New Year Ponderings...

First of all I would like to thank you for your comforting words :0) Tilly is on the mend. Thanks be to God! She is playing with Emmy with her Christmas toys as I write. We are all feeling so light today just knowing she is getting well again :0) And I find as I look outside today, I am enamoured by the still and stark white, brown and grey hues of winter in the square whitewashed houses and slate roofs, brittle trees and frost tingeing the edges of the windows. All seems to have quietened into a moratorium of repose. something well needed. "For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, "In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength." Isaiah 30:15 * Last night Tani and I were talking and he was telling me about how when he was a kid he had an old rucksack that he used to keep a homemade "survival kit " in. This survival equipment consisted of know more than a few special stones, flints, a penknife, a favourite book, a pencil and some scrap paper:0) "With this bag I could do anything. I could go anywhere, I could go to the ends of the earth and know I would be okay, I had everything I needed to survive" How simple, how childlike, how wonderful such thinking is. ... No first aid kit, map, food or water in this "Survival Kit!" Children know better than that! Intuitively. Survival... the kind that can bring you through anything, right to the frayed edges of life, depends on more than the basic physical provisions. “That's why I'm telling you to stop worrying about your life—what you will eat or what you will drink—or about your body—what you will wear. Life is more than food, isn't it, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky. They don't plant or harvest or gather food into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. You are more valuable than they are, aren't you? Can any of you add a single hour to the length of your life by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Consider the lilies in the field and how they grow. They don't work or spin yarn, but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. Now if that is the way God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and thrown into an oven tomorrow, won't he clothe you much better—you who have little faith? “So don't ever worry by saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ because it is the gentiles who are eager for all those things. Surely your heavenly Father knows that you need all of them! But first be concerned about God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be provided for you as well. " So I am taking my little metaphorical rucksack into the morning of the New Year with me :0) Filled with a little soul food..., a few soul provisions:0) Something that can nourish and sustain from the time I first look out of the frost tinged window, right through to the ebbing glint of evening light. Something that will steady my gaze along the horizon. The one that calls me on from the depth of my heart. The Kingdom. His Kingdom. My eyes will be diverted and distracted many times as they always are, but I know that all He asks is that I keep remembering to bring them back to seek His face once again. And I will falter and trip and fall and waver and fail as I always have done before. When I will try to take my strength from my own provisions rather than the manna freely offered. The bread I cannot store up for tomorrow however hard I try. The bread that is offered for each day as it comes. The bread that feeds from sun up to sundown, leaving only faith to bring me to tomorrow's offering. But I know that all He asks is that I give thanks for His giving and try to use what is given to give to others in return. Really I only need carry these essentials. And the yoke is easy and the burden light, when I put down all the things I think I need, to store, carry, hold on to. Things that wear me down and crush my soul as they over feed my senses and my body. Till am so full of the coarse dry, heavy dough of my own making, there is no room left to take the sweet manna anymore. Yet no matter how I flail and flounder, He will still be there in the horizon. His sun rising new each morning when I open my curtains and look out of the frost tinged window. He will still be there. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Matthew 24:35 "And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age." Matthew 28:20

Made of Clay

I become distracted, overfilling myself with the wrong foods, carrying the wrong burdens, instead of simply taking His yoke. Till I am broken once again.

I become impatient. Desecrating sacred moments with dissatisfaction. Writhing anxiously with tasks incomplete. Aching. Deep. Emptiness. And somehow I forget all about the beauty that swells around me pleading me to simply stop still and notice. The decor of four sweet girls feels like clutter and background noise to the foreground of "me" and "mine". Sudden territorial instincts bare their teeth. I thought these nets had fallen away since I'd caught that big fish. I wake up wishing it was time to go to bed, disinterested in the day. Grasping for "me" moments in the thin broth I've made for us all to swallow. Wallow in like an unmade bed. And I do swallow the stinging tears that fall down my cheeks as I crawl to my feet asking the same monotonous questions. Why is this pattern of feeling like I'm failing grace... His Love for me, ever repeating itself through the days like a faulty roll of film? There are the beginnings when I rise from a bed of hot tears and shame. And the middle parts, soft and full as a cool pillow. Where I lay my head silently filling myself with His forgiveness. Sitting there in the half light listening, waiting. My empty hands open, my tears cried out, my heart somehow healed in the baptism of saline. My body feeling like debris. Me the publican, unable to even lift my eyes heavenward.

Oh how the earth tugs. How it's gravity pulls me down. Yes, something deep within me remembers deep that I'm made of nothing but dust and water. Substance of the fields that grow both wheat and weeds. Yet the weeds take no careful hand to help them grow, the wheat, a little more so. I am clay. Fragmented from being hardened, moistened, shaped and broken over and over again. Has the Potter been trying to fashion me into a golden chalice for so long ?.... Still here I am a breaking, leaking, earthen pot. Since from the muddy ground I emerge once again. Dust myself down, allow the stains to evaporate into His light once more. How hard it is for a hurting heart to let go of the mess. To let Him just carry the burden, wash my feet, Heal my heart. And every time I am sure my vision is secure. Till once again I falter and fall. My King, you fell three times, yet I haven't stopped falling since we met. Both in love with you and over myself. I'm such an obstacle aren't I. It's not you. It's me. I quietly pray soft as a whisper, that somehow through it all, you are working in me still. Through these falterings, falls, tears, embraces, faltering falls again. Maybe that is what Hope is for.

 

Hope that the brokenness in me can be worked into good once I turn my face toward You again God. Doesn't good solid clay need a little tempering sand and grit to keep it strong? It's what I've heard. Maybe my "temper" will be the humility I've needed for the alchemy to happen. And one day this grit, dust, ashes, water of a soul will become gold in Your Hands.

  "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

  Part of Imperfect Prose Thursday over at In the Hush of the Moon

Isaiah 58, What the gospel Demands,... He to whom much is given....

I have been really struggling over the last week or so. Since watching this series of talks on what the gospel demands.... Especially this one. lIFE shattering! And reading Isaiah 58 daily as a bible study with some friends... ... Sincerely, I've come to question so much about the way we live- I live as a christian. What is God asking of us - me? I was born here in an affluent country. My geography has placed me at an advantage over my brothers and sisters in developing nations. Here I have been scanning the Internet for home school materials while another child cannot even afford to learn to read and write. I see pictures of horrific poverty from the comfort of a PC screen. And what is my response? Is it the response of a follower of Jesus? What does God want me to do with this advantage, this privilege, this position? Indulge myself and my own at the expense of those at the door. Throw scraps from the feast at my table to those with nothing across water and continent? Can we -I be a Christian. a follower of Jesus and also be rich? And I am, rich.

How rich are you? >> I'm loaded. It's official. I'm the 384,123,909 richest person on earth!

We (as a family) have thought along the lines that we are not really rich simply because the bills take nearly everything by the end of the month. But, the very fact that we have bills means we have mainline electricity and clean water on tap.... on tap! It also means we have shelter for our family and our own transportation. This means we are most certainly rich.

• More than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water, namely 1.1 billion people, and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation, namely 2.6 billion people

• According to estimates, 100 million people worldwide are literally homeless. They have no shelter: they sleep on pavements, in doorways, in parks or under bridges. Or they sleep in public buildings like railway or bus stations, or in night shelters set up to provide homeless people with a bed.

The estimated number of homeless increases to 1,000 million people if we include those in housing that is "very insecure or temporary, often of poor quality - for instance, squatters who have found accommodation by illegally occupying someone else's home or land and are under constant threat of eviction; those living in refugee camps whose home has been destroyed; and those living in temporary shelters (like the 250,000 pavement dwellers in Bombay)". This is according to a 1996 report by the UN Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat).

At the most basic economic level, homelessness is caused by poverty and unemployment. The poor simply cannot afford adequate shelter.

The numbers would surpass 1,000 million if we include "all people who lack an adequate home with secure tenure (ie, as owner-occupiers or tenants protected from sudden or arbitrary eviction) and the most basic facilities such as water of adequate quality piped into the home, provision for sanitation and drainage".

*

We've been really praying over this. Asking God, what can we do? I am coming to believe that He is calling me in His word to leave all in His hands, to trust more and more in providence. To turn away from the fear that leads to tying up all our resources in accounts, insurances, pensions, and mortgages. There are so many who cannot afford housing which is a basic human need, simply because so many who can afford, stretch budgets to buy up property thus pushing the prices above and beyond what is acceptable or affordable. As I read and listen I see that really all we have been given are gifts from His hand, everything we have belongs to Him not us. How would God use the resources we have as Christians? Would He say go ahead, it's okay to have more than you need while there are people dying at the door? Or would God use what we have to clothe the naked, help the lost, feed the hungry, counsel the sorrowful? Some of us are given much so, that we can give much for His glory. Luke 12:48 "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." God gives us a time to embrace His love, grace, forgiveness and prosperity in His land for the time to pass along the abundance, the "overflowing cup" to our neighbours standing with empty hands before us. Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Deuteronomy:26 1-2 "When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket." Can being a Christian really become a state of mind and heart only? Doesn't living water not become stagnant and stale when not allowed to flow freely, from the plentiful river to the trickling stream to the empty cup in a child's hand? Faith in the word will transform my heart and mind till giving up and following becomes the only way to go. A narrowing road that leads only to life. A fearless road that trusts in providence in a radical way. A hard to see road that clears a way for the kingdom of God before the kingdoms of this world. Jesus put it plainly, he cut everything through with the sharp edge of the truth. He said, "Luke 16:13 "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." Speaking to the rich man who wanted to follow Him Jesus said... " How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." We often think of nuns and monks who take vows of poverty, as something special. But their simplicity of living, believing, being is surely nothing but the basic acceptance of the gospel message for all Christan's. Can we be Christians who spend weekends shopping for more, making Christmas lists that indulge our every lust and engorge our homes with more "stuff".... Be in the mindset that always says bigger, better, more?.... Can we (I) as Christians hoard money, insure every inch of our lives, buy expensive food or products that have been bought for less than the farmer who grows them or the factory worker who sews them can live onto be shipped half way across the world for our convenience?... Is it possible? When a (conservative estimate) of over 25,000 children die each day from hunger.

Which is equivalent to:

• 1 child dying every 3.5 seconds
• 17-18 children dying every minute
• A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring almost every 1.5 weeks
• An Iraq-scale death toll every 16–38 days
• Over 9 million children dying every year
• Some 70 million children dying between 2000 and 2007

Can we really say that we are followers of a gospel that says GIVE, at every turn? Is Jesus unacceptable to me the way He really is? I pray, pray, pray that I can accept Jesus and His word the way it is. And I pray, pray, pray that I can become acceptable to Him through living it like I believe it. Yes, Really believe it. Not just for the day that it suits me, but for the day when it doesn't. Cos' if I did- we did, really did believe ... Maybe the Kingdom really would come. The Kingdom that is an upside down, back to front kind of a place... When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying... " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." But if we take the comforting words of the Bible to sooth and strengthen us, surely we must also take the ones that are hard and challenging with just the same confidence. Exodus 12:8 "That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast" And don't these words, if really believed change perspective, transform heart, radically alter mindset and turn life upside down and back to front. In these passages from scripture, God is confronting us with the consequences of throwing scraps to the poor and walking grandly in our own self built cocoon of affluence. Luke 16:19-31

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

Isaiah 3: 14 - 26

The LORD enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: "It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses

What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?" declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.

The LORD says, "The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles.

Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion; the LORD will make their scalps bald."

In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, ¹⁹ the earrings and bracelets and veils, ²⁰ the headdresses and ankle chains and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, ²¹ the signet rings and nose rings, ²² the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses ²³ and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.

Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a sash, a rope; instead of well-dressed hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, branding.

Your men will fall by the sword, your warriors in battle.

The gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.

