Thank you Pat!

I just really needed to get out of the house today..I thank God the storm was not today, so we could enjoy our Bible Study, and then as an extra bonus, share and enjoy lunch with one another..Thank you Pat for opening up your lovely home to us, the warm soup and yummy sandwiches were a real treat. I most enjoyed just sitting and talking with my friends of faith...thank you so much...I feel like I am renewed for the upcoming days we may be inside watching the snow fall.

prayers to all of you...

THANK YOU!

He's Got It Covered

I remember when we were learning about God's timing and being warned about how often in our ministries we can get so "caught up" in accomplishing the work of God that we forget about...God.   In our impassioned scramble to figure out what we 'need' to do next, what we 'need to fix', what we 'need to do' or 'need to become' to be better, to get it done, to "succeed for the Lord!"...we could easily forget exactly Who is doing the saving here.   My teacher warned us that we can get so busy doing things for Him that we leave no time to spend with Him.  And whenever we start doing things on our own without Him....yikes.  Even ministries done "for God" (but without continual Holy Spirit guidance and revelation) can become burdens, heavy weights that we take upon ourselves and drag around in crazy, minimally effective and totally exhausting circles!! 

I am slowly but surely realizing that this is true for ALL things in my life now.  Whenever I try to accomplish anything without the direction and covering of the Holy Spirit, I run the risk of running in crazy circles around my own misguided understanding and so find myself exhausted, confused and very very tense!  Instead of focusing upon God, I find myself focusing upon "me"--worrying about what "I" need to do, where "I" need to go, what "I" need to say, what pathway "I" need to take, which step "I" need to take next.  I forget that my Creator resides powerfully--and patiently--within me, knowing fully in His All-Knowing-ness, the best method, time and place for everything I do.  I forget that He already knows every intimate detail about me.  I forget that, in fact, before I took my first breath, He already had a wonderful plan--a wonderful purpose--laid out for me!

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."  (Eph 2:4, NASB, emphasis added)

And when I finally get off (or fall off) my well-intentioned-but-still-oh-so-presumptuous high horse, I can lean on the other parts of God's unchanging nature:  even if I have made bad decisions that have "set me back" or even if I have inadvertently (or willfully!) managed to block my view of Him with preoccupied views of "me, myself, and i", I know that in His All-Loving-ness and All-Powerful-ness He already has a plan to remedy my mess and get me back on course...He's just waiting for me to make the choice to turn back and follow Him!  An experienced counselor once told me:  "As a Christian, you can't be broken beyond God's creative ability to restore.  For you, there is no such thing as irreparable damage!"  It's what allows me to persevere in all things; in remembering the depth and the power of His love for me, I cannot help but be filled to the brim with hope and be given the strength to crawl on my knees back to Him!

So, as a child of an Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent God, it means that I am never at the mercy of things such as circumstance, fate, luck, or a negative event.  Yes, I still realize that I will experience difficulties and I will journey through some very painful and trying times.  But no matter how or why it occurs, it is comforting to know that way before life dealt me a hard-knuckled blow and landed me in a seemingly devastating situation, God ALREADY had a plan to heal and restore me...to redeem me out of the circumstances, always stronger, always closer, always wiser with and in Him!  I just need to trust in His love for me, in His unchanging nature and purpose for me, and believe beyond everything else that:

"...God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Rom 8:28, NASB, emphasis added)

How much easier it would be to live my life if I could always remember that from the moment He first thought of me, He already had me totally covered!

.

Wish you were here...

... well, not literally (although that would also be nice); but wishing for you all to have a chance for some real renewal this Lent, as I just did.

I'm basking in the after-effects of a weekend retreat with about 500 teens. An amazing mix of praise and worship, great talks, prayer, eucharistic adoration both nights (and the kids were blown away by this). Young, energetic friars and sisters (one of the Dominican Sisters, in full habit, won the rap contest) who were living examples of the Joy of the Lord... It was amazing to see the kids responses as they stepped away from the clamor of daily life and gave the Holy Spirit a quiet space in which to work.

And God gave me an extra little gift or two. There were three Franciscans there - and being with them is always so good for my soul. We had a few chances to talk and found some great coincidences (God-incidences?) of common ground,in addition to the general sense of joy that comes from being in the presence of brothers and sisters in faith.

But God, being abundant in generosity, gave me more than that. He reminded me of the blessing of the Franciscan outlook, which is one of total and radical dependence on God (and which goes very much against my natural inclination to be in control, to have all my bases covered). I had been working all weekend to push back an internal struggle, so I could just focus on the kids there. But I couldn't silence the noises inside me - worse, couldn't tell if the painful, barren time I was having during the weekend was God tearing me down to the foundations because He needed to, or if I was under serious spiritual attack. So externally, I was fine, but internally, I was in deep conflict. Then right before the closing mass, Fr. Pio Maria reminded me that anxiety runs contrary to trusting God - it is the wonderful, simple Franciscan way to trust absolutely every detail (even if they will have food that day) to God. Now, I hadn't mentioned to Fr Pio about my internal struggle, we were talking about something else.

After we finished speaking and mass began, I realized that God was in control of what was going on inside me and that He would handle it. That if it was spiritual warfare, God was in control and He would let me know if I had to do anything about it. But otherwise, my job was simply to focus on Him, even if I was spiritually barren and conflicted. Okay, I'm kind of picturing Maggie having heart failure as she reads this - don't worry, I'm not discounting the reality of Spiritual warfare, nor of our need to be on guard. But it was wonderful to be reminded that I'm a foot soldier and that the King will give me my marching orders in due time, but I don't need to be laying out strategies for him.

At least for today, I can be like the Franciscans and just trust. Just know that God all-loving, all-present, and all-powerful (as Maggie was writing about), and that I can just wait at his feet, with faith instead of anxiety. He knows I'm there, knows my heart and needs, and that when he needs me to take action, he will let me know. For a type-A control freak like me, that's a very nice (if slightly foreign) place to be. Praying that you all also are finding yourselves sitting at the feet of the King waiting for his commands; or confidently carrying out what ever he has charged you to do today.

God is OMNIPOTENT

God is OMNIPOTENT.
Another really cool word. It means "ALL-POWERFUL". Bottomline Truth here: there is no-one and nothing that is greater or more capable than He. In fact, nothing comes even remotely close to the power, authority and supremacy of the Lord and God we serve. Therefore, we can trust that whatever He assigns to us, He will enable us to accomplish--because we will partner with HIM. HE will empower us, equip us, gift us in whatever it is that HE has asked us to do WITH Him. As my teacher used to tell me: Simply take Him at His word--then turn to Him for the power, insight, skill, and resources required.

Bottomline here is that I will never have to doubt MY ability or strength to accomplish His assignments...I will always have HIS. Such is the reason I do not move out on my own strength or understanding--only on His. I absolutely know that without Him I am utterly and eternally nothing--nada, zilch, (or as my teacher used to say) a passing ball of gas. But, IN Him, WITH Him, THROUGH HIM I am everything...I am everything HE has always meant for me to be. So totally amazing, isn't it?

So, for us, these three immutable (permanent, unchangeable) aspects of the nature of God (His All-Lovingness, His Omnipresence and His Omnipotence) make up the infrastructure upon which we need base all that we do--how we think, how we act, how we study and learn, teach, repent, accept forgiveness and so forgive, how we discern, experience, witness, serve...how we stay armored and covered, how we battle, and how we stand and withstand...how we love and adore Him, totally worship and honor Him, endure with Him, stay infatuated with and in Him, how we rest in Him. It's how we crawl back to Him covered in the filth of our wrong choices, and end up cleansed and renewed in His life-blood.

It's how we need to live...know what I mean? These Truths ARE the belt that we cinch around our waist, into which we tuck all of our garments so that we do not trip, onto which we hang our weapons to fight off temptations, and with which we gird and protect our loins--so that nothing we "reproduce" will be false or misleading.

Brings back to remembrance our study in Ephesians...so that we may be able to stand our ground, and after everything is said and done, to just be able to stand! (Eph 6:13)

What an awesome visual that is, yes?

God is OMNIPRESENT

God is OMNIPRESENT.
"Omnipresent"...such a cool word, isn't it? Means "present at all times and in all places, at once". And if God is in all places and in all times at once, then He knows everything...He is "omniscient" or ALL-KNOWING. Because God is not limited by the dimension of time, He knows the past, present, and future. In fact, because HE created ALL things, nothing is outside of His knowledge. How totally cool is that!

But even more importantly then, is the Truth that because He is ALL-KNOWING, I never have to question the wisdom of His directives for me. He has already considered every factor, all angles, every alternative... and knows and has chosen the ONE BEST option for me. Whenever God expresses Himself to me, His directions are always right. I will never do God's bidding only to find out that He was somehow mistaken or just winging it or trying something new just to see how it will work out. He already knows, and because I also know that He loves me beyond measure, I have absolute confidence that when God tells me to do something, it IS the right course of action...even when it doesn't make sense to me! Such is the privilege and honor of willingly serving a God who wants nothing more than to bring me--and anyone He can touch through me--safely home to Him. I can totally trust that He absolutely knows where I am supposed to go and how I am supposed to do it--and He WILL guide me!

Because I know that HE already knows everything, I CAN be assured of things hoped for and confident of things yet unseen. (Hebrews 11:1). True knowledge and understanding of His nature gives me faith!

How totally cool is that!

God is LOVE

God is LOVE.
Yes, God loves me. But it is more that that. God IS love (1 John 4:16), and therefore His essential nature is not only TO love, but is ENTIRELY love.

Can we grasp the fullness of that?

That means that everything that God does--every experience we have of God expressing His Will--is a demonstration of His perfect, unchanging, unending LOVE. His guidance, His provision, His discipline, His judgment--even His "wrath"--is based purely and utterly on love. God's kind of love, therefore, always seeks HIS best for each person. In other words, because His nature is love, I am confident that however He expresses Himself to me--as teacher, guide, advisor, intercessor, defender, mediator, counselor, friend, judge--is always best....always. Even if I don't yet understand it. Even if it seems painful to me at the moment.

Gotta selah on that for a moment, ladies.

I guess if I had to choose the one Truth that allows me to "stand and withstand" any and all circumstances, it is my confidence in the love nature of God. Not just HIS love for ME, but His love for ALL persons. I still remember clearly the exact moment everything I had been learning about God up to that point came crashing together...when the realization of God's deep-enough-to-die-for-me love hit me so hard that I could no longer hold onto my excuses of why I was unworthy, why He was too busy to desire to be my personal God, how I wasn't good enough yet to approach or be close to Him, how God couldn't possibly love me if He really knew everything about me... The bottomline Truth that finally transformed "the" Lord into "my" Lord and God was the very fact that He did what He did for me despite all of my defects and deficiencies...He did it all for me even when I didn't even know Him and even when at times I really really despised Him. He still loved me enough to give everything up for me.

So, no matter what my human condition or circumstance, I know that I know that I know that I can trust in the love Christ proved to me when He laid down His life for me on the cross-- "when I was still yet a sinner". Even when I was the one yelling "crucify Him"--He still loved me beyond all human understanding and died for me. And in the death AND resurrection of Christ, GOD forever convinced me that HE loves me.

Does that hit you like it hit me? It's how, at my very core, I relate to everything He is...it keeps me in a perpetual state of wonder and awe...and in the deepest state of humility.

Know what I mean? It so totally grounds me and keeps me on my knees...

If God is with us, who can be against us?

Oh Debbie, you are absolutely right! John reminds us that we CAN recognize things "not of God" and we do not need to fear them:

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4, NIV)

The Holy Spirit is our strength, He IS our faith, our hope, our fire, our discernment, our authority over everything in our world. With, through and in Him, we are more than able to "handle" anything this world presents to us...AND turn it to good of the plan of the Father! Thank God for the redemptive sacrifice of Christ's love, life, and death that allowed His Spirit to come and once again dwell with and in us!!

