Size and Numbers Don’t Seem to Matter to God

Posted on July 24, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A very small pink miniature rose from my garden

Good Morning, God!

I brought this rose in from my miniature garden a few days ago and I love looking at it! It’s so small — yet just perfect. It is even fragrant. Often I look at it and smile. It makes me think of the example Deborah Tannen gave about how differently the genders categorize gifts,

As I recall, God, she said that the typical male in giving a gift categorizes it by size, number, and value. So a dozen roses is a BIGGER gift than one rose. But the typical female instead sees or “counts” the ACT of giving. A gift of a dozen roses, is ONE gift. And the gift of one rose, is ONE gift.

I tried to explain this to my husband — the idea that the true value in a gift lies in the relationship it represents. Kit being a Scot was taken with the idea that ONE rose would do as well as 12. Smile. But, the stores sell roses by the dozen and so I have yet to get the gift of ONE rose. But, I am a typical woman, God. For me one rose IS one gift — just as a dozen roses would be ONE gift.

I feel, God, as if You are more like a woman than a man — when it comes to our giving You gifts. I’ve been thinking about how Oskar Schindler saved hundreds of Jews in World War II — and how the Ten Boom family in Holland saved only a few. But I think YOU “counted” both people as having given You the same gift.

In the Talmud it says: whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world. Help us, God, to save lives — even in small ways — even just one.

Tagged with: Can we give Gifts to God?, He who saves one life saves the world entire
Posted in a matter of scale, gifts and giftings, Giving, Help me to see, Venturing out of the shallows?

Where Earth, Sky and Water Meet — and how God and I Meet

Posted on July 23, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Sky, Koko Crater and Kokohead, Ocean and Palms -- at Kahala

Good Morning, God!

It’s true that I live in a valley — but I do get to go off into other parts of the island — and Kahala is one of my favorite places. I’m always happy to be where Ocean, Earth and Sky meet.

To me the Ocean connects us to all the other islands — large and small. After all our World is 80% water — it’s a deep blue Water World — isn’t it, God. And I ended my day, yesterday, at the Water’s Edge. This time putting my focus on the Sky and the Moon rising.

I guess, God, I’m back to the idea of what we SEE being a question of Vantage Points and Focus. Only the Night Photo adds one more factor. My camera has a setting that SLOWS DOWN the shutter and allows more light to come in. That’s why the moon seems larger than normal.

Moon over the Marina -- looking between Koko Crater to the left and Koko Head to the right

All of those factors seem to me to be involved in Prayer. I shared the book Prison to Praise with friends yesterday.

You know how this book changed MY life, God. It helped me to STAND ON YOUR LOVE and offer up the Sacrifice of Praise FOR my PAINFUL and Humanly Unacceptable Reality. That meant a dramatic change in Vantage Point.

But it took over 20 minutes of praying with a Prayer Friend BEFORE I could OFFER my Reality to YOU as a Sacrifice of Praise. That sure is a SLOW SHUTTER SPEED. Yet, that TIME and FOCUS made it possible to speak the Words of Praise. And those WORDS seemed to Open the Door of my Heart to Your Spirit!

Yet, HOW can I share THAT with people IN PAIN? How can people who haven’t experienced the Miracle of a Changed Vantage Point in SMALL WAYS take SUCH A LEAP OF FAITH?

Did I hear You? Saying TRUST ME! Follow ME! Yes . . . I believe I did. HELP ME DO THAT, PLEASE!

Tagged with: Offering the Sacrifice of Praise, Out of the Shallows and into Obedience
Posted in a hand up, Perspective, Trusting God, Vantage Points, Venturing out of the shallows?

Praying Together — God’s Chance to Change, Clean and Bless Us

Posted on July 22, 2010 by a moment with god — 2 Comments

Rocks and Life Giving Water

Good Morning, God!

Yesterday was such a lovely day! It began with my Wednesday Morning Prayer Group. You know the one, God, — the one filled with Oldest Daughters — the ones always asking You to Do This and Do That.

The question came up: Do our prayers CHANGE Your Mind? Such an interesting question, God! I kind of think Your Mind and Intentions are WAY TOO COMPLEX for that question to have a yes or no answer. But, I DO KNOW that praying changes ME! Connecting with You in Prayer is like a Desert coming to ask for Water. I’m certain You want to FLOOD me with Your LIVING WATER. But, I have Rocks of Resentment, Rocks of Regret, and a Lot of JUDGMENTAL GRAVEL blocking my connection with You. So mostly only a trickle of what You Give comes through my Rocks. You want me to Give those Rocks to You — FOR-GIVING is just that — giving them ALL to YOU — one rock at a time.

