) put into pre- or post-job loss status, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about that.
Life just seems to take a lot more energy, and I'm not sure why, exactly. It's such a minor bump in the road compared to what could be. And compared to things I've dealt with in the past. I trust there will come a time when my laundry and housework are again done on a regular basis. When I don't wake up and realize I haven't watered my plants in nearly two weeks. (Some plants will forgive this, some will not.) Or blogged about anything other than myself in who knows how long!
In the meantime, I find myself very thankful for the privilege of being able to keep up a steady dialogue with the Lord through this time. He sustains me and gives me peace. He calms the little storms of frustration at learning new systems, policies and procedures. And reminds me that by no means did my future fall from His hand when my job went bye-bye.
My little bump in the road, while bringing its bit of angst, also feels like I've hit a sacred time in my life. I'm learning big new things, taking a Big Girl Pill now and then, and continuing to grow up. That's in no way a bad thing!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Hi Kids!
Hey, Tess and Aron! I don't really have much to say about leading you on this wild goose chase, except that I love you with all my heart! And that I'm feeling a little free and silly lately. I guess getting canned (I still love saying that!) for the first time in my life just has that effect.
So did you respond to the survey?
By the way, if you could somehow join us for church on Easter, that would be awesome. Also we'll be cooking an incredible meal later on. No strings attached, though. The rosemary leg of lamb, mint sauce, vegan garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, and ambrosia salad will all miss you.
We'll at least save the chocolate bunny heads for you, though. Otherwise, the little varmints are all ours from the neck down!
Love you forever, Ma
So did you respond to the survey?
By the way, if you could somehow join us for church on Easter, that would be awesome. Also we'll be cooking an incredible meal later on. No strings attached, though. The rosemary leg of lamb, mint sauce, vegan garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, and ambrosia salad will all miss you.
We'll at least save the chocolate bunny heads for you, though. Otherwise, the little varmints are all ours from the neck down!
Love you forever, Ma
Thursday, March 13, 2008
It's "Servolution" time!
Did I spell it right? Sure hope so. I have great admiration for those who are able to come up with unique words like that. And I pray (join me now) that "servolution" becomes a concept that gets us (NLCC) SO fired up, it starts a ripple effect that goes on and on, and ON! And that because of it, the word "servolution" will actually be in a semi-normal dictionary no more than 10 years from now.
Hey, God's BIG... It could happen!!!!
Our culture already knows the concept, of course. We hear phrases like "puttin' your money where your mouth is" and "walkin' the talk." Unfortunately, we also hear things like, "Hell no, I'm not going to church! Those church people are all hypocrites! They want ME to obey a bunch of rules that THEY don't even follow!" And how sad that sometimes that assessment is truer than we'd like to admit.
So what I'm saying is, let's take church (God's doings) outside of the church (an inanimate building). Let's change the stereotype some people have of "church." While we're at it, let's change THE WORLD. Jesus did. And we are His agents of change today.
"Change you can believe in"? We already have a Messiah, thanks very much. His name is Jesus. Know Him.
Pray, pray, PRAY! Get ready for SERVOLUTION! Get ready for God's move!
Hey, God's BIG... It could happen!!!!
Our culture already knows the concept, of course. We hear phrases like "puttin' your money where your mouth is" and "walkin' the talk." Unfortunately, we also hear things like, "Hell no, I'm not going to church! Those church people are all hypocrites! They want ME to obey a bunch of rules that THEY don't even follow!" And how sad that sometimes that assessment is truer than we'd like to admit.
So what I'm saying is, let's take church (God's doings) outside of the church (an inanimate building). Let's change the stereotype some people have of "church." While we're at it, let's change THE WORLD. Jesus did. And we are His agents of change today.
"Change you can believe in"? We already have a Messiah, thanks very much. His name is Jesus. Know Him.
Pray, pray, PRAY! Get ready for SERVOLUTION! Get ready for God's move!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Doing My Work Heartily...
I haven't had anything interesting to say since losing my job... not that I ever did! And I STILL don't! I've worked more and harder since being let go than I have in a long time. I'll explain: For at least the short-term I got picked up by the company that Emanuel is outsourcing to, primarily to work on the Radiology module which isn't "going over" to the new company for reasons I don't know enough "computer geek" to explain or even understand myself. So I'm still at my old workstation doing Radiology, while not having to answer phones or do any of the other troubleshooting I used to help with, since I DON'T REALLY WORK THERE! In the meantime I'm trying to learn their main systems, which so far don't strike me as very user-friendly, but it's probably too soon to tell. Since being "canned" (I love using that word! It sounds so dramatic!) I have worked every single day except last Sunday. And I'll be working today, as well. I think they may have underestimated the volume of work that'd be coming from Emanuel.
This morning I feel like I've been run over by a truck; the fibromyalgia is screaming at me, with my dirty house chiming in. So why would I want to do this to myself, while seemingly helping out an employer who maybe didn't show a lot of loyalty to me (and others)? For the very simple reason that I felt like the Lord asked me to. With several Bible verses to reinforce the idea. Didn't tell me... He asked me, very lovingly and graciously. He's my very life... How could I refuse Him?
No one asked about the dentist, but I'll tell you anyway. I have a big phobia about going to the dentist. I needed two fillings redone on opposite sides of my mouth. In a seemingly nonsensical move I decided to have them both done at the same time just to get the whole thing out of the way. Guess when I got that done? You guessed it... on the very last day of my dental coverage. Go figure... "more than coincidence"!
Still no word on the COBRA insurance, but Elizabeth is finally improving now on steroids.
Thanks for all the prayers, and for all the words of encouragement. The Family of God rocks!!!
This morning I feel like I've been run over by a truck; the fibromyalgia is screaming at me, with my dirty house chiming in. So why would I want to do this to myself, while seemingly helping out an employer who maybe didn't show a lot of loyalty to me (and others)? For the very simple reason that I felt like the Lord asked me to. With several Bible verses to reinforce the idea. Didn't tell me... He asked me, very lovingly and graciously. He's my very life... How could I refuse Him?
No one asked about the dentist, but I'll tell you anyway. I have a big phobia about going to the dentist. I needed two fillings redone on opposite sides of my mouth. In a seemingly nonsensical move I decided to have them both done at the same time just to get the whole thing out of the way. Guess when I got that done? You guessed it... on the very last day of my dental coverage. Go figure... "more than coincidence"!
Still no word on the COBRA insurance, but Elizabeth is finally improving now on steroids.
Thanks for all the prayers, and for all the words of encouragement. The Family of God rocks!!!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Down But Not Out (And Not Really That Down)
Many thanks to those who have expressed their concern about the news on my last post. I'm serious, I really am having fun, in a way. Serious about having fun. I have no idea what I'll be doing or whom I'll be working for a year from now, but in the meantime, it's an interesting ride. Knowing the Lord makes such a difference! (No duh!)
One somewhat urgent prayer request I would make is that our health insurance situation would be cleared up quickly. I'm anxiously awaiting paperwork to sign up for COBRA. Anxious because my stepdaughter Elizabeth, who is in her first year of college, has (as far as can be determined) no other insurance coverage to fall back on, and she has been so sick lately.
And remind me to tell you about the dentist!
One somewhat urgent prayer request I would make is that our health insurance situation would be cleared up quickly. I'm anxiously awaiting paperwork to sign up for COBRA. Anxious because my stepdaughter Elizabeth, who is in her first year of college, has (as far as can be determined) no other insurance coverage to fall back on, and she has been so sick lately.
And remind me to tell you about the dentist!
Friday, February 29, 2008
A Sabbath Rest
After 17 years as an employee of Emanuel Medical Center, I was let go yesterday as a cost-cutting measure. Not just me, but all the "in-house" transcriptionists. Effective immediately, Emanuel is now outsourcing all medical transcription.
It's an interesting time. I find myself genuinely excited about what the Lord has in store for me.
You can ask my Mike if this is true: Several weeks ago seemingly out of the clear blue sky I told him, "for some reason I just feel like I'm not going to be working at Emanuel much longer."
So it was kind of cool to realize firsthand that (1) yes, the Lord DOES speak to His children today, and (2) I guess I really really AM one of His children.
Forgiveness is really very freeing. I highly recommend it! If you are reading this and are harboring any unforgiveness in your heart, I say for your own sake, offload that emotion as quickly as you are able. The Lord WILL avenge, if any vengeance is called for. His Word says that is in His hand... so leave it there and rest!
I do ask for prayer for Emanuel: That those who make these kinds of decisions would always seek the Lord and trust in His ways. May they never dishonor that holy Name: God with us!
Meanwhile, I say that life can be hard, and we need to rest in Him. Count on nothing but the Lord. He is our everything, a Romans 8:28 kind of God. He is for us, so who can be against us? No one I'm going to worry about! I belong to Him... Hope you do, too!
It's an interesting time. I find myself genuinely excited about what the Lord has in store for me.
