Reflection

Celebrating the ways we are the same…..

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 1 Corinthians 11:17-19

There was division in the early church, just as today. We are still getting caught up in our differences centuries later. When Yeshua walked this earth He saw a people scattered and broken, sheep without a shepherd He called them. With one act at the end of His earthly life, He made a way for us to be perfectly unified. The cross permanently bridged the gap for all time.


Today it is all about “celebrating our differences.” Has it helped us? It is certainly good to acknowledge our differences, but I think if we do nothing but highlight them, it only acts to draw us further apart. To me it is healthier to celebrate the ways we are the same, and that goes for the church as well. So many denominations, so many walls that separate….and yet, these are familiar words to everyone in the Christian church, whatever the denomination.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,


the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell. [See Calvin]
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead……..

In many ways, we humans like to junk things up with religiosity and intellect. We have been doing it forever, and certainly when Jesus walked the earth we were. That is the one thing He so laboriously fought against. It is not about what we do or how we do it, it is what He did for us. When He said, it is finished, He meant it!
In Heaven there will be no segregation…..

And every time I am worshipping in a church service, grabbing hands across the aisles, seeing black, white, brown, crying the same tears, praying for each others needs, loving each other, I know…..

The Kingdom of Heaven is in deed, at hand!  

Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. 1 Corinthians 4:6
Photo from Brooklyn Tabernacle website

Sunday Morning Prayer

Thank you Lord, for your marvelous creation……you touch the leaves with gold at the turning of the seasons. With Your every brushstroke we are reminded that Your fingertips are behind each perfect design. Thank you for being the kind of God who is willing to come down and take an active part in the lives of men and women. Thank you for not leaving us to our own self-destructive ways, instead lovingly providing us always with an escape, straight to Your arms.
“Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” Psalm 40:5

Your thoughts were on me even before I was conceived, you were thinking of me even then! This fills me with wonder and amazement, I am silent and hold these precious thoughts in my heart today, in gratitude and thanksgiving, I lift up Your praise! For You are worthy…….

Further reflections on blogging….

“Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” 1 Timothy 4:16

Ever since I started blogging I noticed a strange phenomenon when I am away from a computer. I really miss blogging! I am starting to say things like, “I need to blog about that!” Then when I take my laptop with me I start to look around for places with free WIFI. I have always kept journals and captured my thoughts, so this part wasn’t foreign to me at all. I have always enjoyed observing people, being part of the fringe as opposed to the center of the circle and writing what I see. That wasn’t what surprised me.

What did surprise me was that my blogging has actually become part of my devotional time. It has increased my prayer time too, because  from the first I wanted this blog to be a lot about Him and not much about me. I figured that would be the only way to keep my big ego out of the way! I always pray about what to post and in the seeking and asking, I come away feeling closer to Him myself. Sometimes He surprises me and gives an answer right away! Sometimes it takes longer. Sometimes I get no message at all. On those days either I don’t post or I post something someone else has written. Sometimes it is good to take a rest even from something you enjoy. To go thought gathering……

Always, God is teaching me through this blog. It is humbling, so humbling. I see all the other blogs out there and sometimes I almost want to quit, thinking it’s already been said by better people, better writers…..and they have said it more creatively, more skillfully.With more wisdom. But then God nudges me and I hear Him say, “You have something to say because I created only one you, and only you can say it just this particular way.” Really, He is telling all of us that. So I smile, and realize there is always room for one more blog. Just like there is always room for one more good book. More words to praise Him with.

I am so thankful for this place. It is my own little corner belonging to God and to me, and to all of you!

