Illuminated Manuscripts and an Illuminated Life

Posted on March 11, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

View looking down the Getty's entrance stairs

Thank You, God, for a wonderful day yesterday!

I’ve always wanted to go to the Getty Center, but never got around to it. But yesterday, we went with our friend Faith to a Seminar on Illustrated Ethiopian Manuscripts.

an image from the Getty's website

The seminar featured 3 experts in the field — and lots of marvelous images from the late 1300’s to early 1400’s which is Suz’s favorite Time Period.

As it happened, Faith had just returned from Ethiopia were she had been the guest at a seminary and toured monasteries. I love it when You do that! You bring exhibits and people together in ways we couldn’t arrange if we even thought to try.

I bet we don’t see even a tenth of what You arrange for us! Oh? More like one thousandth . . . yeah . . . more even than that. Thank YOU!

And, speaking of thank you — I wish I had thanked the Ethiopian speaker who flew in from St. John’s College in Minnesota where he teaches. I really liked what he had to say. I especially liked his sensitive response to the man who embraced the idea of Christianity coming to Africa via Ethiopia — not the Europeans.

I so understood his question, God. Alas, the ones who BRING Your Word — bring themselves with it. And we are such clay vessels. Only, No, it is far more than that. The damaging key problem isn’t that we are all flawed and human. It is that the Europeans came with a culture of MASSIVE DISRESPECT for the people they wanted to “save.” Respect vs. Disrespect?

Respect — to resee — can we resee others and even ourselves through YOUR EYES? There is a wonderful quote from Paul Watzlavwick in which he says that the PRIMARY purpose of human communication IS TO CONFIRM OUR EXISTENCE as human beings. And, God, I have found it true that when a person’s existence as a human being has been confirmed, secondary problems, tertiary problems are far easier to resolve. Now, God, what is to be done with that thought? Help me, God, to ponder that.

Posted in respect

An Iris in LA — In the Flow of God’s Love

Posted on March 10, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

An Iris in West LA

Thank you God, for flowers standing all alone — calling out STOP — LOOK AT ME! And I did! I came to a full stop and got out my camera to capture it. Mind You, God, my daughter, Suzanne, looked at the photo and observed that it had made the purple blue too pastel. Perhaps it did.

But, of course, the point wasn’t really the capture — it was the appreciation. There is a Japanese word that basically means — that which is MORE beautiful because it is fleeting. So for me to appreciate this iris — to admire it — is to appreciate YOUR WORK, YOUR WORLD, YOUR CREATION.

All of this, all of us, set in the context of TIME. This lovely iris is glowing and yet it is only for a few days. I think it was in Madeleine L’Engle’s book, A Wind in the Door, where she asserts that Size doesn’t matter. And I think, perhaps, Time doesn’t matter either. I don’t think You see TIME that same way we do. We are IN it. YOU CREATED IT. The best I can do, God, is to think that to You Time may look like a sphere.

I’m sitting here, smiling at myself. Imagine me trying to see things (especially TIME) from Your perspective. But then, maybe that isn’t so silly. Your Perspective is Love!

I never feel that as strongly as when I am praying with someone. Then is seems as if I get caught up in YOUR perspective — just a bit more aware — of the FLOW of YOUR LOVE. A bit more Aware of Your overwhelming compassionate attention in which we live and move and have our Being.

Thank You, God. Thank YOU! And, oh, yes! Help me to accept Your Invitation to Join You in Your Compassionate Attention to all creatures, great and small.

Posted in appreciation, people as gifts, Perspective, perspectives

Zebras, Lions and Me

Posted on March 9, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Zebras in a game park in Swaziland

I’ve been thinking, God, about social fears. It was discovering my fear of being different from the group — not eating grain — and so forth– that enabled me to lose some weight. Once the fear was in the open it seemed so small and silly. I thought the important thing was to find the hidden fears — uncover them — then they lost their power.

