RANDOM MORNING THOUGHTS....

Somedays I don't stay on track with one particular theme or another...God calls in a different direction?  Or I don't have internet access for what I am currently working through!  I thought perhaps I would just group these random days together!  

THURSDAY, May 29  Habitat Ripple Effect
     This morning I am in charge of offering the opening devotion for our Habitat for Humanity build here in Columbia Falls, Montana.  I am using a brief article I read in the most recent Habitat World magazine in which CEO Jonathan Reckford writes of the ripple effect of a Habitat home.  Our building supervisor Steve also commented on the 'side effects' of home ownership when he told the story last week of a young boy finally able to play sports because his family wasn't moving all the time.  This made me think about pebbles and Habitat homes.  The following poem is the result:  

 

Toss a pebble into a pond.

Ever widening circles of impact

Delight as the surface shifts and changes

Below the water we cannot see

Yet growth happens here as well.

Toss one Habitat house into a community

and the ripples begin.

The house becomes a home;

A source of safety, protection, and stability.

Improved education, jobs, and health.

Community pride, involvement, participation.

Self respect. 

One pebble.

One home.

Multiple lives changed.

Ripples we can’t even foresee.

With each swing of hammer,

Each sheetrock screw,

Every stroke of paint,

We are tossing pebbles.

One small action

Results beyond our wildest imagination.

May we all keep tossing pebbles,

Knowing God is at work in each one

With ripples of changing lives.   

TUESDAY, March 4  Real Deal

Matt 3:17  NRSV

This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. 

     I just went through these words recently first as Jesus is baptized, and then similar words from God during the transfiguration.  In the baptismal text, the Spirit descends in the form of a dove.  It is a reminder of God’s dove-presence after the Flood, as new life returned to the cleansed Earth.  Jesus is new life, prepared to cleanse the earth once more…and for the last time. 

    The Beloved.  While these words imply endearment, they are more words of authority.  My Son, my beloved.  This Jesus I have sent acts on MY authority, his power comes from above.  God is making this clear during Jesus’ baptism and in the transfiguration.  Make no mistake, world, this man is the real deal!! 

(God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson - 2.10.14) 

     Still no internet on a consistent basis.  We can get it on the Kindle or phone briefly, but the laptop is struggling.  I can’t read some of my BMCC student assignments.  I am behind in downloading blogs.  It is Fat Tuesday, and we are in a predominant Catholic community.  Would love to know what is going on tonight in the area.  McDonalds on the menu or perhaps the Habitat office this afternoon!?  (Habitat office - better connection!) 

MONDAY, March 3     The Way!?

John 3:5-6 NRSV

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through me. 

     No internet connection this morning, so this will be one of those ‘random thought’ days!  But appropriate in light of what I read just yesterday morning concerning the Pope. 

     This is one of the scripture passages that has always bothered me.  It appears so cut and dried, black and white in saying Christianity is the only way.  While the word ONLY isn’t in the first line, it is inferred in the second when it says no one comes to God except through Jesus.  Where does that leave the Jew, the Muslim?  I firmly believe it is the same God we all worship.  I  believe that Christianity allows an intimacy and personal relationship with God that others perhaps don’t have,  but I don’t think God changes for people of differing faiths.  Same loving God, different route to know him.

     The new Catholic Pope is radical.  He is going to change perceptions and realities of the Catholic Church.  Yesterday he was quoted as saying that he believes ‘all religions to be true’.  Wow!  Granted, Catholicism is still Christianity, and perhaps his comments weren’t intended to spread beyond that boundary.  Still, this reaching beyond the ‘my way or the highway’ theology is revolutionary for the church.  It sets a precedent that we should all follow. 

     This scripture comes from Peterson’s The Daily Message  and he goes on to say that there are two aspects to our Christian life: disciple and pilgrim.  The first involves a relationship with the teacher to learn and absorp all that we can.  The second involves a journey to take that relationship to a new destination, to new people, to a new life.  How do we know the way?  Jesus tells us in this verse.  The ONLY way?  Probably not.  A shortcut?  Maybe!  I think I’ll follow this route regardless. 

      Yesterday,  my home church entered into discussion on what defines Christian marriage.  I was sorry to miss the conversation, not because I think we were going to change minds, but because it is important to at least discuss the issue!  So last night…in solidarity with my LBGT friends and family and while thinking about the implications of marriage, equal rights, etc., I colored one of my drawings appropriately!   A Peace Dove.  

TUESDAY, February 11    Creative Mess
Proverbs 20:5 The Message
Knowing what is right is like deep water in the heart; a wise person draws from the well within. 

     In today's devotion, Eugene Peterson talks about creativity.  He says it isn't 'neat or orderly'.  This resonates with me.  I always said my art room desk was a place of organized chaos.  I often quoted, "A creative mind is not a tidy mind."  And Peterson agrees!!  
     Creativity cannot be planned.  It happens.  I like to think it is often God inspired.  We experiment, we risk, we err, but in the end, God paints a beautiful canvas, an inspiring relationship, a worthy endeavor.  We can't do it alone.  We can't do it with absolute intentionality.  We have to give God room to work!  We have to draw from the well of inspiration deep within us, to the God-source.  And beauty, love, peace, and Spirit will come forth.  

(God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson - 2.10.14)

WEDNESDAY, February 12    Just for Me!
Psalm 31:22 The Message
Blessed God!  His love is the wonder of the world. 

Created and crafted.
Handiwork of God.
An expression of love and desire.
Poetry and design. 
That's me! 
ME! 
God made me.
He made me for a purpose.
No one else can fill those shoes.
Like Cinderella, they were made just for me! 
No entrance exam, 
No test of worthiness. 
I qualify. 
God will take care of the rest.
Have I accepted the job? 
Have I accepted the love? 
It's personal. 
It's just for me. 

(God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson - 2.12.14)