Image via WikipediaThe day I spotted the tiger swallowtail butterfly dancing on my flowers continues to linger in my soul.My immediate reaction was “to do.” I grabbed my camera and joined him in the garden, snapping away to capture that moment.Yet to take the closest photographs, I had to stop and stand very, very still. At one point I even thought my new friend might land on my arm, thinking I was part of the garden. I lean so near to him, for a moment I almost heard the flutter of his wings.Experts say butterflies cannot hear, but they can feel vibrations.We can hear, but do we listen?Listening – what a spiritual discipline we all need to develop. I know at least I do.Teach me to listen, Lord.Listening, whether to God, to others, or to our true selves, mean stopping and standing so still you can “hear” the vibrations.“For listening is the act of entering the skin of the other and wearing it for a time as if it were our own. Listening is the gateway to understanding. “ David Spangler … [Read more...]
A Growing Faith – Lectio Divina
Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. Romans 4:20His faith grew strongerLord I always think some of Your spiritual giants – Abraham, Moses, David – were born with a deep faith. Lord, sometimes when I read their stories I think they had it easier because of they knew instinctively how to trust in You.You just gave them more and that is why I struggle with less.Yet in today’s reading, Abraham first believed in Your promise, then his faith grew.I spend too much time longing for the end results and missed the main ingredient.Like making bread without leaven, in my faith I forget Your promise.Lord, I accept Your promises as true.May Your sacred assurances ferment within my soul nurturing my faith.And the last words of this verse: “and in this he brought glory to God.”Remind me once again, Lord, it isn’t about me. Your gift of faith isn’t for me to feel better, to think I am now holy, or to be some grand … [Read more...]
Praying – Mother Teresa – Quote of the Week
Image by Peta-de-Aztlan via FlickrDan Rather, CBS television interviewer, asked Mother Teresa of Calcutta: "When you pray, what do you say to God?" Teresa: "I don't say anything, I listen." Rather: "Well okay … when God speaks to you, then, what does he say?" Teresa: "He doesn't say anything. He listens. ... And if you don't understand that, I can't explain it to you.” … [Read more...]
WITH – Book Review
How do you relate to God? Is He the Great commander giving us laws to live by or one we feel we are obligated to serve? Is He the Almighty Genie in the sky? I know in my heart what I am supposed to believe about God, but find myself many times operating with an entirely different set of images that affect my relationship with the Lord. With – Reimaging the Way you Relate to God is a new book by Skye Jethani. The tag line intrigued me: “Stop living your life under, over, from, and for God and start living in communion with Him.”Jethani describes five postures that Christians often take toward God because of the way they view Him. He writes a chapter on the four most common ways: under, over, from, and for. “Life under God sees the world as governed by the capricious will of God. Life over God places immutable natural laws at the center. Life from God assumes the world orbits around the self and its desires. And life for God sees a divine mission a the core of all things.”The second … [Read more...]
Thanking God for Weeds
I was driving last week down one of our back county roads. Tall tasseled green corn stood in formation on each side of the highway. Lining both sides of the road as far as I could see grew countless blue dayflowers. Delicate Queen Anne’s Lace danced in the breeze.Even the clover blossomed in pick colors.“Thank you” tumbled out of my mouth.The beauty of God’s world captured my voice and all I could say was “Thank you.”“Thank you, Lord God, for crafting these dazzling details in Your creation.”If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank you," that would suffice. —Meister Eckhart***************************************************************************** I realized later that except for the corn, the beauty I experienced that day arrived in the form of unwanted weeds. In fact the blue dayflowers are classified as noxious and hard to control.Made me wonder: What do I cling to that would be categorized as toxic? Are there other unwelcomed … [Read more...]
God’s Immediacy – Lectio Divina
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you … [Read more...]
POVERTY – Quote of the Week – Mother Teresa
Image by Teo's photo via Flickr"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty."Mother Teresa … [Read more...]
Healthy Spiritual Nourishment – Five Bible Verses to Ponder
Image via WikipediaPonder - what a delightful word!To ponder usually means to think about something.But it has more depth than that.To ponder can mean to consider quietly, somberly and deeply; to examine attentively or deliberately or even to wrestle with.One definition referred “to weigh in your mind.” The word actually comes form Latin meaning to weigh. I like that image. Take a Bible verse, for instance, and gently put in on the scales within your head balancing it with your life experiences, your beliefs, your hopes and dreams and let it slowly seep into your heart.My favorite definition is to “chew on.” Or as Rainer Maria Rilke wrote writing that requires the reader who “does not always remain bent over his pages; he often leans back and closes his eyes over a line he has been reading again, and its meaning spread through his blood.”Eugene Peterson wrote a book about the art of spiritual reading call “Eat This Book.” His definition is “reading that … [Read more...]