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—-how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " (Rom 8:31-39, NIV, emphasis added)

Thank you, Debbie, for reminding me of this!
love
mags

Forewarned is Fore-armed

Janet, You are so right. If we are forewarned, we ar forearmed.
If we become aware of what situations and/or people push us over to anger then we can make a choice of how to respond - a choice of what or WHO we want to shine through us. We have a choice, through our own free will, whether to build up the person or situation for God's glory or to enter into the downward spiral that anger drags us into. We need God's help though. God is always there right by our side during difficult times - we just need to remember to call upon HIM to help us! This can be difficult in times of anger, frustration or dispair (situations where the evil one seems to have a stronghold on). But, we are stronger than anger, frustration or dispair- because we have the SPIRIT of GOD living within us! Maggie, you are awesome! Once again your "transparency", as Janet puts it leads me closer and forearmed!

Peace!

Debbie M

A Lenten Prayer

Fast from judging others, feast on Christ in them.

Fast from wanting more, feast on being thankful.

Fast from anger, feast on patience.

Fast from worry, feast on trust.

Fast from complaining, feast on enjoyment.

Fast from negatives, feast on positives.

Fast from stress, feast on prayer.

Fast from anger, feast on forgiveness.

Fast from self-concern, feast on compassion for others.

Fast from fear, feast on truth.

Fast from discouragement, feast on hope.

Fast from gossip, feast on silence.

Fast from fighting, feast on peace.

AMEN

I love our Bible study Wednesdays!

I did not realize how much I was missing being together on Wednesday mornings, or how much I need it as a part of my weekly prayer life. Thank you to Maggie and Lorraine for leading us with their HUGE hearts. I came to Bible Study yesterday with a bad headache, and so for the first part I was just listening, listening to the beautiful words and prayers that we were all sharing. I jotted down a few things that spoke to me yesterday:

- God is timeless

- God is all knowing

- acceptance rather than judgement, especially when dealing with our children!

- He will never abandon any of us. Time will heal, we need to pray and stay focused while we are waiting...TIME.

- "do not let your fear be stronger than your faith!

- the last comment that I am still thinking about is when Pat made a comment (forget exactly what is was about) but Lorraine answered with "that is exactly right" and those words just stuck with me, it was "exactly right" that we were all there yesterday praying with and for each other, that I came despite my headache. We are all "exactly right" with God, and life and where we are and what we are doing...It just hit me those words....thank you Lorraine.. I have been feeling a little down these past few weeks, and I now know that it is ok..it's "exactly right" for me..

finally, please pray for Gregory and Emilia flying in late tonight to surprise Weston for his big concert this weekend in Newark. I can see that God has good weather in store for the next few days, and I am so thankful.

prayers for a Happy Thursday!

Love is Patient...Love is Kind

I was at a funeral mass the other day and was fascinated by the priests homily. The first reading was a reading that most of us are familiar with hearing at a wedding.

1 Corinthians 13
Love
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now 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.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The priest spoke about how Jesus is Love and to replace the word Love in the scripture with Jesus' name. 4Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. Jesus does not envy, Jesus does not boast, etc. etc.

I thought this was so beautiful the way he took something so familiar and gave me a new way to look at it. Now he went one step further. He challenged us to go home and read it again and now put OUR name in place of love (in vs. 4-8) and see how many "points" we could get! ie - -------is patient, ---------- is kind. He was so wonderful to tell us to pay attention to the good in us and work on getting more "points" in our lives. He did not tell us to beat ourselves up if we didn't make it too far, just to keep trying. Again, keep it simple. To remember the greatest of these is LOVE!

Have a wonderful day! Lorraine

Who Is In Control

The other day, I was talking to my close friend about anger and how just that morning I had spiraled down into an raging fit, caused, no doubt, by some lethal combination of offending back-talk and arrogant/contemptible attitude by one or more of my immediate family (the details of which had already become sketchy and not so emotionally-provoking). In her concern and desire "to help me deal" with future bouts of anger, she (a lawyer by training) began asking me a very interesting series of questions.

"What incentive do you have to NOT get angry? Or, what incentive do you have to STOP being angry when you have already exploded?" she asked.
Hmmm. By that time, not much. It's pretty much too late and I guess you could say I am 'blinded'.
"So, you're made weaker by your anger."
Oh, not at all! In fact, that is one of the most dangerous aspects of my anger. I literally become very strong, very focused, and extremely productive (as in getting what I want, when I want it) when I become angry. I believe the word I have heard used is 'formidable'.
"But you said you are 'blinded'. That means that you no longer have control."
Well, I guess it's not so much that I don't have control--for I am definitely 'in control' of the players. I have manhandled them into submission, so to speak. It's more that I'm not really seeing all sides very clearly, or maybe that I no longer care to see anything but what 'I' want...and only at that very moment. And then I pull all stops to get it. I no longer consider repercussions or hurt from my words or actions. I no longer care.
"So, you are definitely 'blinded'. But, sounds like you feel as if you have alot of force--y'know, power--in your anger."
Yes. I'm definitely not weaker when I am angry.
"Okay, but, in your 'blindedness', who is doing the driving? Are 'you' in the driver's seat? If you can't see straight, how can 'you' really be the one in control?"
No...I guess you're right. I guess I'm not really the one in control.
"Then, who is?"
My anger is.
"But anger is just an emotion. You have always said that behind each emotion is a Source using that emotion as a driving force for personal action or inaction."
Okay.
"And that your 'free will' always allows you to choose which way to go."
Right.
"When you get angry, do you recognize a critical moment of decision?"
Always. It's like I approach a cliff, an almost timeless moment of 'Do i go there?', and then I decisively step into the void of blinded fury.
"Are you ever pushed?"
No. More and more, I recognize that it is my own split second decision to "go there" and give up self-control.
"Ah, so...you are NOT in control?"
No, um, I guess not. Not of myself anyway.
"Then, I ask again: when you are acting out in blinded anger, to whom have you willingly relinquished control of the situation? To whom or to what have you given up your free will and self-control? What Source is now in control?"

(Like I said, she's a lawyer...and get this: she claims to be agnostic.)

