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What Is A Blog?
“A ‘blog’ is an online journal expressing the thoughts and interests of its author. Blogs are often updated frequently with personal thoughts, pictures and news related to the author's interests. Some blogs engage visitors in debate on serious issues while others contain a mixture of what is happening in a person’s life as kind of a hybrid diary/guide site. The firsthand accounts and unique perspectives offered by blogs have made them increasingly popular.”
3/24/2010
a new day
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name. May your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for yours are the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Each morning I am fairly good at reading my Divine Hours readings from Exporefaith.org. Each morning, noon and night the Lord's prayer is included in the prayers. It is simple, yet so difficult to follow throughout the day. Today I think about the request to "give us today our daily bread." Twice in those six words, the emphasis is on what I need for just today. I struggle with honoring God in my eating. I use eating in place of turning to God. I've been pondering this thought "eat when you're hungry, and when you're not hungry but want to eat, ask what you're feeling, and feel the feeling instead." For me, trying to follow Christ, I need to ask what I'm feeling and pray the feeling along with feeling the feeling. It's amazing to me how I am plagued with feelings that once they are prayed about, God can put into perspective for me. Oh how I yearn to have the habit of prayer rather than to stuff away prayers with food. It is my prayer that by the end of this day, I will be successful in just this one day by eating only my daily bread - what I'm hungry for, and turn to God for the rest.
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3/19/2010
tearing down or building up
I was reading some news articles this morning and came across the term, "frenemies." I guess it's the combination of friends/enemies. Or is it enemies which are turning to friends? I prefer the later definition. We're called to be reconciled to one another, as Christ gave his life so we would be reconciled with God. In John 10:10, Jesus talks about the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. Yet Jesus came so that we would have life, and life abundantly.
I think the "thief" operates with earnest within relationships. stealing joy; killing love; destroying trust. If the "thief" can make us into enemies, then we cannot do the important work of reconciling with one another and we cannot let Christ in to build up. The thief tears down, Jesus builds up.
The thief was at work in the lives of the people during Jesus' last week on this earth. The thief destroyed the relationship of Judas with Jesus. The thief stole the trust of the crowd in Jesus and the thief worked through Pilot to kill Jesus on the cross. The thief looks to tear down, destroy, kill. The thief searches our hearts for pain, for anger, for mistrust and then plants the seeds of destruction.
But Jesus searches our hearts to heal them, to love us and to gently urge us on to reconcile and build up relationships again. If trust is betrayed, if hope seems gone, maybe we just start with hope of "frenemies." We let Jesus do the work in both parties that needs to be done, so that we may once again be able to exhibit at least the fruits of the spirit towards one another: goodness; kindness; patience; faithfulness; self-control; love; joy; peace; gentleness.
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2/10/2010
Yielding is more wise than wielding - to God
The Morning Psalm
A Canticle of the Messiah
The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,* until I make your enemies your footstool.” The LORD will send the scepter of your power out of Zion,* saying, “Rule over your enemies round about you. Princely state has been yours from the day of your birth;* in the beauty of holiness have I begotten you, like dew from the womb of the morning.” The LORD has sworn and he will not recant:* “You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Psalm 110:1–4
The Refrain
The same stone that the builders rejected* has become the chief cornerstone.
The statement, "you are a pristst for ever after the order of Melchizedek" is used a lot in the divine hours. Melchizedek was a priest of the most High God during the time of Abraham, but he wasn't Jewish. He was God honoring and served God. When someone accepts a call to ministry, a call to serve the most high God, it is a journey of a lot of highs and lows. To be reminded that God considers us a servanat, a priest, even in the low times is encouragement. And the divine hours continued today with the refrain of the builders. The builders who are wise in their craft, yet rejected the cheif cornerstone. There are a lot of people who will wield wisdom, intellegence, or just their opinions. Yet we can totally miss the mark if we don't yield our wisdom, intelligence and opinions to God and let God speak to it all. Yielding is always more wise than wielding.
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