But then yesterday I happened to be telling a story that came from Robert Sopolsky’s book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. He teaches at Stanford and during the summers he studies baboons in Africa. One summer night he was sitting around a campfire chatting with other researchers. The zebra researchers were complaining about how hard it was to tell one zebra from another. So they came up with a great idea! They would put a blob of bright colored paint on the rump of one of the zebras — then they could easily follow him. They did it and the very next day they got up and looked for “their” zebra. Couldn’t spot that painted zebra anywhere. Then, just toward the end of the day they found the remains of a zebra — and there on the tail — the blob of paint. What terrible luck! But they did it again — and again found only the remains of their zebra. The zebra researchers never would tell just how many zebras they painted — before they realized that Lions also have a hard time telling one zebra from another.

Sigh. So, standing out from the crowd / herd makes you an easy mark for predators. I guess that is where the seemingly small social fears got wired in. Creatures without those fears didn’t leave as many descendants as the fearful. God, I think those fears are meant to “help” us. But they are MUCH more powerful than I want to realize.

Surely God, once we survive adolescence, those fears aren’t quite as important? Help me face up to them and then STEP SLOWLY THROUGH THEM. Please, God.

Posted in courage, fears, finding hidden fears, Trusting God

A red ti plant and the Burning Bush

Posted on March 8, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A red ti bush at the Honolulu Convention Center

Good Morning, God!

I saw this red ti bush at the HIM Conference and it brought to mind the BURNING BUSH You set before Moses. That Burning Bush was spectacular! And, rightly so as You were setting up a MAJOR EVENT in the history of our species.

A bush that burns, but is not consumed commands attention. A red ti bush glowing in the sunlight, INVITES our attention — a small invitation to STOP and ADMIRE — YOU and Your Creation. I did stop. And I thought about how important it is to simply stop in Your Presence. Hmmm. Well, I probably didn’t stop for very long — I quickly looked for my camera to take the photo.

You say, if I had simply stopped, You might have had a Word for me?

Yes, You still have words for us! Thank you! And, I apologize for not stopping — but merely pausing. Now that my Four Days of WORD PRAYERS are over and my house guests have gone — I will return to Centering Prayers — a most useful exercise in stopping. It is a time of Stopping and listening — and giving YOU permission to enter into the time between thoughts as I sit in silence.

Odd how our society abhors silence — and emptiness. But, perhaps we are afraid that IF we DID stop and listen — You might really ask us to do something. There are a lot of things to be done. First, God, help me to come to a full stop and listen!

Hey! I am flying off to LA tomorrow morning — help me make that a WEEK of REST — a WEEK of Stopping in Your Presence. Please, God.

Posted in appreciation, fears, stopping, stopping to listen, stopping to see

The Berlin Wall and My Brain’s Pleasure Center

Posted on March 7, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

statues made from the Berlin Wall at the FDR Library

Thank YOU, God, for a truly remarkable season of PRAYER as part of the HIM 2010 Conference Prayer Team! And now, this morning I am entering into a Day of Rest. Protected by You, God, from BUSY.

At lunch yesterday I suggested to a conference speaker that he would make a good pastor. He said OH NO! I laughed and we agreed it was an impossible job. Afterwards, I talked with a friend about the burnout rate among pastors.

My take, God, is that the basic assumptions are wrong.

I Peter 2:9 says “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood”. Now, God, I believe Peter was talking about all of us — not just the clergy. But here we are with the clergy doing WAY TOO MUCH. Getting WAY TOO BUSY!

I remember Dr. Hart lecturing on how being BUSY — over time — builds a WALL around the PLEASURE CENTER of our brain. The small and simple pleasures can’t get OVER THE WALL! Dr. Hart said that after a while the person enters the state of ANHEDONIA — they are unable to feel pleasure — they are numb. They are then susceptible to things like Adultery, Gambling, Racing . . . things that are risky and give them a hit of adrenalin to GET THEM OVER THE WALL.

It made me think of the Berlin Wall that for so many years imprisoned the people of East Berlin. But that wall was visible. People could see it. They knew it was there. How much more effective is a wall we can’t see.

