The road ahead of me disappears into a khaki cloud of dust. With dry weather, the harvest season in Ohio creates impervious dust storms that swallowed cars before spitting them out on the other side covered with a film of dirt.Yet this dusty blessing feeds us.With ongoing remodeling in my house, no flat surface is spared a layer of white powder from the dry walling. Every time I think I have it cleaned, I spy another surface coated. I am frustrated during a remodeling process that is at first destructive before it can be constructive.Yet this dusty blessing will renovate and refresh my home.Last January my son faced huge heartbreak when he found out his last step into the church ministry was postponed. Instead of beginning the call process last February, he had to wait till this September. God took his situation, full of unfairness, anger, and misunderstanding, and opened an opportunity for him to work at the churchwide headquarters of our denomination, networking with people he would … [Read more...]
Show Me the Best Way, Lord – Lectio Divina
So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. 1 Corinthians 12:31 (New Living Translation) "Let me show you a way of life that is best of all."Yes, Lord – show me the best way.Not just the best, but the best of all.I too soon grab for the good.I rush into the better.I yearn for the best.The good, the better, and the best dazzle and distract me from You. I fill up on Your appetizers and never enjoy Your entrée or leave room for Your fabulous dessert.You offer to show me the best of all.Open my eyes to see the path You chose as the greatest way.Open my ears to hear Your directions.Spirit, fill my heart with the power of Your patience to wait for Your finest gifts.My eagerness to live a full life on this wonderful earth You created and gave to us, blocks my view of You. I focus more on the blessings and not the One presenting the gifts.You say, “Let me show you.”I say, “Yes, show me, Lord.” … [Read more...]
Autumn Equinox – Quote of the Week
“O sacred season of autumn, be my teacher for I wish to learn the virtue of contentment. As I gaze upon your full-colored beauty, I sense about you an at-home-ness with your amber riches. You are season of retirement, of full barns and harvested fields. The cycle of growth has ceased; the busy work of giving life is now completed. I sense in you no regrets; you’ve lived a full life. “I live in a society ever restless, always eager for more mountains to climb, seeking happiness through more and more possessions. As a child of my culture, I am seldom truly at peace with what I have.“Teach me to take stock of what I’ve been given and received; may I know that is enough, that my striving can cease in the abundance of God’s grace. I know the contentment that allows the totality of my energies to come to full flower, May I know that like you, I am rich beyond measure. As you, O Autumn, take pleasure in great bounty, let me also take delight in the abundance of simple things in life that are … [Read more...]
Behold the Handiwork of God
I hope many of you do not have cloudy skies this week. At 11:09 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday evening, fall began and God is outdoing Himself this week presenting a “super harvest moon.”The "harvest moon" is the full moon that happens closest to the yearly autumnal equinox, or the time when day and night are equal in length each September. The harvest moon phenomenon was named for farmers who used to depend on the moonlight to extend the workday during the busy harvest season. With the harvest moon there is no long period of darkness between sunset and the moon rising.But for the super harvest moon to occur, the two events must fall on the same night. When these two occurrences mix together, sky-watchers are treated to a sort of 360-degree twilight glow effect that is rarely visible. The so-called super harvest moon has not occurred for 20 years, and will likely not reappear until 2029.When the Sun starts to set on the Western horizon, a full moon will rise opposite to it on the East, … [Read more...]
Just Jesus and Me Yappin’ in the Car….
Confession time. If you ever see me driving in my car and appear to be talking to someone in the front passenger seat and there is no one there – Just smile and think, “Yep, there goes Jeanie, just a yapping away with Jesus.”Often when I drive, I invite Jesus along to ride with me and we talk up a storm. Most of the time I do the talking – yeah, I have mentioned that ramblin’ mouth of mine before in posts – but I do try to listen too.Last week while on a three-hour drive to Indianapolis, I reflected about several ongoing prayers that were quagmired in mud. These were items, long prayed for, but unclear what was happening. Jesus said let’s talk about them.So I did. I threw a whole litany of people, difficulties, and open-ended struggles upon Him.I placed in His welcoming hands long time concerns and distant dreams. His response?“Ok, I have them. I will take care of them.”Peace fell over my heart, as I knew He would take care of things, in His time.We rode in silence for a while, just … [Read more...]
A Listening God – Lectio Divina
"I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray." Psalm 17:6 (NLT)Listen as I pray.Listen.I shake my head in disbelief that the God of the Universe, the One who created all things, controls all circumstances and is Above All – listens to little ol’ me.Important people, Lord, much more significant, speak to you. Why the Pope, the Bishops, and many walking a purer spiritual life need You to hear them.Yet You listen to me.Aren’t my prayers drowned out in the ocean of chatter from the world? Yet You listen to me.When I whine and complain, You listen with love.When I praise and burst with thankfulness, You listen with joy.When I shout in anger and frustration, You listen with patience.When I can’t find the words, You listen to my heart.Thank for listening Lord. May I be a better listener to You. … [Read more...]
Who Are You? – Quote of the Week – Henri Nouwen
"As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will remain filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain addicted to putting people and things in their 'right' place." Henri Nouwen … [Read more...]
Catching God’s Vision with Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) and a 21st Century Man
I interview a young man this week who moved back to this rural area after living in New York for six years. He sought ‘home’ and ‘community’ and a safe place to raise his family. Perhaps what impressed me the most was how he looked at his hometown. I saw closed and empty storefronts, high unemployment, and a struggling school district. He saw historic architecture, a town full of potential, and rich in history. He has vision.As I entered my car to come home, I looked up at the buildings admiring their style and saw with new eyes and appreciation this place he calls home.Today is the commemoration of Hildegard of Bingen, a remarkable visionary, and a woman ahead of her time from the Middle Ages. I wrote about her in a post last March, but will repeat a little of her story today as we remember and honor her. Hildegard of Bingen was born in 1098. The tenth child of a noble family, she was dedicated at birth to the church as was the custom of the day. At age eight she was sent to … [Read more...]