A few reflections before a break :0)

I am planning to take a break from blogging while so I thought I'd leave my dear lovely readers with a nice L.O..N....G ........! post to chew over lol ;0)
By the way the knitted bunny link didn't seem to work on my last post so here it is again in case you missed it! http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/bunny-pattern.shtm

Here's an extract from "Today's Catholic Family"

You are called to discover the Kingdom

The secret of adulthood.

Wordsworth once wrote:

Heaven lies about us in our infancy;

Shades of the prisonhouse begin to close

Upon the growing boy;

But he beholds the light, and whence it flows

He sees it in his joy.

The youth who daily farther from the East

Must travel, still is nature's priest,

And by the vision splendid

Is on his way attended.

At length the man perceives it die away

And fade into the light of common day.

The fading of the " Vision Splendid" into the light of common day is a loss that many adults experience. In his book How to meditate, psychologist Lawrence Leshan speaks of it as something of ourselves we once dimly and unknowingly had and have lost, without knowing what it was or where or how we lost it.

Many adults feel the loss. Once we enter the world of adult and family responsibility, life becomes work, work, work.

Life becomes the joyless burden of Adam and Eve banished from paradise.

Peace of mind and a sense of joy are what many of us really seek. We want to experience life and take pleasure in the simple things. We want to break down artificial barriers and be ourselves. We want to be real with each other. We want to live life in the vision splendid! Is there a way to regain that vision?

The vision regained

In his first letter to corinth, Paul wrote, " When I became a man I gave up childish ways." Paul was addressing a group of adults who were trying to upstage eachother by claiming they had various spiritual gifts. These Christians were so busy with their petty scheming and rivalries that they had lost sight of their original vision. They had fallen into the trap of playing games with each other - a characteristic of the adult world.

What Paul was telling them is that all this adult game playing is really "childish"

Opposed to " childish" is the radically mature vision Jesus revealed. He said: "Change and become like little children".

This strange advice sounds really foolish. And by our adult standards it is. That is the point.

The vision that is offered to us cuts through the adult foolishness that makes us unhappy.

Very simply, in Paul's words, the foolishness of God is wiser than men.

God's foolishness knows what adult wisdom does not know:

That we cannot make ourselves happy.

What the wise child in us wants is unattainable - but we can attain it by entering the world of Gospel simplicity. Kitaro Nishida a philosopher once wrote in his diary " If my heart could become pure and simple like a child. I think there can be no greater happiness than this." We can become like that. WE can experience what Saint Paul called " the glorious freedom of the children of God"

The proposal is utterly serious. Become like little children. Embrace Trust, Wonder, Innocence, Joy in it's fullest.

The family of the kingdom.

Jesus of Nazareth, the travelling preacher, had no property, no children, no steady job. You might not think such a person would be a great family man. But he was exactly that. The difference for him was that everybody was family who wanted to belong.

It all stemmed from the way Jesus saw reality. To him, home was the presence of God. He was aware of God the way you are aware of yourself - always and everywhere. In those days it was considered irreverent to speak the name of God in public. The name was too sacred. But Jesus went much further than saying God; he called God "Abba" - Beloved Father.

His relationship with God was so deep and natural that it was catching. Everyone he influenced was drawn into it.

Jesus was a rabbi, a religious teacher. But because of the way he saw reality he was not like other rabbis.

Jesus' awareness was that the father is preparing a great banquet for us in his kingdom. The strange thing about this banquet is it's time and place. The time of the banquet is now. Jesus was constantly telling people that the banquet has already begun. And the place for the banquet is not somewhere else. it is right here!

Jesus insisted that the kingdom of God is right in the midst of you.

This awareness was so deep and radical that even today people still do not grasp it very well, The banquet for the kingdom is here and now? What does this mean?

John the baptizer was a contemporary of Jesus, a visionary holy man if ever there was one. John was incredibly strict on himself, His clothing was made only of camel hair and his food was locusts and wild honey.

John told people that the kingdom is at hand and told them to repent.

Jesus said something similar, but his awareness of God was vastly different to John's. In Jesus' awareness the banquet had already begun: this was no time for strict fasting. So Jesus made the rounds eating and drinking with all kinds of people respectable and sinful.

The contrast between Jesus and John was so sharp that a saying about it appears in the gospel: " For John came neither eating and drinking and they say he has a demon; the son of man came eating and drinking , and they say Behold a glutton and a drunkard..."

Jesus was not a glutton or a drunkard, but he was very serious about the banquet. The time is now, he would say. The kingdom is in our midst and the banquet has already begun.

The Kingdom Here and Now.

No one can tell us what the banquet really is. It cannot be explained, it can only be discovered. But we do know this: God is involved in it. God is Beloved Father, and you are his Beloved Family. Your family is part of God's family. Every person in your family, respectable or otherwise, has a place in the kingdom.

