Breathe

Let us breathe out 

the chaos

of everyday life

and breathe in

the stillness and steadiness

of our Savior.

His loving grace

is perfect.

From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:

This is my beloved Son, listen to him.

-matthew 17:5

Path

The days can melt into each other;
life gets so crazy you aren't sure
what day it is.
God is there to guide you thru it.
He provides a path for us, all we

have to do is open ourselves up to truly see it.

But I say to you, love your enemies, 

and pray for those who persecute you, 

that you may be children of your heavenly Father, 

for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, 

and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

-matthew 5:44-45 

Basking

 Even when life seems dark

there is always a sliver 

of light from God.

Find that light and 

bask in the love that

flows from it.

I trust in the LORD;

my soul trusts in his word.

My soul waits for the LORD

more than sentinels wait for the dawn.

-pslam 130:5

Stumbling Around

Some days are filled with obstacles.

Are we moving forward or just stumbling around,

zig-zagging with no real purpose?

God is there in those moments that 

seem to exist

in between the pitfalls. 

Trust in him.

Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
            -psalm 138:2

Lean In

We are walking now ... one step after another.

It's not a race; we have all the time we need.

God walks with us matching 

every step with love and mercy.

Hold his hand. He will lead you

thru the bends and curves of life with ease.

Lean in, lean on and let go.

Even now, says the LORD,

return to me with your whole heart

for I am gracious and merciful.

Joel 2: 12

Be Kind

A single Sunflower in a field.

That Sunflower, standing tall and proud,

gives such joy to even the most casual observer.

If we act with kindness and compassion

to everyone we meet during a single day

imagine how much joy we would spread.

We would BE the Sunflower.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In verdant pastures he gives me repose;

Beside restful waters he leads me;

he refreshes my soul.

-psalm 23

Follow Him

The sun is finally cresting the horizon.

Our journey has truly begun.

God has painted a gorgeous sky for us.

It is up to us to follow him,

in his great light,

in prayer and thanksgiving.

'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'

Matthew 4:4

Lenten Devotion: Unlimited

The sun continues to rise.

Deepening colors show that God's palette is endless.

Just like the vista opening up before you.

Filled with unlimited possibilities.

Lenten Devotions

My friends, for the time period known to many Christians as "Lent" - 40 days of quiet introspection leading up to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ - I will be posting daily meditations to guide us thru this deeply personal time in the life of a Christian. These devotions (and accompanying photographs) are my own art.

Lent is a season - the most important one in Christianity. So many people focus on what they will "give up" for Lent - chocolate, soda, alcohol, social media, etc... - that I believe we miss the point of this season. 

It is a time to draw closer to Christ; to let him dwell deep within your heart. To give up the things we do that stand in the way of that in-dwelling. Easing our way thru Lent with meditations and quiet devotion will eliminate the static and open ourselves to the beautiful messages that can be found during this quiet season. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As we start our 40-day sojourn in the desert...the sun is rising. 

God paints the sky with soft colors and a 

layer-cake of mountains as far as the eye can see. 

Breathe deeply the crisp morning air. 

Stay in this moment for as long as you can.

Darkness

Life - is messy.  It can be unrelenting.  You can sometimes feel like you are unwillingly engaged in endless pursuit by the darkness.  It chases you down and at times can threaten to engulf you.

But...with Christ by your side you will never be engulfed in that darkness.  Because he is also busy chasing you down - to keep the darkness at bay.

Life - is messy.  And when the messiness overwhelms us, we have options.

We can fight.  As humans it is in our nature to stand our ground, turn, and fight for ourselves.

We can give in.  As humans it is also in our nature to throw up our hands and scream "Enough!".

Each of these is a choice we make every single day. 

Fight or Flight

It is the way we are wired. It's our natural response to threats - real or imagined. Adrenaline pumps, our bodies - indeed our very souls - crouch in anticipation of the battle or the retreat.

What if we acknowledged the ultimate warrior that stands and fights beside us, or even more to the point - stands between us and the fight?

Christ - God himself - is always there.  Even when we don't realize it; when we don't open ourselves up to it - Christ is there.

He wants to protect us.  He wants to be called upon.  He died for us - so that he could save us.  Why would he ever abandon us?

It is us who abandons Christ. And no matter how many times we flee from Christ - he is still there. Waiting for us to return to him.

Our darkness is his light.  Our darkest moments can be lit from within with just the simplest of prayers - Jesus Christ, I need you.

Beauty

Beauty - is everywhere we look.  Even the humblest view out a window can bring you beauty in the smallest things.

God's creation is wondrous.  Take the butterfly - a  symbol to Christians of rebirth and renewal.  And possibly one of nature's most glorious works of art.

Wrought by God's gentle hands.  Some species of butterfly - like the lovely Monarch pictured below - endure untold hardships to continue their life cycle.  These exquisite creatures experience a perilous existence; mind-boggling migrations, living on the sharp edge towards extinction - to persevere year after year.  Returning to their summer residences to once again begin the pattern of all living beings. 

Life. Birth. Death.

It is the endless cycle of all living things.  Including we humans.  Look within and you will find the same beautiful creation; come to life with the love and mercy of God.

