Ever have a word haunt you? It peeks around the corner when you least expect it. Someone uses it in a sentence, a friend over coffee brings it up, then you read about this word in 14 gazillion blogs. Like Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory who repeatedly knocks on his neighbor's door saying her name three times, sometimes a word beats over and over again on my heart. Its voice is persistent and it lingers waiting for me to notice. Sometimes the word isn't bolded, but hidden among other friends. It teases you, calls your name until you finally say, "ok what am I to learn about you?" Intentional. "Intentional" has tackled and seized my attention. What does this word mean and what is it telling me? Intentional come from Latin meaning a stretching out, straining, exertion, effort; attention, to turn one's attention. The middle of the 14th century Old French word of entencion implies "stretching, intensity, will, thought." To many of us it means being … [Read more...]
Worry Can’t Change Others – Guest Post
I am delighted to open this blog space today to my good friend Kathy Collard Miller. Her book, Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries has just been released. She is sharing with us lessons about worry - a topic I know many of us struggle with. You will enjoy her book that helps us worry less and trust God more. Be sure to leave a comment for her too. Welcome, KathyWorry Can’t Change Others by Kathy Collard MillerThere’s something deep inside of us that believes worry can change others. If someone we love has a different perspective than we do, we worry. If someone we love has a different belief about God, we worry. If someone we love has a character flaw, we worry. We just know their wrong thinking will mess up their lives. Some of these worries may truly seem “worthy” of worry. Your mother may not know Christ as her Savior, and she has cancer. Your son may be on the street taking drugs. Your friend may demonstrate a lack of integrity at work. Another friend drives while intoxicated. You … [Read more...]
Do Unto Others – Lectio Divina
"Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6: 31 Do unto others. Do unto others. Lord, this is one of the first lessons I learned from my mother. And know once again I hear these words from you - the Golden Rule. You, Lord, who model this way of living. You notice those on the margins. You touch the untouchables. You reach out to those full of fear. You heal the sick. You feed the hungry. You wrap your arms around little children. You defend the poor. You mend the brokenhearted. You answer your critics. You forgive all of us. You love the unlovable. Thank you for noticing, touching, reaching out, healing, feeding, hugging, defending, mending answering, forgiving and loving me. Lord, help me treat others who cross my path as you would. Break open the eyes of my heart to spot the ones who need you the most. May I do unto others as you would, as I would want them to treat me. You showed us the way … [Read more...]
Let My Bones Be Soaked With Your Love – Quote of the Week
O my God,let me, with thanksgiving,remember, and confess unto youyour mercies on me.Let my bones be soaked with your love,and let them say unto you,Who is like you, O Lord?You have broken my chains in pieces.I will offer unto you the sacrifice of thanksgivingAnd how you have broken them, I will declare;and all who worship you, when they hear this, will say:Blessed is the Lord in heaven and in earth! Great and wonderful is his name!St Augustine … [Read more...]
Henri Nouwen’s Story about the Flyer and the Catcher
I facilitated a discussion about spirituality with two small groups last weekend at a synod wide educational event. We talked about many of the spiritual practices that open our hearts to God. The reality is we do nothing to make God come closer. He is here already. We just need to learn to let go and trust him. That reminded me of one of my favorite stories from Henri Nouwen. I shared it here on this blog a couple of years ago but seems the time is right to repeat it: “The Flying Rodleighs are trapeze artists who perform in the German circus Simoneit-Barum. When the circus came to Freiburg two years ago, my friends Franz and Reny invited me and my father to see the show. I will never forget how enraptured I became when I first saw the Rodleighs move through the air, flying and catching as elegant dancers. The next day, I returned to the circus to see them again and introduced myself to them as one of their great fans. They invited me to attend their practice … [Read more...]
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Spiritual Lessons from Personality Profiles – INFJ
INFJ on the Meyers-Briggs. Three on the Enneagram. Now that you know my inside secrets of my personality, please don't leave! Ha! I have always been fascinated by these personality profiles. While I don't want to be pigeonholed in some box of identify, I have gained insight and deeper self-knowledge by learning through these scales. Knowing myself better has helped me shed the false self - the masks I put on to appear what the world, others and even myself thought I should be. I feel more comfortable in the skin of this true being, accepting my strengths and my flaws. Knowing my "Achilles heel" has also been useful since I've learned the devil also know where he can sneak into my ego. Being aware of that has more than once opened my eyes early on to missteps and disbeliefs. “Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God. Our wisdom, insofar as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and … [Read more...]
Justified by Grace – Lectio Divina
"For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.Romans 3: 23, 28Grace.Unmerited love.Unearned mercy.All God in all of his being.None of my doing.How can I ever thank you, Lord for loving me so unconditionally?Your forgiveness expands to fill the universe and heals the holes in my heart.What a glorious gift.The gift of grace.The gift of Christ. The gift of your presence.Your grace rains down upon my dry parched soul and gives me life. Thank you sweet Papa. … [Read more...]