Blog Archives

Life as a Christian~

9/28/2012

I’ve been praying with Paul Yancey’s question ever since I read it yesterday: “If a seeking person came to you and asked how your life as a Christian differs from a moral non-Christian, what would you tell her?” I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of what this might mean. “Hope,” comes to mind, but that’s not a sufficient answer.

I know a fair share of moral non-Christians. In fact many of my friends and family fit that category, and I admit that I often fall right in with them, which is mighty easy in this secular world we live in. So, what happens when I am living my life as a Christian? At the moment I am aware of two differences. First of all, I act to fulfill God’s purpose, not to satisfy my ego. Secondly, my heart opens and I let go of judgments about what others ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ do.

My hope is that more and more I will be living with the Christian response-- God’s purpose manifested through an open heart.

Awesome prayer in community~

9/24/2012

I continue to be in awe of the power of prayer in community, namely at the church I attend. God’s power is present in so many ways and situations, sometimes bursting forth, other times speaking in a small, soft voice.
Yesterday was a particularly awesome day. A long time member, after being away for over a year, arrived with her walker, accompanied by her son and grandson. Upon hearing that another member was celebrating her 90th birthday, our music director moved from organ bench to the piano bench to led us in singing Happy Birthday. The Outreach Committee encouraged us to ‘sponsor’ a 2x4 for Habitat for Humanity. A first-time visitor showed interest in joining the choir. It was an awesome, prayerful day.

Rabbi Kushner, thank you~

9/21/2012

A few weeks ago on Greater Boston, Emily Rooney interviewed Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of many books including, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” written after his son Aaron died at age 17 in 1977 of progeria, an incurable genetic aging disease.

   Rabbi Kushner has wisdom for all of us. He believes that God doesn’t cause good or bad things to happen, but that God is with us in the midst of everything, helping us to be the people God wants us to be.

     Then there is his response to people who tell him that they are atheists, that they don’t believe in God. “Tell me about the God you don’t believe it.” And the conversation continues.

      I continue to be touched by Rabbi Kushner’s compassion, and by his message that each of us is responsible for being faithful.

Chatting with God~

9/18/2012

Am I glad to have God to talk with!!!! I just received some news that I’m not suppose to share with anyone just yet. But of course that doesn’t mean God. You know how it goes: God knows anyway…there are no secrets from God…etc. etc. So here I am, going about doing what I have to do today, chatting with God, which as we know, isreally just prayer.

Balancing gratitude and suffering~

9/15/2012

No, that's not me.

My ‘top ten’ prayer list feels unusually intense and crowded these days. By intense, I mean that there are many people I know who are really suffering medically and emotionally-- big time. And of course that brings in their families and friends. As the circle expands, sometimes ten spots just aren’t enough.

I am aware that my situation is not unique, all of which makes me realize how much suffering is going on in every little corner of the world. And yet, in another sense it is unique. I live near some of the best medical facilities in the world, and I don’t live in anything that resembles a war torn neighborhood. I’m trying to balance gratitude and suffering, but isn’t that what we’re all working on?

Pray a blessing~

9/12/2012

If you’ve been following my blog for a while you are well aware that I am continually trying to make sense out of prayer, especially intercessory prayer. Here’s my latest. What if we just ask God to bless the people we’re praying for, and leave it at that? Sounds simple doesn’t it? But I think that’s how God wants it to be. For one thing, asking God to bless eliminates all those judgments that are mine, not God’s.

And, besides, who am I to decide what is best for someone else? I don’t mean to refute the general agreement out in the world about some kinds of behavior. Case in point, consuming excessive alcohol. At the moment I have someone on my prayer list for just that. I’m mighty tempted to pray that he stop drinking, but I did that once and the person sure did stop--she died in an alcohol related accident. I never felt responsible for what happened, but it did bring me up short and get me thinking about the ways that I meddle, all in the guise of ‘doing good’.

This simple prayer of asking God to bless people feels very freeing for everyone involved. It adds no human complications, and yet, it allows human beings like you and me to participate in ‘Thy will be done.’

Watching the sky and water~

9/9/2012

I’m very grateful that I will be returning for my fourth winter at the cottage by the sea. I heard from the owner the other day, and he and I agreed that we are ready for another win-win season. On my cottagebythesea.net blog, which is for people who are looking for silence, solitude and simplicity and who sometimes like to be alone, I write about my general experiences there. I DO NOT talk specifically about faith and prayer; that’s what this blog is about.

So here I am, two months before I start spending week days at the cottage and weekends at home, musing on what my prayer life will be like this year. I envision myself watching the sky and water from before sunrise to after sunset. That won’t be new, but the amount of time I spend just sitting in the mystery will be longer and more frequent than previous years.

Top ten prayer list~

9/6/2012

I just came back from an evening walk. God’s creation opened me up to gratitude and compassion. I find it easy to pray for people when I walk at night. I just know that God hears me as I walk along praying for the people on my top ten prayer list. Tomorrow when I first get up I will start a new list for the new day. As it is every morning, some names will be repeated and new ones will be added.

Put prayer first~

9/2/2012

One of my challenges is not to let my blogging get in the way of my prayer time. As a start, I try to write about silence, solitude and simplicity on www.acottagebythesea.net every other day. At the moment, I feel I have a pretty good rhythm going with that one.

My commitment to get rid of something for 365 days has me blogging every day on www.lettingofstuff.blogspot.com. Along with writing the blog, I have to get rid of something, all of which takes physical and mental time, not to mention all the emotional energy involved. Consequently, sometimes when I think I ought to write for this blog, I realize that what I really need to do first is tend to my prayer and meditation, which is the scaffold for my spiritual life.

So my message for today is, when in doubt, pray. When you can, put prayer first.