So it didn't take long for me to realize the importance of her very first question: what IS my incentive to not get angry? Or, to stop being angry once I am there? Unlike her original, secular goal of getting me to realize that "I" was weakened by anger rather than strengthened, her subsequent line of reasoning ultimately led me to a deeper, perhaps more powerful understanding: my free will decision to move out of the pathway of Christ--where reigns love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control--places me squarely in the pathway of something NOT of God. It doesn't mean that I become "overtaken" by demonic forces or "possessed" by Satanic power...for within me resides the Spirit of the Lord Himself and "darkness cannot overcome light" (John 1:5). BUT, it does mean that by willfully stepping away from the pathway of the Lord, I open myself to the methods, confusions and deceptions of those things not of God. "Self" becomes of paramount importance, as does "instantaneous gratification" (especially on MY time--NOW!) and "submission on MY terms". Most grievous, is the deception that I am doing something outside the means and methods of the Lord because "I know better"....that I know my children "better", that I know my husband "too well", that "I've been there, done that" and so it's just better that I do it "my way" this time.

Like in almost every post in our blog lately, the same thread courses through this one: trust in the Lord at all times. Trust that, in His omnipresence, He has already "been there" and so has already provided for a plan of redemption for each one of us--redemption out of the circumstance, off of the missed pathway, back to Him, back to His 'ancient paths', back into His love and His light, discerning His Presence in the good and His "permissive will" in allowing the "bad", helping us seek always and only the opportunities to join Him wherever He is working.

My incentive to not get angry? If I am the vessel that I know I am...then let me always consider WHO or WHAT I am allowing to pour through me. The precious gift of Free Will can be the open door to life-giving words and acts that build up each other with and in the Lord. Or, it can be the door that I open to my own little world of condemnation, judgment, blame and bitterness, dragging with me those I supposedly love and deeply care for.

Next time I start to feel angry...I will ask myself: Who will I allow to be "in control"?

Whose paths?

I was reading today's Mass readings* and I have to admit I was kind of ho-humming along, thinking "yep, read these before; know what they're going to say..."

Well, those kinds of thoughts can work two ways. Either I end up dismissing the readings and go on with day, or, if I'm really, really lucky (graced) God takes that moment to smack me on the upside of my head. Today, my guardian angel must have have been working over time so that the Holy Spirit could catch me before my mind drifted off to other things. My divine "smack" came in the form of today's psalm:

Psalms 81(80):10-11.12-13.14-15.

There must be no foreign god among you; you must not worship an alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open wide your mouth that I may fill it.'
But my people did not listen to my words; Israel did not obey me.
So I gave them over to hardness of heart; they followed their own designs.
But even now if my people would listen, if Israel would walk in my paths,
In a moment I would subdue their foes, against their enemies unleash my hand.

Wow. That's pretty much laying it out on the line. If you're following God's path, you are as protected and cared for as a fledgling bird in the nest ("open your mouth that I may fill it"). If you are following alien gods (and I have plenty of those calling my name: pride, control, vanity, anger, sloth...) you are setting up your own hardness of heart, your own destruction. Maybe it's just all the Valentine's day hype that is everywhere right now, but I can't help but tie this to an image of God as a broken hearted lover, grieving for our self-created woes and alienation, waiting to take us home and once again treasure and cherish us as a pure a perfect first love. All that went before, not merely forgiven, but forgotten.

The words of the Psalm are echoed throughout scripture - they immediately made me think of the book of Jeremiah and a couple of verses that are often in my mind: Jer 6:16 and Jer 29:10-11.

Jer 6:16 Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'

I love the the promise of the first sentence of that verse. And hear the shattering heartbreak of the second sentence. Sometimes I feel like that one verse sums up the majority of the Old Testament - it definitely sums up the internal conflicts of my life. So I cling to that precious piece of scripture, and try my best to ask for the ancient path - because I know Whose path that is. And I marvel that all I have to do is ask for the path, I don't have to find it on my own, I don't have to carve the path out of the wilderness. Now, the path is ancient, and perhaps little used, so I will need to persevere and keep my attention on the path. But it's there for the asking. I just keep forgetting. And sometimes even say "I will not walk in it".

Jer 29:10-11 says: 10 "For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfil to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

These verses remind me that God is faithful, that even when I stray. When I ignore the good path that He has generously, lovingly set forth for me, He still has plans to prosper my life, to give me future and hope.

Reading these words, how can I want anything but to follow the paths He's set forth. How can I doubt that those ancient paths are superior to any paths that I could carve.

I'm very thankful that God's graciousness kept me from just casually skimming the readings today.

I know whose paths I want to follow.** Time to lace up those hiking boots!

*an easy way to keep up with the daily Mass readings is via DailyGospel.org - subscribe (free) for daily emails of the mass readings and commentary.

** and I'm reminded that the days when my first thought upon waking is to pray a Morning Offering, it's a lot easier to stick to those paths. Prayer = God's GPS - keeps me on His paths.

Shoveling during a "snowstorm"

Well, how was that for a first attempt at posting on a blog...just a title gotta love it! LOL Anyway, round 1 is done...the shoveling I mean...of this white stuff. ..Michael is out of town this week in sunny San Francisco...so the shoveling is up to me for this one...I thought I'd take it on in rounds...

So I was out there and a quote came to mind that I believe was from Erma Bombeck..."Cleaning while you have little kids is like shoveling during a snowstorm." How true...then I was thinking how so many things in life are like that ...heck, life itself can seem like one big snowstorm sometimes but I was thinking...when we journey with God we are able to see the beauty in each snowstorm...I just stopped out there while I was praying and marveled at the wonder of the scene...truly spectacular...God is quite the artist! When I do that in my "indoor" snowstorms as well it's amazing what I find...God is there in full force...in unexpected ways carrying me through...Sometimes it's a blizzard though and I really can't see Him...which then makes me lean on Him even more than I would've...offering me a tons of opportunities to give Him glory!

I think about all the blessings "real" snowstorms bring...family having more time to spend with each other, muscles getting stronger from the shoveling, coming in from the warmth, and of course the sweet taste of hot chocolate...There are analogies stemming from each of those blessings that I can equate to every "storm" I've been through that I could ponder further...but there's more shoveling calling my name...this time right in my own living room with my 3 angels....

Going Back to Basics

As surgeons, I and my colleagues were trained to "always be prepared" for anything in that operating room. We made sure that we knew everything we could possibly know about everything even remotely associated with the patient, the problem, and the procedure before we went in to operate. That way, we could pretty much be ready for anything that got thrown at us when we got in there. I loved the intensity of working alongside teams that were so well-prepared, constantly "thinking", ready at every turn, never surprised...so totally in control...no matter what was happening. It's a place where discipline, knowledge, wisdom and experience came together to give rise to great strength and creativity in life-or-death situations.

