Once upon a time I thought it was very difficult to find God. He seemed far away and elusive. I wondered why He had stopped speaking to the world. You know- no more burning bushes. No more voice in the quiet after the storm. No more doves descending from the heavens. No more easily discernible signs.....Wouldn't it just make things a lot easier if He just spoke to us directly like in the Bible? He even spoke from the mouth of a donkey once! How tough would it be for Him to make an appearance on CNN? Wouldn't that clear things up for a lot of people?
What I have come to realize is that this is the thinking of a child. Just as it says in the New Testament: "when I was a child I reasoned like a child". Now that I have grown up in faith I realize that God is indeed everywhere, all the time. All it takes is opening the eyes of your heart to see Him.
My teacher says that the world is overflowing with the Voice of God speaking constantly, yet we miss it most of the time because we aren't looking or listening. He says our "tuners" are broken. Until they are repaired, we miss a lot of what God wants us to hear. That doesn't mean it isn't there. We just miss it because we are out of tune. I have indeed found this to be true.
My tuner was broken for awhile. In recent months God has been busy repairing it. As the work has progressed, I have found that I see and hear Him now all over the place. To use a hideous expression (sorry Emma!) I can't swing a dead cat without running into something God wants me to see or hear. Having learned to recognize the hand of God, I can now see the hand of God everywhere.
For example, in my yoga class, we talk about the first principles in nearly every class: Set your foundation. Open to Grace. I have been hearing these same words for over 7 years without much thought. Now I realize that these words are related to faith. We set our foundation on the Rock. We open to His grace. This week we were talking about how difficult poses are a chance to stretch ourselves and grow. Only by struggling a bit, and pushing our bodies past where we feel comfortable, can we go further in the pose and hope to reach the next level. Our faith journeys are the same way. It is our struggles that provide the fertile soil where growth can take place. I find that as my ears are now open to hear, I notice connections everywhere. Life seems like a great big giant game of connect the dots. A theme that my yoga teacher embraces for the week echoes words from a sermon or a book I have read the the day before. I am sitting in a conference and the instructor begins to speak of the exact thing that I have just recently had a long conversation with someone about. Plans fall through with someone, then at the last minute, something else comes up that ends up being essential. As I think about all the interconnectedness of it all, there can be no doubt that God's hand is in all these things.....Not long ago I would not have recognized this.
In every opportunity that now presents itself, I wonder what God wants me to see. In every situation that goes awry, I wonder what God means for me to learn. What I have found is that as you approach all things expecting to be shown something of significance, you will, in fact, find just exactly that. God has things He wants to teach us daily. It is our responsibility to keep our eyes and ears open to see and hear them. A wonderful simple daily prayer is one which asks God to show us what He will today. To help us keep our eyes and ears open to see and hear it. To recognize His hand print when He reveals it. Such prayers, I have found, begin to help us truly see God in all things. Shalom!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Lesson Learned from the Little Black Cat
I am a lover of animals. Cats, dogs, mine, yours- it doesn't matter. A card carrying member of both the ASPCA and the HSUS. The proud sponsor of a monthly pet care sponsorship for the HSUS and a frequent contributor to my favorite animal charity- Operation Baghdad Pups. I leave the room when they air those Humane Society commercials of sad looking dogs and cats with Sarah McLaughlin singing "In the Arms of the Angels" in the background. Just shoot me. I can't bear it.....
Just a little over a year ago- end of August '09, I lost my beloved 14 yr old 3 legged cat companion Abby to lymphoma. Abby was an amazing creature. She was sassy, bold, fearless, and my best animal friend. She loved me. She ways always near. If I sat down, she found me. It was easy to kind of take her for granted because she was always within arm's length of my reach. She often felt like just an extension of me.....I adored her.
