This is the last post about what I am learning about being a cloud chaser. I hope you have enjoyed pondering the clouds with me. I appreciate your comments and insights.Meteorologists tell us that every cloud contains a weather message. God sculpts all types of clouds as messengers of hope from Him to help us weather the storms in life.Join me: Become a child once again and capture the wonder as a cloud chaser. God’s canvas shows us surprises every day if we just take the time to look up, look inward, and look beyond our ordinary day-to-day drudgery.Earth from space, Apollo 17 mission. Credit NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Scientific Visualization Studio. Source: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a002600/a002681/index.htmlLooking BeyondCloud chasing reminds us to look beyond our momentary problems and negative emotions. We find hope in knowing the sun does still shine on days when can’t see its light.Looking beyond into the Beyond helps me to focus more on God and less on the … [Read more...]
Be A Cloud Chaser – Looking Inward
This is a 4th of 5 posts about what I am learning about being a cloud chaser. The last one will be on Thursday. I appreciate your comments and insights.Meteorologists tell us that every cloud contains a weather message. God sculpts all types of clouds as messengers of hope from Him to help us weather the storms in life.Join me: Become a child once again and capture the wonder as a cloud chaser. God’s canvas shows us surprises every day if we just take the time to look up, look inward, and look beyond our ordinary day-to-day drudgery.Looking InwardI look outward too much. I look to others to prove my self worth. I see what others have and what they accomplish and I struggle with discontent. I fill my emptiness with temporary pleasures of the world, such as food and shopping. Cloud chasing invites us to look inward and to indentify what is churning within our hearts. As I write this post, it is overcast outside – one continuous grey cloud. I assume most of you have been in an airplane. … [Read more...]
I Wait for the Lord with My Whole Being
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,and in his word I put my hope.Psalm 130:5I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits.I sit at Your feet, Lord and wait.But I don’t always wait with all of me.My mind races out of the room and into the chaotic streets of the future worrying, fussing, and imagining all the things that could go wrong.Bring my mind back to Your calm waiting, Lord.My heart is also on its own journey - wandering lost, seeking the answers in other directions.Rescue my heart like You carry the lost sheep and bring it back into Your safe fold.My fingers fidget with anxiety and my feet squirm with restlessness – part of me thinking, doubting that You will ever respond.I long for the stroke of your peaceful hands upon my hands and soothing touch to my weary legs.My eyes look out the windows instead of staying focused on Your eyes.I hear my voice complaining and whining.Waiting is so hard, Lord.Thank you for this scriptural reminder to wait with my whole being.To bring all … [Read more...]
A Relationship with Abba – Quote of the Week
"I want neither a terrorist spirituality that keeps me in a perpetual state of fright about being in right relationship with my heavenly Father nor a sappy spirituality that portrays God as such a benign teddy bear that there is no aberrant behavior or desire of mine that he will not condone. I want a relationship with the Abba of Jesus, who is infinitely compassionate with my brokenness and at the same time an awesome, incomprehensible, and unwieldy Mystery. " — Brennan Manning … [Read more...]
Be a Cloud Chaser – Looking Up
This is a third post of what I am learning about being a cloud chaser.Meteorologists tell us that every cloud contains a weather message. God sculpts all types of clouds as messengers of hope from Him to help us weather the storms in life.I have been exploring clouds for a possible book proposal and want to share with you over a series of posts some of the lessons I have discovered by becoming a Cloud Chaser. Join me: Become a child once again and capture the wonder as a cloud chaser. God’s canvas shows us surprises every day if we just take the time to look up, look inward, and look beyond our ordinary day-to-day drudgery.Looking up Cloud chasing involves looking up, a physical act of raising the chin which alone may be enough to life the spirit and provides a momentary pause by focusing on new possibilities instead of our problems.Here are lessons I am pondering when I look upward: 1. Clouds have been called “Billboards of Coming Attractions.” How do clouds forewarn us of … [Read more...]
Be A Cloud Chaser – The Wonder of Clouds
Meteorologists tell us that every cloud contains a weather message. God sculpts all types of clouds as messengers of hope from Him to help us weather the storms in life.I have been exploring clouds for a possible book proposal and want to share with you over a series of posts some of the lessons I have discovered by becoming a Cloud Chaser. Join me: Become a child once again and capture the wonder as a cloud chaser. God’s canvas shows us surprises every day if we just take the time to look up, look inward, and look beyond our ordinary day-to-day drudgery. I am fascinated about clouds. God really outdid Himself when He added them to His sky. Today I want to share some amazing features about clouds. Hopefully you too will get excited about clouds and come along with me discovering their daily messages.1. “Clouds and cloud shapes are the greatest free show on earth, It doesn’t cost a penny to look up and feast your eyes on the view.” John Day.2. A cloud is a collection of millions of … [Read more...]
Almighty God – Lectio Divina
Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.He makes Lebanon leap like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.Psalm 29Wide-lightening (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the … [Read more...]
The Self-Rejection Trap – Henri Nouwen Quote
“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, "Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody." ... [My dark side says,] I am no good... I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the "Beloved." Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”― … [Read more...]