Although I have often abandoned you, O Lord, you have never abandoned me. Your hand of love is always outstretched towards me, even when I stubbornly look the other way. And your gentle voice constantly calls me, even when I obstinately refuse to listen…What a good friend you are, Lord! You are so patient, willing to wait as long as necessary for me to turn to you. You rejoice at the times when I love you, but you do not hold against me the times when I ignore you. Your patience is beyond my understanding. Even when I pray, my mind fills with worldly concerns and vain daydreams. Yet you are happy if I give only a single second of honest prayer, turning that second into a seed of love. Oh Lord, I enjoy your friendship so much, why is it not possible for me to think of you constantly?Teresa of Avila … [Read more...]
Secret to Longevity: Friendship
Want a long healthy life? Researchers at Brigham Young University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gathered data from 148 studies on health outcomes and social relationships. They looked at every paper on this subject they could find. Their research ended up including more than 300,000 people. What did they find? People with poor social connections had on average 50% higher odds of death in the study's follow-up period (an average of 7.5 years) than people with more robust social ties.Friends keep you healthy.God created community to help us thrive in our health in all areas: physical, emotionally and spiritual. I would add social health too.When I was in graduate school, drained physically and mentally from balancing work, parenting, and school, I resolved to do one action over summer break in all the dimensions of health to revive my spirit. Physically, I walked at least three times a week. Mentally I escaped the world of serious non-fiction and enjoyed good … [Read more...]
Living Deliberately
My friend, Candy, went skydiving last week. Yes that's Candy in the photo. She posted her adventure on Facebook (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXLjJSybrtQ) and I laughed as I watched it – she never stopped smiling. She embraced life, took the challenge, and literally let go. Candy lives deliberately – experiencing each day. She didn’t let fear or excuses stop her from achieving a deep desire in her heart. Now I am not going skydiving and am not recommending it either, but doesn’t it make you wonder what has been on your bucket list too long and needs attention? What God given yearning is buried in your heart under the clutter of everyday chores and other people’s demands? Henry David Thoreau lived deliberately. He rose every morning with the intention to absorb very crumb of the day. He wrote, “I want to live deep and suck all the marrow out of life…to know it by experience.” I think most of us walk around half asleep or even worse half dead. We get caught up with our … [Read more...]
God is Enough – Lectio Divina
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 (NIV) God will meet all my needs.All I need.Everything.I don’t need to look elsewhere.God is enough.I don’t need worldly distractions.I don’t need comfort foods.I need God and God alone.God is enough.Not just any godMY God.My God is enough.I cling to this promise and belief, Lord, in my walk. You are enough.Abraham said in Genesis, "The name of our God is JEHOVAH-JIREH, the Lord will see and the Lord will provide."Jehovah-Jireh, I place my trust and love in You. You are enough. … [Read more...]
Quote of the Week
“If God sees that my spiritual life will be furthered by giving me the things for which I ask, then He will give them, but that is not the end of prayer. The end of prayer is that I come to know God Himself.” O. Chambers … [Read more...]
Living in the Future or in the Present
I live in the future. I am a planner, organizer, to- doer of the highest regard.This realization hit me once again this past weekend. Walking into Barnes and Noble, just to look around, I saw them –2011 calendars Like an eagle diving to snatch its prey, I raced over to the display. So many bright colors and varying formats before me. I felt like a child drooling over all the possibilities at Toys R Us or an addict finding just the right fix. I even held in my hand one calendar dated 2011 and 2012 – two year of planning. I had to buy one. In fact, I bought two.My husband just shook his head at me. “There is still half of 2010 left you know.”He is right. I think I can somehow control the future when I have dates and notations for boundaries. How sad to miss the present gifts surrounding us being too busy looking ahead.I have been reflecting about my reaction of joy and excitement over next year’s calendar. At first I chastised myself for being so future oriented and not embracing … [Read more...]
God’s Delightful Creativity in the Deep Sea
Behold the work of the Lord.Newscasts last week carried this story:“Remote-controlled cameras sent down to depths of more than 4,500 feet in the Coral Sea, northeast of the northern Australian city of Cairns, have brought back unprecedented views of six-gilled sharks, giant oil fish, swarms of crustaceans and nautiluses that have been compared to "living fossils."The photographs fascinated me. Just think we had no idea these creatures even existed until the camera captured them. God created their brilliant colors, symmetrical bumps and flowing tentacles and set them free to dance just for Him these last million years or so. Now He is sharing them with us, His deep sea delights.When the photos appeared on the television screen, their beauty drew my attention. I abruptly stopped everything else and said, “Only God could have made something so wildly imaginative as these fish.” The photographs haunted me. With the renewed effort to be green and the tragedy with the oil spill in the … [Read more...]
God the Creator – Lectio Divina
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.Isaiah 40:28 (NIV) The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.CreatorMakerOriginatorArtist ExtraordinaireFashioner of puffy clouds, crawling bugs, and long necked giraffesBuilderComposerArchitectDesigner of every detail from beginning to endInventorAuthor Molder of masterpieces and shaper of soulsLord you are the genesis, the source of all creativityLord you are the spark of all eternity.Praise you for being the source, the fountain, and the seed of vitality.You are Creator. … [Read more...]