Jesus loves me - what a neat song. The young kids in our Sunday School sang two weeks ago. You just had to smile listening to sweet fresh voices chime in with "Yes, Jesus loves me." I think God smiled too. Occasionally we sing this old favorite as one of our hymns of the day. Adults sing the words with reverence and awe. It is powerful to express out loud - "Yes! Jesus loves me." Jesus Loves Me - the Story Anna Barlett Warner wrote Jesus Loves Me to be included in her sister's novel. Often they would work together on a project. Her sister ask if Anna would compose a children's song that would be sung by a character in her story, to comfort a dying child. Anna responded to this request with the lyrics of the now famous Jesus Loves Me. The book was published in 1860. Missionaries adopted the song, spreading its fame across the world. I read one place that said Jesus Loves Me has been translated into more languages than any other spiritual song. Dr. Hawn is professor of … [Read more...]
E M Bounds – Quote of the Week
“I think Christians fail so often to get answers to their prayers because they do not wait long enough on God. They just drop down and say a few words, and then jump up and forget it and expect God to answer them. Such praying always reminds me of the small boy ringing his neighbor’s doorbell and then running away as fast as he can go.” E. M. Bounds … [Read more...]
Possibilities and Permissions: Richard Rohr
I have been enjoying a DVD series from Richard Rohr titled "Following the Mystics Through the Narrow Gate." The recording took place at a conference and is material that I listen to a small portion, then need to pause, ponder and pray. The following is an example of this in-depth and inspirational wisdom: "If you keep listening to the love, if you keep receiving the love, trusting the love - even with all your limitations, with all your unworthiness, with all your limited intellect or whatever you feel holds you back - you start to experience within yourself a sense of possibility. Whatever life is inviting you into, you have this sense that is still okay and even better, that you can do it. As Mother Teresa loved to say, “The only real success is faithfulness.” To be faithful to this inner love is in itself the greatest success. It is of itself the major possibility. No outer successes are henceforth necessary to be … [Read more...]
Lord Have Mercy – The Mercy Prayer – A Book Review
A breath prayer is a simple prayer we can say over and over again in a single breath."Lord, have mercy." is one example. This prayer from the heart can be expanded also to be, "Lord, Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." or any variation of those words.Since this is a breath prayer that has provided me comfort and strength in the past, I was excited to review the new book, The MercyPrayer - The One Prayer Jesus Always Answers by Robert Gelinas, to be released on July 30.Here are a few tidbits I learned from this book that provides a rich background to this prayer:· Lord have mercy is the most prayed prayer in the Bible· Kyrie eleison means Lord have mercy· The Greek word, elaion, sounds like eleison and means olive or olive oil. Makes one wonder about a play on the words. If we would say kyrie elaion we would be praying "Lord have medicine on me" or bring healing into my life. The author includes Bible stories and references, personal stories and … [Read more...]
Choosing the Better Part – Lectio Divina
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”Luke 10:38-42 (NRSV)Mary has chosen the better part.Lord I love this story about your friends, Mary and Martha.Often I feel like I am both of them.I welcome you into my home. I open the door of my heart to you, excited to be with you, then I busy myself with the details of life, ignoring your presence.Sidetracked by my to do lists, detoured by my doubts, focused only on my ego driven wants and desires, and … [Read more...]
Disturb Us Prayer – Quote of the Week
Disturb us, Lord, whenWe are too well pleased with ourselves,When our dreams have come trueBecause we have dreamed too little,When we arrived safelyBecause we sailed too close to the shore.Disturb us, Lord, whenWith the abundance of things we possessWe have lost our thirstFor the waters of life;Having fallen in love with life,We have ceased to dream of eternityAnd in our efforts to build a new earth,We have allowed our visionOf the new Heaven to dim.Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,To venture on wider seasWhere storms will show your mastery;Where losing sight of land,We shall find the stars.We ask You to push backThe horizons of our hopes;And to push into the futureIn strength, courage, hope, and love.This we ask in the name of our Captain,Who is Jesus Christ.Francis Drake, 1577 … [Read more...]
Stop! Don’t Step on that Soil. It’s Full of Life.
"Life is there.Stop! Don't step on that soil. It's full of life." We saw this sign continuous while exploring Arches National Park in southern Utah few weeks ago. I peered at that dry tanned dirt and thought nothing is living there. Its stark bareness appeared lifeless and unproductive. How tempting it was to cut across the path over that ground. After all I couldn't really see any evidence of life. The photo above is a shot of what the ranger told us is a mature biological soil crust. Its surface may look just like dry dirt, but it contains lots of living organisms that are vital to the desert ecosystem. In many desert climates, this type of crust makes up 70 percent of the ground cover and is vital for reducing erosion, increasing water retention and increasing soil fertility. The main living creature there is called the cyanobacteria, one of the oldest known life forms. Other characters residing there are lichens, mosses, microfungi and green algae. Most of the … [Read more...]
A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small
Horton hears who? Horton Hears a Who! This fun Dr. Seuss story teaches children and reminds adults the important lesson of loving your neighbor. I used this book as part of the children's sermon last Sunday when the gospel lessons told the well known parable about the Good Samaritan that starts with the question, "Who is my neighbor?" Does Horton talk about neighbors? Not exactly. The weather is hot so Horton, the elephant, jumps into the pool to splash the heat away. He is having lots of fun when he hears a small noise. Looking around he sees nothing. But once again he hears a faint cry for help. "I'll help you," said Horton, 'but who are you? Where?' He looked and he looked. He could see nothing there but a small speck of dust blowing part through the air." Horton ends up discovering a whole group of people barely visible to the eye who need help. And Horton does help. In fact he goes the extra mile for these people he didn't even know and almost missed … [Read more...]