A Slow “Puttering About” Day

Posted on August 23, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Moon rise over Greece Photo from APOD.NASA.GOV Credit: Anthony Ayiomamitis

Good Morning, God!

I have talked Kit into going out for a Moon Watching Dinner! We will be going to the Shack and eating on the lanai that overlooks the Marina and watching the moon rise. This is something I WANT to do every month. But I rarely get the timing right AND negotiate far enough ahead with Kit.

It has to be BEFORE the full moon, but not too far ahead. Often, I fail to check the dates and am SURPRISED by the full moon. I must say, God, that I LOVE the moon. Such a good idea. And, yes, You caught me thinking about how Mars has TWO moons and being a bit envious. It is so easy to slip into wanting more! But I bet wanting more Moons is a first!

Actually, what I want is more STRUCTURE! Yesterday I puttered about doing things for myself. As You no doubt noted, I hedged a bit on the definition of work. I didn’t work for OTHERS! I did make one small organizational upgrade. I cleared off a shelf of out-dated binders and set up a set of Day Pads — Monday through Saturday. I can feel them behind me and it makes me happy!

I suspect that “getting organized” is a lot like forgiving. First, I have to WANT to. SecondI need to remember my Emotional Body and my Office can only HOLD JUST SO MUCH without toxicity or chaos setting in. Hmmm. How much easier it is to focus on the paper clutter and the swarms of TO DOs than to do the Spiritual/Emotional Work of Forgiving! So, God, maybe Organizing is to my papers what Forgiving is to my Heart Memories? More a matter of TOSSING than filing? Yes, God, first I have to look at them!

Tagged with: If only tossing Heart Memories was as easy as tossing papers
Posted in A God given diversity, appreciation, attitudes, authority over my life, Office Overflow, sabbath rest

The Great Cleanup — Forgiving!

Posted on August 22, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

yet another photo of Ko'olau

Good Morning, God!

Yesterday — the last day of Life in the Spirit — Mike Evans led us in a guided meditation / prayer on forgiving. It seemed as if EVERYONE had someone they needed to forgive — probably more than just one.

I was amazed at the number of folks that popped up in my mind! The stuff was pretty small and I was more than willing to forgive. But, where had they been hiding? How could I not have known that I was harboring unforgiven folks in my Heart?

Hmmm. You say: KNOWING that would have damaged my “good opinion” of myself — so I just didn’t know! Bummers! That hurts! But, I don’t deny the truth of it. We WANT to be GOOD people. I suspect You just want us to be YOUR people.

But back to forgiveness. Holding on to people who have “harmed” us requires BIG Holding Tanks. Of course, mostly they are invisible tanks. But it takes ENERGY to maintain those Tanks AND it takes energy to keep them invisible.

I was going to say, God, that full Holding Tanks lead to CLOGGED drains. But, suddenly, I realize that, mostly, we don’t HAVE drains. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Spiritual Sewage Treatment System!. Shoot! How many of us are like me? Unaware that we even HAVE aught against any? Or, aware but unwilling or unable to release our captives?

Now, God, I know You are WILLING to help — WANTING to help — WAITING to help! But the catch is this –Mike Evans said FIRST we have to WANT to FORGIVE. PLEASE, GOD, HELP ME WITH THAT! Help me want that badly enough to go through the garbage!

PS God, I think You wanted me to invite folks to the HEALING SERVICE at First Presbyterian Church, Ko’olau
Sunday (today) at 6:00 pm — Mike Evans, Jack Deere, etc are willing to pray with and for folks.

Tagged with: Our deep need to give and receive forgiveness
Posted in a prayer for healing, A Spiritual Spring Cleaning, Forgiven!, Forgiving, freedom

A Full Day, A Full Heart

Posted on August 21, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Looking up at the mountain from Koolau

Good Morning, God!

The first time I set foot on the Koolau property I said, “We are in the Palm of God’s Hand!” That is still what it feels like, God. I know You love and bless the entire world — not to mention galaxies and so forth and so on — but Hawaii has GOT to be Your Favorite Place!

That reminds me of Jordan Seng assertion that HE was Your Favorite Child. It always got a big laugh. And, as I just demonstrated, we do tend toward ranking — putting into a line, what You hold in Your LAP!

Instead of our jockeying for position — hoping for number #1 — wouldn’t it be wonderful if we realized You love each one of us ENDLESSLY? Numbers can be so misleading.

