"God has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without man's ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done."
Ecclesiastes 3:11
The more widely known part of the verse, "There is an appointed time for everything," in other words the song from The Byrds, is more popular; but this part hit me this morning. I was thinking how fast time goes and things seem to come around full circle. When we were newly married and living in Billings, my mom and I used to go shopping or "prowling," as she called it. I always did the driving, as she was beginning to feel less confident behind the wheel and I was young and fearless. Now, however, many years later, whenever Sam and I do some prowling around, she always does the driving, since I am so much less confident...yada, yada. Criminy, I even wear my mom's old blue jacket! The seasons turn round and round and before I could even catch on to the work God has done, I'm the elder, the old lady in the blue jacket, letting my daughter drive me around like Miss Daisy! It is sneaky, though. You may not even realize it's happening until this reading from Ecclesiastes or The Byrds' song comes on the oldies station. It's sneaky and fast, but also has a right and good sense about it, too. "To everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season, turn, turn, turn. And a time for every purpose under heaven." Love, heidi Oh and enjoy a trip back to the sixties with The Byrds below:
Turn, Turn, Turn The Byrds
Friday, September 28, 2018
Thursday, September 27, 2018
Something new...
"What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun? One generation passess and another comes, but the world stays forever...Nothing is new under the sun."
Ecclesiastes 1:3-4, 9
This poor grumpy Gus could have been me a few years ago, I'm sad to admit. My advice to him would be to get rid of all he has, move across the state and get a job working with little kids. But, really...these difficult times we are experiencing now in our world do give us pause to wonder, What is it all for? What reason do we have for getting up each morning and doing it all again? We need to find that out for ourselves, but for me, it has been about letting go, seeking what God desires for my life and, essentially, climbing down the success ladder. It's not about what we achieve or how well we do or the fancy stuff we accumulate. It's about how we can serve God and our fellow creatures on the planet, and the planet itself. When I heard this reading this morning, I shuddered with understanding. What can we hope for long after we are gone? That some day some future relative will delight in finding us on ancestory.com? We'll be a leaf in someone's family tree? Maybe. But, for me, I delight in wanting to help out right here, right where I am. God has graciously given me a new pond, a new wineskin and I'm loving every minute of being here. There CAN be something new under the sun if we just look for it! Love, heidi
Ecclesiastes 1:3-4, 9
This poor grumpy Gus could have been me a few years ago, I'm sad to admit. My advice to him would be to get rid of all he has, move across the state and get a job working with little kids. But, really...these difficult times we are experiencing now in our world do give us pause to wonder, What is it all for? What reason do we have for getting up each morning and doing it all again? We need to find that out for ourselves, but for me, it has been about letting go, seeking what God desires for my life and, essentially, climbing down the success ladder. It's not about what we achieve or how well we do or the fancy stuff we accumulate. It's about how we can serve God and our fellow creatures on the planet, and the planet itself. When I heard this reading this morning, I shuddered with understanding. What can we hope for long after we are gone? That some day some future relative will delight in finding us on ancestory.com? We'll be a leaf in someone's family tree? Maybe. But, for me, I delight in wanting to help out right here, right where I am. God has graciously given me a new pond, a new wineskin and I'm loving every minute of being here. There CAN be something new under the sun if we just look for it! Love, heidi
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Hear and act!
"(Jesus) said to them in reply, 'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.'"
Luke 8:21
An interesting little caveat to this is that God is actually doing the work through those who hear and answer. That may help us get over the hump of thinking we are responsible for it all on our own. Thinking that will just get us spiritually proud and ew, who wants to be that? If we hear and act on God's nudgings in our lives, it is God who picks up the banner and waves it, not us. Knowing that may help us overcome any shyness or discomfort wading into waters with a faster current. It will help us thinking how wonderful we are for doing something charitable. It will help us give God the glory, where the glory belongs. We can be instruments and helpers of God, but God is really behind any good that we do. Does that make it easier for us to do good stuff? Love from the treehouse, heidi
Luke 8:21
An interesting little caveat to this is that God is actually doing the work through those who hear and answer. That may help us get over the hump of thinking we are responsible for it all on our own. Thinking that will just get us spiritually proud and ew, who wants to be that? If we hear and act on God's nudgings in our lives, it is God who picks up the banner and waves it, not us. Knowing that may help us overcome any shyness or discomfort wading into waters with a faster current. It will help us thinking how wonderful we are for doing something charitable. It will help us give God the glory, where the glory belongs. We can be instruments and helpers of God, but God is really behind any good that we do. Does that make it easier for us to do good stuff? Love from the treehouse, heidi
Friday, September 21, 2018
Leave it behind...
"Jesus said to (Matthew), 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him."
Matthew 9:9
I was thinking about Matthew as I exercised in the little gym at my apartment complex (I know--I'm getting weirder by the day). He was scorned by his own people for being a tax collector for the Romans. On one hand, a guy's got to make a living, right? But on the other hand, he must have seen in Jesus' invitation something better. He must have seen a way of life that was better than just making a living and being the object of ridicule from his own folks. Pray-As-You-Go pointed out that he changed his whole life, just like that. He just got up, left his former life behind and followed Jesus into new life. He became a new wineskin; he found a new pool of water, to pull out our previous metaphors. And what about us? Are we being called to change something in our lives that could make our lives a closer walk with Jesus? Tomorrow, autumn begins. It's such a good time for renewal and leaving behind what is holding us back. There's more to life than just making a living. I admire Matthew for recognizing that and just getting up and following Jesus! Love, heidi
Matthew 9:9
I was thinking about Matthew as I exercised in the little gym at my apartment complex (I know--I'm getting weirder by the day). He was scorned by his own people for being a tax collector for the Romans. On one hand, a guy's got to make a living, right? But on the other hand, he must have seen in Jesus' invitation something better. He must have seen a way of life that was better than just making a living and being the object of ridicule from his own folks. Pray-As-You-Go pointed out that he changed his whole life, just like that. He just got up, left his former life behind and followed Jesus into new life. He became a new wineskin; he found a new pool of water, to pull out our previous metaphors. And what about us? Are we being called to change something in our lives that could make our lives a closer walk with Jesus? Tomorrow, autumn begins. It's such a good time for renewal and leaving behind what is holding us back. There's more to life than just making a living. I admire Matthew for recognizing that and just getting up and following Jesus! Love, heidi
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Be awake!
"Love never fails..."
1 Corinthians 13:8
I had what I think was quite a mystical encounter yesterday that I will tell you, without going into details, brought me to tears. It showed me that we are all in this together--all of us. People come and go in our lives and we may not give them a passing thought. Until, that is, we look back and see Jesus in the encounter. Often I can see Jesus present in people I encounter, especially the little kids at school who holler to me from their school bus as it drives away, "Bye, Ms. G!" It's so easy to see Jesus in those little faces! But yesterday's encounter was different. I looked back and saw Jesus in me, myself. Whoa, that, right? I was able to respond and react so unlike myself and yet so needed for the moment that I could only recognize it was Jesus acting and not me. We need to be awake to these occurrences, because I think they can happen frequently if we are tuned into the Holy Spirit and do what we feel God calling us to do. Because tuning into the Spirit and hearing God's call invites Jesus to act through us. And the world needs so much of that just now. So the most passing encounter you have today may be just what Jesus needs to do in the world. Be awake! Pay attention! Love, heidi
1 Corinthians 13:8
I had what I think was quite a mystical encounter yesterday that I will tell you, without going into details, brought me to tears. It showed me that we are all in this together--all of us. People come and go in our lives and we may not give them a passing thought. Until, that is, we look back and see Jesus in the encounter. Often I can see Jesus present in people I encounter, especially the little kids at school who holler to me from their school bus as it drives away, "Bye, Ms. G!" It's so easy to see Jesus in those little faces! But yesterday's encounter was different. I looked back and saw Jesus in me, myself. Whoa, that, right? I was able to respond and react so unlike myself and yet so needed for the moment that I could only recognize it was Jesus acting and not me. We need to be awake to these occurrences, because I think they can happen frequently if we are tuned into the Holy Spirit and do what we feel God calling us to do. Because tuning into the Spirit and hearing God's call invites Jesus to act through us. And the world needs so much of that just now. So the most passing encounter you have today may be just what Jesus needs to do in the world. Be awake! Pay attention! Love, heidi
Monday, September 17, 2018
The Daily Examen
"More than 400 years ago St. Ignatius Loyola encouraged prayer-filled mindfulness by proposing what has been called the Daily Examen. The Examen is a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s presence and to discern his direction for us."
-IgnationSpirituality.com
So, my insurance company sent me one of those Right Track devices that plug into the car and monitor my driving. I was leery at first, but I think it is making me a more careful driver. It monitors bursts of rapid acceleration and sudden braking, as well as total miles driven and car use during the wee hours of the morning. It all makes sense to me and it makes me sort of wish I could get such a device for my whole life. Is there such a device that would monitor how closely I walk with Jesus through the day? Actually, the Daily Examen prayer serves to give us a little check of how we respond to God throughout our days. We can pray with the Examen and ask ourselves if we excellerated too fast into harsh judgements or hit the brake too fast on living generously. We can think back and see where we felt closer to God during the day and if there were times we may have missed seeing God around each corner. There are several good Examen prayers online. Pray-As-You-Go has a nice one at the link below and Fr. James Martin has a nice podcast Examen, also link below. I access both of them from my phone, through podcasts or the Soundcloud app. If you need to change up your prayer life and haven't tried the Daily Examen prayer, think of it as a little Right Track for your spiritual walk. It's encouraging and helpful for seeing Jesus in your day. Love from the treehouse, heidi
Pray-As-You-Go Examen
Fr. James Martin Examen
-IgnationSpirituality.com
So, my insurance company sent me one of those Right Track devices that plug into the car and monitor my driving. I was leery at first, but I think it is making me a more careful driver. It monitors bursts of rapid acceleration and sudden braking, as well as total miles driven and car use during the wee hours of the morning. It all makes sense to me and it makes me sort of wish I could get such a device for my whole life. Is there such a device that would monitor how closely I walk with Jesus through the day? Actually, the Daily Examen prayer serves to give us a little check of how we respond to God throughout our days. We can pray with the Examen and ask ourselves if we excellerated too fast into harsh judgements or hit the brake too fast on living generously. We can think back and see where we felt closer to God during the day and if there were times we may have missed seeing God around each corner. There are several good Examen prayers online. Pray-As-You-Go has a nice one at the link below and Fr. James Martin has a nice podcast Examen, also link below. I access both of them from my phone, through podcasts or the Soundcloud app. If you need to change up your prayer life and haven't tried the Daily Examen prayer, think of it as a little Right Track for your spiritual walk. It's encouraging and helpful for seeing Jesus in your day. Love from the treehouse, heidi
Pray-As-You-Go Examen
Fr. James Martin Examen
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