February Peace

In February I am going to focus on the word PEACE as described throughout the Bible. In today's troubled world I believe that turning our hearts and energy into this particular focus might be helpful in comforting our souls.

I am reminded that God speaks of a peace much greater than any the world can offer. Lately I've been anxious and troubled about several key things and each time those things enter into my mind, my heart is frozen and I am fearful. It is not an easy place to be. So I have started a different approach. When these concerns grip me I put them aside and focus instead on the promise of God. His undying promise to always be available.

At church Sunday there was a particular song that resonated with me. A song about a light house and God's ability to shine light into our lives and lead the way if we just let go and allow it to happen. Too often I hold tightly to my abilities, my direction, and my decisions when instead the release of control into God's hand is a powerful tool.

How can we find peace in troubled times if we do not release the burden we carry and give it to God. Trust of others is such an illusive thing but trust of God should be central in our lives.

So many of the things we spend time worrying about never come to be. We have robbed ourselves of living a life of joy through concerns that never materialize. And sometimes those things do happen and even then we need to go through the process, walk the path, and accept the outcomes that are not always to our liking. Often just around the corner is the answer we seek, a better set of circumstances, or another path to travel.

Hugs to each of you, may you be blessed with God's shining light leading the way.

Fear: A Powerful Weapon

Fear is a powerful weapon of evil. It suffocates us with darkness and crowds the joy from our hearts.  It lures us into actions that perhaps we could otherwise avoid.  Unfortunately anxiety, worry and fear crowd in during the holiday season. The season of joy and peace can be transformed into a dark wasteland.

We can overcome fear, anxiety and worry by remembering to breathe. To let ourselves concentrate on the here and now with out worry of what might be around the next corner. God has our backs no matter what lies ahead. He never gives us more than we can handle. He teaches us through both trials and joy.

 

 

It's not an easy thing to do....to let go....and realize that God has this. Even when it feels like we are walking a tight rope hundreds of feet in the air.

 

Breathe

Pray

Look for joy

Do something fun

Sing

 

Give God a chance to work.

 

Hugs to each of you and may you let go of your fear and let God grow in your life in unexpected ways.

 

 

Living in Your Heart or Your Head

 

This morning as I headed out for a brisk walk/run I didn't know I needed to do some serious musing. I didn't know that God was going to bring into my life an experience that would bring clarity. Life has been complicated lately and it's easy for anxiety and stress to take its toll. As I looked up at the spacious blue sky filled with white clouds, it lifted me. My heart lightened and I knew there was a message here from God. The language of the soul is so often found in the wonder of God's creation. 

I started to ponder whether I am living in my heart or my head.

Living in your head is stressful. It creates versions of events and of the possible future that may or may not be accurate. Living in your head makes you think you are all knowing. When,in fact, most of what we conjure up are sheer fabrications that bring us to the brink of frustration and freeze our hearts with anxiety.

Living in your heart is a joyous experience. Now don't confuse this with being ruled only by emotion. That's not what I mean by living in your heart. Living in your heart creates an environment that allows faith, hope, and peace to fill your inner being. It fills you with a calm sense of knowing there is meaning in the universe.

At one point, I noted a plane's dark trail marring the seamless white backdrop created by the clouds. In life we experience dark trails that spread across the whiteness of our days. The beauty disrupted by so many human issues that cannot be avoided. As I walked I continued to watch that dark trail and reflect on it. While this is a "thinking" process it certainly felt more like a "heart" process because it came to me that over time the dark trail left by the plane was slowly dissolving and the white clouds gradually overtook it, sealing back together in seamless white beauty.

Life is like that. The blemishes of life fade and are overcome with other things. Sometimes its difficult to wait for that to happen. Yet if we can wait in our hearts instead of our heads we will save ourselves a whole lot of grief.

 

Hugs to each of you and may all your caterpillars become butterflies!

Violence, Hate and God's Promises

I watched CNN most of the afternoon yesterday. I know it's not really a healthy thing to do. Yet another mass shooting unfolding just mere days after the last one couldn't simply be ignored. We cannot hide our heads in the sand. Paris, Mali, Colorado and now California. Has the whole world gone mad?

