Category Archives: Uncategorized

Inhale…”Oh Come Oh Come”…Exhale Slowly…”Emmanuel”

Posted on by

0

037

picture credit: from the heart of j

There is an adrenalin stirring in the heart…

An advent adrenalin…an advent anticipation…

an awaiting of the light to come…the quiet, mysterious dawning of newness.

The inhaling of the mystery…”Oh Come Oh Come”…

The slow exhaling of hope…”Emmanuel”…

Inhale: “Oh Come, Oh Come”…

Exhale slowly: “Emmanuel”

“it is now the hour for you to wake from sleep for our salvation is closer than when we first accepted the faith. The night is far spent; the day draws near. Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Rom 13: 11-12

Advertisement

In the Gooey, Gummy, Messy, Marvelous…

Posted on by

0

image via from the heart of j

image via from the heart of j

Find God in the everyday…

In the midst…in the muck..in the ups…in the downs…

Believing in Him is not some form of escapism that takes us away from the richness of the everyday.

It is here, alleluia, we find Him…

In the now of today…in the all of life with us.

Yes, find God today in the everyday…in the midst…

In the gooey, gummy, messy, marvelous of the day…

For it is through Him, with Him, in Him in the unity of the Holy Spirit…

All glory and honor be yours almighty Father forever and ever…

In the everyday…in the midst…in the gooey, gummy, messy, marvelous of THIS day.

A Blessing in our Life…

Posted on by

4

image via from the heart of j

image via from the heart of j

“The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master.” Ben Hur Lampman

Dear God, Thank you for the gift of our dog. She was part of the family. Her loyalty and faithfulness, her obedience and her affection for us all reminded us that all good gifts come from You. She was a blessing in our life. Although today we said good-bye, she will remain with us in our hearts.

+ Paisley 4/9/14

House of Prayer…

Posted on by

3

image via sefamilia.com

image via sefamilia.com

Practice prayer from the beginning.  Paint your house with the colors of modesty and humility.  Make it radiant with the light of justice.  Decorate it with the finest gold leaf of good deeds.  Adorn it with the walls and stones of faith and generosity.  Crown it with the pinnacle of prayer.  In this way you will make it a perfect dwelling place for the Lord.  You will be able to receive Him as in a splendid palace, and through His grace you will already possess Him, His image enthroned in the temple of your spirit.

St. John Chrysostom

May your new week be blessed with a prayerful beginning.

Garment of Grace…

Posted on by

5

image via fromtheheartofj

image via fromtheheartofj

Mercy is to touch the hem of His Heart…

Mercy infuses…Mercy transforms…weaving one into the garment of His extravagant Love.

The gift received…becomes the gift given.

With the mantle of mercy one is wrapped, drawing all of life under this garment of grace.

Covered under the cloak are those occasions of forgiveness…not that they are forgotten, not an agreement with what was said or done…

But the loose threads of the hurt are carefully rewoven into the garment of grace…in trust…

That one is “filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body”…

All for a purpose…all for God’s glory.

“And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.  And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.  And be thankful. ” Col 3:14-15.

Mercy received becomes mercy given.

An Irish Christmas Blessing…

Posted on by

4

An Irish Christmas Blessing…

The Light of the Christmas star to you…

image via fromtheheartofj

image via fromtheheartofj

The warmth of home and hearth to you…

The cheer and good will of friends to you…

The hope of a childlike heart to you…

The joy of a thousand angels to you…

The Love of the Son and God’s peace to you.

image via fromtheheartofj

image via fromtheheartofj

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL…a bit late …but still in the Octave of Christmas!

God’s Peace, Love and Joy in abundance, Fromtheheartofj : )

 

Holy Innocents…

Posted on by

7

image via fromtheheartofj

image via fromtheheartofj

We read in Matthew chapter 2 that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, King Herod, fearing for his throne, ordered that all the male infants of Bethlehem be killed.  These children are regarded as martyrs for the Gospel.

A Prayer to the Holy Innocents

Holy Innocents, you died before you were old enough to know what life means, pray for all children who die young that God may gather them into His loving arms.

Holy Innocents, you were killed because one man was filled with hatred, pray for those who hate that God may touch their hearts and fill them with love.

Holy Innocents, you experienced a violent death, pray for all who are affected by violence that they may find peace and love.

Holy Innocents, your parents grieved for you with deep and lasting sorrow, pray for all parents who have lost young children that God may wrap a warm blanket of comfort around them.

Holy Innocents, those around you certainly felt helpless to prevent your deaths, pray for all who feel helpless in their circumstances that they may cling to God for courage and hope.

Holy Innocents, you who are now in Heaven, pray for all of us that one day we may join you there to bask in God’s love forever.

Amen.

(author of prayer unknown)

No Questions?…

Posted on by

9

What if there were no questions? No W’s to form the words.

image via fromtheheartofj

no _ho’s,       no _hat’s,       no _here’s,      no _hich’s,      no _hy’s.

What would life be like with no questions?…

Without questions there would be no answers…

And one cannot live the answers without first living the questions.

Without the questions…without the _ho’s,  the _hat’s,   the _here’s,   the _hich’s,   or the _hy’s

There also would be no  _onder.

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
―   Poet Rainer Maria Rilke

“The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord is safe.” Pro 29:25

Through the Lens…

Posted on by

6

image via fromtheheartofj

I used to think the dark was very dark…until I learned that in the dark was light…sometimes beginning only like a shadow – other times as a little spark far off in the distance.  Yes, there is light in the dark and I think more often than not we are walking in that little glimmer of light in the dark…more often than walking in the light, void of the dark.  I used to think I walked in clarity….with “sometimes episodes” of blurry, but came to understand that mostly I walk in blurry, but in the clarity within the blurry.  Life is a paradox.  We live in mystery.  We live in faith.

“At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face.  At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.” 1 Co 13:12