Prayer of Thanks

Father,

Thank you for today. You are such a faithful and loving God. You are taking such care with my soul. Thank you for bringing peace and excitement to my most inner place. You are so faithful! Today, may I walk in Your counsel. May Your love pour out from within me to those around me. You are Good!

"Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him." (Psalm 33:1)

Losing Sight of the Shore

From a quiet time at the beach...
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I found this quote recently by Andre Gide, “People cannot discover new lands until they have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

Father, as I sit here watching those of us on the shore and in the surf...I think that we are not as brave as those who go out into deeper water. I hear You calling me out to the deep waters – to the horizon. Places where I don’t know what’s under me or beyond me. The place of new discoveries, new territory.

Explorers and pioneers are those that leave the safety of home to press out into what is beyond what they know. That is what I want to do spiritually. I do not want a "safe" relationship with God. Well, actually, part of me does. But my true heart does not want that. What I want to do is to swim in the ocean of His love, experiencing all that He has for me, without reservation.

He Watches Over You

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." (Psalm 32:8)

A Dog's Life

Below is an entry from my journal dated February, 1991. I was sitting at a park having an extended time with God, listening and praying. God can use anything to drive a point home. Keep your eyes open this week for how He might speak to you in unusual ways...
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There are three men with dogs here at this park. One has a puppy, one has a young dog and one has an older dog.

I notice that the puppy has an attention span of about two seconds. His master is constantly pulling back on the leash while the puppy frolics about--getting into things without thinking, often running ahead of his master. Most of the interaction between the master and his puppy is commands, direction and training.

The man with the young dog seems to have a different relationship. This dog stays closer to his master. His frolicking is done at the feet of his master. They seem to interact more on a trust level.

There is a third man with an even older dog. This dog isn't on a leash anymore. This dog follows his master automatically. The dog does stop every once in a while to see what's there but he is always following the steps of his master. If the dog stays too long in one spot the master merely speaks a word and the dog comes running right to the master's side.

This may seem like a silly analogy, but I do see similarities in the master/dog relationship and our relationship to God. I see the three dogs as stages in our journey with Him. I long to move to the maturity of the older dog, faithfully following my Master.

I am reminded again that I am on a journey. I keep thinking that I am supposed to "arrive" one day. The word for the day is PROCESS.

Lord, thank You for bringing me this far. I do trust You with my future and I will try to be patient with my progress. I know You are patient.

A Soul that Rests in Him

“Therefore I will not weary myself with seeking beyond what God wants me to know. Instead I will abide in peace with the understanding God has given me, and I will let this occupy my mind.

When God finds a soul that rests in him and is not easily moved, he operates within it in his own manner. That soul allows God to do great things within it. He gives to such a soul the key to the treasures he has prepared for it so that it might enjoy them. And to this same soul he gives the joy of this presence which entirely absorbs such a soul.” (Catherine of Genoa)

Train of His Robe...Hem of His Garment

One morning at church during worship, we were singing “Open the Eyes of My Heart” by Paul Baloche.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You, I want to see You
See you high and lifted up
Shining in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy… Holy, holy, holy… Holy, holy, holy…
I want to see You

During this song, in my heart's eye, I saw the most amazing robe. It was made of gold and it had red and blue jewels embedded in gold on it. It was sparkling. I saw the movement of the robe, as if the Lord was turning to walk away. Then I saw the same movement of His robe, but this time it was the tunic he wore as a man on earth. This tunic looked like well-worn linen, no adornment, just cloth. I heard, “The train of His robe, the hem of His garment.”

I pictured the women who had been bleeding for so many years coming up from behind and seeing the movement of the hem of his garment. She knew that if she touched it she would get well. It was as though she could see with her eyes of faith the royal robe in all it’s splendor and knew that that power was attainable to her…however, in her human state, the hem of his garment was all she could see. That was good enough for her. She reached out in faith.

By faith, the train of His robe and the hem of His garment are the same. Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has come to us fully human and approachable. And I am grateful.

Placing Yourself in Scripture

I want to share a fun way to pray and interact with scripture. The fancy schmancy term for this style of prayer is "The Ignatian Method," named after St. Ignatius of Loyola, the great teacher of this method. (You've just learned your new fact for the day...unless you already knew that). :o)

Those employing the Ignatian method of prayer strive to participate in the actual event by projecting themselves back into the historical happening to try to become a part of the scene in order to draw some practical fruit for their life.** You try to see the sights, smell the smells, hear the sounds of a story.

Below is the story of the bleeding woman in the gospel of Mark. After the scripture is my own prayerful encounter with the woman, as well as how I see it affecting my life today. I chose to enter the scene after the woman interacted with Jesus, however, you could also place yourself with her as the interaction is taking place. There are many different angles you could come from...let the Spirit lead you in prayer.

This is something you could easily try with any of Jesus' interactions with people in the gospels. I LOVE seeing how He interacts with people. Incredible!
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And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” (Mark 5:25-34)
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I walked up to the woman and touched her on the shoulder. She turned. There was a look on her face that was at the same time both amazement and peace. The fear she had previously experienced had quickly faded.

"What happened?" I inquired.

"He said, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you,'" she replied.

Slowly and deliberately she repeated, "Daughter, your faith has healed you....Go in peace....Be freed from your suffering."

Each time she repeated the words of Jesus, her smile grew wider. Soon she was laughing uncontrollably. She raised her hands to heaven, praising God, in utter freedom. She grabbed my hands and we began to dance right there in the road. There was no room for being self-conscious. Her joy was contagious and I began to laugh as well, praising God along with this woman who had just begun a new chapter of peace after so much suffering.

