Hello Ladies,
Today I would like to share with you one of my favorite Christmas songs. It is a perfect example of what our relationship with God should be. We think we are not important to anyone. We are necessary to God's loving plan. Have the strength to love others, be vulnerable, forgive, pick yourself up, and know that you are not alone in your journey. Walk along in humility. You don't have to know all the answers. Walk in strength. You do not need to remain in abusive situations. Dare to forgive - even if from a safe distance. Every moment you choose to love, you choose God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8_475FKJWQ
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
I have traveled many moonless nights
Cold and weary with a babe inside
And I wonder what I've done
Holy Father, You have come
And chosen me now to carry Your Son
I am waiting in a silent prayer
I am frightened by the load I bear
In a world as cold as stone
Must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now, be with me now
Breath of Heaven, hold me together
Be forever near me, Breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven, lighten my darkness
Pour over me Your holiness for You are holy
Breath of Heaven
Do you wonder as you watch my face
If a wiser one should have had my place?
But I offer all I am
For the mercy of Your plan
Help me be strong, help me be, help me
Breath of Heaven, hold me together
Be forever near me, Breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven, lighten my darkness
Pour over me Your holiness for You are holy
Breath of Heaven, hold me together
Be forever near me, breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven, lighten my darkness
Pour over me Your holiness for You are holy
Breath of Heaven, Breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven
AMY GRANT
Songwriters
CHRIS EATON, AMY GRANT
Read more: Amy Grant - Breath Of Heaven Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
In the Beginning...
Hello Ladies,
What I am humbly offering you today is the start of a Christian allegory of the journey of the soul. It is not enough to say "God loves you". This is true. But it helps to have a context to put it in. The Christian worldview is an exciting one complete with epic battles over the fate of humanity, supernatural beings, and love that transcends time and space. If you want a really good read look up The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis or The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. These are true masterpieces. But since I am not a bachelor and/or do not have a wife to lighten my workload, you will have to be content with the following.
In the beginning…
…there was you and God. Surrounding you was the rest of creation, but that was ok because God was the center of it all. Every voice, unique and distinct, was lifted in song, creating a melody greater than the sum of any one part. And that was as it should be.
Then came a change, small at first, a discordant cord. Then came a crash, a break, a sense of… loss. But still there was God, shining in the center. And there was peace.
Then one day a messenger of God came before you.
“Would you like to be tested?” asked the angel.
“What would that entail?” you asked of the angel.
“God will be obscured from you. You will have a chance to hear the discordant voices. You will be given the power to choose your own path, to choose a way other than God.”
“But why would I choose to undergo such a test?”
“Because God, creator of all, sees your potential to become greater and wiser than you are now. You may choose to be tested. At the end there will be judgment. All that you have chosen that is not of God will be burned away. Your sins will be forgotten and your sacrifices and strengths perfected.”
Then the angel took you by the hand and showed you the earth. For the first time you became aware of the concepts of space and time. You became aware of separateness and isolation. And you felt small and trembled.
“Do not fear, little one,” said the angel. “You will begin as small and secret as a dream. Then you will grow. You will be helpless and vulnerable. You will learn to love by being loved first.”
But you could see so much sorrow and fear that you were not convinced.
“What happens to those who do not choose God?”
The angel stood aside and before you lay a void of agony and isolation.
“Who would choose to go there?” you asked.
“Those who refused to see the beauty within themselves and so did not honor it in others. They lived their lives in thoughtlessness, fear and dread. For they knew deep down that what they were doing was not right.”
“Why doesn’t God do something??”
“Because God loves us and respects our decisions. Their small decisions in life formed them and led them there. When God called to them, they did not recognize Him and turned away. They always thought they would spare themselves in the end. They were wrong.”
“Then why would I leave my place of safety?”
Again the angel moved and before you lay a place of trust, joy, growth, and harmony; souls gathered together at a feast. There is a sense of love, not of blind faith as you have known, but of a relationship whose bonds have been tried and found secure. The beauty of grace and gratitude is breathtaking; the souls are grateful for God’s love and grace and God is grateful for their steadfastness in adversity.
“What am I to do?” you asked the angel.