After her death, I felt lost. Enter the girls at my vet's office who just happened to have the solution to my grief. A 5 week old solid black bundle of fur and energy whom we named Emma. Emma after Emma of the Jane Austen novel. Like Miss Emma Woodhouse, my Emma is always up to no good too! Emma has now been running our household for over a year now. She is the boss of everything just as Abby was. The difference is, that Emma hardly ever sits still. She is a whirling dervish of activity, seldom stopping for anything but food. Her favorite activity is hunting for prey in our wooded yard. She is quite skilled. I have been gifted with many of the "fruits" of her hunting expeditions. Small garden snakes (multiple times). Live moles. Many lizards. Insects of all types. And once, a monarch butterfly. She carries them into the house and releases them on the kitchen floor- always alive- and then waits proudly for me to "find" them. She is quite the provider!
The one thing I would change about Emma if I could is that she is so active she won't let me love on her very much. She is just way too busy going about her business. She seldom climbs up into my lap. It is a rare thing for her to settle down long enough for me to get in a good snuggle with her. I adore her. She is so much fun, and she just makes me smile. I want to spend quiet moments with her in my lap as I read or listen to music. No such luck most of the time.....Just rare occasions which are precious to me.
It strikes me that this is how we are with God. We are very busy creatures. We hustle and bustle about all day long. We seldom think about spending time in His arms, and if and when we do, we are in a hurry to jump up and get on to the next task. 10- 15 minutes a day in prayer or reflection is about all most of us manage, if that. How much more does He love us, his children than I love my little black cat? If I want to hold and love her, how much more does He want this of us, the ones he has created to love Him?
Sarah Young says it better than I can: "Relax in My Everlasting Arms. Your weakness is an opportunity to grow strong in awareness of My Almighty Presence. When your energy fails you, do not look inward and lament the lack you find there. Look to Me and My sufficiency; rejoice in My radiant riches that are abundantly available to help you. Go gently through this day, leaning on Me and enjoying My Presence. If you look back on your journey thus far, you can see that days of extreme weakness have been some of your most precious times. Memories of these days are richly interwoven with golden strands of My intimate Presence." From "Jesus Calling" That Sarah sure has a way with words! This is why I start every day with her.
Strangely enough, the one time that I can always count on Emma to show up is very early in the morning when I get up for my quiet time of prayer, reading, and reflection. I always sit in the same spot in my beautiful room of all windows where there is nothing but views of green and trees all around. She climbs into my lap, often trying to lay across my Bible as I read it. We have learned to compromise on this.....She purrs and drowses as I read and reflect. It is a wonderful time. Emma spending time with me. Me spending time with The Good Shepherd. What could possibly be better than this? Shalom!
Just a little over a year ago- end of August '09, I lost my beloved 14 yr old 3 legged cat companion Abby to lymphoma. Abby was an amazing creature. She was sassy, bold, fearless, and my best animal friend. She loved me. She ways always near. If I sat down, she found me. It was easy to kind of take her for granted because she was always within arm's length of my reach. She often felt like just an extension of me.....I adored her.
After her death, I felt lost. Enter the girls at my vet's office who just happened to have the solution to my grief. A 5 week old solid black bundle of fur and energy whom we named Emma. Emma after Emma of the Jane Austen novel. Like Miss Emma Woodhouse, my Emma is always up to no good too! Emma has now been running our household for over a year now. She is the boss of everything just as Abby was. The difference is, that Emma hardly ever sits still. She is a whirling dervish of activity, seldom stopping for anything but food. Her favorite activity is hunting for prey in our wooded yard. She is quite skilled. I have been gifted with many of the "fruits" of her hunting expeditions. Small garden snakes (multiple times). Live moles. Many lizards. Insects of all types. And once, a monarch butterfly. She carries them into the house and releases them on the kitchen floor- always alive- and then waits proudly for me to "find" them. She is quite the provider!
The one thing I would change about Emma if I could is that she is so active she won't let me love on her very much. She is just way too busy going about her business. She seldom climbs up into my lap. It is a rare thing for her to settle down long enough for me to get in a good snuggle with her. I adore her. She is so much fun, and she just makes me smile. I want to spend quiet moments with her in my lap as I read or listen to music. No such luck most of the time.....Just rare occasions which are precious to me.
