Journey: A Year of Days

5/6/11 Today is the first day of a journey with my new devotional book, A Year of Days. It's a companion to the Book of Common Prayer, which "resides" on my bedside table. It's a gift from dear Margie H. and it's story is a treasure.
Today's entry coordinates with PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE p.386. "I ask your prayers for all who seek God, or a deeper knowledge of Him. " That alone is a great beginning for the story that follows:

• Each of us has a "birth" story of spiritual meaning--an "explosion of grace" or a "gradual dawning" of a call to follow Jesus.


• The journey continues as we find other believers and live together in community and are instructed in the faith.


• As the journey progresses we share love, joys and grief and our capacity to feel all of those emotions for each other grows.


• Deeper and deeper into our heart goes the love of God and thus grows our ability to love those in community. It's the story of the Christian faith.

What's your story? Where are you on your journey?

National Day of Prayer

5/5/11 I started mine with a 3:15 am call to prayer and it was difficult---focusing was hard even though I was really seeking to praise the Lord, not petition.
At school I was late joining a handful of students and prayer warrior, Bernie, at the flagpole---but then I heard them pray. Teenagers with a heart for the Lord. Teenagers praying for their teachers and fellow students. Teenagers willing to take a stand as buses pulled up loaded with students who were watching them, not joining them.
Teenagers focusing on Christ. It was all the focus I needed to carry me through the day.

Monday Musings

5/2/11 Since tonight winds up my BSF Isaiah study, I assumed that today's meditation would be one of the rich verses from that book. Yet, this morning as I was praying Psalm 33:20-22, for my friend, Ellen, who was having surgery, I decided those verses were worthy meditation for all blog readers’----way to focus on the ONE who is our help, our shield, our trustworthy Lord of mercy. The One in whose holy name we have hope.

Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You. (Psalm 33:20-22)

Definitely verses worthy of prayerful consideration.

But God…..did not let my meditation stop there. Though I am not a proponent of the “drop and plop” method of meditation selection, my eyes caught the word flood on the preceding page.

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah (Psalm 32: 6-7)

Though one might think I was interpreting these verses as an answer to the “possibility” of rising water in my neighborhood, it really spoke to me of my own heart. This psalm had me reflecting more on the flood of troubles that seemed to be overwhelming me lately. I began praising Him---that’s what meditation produces---for sustaining me when I felt as if I were drowning in heartache and even in my own self-pity.

In the first verses of the psalm, the psalmist, David, is hiding from God, but in these verses he is seeking to hide in Him. God became his refuge. Today He is mine as well.

APRIL SHOWERS.......

5/1/11 …………………bring May FLOODS!

FLOOD WARNING:

All Shelby County residents should take flood precautions NOW and be prepared to leave homes and businesses.

That’s what we first read last night when we checked our zip code on the Shelby County Preparedness site. Warnings for our street were not listed as “most likely flooded” but “possibly flooded” between Sunday & Wednesday.

Our street is now in pre-evacuation mode. Much like an expectant mother who keeps a “packed” suitcase under the bed, we have ours in our car. Just in case. If we leave our street for work or church and return to a flooded street, we won’t be allowed home until the water recedes.

This morning as we left for church, we saw “movers” at our next-door neighbor’s house----hired to move their furniture upstairs. That’s just what Larry and I had been doing until 1:15 am. Just in case---since we have no flood insurance.

We’re hoping for the best but preparing for the “possibility” as suggested.

Meanwhile, as Larry finishes up for “possible” evacuation mode, I’m going into prayer mode. I am praying for acceptance and strength for whatever blows or washes our way. But God……………….

Certain about uncertainty

4/30/11 That phrase is more than just understanding that the only certainty in life is uncertainty---as I have experienced first hand these last weeks. Yesterday’s My Utmost for His Highest devotion equated uncertainty with graciousness. A good thing. It was a lesson I needed to hear. It has obviously resonated with me over the last 7 years because it is a “well-marked” page and a worthy read! http://www.myutmost.org/04/0429.html

Chambers entry reminded me that “Certainty is the mark of the common-sense life.” (Where most Americans live—in a logical, calculated life of personal pursuits. Dotsy THOT) Uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life.

To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, (Chambers 4/29) (we generally have no clue or control of what lies ahead. Dotsy THOT)

With these prompts, I am encouraged to let go of my natural inclinations to plan ahead. May I be filled with breathless expectation, as I wait to see what God is going to do.

I may still be uncertain of the next step (in so many areas*) of my life, but I am certain of God.

