Prayer of Thomas Merton

As I was looking at Lindsay's blog, I found this prayer by Thomas Merton. How power the words are! A realization, like I often have, that I want to be following God's will, I believe I am following God's will, but in reality, only God knows if I am. I find comfort in Merton's last words of trust that God is always with me and will never leave me to face my perils alone. How do you see your relationship with Christ? Is it one of confidence, arrogance, assurance, doubt, uncertainty? I believe a humble relationship is a good place to start and grow. Humble in the sense of placing God in the center of our lives and allowing ourselves to follow one whom we cannot see, touch, hear, taste, but is always there in ways that we can't even begin to comprehend.

Prayer of Thomas Merton
My Lord God I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that my desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are every with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Lindsay's favorite quotes and pictures

Over the years I have made many wonderful friends through worship. I can't remember the exact year that it happened, but I met two of those friends. They were from NJ and were up visiting a grandson, daughter, and husband. Each year they journey to Maine for a period of time. Maybe I get to see them for a couple of weeks or maybe just for a visit. But like the sun, they are faithful and will always make an appearance when in the area. Their names are Lindsay and Sue. Lindsay just recently wrote to tell me that at 76 (almost 77) he was going to start a blog that mixed quotes, scripture, and photos he has collected over the years. I invite you to check it out and to support his ministry of words and wonders!

What do you think?

We get images and pictures of God's presence in tragedies and miracles. Here is another. As we look at God holding up the plane, how do we see those same strong hands supporting us in life threatening events? Do we acknowledge that it is God who holds us up when we can't stand, keeps us warm when we are chivering from the cold of the world, keeps us comfortable when we find life uncomfortable? As I looked at the picture, and as I remembered the live images of the people standing on the wings, it did appear that somehow they were being held up. Now if I can just remember that in my life when something shuts down my engines and I think I'm going to crash. God gave "Sully" the experience, wisdom, and ability to land the plane where it would do the least harm and save the most folks, why don't we remain calm and believe that God will do the same in our lives? Something to think about...Did I mention I am flying out of JFK next week???

A Prayer for a New President and a New America

In the January issue of "Sojourners" there are prayers for the new president. As I was reading through them I found one by Shane Claiborne that really struck home. It is a prayer of confession and hope. There are many others who wrote prayers and letters to the new president but this one stood out for me and where I am. Let me know what you think...

God of love, grace, and hope, thank you for creating a perfect world. Forgive us for the mess we have made of it. Forgive us for the groaning of creation, for the millions who die of hunger and curable diseases, for warehousing people in prisons and using them for labor, for the scandal of billions wasted in war, for an economy that mirrors the seven deadly sins, for the violence and greed in our own hearts. Save us from ourselves.
Give us the courage to bless the poor in a world that blesses the middle class, to bless the meek in a world that admires aggression, to bless the hungry in a world that feeds the already fed, to bless the merciful in a world that shows no mercy on evildoers, to bless the pure in heart in a world of clutter and noise, to bless the peacemakers in a world that baptizes bombs.
Give us imagination that we might not conform to the patterns of this world, that we might shatter indifference and interrupt injustice with grace, that we might choose the cross over the sword, that we might be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves, that we might consider the lilies and sparrows as they shame Wall Street's splendor, that we might choose the dream of God over the dreams of nations, that we might cling to the God who so loved the world, not just America, that we might allow our Jesus to change America rather than America to change our Jesus.

Giving blood with a spiritual perspective...

Below is a daily reflection on giving blood. What do you think about what he has to say? I found it quite interesting and gives the whole process a new look for me...

Have a great day and don't forget to give blood if you are able...


Blood
======

I gave blood today.

It was the first time in over 6 years and I had only donated once before. As I reflect on the day's event, I see spiritual truth and application in what appears to be a simple thing.

Christianity is symbolized by the cross. The blood of Jesus is the verbal wording and pictorial image of the sacrifice and salvation for Christians. If you are not Christian, bear with me, this will relate.

The symbol of the organization that collects blood to save lives is The Red Cross. I got a chance to stare at it while I was on the donating couch. It's not a Christian cross, it's a plus sign.

Most of the south is Christian by a large majority. Less than 5% of the eligible population donates blood. I saw interesting parallels in the blood donation today.

Most Christians don't truly donate of their blood in helping strangers. Blood is blood. Blood is money. Blood is effort.

In Christianity, it takes pure blood to save life and give salvation. At the Red Cross, you have a battery of questions to answer concerning past disease and sexual partners. You must consent to have your blood tested for AIDS and other diseases. If your blood isn't healthy or pure, you can't donate. If it doesn't test clean, they won't give it to anyone.

You sacrifice material resources.
They don't pay you for your blood and they don't reimburse you for transportation costs. You have to get to the donation center on your own. Real spiritual mission often means that you will sacrifice your material resources, not get rich.

You sacrifice time.
It took about an hour and a half. By the time you fill out the forms, answer the questions, have a mini-physical, have your blood drawn, and wait 15 minutes to get up, it takes an hour and a half. You will never get spiritual growth and reward without investing time.

