FOM Solo: Talking with God

In Day 24 the topic is Talking with God.  The practical part of the book asks you to lie facedown on the floor to pray as Manoah and his wife did in Judges.  Then, notice what it's like to pray this way.  It got me thinking.  This act of lying down before God is seen in more than one place in the bible.  Obviously, it's an act of respect.  We bow our heads now as a sign of respect, but the two actions don't produce the same results.  When you are lying facedown, all distractions are blocked out, unless you count audible sounds around you.  In this way you can really talk and stay focused on your conversation with God.  Bowing your head is respectful, but doesn't block out distractions.  I don't think we need to change our practice in church and start lying down on the carpet when we pray, but I wonder.  When did this practice change?  

FOM SOLO: Day 24 Conversations with God and invitations

The room is empty, except for me. 

Stillness. 

Except for light traffic noise, it is quiet. 

Solitude.

The slight overcast and blinds block out any brightness, yet allow enough light to create a beautiful day.  As I sit and wait, and allow the stillness and solitude to linger, I focus on the calm and let my imagination quiet the mind. 

As I sit, a whisper. 

Request and a declaration in the same. 

Declaration of His love, and a request with heavy implications. 

In one ear he whispers, "You are my beloved,  believe you are my beloved."

 Then he shifts to the other ear and whispers, "Can I?"

"Can I join you in life?" 

"Will you talk about your decision with me?"

"You are my beloved."

"Can I be with you at work?"

"Know that I love you."

"Stuck in traffic? Can I wait with you there?"

"Beloved."

"Invite me."

I am humbled by His love, each declaration pours into my soul and quenches thirst of a dry and cracked heart. Each time, He asks me to invite Him into my life, I meet with glad surrender, and relief of the burdens. 

Then He asks, "What about there."

My sin. The dark places in my heart. Places of bitterness, and lust. Greed and jealousy. 

The shame seems unbearable. 

"Beloved, I love you and I want to be with you there, in those times as well." 

"Beloved, I am Healer, I am Restorer, will you invite me there too?"

Peace. 

Reluctance. 

Surrender. 

I pray that this conversation continues. I pray that I continue to invite Christ into every area of my life. I pray I can be freed from a life oppressing the Healer into 15 minutes a day.

Community Supported by Solitude

Solitude greeting solitude, that's what community is all about. Community is not the place where we are no longer alone but the place where we respect, protect, and reverently greet one another's aloneness. When we allow our aloneness to lead us into solitude, our solitude will enable us to rejoice in the solitude of others. Our solitude roots us in our own hearts. Instead of making us yearn for company that will offer us immediate satisfaction, solitude makes us claim our center and empowers us to call others to claim theirs. Our various solitudes are like strong, straight pillars that hold up the roof of our communal house. Thus, solitude always strengthens community.

taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

How I Managed God's Cash

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. (1 Chron. 29:11)

As part of our current series on money called “Cash Call” we were challenged by the principle that God owns everything and he entrusts money and possessions to us as temporary caretakers. Fully embracing this principle gives us great freedom in giving and a proper understanding of our position in relation to possessions. We gave everyone who attended that Sunday some money to use for God’s purposes, reminding them that this was not their money but only theirs to manage. Following are some of the ways that these resources were used:

-------------
Through Kiva.org, we sent our collective $25 to a lady in Fogatuli, Samoa to buy more farming equipment and to expand her shop to maintain business growth. Her husband is a farmer.

------------
I donated to Heifer International. Here is the description. I like the idea of providing a gift of education as well as materials.

From Uganda to El Salvador, bees from Heifer International help struggling families earn income through the sale of honey, beeswax and pollen. Beehives require almost no space and, once established, are inexpensive to maintain. As bees search for nectar, they pollinate plants. Placed strategically, beehives can as much as double some fruit and vegetable yields. In this way, a beehive can be a boost to a whole village. Although most Heifer partners keep bees as a supplement to family income, beekeeping can be a family's livelihood. Your gift can help Heifer provide a family with a package of bees, the box and hive, plus training in beekeeping.
-----------

We are contributing the money given to our friends Mandy & Jonathan Casurella that are raising support to be medical missionaries in Madagascar with World Venture. They are scheduled to depart for Madagascar fall 2009.