Things are troubling in today's world. This emptiness inside of people grows. We can talk gun control, mental health and terrorism all we want but the plain hard fact is that none of those truly tell the whole story.  They are but simple human terms to try to describe something that we struggle to understand. It reminds me of an earlier post about the nature of good and evil. While good strives to "become" to move higher and higher in a spiritual swirl toward God, evil is the emptiness of the soul, a lack of meaning, the "unbecoming" until only the darkness exists.

We can enact laws, we can limit guns, we can increase mental health availability, we can bomb terrorist strongholds but none of those truly combat the emptiness. I'm a Methodist, but I'm pretty eclectic, the God or higher spirit that you chose to worship does not have to fit into my belief system but it has to exist. And it has to exist in harmony with others beliefs.  This isn't a competition between my God and your God. Without the existence of God, The Great Spirit, there is only the darkness. I agree with the headline that reads  "God isn't fixing this"

I'll be honest....I didn't read the article but I stand behind the headline. Here's why. God does promise to make something good out of the storms that devastate your life but that assumes you are going to be an active participant. You can't be passive, you can't ignore God and good and love and then assume that God is stepping in to clean up your mess. Not going to happen!

Cleaning up the mess doesn't require pointing fingers, endless debates and rhetoric. It requires two things. One that we live our lives filled with love rather than hate. Two that we recognize the emptiness created by a lack of some kind of faith in God or a higher being. When we recognize number two then we are open to achieve number one.

By now, most of you are shaking your heads saying..."it's not gonna happen." and you could very well be right. But without an end to hate in this world, there will be no end to violence. Truly moving in that direction would allow God to create something great out of the storms.

To simply pray for God to "fix" this is not what's required. Oh I'm all for prayer and it's powerful but we need to move past conversations with God and onto the path he has set forth for us in regard to living our spiritual lives. Now more than ever we must offer others the gift of a deep spiritual connection to God. For in the end, the whole world may be destroyed and even the stars may fall but God will fulfill his promises.

 

 

Hugs to each of you during these very trying times. May you reflect on words of love and seek ways to bring others into faith so they are not consumed by emptiness.

Art Journals, Faith and Prayer

 

I created this page in my faith art journal. The next sermon series at College United Methodist Church is on the Lord's Prayer and this is the first installment. It sounds like a soap opera, right? (Installment) The sermon title was "Hallowed Be" which of course made me start musing about just how little I know about a prayer that I have repeated often through most of my life. I remember vividly saying these words on the night that a tornado struck very close to the mobile home we were living in at the time.  My nine months pregnant body was covering my sleeping three year old. The storm passed us unscathed.

 

Not all storms pass us unscathed though. We know that. Yet how is the Lord's Prayer a beacon of hope, a promise, and an avenue for worship.

 

Prayer isn't always about asking for strength and for guidance in times of trouble. It is about conversations with God.  It is one of the most powerful methods for deepening your spiritual connection with God and honestly, with the world also. (more about that in another post)

 

Hallowed Be....

 

Holy be Thy name

 

I was also just reading some other thoughts about the Hallowed Be part of the prayer, in which the author, Nathan Eubanks expounds that the Hallowed Be Thy Name part of the prayer is part of three petitions. (All essentially meaning the same thing)

 

Hallowed be Thy Name (Let your name be sanctified)

Your Kingdom Come (Let Your Kingdom Come)

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Let Your will be done on earth as in heaven.)

 

How is this different than the basic placement as part of the prayers introduction?  It places the Hallowed Be Thy Name...with the second part of the prayer rather than the first.

 

Essentially, as introduction it reads as follows:

 

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallow be Thy name (introduction)

 

As part of the three petitions it reads as follows,

 

Our Father, Who art in heaven (introduction)

 

Hallow be thy name (petition 1)

Thy Kingdom Come (petition 2)

Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven (petition 3)

 

****Original work: What Does Hallowed Be Thy Name Mean

 

As a petition, the Hallowed Be Thy Name part of the prayer is calling out for God's name to be made known as holy to all in the world.

 

I'm not a Lord's Prayer expert and I certainly don't speak Greek or any other foreign language fluently. But I do like to muse and ponder and think about things. I think I'm going to like this new series.

 

I challenge you to look at your prayer life, how are your conversations with God going?

 

Hugs to each of you, as the storms of life come your way I pray that you will come through unscathed and if not I pray that God provides you with the strength to endure.