You can ask my Mike if this is true: Several weeks ago seemingly out of the clear blue sky I told him, "for some reason I just feel like I'm not going to be working at Emanuel much longer."
So it was kind of cool to realize firsthand that (1) yes, the Lord DOES speak to His children today, and (2) I guess I really really AM one of His children.
Forgiveness is really very freeing. I highly recommend it! If you are reading this and are harboring any unforgiveness in your heart, I say for your own sake, offload that emotion as quickly as you are able. The Lord WILL avenge, if any vengeance is called for. His Word says that is in His hand... so leave it there and rest!
I do ask for prayer for Emanuel: That those who make these kinds of decisions would always seek the Lord and trust in His ways. May they never dishonor that holy Name: God with us!
Meanwhile, I say that life can be hard, and we need to rest in Him. Count on nothing but the Lord. He is our everything, a Romans 8:28 kind of God. He is for us, so who can be against us? No one I'm going to worry about! I belong to Him... Hope you do, too!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Peace of my Mind
Yesterday (Saturday) as I was getting ready for work I was thinking about the new contact lenses I was waiting for and badly needed. I'd called to order them two weeks before and they'd never taken so long. People weren't returning my calls as to why and I was starting to suspect they'd lost my order or something. I was getting more and more ticked, to be honest.
Then I started fantasizing about going in and giving them a piece of my mind. I mean just really laying it on the line, Big Girl style! Yes, I find myself thinking that way sometimes, though not as much as I used to. But this was different, because as I pictured myself doing it, I realized I could really do it! No so long ago if something like this ever got beyond the imagining stage, I'd either lose it and cry, or just sound stupid and whiny. But I realized: NO, I could really pull this off.
Then the Holy Spirit spoke up. Actually I think He'd been speaking up but I'd kind of not been listening. He said, "What are you thinking??" or words to that effect. And I realized I couldn't do it. Not because I couldn't, but because I shouldn't. I just find it ironic that now that I can pull off something like that, I can't!
My point is that it's little road signs like this that show me that I am changing... even though the change never seems big enough or fast enough, it's happening.
Like not that long ago I couldn't imagine myself getting up in front of church at the end of a service and praying with people. And now I do. "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
And can NOT do. When not doing is good.
Then I started fantasizing about going in and giving them a piece of my mind. I mean just really laying it on the line, Big Girl style! Yes, I find myself thinking that way sometimes, though not as much as I used to. But this was different, because as I pictured myself doing it, I realized I could really do it! No so long ago if something like this ever got beyond the imagining stage, I'd either lose it and cry, or just sound stupid and whiny. But I realized: NO, I could really pull this off.
Then the Holy Spirit spoke up. Actually I think He'd been speaking up but I'd kind of not been listening. He said, "What are you thinking??" or words to that effect. And I realized I couldn't do it. Not because I couldn't, but because I shouldn't. I just find it ironic that now that I can pull off something like that, I can't!
My point is that it's little road signs like this that show me that I am changing... even though the change never seems big enough or fast enough, it's happening.
Like not that long ago I couldn't imagine myself getting up in front of church at the end of a service and praying with people. And now I do. "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
And can NOT do. When not doing is good.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Bla Bla Blog!
As people always seem to say on their new blogs, "everyone else is doing it, so I am, too!" or words to that effect. Sometimes just for fun I hit the "next blog" button on my blog (with parental controls in place) just to go to random blogs, and it seems like everyone IS doing it! I'm fascinated by how smart, beautiful, funny, talented, unique, and (sometimes) "not from around here" people are.
("Not from around here" is a euphemism my friend and coworker Beverly and I put into use. Whenever we'd get a new doctor at the hospital we'd ask, "how's his [or her] dictation?" If a thick accent was involved we'd simply say, "Well, he's not from around here.")
I know God knows and loves every single person on Blogger. And beyond. (I love the line from one of my favorite movies, "Galaxy Quest": "To infinity, and beyond!") It's kind of staggering to consider.
Like prayer. The question, "How can God hear everyone's prayer at once?" used to be a real stumper for me. I can remember making the choice not to pray many times because I didn't want to "bother" God with yet one more prayer. I think that may still be an issue for some, and another example of how we limit an infinite God with our finite thinking.
Philip Yancey says, "A God unbound by our rules of time has the ability to invest in every person on earth. God has, quite literally, all the time in the world for each one of us. The psalmist exclaimed that 'a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by,' and the reverse also applies: to God, one day is like a thousand years. The common question, 'How can God listen to millions of prayers at once?' betrays an inability to think outside time. I cannot imagine a being who can hear billions of prayers in thousands of languages because I am stunted by my humanity. Trapped in time, I cannot conceive of infinity. The distance between God and humanity -- a distance that no one can grasp -- is, ironically, what allows intimacy."
I so love that. All the time in the world. For me. For you!
("Not from around here" is a euphemism my friend and coworker Beverly and I put into use. Whenever we'd get a new doctor at the hospital we'd ask, "how's his [or her] dictation?" If a thick accent was involved we'd simply say, "Well, he's not from around here.")
I know God knows and loves every single person on Blogger. And beyond. (I love the line from one of my favorite movies, "Galaxy Quest": "To infinity, and beyond!") It's kind of staggering to consider.
Like prayer. The question, "How can God hear everyone's prayer at once?" used to be a real stumper for me. I can remember making the choice not to pray many times because I didn't want to "bother" God with yet one more prayer. I think that may still be an issue for some, and another example of how we limit an infinite God with our finite thinking.
Philip Yancey says, "A God unbound by our rules of time has the ability to invest in every person on earth. God has, quite literally, all the time in the world for each one of us. The psalmist exclaimed that 'a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by,' and the reverse also applies: to God, one day is like a thousand years. The common question, 'How can God listen to millions of prayers at once?' betrays an inability to think outside time. I cannot imagine a being who can hear billions of prayers in thousands of languages because I am stunted by my humanity. Trapped in time, I cannot conceive of infinity. The distance between God and humanity -- a distance that no one can grasp -- is, ironically, what allows intimacy."
I so love that. All the time in the world. For me. For you!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The God Who Is, I
"Who one believes God to be is most accurately revealed not in any credo but in the way one speaks to God when no one else is listening." Nancy Mairs
I had to read that quote about three times before I got it.
Yancey goes on to describe expressions of prayer in cultures other than ours... the Nepali Buddhists with their prayer wheels, each turn of which sends a prayer to heaven. The well-dressed Japanese who pay a minimum of 50 dollars for a Shinto priest to pray on their behalf. Citizens in the high-tech nation of Taiwan who purchase "ghost money" at a Taoist temple and burn it to keep underworld ghosts from pestering them.
"In truth" he goes on to say, "Christians often treat prayer the same way. If I do my duty, then God 'owes me.' Worship becomes a kind of transaction: I've given God something, so it's God's turn to reciprocate. Prayer as transaction rather than relationship can decline into a practice more duty than joy, an occasional and awkward exercise with little connection to life -- not so different from the Buddhist monk spinning his prayer wheel or the Japanese businesswoman performing her temple ritual."
It sort of reminds of when Jesus said, "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words." (Matthew 6:7)
I remember how overjoyed I was those many years ago when I came to the realization that I could go directly to God about anything, rather than going through the rituals of the religious tradition in which I was raised. But there have been times since, as I have begun to realize Who God really is, that I've wanted to take a step back and let someone else go there on my behalf, after all.
God's just so much more than a nice guy who wants to be my pal. (More on that in the future.)
I'm not finding fault with anyone's religion. I'm finding fault with EVERYONE'S religion... ESPECIALLY mine... my religion being all the things I do to try to build my own flimsy little tower of Babel to God. It has to come down.
I had to read that quote about three times before I got it.
Yancey goes on to describe expressions of prayer in cultures other than ours... the Nepali Buddhists with their prayer wheels, each turn of which sends a prayer to heaven. The well-dressed Japanese who pay a minimum of 50 dollars for a Shinto priest to pray on their behalf. Citizens in the high-tech nation of Taiwan who purchase "ghost money" at a Taoist temple and burn it to keep underworld ghosts from pestering them.
"In truth" he goes on to say, "Christians often treat prayer the same way. If I do my duty, then God 'owes me.' Worship becomes a kind of transaction: I've given God something, so it's God's turn to reciprocate. Prayer as transaction rather than relationship can decline into a practice more duty than joy, an occasional and awkward exercise with little connection to life -- not so different from the Buddhist monk spinning his prayer wheel or the Japanese businesswoman performing her temple ritual."
It sort of reminds of when Jesus said, "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words." (Matthew 6:7)
I remember how overjoyed I was those many years ago when I came to the realization that I could go directly to God about anything, rather than going through the rituals of the religious tradition in which I was raised. But there have been times since, as I have begun to realize Who God really is, that I've wanted to take a step back and let someone else go there on my behalf, after all.