“Be who God created you to be. Sing your song to others. Love. Always. God will be with you. And so will I.”
May God Continue to Bless You!!
What I am humbly offering you today is the start of a Christian allegory of the journey of the soul. It is not enough to say "God loves you". This is true. But it helps to have a context to put it in. The Christian worldview is an exciting one complete with epic battles over the fate of humanity, supernatural beings, and love that transcends time and space. If you want a really good read look up The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis or The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. These are true masterpieces. But since I am not a bachelor and/or do not have a wife to lighten my workload, you will have to be content with the following.
In the beginning…
…there was you and God. Surrounding you was the rest of creation, but that was ok because God was the center of it all. Every voice, unique and distinct, was lifted in song, creating a melody greater than the sum of any one part. And that was as it should be.
Then came a change, small at first, a discordant cord. Then came a crash, a break, a sense of… loss. But still there was God, shining in the center. And there was peace.
Then one day a messenger of God came before you.
“Would you like to be tested?” asked the angel.
“What would that entail?” you asked of the angel.
“God will be obscured from you. You will have a chance to hear the discordant voices. You will be given the power to choose your own path, to choose a way other than God.”
“But why would I choose to undergo such a test?”
“Because God, creator of all, sees your potential to become greater and wiser than you are now. You may choose to be tested. At the end there will be judgment. All that you have chosen that is not of God will be burned away. Your sins will be forgotten and your sacrifices and strengths perfected.”
Then the angel took you by the hand and showed you the earth. For the first time you became aware of the concepts of space and time. You became aware of separateness and isolation. And you felt small and trembled.
“Do not fear, little one,” said the angel. “You will begin as small and secret as a dream. Then you will grow. You will be helpless and vulnerable. You will learn to love by being loved first.”
But you could see so much sorrow and fear that you were not convinced.
“What happens to those who do not choose God?”
The angel stood aside and before you lay a void of agony and isolation.
“Who would choose to go there?” you asked.
“Those who refused to see the beauty within themselves and so did not honor it in others. They lived their lives in thoughtlessness, fear and dread. For they knew deep down that what they were doing was not right.”
“Why doesn’t God do something??”
“Because God loves us and respects our decisions. Their small decisions in life formed them and led them there. When God called to them, they did not recognize Him and turned away. They always thought they would spare themselves in the end. They were wrong.”
“Then why would I leave my place of safety?”
Again the angel moved and before you lay a place of trust, joy, growth, and harmony; souls gathered together at a feast. There is a sense of love, not of blind faith as you have known, but of a relationship whose bonds have been tried and found secure. The beauty of grace and gratitude is breathtaking; the souls are grateful for God’s love and grace and God is grateful for their steadfastness in adversity.
“What am I to do?” you asked the angel.
“Be who God created you to be. Sing your song to others. Love. Always. God will be with you. And so will I.”
May God Continue to Bless You!!
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Conversion - The Integrity Project
Hello Ladies,
A Christian talking about conversion can be a tricky thing. It conjures images of annoying people ringing your doorbell during a nap time to tell you that you are going to hell unless you follow their beliefs. It implies disrespect for your way of life and the values that you as an intelligent person hold dear. It violates the 'live and let live' mentality that is the basis for any free society. The words "guilt", "intolerance", "manipulated" and "theocracy" come to mind. I live in a secular society. I know how it goes. I am free to be Catholic as long as nobody knows about it. On the other hand I'm not of the belief that you have to follow my way or you're going to hell either.
So, being a Catholic who doesn't bang on doors and doesn't believe that you are going to hell because you are not rattling those rosary beads, what have I got to say about conversion?
That you have been created for the sole purpose of being loved and loving in kind.
That's it. Ok - one more thing:
If you knew how much you are loved you would cry for joy.
You are not some sort of cosmic accident. You are not here to "make others happy". You are not here to fill some dogmatic idea of what it is to be a woman (whether the dogma be religious or secular). You are unique in all of creation. You will only be on this earth for a short time. You are here because at the moment of your conception, possibly before, God could not imagine anything more beautiful and perfect than you. You were created to be loved by God and to love God in return.
