**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
Community
is messy. It's full of mistakes, hurts, forgiveness, reconciliation. Rich
community includes ups/downs, rights/wrongs. It includes what it is to be
human, and for Christians, humans trying to follow Christ.
Clean Community … what an oxymoron! I do not think such a thing exists!
I love community but hate the messiness of it. Stepping on toes, hurting
someone, being hurt, misunderstandings, weariness, false expectations,
disappointments, etc. So community is anything but clean and it is utterly
messy.
In this beautiful mess is life, a rich life, a life lived with others and with
God. There is opportunity for reconciliation and redemption. Community is not
clean but often it is so worth it. In exchange for the messes we get meaning,
depth and authentic relationships. In exchange for messes we receive grace and
we offer grace.
May you embrace the messiness of community today.
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
Showing posts with label relationship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label relationship. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Holding Back
**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
Are you afraid of God? Is there something that you are holding back?
Maybe there is an area of sadness, or maybe there is a sin you are not letting Him touch and heal. Sometimes we are afraid of God. We are afraid of being honest with Him. Sometimes the fear comes because we are not ready to be honest with ourselves.
Fearing Him this way we draw back. We draw back from relationship with Him. Fortunately He is consistently seeking us out. He wants relationship with us, He wants to heal us. He pursues relationship with us and invites us in.
If you are holding back, will you consider trusting God? Spend some time talking to God with the greatest honesty possible. He loves you.
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
Are you afraid of God? Is there something that you are holding back?
Maybe there is an area of sadness, or maybe there is a sin you are not letting Him touch and heal. Sometimes we are afraid of God. We are afraid of being honest with Him. Sometimes the fear comes because we are not ready to be honest with ourselves.
Fearing Him this way we draw back. We draw back from relationship with Him. Fortunately He is consistently seeking us out. He wants relationship with us, He wants to heal us. He pursues relationship with us and invites us in.
If you are holding back, will you consider trusting God? Spend some time talking to God with the greatest honesty possible. He loves you.
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Return to Relationship
**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
God continues to call me into deeper relationship. He calls me into deeper relationship with him and with others. He calls me into deeper relationship with those whom I have hurt and have hurt me.
After forgiveness and reconciliation sometimes (not always) God calls us back into relationship. He calls us back into relationship and is not satisfied with just reconciliation.
Our relationship with God was broken, He provided the forgiveness and forgiver and now we get to be back in relationship with him. God’s story is not just about reconciliation but it is also about relationship.
How will you enter into deeper relationship with God? Is God calling you to return to relationship with another?
(Note: returning to relationship sometimes is not possible and could be dangerous … use wisdom, discernment, prayer and godly counsel)
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
God continues to call me into deeper relationship. He calls me into deeper relationship with him and with others. He calls me into deeper relationship with those whom I have hurt and have hurt me.
After forgiveness and reconciliation sometimes (not always) God calls us back into relationship. He calls us back into relationship and is not satisfied with just reconciliation.
Our relationship with God was broken, He provided the forgiveness and forgiver and now we get to be back in relationship with him. God’s story is not just about reconciliation but it is also about relationship.
How will you enter into deeper relationship with God? Is God calling you to return to relationship with another?
(Note: returning to relationship sometimes is not possible and could be dangerous … use wisdom, discernment, prayer and godly counsel)
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Continual Communion
**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
Whether you are changing the world or changing diapers, your life is sacred when lived in continual communion with God. Whether you are working on your doctorate or working with those with disabilities, your life is sacred when lived in continual communion with God.
The point is not what you are doing but Who you are doing it with.
Whatever the day holds forth today, when it is lived with God, it is sacred and of great value and worth. It is about Who you are with, not what you are doing.
Do you see Him with you?
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
“The call to live in continual
communion with God means that every person’s life, no matter how mundane, is
elevated to sacred heights.”
- With by Skye Jethani
Whether rich or poor,
whether educated or uneducated, whether mobile or not, your life is sacred.
When you are in relationship with God, your life is sacred.- With by Skye Jethani
Whether you are changing the world or changing diapers, your life is sacred when lived in continual communion with God. Whether you are working on your doctorate or working with those with disabilities, your life is sacred when lived in continual communion with God.
The point is not what you are doing but Who you are doing it with.
Whatever the day holds forth today, when it is lived with God, it is sacred and of great value and worth. It is about Who you are with, not what you are doing.
Do you see Him with you?
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Transition
**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
In times of transition we want to grasp desperately onto anything that is consistent, dependable. We desire security, knowing what the future will hold. We want to be settled when life is incredibly unsettling. Our reality has been rocked and we are unsure what reality will be. Times of transition offer us very few “knowns” and in our desperation we try to create “knowns” (or at least pretend they are there in order to comfort ourselves). We want some semblance of “normal”, and transition offers us nothing.
In the midst of the gray and the fog we have an unmovable, unchanging, always dependable God. We have a God who desires for us to draw near in relationship with Him. He desires to hear our concerns, worries, our hearts and our minds. He desires for us to bring our whole selves to Him and to settle there, to settle in relationship with Him. We settle into relationship rather than circumstance and we settle into a personal God rather than an answer.
Are you in transition? How will you be real with God and bring your whole self to Him?
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
In times of transition we want to grasp desperately onto anything that is consistent, dependable. We desire security, knowing what the future will hold. We want to be settled when life is incredibly unsettling. Our reality has been rocked and we are unsure what reality will be. Times of transition offer us very few “knowns” and in our desperation we try to create “knowns” (or at least pretend they are there in order to comfort ourselves). We want some semblance of “normal”, and transition offers us nothing.
