A morning prayer

A prayer

Lord God, you alone are Lord.  You alone are Holy.  You alone are most high, Jesus Christ.  Your mercies are new every morning.  Your love is everlasting. 

You alone offer a divine spirit, Your Holy Spirit, who lives in all who believe in You as Savior, honor You as Lord, walk with You as a friend and brother. 

I need you, Lord.  Without you, I am nothing.  In you, I have all.  What a reason to celebrate!  In you I have all!  Thank you, Lord, for loving me and inviting me into your light and love.  Transform me, renew me, empower me so that I can express your love in my words and actions. 

To You be the glory,
   by the power of the Holy Spirit,
      in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Pause and Consider

  A foggy mix of bluish-greys 

Looking out my back window, I only can see as far as my neighbor’s evergreen, about one hundred yards back.  The long view is shortened this early morning.

Most winter days in my part of New York offer long views and times to pause and consider horizons.  Yet this foggy morning also invites me to pause --                                                      pause, pray, and breathe.    Selah* 

Psalm 89 (NIRV)

1 Lord, I will sing about your great love forever.

    For all time to come, I will tell how faithful you are.

2 I will tell everyone that your love stands firm forever.

    I will tell them that you are always faithful, even in heaven itself.

3 You said, “Here is the covenant I have made with my chosen one.

    Here is the promise I have made to my servant David.

4 ‘I will make your family line continue forever.

    I will make your kingdom secure for all time to come.’”   Selah

 ^*The term Selah appears dozens of times in the Book of Psalms in Hebrew scripture; however, its meaning is unclear.  Selah indicates a pause of some sort.  One common interpretation is “pause and consider.”   

 

 

A Question or Two about Angels

Some days ago, I sat snuggled in my husband's comfy recliner looking up at our Christmas tree, unadorned except for some hard to reach ornaments, a strand or two of lights, and the angel sitting in her place of honor atop the fir.  Looking up at her, it occurred to me that contemporary representations of angels tend to be female, lovely or adorable female angels.   Does the Bible mention female angels? 

Angels are a part of many biblical narratives, but once we've stowed away the Christmas ornaments, who thinks about angels? 

Persevere with Joy

James 1:2-4 --Trials and Temptations

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (NIV)

Hello, dear readers!

Each new year, scores of us proclaim our goals for the year.  Like hand-held sparklers, we burst forth with light and energy.  Like sparklers, we fizzle out quickly.  Year after year.  

We ask ourselves, Why?

A FB friend posted this:  It is better to ask how rather than why.  The same can be said about who, or rather, Who.   

It is better to ask "how" and "Who" rather than "why." 

So, let's agree to put aside the why's of our annual fizzle.  Let's look at --

How this year can be different & Who is able to bring us to victory.  

Victory is a journey, and sometimes that journey is uphill.  Are you a walker, hiker, bicycler, or swimmer?  If, yes, you know that progress requires perseverance.  The same is true for any sport.  Day after sweaty day, you persevere to achieve your goals.  Eventually, you build up the right muscles and the right attitude.  You have grown as an athlete.  You are able to go further, with greater ease, than when you began.

Christians, God calls us to grow up,                                                                       be made whole, be joyful. 

You are not alone.  I am with you always.

Let's acknowledge the benefits of perseverance.  Each day of perseverance is a day of victory because holy perseverance builds muscles, literally and figuratively.  Holy perseverance, that is, journeying with God, changes attitude and outcome. Persevere with joy, holy joy that God freely gives.

       God brings all things to completion.

I have to confess something here.  A few years back, I began to notice that my new year's goals never included God.  Never included a focus on prayer, on study, on maturing as a Christian to bring glory to God in my life and in my service to God's world.  How about your goals?

Our God is an awesome God!  
Take that first step, second step, third step, and all those other steps toward maturity and completeness.  

Seek ye first the kingdom of God. The promise is made that if we seek it first, and its righteousness, all earthly wants will be supplied. (Matthew 6:33 b)

 Walk, run, hop, skip, journey with joy.   

Footnotes:

1. James 1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verses 16 and 19; and in 2:1, 5, 14; 3:10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19.  See BibleGateway.com @ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A2-4&version=NIV 
2. People's New Testament Commentary, M. Eugene Boring, Fred B. Craddock, John Knox Press,  2004.

  

The Journey Continues, 2013

How did you celebrate the first day in 2013?  My husband and I celebrated the New Year with coffee in hand, watching the Rose Parade.   

The theme of two favorite floats could be called “union.”   These were:

The Farmers Insurance float with the marriage union celebrated, almost as romantic and sweet as the Natural Balance Pet Foods float with the young Army Sergeant reunited w/ his wife and son.

The Disney float was beautiful (of course).  So was HGTV’s float (ditto). The Korean War Memorial float was amazing, beautiful artistically and very moving.  My thanks go to all who have served our country to protect our freedom. 

The parade hosts on HGTV were thrilled when a stealth bomber flew overhead, but I kept thinking, “This plane drops bombs that kill.”  I admit, however, it was a sight to see.  Seeing its approach would give most folks goose bumps, no matter what their thoughts on the plane’s purpose.  

I loved what Parade Marshall Jane Goodall said.

My dream for this New Year's Day is for everyone to think of the places we can all go if we work together to make our world a better place. Every journey starts with a step –    

 May God grant us travel mercy along the way.

Lutherans have been working to make the world a better place.  I’ll talk about this soon.  But before sharing a prayer, I want to extend a shout out to our Lutheran brothers and sisters in Christ for their great parade float today.

Winter trail at the city's edge.

We follow your path, O Lord, Jesus,
  a rhythm of motion and rest,
  all moments to glorify you.
Lord, may your people emerge from the shadows

  and live as the redeemed.
By the power of the Holy Spirit,
  may we love as you love us,
  may we worship in glory with you, free,
  to serve the world faithfully.  Amen.

Second Step

Greetings, dear reader!

Faith, No Irony marks my second step into the blogosphere since I posted Six Weeks in Appalachia.  A second step can be just as scary as the first, but I'm going to concentrate on the steps, not the fear.
  
I live in the U.S., which has seen a great demographic shift in faith beliefs and practices.  I could be wrong, but it seems as if those who follow non-Christian faith traditions seem to be more intentional and disciplined in their practice.  

I follow Jesus the Christ, so most of my posts will be about how I live out my faith as a Christian.  Whom do you follow?  how do you live out your faith?

Let's share our faith journeys (winter, spring, summer, fall) and encourage one another as we strive to live mindfully, to God's glory.

Snow-shoeing, 1886.  Library of Congress.