*Having been without computer access most of yesterday, I was late “publishing” this entry . Before I even had time to post today (5/1) I received a call that the nurses think that Daddy has had another mini-stroke---not life-threatening, but a set-back. More uncertainty in Daddy’s care---yet certain of God’ gracious goodness for all of us. Practicing being breathlessly expectant.

"THE" Royal Wedding: A Spiritual Perspective

4/29/11

Nielsen estimated that 22.8 million people in the US watched the Wedding of Prince William to “commoner” Kate Middleton. A whopping 400 million reportedly caught livestream coverage on YouTube alone. I wonder if Billy Graham has ever had that large a viewing audience.

From the dress to the tiara to the balcony kiss, the world seemed to be enraptured. But…..did they have “ears to hear” when Kate’s brother James read from Roman’s chapter 12? I hope so. That chapter is so filled with truth. Brother Buddy says one of his Bible study chums, who is the principal at Atherton high school in Louisville, reads Romans chapter 12 everyday.

Here’s some of my spiritual perspectives of that chapter from the Revised Standard Version, which he read.

1I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2) (Applying those 2 verses would be a great way to begin everyday.)

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; (The ability to recognize what is good, and hold on to it will allow genuine love to flow through you to others)

11 Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. (Trusting the Lord for His strength will keep you going and glowing as you serve others)

12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (This is not just a put-on happy face, that would vanish by noon, rather a deep seeded joy that springs from His grace in your suffering and a fervency in prayer.)

18 If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. (Wouldn’t that make for a sound sleep if you could end your day knowing that you had made choices throughout the day to live at peace with all those who had crossed your path!)

Those are my spiritual perspectives. What are yours?

COMPLACENCY

4/27/11 Back in the closet again…..or our safe place as bow-tie weatherman, Joey Sulipek, was calling it. Friend Elaine M. said that our weather had “put down the pruning shears and picked up the chain saw.” Predictions were certainly dire.

Cozy (a euphemism for stuffy & cramped) in our under the stairs closet, the simulcast of the weather news was playing on our battery operated radio as the sirens wailed outside. It didn’t take long to grow weary of obeying the siren’s warning to take cover and do the right thing. Before too long we were inching out toward more comfort. The sirens came and went for more that 2 hours. We came and went as well, even while the sirens continued.

How easy it became to half-heartedly heed the warning. Isn’t that the way it can be in our Christian walk? We can easily slip into complacency---even when doing the right thing. Laziness and indifference can become the pattern. How do we avoid this danger?

“And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed…..So, let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” ― Romans 13:11-12 (NIV)

Complacency is a real and present danger. We need to guard against it by covering ourselves with the light of God’s word that we might not be caught unaware by the ever present dangers of this world.

“For the waywardness of the naïve shall kill them, and the complacency of fools shall destroy them.” (Proverbs 1:32)

STORMY WEATHER

4/26/11

Back in the 60s when 45s were played on record players, “Stormy Weather”, a garage band style version by Tommy Burk and the Counts, was a “biggie” in Memphis. Not a life-long Memphian, I don’t remember much about the ”Counts”. I just know they hung out at the Pike house at Memphis State and both Wayne Thompson and Thomas Boggs were a part of the group. I also remember dancing at the King Cotton and humming along with the lyrics as the band played. Some of the lines were descriptive of our weather lately. There was no “sun up in the sky” & “It's raining all the time, all the time.”

Yesterday hubby and I were on I-40 when such a storm hit. No sun visible. It rained as if it would never stop. Big trucks on both sides sprayed us. Visibility was nil. The storm caught us by surprise and it was scary. I prayed.

Life is often a lot like that---a sudden unplanned “storm-like event” rising up out of nowhere. Unexpected. Causing us to re-chart our course, sometimes 180º.

As we inched along our way, I was grateful that I knew the One who can calm life’s storms.

· One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”(Luke 8:22-25)

SOUL FOOD

4/25/11 Soul food is what my “meditating Mondays” are all about since to me there seems to be a famine of God’s word these days. Yesterday’s “Feed my Sheep” chapter, from Laniak’s book, reinterated that. His devotional had me wondering if my blog nourishes readers with enough of God’s word. I don’t want to provide empty calories of wearisome words. That’s what the world bombards us with day in and day out. “ Vacuous options and synthetic substitutes.” (Laniak p. 63)

Here’s some real food (scripture)to chew on----

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

As you begin to feed yourself on God’s word, I pray that this verse of scripture from Jeremiah will become as relevant for your life as it is for mine. Spiritual “soul food” like Memphis soul food offers me not only delight but great comfort as well.

Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; 
For I have been called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16)

I'VE GOT A SECRET

4/24/11 If you want to know a secret---you've got to e-mail me. It's a good one!