*

Ezekiel 16:49 "'The sin of your sister Sodom was this: She lived with her daughters in the lap of luxury—proud, gluttonous, and lazy. They ignored the oppressed and the poor. They put on airs and lived obscene lives. And you know what happened: I did away with them. * What it comes down to for me is is the Bible the truth. Is Jesus telling the truth. Do I believe it? * Thessalonians 2 "They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." * The modern "rich" christian church has, in many ways become a powerful delusion. A cover up for a false religion. * James: 1 - 27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." * Culture, consumerism and materialism have become a powerful delusion. The only way to see through the delusion is to accept the truth to the point where it can be transformative in our lives. There are Christians dying and persecuted all over the world right now. And I wonder would we -I be able to stand up and suffer for Jesus in the same way. Right now I don't think I would. If I can't even follow the basics how will I ever have the strength to face the real tests of faith that so many Christan's have had to face over the centuries. Grace is given in the giving. If I can't give, how can I receive? Revelation 3: 15-18 "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. " I don't want to be lukewarm. I don't want to be blind to the suffering of 30000 children and countless more adults and old people every day. I don't want to simply throw scraps from my abundance. I want to learn how to give from my poverty. Like Deepa. Lord, awaken me to the suffering world, Give me the grace to give of myself, my time, my resources, my abundance, Knowing that they are yours not mine Each person a unique child in your sight beloved to you Give me eyes to see as you see The ears to hear the cries that you hear The faith to believe Your word truly as it is. Heal our comfort hardened hearts. Amen. Matthew 5 -13 "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage." If We don't Live it properly, who will?

Let us Listen...

"Let us listen for the Lord’s voice, so that we can reach his place of rest."


~ from morning prayers

..."and you will find rest for your souls"...

"learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”

Jesus says there is a rest that comes with carrying the burden He gives.
Maybe this peace will not be for the body, neither the heart or the mind perhaps, but for the soul Jesus says here the soul will find it's rest. Embracing His burden, His yoke.

Maybe Jesus is saying that true peace can only be found when all is given for the soul, all is carried for the soul.
A deep peace for simply trying to do what God wills. Both simple and hard.

This peace comes along with the humble and gentle spirit which Jesus asks us to learn from Him.

These words humble and gentle rise and fall upon my heart. And I feel the sorrow of their absence well within. How I pray for them. How very far I am from them. I see patient, loving, generous, brave long suffering souls all around. While truly, I am like little fragments of mediocrity glued together by pride lol :)

A humble heart gives no resistance. A humble heart will not strive against humiliations but will embrace them.
And gentleness, is soft, crushed perhaps, broken? Probably. An empty state that cannot take or assert anymore, only give and accept.

A gentle heart must feel God's Love for hearts and their absolute need for His. Maybe only in carrying some of the burden of the broken is there relief, for the gentle soul.

And a humble spirit will stand aside while trusting simply in the stillness for itself. Knowing somehow, someway, He will come and lead her on with nothing of itself to give Him but it's willingness to be lead.

And there will not be that nagging fear of world's demands or standards or ideals. A humble and gentle spirit will be quenched by His will alone.

And there will be the rest.

There in the giving of all, to the carrying of Love's burden....

Ambition, ideals, idols, wants, desires, curiosities, failings, proofs, doubts...

There He will be with open arms giving,

The Peace Only He May Give.

All Saints...reflection on the Beatitudes.

What I love about the Beatitudes is that they say so much about the nature of God.Our great God blesses the small, the forsaken, the persecuted, the mourners, the meek, the peacemakers, the forgiving, the just, the childlike and pure of heart.


Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10

Rich Christians in an age of Hunger.... (More Prayerful Thoughts)

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families."
Isaiah 58

"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'Mathew 25

James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.

Luke 6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

Luke 16:25 "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.

1 Timothy 6:9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

He who gives to the poor will lack nothing,
but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
Proverbs 28


Photo credit Mio Cade

Let my soul be at rest again...

Let my soul be at rest again,
for the Lord has been good to me.
He has saved me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
And so I walk in the Lord’s presence
as I live here on earth!

Psalm 116 7-9



Photo credit: KarenR-TB

Prayer is a gathering (the pilgrimage of prayer "Walk with Him Wednesday")

Prayer is our daily gathering. It is where we meet Him. Like the woman at the well, we can only offer our empty cup and humbly ask " Give me some of this living water Lord".


I bring the children and we meet with Him in this ordinary place of "spirit and truth" somewhere between both the mountain and the temple. A small, simple wellspring from which to drink, in the middle of a busy day.

I bring the children to the source and we stop, we bring the water to our mouths, sometimes our own tears stream too. And the sweetness dilutes till the saline quenches and it feel like forgivness.

Suddenly we are the same, nothing more or less than a child of God. Both them and I.

And all those further out.
The borders to this place are not closed. They touch the ends of the earth. They embrace all they touch.


Prayer is a leveler. On the soil of prayer each of us can only fall to their knees before Him.
There may have been tussles only moments before, an argument, a sore word, discord in a heart. Yet this silence gathers hands, each as empty as the other, cupped and lifted for the water to pour, we are drawn beyond our own horizon lines, our own territories. In this unmarked ground we are His.


Yet takes a small step to make a giant leap.
At times the untidy noise of unwashed dishes rattles in my mind, or I catch myself on the irritation of restless bodies swarming like bees while my mind breezes past the time of an appointment this afternoon, mentally noting how I will fit lunch and naptimes around it's fixed point in the atmosphere of my mind.

And I ask myself, is this what I am orbiting around?

Only the silence of His gaze reorientates me. Changes my possibilities, opens new doors that I had not noticed before.
And on the tips of my outstretched fingers, a warm breath leaves it's vapour.
Like dew.
Manna.
Residues of falling flakes...

*

"Live in me, make your home in me."
John 15

Fall
one by one
*
*
*

"God it seems you've been our home forever; long before the mountains were born,
Long before you brought earth itself to birth,"
Psalm 90

*

"Yes, because God's your refuge, the High God your very own home, Evil can't get close to you."
Psalm 91

*

"Your beauty and Love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home, in the house of God, for the rest of my life."
Psalm 23

"There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink."
John 4:7

When we come to draw, He asks, he waits for us and asks.
The cup is a shared one.
Prayer is a gathering at the well.
Neither on the mountain nor the temple but in Spirit and Truth we will meet Him here.
In the silence of prayer we draw from the well.
In the drinking we know we are home.

Mother Teresa No Greater Love (A Meditation on Prayer)

I am reading a truly wonderful book at the moment called "No Greater Love" by Mother Teresa or as she is known now... Blessed Teresa of Calcutta :)
There are twelve chapters in all and I hope to share a little on each one over the next couple of weeks.
The first chapter in on Prayer.

"Prayer is in all gestures."
Mother Teresa


Often we think of prayer as being a few words we gather together at the beginning and end of the day, or to the table before we eat. Prayer is given an allotted time in our busy schedule.
Mother Teresa had a very different view than this. She saw that the prayer of our life is itself present in the eating, the living, the giving, the waking and even the times of rest and sleep. Prayer for her was integral to life, "being" and "doing" were two sides of the same coin.
A kind of prayer that becomes the shaping of life, the chisel in the carvers hand, the water in the potter's palm; a tool of formation bringing both body and soul to the heart of God.

I love this way of seeing prayer as a busy homeschooling mother of four. Sometimes it can be hard to find the Mary in the Martha yet by finding Mary we can bring prayer, and in doing so, God's hand, to Martha's work. I find that my own prayer has become, very much, a simple "drawing near to" and "reaching out to" my God in a very ordinary but sincere way throughout day to day life with it's ups and downs and routines. Rather than meditate or try to find many words I have found I seek to simply rest in Him more and more, to gaze upon Him. I find He brings me beside "the quiet waters that restore my soul" when I let Him do the leading and speaking.

"After a night of prayer, He changed my life when He sang, "Enjoy Me."
Saint Theresa of Avila

I believe that God wants very much for us to "enjoy Him". He wants to make our everyday "burden light".

Mother Teresa's prayer life seemed to have been something that was integral to all she did. Her prayer was in her movement and her movement was in her prayer.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

John 15

Prayer is remaining in Jesus in what we do just as much as in what we say or think. It is more than the annunciation of words, it is the Holy Spirit's stirring in the heart and movement in the body. Prayer prunes and cleans the debris away leaving only what is needed, the fruitful living branches that take their life from the roots of the vine.

"Just once, let the love of God take entire and absolute possession of your heart; let it become to your heart like a second nature; let your heart suffer nothing contrary to enter; let it apply itself continually to increase this love of God by seeking to please Him in all things and refusing Him nothing."
Mother Teresa

I admit I stumbled a little after reading the last words in this quote, the "refusing Him nothing"part.
Truthfully I know that every day I refuse God much of what He asks of me. The things that I refuse Him seem small and mundane yet they are "the small things done in great Love" Mother Teresa often spoke of. From the most mundane detail to the most difficult of work, cleaning, caring for and loving the most desperate in their time of dying, Mother Theresa kept giving, she was a well spring of God's love, that seemed could give only more with the giving.
Prayer, as she said was her foundation. And her close communion with God through prayer infused her actions with the fruits of prayer, compassion, patience, endurance.... Love.

