Blog Archives

Lindisfarne inspiration~

8/27/2013

The following poem was sent to me by prayer friends in England. I met Margaret and Gordon on Iona about fifteen years ago and we have kept in touch every since. We had a wonderful reunion on the island ten years ago, and since then we have been in contact through email, Christmas cards and telephone conversations.

     Recently Gordon, who is in his eighties, sent me this prayer by David Adams who was warden years ago on the island of Lindsfarne. It has been an inspiration to Gordon throughout the years, and continues to give him hope as he undergoes radiation and chemotherapy for skin cancer.

     There are many wonderful things I could tell you about Gordon and Margaret, but if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you know that I keep my friend’s privacy. And that I will continue to do. That being said, I am so grateful for the faith and continuing trust in God that they have shown me. What more could I ask of a friendship?

    I do, however, want to share something that hopefully will inspire you, as a church members or as individuals trying to do God’s work in the world. Five days a week for four weeks members of Gordon’s church drive Gordon and Margaret, to his appointments 40 miles from their home. The schedule varies daily, but someone shows up at their house to what they can, namely drive, while Gordon does what he can, get better. This giving and receiving keeps everyone faithful and grateful.

      And now, I ask you a favor. In your own way, please say a prayer for these two dear friends of mine.

I HAVE SEEN THE LORD

Where the mist rises from the sea
Where the waves creep upon the shore
Where the wrack lifts upon the strand,
                         I have seen the Lord

Where the sun awakens the day
Where the road winds on its way
Where the fields are sweet with hay,
                           I have seen the Lord

Where the stars shine in the sky
Where the streets so peaceful lie
Where the darkness is so nigh,
                            I have seen the Lord

The Lord is here,
The lord is there,
The lord is everywhere,
The lord is high,
The lord is low,
The lord is on the path I go

Praying with out ceasing--again~

8/23/2013

I’ve returned, once again, to praying without ceasing. It still seems to be a habit that gets forgotten and then renewed. Such a mystery this ebb and flow or prayer. But here it was again as I started a day of cooking for friends who are having a tough time medically. I wanted to take them a meal, a nice meal, which I knew would take added effort and time on my part. But I didn’t want this to feel like a burden or a chore. I wanted all the preparations, including the brownie baking, to be part of the gift.

And the Jesus Prayer, Jesus Christ have mercy on me, made it so. I didn’t say the words out loud; they were in my consciousness. Along with the meal, the prayer produced a calmness and delight in the preparation.

Um, I wonder what drew me back to this praying without ceasing. God, of course, but that’s still hard for me to believe. What’s that marvelous scripture? “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).

Summer day gratitude~

8/20/2013

I don’t have much to share today other than to say that this is just one of those rare summer days in which everything is prayer. God’s kingdom on earth, from coffee, scrambled eggs and bagel to reading and resting with my feet up. Even my granddog Scuppers joins me in being “Very grateful!”

Praying for a kind heart~

8/18/2013

Give me a kind heart that will endure,
One that's strong and secure.
To help someone along the way,
May this be my goal everyday.
Let me lend a helping hand
To someone whose life has not gone as planned.
Reaching out to one in need,
May this be my daily good deed,
To provide a guiding light
For someone lost in the dark of night,
Let me take time to care
For someone experiencing despair,
Whatever I do, everywhere I go,
Your will, dear Lord, let me know.

                                                         Eve Kiley

I say this prayer every morning. It’s one my mom gave me when she was 95, six years before she died.

     “I try to help someone every day,’ she told me, ‘and I want you to have a copy of this prayer that I read every day.” With that, Mom marched down to the front desk where she was living, prayer in hand, and asked Delia to make a copy for me.

    My mom was very wise. She knew that when we repeat something, be it a poem, scripture or prayer, we begin to internalize the message and act on it. I guess that’s what she wanted from me.

In this prayer we are asking God to guide us in lending a helping hand in a variety of situations: some, just minor bumps along life’s road; others, life changing, life chattering caverns.

·      To someone whose life has not gone as planned: this might be for those who, looking back over their life, had thought and hoped that they would have experienced more joys.

·      Reaching out to one in need: this might involve a small act of kindness for a small need.

·      For someone lost in the dark of night: this might be for someone who is not certain of the right decisions to make during a particular stretch in life.

·      For someone experiencing despair: this might be for someone in the midst of terrible tragedy was feeling no hope or resolution.

      This prayer starts by asking God to give us kind heart. Um, I thinking that that’s where prayer for others begins.

Praying for God's peace and leave it at that~

8/16/2013

How do I respond when someone tells me, ‘My friend is better thanks to your prayers.’?

We pray for someone because we believe that it matters. But the how, what, when, where, and who of it all is a mystery, and probably better kept that way. Probably better not to analyze another’s response. What if they say, ‘My friend isn’t better because people did pray hard enough for her.’

Then there is the question of what exactly I have prayed for. To the best of my understanding I pray that peace will surround everyone in the situation. Sometimes the person gets better, which brings great joy; sometimes the person dies peacefully, which also brings joy. Sometimes the situation seems pretty horrific, with no apparent peace or joy. There are so many questions. I just keep praying for the peace of God that passes all understanding.

