We are imperfect vessels
For God's love
We cannot encompass it
We cannot hold it
It leaks out
And we lose it
So pour it out
And share it
Be constantly emptying yourself of God's love
And God will keep filling you up
And will live within you
As a constantly flowing spring of living water
That will never ever run dry
What good are leaky, broken vessels?
They are the perfect place to put the love you want the world to share.
My shepherd is the Lord
For nothing shall I want
In pastures green I rest
From waters still I drink
My soul my God restores
In fear God gives me strength
When lost God leads me home
And keeps me as God's own
God names me as his child
My sins for me forgives
With oil anoints my head
And sees to all my needs
My home is with the Lord
With God I'll always be
In joy God leads me out
With love God leads me home
In dark I have no fear
In trouble I have peace
In God I put my trust
For God is always near
In faith I have my life
and rise when life is done
The Lord keeps me each day
In life eternaly
Inspired by The 23rd Psalm.
Peace to you;
LE
Bless our Maker
Bless our Caretaker
Forgive our sin
Forgive we the sinner
Feed us what we need
Lead us in your love
Guide us in right
Guide us with might
Guide us with your light
Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple,
Who have faith in God and Nature,
Who believe that in all ages Every human heart is human,
That in even savage bosoms
There are longings, yearnings, strivings
For the good they comprehend not,
That the feeble hands and helpless,
Groping blindly in the darkness,
Touch God's right hand in that darkness
And are lifted up and strengthened
(Hiawatha; by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1856 )
Praying nightly
Praying forthrightly
Sharing fully
Seeking carefully
Caring for each kind
Caring for each one
Always loving
Always caring
Anger forbearing
In our dreams we oft can tell;
What from heaven, what from hell;
But in a cloud we have our days;
And oft should curse what garners praise;
Fair is foul and foul is fair;
Lies and half-truths cloud the air.
This world so fickle and so oft wrong;
Honors the glib, the fake, the strong;
Honors false over the true;
Honors words, not those who do.
If we find honors at our feet,
Perhaps we'd best be in retreat;
And seeing people raised up high;
On piles of honors, to the sky;
Hope not that they might fall this day;
But stand well clear and well away.
Tho' honor's given where it should not;
Yet we can judge by what is wrought:
And by their fruit do judge them still-
Doing wrong or naught, then find them ill.
Let God's commandments be your guide;
Mark them well -mark them inside:
Love the Lord and love your foe;
And often to your neighbors go:
And bring them gifts and help in need;
And be to them good friends indeed.
Worship not nor be obsessed
With this world; In God be blessed.
Nor worship any man-made lie.
Worship not the earth or sky;
Don't worship spirits of the air;
They cannot save nor do they care.
Don't make God's name a joke or worse,
Don't use God's name within a curse.
Do six days work, take one day rest;
Give it to heaven- you will be blest.
And let your helpers all rest too;
It is the Godly thing to do.
To your parents give your care;
See they can eat, have clothes to wear;
And give some mind to what they say;
You may be just like them someday.
Do not kill your fellow man;
But seek to save; do what you can.
Don't want or take what is not yours;
But work for that your heart adores.
And as this sin causes so much pain,
Let me emphasize again:
Take not from others save what they share;
Lest you cause them pain and care;
God will hear their suffering call;
May judge you ill, may let you fall.
And if you have ill gotten gain;
Pay it back, and twice again.
God will bless you and forgive;
And in your house the Lord will live.
Do not take another's spouse;
You'll bring a curse down on your house.
Honor your spouse, treat with great care;
Those who love you, and with them share.
Say nothing false, but what is true;
And give your lips a rest or two.
Seek out the good things you can do;
Treating others as they were you.
Keep these precepts in your heart;
If you'd be blessed, they're a good start.
Peace
LE
Sometime about half a century ago, a mathematician proved that for any mathematical system, there will be some problems that cannot be solved, which can be solved by other mathematical systems.
Isn't that remarkable? By extension, any one way of thinking will have areas it cannot address well - that require other approaches.
And further; the world is not comprehensible to any one way of thinking.
And any one theology will similarly have certain flaws that only others can address.