Sigh, please God, help us to picture a Wall around our Pleasure Center — help us SEE that proper rest and balanced living — will keep the wall low enough for small pleasures to walk in. Yes, God! Today while I rest, YOU will tear down the wall I’ve built this week!

Posted in A weekly day of rest, an invitation to abundant life, appreciation, busy, busy as an attack strategy, sabbath rest

Rainbows and Prayers

Posted on March 6, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Rainbow over midtown Honolulu

Good Morning God!

This photo was taken (at a red light) on my way to the Prayer Workshop Thursday morning. At that point it was actually a double rainbow. But I was thrilled to capture what I did! It seemed like an omen — a promise of your faithfulness.

Then this morning, as I was pondering what image I could use to talk about Prayer, I thought — THE RAINBOW!

Yesterday, in the HIM Conference Prayer Room I experienced two hours of incredible PRAYER — that doesn’t even describe it. I SAW / FELT YOUR HAND bringing about CONNECTIONS. First, we began the morning standing in a circle — holding hands and praying out loud. Then one team member wrote out a prayer card for her son and handed it to me as I was the “Host”. God, you moved in MY heart and I WROTE out a card for my oldest daughter. Yes, God, I remember trying to get by with just TALKING my prayer request! After I read my card out loud at our small prayer table the woman next to me said “I could have written that prayer!” Then the women next to her said “I could have written that prayer, word for word!” And all five of us at that prayer table had the same prayer — the same hearts’ desire. We were all oldest daughters — praying for our oldest child.

In a few minutes it got even better as a young man we had prayed for came back for more prayer for his “food poisoning.” It was a friend of the woman’s son and we were able to pray specifically for deeper inner healing for the same trauma that had befallen her son! GLORIOUS! WHAT TIMING! WHAT INNER PREPARATION!

Dear Lord God, how can I even begin to thank You for being part of that healing prayer? How I wish EVERYONE could EXPERIENCE just HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM AND DESIRE TO HELP AND HEAL US!!!!

THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU!

Posted in healing, Heavens declare the Glory of God, JOY, letting the Holy Spirit flow through us, Light shining through, Prayer, sacred space, the JOY of praying together

Consider the lilies of the water

Posted on March 5, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

A water lily at the Honolulu Convention Center

Oh God, consider the work of Your Hands! Look at the beauty of this simple water lily! Nothing seems too small or too evanescent for You to give loving attention to.

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 6:28-29

This is a vast comfort to me, God. You are SO FAR BEYOND OUR COMPREHENSION — yet we can recognize the beauty of the world You have created.

And as I prayed with and for people last evening, I could feel Your Love for them — feel a small portion of YOUR COMPASSION for them. You who lavish care on the lilies of the field (and the water) CARE FOR US. Tonight we were privileged to pray with a husband and wife, sister and granddaughter who came to seek prayer for her mother. The whole family had gathered to request prayer. What a gift of love! What a joy to pray for her — to pray for them. And now on to a new day. Thank You, God for all that will be in it!

Posted in LOVE, power and peace and gentleness, Prayer

Letting God’s Light Shine

Posted on March 4, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Honolulu 2010 Conference Let Your Light Shine

Oh Dearest God, what JOY! I’ve been meeting friends at the airport as they came flying in — yesterday and today — preparing to come to the PARTY! And that is just what it is, God, a PARTY! Honolulu 2010 Christian Conference is 4,000 people of all ages and all denominations coming together to Praise You and Worship You. That is the JOY part of the gathering.

That JOY is still in my heart because of our Prayer Team gathering last night — a lovely time of prayer. Then Cynthia and friends and I went over to the room where Christie Pierce will be talking on Inner Healing — Healing What Hurts Most. And that prayer time was CHICKEN SKIN. You know, God, AWE is a good word, but it doesn’t begin to cover YOUR UNSEEN PRESENCE — Unseen but not unfelt.

Worship and Prayer — Adoration and Joy — are the foundation stones of the Conference. But there is so much MORE! Talks and training for pastors and lay leaders and just plain folks on hundreds of topics. Ah, but God, as for my small part on the Prayer Team, it is about Your Deep Desire to set us free from guilt, regret, addictions, fears, traumas, and assorted difficulties and pains. Physical healing is remarkable — like our friend David who was healed of many years of post polio nerve damage and pain. When someone who has used two canes for years starts walking normally — that brings JOY.

