Image by woodleywonderworks via FlickrSaying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality. —William PainterSaying ‘thank you’ is more than common courtesy – it is powerful. Two simple words convey appreciation, lift our spirits, and add meaning to life. Each night as I settle in to sleep I pray the Prayer of Examen. I thank God for the day and ask myself two questions: What am I most thankful for today? What am I least thankful for? The answers to the first question are overwhelming and often too numerous to count. I know several bloggers who participate in weekly posts such a Thankful Thursdays. Based on the best seller by Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, others are listing the 1000 gifts they discover in life. Saying thank you is more than good manners – it is a spiritual discipline to cultivate.Watch this intriguing video about thank you:Thomas Merton wrote, “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us — and He has given us … [Read more...]
GET LOST! – Blessed Assurance
Image by missha via FlickrLost!Just the word makes me nervous. I think of dark alleys. Scary places. Fear of the unknown. Not knowing what will happen next. Spooky places with bizarre jumping out of the bushes happenings.Lost!Misplaced precious keepsakes. Missing loved ones, Pets gone astray.Get Lost!Sounds like a real put down, doesn’t it? Well, I am telling you to GET LOST this week!! Not very nice of me or is it?Sunday we sang Blessed Assurance, the classic hymn by Fanny Crosby. Despite her blindness, which she acquired shortly after birth, she was one of the most prolific hymn writers in history, having written over 8,000 hymns. The final four words at the end of the second verse permeated my heart. I actually stopped singing and just prayed that line over and over again while the congregation kept on singing.Lost in His love.Wow! What a grand place to get lost in – in God’s love.I have experienced and I am sure you have too being so absorbed in a project you lose track of all … [Read more...]
Keep Working in me, Lord – Lectio Divina
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeTherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.Philippians 2:12-13God who works in youKeep working in me, Lord.Please never quit.Take Your bucket of grace and wash my whole self until I am sparkling clean.Dust out the cobwebs that cling in my mind and scrub those nooks and crannies where I think I have hidden my sin from You.Fix the hole in my heart so Your love no longer trickles out.Clean the windows of my eyes to see what You see and what You want me to see.Dig out the deeply rooted weeds and overgrown thicket. I want to feel the warmth of Your Son within me.Erect Your walls of protection around me.Build a strong foundation that will never fail for my feet.Assemble me according to Your perfect plan and shape me like clay in Your hands.I rest today … [Read more...]
Intercessory Prayer – Oswald Chambers – Quote of the Week
Image by Lel4nd via Flickr“One of the most subtle burdens God ever puts on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning other souls. He reveals things in order that we may take the burden of these souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them. It is not that we bring God into touch with our minds, but that we rouse ourselves until God is able to convey His mind to us about the one for whom we intercede.” Oswald Chambers … [Read more...]
Close Enough to Hear God Breathe – Book Review
My father served in World War II while my older brothers grew up. I came along much later. Being the only girl and the only baby he really got to enjoy as an infant, needless to say, we were close. My dad was a physician and was doubly frightened in the 1950s polio epidemic: he knew the devastating effects of this disease after seeing it in his practice and he had a little girl to protect. On day he called me into the living room and said he had a gift for me. He brought home the first dose of the polio vaccine his office received to give to me. I don’t remember the sting of the needle, only his strong loving arms and his tender, slightly shaking voice. When I think of being so close enough to God to hear Him breathe – I think of that intimate moment being in my dad’s arms. It is a powerful image for me.Greg Paul has written a new book called, “Close Enough to Hear God Breathe.” He writes the basic message God says over and over again to each of us is “My child. My … [Read more...]
What are your Dragons?
Image by eigirdaz via Flickr“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke My devotion last week referred to this quote saying often our deepest fears are like dragons guarding our deepest treasures. So if we are brave enough to comfort our uncertainties, the dragons in our lives, we can discover what is most precious within us. So often when we face our fears, they evaporate or become helpless as Rilke says. That core deep inside us, though something we all want to discover, to know, and to understand, is also a place a tender vulnerability. After all, it is our essence, our soul stamped with God’s fingerprint. We don’t normally face our fears willingly, do we? God is the One who woos us into the desert valley. I know that the true growth doesn’t occur on the mountaintops, … [Read more...]
Gentleness – Lectio Divina
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4: 4-9Image by mtsofan via FlickrLet your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Lord these verses are packed with meaning. These words of Yours are some of my favorite to ponder.When I heard them in church this morning and read them once again later, one phrase jumped into … [Read more...]
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish – Steve Jobs – Quote of the Week
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeRemembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ... Stay hungry. Stay foolish." - Steve Jobs, 1955-2011 … [Read more...]