The middle part of the day was filled with assorted tasks and duties — blessed by two dear friends calling to ask for prayer — in both cases, a BIG GIFT TO ME! How lovely that You join us together and let us pray for one another! Then off I went to have fun with my Mom! God, You have given to her the Gift of Appreciation! That is surely a Gift that Blesses all those around her. She took a couple of photos of me with my new iPhone and when I said I’d email them to her — she said “Reality has passed Science Fiction on the fly!”

Your Reality, God, far surpasses both our Science AND our Fiction! Please help me APPRECIATE YOU and YOUR REALITY!

Tagged with: Prayer -- God's way of changing us, The Joy of Connections
Posted in appreciation, gratitude, Prayer, relationships, simple joys of daily life, thankfulness, water and love

Extending my Mind Maps in Time and Space

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

Qasr al-Farid - a Nabataean tomb in the North Arabian desert Photo by: Aaqib Kabin

Good Morning God!

Sure, I’d heard of Petra — a city carved in stone — friends have visited it. I even learned recently it had multiple levels in its various “buildings”. But it was just “A Place in Jordan.” Then with an article this month in Archaeology I learn it was the key city in the Nabataean Empire. Nabataeans? Empire? More to the point, I learned that the Nabataean Empire extended into Northern Arabia and existed from around 400 BC into Roman times. They were merchants and traders with extensive routes — perhaps as far as India. There sure has been a lot going on, God that we (I) don’t know about! And, I do wonder just HOW they managed the marvelous carvings.

There is something quite enlarging, God, about learning about Other People. Suzy is listening to French radio to recapture her command of French.

Entering Petra, the capital city of the Nabataeans

She wondered if perhaps it might make Americans more understanding of immigrants if we had to learn another language. How easy it is to judge others when we are unaware of their language, heritage and culture.

You do tell us DO NOT JUDGE, LEST YOU BE JUDGED. Besides, often Judging just doesn’t work. It mostly closes doors — instead of opening them.

Not judging isn’t the same as agreeing. To me it is more like seeing the person as a fellow child of God — a person You, God, love and care about. I think, God, You want us to speak words of Hope and Joy and Love to them — in short, to Tell them the Good News!

Tagged with: Expanding Minds and Hearts, The Nabataean Empire
Posted in A God given diversity, a matter of scale, acknowledging another's existence, respect, so much to learn

A Rendezvous with Rosy Fingered Dawn

Posted on July 20, 2010 by a moment with god — 2 Comments

Dawn from the ridge overlooking Kalama Valley

Good MORNING, God!

This morning I awoke a bit after 5:30 and wondered: Is DAWN really briefer than Dusk? Then I thought, I can go and see! So I fixed a pot of tea, dressed and drove off to the ridge overlooking the Eastern Tip of Oahu.

This was made possible because my more Sensible Half was helping our church with Family Promise and was spending the night there. Left to my own spontaneous devices OFF I WENT! Reaching the end of the road I parked and then crawled through the gate and walked up to find a Vantage Point. That is REALLY important! Living in a valley is lovely — but it doesn’t provide a Vantage Point for viewing Sunrises and Sunsets.

And, of course, as I stood there looking 360 degrees at Your marvelous world, I realized that it isn’t JUST having a good vantage point, it is a matter of looking in the right direction.

Dawn from a wide-angle perspective

I was so excited when I saw the first golden tips on the clouds, God! Now, you would think, how hard is it to look toward the LIGHT! But, I had been taking photos of Hawaii Kai and Diamond Head and was surprised to turn and spot the first Rosy Fingers marking the sun’s location.

Now I am back in my Valley — back inside — and pondering all of this. The two photos are of the same thing. The top one is a Close Up. The lower one a wide-angle view.

I remember what You showed me when Patty died. Her Death had RIPPED A HOLE in my Cocoon of Expectations — I had a choice. Would I stare through that Hole into Darkness? Or would I TURN and FOCUS on Your Light? That HOLE made BOTH the Darkness and the Light much more “visible”. Which one to focus on? You helped me turn toward Your Son Light. Thank You, God!