God's just so much more than a nice guy who wants to be my pal. (More on that in the future.)
I'm not finding fault with anyone's religion. I'm finding fault with EVERYONE'S religion... ESPECIALLY mine... my religion being all the things I do to try to build my own flimsy little tower of Babel to God. It has to come down. =================>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
=================>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Exposed II
Again from the Philip Yancey book I've been quoting:
============================
David Ford, a professor at Cambridge, asked a Catholic priest the most common problem he encountered in twenty years of hearing confession. With no hesitation the priest replied, "God." Very few of the parishioners he meets in confession behave as if God is a God of love, forgiveness, gentleness, and compassion. They see God as someone to cower before, not as someone like Jesus, worthy of our trust. Ford comments, "This is perhaps the hardest truth of any to grasp. Do we wake up every morning amazed that we are loved by God? Do we allow our day to be shaped by God's desire to relate to us?"
Reading Ford's questions, I realize that my image of God, more than anything else, determines my degree of honesty in prayer. Do I trust God with my naked self? Foolishly, I hide myself in fear that God will be displeased, though in fact the hiding may be what displeases God most. From my side, the wall seems like self-protection; from God's side it looks like lack of trust. In either case, the wall will keep us apart until I acknowledge my need and God's surpassing desire to meet it. When I finally approach God, in fear and trembling, I find not a tyrant, but a lover.
The apostle Paul prayed "that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." I doubt Paul prayed this prayer once only; for my part, I have to pray it every day. The most important purpose of prayer may be to let our true selves be loved by God.
Okay, so the next chapter is titled "The God Who Is." Which, as I understand it, is basically the meaning of "Yahweh." I've been reading ahead, and I think I'm in way over my head. Sort of like I felt when I read (tried to) A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. Well maybe not quite that out there. But sort of. Like I can get what it's saying for a flash, then it's gone.
I'm so glad God sometimes isn't that easy to "get." It's more intriguing this way, don't you think? And I have a feeling that "smart" on this world's terms means nothing when it comes to "getting" God. (See 1 Corinthians 2:14-16) I'm so thankful that God "gets" me, even when I don't fully "get" Him. He's my everything... And I live in the hope that one day I'm going to fully appreciate what that really means!
============================
David Ford, a professor at Cambridge, asked a Catholic priest the most common problem he encountered in twenty years of hearing confession. With no hesitation the priest replied, "God." Very few of the parishioners he meets in confession behave as if God is a God of love, forgiveness, gentleness, and compassion. They see God as someone to cower before, not as someone like Jesus, worthy of our trust. Ford comments, "This is perhaps the hardest truth of any to grasp. Do we wake up every morning amazed that we are loved by God? Do we allow our day to be shaped by God's desire to relate to us?"
Reading Ford's questions, I realize that my image of God, more than anything else, determines my degree of honesty in prayer. Do I trust God with my naked self? Foolishly, I hide myself in fear that God will be displeased, though in fact the hiding may be what displeases God most. From my side, the wall seems like self-protection; from God's side it looks like lack of trust. In either case, the wall will keep us apart until I acknowledge my need and God's surpassing desire to meet it. When I finally approach God, in fear and trembling, I find not a tyrant, but a lover.
The apostle Paul prayed "that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." I doubt Paul prayed this prayer once only; for my part, I have to pray it every day. The most important purpose of prayer may be to let our true selves be loved by God.
============================[God] does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 103:10-14
Okay, so the next chapter is titled "The God Who Is." Which, as I understand it, is basically the meaning of "Yahweh." I've been reading ahead, and I think I'm in way over my head. Sort of like I felt when I read (tried to) A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. Well maybe not quite that out there. But sort of. Like I can get what it's saying for a flash, then it's gone.
I'm so glad God sometimes isn't that easy to "get." It's more intriguing this way, don't you think? And I have a feeling that "smart" on this world's terms means nothing when it comes to "getting" God. (See 1 Corinthians 2:14-16) I'm so thankful that God "gets" me, even when I don't fully "get" Him. He's my everything... And I live in the hope that one day I'm going to fully appreciate what that really means!
Friday, February 15, 2008
It Works!
I say it all the time about prayer. "It works!" Maybe you say it, too.
I don't know, something about that just bothers me. Like we're talking about some kind of kitchen appliance that's not on the fritz at the moment.
"Is your refrigerator running?"
"Do you have Prince Albert in a can?"
"Do you have your God in a box?"
Maybe from now on I'll try to say, "Prayer is amazing!"
Prayer IS a amazing. Because GOD is amazing.
So maybe by that line of reasoning, it's okay to say "prayer works." Because GOD works! "But Jesus replied, 'My Father never stops working, so why should I?" (See John 5:17)
What I know? It's that prayer "availeth much!!"
I don't know, something about that just bothers me. Like we're talking about some kind of kitchen appliance that's not on the fritz at the moment.
"Is your refrigerator running?"
"Do you have Prince Albert in a can?"
"Do you have your God in a box?"
Maybe from now on I'll try to say, "Prayer is amazing!"
Prayer IS a amazing. Because GOD is amazing.
So maybe by that line of reasoning, it's okay to say "prayer works." Because GOD works! "But Jesus replied, 'My Father never stops working, so why should I?" (See John 5:17)
What I know? It's that prayer "availeth much!!"
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Exposed, Part I
Again from Philip Yancey’s book, Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference?, Part One “Keeping Company With God, Chapter 3 “Just As We Are,” section titled “Exposed.” Whew!!
I’ve been reading this particular section over and over, trying to figure out how to refine it down to something I would share on this blog, but I just couldn’t stand to take anything out, so I present it in its entirety (in two parts). I’m not sure why, exactly, but it just hits me squarely between the eyes every time I read it.
I think about my kids, who know me so, so well. And my husband, who (hopefully) knows me even better. But God knows me completely. All of me. Every hiccup. Every wart, chin hair and evil thought. And how glad or mad I am about THAT fact may define the state of my soul at any given moment.
So all of the following is an excerpt (part I).
===============================
It occurred to me one day that though I often worry about whether or not I sense the presence of God, I give little thought to whether God senses the presence of me. When I come to God in payer, do I bare the deepest, most hidden parts of myself? Only when I do so will I discover myself as I truly am, for nothing short of God’s light can reveal that. I feel stripped before that light, seeing a person far different from the image I cultivate for myself and for everyone around me.
God alone knows the selfish motives behind my every act, the vipers’ tangle of lust and ambition, the unhealed wounds that paradoxically drive me to appear whole. Prayer invites me to bring my whole life into God’s presence for cleansing and restoration. Self-exposure is never easy, but when I do it I learn that underneath the layers of grime lies a damaged work of art that God longs to repair.
“We cannot make Him visible to us, but we can make ourselves visible to Him,” said Abraham Joshua Heschel. I make the attempt with hesitation, shame, and fear, but when I do so I feel those constraints dissolving. My fear of rejection yields to God’s embrace. Somehow, in a way I can only trust and not understand, presenting to God the intimate details of my life gives God pleasure.
I think of the way mothers dote on their infants, who offer so little in return. Every sneeze, every turn of the head and dart of the eyes, every whimper and smile the mother scrutinizes as if studying for a test on infantile behavior. If a human mother responds with such absorbing love, how much more so God.
We humans represent the only species on earth with whom God can hold a conversation. Only we can articulate praise or lament. Only we can form words in response to the miracle, and also the tragedy, of life. We dare not devalue this, our unique role in the cosmos, to give words to existence, words addressed to our creator. God eagerly bends an ear toward those words.
I’ve been reading this particular section over and over, trying to figure out how to refine it down to something I would share on this blog, but I just couldn’t stand to take anything out, so I present it in its entirety (in two parts). I’m not sure why, exactly, but it just hits me squarely between the eyes every time I read it.
I think about my kids, who know me so, so well. And my husband, who (hopefully) knows me even better. But God knows me completely. All of me. Every hiccup. Every wart, chin hair and evil thought. And how glad or mad I am about THAT fact may define the state of my soul at any given moment.
So all of the following is an excerpt (part I).
===============================
It occurred to me one day that though I often worry about whether or not I sense the presence of God, I give little thought to whether God senses the presence of me. When I come to God in payer, do I bare the deepest, most hidden parts of myself? Only when I do so will I discover myself as I truly am, for nothing short of God’s light can reveal that. I feel stripped before that light, seeing a person far different from the image I cultivate for myself and for everyone around me.
God alone knows the selfish motives behind my every act, the vipers’ tangle of lust and ambition, the unhealed wounds that paradoxically drive me to appear whole. Prayer invites me to bring my whole life into God’s presence for cleansing and restoration. Self-exposure is never easy, but when I do it I learn that underneath the layers of grime lies a damaged work of art that God longs to repair.