Saturday Symphony

 

Sometimes, words are music.  They are their own notes, spilling over into our consciousness.  Before we are fully aware it has happened these words become part of our very selves.  If we let them, God's words - even those written by men inspired of God - can fill us to overflowing.

Let the notes within the words create a melody that is uniquely your own.

Your relationship with God.  He has a song for each of us.  It is as individual as you are.  Because God's love is never duplicated.  

Our Father

The world's most recognizable prayer - The Lord's Prayer (or the Our Father).  It only appears in two of the four Gospels - the longer form in Matthew as part of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. And a shorter version in Mark.  As with everything from the Bible, the debate rages on regarding whose came first and which one is the real one.

Personally, I don't really care.  The prayer is sublime; the perfect gateway to feeling God's love.  It is succinct - acknowledging God's power, asking for forgiveness as we forgive, and never straying from God's love.

Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallow'ed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread 
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.
In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Amen = I Believe.

Yes, I do.

You will see I have bolded a few words in the prayer.  Consider them within the context of the prayer.  Think about them.  Pray on them.  They are quite illuminating. 

Comfort

People of all faiths are called to pray. The act of praying takes on many forms - structured, in large groups, or by yourself. Your prayer can be a planned set of words, you can follow along in a written text, or you can allow a stream-of-consciousness to inform your prayer.  

But what, exactly, is prayer? Sure there are dictionary definitions. Those just skim the surface.

In the Christian faith, prayer - is talking to Jesus, bringing our needs & the needs of others to God thru him.

Let me state that again - bringing our needs & the needs of others to God. 

And allow me to bring that even closer to home for us - Jesus wants to hear from us because he wants to be part of our lives. He wants us to speak with him - to tell him our deepest thoughts, our highest joys, and reveal the depths of our sorrows.

Jesus will come near to us whenever we call out to him; he will take our hands and rejoice with us or comfort us. And thru our conversations with Christ, we will find hope, we will find joy, we will find comfort, and we will find salvation.

this post was inspired by dr. ben akers at formed 

Today's Readings, in the Roman Catholic Missal, can be found here. 

Saturday Symphony

In those moments in life when the darkness seems to consume you. The cognitive dissonance that I mentioned a few days ago threatens to blot out any hope you may hold for clarity of thought. When the world news overwhelms you and you feel like the light has disappeared forever.

Jesus is there - right by your side - in those delicate moments when you may feel isolated, alone, gasping for air.

Take a deep breath. At those times, try to find your way to physically and mentally ... stopping. Just for a second, take that breath. And cry out - 

Jesus help me

In our most desperate moments, when blinking our eyes seems like a task far too difficult, Jesus is there. He is in the silence between the words, the silence between our breaths.

Reach out to him. Call him by name. For he surely knows your name and wants you to turn to him. It is in our suffering that the love of Jesus shines brightest, guiding us.

Distracted by the noise
Just trying to make sense of all your promises.

…

Thy will be done.

Down like a child on my knees

All that comes to me

Thy will be done.

I know you see me.

I know you hear me, Lord.

Your plans are for me.

Goodness you have in store.

 

***Each Saturday will be devoted to the beauty of music - the words that speak deep into our souls in a way that words on a page can't seem to penetrate. The words & notes that can bring us to the heights of love and glory.***

Listen

My friends - lean in and let me tell you a secret...

God talks to us all day long

Indeed. Every day. All Day. God whispers to us in the hopes we will perk up and hear him. His loves flows thru us every second of every minute of every hour and so on...

It's difficult, even on the best of days, to tune out the cacophony that surrounds us 24/7. Cognitive dissonance is the order of each day, isn't it. Social media calls to us. The news calls even louder. Bosses & coworkers clamor for attention. Family has its demands as well.

For the most part, this is called having a blessed life. To be needed - it's a fundamental part of our human-ness. But - do we allow time for God's needs? Do we answer that wee small voice that we hear a thousand times a day? Do we pay attention to it even once?

That voice - needs us to hear it. Because it wants to care for you, to bless YOU.

Yes - YOU.

I promise you, my dear friends. God wants to be heard and he won't stop speaking until you stop and say "Lord, I hear you." After that, it's easy. The messages God wants to send you will flow like a gentle river. And those messages?

Well they are very simple. I heard him, I slowed down and listened; and it changed me. For my Lord said to me, "Be still my dear child."

I've been listening closely ever since. And here's the one thing - the only thing - that matters. God's love for us is beyond anything we can imagine.

So - be still child, and listen to the voice of love that needs to be heard.

 

Transformation

God only wants to be close to us. He wants to dwell in our hearts. It's up to us - to let him in. To open ourselves to hearing the messages he has for us.

Because God has things to say to us. If we only get out of our own way and let him speak. 

If we can do that - God will change our lives in ways we can't even imagine.

 

Calm

We all navigate rough waters everyday.  Professional or personal, they can take their toll on our energy, bringing about anxiety and worry.

The last thing God wants us to do - is worry.  He wants us to kneel at the foot of the Cross and give our burdens to him. Sounds easy...

And for humans it is one of the most difficult things to do. To cede control of the things that bother us to an unseen "being". 

To have...faith.

Be of good faith, my friends. Each night turn your burdens over to God - and rest.

Rest in the love of Jesus.