These desert days

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness (NRSV Ps 138: 1-2)

Lent takes us into the wilderness where God feeds us with the Bread of Life. This annual traning period fits us for the battle against our self-centeredness and the myriad distractions of the world. We love the world and one another all the more for our desert times.

Thank you Oh, God.

God at the beginning and end of the day

Eden's Bridge writes:
God in the morning and God in the evening
God in the work and the pain and the play
Lord of all heaven and earth's great creator,
God at the beginning and end of the day

The advantage of frequent prayer and meditation is that we remain in conscious contact with God all day and all night. It is at first diffiicult to make this a daily practice. But when we recall that we are directed to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, we realize this is actually a rerlatively smooth path to enlightenment - which is unity with God.

I am grateful today that I was forced by my own sins to learn to frequently pray and meditate.
Maranatha!
Love and prayer for all.

Seek the Lord

I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. (NRSV Ps 34:4-5)

Look to him and be radiant! What an order. Lord, let me look to you. Let me be transparent so that none who look see me, but only you.

Happy Lent!

Lent

This year for Lent, I am working on spiritual formation - that is, we are directed to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind." To that end, I seek out scripture which reveals Jesus' stories about what God is like (as opposed to my old programming about a judgmental, partial and exclusive God), and meditate on them, and consider what my behavior must be if I am putting on the mind of Christ, and living in the Kingdom now.

I am sleeping better, having decided to retire in October. I have decided also to take a year before deciding whether to move back East or not. I would dislike not being able to see my grandson and possible grandkids, and it might work out for me to live near my sister and her kids instead.

In any case, both moving and retiring are known stressors, and I am being kind to myself as much as I can, by not piling on the stress. There is always enough time to do God's will.

Happy Lent!

Of Whom Shall I Be Afraid?

Today I advised my employer that I will be retiring, probably by October. I hope to join my bishop and his wife in developing a residential monastery in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. I am so happy to be leaving the 9-5 behind! Just not commuting will save about 4 hours a day. I will be poor but happy, I think! My daughter and grandson will be displeased, but it is past time my daughter stood on her own two feet and I have no doubt of my grandson's ability to make his own way in the world.

A time to sow and a time to reap.
I look forward to time to write a couple of books I have in mind. Even if only my friends read them, I will enjoy writing. Always have.

Dearest Lord, how grateful I am to have had such a good job - and how happy I am to be leaving it!

Luminous Day, Luminous Love

Thoughts of last evening:
From here, the water looks as if it is illuminated from below. There is a blue wash over land, sea and sky. Grey and blue and muted brilliance as the sun prepares to set. In this sunset of my life, God shines through nature, and I pray for God to shine thorough me. There is such visible power in nature - and I, so powerless, am yet called to channel the power of Love as one of the Beloved of God. How grateful I am to see this day.

Winter Thoughts

There was a time of playing in the cold; running, laughing, jumping; being.
There is a time of walking slowly in the wind; holding and being held
Being held and holding; the Beloved.
And all the time, the time is now.

Celtic Practice for Lent

Lenten practice: Choose one thing that you do everyday such as brushing your teeth, getting dressed, turning on your computer, eating, rising from bed in the morning, or going to sleep in the evening. As you do this action, pause to remember that God is with you. Do this every day for the entire six weeks. Or choose to bless your children each morning and evening.

-- from Joyce Rupp

Lord, let me not give up things so much as I give up being the center of the universe.
Amen.

For A Celtic Lent

For a Celtic Lent: Celebrate the wonder of creation. Plant a flower and watch it grow. Take time each day to sense the changes taking place, even those changes you cannot see. Do what is necessary to nurture its growth. Marvel at the wonder of Creation and give thanks to God for the gift of life.

If you must give up something, give up being the center of the universe and look for Christ in others.

A joyous lent to all!