Coffee & Conversation

From the website “Journey to the Cross”
Friday, March 5, 2010
http://www.d365.org/journeytothecross/

Dear God, at your earliest convenience, could you please send me a detailed list of your plans for my life and for the world? That would really help me out and I promise I won’t tell anyone. Thanks!

Oh, if only life were so easy and God were so clear! Sure, God is pretty evident when you see a beautiful sunset or a child born or when a stranger offers words of encouragement. But that day-to-day life thing – not so much.

A hallmark of our faith is that at the end of the day, we are claimed by God to be part of God’s unfolding of life and creation. We are not always going to know how we fit into that unfolding, but we believe that we are somehow part of its realization. While this could be daunting and overwhelming, it is also a chance for us to embrace the art and dance of faith. We struggle with God’s word to us through scripture to guide our lives. We navigate the nuances of communal discernment. We come to God in prayer, lifting our voices to God, seeking to know God’s will. What an amazing gift of faith we have, knowing God so deeply that we trust God without even knowing where God may be leading us!

Bruce Reyes-Chow

Amazing God, open my heart and mind to your presence during this season of Lent. Allow me the wisdom to trust in the unfolding of your hopes in my life and in the world. Amen.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:57-58

Lent for me is a time when I make a conscious effort to get closer to God, through prayer, meditation, attending church services, reading, writing, and listening. I typically do not watch TV very much, and I usually find plenty of miscellaneous “busy” stuff to fill the time I would otherwise be stuck in front of that little box. But during the 40 days of Lent, I try to simplify even more, to give myself plenty of quiet time, when I do nothing except the basic things I listed above. Not only is this experience calming and relaxing, but I really do find that I can establish a peaceful and tranquil environment and let my mind be completely open to whatever thoughts and dialogue come to me. There are so many resources that I come in contact with to stimulate my thoughts and help to make my meditation time more meaningful. It might be something I read, something I see, something I hear, or a conversation with another person. I start to really think about it, and before long, I am understanding on a deeper level, listening for whatever God is trying to tell me through the particular resource. This year, a resource I have found particularly valuable is the Daily Lenten Devotional by members of the St. George Church Family. I am so thankful to all the contributors, for their thoughts and explanations, insights and the lessons learned. Reading a page each day gets me in the right frame of mind to start my quiet time where my own thoughts can flow freely. As suggested in the Devotional, I have also started a Lenten Journal which is helping me capture my thoughts, feelings and experiences during this contemplative time of year. One habit I have started this Lent is to start each day with some personal affirmations, to get the day started off the way I want to, and to remind myself of the actions and behaviors I choose to embrace and those that I choose to release. It is really working for me and I wanted to share the practice to help anyone else who would like to try it. Here are my affirmations – feel free to use these, or add your own personal ones that have the most meaning to you.

TODAY, WITH GOD’S HELP:

• I CHOOSE TO BE AT PEACE WITH MYSELF;
• I CHOOSE TO ACCEPT MYSELF AS I AM, AND OTHERS AS THEY ARE;
• I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY AND JOYFUL;
• I CHOOSE TO EMBRACE HOPE AND POSITIVE ENERGY;
• I CHOOSE TO FEEL CONFIDENT AND ABLE TO DEAL WITH ANYTHING CALMLY;
• I CHOOSE TO FORGIVE OTHERS AND ACCEPT FORGIVENESS FOR MYSELF;
• I CHOOSE TO EAT FOOD THAT NOURISHES AND STRENGTHENS MY BODY AND CONTRIBUTES TO MY HEALTH AND MY WELL BEING;
• I CHOOSE TO ENJOY EVERY EXPERIENCE THAT COMES ALONG;
• I CHOOSE TO CARE FOR MYSELF AND OTHERS WITH DEEP LOVE;
• I CHOOSE TO SEE ALL DIFFICULTIES AS OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE ME STRONGER;
• I CHOOSE TO RELEASE ALL ANGER, FEAR AND GUILT COMPLETELY;
• I CHOOSE TO RELEASE ALL NEGATIVE EMOTIONS;
• I CHOOSE TO RELEASE ALL STRESS AND ANXIETY;
• I CAN ACCOMPLISH ANY TASK WITH EASE;
• I INTEND THAT MY ACTIONS HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT;

TODAY, I AM THANKFUL TO GOD AND I AM GRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE.

- AMEN -

Just wanted to share some positive energy for today! Came across this article from the website www.the-benefits-of-positive-thinking.com. Lots of great stuff. Check it out if you get a chance!