 

 

Square Pegs, Pits, and Stumbling Blocks

I've been a little weary of late, physically, emotionally and perhaps a bit spiritually also. I'm weary not through lack of desire for a deeper., more meaningful relationship with God but perhaps from discovering what that really means. It comes to mind that this is a pit (as I wrote about in a previous post). It's a pit of doubt, a pit about the "right" way of "being."

I feel a bit like I'm a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.  The truth is I don't mind others being in the round holes. I'm okay with that. I think it works for them and therefore is most likely exactly where God wants them to be. Some people call them "traditionalists" but that's just a word. I don't consider myself a traditionalist, although again that is just the way I view myself. Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with traditionalists. They serve as the backbone of faith. It just doesn't feel like my path.

 

While I was pondering this I came across the above. Definitely not disillusioned with the spiritual search but can see how others reach that point quite quickly in today's world. The only way to combat it is through conversation with God and musing about your own personal relationship to God. No one else has the same relationship to Him that you do. God isn't a one size fits all. That's not to say there aren't very basic aspects of God that stay the same from person to person. It's just to point out that you might "know" God in a different way than I do and honestly I think that's ok. While saying that I must point out that there may be many that don't agree with that. They want you to fit into the round hole because it makes them more certain that their relationship with God is "correct."

 

Here's a little thought from our I Am Bible study.....

 

"When you find yourself in an unwanted place, you know that place in not a destination."  It's just a stopping place. Some stopping places are dark and dreary and we can't wait to move on but others are cozy and comfy and we tend to want to stay exactly where we are. Yet our spiritual quest is a journey, one whose destination you will not discover in this lifetime.  To me there is just as much "danger" in the comfy places that we don't want to leave as there is in the dark places. Oh be it, a different type of danger. The danger of stunted growth, of withering on the vine, of missing some aspect of the journey that God has planned for you.

 

I have written before about "becoming" and how is one to become if they stop evolving, stop questioning, stop considering?  If they are so comfortable with their "spot" that they stop venturing down the path.  As I was shaken in my own personal spiritual quest, as I started to stumble over that block, as I was getting caught up in "being right" or perhaps worried that other people's paths might be the "right" one...I was reminded by God that the "next step" was to stop worrying about it. God has this one! Where He leads I will follow and if it's a different path than others, I suppose I will rejoice in God making me a square peg rather than worrying about the round holes!

 

Hugs to everyone...

 

 

Soul Care Beliefs

Yep it's week two of February which is Bible Week and the focus for February is Love. I've picked out several verses to focus on this week and I'll have to say they are ones I have a bit of trouble with. That's the point, isn't it?  If we just picked things that were easy peasy then we wouldn't be allowing our soul to grow and develop a closer relationship with God. Before I write more about that, let me tell you a few things I believe about Soul Care.


I believe that Soul Care is required in this busy, hectic, conflicting world we live in. If we don't take care of the essence of who we are, it will shrivel up and become useless to us. Our souls are essential in our relationship with God. They are the part of us that most closely resembles the divine rather than the human. It is like our tiny life line to God.


I believe that Soul Care gives us joy and peace of mind and allows us to grow in our spiritual life. We devote more time to our weekly TV shows than we do to our spiritual selves. That just isn't right!  Our soul allows us to connect with God, have conversations with God and to understand at a deeper spiritual level the path God wants us to walk on. This needs to be nurtured, not ignored.


Ok, now back to my verses and why I find them challenging.

This one really resonates with me. I've had some "darkest hours" in life....all kinds.....some my own creation! What I struggle with at times is letting go of mistakes and things that I don't feel like I handled well. Yet this verse reminds me that God loved me at my darkest hours. God can't be wrong so I must also learn to let go of "dark" thoughts and focus on the joy of the here and now. Past mistakes are "in the past.

This too is a struggle as I think it is for most of us. We all have people who we think have wronged us, and not only THINK....sometimes it is definitely true!  It's hard to love your enemies, people who have hurt you deeply. It is something I have been musing a lot about lately and find that I have a more joyous day if I just follow God's word.

Another good one to work toward. Basically I am pretty accepting and open to most people. I try to see the good in others and to accept them wherever they are in life.  I have never had to lay down my life for my friends but I hope that I would have the courage to do so if need be. This brings me to a little "play" on concepts with this one.

