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

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



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!

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



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.

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

                       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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

Because You're Mine, I Walk the Line

Its a beautiful, warm midwinter day here. Sun shining and
I head out for the bike path along the river to walk. Its
nice to be outside, alone with the cold, fresh air, and
walking with God as I go.

The bike path has a bright yellow line down the center
and one is supposed to walk on one side or the other.
Few people are around and no bicycles and I hear
the voice of God saying, "Walk down the yellow center
strip and try to keep the shadow of your head centered
on the center strip." Ok. God and I often walk and talk,
so this does not surprise me. The sun is behind me
casting my shadow forward. Right, keep my head
centered! Ha! I try to keep it lined up the yellow
line but its amazingly hard.

The natural pace of walking causes the shadow
of my head to move first to the right of the line
then to the left of it as I walk. Then, also,
as the path winds, the sun behind me causes
my shadow to shift and I have to keep adjusting
my gate, first a few steps to the right, then
a few steps the left. The dynamics change with
every step so it becomes quite challenging.

I could feel God telling me, "This is what
walking with Me is like, you have to pay
attention and you have to keep adjusting
to stay perfectly centered on My leading.
If the sun is perfectly behind you, it
will make it easier, just as if you walk
listening to My voice and don't stray
off the path, you will only have to
adjust slightly. Lose the light behind
you and even your shadow will be hard
to find.


As the late, great Johnny Cash sang so
eloquently:

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line

As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line

You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

And even more sublimely and eternally, As it is written,

"[The Lord] is your teacher; he will not continue
to hide from you, but you will see your Teacher
with your own eyes. If you go the wrong way—to the
right or to the left—you will hear a voice behind
you saying, "This is the right way. You should go
this way." (Isaiah 30:20, 21 adapted).


Be sure to walk the Lord's line, and have a listen here: :)

I Walk the Line

A saint's life is in the hands of God as a bow and arrow in the
hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot
see; He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint
says, I cannot stand any more. But God does not heed; He goes on
stretching until His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly.
- Oswald Chambers

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The

light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not

overcome it or understood it.

--John 1:4-5

photo taken in St.Ives, United Kingdom

Sun Shines Even in Winter

"May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.”--Irish Blessing

                              Straight through all the apparently tangled course of human


                                   history runs the accomplishment of God's eternal plan.


                                        ... J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), The Christian View of  Man


                                                        

photo taken at Ely Cathedral, Ely UK

Psalm 84: How Lovely is Your Dwelling Place O Lord of Hosts!

How lovely is your dwelling place,


O Lord of hosts!

2 My soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise!

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength;

each one appears before God in Zion.

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob!

9 Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

12 O Lord of hosts,

blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Psalm 84