Questioning God's call~

8/14/2013

Prayer Corner, Iona Abbey

1. God initiates the call.

2. God’s call always involves service to others.

3. The call of God may seem daunting to us.

4. The call of God is always accompanied by the promise of God.

Br. David Vryhof, Society of Saint John the Evangelist <friends@ssje.org>

       How is this for a simple check list? Is this call I am hearing from God the real deal? Am I imagining it? Do I like it? Do I hate it? Am I wishing (and praying) that it will go away, that it isn’t so?
     About twenty years ago I began hearing God’s call to me to pray for people. “Really, God? You’ve got to be kidding. This is so not me to come up with an idea like this.”
     Ah, but that was the point. I didn’t come up with it, God did. And so it continued. It involved service to others and it sure was, and still is, daunting. I must admit that I don’t always feel #4, God’s promise; it is the least obvious one. And yet, now that I think about, the promise that God will always be with me is becoming more and more convincing. Maybe it comes with practice on my part as I continue to follow the call, sometimes wandering about, other times with determination.

Jesus and 'The Three Sieves'~

8/12/2013

More about the three sieves. Is it truthful, kind, and necessary? Before you tell a story about someone you know or know of, try sifting it through these questions. They may keep your story from slipping into gossip. (See my 8/11/13 entry on www.cottagebythesea.net). Of course, not all stories fall into this category. Case in point, the parable, one of Jesus’ favorite teaching tools (defined on merriam-webster.com as “a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle.”) Jesus never stepped into the gossip arena, never told a story that needed to be put through ‘The Three Sieves Test’. When he spoke about a particular person he spoke directly to him or her.. Way to go. As Jesus said, “Follow me.”

Socrates and 'The Three Sieves'

8/9/2013

The story of Socrates and ‘The Three Sieves’ is posted all over the internet, source unknown.

Read through a Christian lens, it feels like a parable Jesus that could have told. Read the story: it speaks for itself. The challenge is to perform the simple ‘Three Sieves Test’ in our daily lives.

Once upon a time in ancient Greece, one of the acquaintances of the great philosopher Socrates came up to him and said: “Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?”

“Hold on a moment,” Socrates replied. “Before you tell me, I would like to perform a simple test. It is called the ‘Three Sieves Test.’ ”

“The ‘Three Sieves Test?’ ”

“Yes. Before you say a word about my student, take a moment to reflect carefully on what you wish to say by pouring your words through three special sieves.”

“The first sieve is the Sieve of Truth. Are you absolutely sure, without any doubt, that what you are about to tell me is true?”

“Well, no, I’m not. Actually I heard it recently and…”

“Alright,” interrupted Socrates. “So you don’t really know whether it is true or not. Then let us try the second sieve: the Sieve of Goodness. Are you going to tell me something good about my student?”

“Well…no,” said his acquaintance. “On the contrary…”

“So you want to tell me something bad about him,” questioned Socrates, “even though you are not certain if it is true or not?”

“Err…”

“You may still pass the test though,” said the Socrates, “because there is a third sieve: the Sieve of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?”

“No. Not so much.” said the man resignedly.

Finishing the lesson, Socrates said: “Well, then, if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor useful, why bother telling me at all?”

Pray a though of God~

8/7/2013

Here’s a thought that came to me today during my morning reading. ‘Pray a thought of God,’ to those on my prayer list. It sounds rather vague but that’s the strength of it. In fact, it feels like another version of praying Jesus walking along side of people.

Here’s how this one goes. Currently there is someone on my prayer list that I’m worried about. He is floundering-- lonely, no job, distant. I don’t know the details, nor is it my business find out (I’m not his therapist and wouldn’t want to be), but his attitude of depression worries me. I believe that God wants him, along with everyone else, to be in the God’s Kingdom on earth. But how do I pray for him without getting into judgments about the particulars of what God should do, or what he should do?

Thankfully, this morning this God thought of praying for a God thought to come to my friend came to me. It’s enough for me to do: my friend will know what to do; God will know what to do.

Giving Jesus credit~

8/5/2013

On my walk today I got thinking about the different issues that Jesus continually talked about. I figure that what he emphasized was not only important to the people of his time, but is also significant to me 2000 years later. I give Jesus a great deal of credit for zeroing in on the essentials of life!

      When I got home I wrote down the first five that came to my mind. Of course there are many others, but I figure that the first ones are particularly important to me right now. (Before you are influenced by my top five, you might want to jot down your own. Don’t ponder or edit, just blurt them down)

    Here are mine:

1) Wealth and greed are hindrances to the Kingdom of Heaven
2) Spend time alone with God
3) Help the poor, needy and disenfranchised
4) Look for lost items
5) Don’t show off

     I’m not going indulge in excessive spiritual analysis on these, but I fully admit that they indicate areas for attention on my faith journey. Numbers 1,3 and 5 suggest reaching out to others--the public ways I act toward others. Numbers 2 relates to my private, personal relationship with God. I do better with this one. I spend a lot of time with God.

     But where did Number 4, ‘look for lost items’ come from? What did I mean? What resonates at the moment is my need/desire to look for ways that I can see myself, and thus act, as a child of God. It feels like an umbrella for the other four. Attend to the other four and I’ll finding the lost items. Number 4 is the missing piece, the lost item.