It strikes me that this is how we are with God. We are very busy creatures. We hustle and bustle about all day long. We seldom think about spending time in His arms, and if and when we do, we are in a hurry to jump up and get on to the next task. 10- 15 minutes a day in prayer or reflection is about all most of us manage, if that. How much more does He love us, his children than I love my little black cat? If I want to hold and love her, how much more does He want this of us, the ones he has created to love Him?
Sarah Young says it better than I can: "Relax in My Everlasting Arms. Your weakness is an opportunity to grow strong in awareness of My Almighty Presence. When your energy fails you, do not look inward and lament the lack you find there. Look to Me and My sufficiency; rejoice in My radiant riches that are abundantly available to help you. Go gently through this day, leaning on Me and enjoying My Presence. If you look back on your journey thus far, you can see that days of extreme weakness have been some of your most precious times. Memories of these days are richly interwoven with golden strands of My intimate Presence." From "Jesus Calling" That Sarah sure has a way with words! This is why I start every day with her.
Strangely enough, the one time that I can always count on Emma to show up is very early in the morning when I get up for my quiet time of prayer, reading, and reflection. I always sit in the same spot in my beautiful room of all windows where there is nothing but views of green and trees all around. She climbs into my lap, often trying to lay across my Bible as I read it. We have learned to compromise on this.....She purrs and drowses as I read and reflect. It is a wonderful time. Emma spending time with me. Me spending time with The Good Shepherd. What could possibly be better than this? Shalom!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Perception and Misperception
Lately I have been wondering a lot about human perception. Ever heard about eye witness accounts to an accident? Two onlookers may be present who both claim to have seen the same accident at the same time. And yet, their accounts of what they witnessed may vary greatly. How can this be? Both accounts can't be true. Someone's perception is off. But whose? And more importantly, why? How is it that two people can see, hear, and experience the exact same thing, and yet draw vastly different conclusions about it? It does make me wonder.....
I have been taking an amazing Bible study recently that has been helping me understand the answer to this and other difficult questions. My problem with reading the Bible on my own has always been that I would inevitably run into something in the text that would stump me. Something that seems out of context or just doesn't make sense with what we understand the true nature of Jesus to be. The focus of this class is to teach an inductive approach to Bible study, so that when you hit such a bump in the road, you can find the answer to your own question right there within the text you are reading. As our teacher likes to say, the answer is right there in front of you. The problem isn't the text, it's the reader. Touché!
So the answer to the question above, I have learned, at least as it pertains to the ability to hear the Word of God, is that it has to do with the state of our hearts, and virtually nothing else. It doesn't matter how smart you are, how much Bible knowledge you have, how many verses you can recite from memory, or how many years you have been going to church. None of this matters, and in fact, in most cases just hinders. Because sometimes as we become more and more certain of what we "know" the less likely we are to be able to see and hear the truth. The world class example of this is a group of people known in the days of Jesus as the Pharisees. Just who were these folks? They were the religious heavy hitters of the day. They were the educated head honchos. The guys in the know. The rule enforcers. The heads of committees. The members of the Board of Trustees. The most respected leaders of their communities. And yet with a very few notable exceptions (Joseph of Aramethia and Nicodemus) these men rejected the teachings and authority of Jesus. They heard him teach. They saw him heal. They witnessed his many miracles. They saw the same things the multitudes saw and drew completely different conclusions about what they had witnessed. The multitudes were "amazed". The Pharisees went away and plotted how they could kill Jesus because they thought his works were of the devil. Two different groups....seeing the exact same things......drawing completely different conclusions. Puzzling? Yes, until you consider that it all comes down to the state of the heart. The Pharisees were hard of heart and wedded to what they "knew" and to the status quo. The multitudes, in their ignorance and lack of understanding, were able to open their hearts and spirits and receive the teachings of Jesus. Given this example it is easy to see the wisdom of approaching faith with the eyes of a child....
I used to think that the Pharisees were long gone. That these people only lived in Jesus' time. Then not long ago I realized that The Church is stockpiled with Pharisees. People who know the "law" but have forgotten the "heart" of it. People who sit in pews every Sunday but never sit with anyone in their pain and suffering. People who can recite chapter and verse, but can't say a kind word to anyone in need of one. People who acknowledge that there is suffering beyond imagination in the Third World but then live as if nothing they do contributes to it. Do I sound judgemental? Perhaps. But I will not apologize for speaking the truth. Let those with ears hear.......
