Thursday, March 29, 2012
Countdown to T&T
Here we go, Lord. It's time to go set up for the T&T. Bless me, bless all the women leading it, and bless all the women attending. And bless my DH for helping us to set up tonight. In Jesus's name and totally for His sake!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Busted Halo: For Others
Today's "fast" idea from the website Busted Halo suggests a fast from prayer for my personal needs. Okay! Here goes!
Amy: Father, her heart is toward La Casa de la Esperanza. She feels called--and I rather believe that You are, in fact, calling her--to spend a school year there. There are many details to consider as we move forward with this mission. Please grant us direction, wisdom, and provision. Please show us the things that we, by ourselves, would probably miss or fail to take into account. Please be glorified not only by Amy's willing heart, although I imagine that You would be extremely blessed by it, but also by our willing hearts to let her go and to help her make this mission possible.
Julie: Lord God, You know my heart is most concerned not merely for her physical safety in the city, although that is certainly true. My heart is most concerned with her spiritual "safety" and the dearth of Christian fellowship in her life. I don't know whether the difficulty she is having in attempts to connect with Redeemer is an indication that it is not Your will for her to be fed there OR an indication that the idea is receiving spiritual opposition from the enemy. My first request from You, then, is discernment about this conundrum. I don't want to be asking for something that is outside of Your will. Please, in either case, lead her to Christian fellowship in the city. She seems to be remaining close to You, and I ask You to give her the commitment to maintain that closeness.
Holland: Dear boy! Dumb boy! I think Mom is right; he doesn't appreciate Amy. Oh, well. That is her issue and his issue and not my issue. I did say, though, that I would pray about his Habitat for Humanity fundraising, and so I shall. Please, Lord, provide for him according to Your riches in glory. Please honor his heart for the poor and the downtrodden. Please also honor his young manhood and his need for adventure. I ask that You would prove Your heart to him by opening the purses and pockets of Your people to provide for this ministry. Bless him; bless my daughters, too (and more?? )
Amy: Father, her heart is toward La Casa de la Esperanza. She feels called--and I rather believe that You are, in fact, calling her--to spend a school year there. There are many details to consider as we move forward with this mission. Please grant us direction, wisdom, and provision. Please show us the things that we, by ourselves, would probably miss or fail to take into account. Please be glorified not only by Amy's willing heart, although I imagine that You would be extremely blessed by it, but also by our willing hearts to let her go and to help her make this mission possible.
Julie: Lord God, You know my heart is most concerned not merely for her physical safety in the city, although that is certainly true. My heart is most concerned with her spiritual "safety" and the dearth of Christian fellowship in her life. I don't know whether the difficulty she is having in attempts to connect with Redeemer is an indication that it is not Your will for her to be fed there OR an indication that the idea is receiving spiritual opposition from the enemy. My first request from You, then, is discernment about this conundrum. I don't want to be asking for something that is outside of Your will. Please, in either case, lead her to Christian fellowship in the city. She seems to be remaining close to You, and I ask You to give her the commitment to maintain that closeness.
Holland: Dear boy! Dumb boy! I think Mom is right; he doesn't appreciate Amy. Oh, well. That is her issue and his issue and not my issue. I did say, though, that I would pray about his Habitat for Humanity fundraising, and so I shall. Please, Lord, provide for him according to Your riches in glory. Please honor his heart for the poor and the downtrodden. Please also honor his young manhood and his need for adventure. I ask that You would prove Your heart to him by opening the purses and pockets of Your people to provide for this ministry. Bless him; bless my daughters, too (and more?? )
Saturday, March 24, 2012
"Lectio Divina"
Not all things Catholic are bad! This practice of Lectio Divina, which was described on the Busted Halo website but which has roots in the 6th century order of St. Benedict, is something that we evangelical Christians try to incorporate into our "devotions" but we just don't call it by the same name.
Four parts:
Lectio: My "listening heart" heard something in verses 37-38 of the Message version.
Oratio: Prayer of my heart. Dear Lord, soften my heart. I think this passage could also apply to my reaction to the "associate pastor." Yes, I hesitated to write those words and to put them in quotes because I don't feel that he qualifies for the title of pastor. How can I "be easy" on him? He makes me crazy. :) Not really, but I have a hard time recognizing the things that he is doing that are clearly violating his role and his responsibility and not being affected and maybe upset by them. Jesus, You did this while You were on earth. Would You please coach me? I'm trying, but if my trying would effect any change, then I wouldn't need the Holy Spirit to a) assist me and b) do the work that I'm unable to do in the first place.
Contemplatio: By virtue of the description of this practice, I won't write any words.
Well, Lord, I hate to go. There are deadlines in this world that I need to respect.
Bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory (for Your sake). Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm, that I may neither cause nor experience pain. ~1 Chronicles 4:10 made into a prayer~
Out at 10:29 a.m.!
Four parts:
- Lectio = reading with a listening heart
- Meditatio = just what it implies: meditation
- Oratio = prayer of the heart
- Contemplatio = yes, contemplation, including letting go of thinking but just allowing the Spirit to speak
Lectio: My "listening heart" heard something in verses 37-38 of the Message version.
"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot easier."Meditatio: Everyone needs a break. Everyone is a sinner, and many of them many times are willful sinners. Those two statements don't contradict; they are together a dialectical truth. Ooohhhh. Heavy! And of course, who does that bring to my mind but my director at work. Challenge to my impulsive, reflexive reactions to her. Of course, if I applied this to her--that is, if these words were spoken to her picking on people, jumping on their failures, and criticizing their faults (which she does)--the consequence is in fact what she is suffering. But this is not being spoken to her; it is being spoken to me.
Oratio: Prayer of my heart. Dear Lord, soften my heart. I think this passage could also apply to my reaction to the "associate pastor." Yes, I hesitated to write those words and to put them in quotes because I don't feel that he qualifies for the title of pastor. How can I "be easy" on him? He makes me crazy. :) Not really, but I have a hard time recognizing the things that he is doing that are clearly violating his role and his responsibility and not being affected and maybe upset by them. Jesus, You did this while You were on earth. Would You please coach me? I'm trying, but if my trying would effect any change, then I wouldn't need the Holy Spirit to a) assist me and b) do the work that I'm unable to do in the first place.
Contemplatio: By virtue of the description of this practice, I won't write any words.
Finally, there is “contemplatio”, a state of letting go of thought, imagination, and feeling in order for God to enter every corner of our being.It's 10:14 a.m., and I will just sit and close my eyes and not even try to capture any thought that comes across my mind. Opening my eyes at 10:18 a.m.~with tears of appreciation that You have done this very dialectical thing for me. You know my faults more accurately than anyone does, and especially than I do, and You love me and pursued me passionately. THANK YOU!
Well, Lord, I hate to go. There are deadlines in this world that I need to respect.
Bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory (for Your sake). Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm, that I may neither cause nor experience pain. ~1 Chronicles 4:10 made into a prayer~
Out at 10:29 a.m.!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Over--But Not Over
Lord, I am going to take 20 minutes here with You, according to the suggestion on the Busted Halo website to "practice" meditation for 20 minutes each day. This may not be truly meditation, but the 20-minute idea seems like a really good one. So, I start at 5:57 p.m.
Today I had the cystoscopy. What a relief to hear that the CT scan from last Monday was normal, and the cystoscopy showed only possible residual evidence of an infection. The evidence was a reddened, apparently inflamed area; it was nothing really remarkable, according to the doctor, but it suggested to him that there was left-over infection. So I now take Bactrim for four doses, one of which I took already today. My blood pressure was up a bit at 130/88, despite having taken the Atenolol this morning (and I will take it again tonight). Hah! This old body is showing signs of wear and aging. :)
The upshot, so far anyway, is that the "gross hematuria" does not appear by any means of evaluation to indicate cancer. Yes, that is a relief. It also taught me that I can't take for granted my health or my own power to avoid sickness. It was humbling to me to consider that I could have a terminal illness despite taking (what I think is) good care of myself. I came back to the realization that You are ultimately the decider of my fate. I didn't come back to that as quickly or as easily as I would have liked; but I did get there. "My life is in You, Lord."
