Saturday, April 30, 2005
Quotes!
What comes into our minds when we think of God is the most important thin about us -A.W. Tozer
Without your wounds, where would your power be? -Thorton Wilder
Would that I had served my God the way I have watched my waistline -Cardinal Wolsey
How we view oursleve at any given moment may have very little to do with who we really are. -Gerald May
Often break downs lead to break throughs -Mary Michael O'Shaughnessy
...Called by God to be self again, if your want to know who you are, watch your feet. Because where your feet take you, that is who you are. - Frederick Buechner
If you are prejudiced, you will see that person from the eye of that prejudice. In other words, you will cease to see this person as a person. -Anthony DeMello
(The rest by Brennan Manning)
Where do we think we are goiing if we draw back from God?
Does she experience God's love when everything feel broken or only when things are good - only when she's good?
...we can hardly bring ourselves to ask for the mercy we need. Not because we hate God and not because God hates us, but because we hate ourselves.
Starting point: the spiritual life begins with accepting God's wholehearted love for our wounded, broken, curly, frightened, sorry selves
FOr once and forever, Relax! Of all the places, you are safe with me.
The poser [will]...do whatever it takes to maintain the appearence that we are not out of control, that our lives are not unmanagable, that we are not in need of a Rescuer.
The poser in my trembles at the thought of disappointing people.
We hope everyone will admire us and no one will truly know us.
Vanity hijacks my attention from the God who loves me and lives in me.
For the poser, its not how you win or lose, its how you look playing the game.
The poser is incapable of true intimacy in any reltionship.
Accepting the reality of my brokenness means accpeting my authentic self.
The poser imitates humble openness so you believe you're into his secret self when he actually hasing disclosed anything about his true self.
The highest, most demanding call in our lives is becoming like Jesus.
Compassion leads to forgiveness when we understand where our enemy cries.
What I don't know is always more signficant than what I know.
What seems most obvious is sledom what's really true.
God knows what I'm made of!...my life is about finding out what God is made of.
If I'm not honest with myself, why in the world would i be honest with you?
The one who dies with the most toys, still dies.
I dread those who can take away what I depend on.
That is holy desire- the longing that won't go away.
Following Jesus may mean standing alone when the only alternative is selling out our integrity.
What we do in Christ may express the ultimate truth of who we are in Christ more that anything else.
I've let peer pressure set the boundaries of my faith
Servanthoot is not an emotion or mood of feeling, it's a decision to live like Jesus even when we don't feel like it.
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting yo'll still be on your feet. -Paul (bible)
Without your wounds, where would your power be? -Thorton Wilder
Would that I had served my God the way I have watched my waistline -Cardinal Wolsey
How we view oursleve at any given moment may have very little to do with who we really are. -Gerald May
Often break downs lead to break throughs -Mary Michael O'Shaughnessy
...Called by God to be self again, if your want to know who you are, watch your feet. Because where your feet take you, that is who you are. - Frederick Buechner
If you are prejudiced, you will see that person from the eye of that prejudice. In other words, you will cease to see this person as a person. -Anthony DeMello
(The rest by Brennan Manning)
Where do we think we are goiing if we draw back from God?
Does she experience God's love when everything feel broken or only when things are good - only when she's good?
...we can hardly bring ourselves to ask for the mercy we need. Not because we hate God and not because God hates us, but because we hate ourselves.
Starting point: the spiritual life begins with accepting God's wholehearted love for our wounded, broken, curly, frightened, sorry selves
FOr once and forever, Relax! Of all the places, you are safe with me.
The poser [will]...do whatever it takes to maintain the appearence that we are not out of control, that our lives are not unmanagable, that we are not in need of a Rescuer.
The poser in my trembles at the thought of disappointing people.
We hope everyone will admire us and no one will truly know us.
Vanity hijacks my attention from the God who loves me and lives in me.
For the poser, its not how you win or lose, its how you look playing the game.
The poser is incapable of true intimacy in any reltionship.
Accepting the reality of my brokenness means accpeting my authentic self.
The poser imitates humble openness so you believe you're into his secret self when he actually hasing disclosed anything about his true self.
The highest, most demanding call in our lives is becoming like Jesus.
Compassion leads to forgiveness when we understand where our enemy cries.
What I don't know is always more signficant than what I know.
What seems most obvious is sledom what's really true.
God knows what I'm made of!...my life is about finding out what God is made of.
If I'm not honest with myself, why in the world would i be honest with you?
The one who dies with the most toys, still dies.
I dread those who can take away what I depend on.
That is holy desire- the longing that won't go away.
Following Jesus may mean standing alone when the only alternative is selling out our integrity.
What we do in Christ may express the ultimate truth of who we are in Christ more that anything else.
I've let peer pressure set the boundaries of my faith
Servanthoot is not an emotion or mood of feeling, it's a decision to live like Jesus even when we don't feel like it.
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting yo'll still be on your feet. -Paul (bible)
Sunday, April 24, 2005
It hit me...like really hit me- that I'm going to Vancouver. We presented our team and our mission trip to the congregration today- it was awesome. And between services- it hit me that Vancouver is coming soon...that I'm going to Vancouver! Totally excited about it- but I guess it was more like an imaginery place- vision- trip...
I dunno-
A strange revelation, i know, but it was cool- that now Vancouver is real to me...even through all my prayers for the town and the people and the places- it's real to me now.
I dunno-
A strange revelation, i know, but it was cool- that now Vancouver is real to me...even through all my prayers for the town and the people and the places- it's real to me now.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Prayer
I've always have had a hard time with prayer. When other people pray I find it hard to consentrate, even if it's just between me and them...if they pray for "too long" then I get distracted...when I pray I get side tracked and end up on a completely different topic than I originally started on...and then there's the times when I just don't pray - going days, weeks without one word to the Lord... It's been a struggle.