So how we can best invite prayer into our own lives?
The most important thing, she says, is silence.

"Listen in silence, because if your heart is full of other things you cannot hear the voice of God."

"Jesus Himself spent forty days in the desert and the mountains, communing for long hours with the Father in the silence of the night. We too are called to withdraw at certain intervals into deeper silence and aloneness with God, together as a community as well as personally. To be alone with Him, not with our books, thoughts, and memories but completely stripped of everything, to dwell lovingly in His presence - silent, empty, expectant, and motionless. We cannot find God in noise or agitation. Nature: trees, flowers, and grass grow in the silence. The stars, the moon, and the sun move in silence. What is essential is not what we say but what God tells us and what He tells others through us."

It may seems impossible to reach this kind of silence in a life which is abundantly full, but I think of Mother Teresa, her life was about as full as it gets. She worked tirelessly, yet she found a deep inner silence which gave a space within her for God to be present.
She kept her life simple. I think this is key. She kept things to what was essential and necessary.
She did not over complicate, or worry but left things in God's hands.
In life worry acts as a distraction, fear needs to be numbed and anger needs to be satiated. God asks us to turn from these things and leave all in His hands.
Mother's form of prayer forsakes all that is not necessary to focus on what is needed.
Prayer brings soul supplies for the journey.

As she says... "This is not complicated, and yet we complicate our lives with so many additions."
God promises to give all that we need so long as we let go of our own control and focus on Him with trust like a child.

Mother Teresa points many times throughout the book to the physical poverty that her community embraces. Having little or only what is necessary gave her community the time and attention to accept God's own grace and strength without barriers. Things, "stuff" possessions can act as barriers between our hearts and God. They can divide our hearts and distract them, use them up till they have no space left for what truly matters in this world and to God, Love, compassion, forgiveness, joy, and peace.

"Why are you sleeping? Wake up, and pray ..."

_ Jesus to the disciples asleep in the garden, Luke 22:46


Next chapter of the book focuses on Love ~

A Living Prayer... "Walk with Him Wednesday "

There have been times when no matter how much I prayed or read the bible the only thing I felt was a longing, an ache, an aridity to the words I spoke.

So often it is easy to forget that the bible is a living word it is not simply a set of syllables to be learnt by rote and kept within ones own heart under lock and key.

So many times just the words, themselves, mysterious, rhythmical, poetic, simple and true as they are breath soft as a summer breeze through my body, a shiver of light and a tremble of truth. Sometimes just a simple phrase or paragraph glints like sunlight through the branches of trees defining with clarity the world around me and all that is within me at the same time.

These moments are beautiful and wondrous but the word cannot remain within the stillness of a page. The ink of the living word seeps into lives, spills over the edges and runs a river of baptism across the dividing lines between body and spirit. It is a stream of freshwater that moves within our hearts.

The word is fluid and omnipotent. It is a moving current that flows towards the ocean, not a stagnant pool that evaporates to nothing under the sun.

The key to releasing the word is the faith to live the word in Love. ”If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.” John 15:10 Putting the word into practice, step by step, moment by moment.

Allowing it to work through our body, transforming us into an instrument of Gods love until our actions may become a living prayer.

A living prayer follows all that is beautiful and good. Allowing the word to envelope and contain a heart, flow within and around it, mould and fashion it, break it and fix it. A prayer that takes our feet and hands to be the feet and hands of Jesus in the world.

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:3-6 A prayer that is more than just a spoken word permeates all actions with the blood of Christ and the love of God.

"lIVING THE wORD" "wALK WITH hIM wEDNESDAY OVER @ hOLY eXPERIENCE Image courtesy of Jupiter im ages

Supplies for 2009...

It starts with a blank piece of paper. With open hands and an unmarked canvas, waiting in the quiet. No expectations. Just. A Cream coloured piece of paper. Slowly but surly the words come through the silence of the page. Like gifts.... My Scripture for 2009: Old Testament: Isaiah 43. Fear not for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. New Testament: John 15:4-5 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

My Word for 2009: COURAGE. 