Yesterday, at the Life in the Spirit Conference, I got a taste of being “together in Your Lap” . There was so much mutual respect –so much loving and effortless appreciation for one another — that it felt as if we were all Part of Your Family.

Looking at the mountain tops behind Koolau

The speakers at the conference turned us loose to pray for one another. It was teaching, demonstration and practice. Healing took place. It is amazing to see people set free from pain — from physical pain — one rejoices to see it!

And now, God, I’m just sitting and pondering all the kinds of pain — and how some are warnings of future trouble if we keep on that path. Others are indicators of snarled “wiring” or biochemical problems. How complex we are.

Still, I feel so strongly that You want to Heal the Hurting, and also heal people like me, who don’t even know we are hurting! And now, OFF TO THE CONFERENCE!

Posted in connecting, connections, Conversations, healing, Help me to see, Redesigning the Church, rejoicing, relationships

Life in the Spirit — off for Friday’s sessions!

Posted on August 20, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu at Koolau

Good Morning, God!

Wow! Thank You for last night! It has been a long long time since I was reading Acts chapter Two and You made it clear that it had happened just exactly as it was written — people from all over the known world hearing Galilean fishermen speaking in other languages — extolling Jesus.

Now here is The Life in the Spirit Conference in a sober and sensible Presbyterian Church explaining that YOU, GOD, do HEAL. That Your Compassion and love for us is just the same today as it was 2,000 years ago. And not only THAT but they brought in a man, David Bunker, to tell us about his healing.

David Bunker sharing his 2002 healing

David had polio at four and had many operations and by his 50s he was in constant pain, wearing braces, and walking with a cane. Then, in September of 2002 he was at a Conference and three different people urged him to go and hear Jordan Seng talk on healing — so he went. And when Jordan asked for people who would know instantly if they got healed to stand up, he stood. Four people prayed over him and he told how his left knee and leg shook and then his right knee and leg shook — and finally his right foot started to “jump” off the floor. He was healed and he and his wife, Barbara, have been praying for other people to be healed ever since!

God! You are AMAZING! And I rejoice in every healing — physical and emotional and spiritual! But I will tell you what brought me the MOST joy last night! The idea that the whole way we do “church” might be healed! Jack Deere said that every six weeks — instead of regular services — they have a 3 hour prayer meeting. People speak and pray AS YOU LEAD. Imagine, THAT, God! They are giving the church back to YOU!

Posted in a prayer for healing, Heal Us Now, healing, Praise, Thanksgiving!, The Holy Spirit

Count it All Joy — when you fall into various trials

Posted on August 19, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Crater Lake, Oregon Photo: by Tom Kaser

Good Morning, God!

Looking at Crater Lake, it is EASY to praise You. Your creation calls out to be admired and enjoyed. But, right now my friend Heidi and the Advocates for Africa’s Children team are stuck in Manila — waiting for a flight home. They are tired. Make that exhausted! And I am certain they do not feel able to Count it ALL Joy.

Yet, THAT IS the way to move mountains. And, thank You, God, for pointing out to me that it isn’t about feelings. Happy is a feeling. Joy enters into us from the doorway of trust.

When we commit to TRUST YOU — then the words in James 1:2 begin to make sense: “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” That is so hard to do! The next verses try to explain: “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Now, God, I would wonder if You really meant these words — except that I see them over and over again. My most meaningful verse is Hebrews 13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God Yes! You mean it. And I have lived it. It makes ROOM for You to come in.

Aha! Now I remember! The Book of James was their devotional study for the trip. A trip that is not yet over.

God, I am trusting YOU in this. I am trusting You to HELP THEM be able to PRAISE YOU IN THIS! Maybe even FOR it. Heidi is doing Your Work in caring for the Widows and Orphans. Her faith is great. But I pray that you will DOUBLE IT!. Please, God, inhabit the praises of Your people!

And now, God, I hear they are on their way home! THANK YOU!

Tagged with: Please God help us to Count it ALL Joy
Posted in a hand up, Advocates for Africa's Children, letting the Holy Spirit flow through us, Meaning, Praise, The sacrifice of praise

Life in the Spirit — An opportunity to be Heard and to Ask for Healing

Posted on August 18, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Life in the Spirit

Good Morning, God!

