Jesus 2007
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Posted:Dec 28, 2006 11:04 pm
Last Updated:Dec 31, 2007 3:16 pm 2582 Views
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The winds of change are blowing,
and bringing something new.
But the biggest changes aren’t out there,
they’re here, in me and you.
The old clock keeps on ticking
The earth spins ‘round the sun...
birth, death, decay, works under way,
there is a race to run.
But time itself is neutral,
as King said in his “Dream”
and we must be the change we’d see,
so let’s get with it, team!
He’s told us what is needed.
We needn’t push or shove.
He’s given seed for us to sow...
That’s all we need, is Love.
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Christmas
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Posted:Dec 24, 2006 4:49 pm
Last Updated:Dec 29, 2006 9:51 pm 2066 Views
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Here we are once again, as we swing around the sun, and come to that place in our collective memories where God's interface with humanity, Jesus Christ, was born... brought forth from the womb into the chill air of a stable in Bethlehem... an event first seen by so few, now envisioned by so many.
The King of all creation, entering creation through the servant's door.
Now that's profound!
And what seems to human logic to be the irony in that picture is the very truth He tries so hard to teach us!
There should be a picture of the Nativity in the dictionary under "profound" for those who have eyes to see. It is the beginning of the most profound event in human history.
I want to wish each of you the warmest,
most joyful,
most vivid,
most Jesus Christmas ever!
And before it arrives, may God bless this New Year for each and all of us.
Lee
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Prayer Request
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Posted:Dec 18, 2006 9:51 pm
Last Updated:Dec 29, 2007 11:24 am 2313 Views
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I'd like to request your prayers for the people who are still without power in Washington and Oregon. I've been in phone contact with Sharon "sharloa" who lives near Seattle. I last spoke with her Sunday night and she had been without power since the storm hit Friday. Her phone worked, but she had no lights or heat. I felt awful, sitting here in Florida with 78 degree temperatures, talking to her as she sat in her cold dark house. She checked the temperature in the house and it was 34 degrees inside! I wished I could help, but there was nothing I could do. I wanted to cheer her up, and found myself saying,
"Well Sharon, if it doesn't get any colder at least the water in the toilet won't freeze."
I think I could have chosen my words better, but at least she got a chuckle out of it. I tried calling her tonight, but got no answer. She had said that tonight, Monday, she might go to a the house of a friend who has power and who will accept her cat. She didn't have that option last night.
As of Sunday night there was still no power for most of the residences and businesses in the Seattle area and the number of cases of carbon monoxide related admissions to hospitals in the area was straining their resources.
Please pray for the people without power. This is a life threatening situation for many (thousands) of people.
Thanks.
Your brother in Christ,
Lee
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Extremes
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Posted:Dec 3, 2006 8:21 pm
Last Updated:Dec 29, 2007 11:21 am 2299 Views
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I have, perhaps, a tiny fear that God would have me be like Mother Theresa.
Part of me is thinking, “Laughable, I know...”, but is that because of the lowness of my expectations?
I think somewhere in the back of my mind that image, of all that Theresa sacrificed, is somehow scary to me.
I don’t want to live in Calcutta!
The thought of losing “my life” bothers me.
That’s what fear does, though... It envisions extreme, “worst case” scenarios, without bothering to look at the whole equation.
So, what is the rest of the equation?
“He who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Lk 9:24
When my ex-wife divorced me, I lost “my life” in a very real sense. Most of what I truly valued in this world was gone. I realized, looking back, much of what had been missing... the sacrifice it would have taken to make the marriage work. And, at that point, I felt that if I could have re-lived that time, I would have gladly made those sacrifices to see the marriage come alive and flourish.
But that relationship was over.
In my relationship with God, I know that He is willing to sacrifice everything to make it work.
What do I really stand to lose,
and what do I have to gain, by investing my all, my life, in that relationship?
God doesn’t call us to become who we’re not in our walk with Him.
He doesn’t want to deny us the personhood He’s given us, He wants to fulfill it!
So I have to ask myself, what can I do today to strengthen my relationship with God?
What can I give to please Him?
Shall I trade my fear of loss, so that His life may gain more of me?