The Best Positive Phrases You Can Have Now

It’s not always easy to keep a positive attitude. Some of us choose to use positive phrases and affirmations repeated with intention to maintain a positive attitude. The best positive statements contain powerful words and make us feel great about ourselves, the world and the future. I have collected the following phrases for you. They are powerful sentences that aim to uplift you and help you have a positive attitude. I like chucking some of these phrases into my Affirmation Ticker, which displays them for me smoothly rolling by on a bar across the top of my computer screen – a great way to be inspired whenever you’re at your computer! Wait no more, and grab your positive phrases here…

* I accept life as it comes. Every day I become more and more the complete person I truly am.

* I intend to make a positive impact on the people I come in contact with.

* I am willing to forgive myself and learn from my mistakes to become a better person.

* I appreciate all acts of kindness that many people have toward me.

* I am thankful for being alive.

* I keep a flexible attitude toward changes in life.

* I welcome the future with a happy and open attitude.

* I intend to be more kind toward the people I come in contact with daily.

* I am grateful for all the possibilities that lie before me at present.

* I choose to be kind to myself.

* I am open to receive more wisdom every day.

* I choose to live my life with a purpose and give back to the world.

* I decide to release myself from old patterns of thought that no longer serve me.

* I choose to see all the opportunities that are presented to me daily.

* I forgive everyone that has ever done wrong to me. I choose to release all resentments. I choose peace and freedom.

* I choose to live my life daily to the fullest always in the present moment.

Have a great day

Because of the tragedy in Haiti, I am reposting this thank you note from Dorothy Pearce with links to her orphange for those of you who have been asking for information on worthy causes to support .  We have contributed to Faith Hope Love Infant Rescue for a number of years. 

Also, here is a link to Dorothy’s blog, detailing her experience throughout the earthquake and letting us know she and the children survived, a little battered, but ok.  http://dorothypearcehaiti.blogspot.com/

Here is the original post from October 14:

We regularly get thank you notes from people and organizations we have helped.   I wanted to share just one that we received today.  This is not to pat ourselves on the back or to rest on our laurels, but just a reminder of the impact our little church can have on the world far away from our lovely little island.

This note is from Dorothy Pearce and the Faith-Hope-Love-Infant Rescue which is part of the Christian Light Foundation.  The photo is of one little girl who was rescued.  Let’s pray Haiti gets through this hurricane season better than it did last year.  They are still suffering and still need our help.

If you click on the letter or photo it will take you to their website.

TAKE, LORD, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will — all that I have and call my own. You have given it all to me, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. This is enough for me.

- Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job
A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
- Luke 21:33, NIV

Sunset on Fort George Island

We sit on the porch alone together at twilight.
“Soon,” I whisper, “the sun will set and our sky will change.
The show will begin.”
“The eye of God will come and all His glory will perform just for us.”

We are like children filled and overflowing with anticipation,
as if running down the stairs on Christmas morning
to see what new shinnies the man in red has left behind.

Spellbound, first we see a soft blue, we point and say,
“Oh, that’s the color we should paint our bedroom.”

Then, with each inch the sun retreats below our marsh:
the pink, warm golds, deep blue – crimsons and orange.
We just gaze, almost a strange glare in silence engulfed and flooded
by the presence of God.

I don’t think either one of us is breathing….?

For a moment I remember back to the time when He and I started this journey together.
We had nothing – we were both children – both alone.
We had held each other and declared,
“We can do this!”

Yes, we are breathing.

Here we are now, engulfed and submerged in this Shangri-La.
We feel hidden as if we have been sitting here alone together for centuries,
taking in all knowledge of what we see.
In the silence of our shambhala
we become conscious of great noise filling our lull.

Can there be soft noise?

In our stillness we now see the other world,
we hear the other world also along with us at the closing of our day, their day.
They are lifting their voices, their essence, to their God, our God.

First a song from the wren, soft and sweet, calling earnestly.
Crickets using drums to communicate, a familiar cry of the marsh hen
and off to the left frogs begin to harmonize.
There is life all around us giving praise.

Not wanting to be left out,
the tall cedars begin to sway, dancing with the music from the breezes.
We close our eyes and feel their soft touch on our up turned faces
as they ask us to join them in their evening dance.

With one last gift to be given us on this memorable evening – just off to the northeast, slightly into our right ears,
we hear the peacocks offering up roaring cries, their last prayers for this night,
from high atop the massive oaks where they retreat and retire for protection.

Now He and I join hands as black silhouettes against a sea of color
slowly slipping away to become our night sky.
Our breath is good.
Our breathing in time.
“We are happy.”

He looks at me, deep, intensely – into all I am – we smile –
Is this what Paul meant when he said, “to be in constant prayer”?
I think so!

