The blessing of the Lord be on you. Psalm 129:8I cried last Saturday. In fact, tears dropped for over an hour.You see I held him as a baby, clear back in 1983.I cried then too.One day, full of self-pity in the midst of post-partum depression, I told the Lord through my tears that my arms were inadequate to take care of this baby He gave me. “I put him in Your arms, Lord. May the blessing of the Lord be upon you, young Brian.”As a mother I often put my children into God’s much stronger protection. Plenty of times my heart prayed, “May the blessing of the Lord be upon you.”When he first began to walk.When he skipped bravely through the kindergarten door.The first time and quite a few times, when he began to drive.May the blessing of the Lord be upon you.Prom nightGraduationCareer decisionsCollege admissionsFalling in loveBreaking upFalling in love – again.CollegeSeminaryMarriageCareer postponementsMay the blessing of the Lord be upon you.And now once again I cried as I put Brian into … [Read more...]
Walking with God – Lectio Divina
Enoch walked faithfully with God Genesis 5: 24a Enoch walked faithfully with God.Lord I want to walk with You.Side by side sharing in the present moment.Talking Listening, Giggling Enjoying our time together.But my stride is short and I can’t keep up with You.I trip. I don’t follow. I dally behind in my past or run ahead into the future.I look around, fearful I am lost.Yet You are there. Welcoming me back to the walk. Walk – an ordinary everyday action, yet in Your presence, becomes a way of life.I want to move in Your direction, following each of Your steps.I don’t know where our walk will lead me, but with You as my Companion, I am sure wherever we go will be a grand adventure. … [Read more...]
Walking with the Lord – Quote of the Week – Oswald Chambers
"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading." Oswald Chambers … [Read more...]
Saying Thank You
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...]