I need to settle a little bit and ask for Your blessing and inspiration on the MOPS talk tomorrow. In today's, or was it yesterday's (?), New Testament reading, You Yourself said that we should not worry about what we will say when the time comes. It's in Mark 13:11b: "...don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit." (I'm not going to be arrested and standing trial, but still.... !) Is it wrong for me to review what I have written in preparation for tomorrow? I hope not. I really, really want You, Holy Spirit, to be the One speaking.
Use me, dear Master, to reach anyone who doesn't know You yet. Use me, too, to challenge those who do know You to stop hiding from You and to seek You with all their hearts. If my life is to mean anything at all, I want my funeral to be a testimony to a sold-out servant of her Savior.
I have recalled the story "Sighting Day" in Tales of the Kingdom on more than one occasion since I have been preparing for this talk. Should I make a reference to it? Maybe....
Okay, Lord, it's now 6:13 p.m. I'm going to float over to Busted Halo for a few minutes and read that article on meditation for the remaining time. Bless me, indeed, and enlarge my territory (so that You will have more influence)! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm (so that I may continue to serve You), that I might not cause pain (by neglecting to share the Gospel)!
Oops. It's 6:17 p.m. :)
Today I had the cystoscopy. What a relief to hear that the CT scan from last Monday was normal, and the cystoscopy showed only possible residual evidence of an infection. The evidence was a reddened, apparently inflamed area; it was nothing really remarkable, according to the doctor, but it suggested to him that there was left-over infection. So I now take Bactrim for four doses, one of which I took already today. My blood pressure was up a bit at 130/88, despite having taken the Atenolol this morning (and I will take it again tonight). Hah! This old body is showing signs of wear and aging. :)
The upshot, so far anyway, is that the "gross hematuria" does not appear by any means of evaluation to indicate cancer. Yes, that is a relief. It also taught me that I can't take for granted my health or my own power to avoid sickness. It was humbling to me to consider that I could have a terminal illness despite taking (what I think is) good care of myself. I came back to the realization that You are ultimately the decider of my fate. I didn't come back to that as quickly or as easily as I would have liked; but I did get there. "My life is in You, Lord."
I need to settle a little bit and ask for Your blessing and inspiration on the MOPS talk tomorrow. In today's, or was it yesterday's (?), New Testament reading, You Yourself said that we should not worry about what we will say when the time comes. It's in Mark 13:11b: "...don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit." (I'm not going to be arrested and standing trial, but still.... !) Is it wrong for me to review what I have written in preparation for tomorrow? I hope not. I really, really want You, Holy Spirit, to be the One speaking.
Use me, dear Master, to reach anyone who doesn't know You yet. Use me, too, to challenge those who do know You to stop hiding from You and to seek You with all their hearts. If my life is to mean anything at all, I want my funeral to be a testimony to a sold-out servant of her Savior.
I have recalled the story "Sighting Day" in Tales of the Kingdom on more than one occasion since I have been preparing for this talk. Should I make a reference to it? Maybe....
Okay, Lord, it's now 6:13 p.m. I'm going to float over to Busted Halo for a few minutes and read that article on meditation for the remaining time. Bless me, indeed, and enlarge my territory (so that You will have more influence)! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm (so that I may continue to serve You), that I might not cause pain (by neglecting to share the Gospel)!
Oops. It's 6:17 p.m. :)
Monday, March 5, 2012
Sharing the Gospel
MOPS is Thursday, and I am speaking. Dear Lord, this is a weighty responsibility. I am really not very good at public speaking. I also really want to make the Gospel clear and inviting to any woman there who does not know You or know it. Please inspire me and bless me and take over my mouth, my heart, and my head. You be the speaker and use my vocal cords. In Jesus's name, AMEN!
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