Tomorrow evening, Thursday the 19th, I start the Life in the Spirit Conference at the Ko’olau Ballroom. I’ve heard the speakers and I know I’ll enjoy them. What will be different is that I am going to receive prayer — instead of giving prayer.

I really love praying with people so it will be an adjustment to ASK for prayer. But, a very good, adjustment. Kit was talking about the scripture he’s going to read in church this Sunday, Luke 13:10-17. Apparently the woman who is bent over — chained by Satan for 12 years — doesn’t ask for healing. It is one of the few times where Jesus heals without being asked.

So Kit and I were pondering the reasons why we are to ask for healing. My first thought was PRIDE! What leader of the synagog or church wants to ask for healing in public ? That is a BIG problem for many long-time church goers — humbling ourselves to ASK!

It was C.S. Lewis who said “Two Christians are ten times stronger than One Christian.” We need one another. There is no shame in that! Joy shared, is joy doubled. Sorrow shared, is sorrow halved.

So why don’t we ask? Like we’re perfect? DUH! But, there seems to be a deep shame in our culture about asking for help. Aaah, God, please help us with that! Please, let us ask one another for help and for prayers. And, let ask for REAL help!

Afterall, we are NOT Jesus. We are coming to Jesus for healing!

Tagged with: Asking for Help - Asking for Healing
Posted in A Spiritual Spring Cleaning, confession, connecting, humility, Humility or Needing Help!, Prayer, Praying together extemporaneously

Fluorescent Corals, Cancer, Illness — Markers and Connectors

Posted on August 17, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Fluorescent coral found 400 miles east of Australia

Good Morning, God!

Fluorescent coral! Amazing! Beautiful and it seems useful for cancer research. They will use their cells to attach to cancer cells and then use a fluorescent microscope to observe them.

Aah, God. Are we going to find a “cure” for cancer? For other illnesses? It strikes me that we are going at it by branching — each new specialty dividing into 10 to 100 more subspecialties — twigs. I wonder if, maybe, God, the trick would be to look the other way — toward the roots — toward the GROUND.

I remember, from years ago, reading of the medical conflict between Pasteur with his “kill the germs” orientation and Claude Bernard with his “strengthen the person’s body or ground” approach. Pasteur is supposed to have said on his death bed, Bernard was right, THE GROUND, THE GROUND IT IS EVERYTHING.

Meaning, to me, God, that it isn’t so much the illness — as the WHOLE PERSON — that should be the focus. And that while fluorescent markers are marvelous — what we need — each one of us — is not so much a Marker as a CONNECTOR.

Patty, in her journey through CANCER had CONNECTORS. Friends she could talk to and write to. And I did too. I still need them. With our Loved Ones, God, we would rather go through it ourselves than watch helplessly as THEY go through it.

PAIN, GRIEF, GUILT, HELPLESSNESS — all of these afflict those who love the one who is “ill.” All of these drive us into isolation — aloneness. THAT, GOD, IS THE GREAT ENEMY! We need a Connector — someone to Walk With Us — someone to hear us. Someone to HEAR US even in our SILENCE.

When I was on this “journey” and away, I, like Patty, journaled. I heard myself. That’s not enough. But it is a step toward connecting. Of course, YOU are with us. But You are with us in a special way when two or more of us come together. Being Connectors. Being Connected to You. Thank You, God, for friends who walk with us.

Tagged with: We are never "alone" but God likes to come through ordinary people
Posted in being heard into speaking, being together in a compassionate presence, Grief, healing, Hearing, hearing myself, Roots

Soaking, Wallowing, and Digesting on a Sabbath Day

Posted on August 16, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The soap bubble nebula

Good Morning, God

Aaaah, there I was, God, soaking in the tub, when it occurred to me that ONCE AGAIN, I have MISSED the POINT. Sabbath Rest is about letting You pool up inside me FOR YOUR PURPOSES.

I am so habituated to useful that I have been looking at the Sabbath Day as “useful.” And, no doubt it is in a hundred ways — but that is besides the point. It isn’t about my perspective, but Yours. Hmmm. Let me restate that, God. Your Perspective is WAY BEYOND me. My perspective morphs moment by moment.

In the tub, soaking in epsom salts, I felt like the right word wasn’t so much soaking as WALLOWING. (To wallow — to indulge to an immoderate degree, usually with pleasure.) Yes, that IS the right word. I was wallowing in my Day of Rest. And I could see that I was not the “active ingredient.”