“We cannot make Him visible to us, but we can make ourselves visible to Him,” said Abraham Joshua Heschel. I make the attempt with hesitation, shame, and fear, but when I do so I feel those constraints dissolving. My fear of rejection yields to God’s embrace. Somehow, in a way I can only trust and not understand, presenting to God the intimate details of my life gives God pleasure.
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
I think of the way mothers dote on their infants, who offer so little in return. Every sneeze, every turn of the head and dart of the eyes, every whimper and smile the mother scrutinizes as if studying for a test on infantile behavior. If a human mother responds with such absorbing love, how much more so God.
We humans represent the only species on earth with whom God can hold a conversation. Only we can articulate praise or lament. Only we can form words in response to the miracle, and also the tragedy, of life. We dare not devalue this, our unique role in the cosmos, to give words to existence, words addressed to our creator. God eagerly bends an ear toward those words.
End of excerpt.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Unveiled Faces?
"When Moses came down the mountain carrying the stone tablets... he wasn't aware that his face glowed because he had spoken to the LORD face to face." (Exodus 34:29) Moses even had to veil his face before the people, because this glow kind of freaked them out. (See Exodus 34:29-35)
And what about us? But "all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." (2 Corinthians 3:18)
So my question is, if we pray, spending time in God's presence, speaking with Him face to face, won't His glory be reflected in our lives before others? Maybe prayer is actually one of the most powerful ways we share the gospel with the world, even if we never say a word. Not that I'm advocating silence... I'm just wondering.
And what about us? But "all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." (2 Corinthians 3:18)
So my question is, if we pray, spending time in God's presence, speaking with Him face to face, won't His glory be reflected in our lives before others? Maybe prayer is actually one of the most powerful ways we share the gospel with the world, even if we never say a word. Not that I'm advocating silence... I'm just wondering.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
You're a Star!
I’m always keeping an eye (and ear) out for unique gift ideas, especially since my new resolve a couple of years ago to shop for Christmas all through the year. Then I heard about "the Star Registry." I include the link NOT because I’m hoping anyone will go in for the idea, but just so you'll know I’m not making this up.Last Christmas with a few family members I still wanted a “wow gift” for, it seemed to have possibilities. Name a real star after someone? Hmmm... How would that work? What bang do I get for my buck if I “name" a star through the Star Registry?
Let me quote (in part) from their FAQ.
Q: Can I name a star?
A: Yes. You can dedicate a star to someone special. We offer a Gift Package
where we select a special star in the sky and record your Star Name and Star
Date. The Gift Package includes a beautiful parchment Certificate, a Sky Chart
with your name and the star's coordinates and an informative booklet on
astronomy. We publish all names in the astronomical compendium Your Place in the
Cosmos©, which is registered in the U.S. Copyright Office.
Q: Am I buying the star?
A: No. We do not own the star (Michele says "No duh"), so we cannot sell it
to you. This is like adopting the star. This star is associated with that
special someone. It is something you can point at to know that there is
something special out there for you.
Q: Will the scientific community recognize my star name?
A: No. (Michele says "I'm crushed!") We are a private company that provides
Gift Packages. Astronomers will not recognize your name because your name is
published only in our Star catalog. We periodically print a book called Your
Place in the Cosmos © which lists the stars that we have named.
Q: Can I return the product?
A: Yes. If you are not completely satisfied, you may return your product
for a full refund. We want you to appreciate our products and if you are not
happy, then we are not happy.
So! (Michele says), “I’m not happy with this star. First off, it’s way too bright. And hot. And how can I point at (to) it if I don't even know where IN the heaven it is. Plus, it doesn’t even answer to its name! "White dwarf"? "Red giant”? I really think I want to return this "product"!
Then I got it. HELLO??!! The stars already HAVE names! “(The Lord) counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them.” Psalm 147:4
And please note that the only thing "registered" in the U.S. Copyright Office is their book of star names. They simply publish a book of star names people have made up that you can buy (and more money for them), and that NO ONE refers to except folks who have paid to "name" a star. Basically they give you the coordinates of some star that exists and charge you for the privilege of calling out a star that already has a name from the Lord and will only be referred to by coordinates by the scientific community.
“Create a pretend need, then make people pay to have it fulfilled.” Is that a motto from hell, or what?
Disclaimer: If you have had a star named after you or someone you love via this method, I am very sorry. I am not trying to find fault or burst your bubble. I have made many ill-advised purchases over the years and have no basis on which to judge anyone’s transactions. Note also that I came very close to giving this as a gift to several people. We’re all learning together!
So I was reminded of this Star Registry thing because of Valentine’s Day. I’m hearing the same ad again, and this time I’m ready with my Bible verse in hand.
Not only has the Lord named the stars... He has named you and me with "a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it." (See Revelation 2:17) I think the Lord gives names to the things He creates. As parents we are given the right to name our children. This is just a type and shadow of the fact that God reserves the right to name His creation.
And by His Word it was created.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Between Super Bowl and Super Tuesday
Yes, I've changed the look of my blog. I happened to go to Pastor Jon's blog for the first time, and lo and behold, he had the same template. He's had a blog longer than I have, so I decided it was time to change. I liked that template and I'm sad to see it go, but I like the new one, too.
What about that Super Bowl? We don't get cable, so I had to wrangle an invite from my sister and bro-in-law to watch the Super Bowl. They'd just purchased an HDTV. What a difference, I have to admit! The game was awesome! And folks thought the Giants didn't have a prayer!
Okay, that's my thinly disguised way to justify talking about football on a blog about prayer. I could link prayer to Super Tuesday, as well, but I'm not goin' there! Except to say I think some of our politicians would do well to consider God's "providential will." (See Sandy's blog entry about the Super Bowl... the one from today, not the "butt cake" one.) "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes." (Proverbs 21:1)
Then I felt so challenged today by Gena's January 30 blog entry, and I urge anyone who hasn't already read it to do so.
By the way, wasn't church just so awesome yesterday? Sports and politics are just parts of our lives, but it occurs to me that what's going on with our church is so much more relevant to my life. And THAT'S exciting!
What about that Super Bowl? We don't get cable, so I had to wrangle an invite from my sister and bro-in-law to watch the Super Bowl. They'd just purchased an HDTV. What a difference, I have to admit! The game was awesome! And folks thought the Giants didn't have a prayer!
Okay, that's my thinly disguised way to justify talking about football on a blog about prayer. I could link prayer to Super Tuesday, as well, but I'm not goin' there! Except to say I think some of our politicians would do well to consider God's "providential will." (See Sandy's blog entry about the Super Bowl... the one from today, not the "butt cake" one.) "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes." (Proverbs 21:1)
Then I felt so challenged today by Gena's January 30 blog entry, and I urge anyone who hasn't already read it to do so.
By the way, wasn't church just so awesome yesterday? Sports and politics are just parts of our lives, but it occurs to me that what's going on with our church is so much more relevant to my life. And THAT'S exciting!
Friday, February 1, 2008
All I Can Do Is Pray?
Excerpt from Hope for Each Day: Prayer Releases God's PowerPray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
How many times have you heard someone say, "All I can do is pray"?
All I can do is pray? You might as well say to a starving man, "All I can do is offer you food," or to a sick person, "All I can do is give you medicine that will make you well," or to a poor child, "All I can do is buy the toy you most want for your birthday."
Praying unlocks the doors of Heaven and releases the power of God. James 4:2 says, "You do not have because you do not ask." The Bible says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Phil. 4:6).
This is true not only for our needs but the needs of others. So often our prayers focus only on ourselves. But God wants to use us, through our prayers, to touch the lives of other people as well. For whom should you be praying this day?
(Michele says) I really love this; I've thought about it often since last August 1st, the day it's from in the devotional. I do have one change and one addition, however. I know, this is Billy Graham we're talking about! Believe me, I have more respect for that man than I can possibly describe here and now. But for me, I would put that last question, "For whom could you be praying this day?" This opens up so many more possibilities, and sounds more like the joy I'm finding prayer to be rather just another item on my to-do list, which it certainly isn't!
The addition is just that I wanted to continue the thought of James 4:2. "You do not have because you do not ask. (v.3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives." So as not to think we can just ask God for anything and it's done!
As for whom I could be praying, there is a certain individual that keeps coming to mind in prayer. I'm not really sure if God's bringing her to my mind, or I'm "bringing" her to God's mind... or both! But that's a mere technicality. I love her and am concerned about her, though not for any particular reason I can put my finger on. I just am, and I'm telling the Lord about it, that's all.
All I can do is pray? You might as well say to a starving man, "All I can do is offer you food," or to a sick person, "All I can do is give you medicine that will make you well," or to a poor child, "All I can do is buy the toy you most want for your birthday."
Praying unlocks the doors of Heaven and releases the power of God. James 4:2 says, "You do not have because you do not ask." The Bible says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Phil. 4:6).
This is true not only for our needs but the needs of others. So often our prayers focus only on ourselves. But God wants to use us, through our prayers, to touch the lives of other people as well. For whom should you be praying this day?