Tagged with: Choosing to focus on The Light, The Gift of a New Day
Posted in choices, God's gifts, going THROUGH the sorrow, gratitude, Grief

A lovely SLOW Sabbath Day

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

A BIG obake -- a type of anthurium

Good Morning, God!

Saturday evening I scurried around Getting Ready for the Sabbath Day. Stuff got put away, if not done. So when I got up in the morning my environment was restful. Work was BEHIND my desk — not in front of me. Funny how easy it is to forget little tricks like that. While not smelling the roses, literally — I did admire this giant obake. I learned that anthurium are related to taro, philodendron and monstera. I love flowers and I am learning to make sure I have them in our home.

Kit was off early yesterday, being a course marshall for a run — such dedication. And I went out a bit later semi-jogging the 2 miles to the post office. When Kit came home he prepared a big breakfast for us. After breakfast I had a soak in an epsom salts bath and an afternoon of napping and reading until we went off to play scrabble and have dinner at my Mom’s retirement residence — followed by more reading in bed.

I DID chat with Suz and Sandy and I had a face to face phone call with Mark — which was exciting — but not work. My batteries were charging all day and today I am looking forward to a Full Monday.

Now that I am Celebrating Your Gift of the Sabbath, God — I am MOTIVATED to rearrange the rest of my week. I want Sabbath Rest. And I am also beginning to understand how much I need it.

Tagged with: Obeying brings understanding, Sabbath Rest
Posted in lap time, letting the Holy Spirit flow through us, sabbath rest

Hip Hip for Heuristic Learning

Posted on July 18, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The Old Professor: The Old Model of Learning

Good Morning, God!

Aaaaaah, a Sabbath Day, of refraining from work. I just got back from a 2/3rds jog and 1/3 walk while listening to Daniel Pink read his book, Drive. And now I can see, God, my DIFFICULTY in sorting out — what’s work and what’s not — in a broader perspective. Work has gotten pretty darn interesting and has a lot more intrinsic satisfaction than it used to have.

If one is out laboring in the field — stoop labor — not having to do it is a HUGE GIFT. And since Feudal Lords wanted their peasants working — having You, the Top Authority, saying NO WORK was of great benefit to the peasants and the whole society.

Today, God, work has gotten mixed up with play and maybe that is a GOOD THING. But it means NOT WORKING requires a huge helping of DISCERNMENT! Today I divided it up into not working for anyone but mysefl — and even then, nothing routine or algorithmic (that is opposed to heuristic in which there is no clear path).

I picked the Old Professor as the model for algorithmic learning (Pink’s term). I noticed this years ago. In the OLD MODEL there was a set body of knowledge that could be mastered and then the Master (Professor) would pass it on to Apprentices (students). Then, with the flowering of computers, what happened was KNOWLEDGE expanded way too fast for the Masters to keep up! And Apprentices gave way to people who learned as they went — Heuristic Learners!

This is a pretty darn amazing revolution, God! And I am enjoying the various books talking about Our New Reality from assorted perspectives. The Church is changing, too, isn’t it God. I’m thinking of Saddleback Church with Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life. That’s all part of this Ongoing Transformation. Hmmm.

Please help me play with this, God. I’m going down to have breakfast — but I want to ponder this.

Tagged with: On the other side of the Great Divide, The Learning Revolution
Posted in adjusting, complexity, freedom, Ongoing Transformation, The Learning Revolution

Right in Our Own Backyard

Posted on July 17, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Rainbow in our valley

Good Morning, God

Yesterday Kit and I were sipping our coffee (Kit) and tea (me) when one of Your Rainbows appeared — right in our own backyard — well, our valley. Marvelous! I rushed down to take photos and caught this bird in flight. Such a gift!

And each new day is a gift from You, God! But, I confess, somedays I’m too tired or too full of MY STUFF to be aware of what a gift LIFE is. Yesterday I was tired! But it was the best kind of tired — tired from working together with other people to get useful things done! I do love my Arcadia Library.

Now I have a Sabbath Day to look forward to tomorrow. And a lovely day still mostly before me in which to LIST, SEQUENCE, and DO the various options and tasks before me. How good is that, God!

Not only that, but Sandy has bought the book, Switch, and I have purchased a real hardback copy so I can work from it more efficiently. . . or is that effectively? You know, God, I sometimes forget that OVERLOAD is not necessary. I am the one that heaps up my plate. I am the one who doesn’t sit and count the cost in time, money and energy before I leap.