Not being the Active Ingredient was a RELIEF. A cup being filled is not active. It is receptive — one of the qualities a good listener “exercises.”

Then, God, I went from wallowing in the water to inviting Your Light to flow through me. Bubbles of LIGHT and LOVE . . . which is what led me to find the photo of the Soap Bubble Nebula. This amazing nebula is the result of a massive release of gas as an old star released its outer layer.

And that brings up the whole question of emptying the cup . . . hmmm. Yesterday, after church, I came home and ran for two miles with a few rest/walks. While I was running on the Sabbath I kept asking IS THIS WORK? What I “heard” was IS DIGESTING WORK? Digesting goes on even during the Sabbath. Maybe SWEATING is some sort of “cleanup/clean out” processing too?

Maybe, like forgiving?

Tagged with: Getting our cup emptied
Posted in A weekly day of rest, Digesting as processing, rest, sabbath rest

A New Day! A Gift from God!

Posted on August 15, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A view from Kailua Beach

Good Morning, God!

It is Your Gift of a Sabbath Day! And I am up early — savoring it — appreciating it — thanking You for it. The rains came down our valley a few minutes ago, bringing with them the SMELL of rain — a smell that gladdens my heart.

I got rained on shortly after I took this photo from Kailua Beach . It’s Odd, God, how friendly the rain is here in Hawaii. The dark cloud approaching me looked threatening. But, being enveloped in rain — while one is jogging or walking — is refreshing.

Hmmm. It makes me think of how other things that LOOK dark and threatening can actually be refreshing. I have learned how to set up a review of records added to the library I care for. The volunteer who enters the records was so pleased that now she had a way of CHECKING for her mistakes. We all make mistakes. The idea that we make them is a bit of a dark cloud. But knowing that we can find them and then fix them is such a good feeling — like being enveloped in rain?

Oh my, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could find and fix all our mistakes so easily? Actually, what would be truly wonderful would be if we had a fuller understanding of what constitutes a “mistake.”

Hmmm. I’ve been sitting and pondering that. Some “mistakes” are just cultural differences. Other “mistakes” are injurious to ourselves and others. All the years I didn’t understand my NEED for a day of REST could be considered a significant Error of Omission (read: Mistake).

Ah, God! Here is the thing! Is the JOY of discovering a mistake GREATER than the PAIN of knowing I made it! In my case with the Sabbath, YES! MUCH GREATER! THANK YOU!

Tagged with: On making mistakes -- pain and joy
Posted in a hand up, God's gifts, Mistakes, Sabbath as PLAY, sabbath rest

Sandy Beach, the Blow Hole and Zooming in

Posted on August 14, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

looking toward the Blowhole from Sandy Beach

Good Morning, God!

This photo of the Blow Hole from the west end of Sandy Beach was taken a bit after sunrise. There were a few surfers out and I was enjoying a latte and a little prayer.

Now, here is the same area enlarged! No longer the serene scene. Now it surges with energy. What we focus on makes all the difference.

We live in SUCH A BIG WORLD, God! And it looks so different to each one of us — and a lot of that depends on direction we are looking . . . and what we are zooming in on. Somehow, we don’t seem to take that into account when we “discuss” things. What direction am I looking? Where am I standing? That’s about spatial differences.

Then there are TIME differences. How do we process TIME? I was listening to SuperFreakanomics and hearing all about how poorly designed our Emergency Rooms are for a REAL emergency. Dang. But, of course, I understand why. It is so easy to think that if something is unlikely to happen — it won’t happen. People who talk about Dark Eventualities are called Paranoid. Why pay more to plan ahead — for something that might not happen?

Now I’m thinking, God, of my grandfather shaking his head at the people in Southern California who built in Arroyo Secos (dry riverbeds). True, they were dry for 49 out of 50 years. But there was ALWAYS that 50th year. And then I remember, in Honolulu, where we had a hundred year storm — followed a few years later by a 200 year storm. Hmmm.

Don’t live on the Edge? Keep MARGINS? Aaah. The Sabbath is to my body and being — the way automatic saving is to my bank account! Yes, God, yes. I need Your Help!

Tagged with: The Sabbath as the Body's automated savings plan
Posted in a matter of scale, a prayer for healing, both / and, Possibilities, sabbath rest