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Keep on Truckin'
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Posted:Nov 18, 2006 10:02 am
Last Updated:Dec 29, 2007 11:19 am 2339 Views
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Today is my birthday. Thanks to those of you who have sent me "best wishes", and also
to those who have remained tactfully silent.
After some quibbling with myself over the power of numbers and social stereotypes, I have chosen to view my age, now fifty-nine, in a holistic way: It's like a car... if there is any weight to age, it's adequately compensated by engine size. So I'm revved up and ready to become more of a luxury car, (though the interior still feels like a sport model).
Of course, following this logic, if I live long enough I'll eventually become an RV, but what the heck, as long as I can keep the fridge stocked and the septic pumped I'll keep on truckin'.
You all have a great weekend, drive safely and enjoy the various features of your vehicle. The Manufacturer knew what He was doing. And to all you gals I have to say... love that body by Fisher!
Lee
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The Question
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Posted:Nov 15, 2006 8:43 pm
Last Updated:Mar 4, 2007 11:04 pm 2137 Views
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It was almost midnight when I took the trash out. I walked outside into the cool darkness and glanced up at the stars. I put the trash in the can, then walked across the yard, looking up at the constellations. I could hear owls in the nearby woods, asking their age old question, "Who... who... ?"
I think God had already made owls before He created man and woman. The owls must have watched the process... this, the pinnacle of Creation, man and woman...
then later, the temptation, the sin, the fall...
They watched... they saw.
And God gave the owls a voice, and a certain wisdom.
Why is it just now that I hear them... that I realize what they have seen, and understand the depth of their persistant question, as they continue to watch us and ask, "Who... who...?"
Only with God's help will we ever be able to supply an answer that has as much meaning as the question.
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Being fulfilled
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Posted:Oct 30, 2006 6:45 pm
Last Updated:Jan 27, 2007 9:16 pm 1933 Views
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All the fullness of the world
cannot supply our deepest needs.
For, though our substance is that of the earth,
our design reflects that of our Creator,
and only in Him can our depths find definition.
Only on God's shores can our waves find home.
It is only in I AM that I can truly find out
who I am.
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What we turn to
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Posted:Oct 24, 2006 9:58 pm
Last Updated:Mar 4, 2007 11:07 pm 1955 Views
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Though I carry some history with me from day to day, which weighs on me; my mind bent by that which it is wrapped around, though I carry this past disposition, still I am flexible much of the time. You smile at me, and my moment is brightened, you scowl, and my walls go up. I turn on the news and see horrors, and I am numbly appalled, I listen to some beautiful music and I am uplifted.
Why do I not learn more quickly from the world...
that I am, in part, a mirror of what I approach?
Why do I not spend more time with You, oh Lord?
When I do, I reflect on Your perfect love and I am transformed...
becoming more like the boundless Wonder that I face.
Reflecting on You, all that is in me is perfected, bit by bit,
and the distortion of this hall of errors that is the fallen life of this world
fades in the light of Your truth,
leaving only my own shadow for me to contemplate,
and revise my course of action.
Yet even with this shadow I know You love me, for I will never be perfect;
never deserving, always receiving that which is so much greater
than I can be. And yet I aspire to.
And Your love fills that aspiration, for, though I cannot contain it,
I can share Your love, pass it along, bring others to it...
to be amazed, just as I am!
No words can convey my gratitude,
but I can try to live it.
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Passion Fruit
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Posted:Sep 16, 2006 3:17 pm
Last Updated:Mar 4, 2007 11:11 pm 1997 Views
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All my life I've been aging. When I was a , I could hardly wait to age a little more, to be more mature. I had to wait. Physical maturity came ________ at it's proper time.
I continue to age.
The other day at the store I was passing through the "weird produce" section and I saw they had passion fruit. $2.19 each! I used to grow them... for free! I bought one anyway, knowing I'd be left with ample seeds to plant.
When I got home I noticed the sticker, "passion fruit- ripe when wrinkled".
Being an optimist, I have taken that as an affirmation by allegory that our wrinkles are not without merit. They can be a sign of ripeness.
May God grant us the eyes to see beyond the confusion and fears; the "thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to", that we may know joy in the calm assurance that maturity is coming _______ at it's proper time.
Consider the passion fruit _ ripe when wrinkled.
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