(Michele says) I really love this; I've thought about it often since last August 1st, the day it's from in the devotional. I do have one change and one addition, however. I know, this is Billy Graham we're talking about! Believe me, I have more respect for that man than I can possibly describe here and now. But for me, I would put that last question, "For whom could you be praying this day?" This opens up so many more possibilities, and sounds more like the joy I'm finding prayer to be rather just another item on my to-do list, which it certainly isn't!
The addition is just that I wanted to continue the thought of James 4:2. "You do not have because you do not ask. (v.3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives." So as not to think we can just ask God for anything and it's done!
As for whom I could be praying, there is a certain individual that keeps coming to mind in prayer. I'm not really sure if God's bringing her to my mind, or I'm "bringing" her to God's mind... or both! But that's a mere technicality. I love her and am concerned about her, though not for any particular reason I can put my finger on. I just am, and I'm telling the Lord about it, that's all.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Our Revolution: To Know, Grow, Go, Glow, Sow
We Were the Darkness
Beautiful Savior, we seek Your Face,
asking that we might have the grace to
Know Your heartbeat,
let it beat away our pride;
to grow like fruitful trees
by the River of Life.
To go to the darkness
we know awaits,
to drive it back even just one inch,
aglow with Light the darkness hates.
To sow seeds of truth at the world’s unmarked graves, reaping a harvest of rescued slaves.
Beautiful Savior, we seek Your Face, mindful that we too were the darkness... until someone shared the truth of Your grace.
Drivin' That Train...
If you happened to be out and about last night, and on noting the driving misdeeds of others, wondered, “Where’s a cop when you need one?” the answer to your question is that they were all at our place. Yup, every single one, I’m pretty sure.
It seems a traffic stop on Lander somewhere near us netted one stolen car and one of two car thieves. The other got away, or so he thought. Our neighbor saw him jump our fence, which set off our alarm and our dogs. Soon there were like 50 police officers, county and city, plus a K-9 unit, all over our shop yard. (I kept thinking about all the dog poop they were stepping in ;-()...) After about an hour and a half they pinned down his location on our roof and called the Fire Department for a ladder truck and got him down.
It was all pretty exciting at first. But after a bit I just went back to bed and prayed (as best I could amid all the barking and shouting). I really did! I prayed that they’d get the bad guy, but also, I prayed the bad guy’d end up knowing Jesus (I know, silly me). I wonder if the guy hiding on the roof prayed. “God, if you just get me out of this, I promise I’ll never steal another car! I’ll never do drugs again! I’ll register all my guns! I’ll floss every day!” And now he’s sitting in a jail cell thinking, “Well, God didn’t show up!”
I don’t know, I guess I should be happy: The Good Guys won. But I feel sad that there ARE bad guys. What a life! A life my Lord died for. And multiply that life by… how many? How many lives wasted in this methamphetamine-infested valley? I just don’t think anyone grows up thinking, “You know what? I’m going go grow up and be a drug addict, and I’ll pay for it by being a car thief! Can’t wait!” No, I think probably it happens in little devil-baited steps, and no one sees that locomotive coming until it’s run them down.
It affects us all.
I really don’t know why I’m blogging about this. I didn’t plan to get on this soapbox. But now that I’m here...This is something that’s really been knocking on my heart lately. Maybe it’s because of the bad area Mike and I live in…or the drug house that everyone knows about, just three doors up from us. Or the young, desperate-looking woman I saw out front there last Saturday morning.
Ever look into the eyes of a tweaker? It’s not easy to do; they avoid eye contact. But then, most people don’t go out of their way to make eye contact with a tweaker (Jesus would have). But you’ve seen them, even if you didn't know it. You've seen them if you've lived here for at least a day. If you do look in their eyes, you will see the definition of the word “haunted.”
Not sure how to end this. I guess I would just ask for prayer for our rooftop rambler. We (Mike and I) truly believe the Lord sets His angels about this place (our shop). For some reason they let this guy get past them, and maybe it’s the best thing that could have happened to him. Maybe God really DID show up on his behalf last night. I pray it’s so!
(By the way, those of my generation will recognize the title of this post from the lyrics of an old Grateful Dead song. Different drug, same train.)
It seems a traffic stop on Lander somewhere near us netted one stolen car and one of two car thieves. The other got away, or so he thought. Our neighbor saw him jump our fence, which set off our alarm and our dogs. Soon there were like 50 police officers, county and city, plus a K-9 unit, all over our shop yard. (I kept thinking about all the dog poop they were stepping in ;-()...) After about an hour and a half they pinned down his location on our roof and called the Fire Department for a ladder truck and got him down.
It was all pretty exciting at first. But after a bit I just went back to bed and prayed (as best I could amid all the barking and shouting). I really did! I prayed that they’d get the bad guy, but also, I prayed the bad guy’d end up knowing Jesus (I know, silly me). I wonder if the guy hiding on the roof prayed. “God, if you just get me out of this, I promise I’ll never steal another car! I’ll never do drugs again! I’ll register all my guns! I’ll floss every day!” And now he’s sitting in a jail cell thinking, “Well, God didn’t show up!”
I don’t know, I guess I should be happy: The Good Guys won. But I feel sad that there ARE bad guys. What a life! A life my Lord died for. And multiply that life by… how many? How many lives wasted in this methamphetamine-infested valley? I just don’t think anyone grows up thinking, “You know what? I’m going go grow up and be a drug addict, and I’ll pay for it by being a car thief! Can’t wait!” No, I think probably it happens in little devil-baited steps, and no one sees that locomotive coming until it’s run them down.
It affects us all.
I really don’t know why I’m blogging about this. I didn’t plan to get on this soapbox. But now that I’m here...This is something that’s really been knocking on my heart lately. Maybe it’s because of the bad area Mike and I live in…or the drug house that everyone knows about, just three doors up from us. Or the young, desperate-looking woman I saw out front there last Saturday morning.Ever look into the eyes of a tweaker? It’s not easy to do; they avoid eye contact. But then, most people don’t go out of their way to make eye contact with a tweaker (Jesus would have). But you’ve seen them, even if you didn't know it. You've seen them if you've lived here for at least a day. If you do look in their eyes, you will see the definition of the word “haunted.”
Not sure how to end this. I guess I would just ask for prayer for our rooftop rambler. We (Mike and I) truly believe the Lord sets His angels about this place (our shop). For some reason they let this guy get past them, and maybe it’s the best thing that could have happened to him. Maybe God really DID show up on his behalf last night. I pray it’s so!
(By the way, those of my generation will recognize the title of this post from the lyrics of an old Grateful Dead song. Different drug, same train.)
Friday, January 25, 2008
A Word about No Words
I'm lying awake in bed this morning after a VERY disturbing dream... but a dream in which God was showing up in amazing ways... and I'm hearing some very DISTURBING sounds! Creaks and groans and scratches and bangs... OH MY!
I'm pretty used to strange sounds in our rickety old house behind the shop. It's just that I'm not used to THESE strange sounds. What's going on?
The dogs aren't barking, so that's a good sign. Then the outside dog starts to bark... but quickly stops. I start to put things together. After the last big storm there was quite a lot to be done. Branches were cut down. The covering over the breezeway had to be shored up. Now the wind is whipping up in advance of the next storm and what I'm hearing is the "new and improved" strange sounds at the Bartholomew home. "It's okay," the Lord reminds me. "I'm here!"
Then He brought to mind a strange plane trip I took several years ago. I had a nice little corporate gig as a safety officer back in my mid to late 30s, and one day it took me in a small four-seat puddle-jumper from Fresno to somewhere near Solvang, in the kind of the weather we're supposed to have later on here today, only worse. The clouds hung low, the rain was coming down in sheets, the wind was howling through the desolate rifts and canyons of the southern Coastal Range, and lightning was everywhere. We were flying just a couple hundred feet up (not sure why) and the plane was bouncing all over the place. Up, down, side to side, veering left, then right.
I was riding in the back next to a guy one rung higher than I on the corporate ladder who thought (wrongly) that I was gunning for his job. He was freaking out. Just freaking out. For some God reason I was totally at peace, so much so that I fell asleep, my face jammed against the rain-streaked window, and slept like a baby. With a childlike (some might say "childish") faith that everything was fine.
Then over the next few years, life got messy, I blamed God, then it got messier and I cried out to God, and here I am. (I might have left out a detail or two.) And it's still pretty messy at times. For me and for those I care about... those GOD cares about! So what's the lesson here? Honestly, I'm not sure.
I did find that I can blame God, even get nasty-angry with Him, and He doesn't strike me with lightning. At least He hasn't yet. But I'm NOT recommending that! I don't really do that so much anymore. But at the same time I wonder: Do I trust Him like that naive young lady who just didn't know how bad things could get? "Oh," says an odd little voice in my head, which I'm pretty sure isn't God's, "you STILL don't know how bad things can get!" Time to read Job again?