And I wonder if this is not another reason for the strange plurality of the Godhead, and the very different character of its elements: Spirit, God and Son. Because perhaps the one solution to our often troubled world requires more than one approach:
A creative force; our parent who calls us to be and grow.
A redemptive force; our friend and brother who challenges us to be true and intervenes with and for us, who shares our humanity.
A supportive force; a spirit that whispers in our ear and fills our hearts with love, guiding us back to God
No one approach could suffice, and perhaps no two was yet enough. To truly love the world in the all encompassing way, three were needed.
And if God IS love, perhaps it is useful to consider the Trinity in terms of love;
Parental Love,
Fraternal Love,
....and Passion
Filled with the threefold love of God, may we be wise in our own lives to see when new approaches are needed, hear when others point out our blindness, and act in God's will.
-Peace and Love to you in the Trinitarian God of Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit, and God our Parent,
LE
This is a reprise of one of my favorite posts (originally posted here), while I am mulling a variety of things including faith, the Trinity, completeness, flawed realities and the like. Enjoy!
A Worn Courderoy Kind of Life:
I was traveling back to New Jersey from the New York City area late this evening, and as I came across the George Washington Bridge, along route 95 and then 80, it struck me that somehow this bit of road was a bit like a worn old pair of corduroys.
Worn smooth in some places, patched in others;
Comfortably out of style, with its pink and green Marcal Paper Products sign, and its cylindrical Holiday Inn.
And comfortable in how many times it has taken me home, along with thousands and millions of others, rolling home, year after year, to lives that changed radically over time.
As if to rub it in, the radio started playing Chuck Mangione’s “Give it All you Got” from, what was it? 1970-something. Remember those Olympics? Lake Placid? Long time ago now.
My life is like that. Patched, worn smooth in places. Holes in it where it doesn’t really work right anymore, where you can see layers of something that came before underneath. Funny, half-remembered bits and preserved things that don't really make sense anymore patched in or poking through.
Probably your life is like this too, and if it isn’t, it probably will be.
That is one of the wonderful things about life though, like corduroys and asphalt, it takes patching well, and can take you to places you never imagined, while staying kind of plain and ordinary every step of the way.
May you all, when you look at your life, see it as less worn out, and more worn in, broken in, and comfortable, and may you find many friends and angels among your fellow travelers, friends who appreciate a comfortable old corduroy kind of a life.
Peace,
LE
As of today, this blog swept past two thousand visitors.
Not so long ago, on July 14th , it hit one thousand,
And I posted a poem to commemorate the event, which poem I update below.
I promise, I'll wait till at least FIVE thousand before I make any more fuss.
p.s. I do see that lots of you are coming here wondering about your dreams and visions, and I do have a post that discusses discerning about the dreams, signs, visions and the like you have here, and I will be posting more on that subject. Please also feel free to post as comments dreams that you have, and I will share the ones that inspire me as blog entries. Do also feel free to share any comments, prayer requests, or other requests that you have.
...And thank you for dropping by, all two thousands of you. See, there was plenty of room after all...
That's Still Nuttin:
Two thousand folks came knocking
Two thousand at the door
Two thousand people searching
Two thousand, and now more
Two thousand hidden smiles
Two thousand who came by
Two thousand from all countries
Two thousand who drew nigh
Two thousand quiet moments
Two thousand friends to tea
Two thousand 'I understand's
Two thousand friends for me
Two thousand people questing
Two thousand asking why
Two thousand gleaming stars
Two thousand in the sky
Two thousand cups of coffee
Two thousand bits of toast
Two thousand hands held in comfort
Two thousand times a host
Two thousand questions answered
Two thousand, more or less
Two thousand joined in prayer
Two thousand joined to bless
Two thousand is so little
Two thousand is so small
Two thousand is not many
I have space for one and all
So come in off the doorstep
Come in, come through the door
Come into my guest room
There's room for many more
Thanks to each of you for coming
I'm sad when your visits end
And please do come back often
And please do bring a friend
I'll be waiting by the doorstep
I'll have the kettle on for tea
Come by whenever you want to
And spend more time with me
-LE
You are not yet so joyful as I mean you to be!
So Live-
And live in joy!