From their website, www.besidethebaobab.com
"As a medical doctor and a professional counselor, we plan to use our combined skills to promote physical, mental, and spiritual health and development in Madagascar. We aim to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ through our work and relationships. Essential to our beliefs in service is partnership. Partnership with the Malagasy people in service to remote communities and partnership with friends, family, church's and various organizations to join us in our efforts in promoting health and healing in Madagascar. Our long term goal is to partner with the Malagasy people to develop sustainable healthcare in these remote communities.

Creating Space to Dance Together

When we feel lonely we keep looking for a person or persons who can take our loneliness away. Our lonely hearts cry out, "Please hold me, touch me, speak to me, pay attention to me." But soon we discover that the person we expect to take our loneliness away cannot give us what we ask for. Often that person feels oppressed by our demands and runs away, leaving us in despair. As long as we approach another person from our loneliness, no mature human relationship can develop. Clinging to one another in loneliness is suffocating and eventually becomes destructive. For love to be possible we need the courage to create space between us and to trust that this space allows us to dance together.

taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

Destitute Foreigner Helping Orphans

He looked like just another homeless guy who was bold enough to walk into Starbucks and appeal for a handout. I was busily working on my computer, so I stayed focused on the project. Then I saw him hold up a piece of paper with a note. My immediate thought was that he couldn’t speak due to a disability. Not so. “Ukrainian Missionary – Please help me with money for orphans in my country.”

The Solo reading on day 17 continues a theme of God’s heart for the vulnerable. “Make sure foreigners and orphans get their just rights.” “Don’t abuse a laborer who is destitute and needy.” “Leave grain in your field to feed the foreigner, orphan and widow.” It seems that a consistent directive throughout the old and new testament is our responsibility to care for the most vulnerable in our society. So this destitute foreigner raising money for orphans was quite a find. This was a 3fer – a triple crown – a triad – a triumvirate. My immediate thought should have been – “I’ve hit on all three here God. Even my annoyed fellow Starbucks patrons are dropping one dollar in his bucket. As your follower, and knowing that your heart is inclined in triplicate towards this guy, what should I do? Is that worth three dollars?”

Anyway, I did help him more than the other patrons – which was no great sacrifice and will probably bear no mention when I meet Jesus in eternity. In hindsight, I probably should have spent the money I was giving him to buy him a grande coffee and asked him to sit for a while. Maybe I should have asked him if he needed a place to stay. Maybe I should have found out about his work in the Ukraine. Maybe I should have prayed with him. Maybe I should have invited him to worship with us on Sunday night. I think those things would have reflected God’s heart for the destitute foreigner helping orphans. I’m afraid I missed the triple crown.

A Still small voice

The Still, Small Voice of Love

Many voices ask for our attention. There is a voice that says, "Prove that you are a good person." Another voice says, "You'd better be ashamed of yourself." There also is a voice that says, "Nobody really cares about you," and one that says, "Be sure to become successful, popular, and powerful." But underneath all these often very noisy voices is a still, small voice that says, "You are my Beloved, my favor rests on you." That's the voice we need most of all to hear. To hear that voice, however, requires special effort; it requires solitude, silence, and a strong determination to listen.

That's what prayer is. It is listening to the voice that calls us "my Beloved."

From Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

A Chasm and a Choice

When Adam and Eve were told to not eat of the one tree, God put it there anyway. He offered a choice.

They chose.

Now a chasm lies between humanity and himself.

A gap stretches over infinite time and pain, and God has raced to my side of the chasm and offers a hand.

Once again, he's offering a choice.

I am american, in a garden of eden, and he's offering a choice. I stand, looking up at the forbidden tree, this time however, Jesus is hanging on it.

I pray I choose you.

The beginning of my end

What is it when life becomes revealed delusion?
What is it when that which is, is found to be not as it should be?
What is it when dreams, hopes, fantasies and plans become an ethereal vapor, dissipated in the winds of revelation?
What is my life?
Who am I?
What is real?
No really; what is real?
Who can be trusted? What can be trusted?
Who will be there for me? Seriously.
What is this dark shroud that blankets my light, separating me from Awareness, numbing my world like a vat of Novocaine?
I only know that God is.
This is the air I breathe. It is all I have.