The Deer Cry from St. Patrick's Breastplate

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven.
Light of sun
Radiance of moon
Splendour of fire
Speed of lightning
Swiftness of wind
Depth of the sea
Stability of earth
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me.
God's eye to look before me
God's wisdom to guide me
God's way to lie before me
God's shield to protect me

From all who shall wish me ill
Afar and anear
Alone and in a multitude.

Against every cruel
Merciless power
That may oppose my body and soul

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left.

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise, Christ to shield me
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me

I arise today.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Deer Cry
St Patrick's: 372–466 Breastplate
Anonymous 8th Century
Translated from Old Irish

Blessings and peace this St. Patrick's Day

The heart has eyes that the brain knows nothing of

"The heart has eyes that the brain knows nothing of. "
~ Charles H. Parkhurst

My fortune from my Chinese cookie read, "You are busy, but you are happy." I wonder about this concept. Some activity, yes, but at present I have so much on my plate between work, home, three ministries, family and friends that everything seems to be melding into one continuous race. Race for what? Security? Meaning? Fulfillment? These are all pseudo-sources for these goals.
This is the Lenten season...Breathe...I am dust and to dust I shall return...Quiet your mind...silence...Be still and know that I am God...Be still and know that I AM...Be still and know...Be still...BE...
You are the reason I live, Lord; You chose me, created me, adopted me, redeemed me. Each breath is a gift...Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner...
My mind recalls the book I'm currently reading: Barbara Brown Taylor's Leaving Church. Her deepest desire is to immerse herself in God. I echo this heart prayer and long to be passionately engaged with God — to fall in love with Him and His Word. Fresh...vital...intuitive...kindred spirits...
In reality, I'm divided, not single-minded. I struggle as Paul did with knowing what is right to do and yet not doing it. Materialism, activity, career, living in this culture has a magnetic pull that is impossible to resist apart from Christ...
• Wisdom • Insight • Knowledge • Balance • Self-discipline.
I am weak, Lord. Please increase my strength so that I may begin to take steps, baby steps, to do what I know is right.
...Falling in love with You, having You as my First Love encompasses every area and aspect of my being. May I start now? Your grace, mercy and compassion NEVER END...

Bringing life into this blog...

I don't know if anyone looks at this blog any longer, but I thought I would make an attempt to bring it back to life.
I wanted to comment about something that stuck out to me this past Sunday at LR. When Kristie and Ben were speaking, something that Kristie said a few times struck home with me. She reconciled with the people from her past who had done some bizarre things "in the name of Christ". She said that she understood that they were just doing what they felt was right.
Something about this idea of accepting people's shortcomings as okay and letting go of hurts made me think. I can't count how many times I completely write off Christian brothers and sisters b/c I think they are stupid. It's really pathetic how I can choose to be friends with some Christians and ignore others b/c of my perceptions.
So thanks Kristie for reminding me about these principles of letting go and loving others without regard for minor things.

You Call Us Friends...

You have valued us so much that you call us friends;
You have shared your eternal inheritance with us!
What an undeserved privilege that is.

We fall at your feet in overwhelming gratitude.
You are our Hope, our Life, our Reason for Living.
May all that we do and say each day convey
this message of gratitude and love to those around us.

May You be glorified...may You be magnified.
May the pressures, stresses, and concerns of our lives
flow from us like rushing water to be mingled
with your Living Water that refreshes, nourishes, and strengthens...

Now and forever, Amen.

Morning Prayer

Hear, O my soul, child of the Living God:
The LORD my God, the LORD is One.
I shall have no other gods before Him.
I shall love the LORD my God with all of my heart,
with all of my soul, with all of my strength,
and with all of my mind.

I shall love my neighbor as myself...

Holy, holy, holy, LORD of Heaven and Earth,
I offer Your Word back to You this day,
asking that I would fulfill Your commands
for me to cherish You as my First Love.
May I shine Your light to those around me today
and may Your Light penetrate to all
of the hearts, souls, and minds of those
You touch through me.

Grace...Peace...Contentment...

Precious Savior, I thank You for choosing me
before the foundation of the world,
for surrounding me with the new covenant of grace,
for holding my hand and walking beside me,
for carrying me, for sacrificing Your life for me
that I might journey toward You in security forever.
May I continually engage in relationship with you;
may I follow Your lead, journeying where you want me to go,
learning what You want me to learn,
loving the way You want me to love,
serving the way you want me to serve,
all through Your grace, wisdom and strength
that Your power might active through me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Stream of Consciousness Toward God

stream of consciousness toward God pray with your eyes open great value and worth deeply loved completely forgiven grace totally acceptable and complete in Christ am I going in the direction you want me to go in my life Lord am I on the right journey please lead me and guide me I don't want to run down a rabbit trail or turn in a wrong direction Jonah rebel against You or hinder the awesome power of the Holy Spirit in my life you see Christ's pure righteousness when You look at me and You are pleased You are gentle and yet all powerful I want You to win God I can never out think or out race you Lord even at the breakneck pace of life in this decade You still have the same values same teaching same love and compassion Alpha and Omega I AM King of Kings and Lord of Lords please let me listen let me see let me hear and perceive Your wisdom Your will for me in the midst of the whirlwind yet it's not really about me at all it's about You I must decrease and You must increase metamorphosis renewal gift blessing grace mercy peace praise amen alleluia

Frantic

The pace of our culture seems to have gone from accelerated to frantic lately.

Do you sense it?

So many of us in the Living Room Community are being pressed beyond reason by our life and work circumstances these days. I am deeply concerned about each of you, as well as myself, and what this pace is doing to us holistically. Do we even have time to think fast, let alone consider and think through issues and decisions before we make them or are we just living in the split second timing of NOW? Our health, our relationships, our emotional balance, our spirituality, our purpose is all suffering as a result of FRANTIC.

Out of my deep concern for all of us, I'd like to engage in a blogging conversation with you about how this race inside the hamster wheel is affecting you and me and what we can do to preserve the body, mind, and spirit that God treasures in each of us.

It is very late and I must leave you with this thought for tonight...

Christ, our Savior, Advocate and Lord never rushed through His life, yet He moved with purpose and was totally focused on what was most important (glorifying and obeying God)....

How can we follow His example given the realities of our lives?