O living God, soften us! Let the fire of your love thaw the frost within us. Let the light of your justice sear away our blindness, Let the grace of your compassion heal our hardened spirits. O living God, soften us! That, flowing with your grace, we be impelled to face the world in bold compassion, that, driven to justice, we may dare to cry aloud for the little ones, the raped, the beaten the imprisoned, and the hungry. O living God, soften us! Sweep us forward in a Mighty Wave of Mercy to heal our darkened world. Edwina Gateley … [Read more...]
My War with Weeds
I love the rainbow of colors in my backyard garden – red and yellow roses, black eyed Susans, grape tomatoes, and pink things I can’t remember what they are called – sparkle and dance for my pleasure. Flowers bring joy and beauty to my day and remind me there is more to life than everyday grind of work and bad news. BUT I don’t like weeding. Weeding the flowerbeds is a necessity though, to keep the garden blooming and thriving. Little did I know weeding would also teach me an important lesson this fall. I noticed a few weeks ago a gangly green vine entwining itself among the Black eyed Susans. I yanked that weed out. More appeared the next day. I yanked that weed out again. I told that green stringy nuisance that I am the master of this garden and it better skedaddle out of here. Then we left for a weekend. Guess who came back with vengeful reinforcements. Yep - while we were gone that creeper multiplied and spread its tendrils up and around the trellis. A … [Read more...]
Let God’s Light Shine – Why Our Souls Sparkle.
Don’t you love the energy and fun in the word – SHINE? I heard a powerful story about shine a few months ago that continues to inspire me and fill me with hope and encouragement. “And God said, “Let there be light… And God called the light day and the darkness he called night.” Genesis 1: 3 I never noticed before that God created light in verse 3 of the first book in the Bible, but it wasn’t until verses 14- 18 that the great Creator added the sun, moon, and stars which to our limited perception is the source of light for day and night. Just what did the shining in verse 3? An ancient story may give us a glimpse. Before the world existed. Before the universe was created. Before time, form, and breath of life took shape – God filled everything. In the beginning, God drew in a deep breath, in order to contract his being so there would be room for creation. And the space began to shine with God’s contained light. But God is so immense, much more than what we … [Read more...]
God Is At Work Within – Lectio Divina
“For it is God who is at work with you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2: 13 So often, Lord I think of myself as a failure, a flawed human being. While that is so true, how reassuring are these words that you are at work within me. I am incomplete, imperfect, raw and unfinished. But You, the Great Carpenter, take your hand tools and like Gibbs in NCIS, gently shape me to Your original divine blueprint. Shaving off inadequacies and smoothing bumps and bruises, your grace continues to hone my heart and chisel my character to be more like You. All is not lost. All is not yet done. All of me, being slowly fashioned into a masterpiece, to live with you for eternity. My job is to be open and willing to obey your leadings in this process. To stay within your carpenter’s shop and surrender to your tooling. To submit to your vise and hammer and accept the work of the Master. Thank you, Oh Holy Artist, for your work within me. … [Read more...]
God’s Work – Quote by Oscar Romero
"It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future that is not our own." -Archbishop Oscar Romero … [Read more...]
OOPS!
For all of you who normally get this blog by email, I owe you an apology. Sometime end of last week, my blog and the software that mails out new posts to you decided not to communicate. I didn't realize this until Tuesday and then had difficulty reestablishing the links. Finally late Wednesday, the two parties decided to talk again and to be honest, I am not sure if the connection miraculously healed itself (I was praying!) or if something I did finally worked. BUT OOPS! Once all was well again in cyberworld, the internet imp decided to mail all of you not one, not two, but three posts. I am so sorry to clog up your inbox. Hopefully we are now back to the normal schedule of posts. "Don't you just love technology?" she says gritting her teeth and with a fake smile. Yes frustrating, but not the end of the world and lots worse could and has happened to me, so I am grateful for the comfort of routine and no annoying glitches. And thankful most of the time for technology … [Read more...]
Soul Feast Update – Book Review
One book that has been a classic for anyone interested in spiritual practices and a great one for small groups is Marjorie Thompson’s Soul Feast. First released in 1995 this best seller has been recently updated and I had a chance to review it from a book review site called NetGalley. I was excited to see a new chapter on Sabbath keeping, as this has been a hot topic among many people lately. I also appreciated more information on the chapter about Rules for Life – a practice I learned when becoming a spiritual director, but have found many others never heard of before. The group study guide has been refreshed with new material also. Interested in learning more about spiritual practices? This is one of the best references for you. Practices include spiritual reading, prayer, worship, Sabbath, fasting, self-examination and confession, spiritual direction, hospitality and developing a rule of life. “Trust is the heartbeat of Sabbath, the bedrock of soul … [Read more...]
It’s Not Fair, Lord – Lectio Divina
“When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage… Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me or are you envious because I am generous?” Matthew 20 9-10, 15 It’s not fair, Lord. I am a good girl. Well, most of the time, I try to make the proper Godly decisions. I bite my tongue when I want to lash out in anger or revenge. I don’t gossip – or at least less than some I know. I try, I really do. Tonight I stomp my two-year-old feet and complain with the most whiny voice I can, mispronouncing my protest due to my pouting lower lip. Yes I am jealous when others get book contracts. I admit my envy when my friends lose weight or reach their weight watcher goal. I crave the granite backsplashes and large master baths on HGTV. You ask if I am resentful when you are generous with your grace, … [Read more...]