Showing posts with label I am. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I am. Show all posts

Mar 13, 2010

Simplicity in Prayer



Mother Teresa said, "We complicate prayer as we complicate many things."

So we simply come to Him in solitude and silence while He nurtures us. Our hearts are filled and we can then go out and nurture others.

We still our souls and listen for Him in the spring breeze, the twittering nightingale, the fluttering leaf, the gurgling creek. He speaks and we know what to say to the brokenhearted.

We still our souls and look for Him in the stars of the night, the break of the dawn, the dew on the leaves, the bloom of the rose. He appears and we know how to solve our most daunting problems.

Perhaps we light a candle, put on some soft music, and have coffee with Jesus. Or instead take off on a brisk walk. As we sink down into the present moment where God lives and the wind tousles our hair, His presence invades our emotions and dissolves our fears.

Dear Jesus,
Help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with your Spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly that our lives may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through us
and be so in us
that every soul we come in contact with may feel your presence in our soul ...

~ Mother Teresa
Blessings,
Flowers
Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com

Nov 11, 2008

Living With the Question

Are you willing to live with the question?

What?! No way! Not me. I like to figure things out--know the "answer" before proceeding.

I'm reminded of a furry little pet I had once. If I told you what it was, you'd probably stop reading right here, but I loved it. Anyway, let's pretend it was a hamster. She was very affectionate and when she saw me she would often reach up and strain out over her little third-tier precipice trying to get out of her cage and reach me. When I reached in and clasped my fingers around her middle, even before I had my grip she let go with all four feet, completely relaxed, abandoning herself and her safety into my hand.

It touched me to be trusted like that and as I mulled it over I knew that God wanted the same kind of "reckless abandon" from me: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding"
(Proverbs 3:5).

I recently challenged a friend, "Do you have the faith to live with the question?" But it is my own challenge as well. Do I have the faith to let go with "all four feet" and relax into God's hand--not knowing where he will carry me or what the outcome will be. Isn't it the better part of wisdom to hold on to my own safety zone with at least a couple of toes? I mean, really ... completely let go? Come on! I don't like questions; I like answers!
Mouse On WheelI'd rather spend my time on the hamster wheel of life in an analytic frenzy, working to figure it out; striving for the answer. But God longs for our trust! Although He doesn't need anything, He still deeply desires that we would abandon the hamster wheel and leave the questions with Him. It is enough to know the One who IS the Answer. "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us" (1 John).

Papa God, help me to live with the Question because You are the Answer. I choose to believe that I am safe in your hand.

"I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:28 Amp.).

Flowers
www.warrenfamilylife.com

Aug 25, 2008

The Present Moment


The present moment is a sacred place for God is the great I AM—not the great I WAS nor the great I WILL BE. I often wonder if eternity is just one big present moment? In any case, when I can settle down into the present, God is always there. Try it! Stop for just a short time and capture a bird, or a leaf, or a smile, and lose yourself there.

If you would like to explore this concept further, I cannot recommend any book with more enthusiasm than The Practice of the Presence of God, written over 300 years ago by a humble little monk named Brother Lawrence. He learned to abide in Christ by doing everything he did for God. He said that he would not even pick a straw up off the ground unless he did it for God. In this process he found unspeakable peace and joy.

Blessings always,

Cyndi
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