Let me tell you a story about a man I met when I was a child. I don't really remember what he was like before this incident. He was an acquaintance of my father and he was involved in international real estate. He was very, very good at it. [Author's note: The following is a summary of what this man told my father in my hearing.]
One day I was closing a deal in Rome. My host took me to see the architecture at St. Peter's Square. [This man was an atheist.] I was standing there when there was some commotion and... I found myself face to face with Pope John Paul II. No exaggeration. The pope smiled at me and started speaking to me in Italian. My host began to translate. Hearing the English, John Paul II immediately switched languages and began asking me questions about myself. ("Why would the pope care about me? With all those Catholics standing around, too!") When the pope heard I worked in international real estate, he became very excited and said "God has heard my prayers! I am so happy to meet you. You are the one. Think of the poor. They have no homes. They need you. The need you now. I am praying for you!"
Well, what could I do after that? The pope was praying for me by name for crissakes. Told me that God had placed me there. Didn't even tell me to go to church. Guess there's more to life than making money.
A few years later my father heard that this man had been heckled at a real estate conference for giving a talk about social justice while making money. Last I heard this man still made money but he was truly happy for the first time in his life.
You are loved. You are unique in all of creation. If you knew how much you are loved you would cry for joy. You are who and where you are for a reason. Do not let others quantify you. You are without price and loved constantly without cost. You are irreplaceable. You have dignity which others cannot take from you. You are beloved of God.
If I have one prayer it is that one day you will truly believe this.
May God continue to bless you!
A Christian talking about conversion can be a tricky thing. It conjures images of annoying people ringing your doorbell during a nap time to tell you that you are going to hell unless you follow their beliefs. It implies disrespect for your way of life and the values that you as an intelligent person hold dear. It violates the 'live and let live' mentality that is the basis for any free society. The words "guilt", "intolerance", "manipulated" and "theocracy" come to mind. I live in a secular society. I know how it goes. I am free to be Catholic as long as nobody knows about it. On the other hand I'm not of the belief that you have to follow my way or you're going to hell either.
So, being a Catholic who doesn't bang on doors and doesn't believe that you are going to hell because you are not rattling those rosary beads, what have I got to say about conversion?
That you have been created for the sole purpose of being loved and loving in kind.
That's it. Ok - one more thing:
If you knew how much you are loved you would cry for joy.
You are not some sort of cosmic accident. You are not here to "make others happy". You are not here to fill some dogmatic idea of what it is to be a woman (whether the dogma be religious or secular). You are unique in all of creation. You will only be on this earth for a short time. You are here because at the moment of your conception, possibly before, God could not imagine anything more beautiful and perfect than you. You were created to be loved by God and to love God in return.
Let me tell you a story about a man I met when I was a child. I don't really remember what he was like before this incident. He was an acquaintance of my father and he was involved in international real estate. He was very, very good at it. [Author's note: The following is a summary of what this man told my father in my hearing.]
One day I was closing a deal in Rome. My host took me to see the architecture at St. Peter's Square. [This man was an atheist.] I was standing there when there was some commotion and... I found myself face to face with Pope John Paul II. No exaggeration. The pope smiled at me and started speaking to me in Italian. My host began to translate. Hearing the English, John Paul II immediately switched languages and began asking me questions about myself. ("Why would the pope care about me? With all those Catholics standing around, too!") When the pope heard I worked in international real estate, he became very excited and said "God has heard my prayers! I am so happy to meet you. You are the one. Think of the poor. They have no homes. They need you. The need you now. I am praying for you!"
Well, what could I do after that? The pope was praying for me by name for crissakes. Told me that God had placed me there. Didn't even tell me to go to church. Guess there's more to life than making money.
A few years later my father heard that this man had been heckled at a real estate conference for giving a talk about social justice while making money. Last I heard this man still made money but he was truly happy for the first time in his life.
You are loved. You are unique in all of creation. If you knew how much you are loved you would cry for joy. You are who and where you are for a reason. Do not let others quantify you. You are without price and loved constantly without cost. You are irreplaceable. You have dignity which others cannot take from you. You are beloved of God.
If I have one prayer it is that one day you will truly believe this.
May God continue to bless you!
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