Jesus shared all these sayings with the crowd that day on the plain. When He was finished, He went into the town of Capernaum.There, a Centurion had a slave he loved dearly. The slave was sick—about to die— so when the Centurion heard about Jesus, he contacted some Jewish elders. He sent them to ask Jesus to come and heal his dear slave. With great emotion and respect, the elders presented their request to Jesus.Jewish Elders: This man is worthy of Your help. It’s true that he’s a Centurion, but he loves our nation. In fact, he paid for our synagogue to be built.So Jesus accompanied them. When they approached the Centurion’s home, the Centurion sent out some friends to bring a message to Jesus.Message of the Centurion: Lord, don’t go to the trouble of coming inside. I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. That’s why I sent others with my request.Just say the word, and that will be enough to heal my servant.I understand how authority works, being under authority myself and … [Read more...]
Lifting Our Hearts No Matter What – Quote of the Week
Refuse to fall down. If you cannot refuse to fall down, refuse to stay down. If you cannot refuse to stay down, lift your heart toward heaven, and like a hungry beggar, ask that it be filled, and it will be filled. You may be pushed down. You may be kept from rising. But no one can keep you from lifting your heart toward heaven.Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés … [Read more...]
How to Honor Sabbath while Traveling
Last February I posted about being more intentional to honor Sabbath, titled Practicing, not Perfecting Sabbath. Fellow blogger and Christian sister, Shelly Miller has been writing about Sabbath and has a great series on her blog, Redemption Beauty, about surrendering to Sabbath. I so do appreciate her honest sharing with honoring this day as it has inspired me to continue in this practice. Honor Sabbath So how have I been doing? I did implement much of what I had planned and was actually noticing a difference on Sundays. I was more relaxed. I entered into worship and prayer at a deeper level. My dance card was packed on Sunday with the Lord filling all the slots. I connected and spent time with our Creator. BUT then we began to travel. We were gone many weekends. Airports and automobiles became my sanctuary. I unraveled. I wandered. Distractions and disarray reigned. I even noticed I didn’t sleep as well. I focused more on what I wasn’t getting done and less on … [Read more...]
Holy Holy Holy
The hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy grabbed my attention this week, Last Sunday I led the liturgy and shared the children’s sermon. As the service began, to be honest I was preoccupied. If God called to me, He would have gotten a busy signal. “Sorry the party you are trying to reach is unavailable." Not quite the way to enter worship, is it? But then we sang. Our opening song was the traditional hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy.I was fiddling with the wireless mic, so just mouthed the first set of lyrics. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee; Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity! Second verse same as the first (yes Herman Hermits fans - some of you will understand that little joke) Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee, Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee, Who was, and is, and evermore shall be. The … [Read more...]
Trinity Sunday – Lectio Divina
I have so much more to say, but you cannot absorb it right now. The Spirit of truth will come and guide you in all truth. He will not speak His own words to you; He will speak what He hears, revealing to you the things to come and bringing glory to Me. The Spirit has unlimited access to Me, to all that I possess and know, just as everything the Father has is Mine. That is the reason I am confident He will care for My own and reveal the path to you.John 16:12-15The Voice (VOICE)My head knows you love me, Lord. I struggle fully believing that in my heart.My mind barely grasps what all you have given me and how you cherish me as your child.But these verses also tell me the Spirit will care for me.Care for me?The Spirit loves me too?I never thought of that before, Lord.I study the idea of the Trinity - you being three in One.Love knows no boundaries within you, yet the idea of the Spirit expressing compassion for me lingers with me today.Your love is amazing.Add to that Jesus’ sacrifice … [Read more...]
Spiritual Growth – Quote of the Week
Physical and spiritual growth cannot be reduced to mechanics. I'm all for getting the mechanics right, but spiritual growth is more than a procedure; it's a wild search for God in the tangled jungle of our souls, a search which involves a volatile mix of messy reality, wild freedom, frustrating stuckness, increasing slowness, and a healthy dose of gratitude.Mike Yaconelli … [Read more...]
Do you know Julian of Norwich?
I posted a quote by Julian of Norwich a few weeks ago and several readers commented that they didn’t know her or much about her. I have invited her here today so we could get to know her better. One odd thing about Julian is that we really don’t know her name for sure. What we know about her is gleaned from her book, “Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love,” the first book written in English by a woman. She is referred to by the name of Dame Julian by Margery Kempe referring to the church, St. Julian’s in Norwich. She was born in 1342 during the time of the Black Death and lived until 1412. This was a very unpleasant age to live in England. The black death or plague led to very bad social conditions and the oppression of the poor. There was a shortage of labor, high taxes and bad harvests, prices were soaring and unrest. When she was thirty years old, she became gravely ill and most thought she would die. But on the seventh day the medical crisis passed and she saw a series of … [Read more...]
Walking a Labyrinth – Spiritual Practice
Walking the seaweed labyrinth on the Iona About 15 years ago, just when I was beginning this new growth in my spirituality, walking a labyrinth appealed to me. A good friend drove me to a grassy one built on the back acreage of a retreat center, explained it to me, and invited me to enter in. That first step into its winding circle was also my initial step into my next phase of spiritual growth. Based on the form of a circle and the spiral, this practice is an ancient and powerful symbol of wholeness and transformation. It is found in cultures throughout the world and has been added to many retreat centers as a form of walking prayer. Some of the earliest ones were found in Greece dating back to 2500-2000 BC. The path becomes a metaphor for the spiritual journey. The labyrinth is not a maze. Mazes have many paths and dead ends and they evoke a very different feeling than when we walk a labyrinth. A labyrinth is a unicursal with only one path in and the same path … [Read more...]