If Jesus is a friend, like no other, are we willing to lay down our life for Him? Now I'm not talking about dying for Him, although in today's world you just never know.  I'm talking about laying down the life you know and picking up another one. One that focuses on Jesus and walks the spiritual path that God has set before you. It's a scary thought really....sometimes just blogging and sharing my thoughts about my spiritual journey can be scary..... is there more I "should" be doing?

Hugs everyone.....there are lots of great verses about love to choose from. Pick one and try to live it this week!



Why I'm Praying

Why I'm praying for Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh and his family.

I'm not here to debate politics, military action, to defend the U.S.or to condemn any other religion. I'm here because I know God, and evil. I know that sometimes this world becomes a topsey turvey place that none of us can really understand.

I know some will say they do not want my prayers because I do not believe in their God but I believe in my God, therefore I pray.

I pray that he has safe passage in his journey to the other world. The world beyond this one where suffering and fighting does not exist. I pray for his family that they have strength and comfort during not only a great loss but a horrific loss. I pray for the country of Jordan that they too seek comfort and understanding and have strength in the coming days.

I pray for all the countries of the world, that they come to the realization that evil does exist, that God does exist, that a more global community needs to develop that has a softer, kinder approach to all people.

I pray for an end of war, for the senseless loss of life over money, and politics, and archaic beliefs.

In the coming days we will most likely discover the true political impact this young man had, not only on his country but on the world in general. The loss of his life may become the guiding force in decisions to come. I pray those decisions are made wisely, objectively and with guidance from God.

As it is prayer week I hope you will join me in LOVE and PRAYER for his family and his country. It certainly fits the challenge of praying for someone you might not "agree with".

Hugs to each of you and may God be ever present in the coming days.

Soul Care 2015

'For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?"  Mark 8:36

I'd like to invite you to join me in 2015 for a weekly "soul care" practice/assignment. Don't worry it will be simple!  Nothing complex or elaborate. I'm actually still ironing out my thoughts about this weekly "assignment. I think each month will have 4-5 weekly care "areas" and then each month we will rotate through each of the areas. I'm not sure exactly how it will "unfold" but I hope you will join me in forging ahead in 2015 as we grow in our relationship with God and with ourselves.

This is just a rough draft of how a month might unfold:

Week One: Prayer (we might have a prayer focus or not...this is something I need to think about more)

Week Two: Scripture (if we have a prayer focus our scripture week will go along with that)

Week Three: Solitude/Silence/Musing (more details later)

Week Four: Express It (journaling, art, blog posts, YOU pick the form your Express It will take) I would suggest you pick one form and use it each month...so for example perhaps you will start a faith art journal and then week four each month you will add a page to it.

Week Five (for months with 5...or maybe this might be a partial week) Connections (again this might take different forms for different people)

As I said this is all just in it's infancy...so I'll see how it works.

Hugs to each of you, may you have a blessed Christmas and hopefully join me in 2015.

My Soul Magnifies the Lord

Sometimes with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season we need to pause and recognize the magnitude of what we celebrate.


My soul, my soul magnifies the Lord
My soul magnifies the Lord
He has done great things for me
Great things for me

 

Thank you Lord for all the opportunities you are giving me to magnify you and to celebrate the season with joy and love.

 

Hugs to all of you and may you pause in this season of "rushing about" and soak in God's love.

Who Do You Say I Am?

When I was contemplating what I might write here at Soul Musings, I came across this image and it struck me as profound. I'm not looking for the cliché answers, savior, messiah, Son of God, which while quite correct, fall easily from one's lips without a lot of thought.  I've ponder this before in an earlier post: Who is Jesus?  Yet I feel drawn to muse about it some more, perhaps in a different way. What I mean I suppose is summed up in

Matthew 16: 15     “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

So that, I suppose, is my question to you (and to myself) Who do I say Jesus is? How would you fill in the blank? While all the "correct answers" are full of meaning and importance, it is the personal answer that will enhance your connection to Christ. 

Let's face it, the world today is not in many, many ways the same world that Christ walked in. Often people struggle to understand the Bible because of just this fact. How are we to translate the messages of the Bible into daily living in a world that seems to ensnare us in situations that are so different than in biblical times. Not only that but even some of the common customs and ways of life during Jesus's time no longer even exist.