And I’m praying for LOTS of physical healings! Ah, but the deep inner healing — to me that’s the real work of Your Spirit. So, God, THANK YOU! Thank YOU that I get to go and get to pray. Please, God, clean me up and get me OUT OF YOUR WAY! And now I’m off to go to hear Don Williams speak at the Prayer Intensive from 9 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Posted in Being ENJOYED by God, breathing in Your Spirit, clapping our hands in joy, connecting, JOY, Prayer

Inner Paths of the Heart

Posted on March 3, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

View from the Dillingham Transportation Building

Good Morning, God

It just struck me that my life is fairly orderly. Orderly is maybe too positive word — I just resisted saying ROUTINE.. Do I feel negative about this? I’m not sure, but I do travel on a minimum of paths. I mostly go where I have been before.

This view out the window of the ladies room on the second floor shows paths I haven’t walked on. Hm. I guess walking is the best way to explore a new path. New Paths. New Views. They help me look and see — as opposed to autopilot travel — where often I don’t look because I know.

But, as I am saying this — the thought comes to me — that I might possibly be seeing my family and friends through “autopilot” eyes. That is NOT a good thought. Part of the blessing of being with another person is to be wide open to his or her uniqueness.

So, God, maybe this meandering contemplation of paths has more to do with INNER TRAVEL than it does simply taking a new route back to the parking garage. Each person is a GIFT waiting to be enjoyed. . . to be see . . . to be heard . . . to be laughed with.

Today at lunch a friend from California shared how she wanted a house where people from around the world could come and dine together — share ideas — open their hearts to each other. She wants it kid friendly so people can come with their families. She can SEE just what it looks like. She is believing that YOU are in this. I believe it too. How good it was to hear her heart! It was as if she walked me into her heart to look and see what she saw — to travel her inner paths with her. Ah, God! Thank you! This is the very best kind of travel!

Posted in inner paths of the heart, people as gifts

The Face of Hope and Africa Works

Posted on March 2, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A farmer in Mozambique with her first bean crop

Good Morning, God,

This woman is so happy! When I took the photo I thought it was just because she was harvesting her first bean crop — on land that Africa Works had irrigated.

But I’ve just heard a talk by Samuel Grottis the founder of Africa Works — and now I understand. She is smiling because she has a future!

I didn’t understand the current reality of rural life at ALL! I didn’t know that with dry land farming she might harvest a crop once every 2 years — a low yield crop from stunted plants. Understanding takes information AND time to digest it, doesn’t it God.

Her village of around 500 people had gone to Africa Works and gotten an infrastructure loan — and are now pumping water up from the Limpopo River onto their fields. Her first crop was harvested in just 5 months.

Now she has FOOD SECURITY! She and her family will not go hungry. She will sell enough beans to pay back the loan for the seed and fertilizer and some toward the infrastructure loan and some into her savings. Africa Works provides technical assistants — local people who teach and explain what it takes to do commercial farming. Africa Works helps with the marketing as well as setting things up. When the loan is repaid, Africa Works will use it to help other farmers.

Winnowing beans the old way -- letting the chaff blow away

This village was told that the land could “support” 50 families. They talked together and came back and told Africa Works — we want to share with others in our village — let’s cut the plot size in half and have 100 families farm it. And that is what they did. Caring for one another is built into us, isn’t God.

Caring for the land — Mother Earth — was part of traditional cultures. Ah, but then Enter Civilization stage left.

Stewards — You made us stewards over the land — caretakers and caregivers. Help us, God to see that helping farmers make a living — is far better than sending them off to the cities for jobs that aren’t there — not yet — maybe never.

Thank you for Samuel Grottis and Africa Works. I think this might be YOUR CURRENT BEST PLAN FOR ELIMINATING POVERTY.

Posted in a hand up, Africa Works, helping farmers, Self sufficiency