Hope and Soar

Ephesians 6:13-18 The Message

13-18Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Prayer is essential. I invite you to join me in specifically covering MCI for Hope - a work & learn experience  in Kenya this week, and SOAR Heartland, a week-long mission in downtown Winnipeg happening right now.  We can stay connected to what they're doing by following their blogs listed below.

MCI for Hope Blog

SOAR Heartland Blog

be still

I have had a lot of opportunity to be still lately. The circumstances are not necessarily what I would have chosen, but the gift in it has been being able to gaze into the face of Jesus regularly.

I'm wired to pursue routine and discipline and so for the past number of weeks, as soon as I am alone in the mornings, I have given myself over to several minutes of centering prayer. Sitting in silence, agreeing to the presence of the Holy Spirit, and letting go of thought, even releasing any other type of prayer, intercession or petition. It is a discipline that I am still learning and I'm not going to evaluate it or measure it, just experience and enjoy it.

This morning, for some reason, I did not go to my "prayer chair" first for that time of quiet. I'm not particularly busy these days, and there is no work I must do, but somehow my morning slipped away in trivial ways. And I had a sense of restlessness. I started to do a few things, always abandoning them after a few moments. I found myself looking for some way to satisfy my restless feelings. It didn't take long for me to wonder if missing that still, quiet time at the beginning of my day was what had me derailed. The good thing is, I have the luxury right now of declaring a "do-over" on my day. I sat. I was still. I am still.

-Candice

is it true

Something I read a few days ago started me thinking along certain lines, only to have the whole thing reframed as I processed it further. The reading had to do with discerning what is true. The challenge was to ask "Is it true? ... is it objectively true?" No matter who said it, or whether or not I like it or any other nuances of context or meaning, but simply "is it true?"

My ego, that part of me that is judgmental and strives to be in control and be superior, and to protect myself from possible hurt, does not want to strip everything else away and simply ask "is it true". I want to react to everything else that surrounds the truth - the source, the context and my own needs. I want the "easy" way.

But that is not at all what I am being asked to do. I sense I am being asked to allow myself to be led down a path of surrender - again! And what would come of that?? I know what has come of surrender work in the past. Light. And I do long for the light.

This meditation came to my inbox this morning and it looks as good a starting place for surrender work as any. Join me?

-Candice

the first and last word

"Neither I nor the churches themselves really live much of the real Gospel - at least enough to actually change our present lifestyles." (from Falling Upwards by Richard Rohr).

These words brought me to tears today. During my quiet time before I started reading, a thought that came to me was something like "the first word was Love. The last word must be Love". What does that look like? Surely not judgement, competitiveness, or righteousness. Love. Isn't love the word that totally encapsulates the Gospel? How can it sound so simple and yet be so difficult, complicated, and seemingly impossible to understand and live out? What are we missing? Surely we don't have to "try harder".

What if we opened ourselves up to allow love in - to give love the run of the house, to look to love for guidance on how to respond, react, and live. Wasn't Jesus operating out of love 100 percent of the time? Love for his Father, love for us. What's so confusing about that? In fact, it really sounds like the pressure's off. If love is our go-to response then what would our daily interactions look like? What would all our relationships look like? What would our responses to the "big issues" of the day look like? What would our churches look like??

Lord, hold us accountable to Love.

~Candice