I was thinking the other day about a case in which a fellow surgeon had made some critical and, unfortunately, poor decisions on his own during a routine procedure. Now, at 1:30 in the morning and some two hours into a case that should normally have taken thirty minutes, he breaks down and asks a nurse to call his colleague to come and help him. Knowing the desperate mindset of the surgeon at this point, the colleague tells him to "Stop. Hold tight. Just keep the bleeding in control and don't cut anything else. I will be there in 7 minutes. Hold tight, buddy. Don't cut anything else and wait for me." Having blown through every light in town, the colleague arrives in less than five minutes. Walking into the operating room, the colleague quickly appraises the grave situation and then says to the surgeon: "Talk to me, son. Tell me what's going on. And then let's go with what we know."

Let's go with what we know...

So many times the only thing we can do to get through a really bad situation is to "go with what we know". As I was struggling this weekend to find the words that would give solace to a friend who is reeling from a deep personal hurt, I came face-to-face with that soul-wrenching question: "But...why??" . And the best answer I have yet to come up with? "Well, i really don't know why. But, let's go with what we do know..."

And then we start:

I know that the Lord loves me beyond anything I can possibly hope for or imagine...that He loves me enough to willingly give His unblemished life in exchange for mine.

I know that in His all-knowing, all-powerful state, He is fully aware of my pain and my terror, my embarrassment and my shame, and He has already planned out the BEST way to redeem me--not only to Him, but out of this situation.

I also know that there is nothing of this world or the next, of flesh or of spirit, of the living or of the dead that can separate me from the love of God that protects and seals me to Him. For, in His eyes, I AM a precious Daughter of The King.

And finally, I also know that He has already given me the power, the authority, the strength and the faith to persevere to the end of anything that comes at me. For, although I am weak and impotent on my own, I am made worthy and sound in HIM. I have the means to let go of the past, reconcile my wrongs in the present and focus all of my energies on the future and on the hope of what lies ahead in all that comes from redemption to and in Him.

When I go back to the basics of what I know of the Lord I say that I serve, I can refocus my entire self on everything that He is instead of everything that I am not. Then, He makes me the vessel within which discipline, knowledge, wisdom and experience come together to give rise to immeasurable strength and creativity in giving life over death, no matter what the circumstance, no matter how despairing the situation. With every breath I breathe and every step I take, I can draw on the confidence of the Author of my life, the Creator of my world, the Intercessor for my soul.

What an awesome Being to be partnered with in all things!

selah
mags

Where Two or Three Are Gathered in My Name

With the threat of snow promising to cancel our session yet again, I can't help but marvel at the workings of the Holy Spirit for and with our little group. With the blog site up and running for this last week, we are pretty much set to move forward in our study: Chapter 4 is finally completed, (excepting a few last notes that will come forward within this next lesson), and it seems that, for the most part, everyone is getting more and more comfortable cruising through our blog site, keeping up with comments and adding posts. Nothing like stepping out of our "comfort zones" (as Lorraine likes to put it!) and onto amazing new ground! You all are troopers for sure!!

With almost everyone signed up (well, ALMOST everyone!), I feel so incredibly connected with our group through out the entire week. I find myself constantly anticipating the sound from my blackberry that signals a "new email" arrival, hoping that one of you has posted a New Comment or Post in our "Red Tent". Stepping into the blog is like stepping into our Spirit-filled, Spirit-driven safe-haven...it calms me and gives me such joy and contentment. But, how could it not?

"For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them." (Matt 18:20, NIV)

Isn't He awesome in His workings for our group? We know that He hovers over us the moment we step through the doors to our study session...and He'll greet us at the doors of our cybersessions as well!! yay!

So, I am proposing that we move ahead into Chapter 5 right now--today even--let's officially get ourselves through the first 2 lessons of the workbook this week, and see how far we actually get in discussion.
Our (mine and Lorraine's) next few posts will apply to sections found within Chapter 5 and Lessons 1 and 2 in the workbook. If you haven't already done so, please read pgs 105-114 in the book and try to get through the questions on pgs 118-125 in the workbook. Don't forget to enjoy the short biographies on St Catherine of Genoa (p 116) and Dorothy Day (p117).

Although Lorraine and I had been SO looking forward to enjoying live discussion for this chapter with everyone, we are willing to bet that the Holy Spirit has a phenomenal plan to carry us through via another pathway. We're so excited to uncover His "Will of Good Pleasure" and seek to cooperate within it!! Cancellation due to snow? No problem...we'll just blog away in a session with and IN the Lord!! lol. :D


selah
mags

REFLECTIONS OF WHO I AM

Wow! Messages after messages!..message from everyones heart..touched my heart in special way. After I read all the posted messages , I reflected myself. WHO AM I IN CHRIST and Who am I in this world? Woman of Faith, Woman of God, God fearing woman? A woman full of grace? Or just a woman in this world?

"Yet to all WHO RECIEVED HIM,TO THOSE WHO BELIEVED IN HIS NAME, He gave the right to become a children of God" John 1:12

A woman who has intimate relationship with God and become a God fearing woman? Who I am in Christ?

Galatians 2:20-21 " I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,but CHRIST LIVES IN ME .The life I live in the body,I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD , who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the GRACE OF GOD,for it is righteous could be gained through the law, CHRIST DIED FOR NOTHING.

John 15:19 "If you belonged to the world ,it would love you as its own.As it is, you do not belong to the world,but I choosen you out of the world"

Indeed I am not of WHO I AM IN THIS WORLD but I am of WHO I AM TO GOD.

Thank you all ladies for all your openess and willingness to see of who we are in Christ and allowing me to see myself of who I am in Christ!

Realize that less is more

This section challenges us to think about the things in our lives that distract us from being able to focus on what God needs us to do for Him. Remember there is no guilt here, just an open spirit on our part.

