Living the Questions

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“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” Rilke   I used to more uncomfortable with uncertainty. That tension between knowing and the living in the gray area of unknowing. I used to seek the supremacy of feeling you are in control, having your act together, wearing the prettiest mask. What happen to curiosity? To taking the risk to ask questions you know you won’t be able to answer for a long time, if ever? To not know and to question and live with hazy vagueness? I know I am not the only one who recognizes as life goes on, we don’t have the answers and the only real path to growth … [Read more...]

What Will You Be When You Grow Up?

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A few years back a friend causally said to me, “Look back to when you were six or seven or eight, what did you want to be? That is your calling.” I read a new version of this question this weekend – “What did you love doing as a child?” (This question came from a book I am reading that I plan on sharing on this coming Thursday blog. Be sure to come back!) Both questions could be helpful when discerning the next chapter on one’s life. Even if you wanted to be a fireman – maybe you are passionate about helping others. Or what if you wanted to be a rock star – maybe you are gifted at reading the Scriptures at church. These early dreams, passions, interests often appear clearer when we where younger and before we were told what we wanted or the world distracted us. Me? At eight I wanted to be a writer. A journalist. I even published a tiny newspaper for my neighborhood complete with the funnies. At 16 I felt a distinct (and right) calling to nursing and God blessed me with both. I … [Read more...]

Undivided Prayer – Lectio Divina

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Teach me your way, Lord,
 that I may rely on your faithfulness;
 give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86: 11 (NIV)   Train me, God, to walk straight; then I’ll follow your true path.
 Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear. Psalm 86:11 (The Message)   Lord, you know these verses – in whatever translation – express one of my deepest desires – an undivided heart, living only for you. A heart I cannot mend on my own. I can only offer my tiny, dirty, shattered pieces to you, the great Healer and Restorer. Teach me your ways, Lord. Guide me along your straight path. My faith is weak and inadequate; only through your faithfulness can I live. I am unformed clay in your hands. Shape me. Assemble my brokenness into your creative design. And fear? The Message calls it joyful fear. That wonderstruck witness beyond all comprehension of Who you are. You are God. Yes I should fear – … [Read more...]

Chasing Francis

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I am a non-fiction book fanatic. Rarely do I read fiction but just finished and really liked a unique novel called Chasing Francis – A Pilgrim’s Tale by Ina Morgan Cron. This is a story about a minister who faces a faith crisis, questioning everything he had promoted and believed. Taking a leave of absence he visits his cousin who is a Franciscan monk in Italy and embarks on a life changing pilgrimage. The history of St Francis and the basic beliefs of that order is woven into the main character’s search for answers. What a unique way to introduce readers to St Francis and to showcase his relevance for Christians today. Though the story obviously moves in such a way to give the reader all of the foundational information, it also gives us challenges to consider St Francis relevance in the 21st century church. Towards the end of the book, the main characters says, When I left here, I wasn't sure what a Christian looked like anymore. My idea of what it meant to follow Jesus had … [Read more...]

Dancing with God

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The poetry of Edwina Gately has been warming my heart lately. Ever notice how some people’s words bring you closer to God? She certainly is filling my soul this summer. Last week I wondered and we discussed Summertime Spiritual Slump. I think poem of hers is one way to see God in the summer. Here is what I read the other day: “God escaped from all my little boxes and labels. The more I tried to claim God, the more God slipped away. But if I dare To rise from my knees And leap in joy At the song of the bird, And if I dare To stand in awe At the mounting of the moon In a thick-starred sky, And if I dare to be amazed At the constant seeding of the earth – Then, oh see! oh see! I glimpse my God – ever free, ever dancing, Ever calling out my name.” Rising from my knees and dancing with our Lord!     … [Read more...]

The Persistent and Lavish Farmer – Lectio Divina

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He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds.  As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.   Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.   But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.  Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Matthew 13: 3-8   A farmer went out to plant some seeds. Lord, I do so much want to be good soil. Bury your roots deep within to secure me on solid ground and produce good fruit for you. So often, Lord when I read this parable of yours, I think of the soil. But today my eyes are on the Farmer. You persistently and lavishly scatter your … [Read more...]