That makes it even more important to have your own personal answer to "Who is Jesus?"
Let's take "messiah" for example. Even that word has a more mundane and humanly definition. "A leader or savior of a particular group or cause."

I remember in my study of the Gospel of John, in one or two of the verses John, was referred to as the disciple Jesus loved. When I think..."who do you say I am?" I think I'd answer "the one who loves me."  After all isn't that right?  That lovely phrase was not just reserved for John but for each and everyone of us.

Regardless of how times have changed, no matter the customs and ways of life that exist today, that one aspect...Jesus is the one who loves me... never changes.

Hugs to each of you and may you have a blessed Thanksgiving week (for those here in the U.S.).

Proving Your Love

As I was typing the title for this post I realized that it's sort of one of those titles that "mislead." Oh not intentionally but it does all the same.  I chose it and the image above to talk about loving God but in my heart I don't believe you have to "prove" your love of God. I mean why should you?  God knows everything that is in your heart so there's no need to prove anything.

God doesn't ask us to "prove" our love but He does ask us to LIVE that love. There's a difference. If we get caught up in proving: we will struggle, we will feel anguish, we will think, perhaps that we are never good enough, that we can never prove it. What a stressful life. God would never torment us in such a way.

 

Instead when you let go of "proving" anything and simply live your love you will experience a profound joy. God wants us to find joy in this life and by allowing our love for Him to flow throughout our daily choices (words and deeds) than we honor Him and deepen our relationship with Him.

 

 

"All things bright and beautiful, all things great and small...."  Show kindness, show compassion, show love and God will know your great love for Him.

 

BUT and I repeat BUT.....don't get hung up on being perfect...we will all be grouchy, we will all say a sharp word, we will all make mistakes and handle something poorly, it's not those individual slip ups that I'm talking about....it is an overall life of kindness and love that is the focus of this post. It's a motto for living God's love, a mission statement, or a vision statement for life.

 

Hugs to all of you and may you live your love of God in small ways everyday.

Prayers and the Broken Hearted

So the other day I was talking to God and sort of apologizing because some days I have failed to pray and/or think about people who are experiencing problems, struggle in life or who just seem sad. 
I had gotten caught up in "feeling bad" when I thought about them or their situations and let's face it there are some pretty sad parts of people's lives. I felt like I was drowning in an emotional sea. 

As I was talking with Him, I said "God its just that sometimes I have to avoid thinking about all the terrible sadness in this world. It hurts too much."  Then it struck me....if I was "touched" or "hurt" or affected by just the few people and situations that I knew of, how utterly heartbroken Jesus must feel at times. (I know, I know He is not the same as me and undoubtedly doesn't get despondent as He knows more about where all this is going) Yet at the same time, this thought, this concept of how sad we can be for others seemed to link me more closely to Jesus. It allowed me to see, to feel, just for a bit how some of our decisions and paths might appear to Him.

I decided to pray more in the form of God's guidance and healing and support rather than allow myself to dwell on all the little details of some situations. God whispered to me and I heard him. Sadness cannot be allowed to engulf me or my prayer life. I must trust that God's grace, support, and love will bring light to the darkness.

Hugs to all of you. May you feel God's loving embrace every day.

Friend of Sinners

Jesus........

• rebel
• line crosser
• rule breaker
• friend of sinners

Those are just some of the things I've mused about regarding Jesus. In some ways I think of Jesus as a hippie (must be that 70s child in me). Truth be told even in today's world Jesus would be considered a bit of an outcast himself. He wouldn't have been walking the path of "career building" nor looking for a golden parachute when he retired. And why is that?

Because time on this earth is but a fleeting thing and the constraints of it are really of little importance. Yes, they seem so important at the time but considering eternity (that's a long, long time!) what happens here is but a speck in the vastness of our life. Yes our lives because Jesus has provided us with a path to eternal life.

When Jesus was questioned about "eating with the scum" He said, " Healthy people don't need a doctor-sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners." Mark 2:16-17

Pretty straightforward and as I said in my earlier post a simple explanation regarding "scandalous grace". Yet Jesus could be both simple and complex. Let's take a little closer look at what he says:

"I've come to call, not those who think they are righteous"  He didn't say they are righteous but they think they are. Big difference. Sometimes I think people who love and have a relationship with God, truly never think they are righteous (or good enough). Yes that is a human failing but its also right on target. Not that we need to wallow in our "smallness" and our "human failings" but it does keep us humble.