So what words of comfort, and of prayer, does one offer when someone's going through their own valley of the shadow of death? Job's friends are a pretty good example... of what NOT to say! But what TO say? I'm reminded of something I quoted a few postings ago: "Sometimes I wonder if the words I use are the least important part of prayer." I would add that I sometimes wonder if the words I use are the least important part of offering comfort. And honestly, there just are no words for some situations, at least not in and of our own spirit. Come Holy Ghost!
I'm pretty used to strange sounds in our rickety old house behind the shop. It's just that I'm not used to THESE strange sounds. What's going on?
The dogs aren't barking, so that's a good sign. Then the outside dog starts to bark... but quickly stops. I start to put things together. After the last big storm there was quite a lot to be done. Branches were cut down. The covering over the breezeway had to be shored up. Now the wind is whipping up in advance of the next storm and what I'm hearing is the "new and improved" strange sounds at the Bartholomew home. "It's okay," the Lord reminds me. "I'm here!"
Then He brought to mind a strange plane trip I took several years ago. I had a nice little corporate gig as a safety officer back in my mid to late 30s, and one day it took me in a small four-seat puddle-jumper from Fresno to somewhere near Solvang, in the kind of the weather we're supposed to have later on here today, only worse. The clouds hung low, the rain was coming down in sheets, the wind was howling through the desolate rifts and canyons of the southern Coastal Range, and lightning was everywhere. We were flying just a couple hundred feet up (not sure why) and the plane was bouncing all over the place. Up, down, side to side, veering left, then right.
I was riding in the back next to a guy one rung higher than I on the corporate ladder who thought (wrongly) that I was gunning for his job. He was freaking out. Just freaking out. For some God reason I was totally at peace, so much so that I fell asleep, my face jammed against the rain-streaked window, and slept like a baby. With a childlike (some might say "childish") faith that everything was fine.
Then over the next few years, life got messy, I blamed God, then it got messier and I cried out to God, and here I am. (I might have left out a detail or two.) And it's still pretty messy at times. For me and for those I care about... those GOD cares about! So what's the lesson here? Honestly, I'm not sure.
I did find that I can blame God, even get nasty-angry with Him, and He doesn't strike me with lightning. At least He hasn't yet. But I'm NOT recommending that! I don't really do that so much anymore. But at the same time I wonder: Do I trust Him like that naive young lady who just didn't know how bad things could get? "Oh," says an odd little voice in my head, which I'm pretty sure isn't God's, "you STILL don't know how bad things can get!" Time to read Job again?
So what words of comfort, and of prayer, does one offer when someone's going through their own valley of the shadow of death? Job's friends are a pretty good example... of what NOT to say! But what TO say? I'm reminded of something I quoted a few postings ago: "Sometimes I wonder if the words I use are the least important part of prayer." I would add that I sometimes wonder if the words I use are the least important part of offering comfort. And honestly, there just are no words for some situations, at least not in and of our own spirit. Come Holy Ghost!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Ich bete wieder, du Erlauchter
I am praying again, Awesome One.
You hear me again, as words
from the depths of me
rush toward you in the wind.
I've been scattered in pieces,
torn by conflict,
mocked by laughter,
washed down in drink.
In alleyways I sweep myself up
out of garbage and broken glass.
with my half-mouth I stammer you,
who are eternal in your symmetry.
I lift to you my half-hands
in wordless beseeching, that I may find again
the eyes with which I once beheld you.
I am a house gutted by fire
where only the guilty sometimes sleep
before the punishment that devours them
hounds them out into the open.
I am a city by the sea
stinking into a toxic tide.
I am strange to myself, as though someone unknown
had poisoned my mother as she carried me.
It's here in all the pieces of my shame
that now I find myself again.
I yearn to belong to something, to be contained
in an all-embracing mind that sees me
as a single thing.
I yearn to be held
in the great arms of your heart--
oh let them take me now.
Into them I place these fragments, my life,
and you, God -- spend them however you want.
by Rainer Maria Rilke, from Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God (as quoted in Philip Yancey's book).
Hauntingly beautiful, thought I...
You hear me again, as words
from the depths of me
rush toward you in the wind.
I've been scattered in pieces,
torn by conflict,
mocked by laughter,
washed down in drink.
In alleyways I sweep myself up
out of garbage and broken glass.
with my half-mouth I stammer you,
who are eternal in your symmetry.
I lift to you my half-hands
in wordless beseeching, that I may find again
the eyes with which I once beheld you.
I am a house gutted by fire
where only the guilty sometimes sleep
before the punishment that devours them
hounds them out into the open.
I am a city by the sea
stinking into a toxic tide.
I am strange to myself, as though someone unknown
had poisoned my mother as she carried me.
It's here in all the pieces of my shame
that now I find myself again.
I yearn to belong to something, to be contained
in an all-embracing mind that sees me
as a single thing.
I yearn to be held
in the great arms of your heart--
oh let them take me now.
Into them I place these fragments, my life,
and you, God -- spend them however you want.
by Rainer Maria Rilke, from Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God (as quoted in Philip Yancey's book).
Hauntingly beautiful, thought I...
Sunday, January 20, 2008
A Note from Vera Hume-Mann
I recently received the following message from a very old friend, and I wanted to pass it along.
Well, there you have it. The above appeal is true. Only the name and a few minor details have been changed to predict the inevitable. (See Romans 7:15-24)
Hey there! It’s Vera here. Gal, I was just wondering if you might appeal to your vast readership on my behalf, being as your blog is about prayer and all. You see, I have a burden I just can't hardly bear, and I have to share it with someone!
Just so you all know, I do love the Lord Jesus. I truly do! But it seems whenever I get set in my mind to do what's right and good, I up and do just the opposite. Pshaw, I know what I’m supposed to do! If I didn't, how would I know I done wrong when I done it? I want with all my heart to choose the right. But before I know it, I just turn around and do the very thing I hate. Gal, what is UP with that?
Now I’ve been a Christ-follower, let’s see… well it’s been a darn long time. I’ve even been on a few missionary trips, for crying out loud! It just seems like I should be past all this fleshly behavior by now. Well, let’s just call it what it is… SIN!
I just feel truly wretched about the whole thing. Can anyone help me? Tell me WHO can set me free from this so-called corpus moribundus?
Well, there you have it. The above appeal is true. Only the name and a few minor details have been changed to predict the inevitable. (See Romans 7:15-24)
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Garment of Righteousness II (His Amazing Love)
It occurs to me how much gobbledygook that last might sound like, so let me break it down a bit.
God is incredibly Holy. We, in and of ourselves, are not. We're just not. Think about it. No matter how good we try to be, we fall short. We might do pretty well, even be 99.9%, but bottom line, compared to Perfection, we just fall short.
If You're God, and You want to hang out with folks who aren't, you make a way to do it that fulfills the basic common-sense rules. And that Way is Jesus.
He makes everything right that ever was wrong, makes everything sing that should be a song, makes things fly free that just found their wings, makes love the rule of the land by His perfect hand.
He clothes us in "the garment of righteousness for our adorning" (from "The Right Words" by Michael Bartholomew). Just to be with us. His love is that amazing.
God is incredibly Holy. We, in and of ourselves, are not. We're just not. Think about it. No matter how good we try to be, we fall short. We might do pretty well, even be 99.9%, but bottom line, compared to Perfection, we just fall short.
If You're God, and You want to hang out with folks who aren't, you make a way to do it that fulfills the basic common-sense rules. And that Way is Jesus.
He makes everything right that ever was wrong, makes everything sing that should be a song, makes things fly free that just found their wings, makes love the rule of the land by His perfect hand.
He clothes us in "the garment of righteousness for our adorning" (from "The Right Words" by Michael Bartholomew). Just to be with us. His love is that amazing.
The Garment of Righteousness
I've said quite a bit about "the prayers of a righteous man (person)," and that we do not come to the Lord in our own righteousness. I wanted to expound on that a bit, in the words of another:
"Only the covering which Christ Himself has provided can make us meet (fitting, proper) to appear in God's presence. This covering, the robe of His own righteousness, Christ will put upon every repenting, believing soul. 'I counsel thee,' He says, 'to buy of Me... white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.' Rev.3:18.
"This robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has in it not one thread of human devising. Christ in His humanity wrought out a perfect character, and this character He offers to impart to us. 'All our righteousness are as filthy rags.' Isa.64:6. Everything that we of ourselves can do is defiled by sin. But the Son of God 'was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.' Sin is defined to be 'the transgression of the law.' 1 John 3:5,4. But Christ was obedient to every requirement of the law. He said of Himself, 'I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.' Ps. 40:8. When on earth, He said to His disciples, 'I have kept My Father's commandments.' John 15:10. By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God's commandments.
"When we submit ourselves to Christ,
the heart is united with His heart,
the will is merged in His will,
the mind becomes one with His mind,
the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him;
we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness.