No one can define the kingdom. It has no boundaries of time and place. But this much is known: for you, it is here and now in your family. The nature of the kingdom is such that you experience it through others - especially those who meant he most to you.

The kingdom is not something you can make happen. Only God can do that. It lies in your future with God. The kingdom appears in your midst to lead you forward into that future. You and your family are pilgrims traveling to a kingdom that is not of this world.

The banquet you are called to is not literally a meal.

As Paul wrote, " the kingdom of god does not mean food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"

You cannot create this peace and joy,

But you can discover it and experience in your spouse, your parents, your children, your brothers and sisters. Through obedience, kindness, compassion and giving of self and through all the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Whenever you make each other happy, the peace and joy of the banquet are a reality you actually experience.

Whenever you forgive each other or do something to heal a wound. God is at work within you.

When you look at each other and realize that the Father is calling this person to communion with himself, the kingdom is in your midst.

The person who called us to the kingdom is very family minded. To him, his Father mans everything. Bringing people together to experience the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit was the whole point of his life. His family is everybody who wants to belong to it and his invitation to the banquet is especially for you.

You must believe that.

Otherwise, it does not mean much to say: "

The kingdom of God is in the midst of you."

Family exercise.

1) The most kingdom like quality each member of our family possesses is ( Write each person's name and personal quality)

2)The thing about our family that means the most to me is...

( Describe how you feel, and how different your life would be without his reality.)

3)The last time I experienced the peace and joy of God's kingdom here at home was when.... ( Describe what happened and how you felt about it.)

4)The happiest memories I have experienced in our family.....

5)When has my family (or a family member) really supported me, forgiven me or helped me when I needed it most........

6)When I stop and think that the kingdom of God is right here in our family, I realize that ......

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I have also been thinking about the transformative powers of praise, thankfulness and gratitude

recently. Since starting my own gift list many aspects of the everyday have been "transfigured" transformed.

The bible is strewn with thankfulness, praise and gratitude...

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,and to sing praises unto thy name, O most high:To shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night— Psalms 92.1-2

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness there

of. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice— Psalms 96.11-12

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us,and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:be thankful unto him, and bless his name.For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;and his truth endureth to all generations.— Psalms 100.1-5

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of Lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever: The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.— Psalms 136.1-9

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God.— I. Thessalonians 5.16-18

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.— Hebrews 3.15 (65 AD)

Visit this link below for mte about the gratitude community :)

http://aholyexperience.com/2006/11/gift-list-thousand-things.html

"but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise." Isaiah 60:18

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And here is a lovley prayer I found over at Christ's Rose

God, make me brave for life: oh, braver than this.

Let me straighten after pain, as a tree straightens after the rain,

Shining and lovely again.

God, make me brave for life; much braver than this.

As the blown grass lifts, let me rise

From sorrow with quiet eyes,

Knowing Thy way is wise.

God, make me brave, life brings

Such blinding things.

Help me to keep my sight;

Help me to see aright

That out of dark comes light.

~Author Unknown~

This is something I am embracing. The fact that I am broken and that is okay. So long as I hand all the pieces over to God, he can make me anew................................ :0)

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And to finish up..... some words from John Wooley

The almost instinctive speaking of My Name when life is dark and uncertain ...
the cry of a child for the One who can draw close; the cry of a child when reasoning ceases to function, when all is threatening, when human help is absent, when confidence is lost. The speaking of My Name brings into the foreground of your situation the one vital factor. My name can be said in helplessness... but said in joy and thankfulness only seconds later! Thankfulness at being brought through that state of helplessness.
The speaking of My Name ensures, immediately, the retreat of evil forces . . . acknowledging that they are defeated in their aim for your life.
My child, the whispering of My Name ... On waking ... On surrendering to sleep ... And very frequently during each day!

I will be with you when you go through deep waters.(Isaiah 43.2)

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Everything can speak to you of My love, if only you will listen with the Spirit’s ear.
My presence with you, My love for you, are the things in which you rest…… they encircle your life. Think much of the indivisibility of the trusting child and its Maker. My gift to you is the sense of My nearness. This sense must touch every aspect of your life…..Always see, in Me, the One who has promised what no-one else could, able to convert those promises into a wonderful reality; they are not too good to be true! My promises are not lost by human failings, provided that, in sorrow over failure, My path is resolutely taken again, with a reaching-out to Me for renewal.
Tell Me at the start of each day of your intention to keep in the way which I have shown you. My way, applied to the details of that day, will then be increasingly clear to you. Make use of all that I have given you. Are you trusting My promises? It is that or nothing.

I will never forget you- your image Is on the palms of My hands

(Isaiah 49:16)