  My Quotation for 2009: “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” Saint John of the Cross 

My Saint for 2009: Saints Joan of Arc and Saint Bernadette

What Gifts might Jesus ask for this Christmas?

Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Matthew 9:13
But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Matthew 23:23
"You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

Matthew 25:34-46
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 6:20
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:25
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Luke 6:27
But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

Matthew 7
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

1 Thessesolonians
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

John 14
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

John 13:34
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Tilling Over

“Jesus assumed our flesh; let us give him our own. In this way he can come into the world and transform it.” -Pope Benedict XVI

In a way I take Him everywhere with me.
He is my hands when I hold and comfort a crying child, stroking the hair, wiping the tear dampened cheeks. He is my feet when I walk along the peaceful mountain places and also when I tread the bustling city streets.
Sometimes He takes me to places of quiet, sometimes places of mess and noise and dischord. Other times I am lead to a place of joy, and at other times a place of suffering.

Maybe this is what, a life lived for Him, with Him and through Him becomes. A transformation that begins with me and ends with Him.

Just as a seed holds the blossoming tree so we, each one of us, hold the kingdom in our hearts. And it is from the heart that we are led.

It seems that Jesus often sought out the difficult ways and the narrow ways, the deep valleys and the back streets of the lost and broken before the high, transendant peaks of this world.

He went to the depths of life so He might illuminate them, redeem them, raise them up to the heights in his own resurrected body.

Still, must I, at times follow even here? Beyond my comfort zone. Beyond myself.

Must I step out into a bright light and open space I don't recognise? Become vulnerable?

Like the winter trees striped of their leaves. Simple, naked silhoettes embracing the stark, frozen sunlight of late November.

I like symmetry, order, comfort. I like to design a situation I can plan, regulate and control.
Sometimes it is hard for me to take His hand in mine.
When He comes in the form of a stranger who may upset my routine, or a sick and sleepless child, a messy chore I‘d prefer to leave for tomorrow, or a lonely neighbour, I would rather visit some other time. I begin to loosen my grasp. I busy my empty hands with my own tasks instead of His.

I try to make Him live through me, through my limited, awkward, unyielding body.

Instead of simply letting myself live through Him. Through His limitless, given and graceful form.

I find myself too busy and troubled to simply sit at His feet as Mary did. And seek His still voice in the whisper.
The whisper that can lead me so very gently to the places I really need to be and to the things I really need to do.
To hear a whisper takes a quiet and yielded heart.

Yet oftentimes I clatter around with my dust pan and brush, my dish cloth and scourer looking to clean up the corners, make things look tidy. Even if only in my mind.
Though maybe it’s the messy parts are what I have to get my hands dirty with at times. Embrace in fact.
The difficult places, the narrow roads.
To dig deep into the earth of life where the rot and decay can be over turned, to give life to new shoots. There is growth in the mess of it all, glory in fact, in the opportunity to turn goodness out of a little dirt.

Hard work, tiredness, the monotony of chores, sickness, the crying child, the untidy rooms, the needy and lonely ones I neglect to call on, the unkind comment someone made the other day that still lingers, are all opportunities to dig deep and plant a seed.

A seed that can be planted in my own heart first.

A place where the noonday sunlight of hope and the gentle watering of faith upon that seed may, in time, pollenate a whole garden of budding blossoms.
It is a strange yet beautiful fact of nature that it is only when the flowers have past their bloom and are about to fade and wither that they become most fruitful. For it is not in the beauty of the unfurled petals that they hold their life. It is from their very heart that they release their seed. Their hope of new life.

The soil of my own expectations is constantly being tilled over.
His order and beauty is grown from the earth up; from the depths of the soil to the heights of the heavenly kingdom.

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;" Ephesians 3:18

And during the times when the hard clay of all my pride and selfishness is softened to a fine rich soil, my own limitations are over come by His limitless.

You drench its furrows and level its ridges;you soften it with showersand bless its crops.
Psalm 65:

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Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground? Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cummin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area? For his God instructs and teaches him properly.
Isaiah 28

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... For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown ...
Eziekiel 36

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For the earth that drinketh in the rain which cometh often upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is tilled, receiveth blessing from God
Hebrews 6 >>

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the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sowe the seed: and the mountains shall drop sweetness, and every hill shall be tilled ... Amos 9:13

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)