Thanksgiving Reflections

 

Some reflections on Thanksgiving … This year has brought so many challenges upon us. We have struggled. We have laughed. We have cried. We have embraced. We have rolled our eyes. We have marveled at how bizarre God seems. It has been an incredible journey. It has been an incredibly difficult journey at times. It has been an incredibly rewarding journey–even if we don’t yet see the results. We trust by faith that God would not lead us somewhere where His grace and provision would not abound.

And, whether we see it or not. Whether we appreciate it or not. Whether we understand it or not. God has not left us; He has not forsaken us; He is still–very actively, very presently–working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And that is worth giving thanks for.

I have every right to be Thankful. I have every right to enjoy a moment of reflection. It has been a interesting year for me, and I have survived, even thrived at times. In fact, I think I have survived well.

I have earned my pumpkin pie this year. (Don’t tell my Doctor! lol) I plan on enjoying every last bite of it, too … With lots of whipped cream! I hope you do, also. I hope that your heart is found in a spirit of Thankfulness. May we never forget all that Christ has accomplished for us. May we never cease to give thanks unto Him.

May God bless us with grace and peace, and mercy for those who are less fortunate than us.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends. Have a most blessed day!

 

Tim

People of Walmart

www.peopleofwalmart.com

I’ve checked out this site and have been shocked, appalled … and a little tickled. You know you’ve heard of it or have visited it. So here are my questions: Is this the right thing to do? Should we publicly shame people for distasteful attire? Is this nothing more than class warfare? Any thoughts?

Hidden Rooms

Hidden Rooms

 

The worn keyhole invites with faith’s bright promise,
But keyless hands have soiled the ancient door.
No admission, despite my pleading words.
Entry denied, against my angry fists.

Then submission bows and the door opens wide,
As boundless grace reveals the warm refuge.
Love’s obedience guides to calm communion
With God, my brothers and sisters, and self.

More hidden rooms whisper, “My child, come inside”.
As unlocked doors illuminate my soul.

 

~Chartreuse Ova

Wile E Coyote ~ On to plan B …

 

When I was a child, I used to sit for hours and watch Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show. In fact I have a couple DVD’s now for the ‘kids’! lol Of course I was always curious about why Wile E. Coyote kept trying to catch the Road Runner when he always failed. And of course I always wanted him to get that annoying bird! And I think I may have an answer of why he kept at it … We live in a plan “B” world!

Plan “A” is what we want; what WE plan; our goals; our desires. Plan “A” is all about us, like the coyote was all about getting the Road Runner. We stress and obsess over our plans, giving not much regard for plan “B” possibilities. Plan “B” is what God’s reality is for our lives. True, plan “B” can be painful and it can be unpleasant, but we were never guaranteed an easy ride through this life. Jesus tells us that we WILL have troubles, but don’t worry … He has given us exactly what we need to overcome the trials and troubles.

Now that I’m older I know that sometimes Plan “B” requires that we learn a lesson, sometimes it’s just a matter of getting our eyes off of our wants. I also find the greatest joys I have had include (David Crowder Quote) “A Beautiful Collision”. That’s the point in which God’s will for my life and my hearts truest desire collide. God’s plan for my life has turned out WAY better than the measly plans I thought up! We worry and stress too much! But we are commanded in Scripture to turn all our anxieties over to God and let Him worry for us (1 Peter 5:6-7). I’m all in favor of “letting go and let God” because I manage to botch things up every time without even trying!

So the moral of this story? Want less stress? Turn it over to God and TURN LOOSE, you’re going to need both hands for this adventure ride!

The Hunger

We hunger to be known and understood. We hunger to be loved. We hunger to be at peace inside our own skins. We hunger not just to be fed these things but, often without realizing it, we hunger to feed others these things because they too are starving for them. We hunger not just to be loved but to love, not just to be forgiven but to forgive, not just to be known and understood for all the good times and bad times that for better for worse have made us who we are, but to know and understand each other to the same point of seeing that, in the last analysis, we all have the same good times, the same bad times, and that for that very reason there is no such thing in all the world as anyone who is really a stranger.