So naturally I would relate to a story Brennan Manning presents in his book that I'm currently reading.
A woman asked the local priest to come and pray with her father who was dying. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informaed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said.
"No, who are you?"
"I'm the new assoicate at your parish," the priest replied. "When I saw the empty chair I figured you knew I was going to show up."
"Oh yea, the chair," the man said. "Would you mind closing the door?"
Puzzled, the priest shut the door.
"I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man, "but all my life I have never known how to pray. At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it alwyas went right over my head. Finally I said to him one say in sheer frustration, 'I get nothing out of your homilies on prayer.'
"'Here' says my pastor reaching into th bottom drawer of his desk. 'Read this book by Hans Urs von Balthasar. He's a Swiss theologian. It's the best book on contempative prayer in the twentieth century.'
"Well, Father," says the man, "I took the book home and tried to read it. But in the first three pages I had to look up twelve words in the dictionary. I gave the book back to my pstor and thanked him, and under my breath whispered, 'for nothin'.'
"I abondoned any attempt at prayer," he continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here's what I suggest, Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, "I'll be with you always." Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now.'
"So, Padre, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."
The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned home.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon.
"Did he seem to die in peace?"
"Yes...But there was something strange, Father. In fact beyond strange, kinda weird. Apparently just before Daddy died, he leaved over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed."
How awesome is that?
I'm getting better actually with the whole prayer thing- Writing notes to God seem to be the thing for me to do now...But hopefully I'll get better at actually talking to Him...
So naturally I would relate to a story Brennan Manning presents in his book that I'm currently reading.
A woman asked the local priest to come and pray with her father who was dying. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informaed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said.
"No, who are you?"
"I'm the new assoicate at your parish," the priest replied. "When I saw the empty chair I figured you knew I was going to show up."
"Oh yea, the chair," the man said. "Would you mind closing the door?"
Puzzled, the priest shut the door.
"I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man, "but all my life I have never known how to pray. At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it alwyas went right over my head. Finally I said to him one say in sheer frustration, 'I get nothing out of your homilies on prayer.'
"'Here' says my pastor reaching into th bottom drawer of his desk. 'Read this book by Hans Urs von Balthasar. He's a Swiss theologian. It's the best book on contempative prayer in the twentieth century.'
"Well, Father," says the man, "I took the book home and tried to read it. But in the first three pages I had to look up twelve words in the dictionary. I gave the book back to my pstor and thanked him, and under my breath whispered, 'for nothin'.'
"I abondoned any attempt at prayer," he continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here's what I suggest, Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, "I'll be with you always." Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now.'
"So, Padre, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."
The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned home.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon.
"Did he seem to die in peace?"
"Yes...But there was something strange, Father. In fact beyond strange, kinda weird. Apparently just before Daddy died, he leaved over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed."
How awesome is that?
I'm getting better actually with the whole prayer thing- Writing notes to God seem to be the thing for me to do now...But hopefully I'll get better at actually talking to Him...
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Aquire the Fire...
So I went to aquire the fire...how many blogs/myspaces have I read with that intro? A lot. Hmmm that's the thing- a lot of people went...just last weekend, in Portland. I'm sure they're going to cram a lot more people into...bigger cities! That's amazing. What's even more amazing is how surprised I was at how many people I know from my school who went. I didn't even know they knew of God (which is impossible, I know) let alone would want to go to AtF... that also put things into perspective for me...were the people I were surprised who went, surprised that I went? I hope not...but then that ties into my possibly biggest concern/insecurity - People not seeing Jesus Christ through me. Hmmm...
Good weekend tho- it focused on something I've been focusing on myself- Being Real. To God, to my friends, to my family...to myself. Like in the book I'm reading, I have the mindset of, "if I'm not true to myself, what makes you think I'm true to you?" ... that worries me. I don't think I'm that severe- but who knows, maybe I am. I know how I feel and what I think- but I don't let others know, including God... I mean, he knows- but I don't tell him...which I think is important. Something I seriously need to work on- and who knows, maybe I'll be working on that for the rest of my life. I hope not though...
Good weekend tho- it focused on something I've been focusing on myself- Being Real. To God, to my friends, to my family...to myself. Like in the book I'm reading, I have the mindset of, "if I'm not true to myself, what makes you think I'm true to you?" ... that worries me. I don't think I'm that severe- but who knows, maybe I am. I know how I feel and what I think- but I don't let others know, including God... I mean, he knows- but I don't tell him...which I think is important. Something I seriously need to work on- and who knows, maybe I'll be working on that for the rest of my life. I hope not though...
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Why is our culture so obsessed with Sex? How in the world did we turn into such creatures? What was the turning point? How can something be so aversive to one person and be so acceptable to the other?
How can one act of affection be harmless to one, and seem whore-ish to another?
How can girls even see themselves as sluts and whores?
WHY IS WHORE NOT AN IMPORTANT WORD? WHY DOES IT NOT DRAW UP HORRIBLE CONNOTATIONS?
And why is it that only girls are the victims of sex? That the media and soceity cuts the males out, knowing full well that they have just of a temptation with it as females do?
And how can doubt be in your mind about your purity if you were absolutely sure there was nothing to doubt?
How can one act of affection be harmless to one, and seem whore-ish to another?
How can girls even see themselves as sluts and whores?
WHY IS WHORE NOT AN IMPORTANT WORD? WHY DOES IT NOT DRAW UP HORRIBLE CONNOTATIONS?
And why is it that only girls are the victims of sex? That the media and soceity cuts the males out, knowing full well that they have just of a temptation with it as females do?
And how can doubt be in your mind about your purity if you were absolutely sure there was nothing to doubt?
