Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly--not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. (I Peter 5:2, NLV)
10/30/11 Bethesda Word of Life Christian Center---April 28, 2011 was flooded and under 4-5 feet of water for 25 days. Today's service was a coming together, a celebration of rejoicing in a new building.
"Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing...Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away."Carol goes on to say................
This particular book of his, The Rest of God, Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath, is also a very special reading experience. When I first read it, I thought of you. He concludes each chapter with a liturgy section. He describes liturgy as "a kind of choreography, a choreography for our dance with things unseen, things ancient and things anticipated, things above and things below." He goes on to say that the liturgy sections are meant to 'try to coax you onto the dance floor...even finding yourself, like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, floating above the hard, cold floor of your workaday life, your feet barely touching." So, you see why it made me think of you. And his liturgy sections are not exactly what I would call liturgy, but application- questions- challenges to approach the next bit of time differently, getting onto the dance floor!
Now, with your retirement, hopefully you can put this on your reading list. It's about true rest of the soul, not just retirement from a job. It draws the dancing parallel that flows through your own writing. And he includes playing with our children (and grands) in the wonderful plan of restoring/refreshing our souls. Of course!!!!Don't you love it!! I did. Carol should be blogging personal book reviews! I just had to share it with my readers, most of whom are just that---READERS!
But I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ooh-oh ooh-oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
For continuous melody along with the words, click on the song title below.Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
You can probably hear me belting out on the last verse because it is the one that sadly reflects my fickle heart. But God…….O His grace. How grateful I am.
10/21/11 No words were listed. “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” (Nehemiah 2:4) It’s been noted by scholars as the shortest prayer ever sent to heaven.
We all know such short spontaneous prayers.
Peter prayed, “Lord save me,” when he began sinking as he was walking on the water toward Jesus. Interestingly enough, Peter only began sinking when he took his eyes off of the Lord and looked at his windy circumstances. (Matthew 14:30-32)
“Help me, Lord.”
Praying it scripturally only adds a few words. “Let Thy hand be ready to help me.” (Psalm 119:173) In the psalms we read of many brief accounts of cries unto the Lord. Cried---just another verb for prayed. Poor (afflicted) man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. (Psalm 34:6)
Edges of His Ways, 10/17 entry summed up such short Bible verses. Those “short” Bible verse prayers are what we want on those days when we are tired or hard-pressed…….. Like the touch of the electric light switch---just a touch and the power comes flowing from the powerhouse---the power that turns to light. (Carmichael, p. 192-193)
10/20/11 Brief 2. using few words; concise; succinct: (Dictionary.com) Edges of His Ways, uses the phrase “little prayers.” (Carmichael, p.192) Friend Margie H. calls them breath prayers. Spontaneous prayers. Hardly prayers at all in the “formal” sense.
Prayers evoked by a mere thought and a touch as the woman in Matthew 9:21 who reached to touch the fringe of Jesus’ cloak. “for she was saying to her self, If I only touch His garment, I shall get well.”
Wordless prayers. “Breathe's,” metaphorical lyrics for that close communication with the Lord ….”This is the air I breathe, This is the air I breathe, Your holy presence living in me….” (Michael W. Smith) In such close communion that the Lord knows your prayerful thoughts.
I call them necessary. Lately mine have been, “Lord, forgive me.”
10/17/11 There’s nothing quite like seeing the world through the eyes of a child. Lately my grandsons have offered me opportunities to see God’s creation in a whole new light---from their perspective. Even allowing one of my grandboys to take pictures with my camera today offered great insight into what they see. Sometimes we could all use a new way of seeing thin
gs. If you don’t have young children of your own, join a friend or a relative on an outing with theirs. Or, volunteer in your church nursery. It will refresh your heart---even if you’re as old and as easily fatigued as I am.
Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. (The Message, Psalm 34:8)
Meditate on this verse and then allow a child in your life to show you God’s wonderful world from his/her perspective. Allow this viewpoint to bless your heart anew.
My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare. (Psalm 25:15) David’s snare In this psalm is probably different from yours. Is your snare boredom in God’s blessings of creation? Do you need to see life afresh and be thankful?
Guess which pumpkin, photographer, Owen chose?
10/14/11 This entry is about dancers in my life---two who have helped me to dance. Dancing for me is a life fully lived. A life I live with the Lord. It's an abunDANCE, as it's full of God's purpose for me while on this earth. It gives me eyes to see His hand in my life through good and bad times. Dancing is passionate. It's embracing those whom God sends across my path---every single one, even the irregular ones who annoy, hurt, and try to rob me of my joy. Learning to live the life God has planned for me and living without fear requires dancing in His arms. Surrendering to Him. Following His lead. It requires spiritual maturity and in my case encouragement from others. Especially those who already know the steps.
e to the needs of others. They seem tireless. In Him, they live and move and have their being. (Acts 17:28) There's a deep assurance of God's presence in their lives that touches all who cross their paths.
describes these dancers as "never flagging in zeal, aglow with the Spirit, serving the Lord." They live above their circumstances because they are always looking up! Pretty much each and every Sunday you will find them pew side at a local UMC, where "Lord of the Dance" is on page 261 of the Methodist hymnal.
10/12/11 Merriam-Webster defines the term walkabout as “a short period of wandering bush life engaged in by an Australian aborigine as an occasional interruption of regular work.” For Ellen and me it was a running together of words as we estimated the number years we’d been walking. “Let’s see, we’ve “walk’dabout”---well it was the year John and Josh turned 15 so that’s 1990---Wow, we’ve been “walkin’about” 21 years and mostly on Wednesday. I remember that because she would drive to my house and then have to get back in time to work in Christ Methodist’s church library. Most of those years we both worked full time so it was a great interruption for both of us---a time to move our feet and our mouths. Wednesday is always the day I pray for Ellen too so that evens it all out nicely.
John15:15b….I have called you friend, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
This fall I’ve been going to her house to walk. Her “hood” has more trees and manicured lawns than my “hood” so our walks have been a vibrant visual feast. Do you have a friend like that? One with whom you share faith, friendship, the ups and downs of life, lots of stories and lots of years? If so how ‘bout starting a walkabout with them? Certainly burns more calories that “doing lunch.”
Enjoy today’s pictorial stroll---we don’t exactly burn up the pavement but we’re still “walkin’about”--- ‘cause that’s what our Wednesdays are all about.
10/11/11 ….at least for awhile. It’s just my final “dance” THOTS based on Timothy Keller's book, The Reason for God; Belief in an Age of Skepticism. Believe me, I’m just scratching the surface. According to Keller, we were made to join in the dance. (Naturally, I agree with that!) “If we will center our lives on (H)im, serving (H)im not out of self-interest, but just for the sake of who (H)e is, for the sake of (H)is beauty and glory, we will enter the dance and share in the joy and love (H)e lives in.….we were designed then, not just for belief in God in some general way…..We were made…..to make the purpose and passion of our lives knowing, serving, delighting, and resembling (H)im. Our world was made in joy and therefore is good, in and of itself. The universe is understood as a dance of beings united by energies binding, yet distinct, like orbiting planets, tides and seasons, tones in a chord, like a mother with a baby stirring in her body. ”(Keller p. 219) Rev. Keller says, ,”Creation is a Dance!” I couldn’t agree more.
Yet, somewhere along the way our self-centered world has left many without real relationships. Alienation sets in. There’s no one to join in the dance. Self absorption. Many are concerned with their own needs and building their resume with accomplishments to bolster a sense of pride.
Many need to return to the dance.
I know what it’s like to dance with the Lord---to follow His leading and to share in the joy of a relationship with Him that spills over to others. It’s about Him and His glory but oh how it benefits me. In the first step one can move out of self-centeredness into relationship. The first turn can move you from fear to trust. Just stay close enough that He can whisper His directions in your ear.
Thanks Rev. Keller for the reminder.