So what is the solution? I guess the beginning is just to open your eyes and acknowledge that you are suffering from what one of my friends likes to call "self inflicted certainty". I love this phrase. To me that says it all. The beginning of allowing God to create a new heart in me was first acknowledging that my old heart needed to change. From there many surprising things have come about. Not the least of which has been a much heightened sense of perception about so very many things. I now see whereas before I was blind. I now hear whereas before I was deaf. I now perceive the Hand of God working in ways that I would never have noticed it before. All this, because I was willing to take a good, long, hard look at myself...and then ask God to go to work. I did, and He did, and the rest is now being played out in life as a new creation. To God be the Glory! Shalom!
I have been taking an amazing Bible study recently that has been helping me understand the answer to this and other difficult questions. My problem with reading the Bible on my own has always been that I would inevitably run into something in the text that would stump me. Something that seems out of context or just doesn't make sense with what we understand the true nature of Jesus to be. The focus of this class is to teach an inductive approach to Bible study, so that when you hit such a bump in the road, you can find the answer to your own question right there within the text you are reading. As our teacher likes to say, the answer is right there in front of you. The problem isn't the text, it's the reader. Touché!
So the answer to the question above, I have learned, at least as it pertains to the ability to hear the Word of God, is that it has to do with the state of our hearts, and virtually nothing else. It doesn't matter how smart you are, how much Bible knowledge you have, how many verses you can recite from memory, or how many years you have been going to church. None of this matters, and in fact, in most cases just hinders. Because sometimes as we become more and more certain of what we "know" the less likely we are to be able to see and hear the truth. The world class example of this is a group of people known in the days of Jesus as the Pharisees. Just who were these folks? They were the religious heavy hitters of the day. They were the educated head honchos. The guys in the know. The rule enforcers. The heads of committees. The members of the Board of Trustees. The most respected leaders of their communities. And yet with a very few notable exceptions (Joseph of Aramethia and Nicodemus) these men rejected the teachings and authority of Jesus. They heard him teach. They saw him heal. They witnessed his many miracles. They saw the same things the multitudes saw and drew completely different conclusions about what they had witnessed. The multitudes were "amazed". The Pharisees went away and plotted how they could kill Jesus because they thought his works were of the devil. Two different groups....seeing the exact same things......drawing completely different conclusions. Puzzling? Yes, until you consider that it all comes down to the state of the heart. The Pharisees were hard of heart and wedded to what they "knew" and to the status quo. The multitudes, in their ignorance and lack of understanding, were able to open their hearts and spirits and receive the teachings of Jesus. Given this example it is easy to see the wisdom of approaching faith with the eyes of a child....
I used to think that the Pharisees were long gone. That these people only lived in Jesus' time. Then not long ago I realized that The Church is stockpiled with Pharisees. People who know the "law" but have forgotten the "heart" of it. People who sit in pews every Sunday but never sit with anyone in their pain and suffering. People who can recite chapter and verse, but can't say a kind word to anyone in need of one. People who acknowledge that there is suffering beyond imagination in the Third World but then live as if nothing they do contributes to it. Do I sound judgemental? Perhaps. But I will not apologize for speaking the truth. Let those with ears hear.......
So what is the solution? I guess the beginning is just to open your eyes and acknowledge that you are suffering from what one of my friends likes to call "self inflicted certainty". I love this phrase. To me that says it all. The beginning of allowing God to create a new heart in me was first acknowledging that my old heart needed to change. From there many surprising things have come about. Not the least of which has been a much heightened sense of perception about so very many things. I now see whereas before I was blind. I now hear whereas before I was deaf. I now perceive the Hand of God working in ways that I would never have noticed it before. All this, because I was willing to take a good, long, hard look at myself...and then ask God to go to work. I did, and He did, and the rest is now being played out in life as a new creation. To God be the Glory! Shalom!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Willful Blindness
I am feeling very frustrated right now. It is a very diffiuclt thing to be able to see something with perfect clarity and yet have others around you be so amazingly blind. I was tellling a friend of mine the other day that until you are no longer blind, you don't realize that you were ever in the dark. Lately the scales have definately fallen from my eyes and this is both a wonderful and terrible thing. Wonderful in the sense that I can see everything with such clarity. And terrible in the sense that I can see things with such clartiy. It is truly a quandry. Was I better off living a life of relative bliss and ignorance? I have begun to wonder.....
