Recent newscasts show the growing tragedy of the geysers of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps the scene that breaks my heart the most is the wildlife struggling to survive, drenched in thick brown muck. Some float and most barely walk, no, they weakly stagger, under the weight of the heavy oil. The only signs of life we can see is their desperate eyes pleading for help. They know they cannot save themselves. They seek hope. The cleaning process for these exhausted birds begins with covering them in Canola oil, followed by a thorough bath in dishwashing detergent and water. Volunteers spend at least one full painstaking hour of scrubbing, rubbing, and rinsing to get each bird clean. I thought of these pelicans this past weekend when discouragement overwhelmed my heart. I dragged with a heaviness of spirit, weighted down in the messy muck of this favorite tool of the devil. The evil one knows too well my Achilles heel and attacks me, especially when I am … [Read more...]
Make a Clean Break – Lectio Divina
"Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32 (MSG)Make a clean break.Lord, it is so much easier for me to be sarcastic than accepting. I am quicker to criticize than to love. I jump to conclusions, assuming fault in the other person and letting my self-protecting defenses rule my heart instead of You.You tell me make a clean break. Reminds me when I am in my stained glass workshop in the garage cutting glass. I score the line on the glass and with one quick jerk, SNAP, the glass breaks evenly and precisely as designed. If I don’t score completely or break quickly, the glass shatters with jagged edges that cut my fingers.Lord, Your death and resurrection forever settled the score, so we could make a clean break with the world and its sin.Make a clean break.I will keep this as my prayer this week that with Your strength, I can break … [Read more...]
Journaling for Discernment
Keeping a journal is a spiritual practice that often helps enlighten and guide when you are discerning a new step in your life. Words are powerful. Words clarify, provide direction, and offer a way to sort through the junk to find the treasure.Several years ago I was in a dilemma. As county health commissioner, I no longer enjoyed the work that tipped more toward bioterrorism prevention than health promotion. My passion no longer lie with personnel and financial tensions overloaded with smallpox, plaque, and pandemic flu. I had the opportunity to retire, but needed to decide when. This is where my journal helped in my discernment. I charted my feelings, my indecisiveness, my hopes and dreams over a several year period. After much turmoil, even some missteps in the wrong direction, I decided on July 2006 as the date. I discovered something really odd though, several weeks after making my final decision.Rereading my journal, I jotted down these words TWO years before – “I think God … [Read more...]
God’s Fingerprints – You are who you were when you were ten
“You are who you were when you were ten,” my friend Diane said to me the other day. That statement fascinated and haunted me. Is it true?I think God wires us certain ways when we are created. We can learn outside and beyond those initial markings, but these often are our strengths and core passions.Who were you at age 8, 9 or 10? Thinking back I realized I was a writer and imaginative explorer. My fourth grade teacher called me a poet and gave me a special book of poetry at the end of the school year. I remember summers playing in a make believe sailboat exploring deserted islands – in reality the boat was a smaller tree with great limbs to climb through and the island, the empty lot behind my house.Now I don’t think we are locked into who we were at age ten, but if we take the time reflect on who we were as a child before all the adult masks were donned and the world told us who to be, we may discover our true selves – who God meant us to be. What do you think?Every life is a fairy … [Read more...]
God’s Strength Lectio Divina
"Go in the strength you have..." (Judges 6:14)So often, Lord I have no strength left. The world crushes my hopes and zaps my energy. I don’t think I can go on.Yet you tell me to “go in the strength” I have. Lord, when all seems hopeless, I still go on.Lord, when everything takes an effort, I still try.Lord with your help, your strength, I can take one more step, live one more day.I used to think this verse referred to my strength, but now realize I possess access to Your limitless strength.Your strength makes all the difference.I arise todayThrough the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom. I arise todayThrough God's strength to pilot me;God's might to uphold me,God's wisdom to guide me,God's eye to look before me,God's ear to hear me,God's word to speak for me,God's hand to guard me,God's way to lie before … [Read more...]
God Bless You!
Ah-Choo! And we all say "God bless you" or if you grew up in a household with a German background like I did, we immediately respond, “Gesundheit!”Ever wonder why we do this? Ancient writings as old as 77 AD mention this practice. People believed your heart stopped when you sneezed or your soul was temporarily expelled from your body. If one was quickly blessed, the devil would not have time to snatch your soul before it returned. The custom grew more in the sixth century when plague broke out. They thought if you sneezed in the morning you would be dead by night.“Gesundheit" comes from Germany, and it literally means "health." The idea is that a sneeze typically precedes illness.In Holland if you sneeze three times, tomorrow will be sunny. Others believe that a sneeze before breakfast is a sign that you will hear exciting news before the end of the day.Another belief is that people used to see sneezing as a sign that God would answer your prayers or an omen of good fortune or good … [Read more...]
Gibb’s Rules – God’s Rules – Spiritual Rules for Life
I enjoy watching NCIS. On this television show the main character Jethro Gibbs has rules for his team, such as always wear gloves at a crime scene and never mess with a marine’s coffee.God gives us rules to follow.Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)When you think about it, most of us live by unspoken and unwritten rules. For example, always call your mother on Mother’s Day, don’t forget to say thank you, and look both ways before crossing a street. Some families have specific rules like don’t put the ketchup bottle on the Thanksgiving table (yes, we do follow that silly one at my home)Writing down your spiritual rules can be a powerful practice. A Rule for Life is a collection of guidelines for living. It can also be called a Way of Life. Its purpose is to help us keep our sense of … [Read more...]
My Thoughts or God’s Thoughts – Lectio Divina
“For as a man thinks within himself, so he is.” Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)“Thinks within.”How do I “think within” Lord? What do my thoughts reveal about my heart? About my relationship with You?Lord, my thoughts scatter.My thoughts worry.My thoughts wonder off onto desolate unmarked paths.My thoughts wrapped themselves with ego, fears, and anxiety.I give power to my thoughts instead of YouI allow them to control me with their negative nature that draw me away from You.Reminds me of a verse from my favorite Psalm:You perceive my thoughts from afar... How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! – Psalm 139: 2b, 17 As I “think within” Lord – let Your thoughts saturate my thoughts. Your thoughts lead my thinking.Your thoughts direct my attention.Your thoughts shine light on my reflections.Your thoughts fuel my imagination.Your thoughts guide my opinions.Your thoughts infuse wisdom into my foolishness.May I always reflect your presence as I “think within.” … [Read more...]