My lifesong...

"I want to sign Your name to the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true.

Let my lifesong sing to You!"

"Lifesong," Casting Crowns, from the album "Lifesong"

This is an oldie, but a goodie, song and I heard it the other day like it was the first time. I was driving down the highway and it came on the radio and this last couple of lines of the chorus jumped out at me. "I want to sign Your name to the end of this day...knowing that my heart was true." Wow! That is such a beautiful and powerful thought, Friends. We want to live our lives so that, as we nestle into bed at night, we can see God's stamp all over our day. We want to know that we dealt with others in love. We want to know that we nurtured and cared for others the way Jesus did. We want to know that we tried our best to be Jesus in the world, no matter how crazy the world seems to us. So, dust off this wonderful song and hear the lyrics again. It's a great way to begin a summer weekend! Love, heidi

Here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaia32TsPq0

Getting somewhere by being still...

"All spiritual growth is fraught with mystery. No matter how hard we try, we cannot push and shove our way into union with the Holy One."

Sr. Joyce Rupp, "Prayer"

I'm learning that there is so much waiting patiently as I grow closer to God! I have such an urge to control the process, to hasten it along, to make it all about ME...and that is so not it. Growing spiritually is about being ready to receive and being awed by the process, not so much the end result. What is the end result, anyway? How do we know we have "arrived" at the end? What does spiritual success look like? We all know spiritual people who seem to be so close to God and have what we want to have. But do they really? After Mother Teresa died, it was discovered that she struggled in her faith, just like the rest of us, and yet, she is one of our spiritual powerhouses. Our spiritual journey never comes to completion here on this planet. And, it is sometimes only in looking backward we can see growth. We need to "be still and know that I am God" and have our hands open to receive. Love, heidi

Prayer

"In prayer, we bring ourselves to the entryway of our relationship with the Holy One, but it is God, 'who is able to accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine.' (Ephesians 3:20)"

Sr. Joyce Rupp, "Prayer"

Growing up as a cradle Catholic, I cut my teeth on the words "prayer" and "grace." I knew the Baltimore Catechism definitions for both, but they sure seemed mysterious and vague to me. I knew what they were, but had no idea what they WERE, if you know what I mean. I'm learning, gradually on my journey, what they mean, and it is extremely enlightening! Prayer forms have passed through my life in waves. For a while, I did this type of prayer, for another period of time I did that type of prayer. But, always, as long as I can remember, I have talked to God. I can remember specific times, as a kid, talking to God. I remember feeling a Presence, too; I wasn't just talking to thin air! There was Someone there I felt I could just spill my heart to, and I did! Such a gift, that. Now, as a grown up, I am growing back to that time when I talked to God as a child. Prayer is a relationship, not just a conversation. Prayer is being open and welcoming, not always coming with an agenda. Prayer is being willing to accept any answer, not just what I think I want or need. Prayer is not about what I do, but what God does with me. Love, heidi