God in Living Color

I have always thought of Fall as nature gathering her thoughts……..what a spectacle, this riotous color. God’s color palette is limitless…..He does nothing in black and white…..ours is a God who does things in technicolor. And yet, He says, “You haven’t seen anything yet…….look, I have saved the colors of Eden for you, the ones you left behind long ago. Now you see glimmers of that light, that dimly remembered glory of your first days, preserved in Heaven, I will restore your sight once again to see what you were meant to see all along.”
But another day is coming……..However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”–1 Corinthians 2:9
Eden restored…….”Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. Isaiah 65:17
When I see swirling leaves of bright orange and red, there is a place in my soul that is touched deeply and  I can’t help thinking that much more is going on than meets the eye, under the surface where only God can see. Fall captivates me once again with God’s great and glorious imagination, and yet I can’t help but wonder what He has yet to show us.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12

Multitude Monday

Photo courtest of Vermont Outdoor Guide Association

I see the man of sorrows and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load…..Sara Groves, “When the Saints”

Lately I have been speculating on what it really means to follow Christ. It’s a question I ask myself here in my sheltered comfortable corner of life. This is hard to put into words. I have been mulling it over for several weeks now. God has placed in my heart a question and a challenge. I have been aware of another road that is taking shape just beyond the edge of my thoughts. I see Jesus and others walking on it and I find myself wondering what my life would look like if I really stepped beyond the borders of my safe existence and said yes to giving Him everything.

For He is always asking something……I just don’t always listen. I was challenged yesterday when I saw a quote from Katie’s blog, in it she says,  “If we are really following Jesus, we will go to the hard places. Being a Christ follower mean being acquainted with sorrow. Because we must know sorrow to be able to fully appreciate joy. Joy costs pain, but the pain is worth it.”

I have the luxury of asking the question, the ones already doing the work of Christ know they are doing what He asks, they don’t need to ask the question……But asking the question is good. Just the asking takes courage sometimes. I don’t believe God wants us to browbeat ourselves and render us immobile with guilt. He wants us to look in our hearts and find out what He is asking of us right now, this very moment. There is always something He is asking us to do.  Being obedient to the simple things……. Knocking on a neighbor’s door, making a phone call to that person that God whispers to my spirit, driving across town to pray with a friend who is struggling.

Lord, help me right now to be obedient and open to Your Spirit. Help me never be afraid to ask the hard questions, for they can lead me closer to You. Keep my heart soft and my tongue filled with kindness and help me to see through Your eyes of compassion the needs right around me. Amen

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:36-38

I continue my endless counting today, with Ann and many others……….for there is much to be thankful for today and everyday…..Your tender mercies, friendly faces that smile back, cool breezes through the window, words that inspire, joy in simple accomplishments, yellow sliver moons, purple mountains at sunset, stars that shine in the desert, groceries in the pantry, courageous people being the Hands and Feet of God all over the world, Moms that send leaves in the mail. #496-#506

holy experience

In the trenches of life

Tlaquepaque Chapel, Sedona Arizona
“But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, that those who love your name my rejoice in You.” Psalm 5:11
This morning wasn’t a calm prayer time for me……I was restless, I was worried. I was wondering why circumstances seem so hard for people who are just trying to do the right things. Why does it seem that certain people sail through life with little difficulty? If they need something done they just pay to have someone do it, with money no object they are unscathed by the things that bog the rest of us down. They don’t have to mess with details, they don’t lose sleep over what is not getting done because someone else is doing it…..or not. Either way, they live above the fray unaffected.  
So this prayer is for the rest of us here in the trenches of life. The ones who look around and realize they are standing alone, with no backup in sight. The ones who get robbed themselves because they are caring for others. The ones with anxious prayers like David, who was not a stranger to adversity.
He lost sleep, he was anxious, fearful, distressed and tired. But He also knew his God. He knew that his God was big enough to handle anything. He also knew that God was a refuge where he could always find shelter.
As I was reading, but mostly worrying this morning. I read these lines…..the ones that God highlighted for me, the ones where my finger stopped moving across the page.
“In the morning O Lord you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation.”
I pray, but so many times I don’t wait in expectation, I try to figure things out my own way. I don’t wait in expectation to see what God will do, I don’t even give Him the chance. I believe that is what He wanted me to see this morning. I marvel at the faith of David, a man after God’s own heart. He knew how to wait the right way. 
I love how David poured out his heart to the Lord. I can always find comfort in the Psalms because I know that I can find everything there that mirrors exactly what I am feeling at any given moment!
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24
Jesus with children, Sedona Art Studio


Giving myself a timeout

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
Sometimes you just need a little getaway! So…… I am getting away for a couple of days to beautiful Sedona, Arizona. I may post and I may not, I have no agenda other than waking up and taking my mug of coffee to the edge of the creek and listening to all of nature that my ears can hold.
And enjoying some cooler weather…..

“Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.” 1 Peter 1: 18-21 The Message
This photo is how my mnd feels right now, looking forward to the weekend!
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

Watching the Sky

By Maxfield Parrish

“Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:” Amos 5:8

Last night I stepped outside and was greeted with a “Maxfield Parrish” sky. Ever since I saw some of his art long ago, I think of him when the sky is that certain shade of inky blue…..that not quite dark cobalt, still lit from underneath by the sun’s last trace of light. I took a deep breath, thanking God for the night sky, His sky…..for the stars, the moon and placing me here at just this moment in time.

I always make it a point to go out at dusk and look for the moonrise. God’s mysterious night light. I love that particular time of the evening. There is a resigned peacefulness in the twilight when the evening sounds start to rise and everything calms down. Once again, stars appear just like they did the night before, there is security in that.The evening bird closes out the day and ushers in the night with one last song…….This one day has closed out….. and we did the best we could with it, and it is enough.

The other night it was a harvest moon. As I saw the glow of it rising over the Superstition mountain ridge, it almost took my breath away…it was huge and otherworldly, like it was too big for the horizon. I was in the car and I wanted to pull over so I could watch the whole performance, but I had to be content with watching it the best I could while driving down the freeway.

In ancient Israel it was common for people to sleep on the rooftops. Maybe because it was cooler outside, and probably there was more room. They spent a lot of time watching the sky……watching, and waiting too. For a Messiah that would be preceded by a strange star…..If there was some new star there they would have known it immediately.

They read the book of Numbers, they had read the Prophecy
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel…….Numbers 24:17
 
I don’t know who taught me to be a sky watcher and I’m not sure when it started…..



When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty! Psalm 8:3-5

Now my brother is teaching my Niece to watch the sky too, I think it’s great. Every evening they are together they go out and look for the moon……and everytime the moon is a very small crescent, my Mom thinks of me from California.


What is faith?

Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

My definition of faith: “Faith is the absolute certainty that what we believe will come to pass.”

Websters definition of faith: b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust

Ever tried to explain your faith to someone? It is like explaining the concept of eternity. Our finite minds just can’t get a grip on it. It is a good exercise though to think about why you believe a certain way and how you came to those beliefs.  Trying to articulate it is not easy. People say, “How can you be so sure?” Here are a few reasons why I have faith in God.

God has proven Himself over and over through circumstances and changes in me and other people…He is faithful, even when I am not.

Because the Bible says so and I believe the Bible to be God’s inspired word. “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” Romans 19:17 NLT 

Through answered prayer and miracles that can be explained no other way.

Because of everything I see in the world around me.  

The Holy Spirit within me verifies that it is true.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13

Many people take issue with the fact that Christians seem so dogmatic in their beliefs, that we refuse to entertain the possibility that we may be wrong. The question then becomes, why would I want to devote my whole life to a belief system that I really wasn’t sure of? 

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11:11

If we have evidence of things not seen, that would mean that there is evidence that we can see, hear and touch. Something that is tangible. What it takes is opening up our hearts as well as our eyes.  I came to the conclusion that the odds of all of this just happening on its own were a statistical  impossibility.

And I had praying parents……

To me, this question of faith is fascinating. I found myself going down a rabbit-trail that wouldn’t end. I couldn’t find a place to end this post, I kept thinking of more verses, more questions. The simplest way to put it is, I once was lost but now as found, was blind but now I see!

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther

Photo Mark Wilson, Globe Photo

We are God’s offspring…..

Entrance to village church in South Warnborough, Hampshire, England. Image courtesy of flicker
A.W Toser…..”What I believe about God is the most important thing about me.”
“We are what we love. If we love God, in whose image we were created, we discover ourselves in Him and we cannot help being happy; we have already achieved something of the fullness of being for which we were destined in our creation. If we love everything else but God, we contradict the image born in our very essence, and we cannot help being unhappy, because we are living a caricature of what we are meant to be.” Thomas Merton, The Waters of Siloe
 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:24-28
Not much time to post today, but I will leave you to quiet meditation with these selections, which say it much better than I ever could anyway……blessings for the day! Lori