"Then as the Lord looks upon us He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah.
"The guests at the marriage feast were inspected by the king. Only those were accepted who had obeyed His requirements and put on the wedding garment. So it is with the guests at the gospel feast. All must pass the scrutiny of the great King, and only those are received who have put on the robe of Christ's righteousness." From The Wedding Garment by E. G. White.
I know E. G. White wasn't from our religious tradition, exactly, but I think she puts it clearly and succinctly. Don't we just try to weave our own righteousness? What an oxymoron is this "self-righteousness"...nothing but filthy rags! Isn't it time we trade them in for the true righteousness He wants to adorn us with?
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Helpless
Warning: This book is not the kind I’m going to zoom through! Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference? Chapter 3 is titled “Just As We Are” and opens with this: “Sometimes I wonder if the words I use are the least important part of prayer. Who am I? And who is God? If I can answer those two questions, the words I pray recede. Prayer invites me to lower defenses and present the self that no other person fully knows to a God who already knows.”The chapter includes the sections "Guilty," "Helpless," "Humble," "Doubting," "Honest," and "Exposed."
From the section titled “Helpless”: “Norwegian theologian Ole Hallesby settled on the single word helplessness as the best summary of the heart attitude that God accepts as prayer. ‘Whether it takes the form of words or not, does not mean anything to God, only to ourselves,’ he adds. ‘Only he who is helpless can truly pray.’
“What a stumbling block! Almost from birth we aspire to self-reliance. Adults celebrate it as a triumph whenever children learn to do something on their own: go to the bathroom, get dressed, brush teeth, tie shoelaces, ride a bike, walk to school. When the child stubbornly insists, ‘I do it myself!’ the parent takes secret pride in that independent spirit even when the child proceeds to make a mess of the task.
“As adults we like to pay our own way, live in our own houses, make our own decisions, rely on no outside help. We look down upon those who live off welfare or charity. Faced with an unexpected challenge, we seek out ‘self-help’ books. All the while we are systematically sealing off the heart attitude most desirable to God and most descriptive of our true state in the universe. ‘Apart from me you can do nothing,’ Jesus told his disciples, a plain fact that we conspire to deny.’”
How helpless we truly are. Thank God!
With that I wanted to share a little about how the Lord is answering the prayer I described in my post of December 31st, “The OTHER other Mary," when I surrendered my “safe place” to God. But I think that would make for too long a post (good excuse, huh?), so I’ll get to that in a future post, and leave you with this quote from one of my all-time favorite author/theologins, C. S. Lewis.
“The prayer preceding all prayers is ‘May it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real Thou that I speak to.’”
Friday, January 11, 2008
Like a Child
The ladies I pray with have been talking and thinking and praying about childlike prayer. I think I'm going to be blogging about this idea a lot more in the future, but in the meantime, I would love to hear and share to the blog any stories you may have about prayers you prayed as a child, and how God answered them.One word you never ever hear children use when they pray is "just." "Lord, 'just' do this and if You would 'just...'"
I'm not finding fault. I use that word in prayer all the time. I think we pretty much all do. It's become part of the lingo, a "Christianese" word we "just" use without really even thinking about it. But think about it. What are we saying? "Lord, I'm only asking for this much, because I don't really think You're big enough to do anything bigger than 'just' this." We pray for the possible. But our children pray amazing, "impossible" prayers. And God answers them!
By the way, this idea about the "just" word isn't mine. I read about it some time back in The Power of Simple Prayer by Joyce Meyer.
Yesterday I heard about a little boy named Clay who is seven. He is praying for his mommy to come back into his life. His buddy Wyatt is helping him with these prayers. His mother hasn't been a part of his life by her choice for pretty much as long as he can remember. He sees her maybe once a year, if that. How impossible a prayer is that? For him it's not a matter of "if," it's a matter of "when." I want to pray with Clay, too.
But more than that, I want to pray LIKE Clay.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Taxes, Kings and God's
Thinking/praying about what/if to post this morning I got a picture of a penny. Maybe that was just coming off yesterday's post, where I shared how I like my bills to line up. It's a darn good thing I don't have the same fetish about my coinage, or I'd constantly be at the 5-gallon bottle we throw our spare change into.The above, by the way, is a now somewhat rare wheatback penny, and if you find any and don't save them yourself, you can send them my way.
Anyway, I got to thinking about the time the Pharisees and Herodians got together to trap Jesus with words by asking Him if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caeser. It occurs to me that this was a lot bigger question than just whether or not to pay taxes. (And wouldn't it have been nice if He'd said, "Nope, don't pay 'em!"?) But it likely was asked in light of the First Commandment and the dilemma for God-fearing Jews of whether it was idolatry to pay such homage to a King who also claimed to be a god.
Jesus in return asks, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" When they reply "Caesar's," His answer, of course, is "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." (See Matthew 22:15-22). It feels like in my "New Year's Revolution" the Lord is asking me, "Whose likeness and inscription do YOU bear, my child?" If my answer is His, then what am I to render unto Him? All of me? And again I say, define "all."
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Thy Kingdom Come
I have a couple of funny little habits. (Some might call them hang-ups, even borderline OCD.) I noticed one this morning getting my coffee. I use two Splendas, which of course have to be grabbed at one end and whipped back and forth to drive all the Splenda to the other end. The thing is they have to be lined up exactly the same for this process. It doesn’t matter which end I grab or which way they’re facing, as long as it’s the same. I’m the same way with money. All the Washingtons and Lincolns (I don’t see any of the others often enough to remember who they are) have to be facing the same way.
I got some cash out of my savings at the Credit Union some time back and the dead presidents faced every which way. “Aha!” I thought “This is WHY you can afford to pay higher interest rates. No one's taking the time to keep those guys in line!”
At the restroom at work after I’ve washed, I use the paper towels to tidy up excess water on the sink and faucet before throwing them away. An observer once noted, “I’ll bet your house is spotless!” Wrong. So wrong. My house is pretty much out of control most of the time. It’s just LITTLE things I CAN control that I’m strange about.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Just think about that. There is a battle raging in our world that’s already won in Heaven. Perfect order. And perfect freedom. I don’t think the Lord has everyone lined up with their heads facing the same way in heaven. Everyone’s facing any which way they want. That just happens to be towards the Lord. Looking deep in to the Face of perfect beauty, peace and harmony.
What does it look like in our world when Heaven moves in? I think there is perfect liberty and harmony. Not the harmony of sameness (which is an oxymoron anyway), but the harmony of diversity and freedom. And not the freedom to do whatever we think we want to do (from the world’s perspective), but sometimes freedom NOT to. Not to give in to that destructive habit. Not to lose my temper with my spouse. No road rage on the way to work. Not taking that shortcut at work at my employer’s expense that no one will ever know about. Little things. Big things. To be who we were meant to be.
What will it take for us to make God’s Kingdom a reality our lives? In our community? Will it take all of me? All of you? Define "all."
I got some cash out of my savings at the Credit Union some time back and the dead presidents faced every which way. “Aha!” I thought “This is WHY you can afford to pay higher interest rates. No one's taking the time to keep those guys in line!”
At the restroom at work after I’ve washed, I use the paper towels to tidy up excess water on the sink and faucet before throwing them away. An observer once noted, “I’ll bet your house is spotless!” Wrong. So wrong. My house is pretty much out of control most of the time. It’s just LITTLE things I CAN control that I’m strange about.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Just think about that. There is a battle raging in our world that’s already won in Heaven. Perfect order. And perfect freedom. I don’t think the Lord has everyone lined up with their heads facing the same way in heaven. Everyone’s facing any which way they want. That just happens to be towards the Lord. Looking deep in to the Face of perfect beauty, peace and harmony.
What does it look like in our world when Heaven moves in? I think there is perfect liberty and harmony. Not the harmony of sameness (which is an oxymoron anyway), but the harmony of diversity and freedom. And not the freedom to do whatever we think we want to do (from the world’s perspective), but sometimes freedom NOT to. Not to give in to that destructive habit. Not to lose my temper with my spouse. No road rage on the way to work. Not taking that shortcut at work at my employer’s expense that no one will ever know about. Little things. Big things. To be who we were meant to be.
What will it take for us to make God’s Kingdom a reality our lives? In our community? Will it take all of me? All of you? Define "all."
Monday, January 7, 2008
Might As Well Jump
Excerpt: “My home sits in a canyon in the shadow of a large mountain along a stream named Bear Creek. During the spring snowmelt and after heavy rains the stream swells, tumbles frothily over rocks, and acts more like a river than a creek. People have drowned in it. Once I traced the origin of Bear Creek to its very source, atop the mountain. I stool on a snowfield marked by ‘sun cups,’ the bowl-shaped indentations that form as snow melts. Underneath I could hear a soft gurgling sound, and at the edge of the snow, runnels of water leaked out. These collected into a pool, then a small alpine pond, then spilled over to begin the long journey down the mountain, joining other rivulets to take shape as the creek below my house.