It hurts.
No, it is not excruciating pain but you have to be stuck twice.
Once in the finger so they can determine whether you have enough hemoglobin in your blood. If you don't, you might faint. Once in the arm as they draw the blood. If it felt good, you wouldn't need a higher leading to do it. You would do it from the gratification of the flesh. So it is with spiritual things, it often hurts to change and make sacrifice.

There are risks.
Although donating blood is statistically very safe, there is a slight chance that something could go wrong.
Walk the narrow path and there are great risks.

If someone doesn't give, others will die.

All of the above are spiritual principles and each one you must endure to really help. Becoming unselfish and helping others is the basis for all spiritual disciplines.

If you ever want to meet a special breed of people, go to a Red Cross donation center. Don't go to the commercial centers where they pay you for your blood, go where the donors give their blood without pay.

There were five other people giving blood when I went.
There was a black woman in her 30's. Two white men in their mid 30's to 40's and two white women in their 50's or 60's. The attendant knew three of the donors by first name.
Evidently, they were regulars. All of them had a peace about them. For lack of a better word, they had a spirit of goodness.

The Southern Red Cross needs 1,200 units of blood a week.
This is the largest collection facility in Atlanta. There were a total of six people in the room.

If you ever want to see what a real giver looks like. Go to a Red Cross collection center. Think about it. What type of person takes their time, gas and automobile to give something that will go to someone that they don't even know? A giver, that's what type.

I felt an urge to go today for the second time in over six years. I decided to go every 56 days. That's the most you can donate. One pint every 56 days.

I always knew the need. I always knew that someone had to give the blood. I was always too busy and figured someone

else would do it.

Do you figure someone else will do it?

I don't necessarily mean donating blood. I mean the things that you see around you that you know need to be done. We are too busy and we figure "it will get done by someone else".

Maybe it's time to move to being a giver. Not just with your immediate family, but to someone that you don't even know.

Oddly enough, the Red Cross runs into critical shortages of blood during the first two weeks of January each year.
People don't give very much during the holidays.

It is an interesting thought, that in the very season of giving, giving the gift of life is at it's lowest.

It's three hours later and I actually feel better. Not just mentally, I physically feel better.

The shedding of blood was a medical practice from the 5th century to after the time of George Washington. Doctors believed that to lose some blood periodically kept you healthier. That is of course considered medical non-sense now but who knows what truth the ancients knew?

The red, white and blue barbers pole is from the practice of bloodletting. The red stood for blood, the blue for veins and the white for the bandage. You went to the barbershop to get a haircut and some blood let out. That blood however, went in the trash, not to save lives. They thought it improved their health and kept them from getting sick or if they were sick it made them well.

The old fashioned barbers even used leeches. Sound terrible doesn't it? Well, they are now using leeches in modern surgery. Like I said, who knows what truth the ancients knew.

Heart disease is our leading killer. Most of it results from the blood clotting because it's too thick. Maybe if we shed a little every now and then our own blood wouldn't be so thick. Women outlive men in every country on earth.
They shed blood every 28 days. 2 x 28 = 56

Just an interesting thought.

The Christian cross and The Red Cross are both plusses if you understand the math.

It's the type of math where when you subtract something from you,

...you add something to you.

~A MountainWings Original~
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MountainWings A MountainWings Moment
#1013 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
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My name is David and I'm a work-a-holic..

I've seen this before but I am reading it today just after the conclusion of a funeral. This person would have been 81 today. The reality is that none of us are promised tomorrow and so it's important that we consider just how precious our time is to those whom we love. I remember being in school and having my son Chris come to my desk and ask if he could make an appointment for Saturday so that we could spend time together. This season of Advent has been very busy and the church has seen far more of me than my wife. It's time to change that because my time with her is priceless! I invite you to read and reflect...

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door..

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $50 now.. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Antsy? No Ant-see. It's a great view!!!!

As we struggle with the various events and experiences in our lives, here is an interesting story from across the world that might help to give us a little perspective on how we can see things if we do not, or we do, trust them to God...I know if gave me something to think about...

The Child's Ant
================

God had been trying to get my attention for some months, but I was too deep in debt to hear Him. However, it took just one divinely orchestrated incident to put everything in perspective.

I had woken up early to prepare my two little daughters for school. As I tried to put the older one in the bathtub, she saw an ant right there. You would have thought she saw a viper.

All my entreaties to her to put down her feet were ignored: her greatest problem at that point was an ant. To her, an ant was a big deal, but it wasn't to me. I could easily take care of an ant any day. Then I got impatient with her for fearing an ant.

At that point, I had a MountainWings Moment! It was as if I heard an audible voice: "Is that not what you have been doing to me all these past months?"

What? You mean all the debts I thought were big enough to crush me were like that ant to God? I had to apologize for having a low impression of God.

Today, a few months later, all the debts are gone.