And share your joy and love with those you meet-
Be not dauted;
but daunt with love-
Let your heart expand;
Let your love flow;
And live in joy-
Mourn no more;
And regrets leave behind-
But share and give;
And love;
And live!
Let your blood flow;
And let your love grow-
And all you are;
And all you can be;
And all you are with;
Give
And Give;
And Give;
And Give!!!
Be not single and small
But Live
And Live;
And Live;
And Live!!!
For living is about giving;
And giving is about living;
And loving is about living;
And loving is avout giving;
So Give;
And Love;
And Love;
And Live!!!
Joy!
“A hero is someone doing extraordinary things, what I did was not extraordinary. It was a normal thing to do.” - Irena Sendler
Irena, risked her life, and suffered much torment to rescue 2,500 children from the Nazis. But in her eyes, her risk, torture, and soic self-sacrifice were just 'normal' things to do.
May we all be such people, that risking our lives and suffering for our neighbors is merely a 'normal' thing to do.
But if it is not normal to love so much, then let us be extra-ordinary, and may God bless us with the courage, the energy, and the strength to change the world such that the extrordinary becomes normal.
Peace,
LE
Note: In case you haven't seen, 'virtual' hugs are signified electronically with parenthesis of various sorts: So if I think 'Tom' needs a hug, I might post the following as a response to him in a blog or message:
{{{Tom}}} or (((Tom))).
More parens apparently mean tighter or longer hugs. I bet there is even a whole systematics of meaning for different numbers and types of parentheses.
Well, the whole thing bothers me - it seems fake, distant, and makes me feel like us hairless apes with keyboards are substituting virtual, safe, distant friends for real, close, messy and troublesome friends. Add to that the fact that we tend not to hug people anymore in real life (too likely to be 'bad touch' perhaps). All of which seems in a direction away from goodness...
So without further ado, I bring you:
"Locust Eater: Against Virtual Hugs"
Parenthesis upon a screen
Aren't extra nice,
nor are they mean;
Don't warm you up
Don't make you frown
Won't cheer you up
Won't make you down
Don't bump your glass
Don't muss your hair
Don't grab your ass
Don't make you glare
Don't squeeze you tight
Or hold you wide
Don't light a fire
In your inside
Can't pass a germ
Or make you love
Less warm than handshakes
Wearing gloves
Like fake kisses in the air;
Closeness, they say, we do not dare
I s'pose they're nicer than a sneer,
But I'd prefer...
...you drank my beer
And spilled the stew
Stepped on my foot
Played pranks with glue
Made a stink and stole my watch
Poured some ink onto my crotch
Burned the toast
Drank up the milk
Ate the whole roast
And stained my silk
Threw up on my bedroom floor
Bashed a big hole in the door
Woke me up at half past three
Made me laugh so hard I peed
Kicked my cat, then broke a chair, Ruined my hat -I'd know you're there.
No, hugs of text don't satisfy;
Hug someone real, who is nearby.
...If you come by and ask, I'll ACTUALLY hug you...
-LE
Indian Summer is upon us, that bonus of warm, even hot days that comes in October, when we somehow were expecting cool and fall.
The colors of the season are gold and brown and red, golden grasses sweeping the air with their leaves and grain, and golden and green sweet barley grasses drooping over from the weight of their fruit.
The fruit of the barberry bush is not yet ripe-a pale yellow, and the wild rose is peppered with small colorful red and yellow hips.
Red decorates the ends of the maple branches, and a plump grey and black bird flutters about, harvesting bluish berries from the five-leafed vines that are dangling from the branches.
The cattails are past, most all of them disintegrating into seedy fluff, with their stalks gone to yellow.
the spring lambs-ears are now dark brown stalks, dry as kindling, but in the shade, fall lambs-ears are green and alive, their leaves spread as wide around as dinner-plates. I wonder if they are growing out-of season and frost will kill them, if their fuzz and closeness to the ground will protect them, if they are gathering energy for next year, or if they will manage yet to put up a flower stalk in the temperate weeks that remain.
The Queen Anne's lace is totally gone past, all brown, with its flower-heads converted into little light brown cups of hairy seeds.
The raspberries are ending their year too - their bright green leaves edged with reddish brown to compliment their thorny red canes.