I've written before that sometimes people who are "out there" all the time with their religious beliefs, highlighting their faith, and being just a little "over the top." make me leery. I try very hard not to judge them because it is not my place. God knows what is truly in their hearts. But at the same time they make me leery because they remind me of the Pharisees, shouting their beliefs at everyone and looking down their noses at others that "don't measure up." Yet they don't really know who measures up and who doesn't, only God knows what is in people's hearts.

Jesus goes on to say, "but those who know they are sinners."  People that recognize their short comings are being called to Jesus. That's the good news. You don't have to be perfect. Actually the very fact that you're not is what makes Jesus want you all the more!

Hugs to each and everyone of you. May you hear the voice of Jesus and know that he cares not about mistakes, faults, and sins but offers you grace.

The Doubt Factor

 

One of the things I've noticed through my recent Bible studies is that sometimes the more you learn, the more you muse, the more questions you have. And yes sometimes doubts too. I've written before that I'm like Peter in that I can jump right out of the boat without thinking but it is in those first moments on the water that faith slips.

I'd love to say that I have a constant strong faith that never falters but that would be a lie. Sometimes I wonder about God and why so many years have passed since Jesus's time and what that means. I wonder of the miracles Jesus performed and why we live in a land barren of such miracles. Sometimes I must admit I even think, "is it real?" It is at such times that I understand evil and its insidious ways of entering our midst.

Remember that the goal of good is to "become" and the goal of evil is unbecoming. To become is to reach a higher level of spiritual awareness, faith and love, which at its peak is crowned in our reconnection with our God. To unbecome is to de-evolve, to deteriorate into nothingness, lacking human conscious and emotion. Doubt is but a tool, one of many, to confuse and conquer. It seeps in gradually, along with others such as judgment, greed, and envy.

Sometimes, in my case it is not so much doubt as it is the question: "why". I'm an unraveler of mysteries, a seeker, a questioner, and I wonder, a lot about why certain things unfold in my own life the way they do. Is there meaning in it or just some rambled jumbled mess?  Perhaps it is a simpler version of what so many have asked before and continue to ask today...."is there meaning in this life?"

Some days I am strong and happy in my complete devotion to knowing all is as it should be, that no matter what life throws my way, I will stand strong and faith will carry me. Other days, and honestly sometimes just unexpected moments, random waves of doubt, uncertainty and feelings of failure cascade over me like whitecaps in a stormy ocean. I question life, I question me.

I ask, "where is God?"

Well this is quite a musing now isn't it? Uplifting (not). But all musings are not about the happy sunshine smiles of faith. Some are about the sorrowful wailings of the spirit. God knows this and he does not give into us like a toddler throwing a tantrum. He waits, patient, and sometimes silent for us to work it out. Sometimes that takes years. Yet He leads us, with signs and signals, unexpected lights in our darkest moments, songs and simple things like tomatoes! For while we may falter in our faith in Him, He never falters in his faith in us. He knows we can work it out.

Hugs to each of you and hugs to me also.

Tomatoes, Peppers, and God

Ok I'm sure you are thinking HOW is she going to weave God in to tomatoes and peppers, right? Well these are actually the third and fourth box of tomatoes from my brother in laws garden. Needless to say, I'm up to my ears in tomatoes. When this picture was taken I had already made, tons of spaghetti sauce and salsa to freeze. Since this picture was taken I've actually processed another one of the boxes of tomatoes......so anyway...how does this relate to God?

Well, while you are hot bath, cold bath, peeling and deseeding you have a lot of time to think. I actually played JOY FM in the kitchen while I worked which I think helped me keep calm and not dissolve into tears after tomato number 235. And that's not even mentioning the peppers....

 

Quite honestly though after day three of working with produce a calm settled over me and I started pondering the bounty of the earth. The simple ways that God provides for us. Oh tomatoes and peppers don't pay the bills but I sometimes think a "back to the basics" approach to life might de-stress a lot of people. I started to "value" that produce.