The phone rings.
My thoughts are yielded.
It’s Kammy.
I laugh out loud!

- Elizabeth Slover 2006

Liz & Dave celebrate 40 years of marriage on November 23, 2009

Just thought I’d share this forwarded email, it has some good reminders at the end…

I grew up in the 50’s with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it… A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away.  I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.  It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there’d always be more.  Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away…never to return. So… while we have it… it’s best we love it…. and care for it… and fix it when it’s broken……… and heal it when it’s sick.  This is true for relationships ….. and old cars…. and children with bad report cards….. and dogs with bad hips…. and aging parents….. and grandparents.. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.  There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special……. and so, we keep them close!

I received this from someone who thinks I am a ‘keeper’, so I’ve sent it to the people I think of in the same way.. Now it’s your turn to send this to those people that are “keepers” in your life..  Good friends are like stars…. You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.  Keep them close!

TEN THINGS GOD WON’T ASK ON THAT DAY:

1….. God won’t ask what kind of car you drove. He’ll ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation.

2… God won’t ask the square footage of your house, He’ll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

3….. God won’t ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He’ll ask how many you helped to clothe.

4… God won’t ask what your highest salary was. He’ll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

5… God won’t ask what your job title was. He’ll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.

6…. God won’t ask how many friends you had. He’ll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

7… God won’t ask in what neighborhood you lived, He’ll ask how you treated your neighbors.

8… God won’t ask about the color of your skin, He’ll ask about the content of your character.

9… God won’t ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He’ll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.

10… God won’t have to ask how many people you forwarded this to, He already knows your decision.

Have a great and blessed day

Sunday’s Reflection

THE EMMAUS ROAD story teaches what accompaniment means: walking together, sharing in conversation about what really matters, extending hospitality to strangers, breaking bread together. Companions trust that Christ joins us on the journey, reveals God’s love for us in the Word and Table fellowship, and fills us with good courage to go forth in his name. We serve others most profoundly not by giving them things or by doing things for them but by accompanying them on their way.

- Don C. Richter
Mission Trips That Matter: Embodied Faith for the Sake of the World

From p. 97 of Mission Trips That Matter: Embodied Faith for the Sake of the World by Don C. Richter. Copyright © 2008 by the author. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

How are you accompanying others on the way? How are you being accompanied? Visit the comments area and share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture Reading

All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford–she gave her all.

- Mark 12:44, THE MESSAGE

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for caregivers. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Looking for clarity? Learn the Quaker way of the Clearness Committee to help with making tough decisions. Try it out.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember Antoinette Brown Blackwell (November 5).

Lectionary Readings:

• Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
• Psalm 127
• Hebrews 9:24-28
• Mark 12:38-44

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Companions on the Way is a post from: Upper Room Daily Reflections

I have recently enrolled in the American Red Cross’s Nurse Assitant Training class.  It is a 7 week course that teaches me everything that I need to know in order to pass the State Board Examination to become a Certified Nurse’s Assistant.  I was guided into this by a friend of mine who told me the test was easy.  I found that I could get certified quickly, and with my recent trials in Resume submissions, I needed to make a decision that would effect the course of my future.  I went to the first class with some preconceived notions of what a CNA does.  I figured that the low man on the totem pole would get all the glorious jobs pertaining to human body wastes…and that part is true.
It turns out that there is so much more to this station.  It was explained that I will be the life blood of the day to day functions of the facility that chooses me.  I am the one who gets to interact with the patient/client/resident the most.  I will be the one that can be the most helpful to their spiritual condition!!!  It was after I left that night that I felt the regeneration of my personal spark.  It is an exciting feeling to know that I am not only choosing a new feild to work in, but also a profession that will need me.  I feel this energy of enthusiasm that is pouring out of me.  I am glad that I have this opportunity and am hopeful that in a setting where the patient who checks in will be on a diminishing road, I may be the one who can make their stay have the best ending.

–Trisha

It is amazing to me when I think about how much my friends mean to me.  For a long time my definition of a friend was off-center. A few weeks back – before the weather turned – I went to the Talbot Island State Park with one of my new and true friends.  It was a beautiful day and the company was wonderful too.  Susan, Lilly, Samie, and I walked through the wooded path down to a secluded beach.  I was fearful that Sammie would get sunburned, waterlogged, and scared. My anxiety was quieted just by being with Susan.  We had a wonderful time ,and she planned for things that I had not thought of.  Everything went smoothly; Sammie had a great time with Lilly playing on the beach.  The value of my friendship helps enrich my life with activities that I thought may have been too overwhelming for me to handle by myself.  We enjoyed watching the girls playing and just spending time together.  So, thank you, my friend!

–Trisha