I Believe

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son].
With the Father and the Son
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. 

~ AMEN ~

He Is

Compassion

I made my way into the kitchen this morning to enjoy a hot cup of coffee and a breakfast cookie and crashed into truth. Truth that so many people are hungry right now and struggling to meet such a basic biological need for survival.  

And, then I began to pray.

I prayed for the two children that my husband and I sponsor through Compassion:  Cheik lives in Burkina Faso where the life expectancy of a male is 50.5 and Alfred lives in Uganda where  85% of the population lives below $1 a day.

I prayed for you.  

I prayed that you have an abundance of food and gladly give to others who need it.

I prayed for our country.

I prayed that our government would begin to build infrastructure that help the hungry and needy yet prevent exploitation of programs.

And then I prayed for me.  

I prayed that I would be sensitive to the needs of others and use my resources for their good.

03.11.09 

 Global Food Crisis Day

Will you join me and do something about it, please?

When Miracles Happen

I wiggled and pushed and "ouched" my way up as he strategically placed a multitude of pillows around me so that I could sit upright in bed semi-comfortably.  He opened the shutters on our bedroom windows allowing the warm sun rays of light to enter the space and dance around the room before me.  

Then, he moved effortlessly towards my favorite candle, the one that makes its home on the dresser across the room from my bed, and lit the wick poking out of the glass-encased, white wax. Almost immediately, I began to enjoy the light tinges of lavender that spiked the air as it mixed with the undertones of clary sage and together they beckoned me into taking deep, relaxing breaths.

With natural light brightening the room and spa scents floating in the air, he turned around and, with my Mac in hand, asked with a huge grin on his face, "Are you ready for this now?"

Oh, my goodness, was I ever!  "Yes!", I almost shouted at him.

He brought the breakfast tray over, gently rested my computer on it and with his charming way said, "Take it easy.  Don't go overboard."

"Ok", I said, scurrying to open my precious silver laptop and enter the world of my cyber fun!

So, here I am ... a miracle, really!

Four days post the most intense and invasive surgery to date, having had 8 previous back surgeries, and I am awake and alert and doing well.

A miracle, really!  ;)

You are the God who performs miracles;

you display your power among the peoples.

Psalm 77:14

Join me, please, in thanking God for this miracle! 

Getting Ready for Winter

It was a day outside  

to fight against the wind and cold.

To be enveloped 

in layers of clothes and gloved hands.

To rake leaves

mow the lawn

and prune branches.

We stood there

hand-in-hand

taking in the result.

The yard was now ready to hunker down for winter.

***   ***   ***

My work outside acted as a therapy of sorts as I let my mind drift to my spiritual landscape. I acknowledged the many different climate changes that are occurring and frontal boundaries that are blowing their way in and around my definition of a normal life and status quo. 

I am left to ponder ...

Do I have enough faith to hunker down for the season I just entered?

Intelligent Design

Every now and again Mr. Smart Guy reels me in to an adventure of learning that I didn't anticipate but that allows me to expand my intellectual horizon beyond what I would normally choose.  Last week was definitely one of those times.  He came home from the local bookstore with a new find that had him beaming from ear to ear.  

"I bought a really great movie for us to watch after dinner.  I think you'll like it because I've heard really good things about it."

(please stop to note: Mr. Smart Guy enjoys movies.  Any genre, any movie, even poorly done movies that most people deem ridiculous.  He loves movies.)

I glanced at my friend, who was over for dinner, trying to apologize with my eyes via the kind of look that conveys, "Oh, no!  This might get super ugly.  Feel free to run out the door if you want to, but wait, on second thought, run now!"

We made our way through dinner but it was obvious Mr. Smart Guy was tearing through his food and sprinting to finish his plate off so we could get to the movie.  The doorbell rang and it was another one of our friends.  Mr. Smart Guy invited him over to watch it, too.

(please stop to note:  this duo is known for their conspiracy theory extravaganzas that last until the wee hours of the morning.)