 

There was something "basic" about putting away food for winter, harvesting the blessings God bestowed on us, and just feeling the "realness" of food without additives and preservatives. It felt "real", it felt honest, it felt "core" somehow. It made me realize if we could just somehow wipe away all the "mankind" stuff, all the busyness of a world gone mad then perhaps we could hear God's whispers a little easier.

 

Sometimes I wasn't even listening to the music on the radio but somehow the messages of the songs found their way into my brain, between the tomato seeds and the juice on the floor, the joyous words of God's love played into my mind, heart, and soul. Thank you God for tomatoes and peppers, making me slow down and recognize the "realness" of the earths bounty.

 

Hugs to all, may your life be filled with tomatoes and peppers.

Merry Christmas

 

 

Today Pastor Eric's sermon was about Christmas in July, or rather feeling the spirit of Christmas in July.  Isn't that what Scrooge said? " I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all year long."

 

That made me start thinking about the "magic" of Christmas and how Evan turns eight this year and the magic might not be as much "fun." You know there's nothing like experiencing Christmas through the eyes of a child. It made me a little sad. Yet today's sermon made me realize the REAL "magic" of Christmas never dims. Maybe gifts aren't quite as much fun, nor hanging stockings, or visiting Santa but the true wonder of Christmas simply gets better with age.

 

When my own children were little we did the Advent wreath candles at our house every Sunday and that's a special "tradition" that we got away from. Perhaps Evan will enjoy reinstating it.  I've also wanted to do an advent activity for several years where you open and place a part of the nativity set each day of advent, saving the placing of the baby Jesus for Christmas Eve. That's something I will plan to do this year.  I want to do more to help Evan experience and find joy in Christmas outside the secular, which consumes so many during the holiday season.

 

But let's get back to Christmas in July, or specifically how do we "live" Christmas all year long? You might be surprised in my answer. Yes we can "be a little nicer" to people, greet them warmly and be helpful. We can remember the poor and the needy. We can give more. We can forgive more. BUT what I really think living Christmas all year long is about....is living a life of JOY.

 

 

I know, I know, that seems a little self centered doesn't it. I don't mean it in that way. Yet isn't that what Christmas is all about? The joy of Christ's birth. The joy that changes the world forever. And let me tell you when you are living a life filled with joy, you are giving a gift to others around you. When you let the joy of Christ's birth, the "magic" of this gift be lived out in the joy of your days, you are giving others a taste of the beauty of God. You are transcending a mere human existence and living a spiritual one.

 

 

 

Hugs to each of you. Merry Christmas and Joy to the World!

 

 



Wars, Planes, and Children

I spent a bit of time last night praying for those aboard MH17 and their families and friends. It came to mind that some people might criticize that act because they might deem some of the sufferers as non Christians. I pondered what "come back" I might have to such an outcry. Quite honestly what came to mind is not particularly pleasant.

First of all they are dead. There it is... blunt and cruel and not pleasant. Whether I'm praying for them ceases to matter for them but it matters to me and it matters to the world. Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, 298 people lost their lives, not by some "accident", not because they were on one side or the other of a war, not because they chose to put themselves in a dangerous situation but simply because they were there. In a plane, with no thoughts of death, no concerns as they soared toward their destination. That number includes 3 infants and possibly as many as 100 children.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14  He didn't say, "let only Christian children come to me." now did he?

These were people that laughed and loved and cared. They had friends and families and lives. They were mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, grandparents and grandchildren. They existed. I don't know how they knew God or their God's name or even if they believed in an afterlife. None of that matters to me. What matters is that in our world today we have hate and war and lies. We have the ability to destroy 298 (and let's face it a lot more than that) people in a matter of minutes. Just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

It looks like it's shaping up to be one big political mess. I have no idea who exactly shot down the plane but it's starting to look as if it was the insurgents. Yes, there's finger pointing, and yes there are those that say its a conspiracy. My thoughts are that they accidently shot down a civilian plane which they believed to be a Ukraine military one. Now all hell is about to break loose. Whether it was an accident or intentional, regardless of who is at fault, the point is, as long as we have hate, and war, and those that think we settle our differences with violence then things like this will continue to happen. After all this isn't the first time a civilian plane has been shot down by accident. That doesn't make it any less horrific.

The whole world is watching. If Americans were aboard the plane has not been confirmed although some are suggesting 23 Americans lost their lives. People are already arguing about WHY people are concerned about Americans onboard as if they are somehow "special." No they are not special. It's simply that people want to know, just like the Australians wanted to know, just like any other country wanted to know. Just this simple unknown fact is already pitting people against each other. That's how evil works. I do wonder why our government is so slow in confirming if in deed Americans were onboard. It makes me think they want their "response", their "game plan" in place before they acknowledge loss of life. But this isn't a game, people. This is real. It cuts to the core of those people who have lost loved ones.

I pray for those that lost loved ones, I pray for the leaders of all the countries involved, I pray for the world, I pray for people to move beyond their self inflicted, limited viewpoints toward a more global view of the world and the people in it. I pray that a senseless act doesn't push us to the brink of a world war.

Hugs to each of you. Hold onto the light in the darkness and guard it with passion.

"Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness." 1 John 2:9

Here I Am

 

I've written before about doors, and knocks, and seeking. Who is knocking at your door? Is it the world with all it's whims, and lures and glittering gold? Have we hung out the "do not disturb" sign? It's strange sometimes I can hear the knock, feel the embrace and listen to the whispered words of love and at other times it seems distant and foreign. Is that lack of faith?  I don't think so. 

 

It is like a poor connection on a cell phone. "Can you hear me now." God might be saying. It is not loss of faith but simply the language of the soul once again being drowned out by the busyness of this humanly existence. While we like to think that our faith is a strong constant lifeline; it isn't. At least that's not the way I seem to experience it.  Oh sure there are "in the trenches" faithful that pray only in times of great need and their thoughts of God fade quickly with the passing crisis. Yet I also think there are very faithful believers who experience these times of "disconnect."  It is what you do during those times that determines whether you become lost on the path to spiritual growth.

 

"I stand at the door and knock." Yes Lord, I hear you. May you stand patiently waiting for me to stumble about in the darkness and find the light that guides me to the door.  

 

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door. Yes I do hear you. My house is a mess Lord; if only I had a moment to straighten it before I let you in. I struggle to find the key. The door is locked sometimes Lord, not from you but from my own fear. I so easily make a mess of things.

 

"I will come in." Yes Lord please do come in. Don't let my slowness block your entry.

 

"And eat with him and he with me."  Yes Lord we will eat together and your bread will be my salvation.

 

Here I am Lord.

 

Hugs to each of you, may you always find the light on and the key ready when the Lord knocks.

 

 

Perfect as an Angel

Mostly I keep my personal trials and things to myself. Not bursting them open on a blog for all to see. I love to share the joys, the triumphs, the unexpected glimpses of beauty. Perhaps I like to pretend that I live in a perfect little bubble where ugly things never venture.

My oldest brother Jimmy passed away last week and his funeral was today. Isn't that a lovely term "passed away". What does it mean exactly? Other than passing from one life into another? Quite honestly, we weren't particularly close. We'd had many a falling outs through the years and just had very different ways of looking at life, and love, and the world. A while back I let him know that none of that truly mattered. I simply let go of those things that caused anguish, bitterness, and stood like a brick wall between us. We still weren't close (sometimes there's just too much time and distance and it starts to feel surreal) but it still felt better to let go of all those things; that in the long run, in the overall scheme of life, really didn't matter anymore.

Even with all of that, there's still a sense of grief, lost childhood memories and little things that even when I wanted to knock him in the head, only he would truly "get". He could get my temper going like no other and then just say some completely logical thing that left me scratching my head. He wasn't perfect but neither am I, or you, or anyone else for that matter. All he could do is travel this path, this journey through life with his own flair. And that he did.

In the end he left his imprint on many people's lives; friends, family, coworkers. It never ceases to amaze me that so many people can know one in so many different ways. The brother I might describe is not the one my sister would, or his children, or his friends. The parts we play in people's lives are as varied as the stars in the sky. And the legacy one leaves behind can be as vast as the dark night sky, varying in intensity, an ebony canvas filled with clouds and specks of light from the distant stars.  Too beautiful for words.

I've no doubt that he is in a wonderful place, surrounded by people he loved that have gone before him. He won't make a "perfect angel" but he will be perfect as an angel. A strong angel, perhaps a bit stubborn but worthy, an angel like no other ever before him. It makes me smile to think of him in that role.

Hugs to each of you. As I share these very personal thoughts I hope that somehow they may be of some help to you in some small way.