In the midst of the gray and the fog we have an unmovable, unchanging, always dependable God. We have a God who desires for us to draw near in relationship with Him. He desires to hear our concerns, worries, our hearts and our minds. He desires for us to bring our whole selves to Him and to settle there, to settle in relationship with Him. We settle into relationship rather than circumstance and we settle into a personal God rather than an answer.
Are you in transition? How will you be real with God and bring your whole self to Him?
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
Monday, May 27, 2013
Making Sense of It All
**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
So many times I want to ask God, “What in the world is going on?” I read stories in Scripture and I am led to ask God, “What the (fill in expletive)? I see stories pop up on my newsfeed, in the news. I live the stories with friends, family and personally. I can make no sense out of what is happening. No logic is good enough and no reasons make it worthy. There is no sense to be made.
I want to make sense of it all because for some reason I believe answers will satisfy. If only I could know why then everything would be okay. But that’s the thing, even if we knew why I do not think that pain, suffering and death would be okay. Even if I knew the specifics of full redemption coming in ALL things, would I be okay with sin, destruction and evil. These things are not okay and there is no “sense” that will satisfy.
So I am left to trust. I am left to trust God our merciful and just Father, Jesus who suffered, died and was resurrected and the Holy Spirit who is far more powerful than I give any credit for. This trust is not based on answers but on relationship. Trust is based on relationship with God and as my relationship grows my trust grows.
How will you trust God when nothing makes sense? How can you grow in relationship with Him?
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
So many times I want to ask God, “What in the world is going on?” I read stories in Scripture and I am led to ask God, “What the (fill in expletive)? I see stories pop up on my newsfeed, in the news. I live the stories with friends, family and personally. I can make no sense out of what is happening. No logic is good enough and no reasons make it worthy. There is no sense to be made.
I want to make sense of it all because for some reason I believe answers will satisfy. If only I could know why then everything would be okay. But that’s the thing, even if we knew why I do not think that pain, suffering and death would be okay. Even if I knew the specifics of full redemption coming in ALL things, would I be okay with sin, destruction and evil. These things are not okay and there is no “sense” that will satisfy.
So I am left to trust. I am left to trust God our merciful and just Father, Jesus who suffered, died and was resurrected and the Holy Spirit who is far more powerful than I give any credit for. This trust is not based on answers but on relationship. Trust is based on relationship with God and as my relationship grows my trust grows.
How will you trust God when nothing makes sense? How can you grow in relationship with Him?
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
Friday, May 24, 2013
With God
**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
My children are such great instructors in being with people. There do not have a grand agenda, a plan or step by step instructions for being together, they just want to be with me. Sure they have their preferences but really they invite me to be with them, to share life with them, to play and connect in relationship.
God longs for us to live life with Him. To slow down and be with Him. A lesson does not need to be learned or a task accomplished. He desires relationship and relationship involves being with Him. The invitation is always open to join Him and be with Him.
How will you spend time with God today?
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
My children are such great instructors in being with people. There do not have a grand agenda, a plan or step by step instructions for being together, they just want to be with me. Sure they have their preferences but really they invite me to be with them, to share life with them, to play and connect in relationship.
God longs for us to live life with Him. To slow down and be with Him. A lesson does not need to be learned or a task accomplished. He desires relationship and relationship involves being with Him. The invitation is always open to join Him and be with Him.
How will you spend time with God today?
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**
Friday, March 8, 2013
Trusting a Stranger
**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
“We need to know Him … To be blunt, life is simply too demanding and
overwhelming at times to think I can manage without knowing the one who rules
the winds and waves that batter my little vessel. We ask too much of ourselves
to try and trust a stranger.” – When Life and Beliefs Collide, Carolyn Custis James
Do you trust strangers? Do you live each day entrusting strangers to the things you love most dearly? Do you live sharing your deepest self with those whom you do not know? Sounds crazy, right?
This is why I wanted to share the thought above with you. I love what Carolyn says about needing to know God. We often come to God when life is crazy, painful and we are raw and we wonder why we have trouble trusting Him … often God has been a stranger and we did not even realize it.
We have not really gotten to know God. We have not gotten to know God when life is good, the sun is shining brightly and our hope is great. It is during these times that we often forget about God and we lose sight of who He is until we need Him. We then come to Him and He seems far off and at a distance. One reason might be because He has become or might still be a stranger.
How can you get to know Him better today? It what way can you connect with Him? Wherever you are in relationship with Him, continue to get to know Him.
PS A great to begin is reading the Bible and talking with Him. Start at John 1 in the Bible.
**Sit again for as long as is available to you.**
Do you trust strangers? Do you live each day entrusting strangers to the things you love most dearly? Do you live sharing your deepest self with those whom you do not know? Sounds crazy, right?
This is why I wanted to share the thought above with you. I love what Carolyn says about needing to know God. We often come to God when life is crazy, painful and we are raw and we wonder why we have trouble trusting Him … often God has been a stranger and we did not even realize it.
We have not really gotten to know God. We have not gotten to know God when life is good, the sun is shining brightly and our hope is great. It is during these times that we often forget about God and we lose sight of who He is until we need Him. We then come to Him and He seems far off and at a distance. One reason might be because He has become or might still be a stranger.
How can you get to know Him better today? It what way can you connect with Him? Wherever you are in relationship with Him, continue to get to know Him.
PS A great to begin is reading the Bible and talking with Him. Start at John 1 in the Bible.
**Sit again for as long as is available to you.**
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