Do you thrive or just survive in the daily routines of life? We have been camping the past two weeks. After long days of car travel from Ohio to Utah, we ventured around the "Golden Circle" of Moab, Arches and Canyonland National Parks, Mesa Verde, Durango and the four corners, then through northern Arizona to Bryce and Zion National Parks. What a treasure our national parks are! I am amazed at the history of the world found in geology. We discovered the roots of ancient Native Americans and listened to their stories about creation, the stars above, and how we are all connected through the years and through nature. Yes vacation can be moments of learning, adventure and change of scenery. I love planning trips and the anticipation of new sights. My perspective widens and my imagination soars. Trips evolve into more than just sightseeing; they become pilgrimages where we find roots and inspiration. Each day was different. Yet nothing on vacation feels as good to … [Read more...]
Embracing God’s Wonders – Lectio Divina
Take a good look at God’s wonders— they’ll take your breath away. He converted sea to dry land; travelers crossed the river on foot. Now isn’t that cause for a song?Psalm 66: 5-6 (The Message)Lord, my heart does sing this week.My music speaks of thankfulness for a wonderful vacation.My memory overflows with pictures of the beauty of Your creative artistry found in our national parks.The words of this week’s psalm roll from my spirit upward in wonder and gratitude.Southern Utah is dry land, Lord, once covered by deep seas and creatures that no longer roam.We could see each era in the colorful strata of rocky layers.You must love rocks, Lord. You seemed to play with them, juggled them with glee as You stacked them on top of each other in patterns that defy any human reasoning.My mind visualized You bowling the boulders into deep canyons filled with divinely made bowling pins.I can see You sculpting clay into innovative shapes that humans will later think they see shapes of … [Read more...]
The Master Craftsman – Quote of the Week
“You weren’t an accident.You weren’t mass produced.You weren’t an assembly line product.You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted and lovingly positioned on earth by the Master Craftsman.”Max Lucado … [Read more...]
The 4th of July – Erma Bombeck
You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~Erma Bombeck … [Read more...]
Spiritual Priorities
Remember the old Abbot and Costello skit: “Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know is on third...” I have been pondering that question lately: Who’s on first? Who is first in my life? I wish I could say God was all the time, but to be honest, that is not always true. I heard a speaker a few years ago, Rev, Dan Schrock, pastor of the Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship in Goshen Indiana, speak about five attachments we cling to instead of God. Many of these affections are not bad, but just disordered. We hold onto them tightly, putting them in first place – a place reserved only for God. “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Exodus 34:14 What takes the place of God as priorities in our hearts and lives? 1. Physical objects – that new truck, our laptop, the home we have lived in for 26 years 2. People – This could be a highly regarded mentor, a close friend and … [Read more...]
A Native American Prayer – Give Us Hearts To Understand
Here is a great Native American Prayer to enrich your devotions: Give us hearts to understand; Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give; never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed; Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty; never to take from her what we cannot use. Give us hearts to understand That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion; that to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty; That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench; that as we care for her she will care for us. We have forgotten who we are. We have sought only our own security. We have exploited simply for our own ends. We have distorted our knowledge. We … [Read more...]
The Invitation – Entering Into Worship and Prayer
I learned something new lately about preparing my heart to enter into worship and prayer. I have been helping with the beginning of our church’s worship service. I lead the opening prayer and share the children’s message. What is new is that I am wearing a wireless microphone. I am aware of every cough, clearing of my throat and escaping hiccup could be broadcast quite loudly over the speakers during the time I am “live.” Part of that time is when we sing our first hymn. mmm, I don’t want to have the rest of the congregation subject to my singing being transmitted throughout the church so have been silently mouthing the words of the opening song. What has surprised me is this has evolved into a quiet time of prayer with God. Silently saying the words brings the lyrics alive as I offered them up to God. “Those who sing, pray twice.” - St. Augustine. God has shown me a new way of entering into his heart for worship. I wonder what others means … [Read more...]
GUIDANCE – God and I Dance
Guidance. God and I dance. Do you see in the word Guidance - the words God and I dance? A friend took this photo of a gravestone a few weeks ago. Inscribed was the perhaps familiar to you poem about the word “guidance" and "God and I dance." When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing " dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving … [Read more...]