On the one hand, it is an amazing gift to begin to see things as you have never seen them before. To examine something so familiar and yet see it as a completely new creation. Every moment seems to bring a new revelation. There is an expansiveness to this. I find myself wondering how far this will go and how long it will continue. It is a bit like looking at one of those picutres made up of tiny individual blocks and suddenly seeing the larger picture they create.
On the other hand, I begin to see that many of the people around me are amazingly, willfully blind. Because my eyes are open I can now see this. I am like the leaper that Jesus healed who went away telling everyone about his miraculous healing. I want my other leper friends to also be healed. Look! I shout and wave my hands. Look! I am healed! You can be too! Follow me! Instead they hang back. They complain. The road is too dusty. We are tired. We don't want to walk that far. Go tell that Jesus fellow to come to us. We don't want to go to Him. It's too hard. He expects too much. Repent? Turn away from our sin? We don't want to hear that message! Just tell him to heal us. That's all we want. I go away saddened at the wonderful gift they cannot see right before their very eyes...
Sigh. I am in good company. God has shared my frustration. Listen to these harsh words from Isaiah 6:9 "Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing but never understanding; be ever seeing but not perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed" I can now see with my eyes, hear with my ears, and understand with my heart. How long, oh Lord, how long until the people around me can do the same? Shalom!
On the one hand, it is an amazing gift to begin to see things as you have never seen them before. To examine something so familiar and yet see it as a completely new creation. Every moment seems to bring a new revelation. There is an expansiveness to this. I find myself wondering how far this will go and how long it will continue. It is a bit like looking at one of those picutres made up of tiny individual blocks and suddenly seeing the larger picture they create.
On the other hand, I begin to see that many of the people around me are amazingly, willfully blind. Because my eyes are open I can now see this. I am like the leaper that Jesus healed who went away telling everyone about his miraculous healing. I want my other leper friends to also be healed. Look! I shout and wave my hands. Look! I am healed! You can be too! Follow me! Instead they hang back. They complain. The road is too dusty. We are tired. We don't want to walk that far. Go tell that Jesus fellow to come to us. We don't want to go to Him. It's too hard. He expects too much. Repent? Turn away from our sin? We don't want to hear that message! Just tell him to heal us. That's all we want. I go away saddened at the wonderful gift they cannot see right before their very eyes...
Sigh. I am in good company. God has shared my frustration. Listen to these harsh words from Isaiah 6:9 "Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing but never understanding; be ever seeing but not perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed" I can now see with my eyes, hear with my ears, and understand with my heart. How long, oh Lord, how long until the people around me can do the same? Shalom!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
What Souls Are Made Of
There is a wonderful line in the book Wuthering Heights that I completely love. It is when Cathy is trying to describe her feelings for Heathcliff. Certainly a most unsuitable young man in the eyes of the world, but despite this, Cathy loves him wildly. She describes it this way "Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same". Now as much as I adore the Emily Bronte version, I equally despise the much overused expression in our culture of the desire to find one's "soul mate". This expression is overused, over expressed, and frankly just a really lousy cliche. It has probably even been uttered by Snookie from Jersey Shore as she hangs off the edge of a bar stool in a drunken stupor. Really- who hasn't heard this expression ad nauseum? It has become a cliche for anyone looking for love on Match.com
It is altogether a different thing to say that some one's soul is made of the same thing as your own. This describes a much more intimate expression of love and friendship. My best friend gave me a beautiful silver angel that hangs in my bedroom with this Emily Bronte quote inscribed on one of the wings. Of course I understood exactly what she was saying. This is, at it's core, a way of saying " You completely understand me. You get me. No words are needed. The boundaries between us are artificial." And so it is with best friends. And if you are very lucky, a handful of other people in your life. It is always an amazing and powerful thing when you connect with someone at this level. There is no struggling to make yourself understood. It follows as naturally as dusk follows the day. We live in a world of complete connectivity. We are plugged in, turned on, twittering, face booking, blogging, emailing fools. We have instant, real time communication 24/7. Yet how many of us really feel heard or understood?