Frederick Buechner
from Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons

 

enlightened by its radiance

The ennobling power of love

 

When a human heart is set on fire with love, the entire human being is enlightened by its radiance. All extraneous things step back to the background, and a soul can completely, sometimes even ecstatically, plunge into contemplation of the beloved one. Even the most dry and boring people change when they fall in love, their soul softening and becoming bright, as if having wings. For other people a person who is loved by someone does not seem to be any better or more handsome than others, but for the lover he or she is the only one, the incomparable and the irreplaceable. This is the idealization that is so often described in literature. It means that through an external cover, we, in light of love, see the ideal side of the loved one which is hidden from others. It is present in every human being, as an image of God, not noticeable, and very often suppressed by the external shell, by appearance or “character,” which is always something secondary, and not representing the “essence.”

All the power of love consists in the fact that through love we are as though touching upon the internal beauty of a human being. We cannot leave the person … we would like to be joined with the loved one forever. A soul that has experienced those feelings even once will preserve memories about their transforming and creative power for the rest of its life.

It is exactly in the rushes of love that a soul experiences a deep need to come out of the boundaries of its own personality in order to be united with a loved one. The need for love witnesses that it is impossible to retire into oneself, all the natural limits of individuality are overcome in love, and its shell is torn apart. That is why in the rushes of love a human being starts to be burdened by himself: to retire into oneself, in the light of love, means to condemn oneself to loneliness, to find oneself in a metaphysical emptiness. That is why our soul is tirelessly looking for somebody to love in order to find a point of rest and a purpose for existence.

The power of poetic imagination that is so characteristic for young love, through which we idealize a loved one, is not some play of fantasy. On the contrary, it reveals a deep thirst for a spiritual and absolute life.

 

~Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

 

There is so much in these paragraphs that resound deeply within my soul I can’t really summarize it!

 

Tim

How Daring Are You?

Here’s a quiz to determine how “daring” we all are. Now we shall see how many will actually dare to take the quiz AND post their results! lol

 

Here is the link:

 

Click here: Blogthings – How Daring Are You?

 

My result:

 

 

 

But are you daring? Not usually.
You tend to make calculated risks.
So while you may not be base jumping any time soon…
You are up for whatever is new and (a little) exciting!

Alrighty then … onward …

 

 

 

What’s in the Box?

 

Can you believe this? Let’s make a deal for Jesus? Something about this just doesn’t sit right with me …

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-church-cashnov02,0,5901781.story

 

If a lucky — or “blessed and highly favored” — churchgoer is in the right seat, they can also receive a cash prize.At each of the three Sunday services, the Rev. Dan Willis pulls a number of one seat from a bag and the worshiper in that seat wins a cash prize. Two of the churchgoers win $250 and the third gets $500. The church gives away $1,000 each Sunday, Willis said.

The cash prize is part of Willis’ recent focus on helping his congregation pay bills and begin a debt-free life, he said.

 

Ummmmm … Any thoughts?

 

In Alsip, the Rev. Dan Willis holds a box with cash that he gives to lucky worshipers at his services. (Tribune photo by Zbigniew Bzdak / October 28, 2009)

Prayer Positions

A joke I can relate to … lol

 

Three preachers sat discussing the best positions for prayer while a telephone repairman worked nearby.  

“Kneeling is definitely best,” claimed one.  

“No,” another contended.  “I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched to Heaven.”  

“You’re both wrong,” the third insisted. “The most effective prayer position is lying prostrate, face down on the floor.”  

The repairman could contain himself no longer.  “Fellas,” he interrupted, “the best prayin’ I ever did was hangin’ upside down from a telephone pole.”

Never argue with an idiot …

 

OK, This is not the most uplifting thing I’ve ever posted, but there is truth to it isn’t there? lol

“Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”

~Author Unknown