"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, commited citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead (1901-1978)
"God creates men, but they choose each other."
Niccolo Machiavelli(1469-1527)
The Kingdom of God isn’t a far away place on a cloud. It is in the here and now. It’s in the hug of a friend. It’s in the tears I have cried on the way to work listening to a teaching. It’s in a well in Burundi where water was once not readily available. It’s everywhere that can be touched by people who are forever changed by an encounter with the creator of the universe. The love of God is a celebration of discovery far more ancient that can’t be numbered in years. It’s a celebration of finding home. Of finding what it is like to be wanted and affirmed. Of finding faith that becomes tangible. Of finding faith when and where life is difficult. Of finding faith when there is nothing else left to tell. There are seasons where we are very tempted to allow our hearts to harden. Be encouraged and open to the healing process Jesus leads us through. Sometimes as you are moving out of the dull, cold, grey life, it takes something to pull you out of the old ways of thinking, feeling and acting. I just want to say thank you to all of my friends who have been a window to the outside for me. It is so refreshing for me to remind myself that church is doing life with people and sticking with them through whatever they are going through. Church is sharing a great meal with friends. Church is asking for support when you need it. With all the love I can muster from the deepest part of my gut, thank you for being a church with me.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Thursday, March 05, 2009
It's A Concrete Jungle
"Never to suffer would never to have been blessed."
Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849)
"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."
Hellen Keller (1880-1968)
"Whenever evil befalls us, we ought to ask ourselves, after the first suffering, how we can turn it into good. So shall we take occasion, from one bitter root, to raise perhaps many flowers."
Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)
Up without down. Love without despair. Fast without slow. Success without perseverance. It is a measure of perspective. One without the other and their significance will cease. Yes, they are somewhat cliché. One we don’t typically enjoy thinking about is having joy without suffering. I remember when I was younger on some hot nights growing up in Tampa Bay I would put the even hotter cover over my head for a long period of time. After 15 minutes or so it would begin to become pretty difficult to breath due to the heat. It is funny looking back on it now, but when I decided to pull the cover off of my head that first breath of fresh, cool air was so refreshing. If I never placed myself in the heat I would have continued to not appreciate the blessing of cool, fresh air. Did you ever watch a movie or go on a ride that simulated going underwater and you instinctively held your breath to test yourself or make it a more fun experience? Why? We have to go through difficulties sometimes to reflect and appreciate the already occurring blessings. Your outlook on pain and suffering will either strengthen or break you. I am currently going through physical therapy on my left wrist. I have to tell you, it sucks. It is very painful. But I welcome it wholeheartedly because I know this will help me get the flexibility back. Otherwise I would have a pretty much useless wrist. My point is, life is not sustained without an occasional or sometimes unwanted and lengthy hardship. We so often walk through life without noticing the most minute blessings. You have to be reminded so often to slow down and smell the roses. Why do you not always notice them? That one flower growing in the grass.
This picture displays a flower that captured my imagination. But would I have noticed this one flower if it were growing in the grass? I really doubt it. Here it sits with the weight of the world on top of it. Literally. People walk on top of this flower every day on the sidewalk heading to work so often trying to suppress it and keep it down. Somehow, with the grace of God it has bloomed amongst a concrete jungle. This flower could have sprouted in the field of grass to be like all the other flowers never to be noticed. But this flower did not have that fate. It was placed in the hardship and now it becomes a wonderful blessing through realization that joy and suffering bring the essence of life. Do you feel blessed?
Put your life in perspective to others...
Enjoy this Nooma clip by my favorite eye opener-Rob Bell
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=588355778163
Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849)
"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."
Hellen Keller (1880-1968)
"Whenever evil befalls us, we ought to ask ourselves, after the first suffering, how we can turn it into good. So shall we take occasion, from one bitter root, to raise perhaps many flowers."
Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)
Up without down. Love without despair. Fast without slow. Success without perseverance. It is a measure of perspective. One without the other and their significance will cease. Yes, they are somewhat cliché. One we don’t typically enjoy thinking about is having joy without suffering. I remember when I was younger on some hot nights growing up in Tampa Bay I would put the even hotter cover over my head for a long period of time. After 15 minutes or so it would begin to become pretty difficult to breath due to the heat. It is funny looking back on it now, but when I decided to pull the cover off of my head that first breath of fresh, cool air was so refreshing. If I never placed myself in the heat I would have continued to not appreciate the blessing of cool, fresh air. Did you ever watch a movie or go on a ride that simulated going underwater and you instinctively held your breath to test yourself or make it a more fun experience? Why? We have to go through difficulties sometimes to reflect and appreciate the already occurring blessings. Your outlook on pain and suffering will either strengthen or break you. I am currently going through physical therapy on my left wrist. I have to tell you, it sucks. It is very painful. But I welcome it wholeheartedly because I know this will help me get the flexibility back. Otherwise I would have a pretty much useless wrist. My point is, life is not sustained without an occasional or sometimes unwanted and lengthy hardship. We so often walk through life without noticing the most minute blessings. You have to be reminded so often to slow down and smell the roses. Why do you not always notice them? That one flower growing in the grass.
This picture displays a flower that captured my imagination. But would I have noticed this one flower if it were growing in the grass? I really doubt it. Here it sits with the weight of the world on top of it. Literally. People walk on top of this flower every day on the sidewalk heading to work so often trying to suppress it and keep it down. Somehow, with the grace of God it has bloomed amongst a concrete jungle. This flower could have sprouted in the field of grass to be like all the other flowers never to be noticed. But this flower did not have that fate. It was placed in the hardship and now it becomes a wonderful blessing through realization that joy and suffering bring the essence of life. Do you feel blessed?
Put your life in perspective to others...
Enjoy this Nooma clip by my favorite eye opener-Rob Bell
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=588355778163
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