I think God gets that we need people whose souls are made of the same material as our own. He created our desire to be deeply understood. This is the way He understands each of us. He waits patiently asking us to turn our hearts toward him. As the creator of our souls, He is aware of what each is made of, and what each is longing for. The deep friendships we form with earthy friends are but an imitation of what He can offer us. As I was trying to finish up this post, I encountered an i Pad glitch that I could not get around. So I quit and set it aside, determined to finish it at a later time when I could use my desk top. The very next morning, I encountered these words in the devotional I use every day called "Jesus Calling". Sarah Young has finished my thoughts up better than I ever could, so I will quote her: "Marvel at the wonder of My continual Presence with you. Even the most ardent human lover cannot be with you always. Nor can another person know the intimacies of your heart, mind, and spirit. I know everything about you- even to the number of hairs on your head. You don't need to work at revealing yourself to Me. Many people spend a lifetime or a small fortune searching for someone who understands them. Yet I am freely available to all who call upon My Name, who open their hearts to receive Me as Savior. This simple act of faith is the bbeginning of a lifelong love story. I, the Lover of your soul, understand you perfectly and love you eternally."
Now if you don't think that God is an active presence in our lives, I just don't know what to say to you. I was prevented from finishing, because God wanted to lend me a hand with Sarah's words which, by coincidence (NOT!) just happened to fit with the theme of this post. Hmmmm...... Funny how that works! Shalom!
It is altogether a different thing to say that some one's soul is made of the same thing as your own. This describes a much more intimate expression of love and friendship. My best friend gave me a beautiful silver angel that hangs in my bedroom with this Emily Bronte quote inscribed on one of the wings. Of course I understood exactly what she was saying. This is, at it's core, a way of saying " You completely understand me. You get me. No words are needed. The boundaries between us are artificial." And so it is with best friends. And if you are very lucky, a handful of other people in your life. It is always an amazing and powerful thing when you connect with someone at this level. There is no struggling to make yourself understood. It follows as naturally as dusk follows the day. We live in a world of complete connectivity. We are plugged in, turned on, twittering, face booking, blogging, emailing fools. We have instant, real time communication 24/7. Yet how many of us really feel heard or understood?
I think God gets that we need people whose souls are made of the same material as our own. He created our desire to be deeply understood. This is the way He understands each of us. He waits patiently asking us to turn our hearts toward him. As the creator of our souls, He is aware of what each is made of, and what each is longing for. The deep friendships we form with earthy friends are but an imitation of what He can offer us. As I was trying to finish up this post, I encountered an i Pad glitch that I could not get around. So I quit and set it aside, determined to finish it at a later time when I could use my desk top. The very next morning, I encountered these words in the devotional I use every day called "Jesus Calling". Sarah Young has finished my thoughts up better than I ever could, so I will quote her: "Marvel at the wonder of My continual Presence with you. Even the most ardent human lover cannot be with you always. Nor can another person know the intimacies of your heart, mind, and spirit. I know everything about you- even to the number of hairs on your head. You don't need to work at revealing yourself to Me. Many people spend a lifetime or a small fortune searching for someone who understands them. Yet I am freely available to all who call upon My Name, who open their hearts to receive Me as Savior. This simple act of faith is the bbeginning of a lifelong love story. I, the Lover of your soul, understand you perfectly and love you eternally."
Now if you don't think that God is an active presence in our lives, I just don't know what to say to you. I was prevented from finishing, because God wanted to lend me a hand with Sarah's words which, by coincidence (NOT!) just happened to fit with the theme of this post. Hmmmm...... Funny how that works! Shalom!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Mercy Me and Loving Well
As I mentioned a few posts ago, I had concert tickets to see the amazingly awesome Mercy Me. This concert kicked off a week of vacation, so it was a perfect start to a perfect week of traveling.
