thirsting moment

intil you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you

you can’t begin to know who He wants to be for you

or who He wants you to be for Him

Mother Teresa

today's moment

live gazing

growing moment

it has been proven to this limping pilgrim

that just as trees grow in silence

faith grows in the dark

penetrating moment

trees can grow well in rocky soil

but they only do this

by finding crevices in the rocks

where the roots are able to penetrate deeply

is it moment

when Jesus calmed the storm, did anyone think to offer Him a blanket
a warming bowl of soup

when He fed the 5000, did any one make sure He had a piece of the bread

when He washed the feet of His closest friends, did any one of them think to wash His feet

He never asked his friends asked for much ......... only to keep watch with Him

He is still asking today ......... is there any one who will simply keep watch with Him ......
simply be with him – not DO for him, simply BE with him ......

even this day, on the Sabbath day He has provided ........ is there any one who will quietly spend even a few hours
watching with the One who watches
beholding the One who beholds

is there any one who will wash His feet with their tears
anoint His head with their praise

is there any one who would dare to push through the throng of the religious
and simply lay their face upon His bloodied pierced feet

do you love Me?
one of you will betray Me

do you love Me?
before the cock crows three times, you will deny me

do you love Me?

is it I, Lord

am I awake

content moments

I am content to be still in this season

spending all my moments

with a man of sorrows

and acquainted with grief

words moment

critical

dangerous

life threatening

stroke

heart failure

enlarged chambers

medicate

investigate

complete bed rest

stop everything

avoid stress

irreversible

fragile

closely monitor

emergency

referral

critical cardiac care

learning to live within the parameters of a new language

without getting lost in the words

without losing the me of me

and being defined by this new language

it is a fight worth fighting ..........

time moment

this has been a very humbling time ............
a very beautiful tender time
a very powerful time
a very broken time
a time of being touched by the shadow in the valley
and a time of watching the shadow slowly dissipate into the light ........

a time of being touched
of being held
of being cared for by strangers and by friends

a time of strangers becoming friends through their care

a time of being still
and of a deep knowing in the stillness

a time of needing to say all the unsaid things

a time of being alone but not lonely

a time of tasting the fragility of life this side of heaven

a time of hearing my name being loudly called
in a whisper
and of embracing the whispered call

a time of worship
in a time of abject weakness

a time of being served
and of learning to welcome the service and the servers

a time of being completely dependent upon others
for absolutely everything

a time of letting go of all pride
of having all control fall away

a time of being willing to be seen helpless and bare by a community
and of being surrounded by a community willing to see me helpless and bare

there is no fear in this time
no anxiousness
no worry

there is a freedom in letting go
in receiving
in being touched
in being vulnerable
in asking for help

God is in this time
His Presence IS this time
His Son and Spirit indwell this time
in the secret place of His tent He has hidden me (ps 27:5)

there is an unheard song being birthed in this time
an untried melody

yet to be formed chords
words not yet spoken

and so I release my heart
my soul
my body
my spirit
to dance to the new rhythm of this time

and I wait ..........

in stillness
and in knowing

church moment

How baffling you are, oh church, and yet how I love you!
How you have made me suffer and yet how much I owe you!
I should like to see you destroyed and yet I need your presence.
You have given me so much scandal and yet you have made me understand sanctity.
I have seen nothing in the world more devoted to obscurity, more compromised, more false and I have touched nothing more pure, more generous, more beautiful.
How often I have wanted to shut the doors of my soul in your face and how often have I prayed to die in the safety of your arms.
No, I cannot free myself from you, because I am you, although not completely.
And, where should I go?
Carlo Carretto

innocent moment

no one blushes anymore

innocence seems to be lost

leading moment

the difference between ambition and true leadership is this:

ministry is not a call to lead,

but to die.

Francis Frangipane

hearing moment

Once there was a man who dared God to speak.
Burn the bush like You did for Moses, God. And I will follow.
Collapse the walls like You did for Joshua, God. And I will fight.
Still the waves like You did on Galilee, God. And I will listen.
So the man sat by a bush,
near a wall,
close to the sea
and waited for God to speak.
And God heard the man, so God answered.
He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church.
He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin.
He stilled a storm, not of the sea, but of a soul.
And God waited for the man to respond.
And God waited………
And God waited……….
And God waited………
But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts;
bricks not lives,
seas not souls,
he decided that God had done nothing.
Finally he looked to God and asked, 'God, have You lost Your power?'
And God looked at the man and said, 'Man, have you lost your hearing?'

author unknown

beholding moment

By being filled with the Spirit we are transformed,
and by beholding we become mirrors.
You always know when a man has been beholding the glory of the Lord,
you feel in your inner spirit that he is the mirror of the Lord's own character.
Beware of anything which would sully that mirror in you;
it is nearly always a good thing,
the good that is not the best.
Oswald Chambers

love moment

there is a silent "being with"

an absence of whir

a stillness of waiting, resting

a leaving behind of all words

a remaining with God alone

in an act of love

hand moment

this has been an interesting week
filled with the unexpected
filled with tender fragile moments
filled with powerful revelation
filled with opportunities to flee or to stand
filled with questions
I wish I could say filled with answers
but they too are starting to come ...........

in the bitter cold of yesterday
there was such a warm sight ......
the deer poked her head through the trees
and this time she had her young one with her ......
they carefully, tentatively entered the yard
the young one staying very close to the side of its mom
they broke the trail together ........
entering new territory together
finding food together

that is sort of how I feel .........
there is a young fragile part of me
entering new territory
hand in hand with my Father
the breaking of the path is tender
but there is food to be found
food that will enable growth ....
and I am not alone
there is a hand holding me ...

ordinary moment

Jesus invites me to come to His table
at the very moment He comes to my table
in all its ordinariness
to break bread
and drink wine
bringing radiance to the ordinary by His Presence
and I can only speak His name in a whisper
lest the earth should tremble
my soul offering a quiet loving glance toward Him

love walks a straight line from this moment to the cross

caritas

interesting moments

yesterday was an interesting day

a day of testing
being poked and prodded
pushed and invaded
and I am grateful
despite the discomfort of the invasion
but was struck by the appearance of the day

I realize I am somewhat old school
of another generation than most
and I am glad we are far removed from the starched, stand up by themselves, uniforms
and perfectly shaped caps set just so on top of perfectly shaped hair
but there is something about how one dresses
that filters down into how one feels about oneself
about what it is we do ........

and to be surrounded by jeans
topped by not so clean looking sweaters
hair falling all over the place
scruffy boots
heavy sighing
unhappy faces
sharp voices
weary attitudes
it all just made me want to open a window
spruce the place up
pick up the files that had fallen off the cabinet onto the floor
empty the overflowing trash
change the sheet on the exam table ..........

I know everyone is overworked ....
and yet ....
something is out of whack here .......

where is the professionalism
the pride in the work of our hands

it is very very good the white coat idolizing is over
but frankly
a white coat would have been a comfort yesterday

however
I truly am grateful for their help .........

living moment

in order to live the life God yearns for us to have,
we must let go of where we are now
and what we love
in order to live into the bigger place
to which God is calling us.
We have to be willing to endure chaos
and not know where it will all end
in order to experience new life.
-
Valerie K. Isenhower and Judith A. Todd
Living into the Answers

moment moments

our whole life consists of a series of moments

in His Presence

we live a moment at a time

but only some moments we live fully

and that is sad

for each moment

is filled with Him

His power

His breath

His life

He alone knows the numbers of our moments

His hand holds them

we alone waste them

listening moment

long ago

an ordinary man named John

laid his head

upon the breast of Jesus

and listened

to the heartbeats of God