Yep, it’s me, God. I’m the “Bad Boss.” How DUMB is THAT! You promise that we are set free to become New Creatures in Christ — and I believe that — now please help me build the grit and the courage to molt!

Tagged with: Embarking on a Molt, Teaming up for Change
Posted in a series of molts and upgrades, accepting my ability to REDESIGN, accepting my authority to set limits, New Creatures in Christ, rejoicing

Switch – Getting Smart About Change

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

Switch: How to Change When Change Is Hard by Dan and Chip Heath

Good Morning God,

I’m almost through the book,

Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard

And isn’t it almost always hard to change? It is for me, God. But then last Friday Kit changed one word — instead of telling me I could be a good runner if I was a Masochist — he said I could be good if I worked on my endurance. ENDURANCE. What a lovely word. The M word had shut me down COMPLETELY! But Endurance opened up possibilities. And on Sunday I did the Lanikai Bike Path Race — I was almost last –but I DID it, I jogged 5 miles. Tuesday I jogged 2 miles. Thursday I was out jogging for 20 minutes. I’m changing!

I guess even the idea of being a Masochist was an assault on my Identity, God. I can’t imagine how people ever thought voluntary suffering was a good thing — like wearing a hair shirt — however would that be “extra credit”?

But back to Switch — the authors have compiled great ideas and examples from a number of other books. And their framework for organizing those thoughts is the idea of an Elephant (our emotions), the Rider (our mind) and the Path (our surrounding culture and structures.)

Did You just ask: What did I get out of it personally? You mean HOW am I going to USE IT to CHANGE? Aurgh! That was such a HARD Question I just STOPPED writing. But, here it is, a day later and I have, I hope, gotten Sandy to get the book and work on personal applications WITH ME. Partners help! I wonder, God, if anyone ELSE would like to be part of this Personal Change Implementation Project?

Last night I took one project I always put off and broke it down into the first 3 steps and did those steps. I need to practice doing that. I need checkoff lists. I need to be accountable to myself! Humm. Maybe what I need first is an Upgraded Identity that knows it can do it and ENJOY doing it. Keep me at this, Please, God!

Tagged with: How will I apply what I am learning about change?, Small steps toward Endurance
Posted in a series of molts and upgrades, accepting my ability to REDESIGN, accepting my need for help, Balancing and adjustments, choices, Choosing Meaning, Endurance, grit, growing toward up

Flowers and Photos and My First iPhone

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

Flowers on a shower tree in the parking lot of Kokua Market

Good Morning, God!

I was walking back to my car from shopping when I saw these blossoms! Such colors! And there in my pocket was my new — my FIRST — iPhone! Out it came and with a few clicks it became a camera and then I was able to “capture” these beautiful blossoms. Capture and SHARE.

I have been noticing this powerful urge to SHARE, God. Judging from the exponential number of blogs, Youtube videos, emails and Tweets — I am not alone. It seems to be part of the Design. Beauty brings Delight — and Delight wants to be Shared.

Actually, the desire to share with my grandson, Mark, is how I FINALLY got an iPhone. Tutu, he said, we could do FACE to FACE calls if you got an iPhone! I confess, God, that RESENTMENT at AT&T (for acting like a monopoly when I called for help) had kept me from getting one. Resentments are like rocks clogging our inner waterways. They lie there — mostly underwater — but they keep Your Cargo Ships OUT.

So, I looked at my grandson — and knew that the AT&T Rock had to go — love will do that, won’t it God. Maybe, part of what happened yesterday was from the blessing of giving up THAT ROCK, Still, I am entirely surprised by the effect that this small technological object is having on me. Yesterday was my FIRST DAY of using it. My first call was a Face to Face call to Mark. Later, I added a friends phone number AND took and added a photo of her — laughing with delight!

This morning, as my phone synched my empty computer calendar I thought, WOW, I could USE this calendar and use it on my iPhone. I can do it. I can learn and grow and change. I CAN! And just think, God, I’m going to an hour class this morning to help me!

I wonder God, if maybe our organized churches shouldn’t be a lot more like Apple? Human Beings are EVEN more wonderful than an iPhone — but we don’t have classes in how we work — and no good help lines, either. Just a thought, God. Just a thought.

Tagged with: the joy of sharing
Posted in being a beginner, blooming, JOY, learning, Redesigning the Church, Sharing