Mercy Me released a new CD in May called The Generous Mr Lovewell. My guess is that the song Beautiful will be a crossover pop hit much like I Can Only Imagine was. There were lots of great songs performed that night including even a little U2 and some Tom Petty(I Won't Back Down is a great anthem for Christians if you think about it!). It was a joyful evening of praise and music, and you never once forgot that the center of the evening was Christ. Bart Millard, the band's well known front guy and lead vocalist made sure of this. A quiet, gentle, big bear of a guy, he gives the impression that only his love of Christ could tear him away from his wife and kids to do what they do. Bart is part minister, part musician/song writer. When he speaks you can feel the Holy Spirit working in him and through him. It is palpable. You can feel your own heart grow and expand when he speaks or when you listen to the lyrics of the many amazing songs he has penned. Here's what Bart and the Mercy Me guys have to say about their latest release:
"Who is Mr Lovewell? He's an idea. He's a movement. He's the hope that little things can add up to a big change. He's what the Bible has already called us to do....love one another. Look for the best in people. Give people a chance regardless of race, status, or gender. mr Lovewell is the understanding that the gospel is for everyone. Some may receive it, some may reject it,but, from where we standing, all that should matter is that the Gospel applies to us all. Who are we to demand outcome before we decide to contribute? Do we wait to tip the waitress only if she's done a great job? Or do we tip her even when she's having the worst day? That's what God's grace is....unconditional. Grace leaves no room for "I've earned this" or "I deserve this". What a concept! To love no matter what! And that, my friend is Mr Lovewell. Who knows? Maybe he'll rub off on a few people. Are you a Lovewell?"
How's that for a "Concept Album"? How's that for a "Life Strategy"? I challenge anyone out there to come up with something better....! I'm tired of Hope and Change. I'm tired of Don't Tread on Me. I'm tired of left and right and liberals and conservatives. I'm tired of labels and ideologies, and the upcoming mid-term election rhetoric. I'm ready for a new candidate. How about we all enter a write in candidate...a guy by the name of Mr Lovewell! Shalom!
Mercy Me released a new CD in May called The Generous Mr Lovewell. My guess is that the song Beautiful will be a crossover pop hit much like I Can Only Imagine was. There were lots of great songs performed that night including even a little U2 and some Tom Petty(I Won't Back Down is a great anthem for Christians if you think about it!). It was a joyful evening of praise and music, and you never once forgot that the center of the evening was Christ. Bart Millard, the band's well known front guy and lead vocalist made sure of this. A quiet, gentle, big bear of a guy, he gives the impression that only his love of Christ could tear him away from his wife and kids to do what they do. Bart is part minister, part musician/song writer. When he speaks you can feel the Holy Spirit working in him and through him. It is palpable. You can feel your own heart grow and expand when he speaks or when you listen to the lyrics of the many amazing songs he has penned. Here's what Bart and the Mercy Me guys have to say about their latest release:
"Who is Mr Lovewell? He's an idea. He's a movement. He's the hope that little things can add up to a big change. He's what the Bible has already called us to do....love one another. Look for the best in people. Give people a chance regardless of race, status, or gender. mr Lovewell is the understanding that the gospel is for everyone. Some may receive it, some may reject it,but, from where we standing, all that should matter is that the Gospel applies to us all. Who are we to demand outcome before we decide to contribute? Do we wait to tip the waitress only if she's done a great job? Or do we tip her even when she's having the worst day? That's what God's grace is....unconditional. Grace leaves no room for "I've earned this" or "I deserve this". What a concept! To love no matter what! And that, my friend is Mr Lovewell. Who knows? Maybe he'll rub off on a few people. Are you a Lovewell?"