~A MountainWings Original by Sylvester Ojenagbon, Lagos, Nigeria~

Forward this issue to a friend or send them the link below:
http://www.mountainwings.com/past/8347.htm

Received this and it gives some perspective to how we consider ourselves in God's plans. Yes, we make mistakes and sometimes really screw up but if God can do amazing things with the folks below, what can God do with you?!?!?



Here's another thought, as we do God's work, we might also consider what God can do with the folks we've labeled because of their bad habits or characteristics.....hmmmmm


The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...
Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced,
more than once Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer...

AND

Lazarus was dead!

What do you have that’s worse than that?
So no more excuses!

God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger.


(Mountainwings #4289)

It was an interesting day...

On July 11, 2008 my dad died from a horrific disease Stevens Johnson Syndrome. It has no cure and they hope it works through the body and then the person gets better. In his case, it covered almost 95% of his body by the time he could fight no longer. As we walked through the next few days, I thought ahead to the "first" holidays without dad and figured they were a long way away.

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I realized that these past months went very quickly. As I awoke, I gave thanks that mom had come down the night before to help us get ready for the day. I think just having her around was a great way for me to prepare. We were only going to be a group of six folks but I wasn't sure what to expect. I decided I wanted to go for a run in the morning and not wanting to focus on the "pain" of running, I decided to think about dad. I began to create a list of thanks to God for how God had blessed my life through James H. Abbott Jr. Though I didn't finish the list on the road, I'd like to share what I did think of and add a few more. It won't be a complete list as I continue to reflect on the many ways that dad impacted and empowered my life, but it's a beginning.

God,

Today I give you thanks for my dad and the special times we had together...

1. For getting us involved in rabbits and though I wasn't real good about feeding and cleaning them you still shared them with me in love. I will always remember the fairs, the best of show, ohJ, the new friends we made who also showed rabbits.


2. For giving me a chance the day that Russell and I made a really dumb decision. I figured I'd be punished for weeks but you figured I had learned enough and anything you did wouldn't be beneficial. By doing nothing, you did everything.


3. For driving from Bath to Winthrop in the spring when I played baseball for the team the Gulls. We were horrible and only one two games but you were always supportive and willing to drive the hour each way to see some really bad baseball.


4. For taking me with you on those weekends when we opened Mechuwana and for being the director for three years. Had you not been the director there I am not sure if I would have come to know the power and presence of God, not only on that holy ground, but also in my life. It was at Mechuwana that I struggled with what it meant to be called by God.


5. For crying when I graduated from the University of Maine. I tell folks that was the first time I saw tears in your eyes and it meant a great deal to me as your son. I knew I had done good when I saw your smile moistened by tears. It gave me the freedom to share my tears with my boys, both of sadness and joy at very important moments in all of our lives.


6. For going to Washington DC for my Doctoral graduation. I wasn't all that interested in the event until Lisa pushed me to go and when I saw your determination I began to give thanks to God that we could share it together.


7. For your loyalty to your doctors. Though we will always disagree on it, you did show me that we've got to trust in folks, especially when we don't know. At the same time, I want to thank you for being willing to get a second opinion or two as we struggled with your cancer.


8. For teaching me that if there is something we can't fix or change, we can't let it take up our life. If we can do something about it, great, do it. If we can't, use the time to make a difference somewhere else. When I've been worried about decisions that others are making, I've let go and done other things, knowing I couldn't impact thier choice. It saved me a great deal of "worry time".


9. For supporting mom in her many ministries. You showed me that it's just as important to be the support person as it is to be the person on the move. Your grace and love of that role helped me to pull back and allow others to do "their thing". It has been a blessing as I've witnessed some amazing things.


10. For loving me as me. For telling me again and again that you loved me and for telling me whenever you could that you were proud of me. In a world where love is sometimes a scarce commodity and folks would rather tear you down than build you up, you helped me to understand that love is always in abundance and encouragement should be shared whenever you've got the chance. I end every conversation with my boys by telling them I love them and never miss a chance to let them know how awed I am at the great things they are doing.

There are many more things to which I give thanks to God for my dad and I'll continue to lift them up as often as I can. I realize that for some folks, "dad" was a word that had no meaning or only negative images. Dad and I did tussle and disagree but whenever I say "dad" my eyes tear up but my heart fills with love and thanksgiving.

Yes, the holidays are here. Yes, it is a challenge to be without him. Yes, I am very blessed to have a mom who is just as great as my dad was. And yes, if you haven't told your parents, or those who raised you, that you love them, don't waste another minute for you never know when you'll only be able to say it in a prayer.

I love you dad!

(The picture is of our family at a family reunion last summer.)

A different perspective...who is the real pane...

I received this email from "mountainwings" today that was a real eye opener. How many times have we complained about how people are doing things? How many times have we come up with just the solution they need to make their life better? As we head into this time of the year when folks are collecting food for the hungry, before we talk about those who "abuse" the system, maybe we ought to think of how we are looking at those very folks with our "Christ-like" eyes...

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside. "That laundry is not very clean," she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap." Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: "Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?" The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows." And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look. ~Author Unknown~