Now, my senses picked up on something.  I ventured to find out more.

"Are you sure this is a movie, movie? One with a story and everything?" I asked hesitantly.

Mr. Smart Guy was at the dvd player inserting the golden cd as he shook his head up and down vigorously affirming that it truly was a movie.  Everyone claimed their spot in the living room to get comfy in, the house lights went down and the opening credits rolled.  

It caught me off guard.  

I wasn't aware that the scientific community no longer embraced or allowed discussions of Intelligent Design as a possible option to explain our earthly existence. I was shocked that pro Intelligent Design scientists have suffered and are suffering devastating career repercussions for their choice.  Their choice to believe that the earth and everything in it was created by an Intelligent Designer.

Appalled.

These are the Days

when preparation doesn't bring perfect plans,

when fear isn't allowed to drive behavior,

when praise echoes no matter the cost.

I believe that God has a plan for me and my family that brings Him glory and honor.

These are the days.

Loving Clumsily

I initiated two extremely difficult conversations yesterday and I walked away with two surprisingly good outcomes. And, I want to share with you what was on my mind before putting myself into communication with others...

"Every day I put love on the line. There is nothing I am less good at then love. I am far better in competition than in love. I am far better at responding to my instincts and ambitions to get ahead and make my mark than I am at figuring out how to love another. I am schooled and trained in acquisitve skills, in getting my own way. And, yet I decide, everyday, to set aside what I can do best and attempt what I do very clumsily - open myself to the frustrations and failures of loving, daring to believe that failing in love is better than succeeding in pride."

- A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson

Lost and Found

Lost.

Completely lost.

Beginning to melt down kinda lost.

...and I was in the grocery store of all places! But, wait, first let me give you the story.

The cashier was scanning my last few items as we continued our pleasant, back and forth conversation. I reach into my purse for my wallet and, **gasp**!!

WHERE is my wallet?

I stopped moving.

A blank stare enveloped my face.

I knew danger was imminent. Identity theft and disaster loomed large in my mind. (and for some wierd reason, the Priceline negotiator theme started playing in my head and a vision of William Shatner appeared)



I looked up at the cashier, and plainly spoke, "I don't have my wallet".

After what seemed like minutes of us moving in slow motion and staring at each other, she asked, "Where was the last time you used a card out of your wallet?"

"Um, I don't know" I replied in a really intelligent way. I was trying to think but no thoughts were forming across the synapses of my brain. I realized the futility of just standing there and quickly began expressing a plan of action of her holding my groceries and me running home for the checkbook and then coming back.

She was patient, calm and just exuded peace.

Me?? Crazy-eyed. No speech but mouth-wide-open-chick. Standing in my hubby's sweatpants, a cute and not-so-ratty tee shirt, day old makeup smeared across my eyelids, flip flops a danglin' and my hair thrown up in a pony tail.

All of a sudden I was becoming very public!

The cashiers had pretty much stopped cashiering and the customers were now looking my way.

I felt lost.

Something precious and priceless of mine was gone and now others in the store were looking on...waiting to see what would happen next.

I scream, "oh, wait....I got it!!"

I yell back to the cashier, "I'll be right back", because I was already halfway out of the store and on the run. I was moving so fast my hair was whipping in the wind, ok, well, maybe it just felt like I was going that fast. lol

I remembered stopping at the gas station before the grocery store. I was thinking maybe I didn't put my wallet back into my purse and it's in the car. I peer into the car window and there it is! My beautiful, shiny, black, Nine-West wallet with a world globe accessory. Aaahhh.....my wallet.

Back in the store, cheers erupted from others and I breathed a huge a sigh of relief.

I looked at the cashier and expressed thanks to her for her service and we ended up thanking God together. Of course she was in the God-family. Everything about her kindness, compassion and willingness to help spoke of her faith.

So, out of my lost state comes one provided by God who's able to assist me.

A lost and found incident that nudged me to remember my very own life story with God. Rescued from being completely lost and now founded in new life with God.