I was at Sisters of Christian Charity for a Women's self-care retreat two weekends ago. Thirty women were fascinated by the ultimate cleanliness of the facility, the beauty in its simplicity of the grounds, the artwork, and the statues. It was a great place to get rid of the distractions and have time to think and pray and journal. Now we might not have that luxury every day in the midst of work, wash, family, errands, etc. But it was a stark reality that lack of stuff makes it easier to take time to sit and think. While I was there I took one of the brochure with me - Slowing down and finding God in your busy life. The section on Realize that less is more really hit me. It said we have too much junk and it wears us down. It made a comment that I keep thinking about - "We need to choose to simplify the externals in order to amplify the spiritual". Amplify is defined as increase in size, volume or significance. Again, not that stuff is wrong - just our state of mind about the stuff - - "need more to make me feel better, define me". I think the mental "stuff" in our brain (inadequacy, pride, and lack of self-esteem) keeps us from the joy of time spent with the Lord more than the physical stuff that surrounds us, but it all contributes to the overall "Where is my focus?". Spending time with the Lord is not a luxury, it is a necessity. That sentence is Holy Spirit driven, because I need to write that all over my forehead!!!!

The author of the brochure told a story of walking in the desert to a prayer service with only the things that they needed - water, good shoes, and hats. They had time to pay attention to the quiet, simplicity and beauty and felt great being in the right place and the right time with the right disposition. We can have the same if we choose to. The section ended with "By eliminating loud things, ugly things, and extra things, we can create a better atmosphere in which to submit the loud, ugly, and extra parts our ourselves to our God". This gives me something to really think about. We often miss the beauty of quiet and reflection because of the distractions around us. Maybe we can take some time during the snow this weekend to reflect on God's beauty and love "in us" and "around us". Enjoy!

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 2:22-23 NIV

Antidotes to the 3 Moral Wounds

yay! We're finally onto Lesson 4. Onward, ladies!

Stuff. Good stuff. And lots of it. That's one thing that's almost a given in our lives here in Long Valley, isn't it? And yet, what was it that one of our members lamented a few years ago after reading the parable in Mark (10:17-22) of Jesus and the rich young man who went away saddened by the realization that he couldn't separate himself from his wealth in order to follow Jesus: "But what does that mean?" she said, "...am I supposed to go give everything away to the poor and become a missionary in Africa?"
I will never forget Lorraine's answer: "Hmm...I don't know. But, why don't you tell us: is God asking you to do that?"
"Well...no."
"Then why would you think it?"
"Oh, i don't know...guilt, i guess."

Gosh...so many wonderful pearls that came out of that short exchange! (You can be sure we didn't finish our chapter discussion that day either!) But I am thinking that the Lord reminded me of it tonight because of the "Is God asking you to do that?" part. It's, y'know, the one thread in all of our lessons so far that keeps popping up to remind us to listen/react/decide with our spirit nature instead of with our physical nature.

The 3 Moral Wounds (Desire of the Flesh; Desire of the Eyes; Pride in Riches) are all a result of allowing our souls to be influenced/driven/engulfed from the exterior in instead of from the interior out. And so, the "antidotes" for these wounds are necessarily "spirit-focused", with the goal to separate our 'self' from the ties that bind us just a little too tightly to the physical world. In essence, they are a "refocusing" of our soul, re-directing our thinking/feeling/desiring back in line with God's Spirit within us so that the Triple Harmony is restored in our lives. How totally cool would that be!

The spiritual antidotes for the three moral wounds are:
Poverty--interior more so than exterior. This is the "emptying of self", the "laying down of arms and freely giving up our 'moral freedom'", the surrendering of our "self-righteousness" before God. This bitter pill is the one that enables us to truly see ourselves as the Rebels that we are AND as the Redeemed Beloved that His sacrifice made us! It is the one that allows us to remove the one obstacle that prevents us from hearing God: our "self"! With interior poverty, we find true Humility and reconnect with a God who provides for all of our needs "abundantly"!

Chastity--deliberate decision to remain pure in conduct AND intention (no false pretenses allowed here!); true modesty and decency on all levels of action/interaction in thought and in deed. This big pill is the one that allows all that we know of the Spirit to direct and control our bodily appetites and drives. It requires knowledge of--and willing accountability to--the Laws that govern God's kingdom. It is much easier to swallow this one if it is covered with the confident knowledge that the Lord I am following is a Lord who loves me to a depth I could not imagine and therefore has all my benefit and best interest in mind.

Obedience--deliberate action to follow the commands of God (yes, the written ones, but even more importantly, the directly spoken ones--as in "rhema")...even when it seems like it will "hurt". This one allows us to step out of our self-focused survival mode, stepping away from self-centered wants and desires, and walk instead as fully conscious, purposeful and mindful stewards over the things of this world. To take this one on fully requires a basic but ever-growing trust and faith in our all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God...and a relationship with a God we know not only "has our back covered", but our front, sides, top and bottom as well! In the state of perfect unity, obedience is literally a "no-brainer"--performed out of the profoundest respect for, and an all-encompassing desire to please, Someone with and in whom I am passionately and utterly consumed with love...and with Whom I have a gut-wrenching fear of offending. Not because I fear His wrath, but because I am torn apart at my core when He grieves so deeply within me over something I have chosen to do against Him. And so, I obey Him.

Through these three "counsels" (as they are academically called), we pull ourselves away from what the world is telling us that we "need" or "have to have" or "should be like", and refocus our soul upon hearing and heeding what the Lord is telling us to do. In this "spirit of detachment" to worldly influence, we can work on re-establishing our connection with the "God of connection" and effectively overcome the worldly influences that strive to make us into "self-reliant, independent" and therefore incredibly lonely and isolated souls. (Gosh...it's the old military adage of "divide and conquer"...what a subtle but effective means of undermining the army of Christ by keeping us caught up in little islands of "self concern" and "guilt"!)

But, with this "spirit of detachment" from worldly thinking and things, we can learn to hone in on the voice of God again--His "rhema" that would tell us the when, where, how and for how long of our next "munus"...which just MIGHT be to give up all of our earthly goods to the poor and go minister to the people in Africa. But we would then know that it was on His time, in His plan, by His Word and with His blessing...how could we fear or hesitate?

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies...
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8:28-32, 37-39, NIV, emphasis added).

Selah, sweet ladies!
mags

Humility is Truth

Ok, so at the end of Lesson 3, we revisited the wonderful concept of "Humility". Just loved the simplicity and the depth of St Teresa of Avila's observation that "Humility is...walking in the truth." I guess it kinda takes our own working definition to yet another level...one that makes us take our own definition and apply it to life:

Humility: the state of being in which I honestly know and love myself based upon a TRUE appreciation of my position and relationship to God and to my neighbor....now, go and walk in that truth.