“It occurs to me, thinking about prayer, that most of the time I get the direction wrong. I start downstream with my own concerns and bring them to God. I inform God, as if God did not already know. I plead with God, as if hoping to change God’s mind and overcome divine reluctance. Instead, I should start upstream where the flow begins.
“When I shift direction, I realize that God already cares about my concerns… more than I do. Grace, like water, descends to the lowest part. Streams of mercy flow. I begin with God, who bears primary responsibility for what happens on earth, and ask what part I can play in God’s work on earth. ‘Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” cried the prophet, Will I stand by the bank or jump in the stream?”
(From Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference by Philip Yancey)
I sort of feel that’s what Pastor Dave is asking us as a church. Will we stand on the side or jump in? And while I’m way behind on Sandy’s blog, A Day in the Life (only up to December 22), I’m getting that this is sort of the challenge she’s sharing, as well, from An Unstoppable Force, by Erwin Raphael McManus. And by the way, if you weren’t there yesterday to hear Pastor Dave's message, you really need to get the CD or download it at the website (http://www.newlifecc.com/). It was really powerful! AND I hope many of us will be a part of “Prayer66,” Tuesday prayer from 6:00 to 6:00 at the Youth Center.
I’m not sure what jumping in is going to be for me, and maybe doing this blog is already part of it. (As much fun as this has been, I'm ready for more!) Whatever it takes, I’m going for it. Are you ready to jump?
“It occurs to me, thinking about prayer, that most of the time I get the direction wrong. I start downstream with my own concerns and bring them to God. I inform God, as if God did not already know. I plead with God, as if hoping to change God’s mind and overcome divine reluctance. Instead, I should start upstream where the flow begins.
“When I shift direction, I realize that God already cares about my concerns… more than I do. Grace, like water, descends to the lowest part. Streams of mercy flow. I begin with God, who bears primary responsibility for what happens on earth, and ask what part I can play in God’s work on earth. ‘Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” cried the prophet, Will I stand by the bank or jump in the stream?”
(From Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference by Philip Yancey)
I sort of feel that’s what Pastor Dave is asking us as a church. Will we stand on the side or jump in? And while I’m way behind on Sandy’s blog, A Day in the Life (only up to December 22), I’m getting that this is sort of the challenge she’s sharing, as well, from An Unstoppable Force, by Erwin Raphael McManus. And by the way, if you weren’t there yesterday to hear Pastor Dave's message, you really need to get the CD or download it at the website (http://www.newlifecc.com/). It was really powerful! AND I hope many of us will be a part of “Prayer66,” Tuesday prayer from 6:00 to 6:00 at the Youth Center.I’m not sure what jumping in is going to be for me, and maybe doing this blog is already part of it. (As much fun as this has been, I'm ready for more!) Whatever it takes, I’m going for it. Are you ready to jump?
Friday, January 4, 2008
Hearts That Make God Smile?
Excerpt from Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference? By Philip Yancey: “…I have come to see prayer as a privilege, not a duty. Like all good things, prayer requires some discipline. Yet I believe that life with God should seem more like friendship than duty. Prayer includes moments of ecstasy and also dullness, mindless distraction and acute concentration, flashes of joy and bouts of irritation. In other words, prayer has features in common with all relationships that matter. If prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer. Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes: why God doesn’t act the way we want God to, and why I don’t act the way God wants me to. Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.”
This passage already strikes several chords with me… more than I should try to explain on one post.
Yesterday some of the ladies and I who pray together on Thursday mornings swapped some of our “war stories,” if you will. How sometimes you’re just in the groove and prayer flows (is that a mixed metaphor?), while at other times every potential distraction pulls you away or even turns into a major irritation.
What is striking to me as I look back on my short stint in God’s Army of Prayer is that the effectiveness of prayer is not to be measured by how it feels. When I'd hit a prayer groove, I had always expected to see huge things happen. But that’s not always the case; in fact, some of the most amazing answers have come when I felt I was getting nowhere. Which isn’t to say God doesn’t answer struggle-free prayers. But no longer will I quit just because it doesn’t “feel” like it’s “doing anything.”
I’ve got to remember that God doesn’t look at things the way I do. “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7b) This was what the Lord said to Samuel regarding King-to-be David, the “man after God’s own heart.” Could it be that when one prays-on-through the dullness, the mindless distraction, the bouts of irritation, and/or whatever else gets thrown at us, God looks at that one's heart and smiles?
This passage already strikes several chords with me… more than I should try to explain on one post.
Yesterday some of the ladies and I who pray together on Thursday mornings swapped some of our “war stories,” if you will. How sometimes you’re just in the groove and prayer flows (is that a mixed metaphor?), while at other times every potential distraction pulls you away or even turns into a major irritation.
What is striking to me as I look back on my short stint in God’s Army of Prayer is that the effectiveness of prayer is not to be measured by how it feels. When I'd hit a prayer groove, I had always expected to see huge things happen. But that’s not always the case; in fact, some of the most amazing answers have come when I felt I was getting nowhere. Which isn’t to say God doesn’t answer struggle-free prayers. But no longer will I quit just because it doesn’t “feel” like it’s “doing anything.”
I’ve got to remember that God doesn’t look at things the way I do. “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7b) This was what the Lord said to Samuel regarding King-to-be David, the “man after God’s own heart.” Could it be that when one prays-on-through the dullness, the mindless distraction, the bouts of irritation, and/or whatever else gets thrown at us, God looks at that one's heart and smiles?
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Book-O-Rama II
A happy and blessed New Year to any and all!
Ours came in with a bang. Two, to be exact: A major computer crash on 12/31 as a result of a brief power outage on 12/30, and a major canine injury that saw us, our dog Greta and the good Dr. Craig Brooks on a New Year's Eve rendezvous at the Taylor Vet Hospital, from whence we got home at 1:00 a.m. and he probably got home at 4:00 a.m. Greta got home at 11:00 a.m.
But that's not what I really want to blog about today. I'm so excited about a book someone ELSE is reading. Sandy Hazenberg has been sharing on her blog, A Day in the Life, from the book An Unstoppable Force, and I encourage you to check it out! It's by Erwin Raphael McManus, an author I mentioned a few posts back. I just love the picture he presents of "church." Hey, any of you pray-ers out there, if you're so inclined, let's read this book with a prayerful heart for NLCC! I hope there's a section about prayer, but no matter. I think prayer can and needs to undergird everything we think, are, say and do, and not just be a "section" of our lives.
I think I'll be going by the bookstore today. I also want to read Messy Christianity. Pastor Dave has been quoting from that and I love it. I understand Miss Terry got the last one from the the FBC (Family Bible Center) so maybe I'll check out Borders for both of them. Plus Mike and I also need a new devotional for the New Year.
I also just got two new books in the mail from Crossings, the Christian book club I belong to: Your Whole Life and Creative Prayer.
I know, I said I was going to be sharing from Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference?, and that's still my plan. I'm just multitasking!
My hope and vision for 2008 is for our church, in all we do, to become an army of doers and pray-ers. An "unstoppable force" for God's Kingdom. How different will our community look by this time next year as a result of the Lord using us to reach out to the world around us?
Ours came in with a bang. Two, to be exact: A major computer crash on 12/31 as a result of a brief power outage on 12/30, and a major canine injury that saw us, our dog Greta and the good Dr. Craig Brooks on a New Year's Eve rendezvous at the Taylor Vet Hospital, from whence we got home at 1:00 a.m. and he probably got home at 4:00 a.m. Greta got home at 11:00 a.m.
But that's not what I really want to blog about today. I'm so excited about a book someone ELSE is reading. Sandy Hazenberg has been sharing on her blog, A Day in the Life, from the book An Unstoppable Force, and I encourage you to check it out! It's by Erwin Raphael McManus, an author I mentioned a few posts back. I just love the picture he presents of "church." Hey, any of you pray-ers out there, if you're so inclined, let's read this book with a prayerful heart for NLCC! I hope there's a section about prayer, but no matter. I think prayer can and needs to undergird everything we think, are, say and do, and not just be a "section" of our lives.
I think I'll be going by the bookstore today. I also want to read Messy Christianity. Pastor Dave has been quoting from that and I love it. I understand Miss Terry got the last one from the the FBC (Family Bible Center) so maybe I'll check out Borders for both of them. Plus Mike and I also need a new devotional for the New Year.
I also just got two new books in the mail from Crossings, the Christian book club I belong to: Your Whole Life and Creative Prayer.
I know, I said I was going to be sharing from Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference?, and that's still my plan. I'm just multitasking!
My hope and vision for 2008 is for our church, in all we do, to become an army of doers and pray-ers. An "unstoppable force" for God's Kingdom. How different will our community look by this time next year as a result of the Lord using us to reach out to the world around us?
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