Some vestiges of summer remain, though - constellations of white, yellow and purple wildflowers dot the grassy banks, and white, yellow and reddish butterflies make their final rounds.
Soon the cool, then cold rains will fall, and then ice and snow, and only the hardiest will show green or move about.
But for now it has been a good year, harvests of nuts and seeds gathered and lardered up, fat layered on for the cold months, tubers grown, and sweet sap and starch stored away in roots.
Perhaps, as our world surveys it's larder this fall, in the midst of plenty, we should likewise survey our larders, both physical and spiritual.
Do we have enough? Can we make it for a few hard months? How about our neighbors? Can they stand a cold season? A hard season? How about our families?
How about our spirit? Do we strive to live up to our faith, caring for all, and walking with God? And if we are satisfied with all of these questions, can we reach farther, seeking to share knowledge, do justice, create opportunity, and bring light to dark places?
These things build for us a larder in heaven, one which will never run out and cannot be spoiled, a harvest that is truly, finally and safely gathered in.
May you celebrate thankfully a fruitful and blessed year.
LE
2000 years ago
In a small, tribal province that was ruled by Rome
The son of a carpenter's wife
Began preaching and healing people
He did amazing miracles
And claimed to be God's Son
He made the lame walk
He opened the ears of the deaf
He opened the eyes of the blind
He gave the disabled back their hands
He cleansed those stricken with horrible illnesses and made them well
He gave people back their minds
He restored our souls
He instructed us to love our neighbor as ourselves
And we nailed him to a tree
Dying, he forgave us
We closed his body in a stone tomb
Three days later we found the tomb empty
He appeared to our women
He met us as we mourned and turned our hearts around
He appeared in closed rooms
He appeared to many
We touched him and ate with him
He departed from us again and sent his spirit to guide us
Since then, for those of us who believe, nothing has been the same
There is much to do to prepare
We must learn to love
Let us begin
Why do some;
Shun you when you try to share your plenty with them?
Exclude you when you try to include?
Hate you in your efforts to help?
Return evil for Good?
One reason is that they need you to hate them.
They need you to be evil, angry, to be against them.
Their worldview does not allow for someone like you to be;
Nice,
Friend,
Partner,
Helper,
Companion,
Good,
Pleasant...
And the nicer you are, the more painful the dissonance between how they must see you and reality.
You can't be nicer than their grandma, their family, their spouse, their circle of friends. Your 'goodness' must be a lie, a scam, to lull their alertness, dull their senses so you can take advantage of them. They want no part of that, and need to strike out at you, make you stop, put you back into a steriotype that they can understand.
Don't make it easy for them by hating and excluding them back. It is hard work, but keep them on the spot as much as you can: be nice, be vulnerable, be weak.
Maybe, just maybe, they might start asking questions and come to different conclusions. They might change.
It has happened before.
Let us pray for opened eyes all around.
P.S. I myself am pretty lousy at this
In my dream we were planning the funeral of a good friend, someone we loved a lot.
We were just getting started, gathering around a large table.
Family and friends were there, and around the table there were several who did not feel wlecome, or worthy to sit, and we were encouraging them to do so.
There was room for all.
And once we settled, and had started discussing, we realized a funny man was behind us...
...painting huge Easter eggs on the picture window that was there.
Even funnier, he didn't paint from his imagination, which you might think he would with such a simple subject. Instead, he had a friend who was arranging and holding large colorful Easter eggs so that he could paint them 'from life', draping fabric about them, and positioning them just so.
We talked about the two of them, and thought they were just a bit crazy.
But upon waking, I am not so sure.
In your times of mourning may you find moments of outrageous Easter.
LE
Shirley Guthrie on the one-ness of the Trinity from Christian Doctrine
[...] The doctrine of the Trinity means that the will and action of God the Son in our behalf are not opposed to the will and action of God the Father; they are the Father's will and action. Christ does not change the attitude of God towards [sinful humanity]; Christ is the deepest expression of God's desire to be with and for us. If Jesus is the friend of sinners, then so is God. If God the Son takes the consequences of our sins on himself in self-giving, suffering love, then that is what God the Father does too.