Got me thinking alittle more about exactly what "walking in that truth" really meant. Here's a few things that came to mind:

When I walk in true Humility, I walk fully knowing to my deepest core that I am nothing without the mercy and grace and agape love of my Lord....truly I am damned without Him.

I also walk fully knowing to my deepest core that WITH and IN Him, I am everything HE desires me to be. I already have all the strength, all the knowledge, all the gifts He planned out for me in order to accomplish/be victorious in whatever task HE has set before me at this very moment. If I find myself looking at someone and thinking, "There, but for the grace of God, go I", then I already know that WHEN (not if), I enter a similar time of trial, He WILL empower me with His strength and faith, so that I, too, can walk with confidence and in victory. And so, armed with this knowledge, I can stand and affirm/support the person I would otherwise dismiss or avoid.

And that if I have found myself wandering away from His path, I also fully know that I CAN turn, and walk right smack into Him...He's always that close to me. And then, HE will lead me back to the right road, if only I choose to follow Him.

So the more difficult things are making sure that the task I see IS the task HE has set before me, and not one that I have created out of fear or vain imaginings; making sure that I really DO believe that He is my everything AND that He loves me deeply--not only "in spite of" but BECAUSE of--what I truly am; that I really do stand in complete and utter trust in Him, so that despite my earthly "circumstances", I already know that HE knows my very best path...and so I can be willing to follow Him down the "broken road" and know that not only will He be with me the entire way, but by hearing and heeding His guidance, I will be made stronger through HIM by the end. Stronger, wiser, more faithful, so that if, as I continue to walk along, I happen upon a fellow sojourner who has "fallen and broken her ankle", then I can stop and lift her up just as He stopped and lifted me up. And so I, through my experience with and in Him, become the ambassador of His love and His light that builds up the Household of the Lord...one stronger stone at a time. So totally cool.

So, I guess the whole reason I even brought this up is that, by the end of Lesson 3, I was feeling pretty discouraged about myself. Not only did the exercises confirm my obviously unchecked issues in "prideful behavior", but I was also given condemning labels with which to categorize and name them: "counterfeit humility", "feigned disregard", "ego-need", "spiritual sloth". It was after the exercise on trying to identify my "negative" personality traits out of the extensive list of "common negative feminine traits" that I finally broke down and called Lorraine...."my" negative personality traits weren't even on the list (impatience and laziness)!! What did THAT mean?? Not only did my honest answers place me "below standard" on the morals scale, but I wasn't even considered "feminine"!!

In that quiet reassuring way that is so "Lorraine", she reminded me that at the end of the exercise on Pride, the author clearly states :"Pride always produces deadly fruit: presumption, ambition, and vainglory. Humility, on the other hand, brings peace, fervor, and spiritual productivity." So, where did I stand? What IS the fruit of my "works"? And she directed me to the equally extensive list of "positive feminine traits".

And that's when it hit me: When I look at the list of "positive feminine traits", I KNOW that I am not by nature any of these on my own. It is only by God's grace and Presence within me that I am any of these things on most levels. ON MY OWN, I may be able to be any one of these wonderful things listed there, but on a deeper level, I WILL have a selfish motive or focus at the root of my "works"...such as: "I have to be careful how I 'appear' to others"; "because then people will like me or think better of me"; "because it's the 'right' thing to do". Even "because it's the right thing to do" is still too easy for me 'rationalize' myself away from if there is no fear of repercussion...which may be as subtle as "if i do the wrong thing, people will think badly of me!" or as blatant as "I will be punished for doing/not doing that."

Bottomline is this: anytime i release myself INTO God's spirit, I AM ALL these wonderful and life-giving things.

And THAT, sweet ladies, is the truth we can walk in!

selah!
mags

praying

I hope this is working...I have been so full of prayer...I feel that I have not been putting God first as much as I should...and the more prayer that I enter into the closer I feel to God, and feel as those I can put myself back to where I want to be. I truly believe this woman's Bible Study has put me into such a better place in my prayer life..and I want to thank Maggie and Lorraine for guiding us, through the Holy Spirit. I just wish every woman could feel what we have! Imagine how more wonderful Long Valley could be, if all of us were striving for a more prayerful life. The power of us as women is more evident to me through this study were are currently taking part it. I did not realize the plan that God had for us as women, and it so awesome...I am so happy that I am learning so much, and can share this with others.

prayers,

3 Moral Wounds

As Lorraine mentioned in her summary last week, the '3 Moral Wounds' are the result of the disruption of our unity with God. Because our "self" is now driven by influences from without instead of God's influence from within (wow...that's a cool play on words right there. I could selah on that for a while!), our hearts and minds are filled with information from the restricted/biased senses of the body instead of from the all-knowing state of the Spirit. Hence, we become LIMITED by the desires and drives of a world that is already passing away, instead of experiencing FREEDOM and living fully (abundantly!) in a realm that exists into eternity:

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:15-17, NIV, emphasis added)

Just for review, the 3 Moral Wounds are, therefore:
1. "Cravings of sinful man"=Desires of the flesh (or carnal allurements)
2. "the lust of his eyes"=Desires of the eyes ("ooo...i gotta have that...and that...and THAT...oh! and THAT too!...wow! what's that! I want that too!")
3. "boasting of what he has and does"= Pride in riches (placing greater value of worldly things such as status and possessions over value of a person as worthy in God)

In this "restricted" physical world, I am literally "enslaved" by the desires of the body and the mind...."enslaved" because in an unbalanced situation, it is impossible to ever fully satisfy all areas. One side keeps wanting more and more of "it" until, left unchecked, desire for "it" will consume my thoughts and override my reasoning, even to the detriment of other people and areas of my life. Although we tend to think of things that are obviously "bad", like drug abuse, alcoholism, pornography, smoking, etc, this also applies to things that are seemingly "good". Things such as taking ownership of a ministry to the extent that I am no longer listening to the Holy Spirit for the when and where and how, but instead getting bogged down on all those things "I" have deemed as the "important stuff to keep it going and successful"--i start working for man or for the ministry itself instead of working for God.

This inevitably leads to an attachment to the "things" of the world (EVEN when the "thing" might have initially started off as being "for God"!), rather than to the things of God.

Remember that the "broken road" the Lord may ask us to travel, the "crosses" He asks us to bear, are never meant for us to carry on without Him. Instead, it is at these times that He specifies exactly what, how, where and for how long we are to DEPEND fully upon Him. If I have only "my own understanding" upon which to lean, then surely my burden will be heavy and I will not be able to move on to the "next step"--even if I discern that HE Himself is asking me to take that step. I must learn to let go of "my" burden, so that I CAN take upon His--and to do that, I must be re-aligned in my communication with and in Him...I must be able to hear Him to heed Him. Which means, that "I" need to be listening with my SPIRIT instead of my body.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt 11:29-30, NIV, emphasis added)

Does that make sense?

Triple Harmony

Well, here we go...our first attempt to blog our way through a canceled session! Hey, look out, 21st century--St Mark's Women's Bible Study has arrived!! tee hee...oh wait, i think i'm supposed to write: LOL. (there, I'm officially 'hip'!)
ok, so in our desperate attempt to get past the stark self-examination of Chapter 4 and onto the empowering teachings of Chapter 5, let's quickly run through the major points of lessons 4 and 5, and then review the bottomlines of the entire chapter. Post your comments and questions/thoughts as the Holy Spirit leads you. And PLEASE don't leave me alone out here, ladies!! Safe haven, Red Tent status still stands!! Ready? Onward:

Last week you all talked about the 3 "Moral Wounds" caused by the disruption of that beautiful and amazing state of perfect "Triple Harmony" between God and man, man's soul and his body, man's body and his exterior world. I loved the revelation that in that "intended perfect state of unity of man with and in God", man is "perfectly surrendered" to God...man's spirit is completely FILLED with God's spirit...is in essence God's Spirit. God's Spirit thus directs all of man: in this perfect union, GOD's SPIRIT directs a man's spirit (ie. that innermost part in direct connection with and in God; that part that connects directly with the spiritual world), which directs his soul (ie. man's "essence"--his heart, 'mind', desires, emotions, motives, thoughts, character, personality, etc...you get the picture), which directs his body (ie the physical part through which man connects with the physical world). And so it is easy to see that in this state of utter surrender to the most important aspect of "self" (ie where my All-knowing, All-loving, All-powerful God resides), all of the rest of "me" can live in perfect and easy harmony. No brainer for living and loving completely...no "fight for survival" on any level because the life line extends perfectly from the Source of all life--God--through me, to creation. How totally cool is that.

IF, however, I have broken that most basic and foundational union of my spirit from God's spirit (or, have willingly placed something other than God's Spirit as my driving source within my spirit...yikes), then this Triple Harmony of 'perfection in unity' on becomes disrupted on ALL levels. My "world" is now driven by that which I sense the most easily. Since my spirit is essentially "blinded" by the overwhelming presence of the physical world around me, I tend to be directed by those things I can "experience" fully: ie my senses, my intelligence (book learning, head knowledge), my exterior world. And so, instead of "Me" being directed/influenced/taught from the spiritual senses, "I" am directed/influenced/taught by the PHYSICAL senses. Kinda backwards from the initially intended pathway of knowledge and light from God to man to world.

Any comments?

"Are you Jesus?"

This Sunday at mass, Father J called all the little ones forward for Children's liturgy of the word. Now, Father J is a young priest, very tall and impressive in his vestments; he also happens to connect very well with the kids in the parish - they speak to him quite readily despite how he towers over him.

Well, this week a pair of twin boys, maybe four years old, went down the aisle next to my pew and went right up to Father. They stood a bit higher than his knees, but not much higher. One of them looked up at him and said "Are you Jesus?" Father really smiled, at that, "No, I'm not Jesus... not yet..." and then neatly tied things into what they would be learning about the day's readings. I was partially listening, but mostly thinking about what I'd just witnessed, and I realized two things.

1) As a Christian it should be my deepest desire to live so that when people look at me, they don't see me, they see Jesus. Wouldn't that be the most wonderful thing if people would look at any of us and ask "Are you Jesus?" How many more people would come to faith if we lived like that?

(it also struck me that there was at least one person in mass on Sunday who really "got" the priestly role - for him, Father J really was "in persona Christi".)

2) That little boy had no qualms about running right up to someone who he was pretty much convinced was Jesus.... I had to ask myself, if I thought it was Jesus standing in front of me, would I do the same, full of hope, and confidence? Or would I hang back, fearful, insecure? Unfortuntately, I think most of the time, I'd be lurking in the shadows. A lack of confidence in me? In Jesus? Both?

Which brings me to the questions I'm asking myself today?

• What do I need to change so that I could run up to Jesus just like that little boy?
• What do I need to change so that people would look at my life and see Jesus, instead of me?
• What would the little boy have done next if it had been Jesus there? What would I do?

and...

• Since I do get to run (okay, walk) down the aisle of church to come face to face with Jesus every time I receive Eucharist, why aren't I making those changes and doing those things right now?

Hmmmm - I think I know what I'll be praying over this week, and I think I'm getting some pointers from the Holy Spirit about where things may be headed for Lent. And I'm very, very excited.

So how about you? Are you Jesus?

Let's give it a try

Hi everyone! In the back of my mind, I have always toyed with the idea of starting a blogging site for our weekly forums ever since Janet E made the suggestion over a year ago. Now, I believe, with the chance of "snow flurries" once again threatening to cancel our Wednesday morning session this week, it may be time to get our site up and running. So, welcome!

Instead of (or maybe in addition to) our emails, we can try posting our comments, questions, thoughts, and teachings here. We have aptly named it "Our Red Tent"--our safe haven for discussions without ego, shame, fear of judgment or condemnation. Post your "rhema" as the Lord urges--it doesn't even have to do with anything we are studying at the moment. My experience in the past has been that, even if the Holy Spirit has something He is trying to teach me individually, there is some aspect of it that He is working on in the Body of Christ as a whole! Better yet, climbing out of spiritual pot-holes sure is easier when we have fellow journeyers to hold on to!

Let's give it a try and see how this works.