How's that for a "Concept Album"? How's that for a "Life Strategy"? I challenge anyone out there to come up with something better....! I'm tired of Hope and Change. I'm tired of Don't Tread on Me. I'm tired of left and right and liberals and conservatives. I'm tired of labels and ideologies, and the upcoming mid-term election rhetoric. I'm ready for a new candidate. How about we all enter a write in candidate...a guy by the name of Mr Lovewell! Shalom!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Oregon: Reflections on God's Glorious Creation
This week I have been on vacation. As you can guess from the title of this post, we have spent our fall vacation in Oregon. I have said in a previous post that I am Irish by family heritage, and therefore a lover of words. This also makes me a lover of the land. Nothing makes the Irish in me more sentimental than beautiful scenery. And in this state, that is all you encounter as far as the eye can see.....
People encounter God in many different ways I have learned. Some people encounter Him primarily in the pages of the Bible. They feel His presence when reading scripture. Some encounter Him when listening to sacred music or in the words of a sermon. Others feel His presence through prayer and conversation with others. That moment when a friend says something and you just know that you were meant to hear just exactly those words at exactly that moment. You know that God is really doing the speaking. The final way that we encounter God is through His glorious creation. I think most of us experience God in all of these ways but we typically have one primary means. For me it is usually through people. This week it was through observing His handiwork in nature...
How often do we go through our daily lives and fail to notice beauty? Sure this was easy for me this week. I had nothing else to focus on besides my surroundings. And I was in a new and exciting place which I had never seen before. Everywhere I looked I saw something beautiful to behold. I wonder if the people who live here walk by these things every day and fail to see them? My guess is yes....
What I found this week was God pointing to His Glory and Majesty at every turn. In the crystal clear blue waters of Crater Lake. In the lichen clinging to the trees around the caldera. In the countless waterfalls of central Oregon. In the crags and crooks of the rocky coastal shore. From every intricate ecosystem of plant life surviving in the most unlikely of circumstances, to the sea lions lounging on the rocks as waves from the Pacific crashed wildly around them. What I could hear was God's song of creation. It is a love song to His children. "Look! See Me! I am He who has created all that you see! Worship Me as the
creator of everything. From the smallest single cell organisms to the soaring snow capped mountains. I am the master and creator of all". It reminds me of that line from the movie The Color Purple where Shug tells Celie that you should never walk thru a field and ignore the color purple because it pisses God off when you don't notice something so magnificent. Perhaps a bit crudely put, but true nevertheless. This week I made sure not to make that mistake myself. The earth and all that is in it truly proclaims the glory of the Lord. especially the little corner of it known as Oregon......Shalom!
People encounter God in many different ways I have learned. Some people encounter Him primarily in the pages of the Bible. They feel His presence when reading scripture. Some encounter Him when listening to sacred music or in the words of a sermon. Others feel His presence through prayer and conversation with others. That moment when a friend says something and you just know that you were meant to hear just exactly those words at exactly that moment. You know that God is really doing the speaking. The final way that we encounter God is through His glorious creation. I think most of us experience God in all of these ways but we typically have one primary means. For me it is usually through people. This week it was through observing His handiwork in nature...
How often do we go through our daily lives and fail to notice beauty? Sure this was easy for me this week. I had nothing else to focus on besides my surroundings. And I was in a new and exciting place which I had never seen before. Everywhere I looked I saw something beautiful to behold. I wonder if the people who live here walk by these things every day and fail to see them? My guess is yes....
What I found this week was God pointing to His Glory and Majesty at every turn. In the crystal clear blue waters of Crater Lake. In the lichen clinging to the trees around the caldera. In the countless waterfalls of central Oregon. In the crags and crooks of the rocky coastal shore. From every intricate ecosystem of plant life surviving in the most unlikely of circumstances, to the sea lions lounging on the rocks as waves from the Pacific crashed wildly around them. What I could hear was God's song of creation. It is a love song to His children. "Look! See Me! I am He who has created all that you see! Worship Me as the
creator of everything. From the smallest single cell organisms to the soaring snow capped mountains. I am the master and creator of all". It reminds me of that line from the movie The Color Purple where Shug tells Celie that you should never walk thru a field and ignore the color purple because it pisses God off when you don't notice something so magnificent. Perhaps a bit crudely put, but true nevertheless. This week I made sure not to make that mistake myself. The earth and all that is in it truly proclaims the glory of the Lord. especially the little corner of it known as Oregon......Shalom!
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