In my own life - I could really use a good dose of the joy that that woman experienced. It was a visceral, infectious joy. I smile even now as I picture her. Father, I want to rejoice at the work of Your hand in my life, just like this woman. May it be so.

**Definition found in "Prayer and Temperment" by Chester P. Michael & Marie C. Norrissey

Love

"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, The Message)

The following is from Carlo Caretto, Letters from the Desert, p. 24-25:

"I repeat again St. Augustine's words: 'Love and do as you will.' Don't worry about what you ought to do. Worry about loving. Don't interrogate heaven repeatedly and uselessly saying, "What course of action should I pursue?" Concentrate on loving instead.

And by loving you will find out what is for you. Loving, you will listen to the Voice. Loving, you will find peace.

Love is the fulfillment of the law and should be everyone's rule of life; in the end it's the solution to every problem, the motive for all good.

"Love and do as you will."

This is the crux. When I love I can no longer do as I will.

When I love I am love's prisoner; and love is tremendous in its demands when it has God as its object; especially a crucified God. I can no longer do my own will. I must do the will of Jesus, which is the will of the Father.

And when I have learned to do his will, I shall have fully realized my vocation on earth and I shall have achieved the highest stage a man can reach.

The will of God. That's what rules the world and moves the stars, what converts the nations, what starts all life and brings triumph out of death."

God Alone

“There is in my heart this great thirst to recognize totally the nothing of all that is not God.” (Thomas Merton, Dialogues with Silence)

Streams in the Wasteland

A while back, my husband, Alan, and I were praying together. As we were praying, I saw an image of a dry, cracked desert floor spreading out in all directions. A glass of water was poured onto the desert. Pretty much once the water hit the ground, it was gone...soaked in.

Not sure what this meant, I asked Alan if there was any scripture from that week that had struck him. He shared that he had been in Isaiah 43 that week and that it had been meaningful. He read the chapter out loud. Here are some excerpts from Isaiah 43. (Keep reading after the verses...)

Isaiah 43:1-3a, 16-21 -

1 But now, this is what the LORD says-
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD , your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

16 This is what the LORD says-
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 "Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the desert
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.

When Alan got to the part about the streams in the wasteland, I started laughing hard. The freedom I felt from hearing this word from God was wonderful. He is the One who provides the way for us and the miracles we need.

The image I had of the glass of water being poured onto the hard ground is our own feeble efforts. In this parched and weary culture in which we live, our efforts are no more than 8 oz. of water poured onto the desert.

It is the Lord Himself who brings the streams in the wasteland. Can you picture that desert? Can you feel that desert? Now picture God blasting right down the middle of it with a stream of cool, refreshing water that brings life to that dry, weary place. This is our God! He gives to His people, His chosen so that we may proclaim His praise. Thank, you, Father!

"Desperate" graphic found on: http://www.anewkindofchristian.com/archives/lettertosongwriters.pdf

Known...seen...loved

“It’s not so much the words you say as it is your heart inclined to Me,” the Lord said to me.

A broken and contrite heart You will not despise. Thank You! I want to know the reality of You in that place in me that is beyond words.

You know that moment when, in a crowded room, you catch the eye of your beloved – you lock eyes, you grin that knowing grin of connection and without words you say, “I know you and I love you.”

I think that is one way to describe what it is like to connect with God in silence. You are known, seen and loved.

My Only Happiness

"To know God only as a philosopher; to have the most sublime and curious speculations concerning His essence, His attributes, His providence, will avail us nothing, unless at the same time we know Him experimentally; unless the heart perceive and know Him to be her supreme good, her only happiness, unless the soul feel and acknowledge that she can have no repose, no peace, no joy, but in loving and being loved by Him."

From The Prayers of Susanna Wesley

Sitting with God

This past year, one of the things I have been trying on is 15 minutes of just "being." In particular, I'm trying to just "be with God." I'm not trying to study or even pray - but just be in His presence. You would think that this would be something relatively easy to do. I, however, have been struggling with it. Mostly, the time is spent with my mind wandering all over the place and me trying to "stay on track." Our culture is so full of stimuli. I find it hard to come off of the pace of day-to-day life and just "be." Most of us are usually trying to get ahead, get a move on or just get done.

Here's something I journaled a few months ago about my struggle to be still:

Well, Lord, I am trying to give you 15 minutes of just me presenting myself before You. I find that there are many hindrances: my mind races with thoughts, I’m still trying to figure out what I am “supposed to get” or “supposed to give” to You in the time.

Today I realized that maybe it’s just good to present my body and mind to You for the sake of that alone. I present my body and mind to many other things (eating, sleeping, friends, TV, shopping). The least I could do is say, “here’s a time in which my sole purpose is to be before the Lord, come what may.”

Thank You for being patient with me while I fumble around. You are gracious.

Maiden Voyage

Well, this is my first foray into the blog world. I thought I would share thoughts and ideas from my own life, mind and heart.

First, for the naming of this blog. My friend, Mary, helped me come up with this title for a website that I wanted to develop to encourage women. You can actually see the flash intro I created at tidesofgrace.com. At some point I do hope to turn that into a functioning website. But for now, this Tides of Grace blog will do.

I like the word "Tides" because I LOVE the ocean. The ocean brings healing to my soul. Somehow the sound of the waves, and the breeze that blows just brings a sense of peace. "Grace" is how I'm learning to live my life. It is only by the the literal grace of God that I exist.

I look forward to sharing with you my thoughts on this journey of life as well as verses, quotes and prayers. Come catch a wave...