30 December 2013

be there

I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security ... More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: 'Give them something to eat.'”
-Pope Francis on the Papal mission

LOVE!!!

27 December 2013

sun and clouds

Pray as you can,
he says.

As you can...
what if I can't?
What if there are no words,
and I'm trusting that the
Spirit of God
knows what my heart longs for?

It's so grey,
today.

Even as I say that,
though,
the sun comes
peeking through the
heavy clouds.

He works like that,
right?

Light through dark,
sunbeams through the pouring rain?

Rainbows, right?

Pray as you can.

The Son is coming.



Love:)

R

23 December 2013

and he will be called

  For a child is born to us,
    a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
    And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.


 

Really?
 
This year....it's been rough.
Beautiful and glorious? Yes.
 
But also, maybe, the hardest yet.
And it is still dark.
 
Wonderful Counselor?
There were so many times when I didn't know what to say,
couldn't even find words to acknowledge.
So many times when I didn't know what to do.
In the desert canyons this summer, I read Isaiah 30:20-22.
 
Though the Lord gave you adversity for food
    and suffering for drink,
he will still be with you to teach you.
    You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
Your own ears will hear him.
    Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
    whether to the right or to the left.
 Then you will destroy all your silver idols
    and your precious gold images.
You will throw them out like filthy rags,
    saying to them, “Good riddance!”
 
The way is hard to find,
but it's there.
 
 
Mighty God?
It's not that we don't know He is....
but sometimes you get so tired of waiting for Him to step in and save the day.
 
But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
    yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
    my cry to him reached his ears.
Then the earth quaked and trembled.
    The foundations of the mountains shook;
 
He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
    from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,
    but the Lord supported me.
 He led me to a place of safety;
    he rescued me because he delights in me.
Psalm 18:6-7, 16-19
 
 
Everlasting Father.....
yeah.
God of the universe?
Jesus teaches us to pray;
 
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.
 
Prince of Peace.
If I were to pick a word for this year,
the year of the whirlwind,
it would be Peace.
 
The year was not one of peace all around,
but it was one of learning to find peace inside.
To  hide in His Shadow, and watch the storm outside.
There was so much that slipped through my fingers,
so much that fell crashing down,
and there was so much peace.
 
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
Ephesians 13:13-15
 
 
Him and Him alone.
 
All glory to God, who truly is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
 
We are nothing without that.
 
 
Love:)
 
R

17 December 2013

marvel now


 Athanasius asks "How could He have called us if He had not been crucified, for it is only on the cross that a man dies with His arms outstretched?"
This is God, dying with open arms.
The Jews, confused and blinded, could not see past the darkness in their own hearts.
Why did He not free them from their oppressors?
Why was the kingdom He brought about one of peace?
They couldn't bear to see that the real war was over their hearts, that the conquering king wasn't to fight for victory against fleeting man,
but
instead over the  last and greatest enemy-
 death
 In His death, the broken world was atoned for,
and we were given a chance at redemption.
We were given life.

   As we reflect this Advent over the Word becoming flesh, we cannot allow ourselves to be numbed to the wonder of the Incarnation.
We do not serve a far off God, or seek blindly for truth like the world around us. 
We are broken, and yet we are healed.
The great Story is ours;
we have become a part of it.
We serve the God who knelt and washed feet,
who died with arms outstretched to the mocking world.
We are the reason He came.
We are loved.
When faced with that, what can we say?
What wonderful, upside down story are we now a part of?
As Athanasius writes in On The Incarnation-
O marvel at the Love of the Word for man!
 
Love:)
 
R

06 December 2013

lost and found

It's cold, tonight.
Dark, and starry, and silent.
These haunting, lovely words are so beautiful tonight.


There are wild things
just beyond the creche.
Pry loose an Advent
candle from its round
wreath and walk straight
past the doe-eyed virgin,
deeper into the world
he was born to save.
 
Jettison your meekness.
Cup your hand over the
flame, you’ll be exposed.
No, don’t look for a star.
Instead listen for the carol
of the trees as the wind
repeats its sounding joy.
You’ll feel more lost than
saved but that’s how the
prophets say it will feel
the closer your journey to
the coming arrival.

-John Blase
http://thebeautifuldue.wordpress.com/

work

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner." (From Long Walk to Freedom, 1995)
-Nelson Mandela

01 December 2013

thrive - switchfoot


Been fighting things that I can't see
Like voices coming from the inside of me and
Like doing things I find hard to believe in
Am I myself or am I dreaming?

I've been awake for an hour or so
Checking for a pulse but I just don't know
Am I a man when I feel like a ghost?
The stranger in the mirror is wearing my clothes

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive

I come alive when I hear you singing
But lately I haven't been hearing a thing and
I get the feeling that I'm in between
A machine and a man who only looks like me

I try and hide it and not let it show
But deep down inside me I just don't know
Am I a man when I feel like a hoax?
The stranger in the mirror is wearing my clothes

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive

I'm always close, but I'm never enough
I'm always in line, but I'm never in love
I get so down, but I won't give up
I get so down, but I won't give up
I get so down, but I won; t give up

Been fighting things that I can't see
Like voices coming from the inside of me and
Like doing things I find hard to believe in
Am I myself or am I dreaming?

Am I myself or am I dreaming?
Am I myself or am I dreaming?

Thrive, thrive, thrive, yeaah, thrive

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive
I wanna thrive not just survive

Yeah yeah
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive
I wanna thrive not just survive
I wanna thrive not just survive

Feels like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive