..."and a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness; evil minded people shall not travel on it, but it shall be for those wayfarers who are traveling toward God. (Isaiah 35:8, adapted)



Sunday, January 30, 2011

He Awakes My Slumbering Soul



You ask then how I knew He was present, when His ways can in no way
be traced? He is life and power, and as soon as He enters in, He
awakens my slumbering soul; He stirs and soothes and pierces my
heart, for before it was hard as stone, and diseased.

- Bernard of Clairvaux



photo taken in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Friday, January 28, 2011


Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
and break fresh ground with You.

Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know
that my times, even now, are in Your hand.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count for You.

The Prayer of St. Brendan

photo taken in Glencoe, Scotland




Thursday, January 27, 2011

Midwinter Scene: The Cloak of Praise in Zion: Isaiah 61:3





Yes, provide for those in Zion who mourn, giving them garlands instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a heavy spirit, so that they will be called trees of righteousness the planting of the Lord, to glorify Him. (Isaiah 61:3).

...still another winter storm in the Northeast, but how lovely, as this tree is "cloaked with praise"--
the righteous planting of the Lord! even in winter, I am grateful!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Let the Spiritual Watchers See That In Him Is Victory



Be triumphant, be triumphant,
Let the spiritual watchers see
That thy God doth strengthen thee,
That in him is victory.
--Amy Carmichael


"His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold
wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and
authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal
purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
--Ephesians 3:10-11 (NIV)


photo taken in Beescraig Park, Bathgate Hills, Scotland




Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Benedict on The Instruments of Good Works




 What Are the Instruments of Good Works?




Not to give way to anger.

Not to nurse a grudge.

Not to entertain deceit in one's heart.

Not to give a false peace.

Not to forsake charity.

Not to swear, for fear of perjuring oneself.

To utter truth from heart and mouth.

Not to return evil for evil.

To do no wrong to anyone, and to bear patiently wrongs done to

oneself.

To love one's enemies.

Not to curse those who curse us, but rather to bless them.

To bear persecution for justice' sake.

Not to be proud.

Not addicted to wine.

Not a great eater.

Not drowsy.

Not lazy.

Not a grumbler.

Not a detractor.

To put one's hope in God.

To attribute to God, and not to self, whatever good one sees in

oneself.

But to recognize always that the evil is one's own doing, and to

impute it to oneself.


Rule of  St. Benedict Chapter 4

something to meditate on for a whole month of Sundays !. ....and not to be proud of the few
that you achieve, but eager to walk in the whole counsel of goodness. :) just so that you know:
this is just the BEGINING of the list :) see more here:  Rule of Benedict ...these are so reminiscent
of the seven deadly sins....

photo taken in Colorado Springs.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Love Melts the Soul


Reflect upon the providence and wisdom of God in all
created things and praise Him in them all...Accustom
yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they
 enkindle and melt the soul. --Theresa of Avila


photo of icicle melting off my window

Saturday, January 15, 2011



                       Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we

                        will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at

                         the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be

                    raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

                  --1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (NIV)



photo taken at Lake Windermere, Ambleside, UK

Thursday, January 13, 2011





He who is thus a spiritual lover knows well what his voice means which says: 'Thou, Lord God, art my whole love and my desire! Thou art all mine and I all Thine! Spread my heart into Thy love that I may know how sweet it is to serve Thee, and to be as though I were entirely melted into Thy love.'

0h, I am immersed in love and go far above myself for the great fervor that I feel of Thy unspeakable goodness! I shall sing to Thee the song of love; and my soul shall never be weary to praise Thee with the joyful song of love that I shall sing to Thee.

"--Thomas A Kempis



photo taken at Smith College, Northampton, MA




Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Lots and Lots of Snow!

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,

Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,

Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air

Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,

And veils the farmhouse at the garden's end.

The sled and traveller stopped, the courier's feet

Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit

Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed

In a tumultuous privacy of storm.


-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Goodness of God


listen to this wonderful song about :

The Goodness of God

Our hearts tell us, despite the sadness and tragedy we find in the world, that a good
and benevolent God rules in His sovreignty and that "the kingdoms of this world shall soon
become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."
Praise Him!


 
photo taken of a tulip opening, Smith College, Northampton, MA

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Kind Words, Kind Looks, Kind Acts


                                    Kind words, kind looks, kind acts and warm handshakes,
                                         these are means of grace when men in trouble are
                                               fighting their unseen battles”-- John Hall


solarized tulips--Smith College, Northampton, MA

Saturday, January 08, 2011

A WInter's Day



Who seeks for heaven alone to save his soul,

May keep the path, but will not reach the goal;

While he who walks in love may wander far,

But God will bring him where the Blessed are.

- Henry van Dyke (1852-1933)

Monday, January 03, 2011


How often do we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource! We go to Him because we have nowhere else to go. And then we learn
that the storms of life have driven us, not upon the rocks, but
into the desired haven.

- George MacDonald (1824-1905), "Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood
 
 
photo taken in St. Ives, UK

Sunday, January 02, 2011

The Sphere of Humiliation --Oswald Chambers


"If Thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us" (Mark 9:22).

That is our condition when we are in the valley; we do not know God,
we are full of scepticism. The great point of our life with God, and of
our service for Him in the world is that we get the scepticism rooted
out of us, and it takes the valley of humiliation to root it out.

Look back at your own experience and you will find that until you
 learned Who Jesus Christ was, you were a cunning sceptic about
His power. When you were on the mount you could believe anything,
because it was in accordance with the selfishness of your nature, but
what about the time when you were up against facts in the valley,
up against questions which could not be answered? You may be
perfectly able to give a testimony to sanctification, but what about
the thing that is a humiliation to you? If you are without something
that is a humiliation to you, I question whether you have ever come
 into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

We are called to fellowship with His sufferings, and some of the greatest
suffering lies in remaining powerless where He remained powerless.
Had our Lord been a man, He would have healed the boy at first,
but He waited until the father was in the last ebb of despair—
"If Thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us."

Am I patient enough in my faith in Jesus Christ to allow people to
get to the last ebb of despair before they see what He can do?
We step in in a thousand and one ways God never tells us to; we
 say we cannot bear to see God appear cruel, but God has to
appear cruel from our standpoint. As disciples of Jesus we have
to learn not only what Our Lord is like on the Mount of
Transfiguration, but what He is like in the valley of humiliation,
where everything is giving the lie to His power, where the disciples
are powerless, and where He is not doing anything.


-excerpted from The Love of God by Oswald Chambers