I write about all kinds of things: worship & theology, parenting & homeschooling, youth ministry, housekeeping & more. It's a journey... come along with me!!
This song by Plumb is a reminder that faith and Christian life isn't all happiness and light. There are struggles, failures and difficulties. We all get sunshine, we all get rain. Faith doesn't protect us from the bad stuff. It was never meant to.
I cam across this song last week in the midst of a spiritual struggle. It helped a lot. I hope it can be of help to others.
We sang a version of this song in worship this morning, and it resonated. I sang it a lot with Bible study groups in college, so memory plays a part. Also, it seems like a good reminder.
So, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus - an updated version --becomes today's Song for Sunday. May it be an encouragement to you.
What songs are resonating with you?
What songs help you worship?
I am participating on the October 2017 Ultimate Blog Challenge. A blog post every day in October. #blogboost
So much violence. Gays are targeted, blacks are targeted, police officers are targeted. And that's just from what made the national news in one country over a short period of time.
If we think globally, it's even easier to be "daunted."
The devil wants to stir up chaos and division, to make the Church a target of hate and suspicion.
The answer to that is to follow Micah 6:8, as described in this meme, and to pray. Always to pray.
Go to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. That is what is required of us.
I have learned much about doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God in my years with the Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park. It's a fabulous experience for high school teens. Two weeks in August, in southern Maine. Still slots available for 2016!
It's "Transformation Tuesday" for the website of the youth conference I volunteer for. Thanks to a terrific fellow worker, the new site looks great. Check it out: CYCOP.ORG.
Here in New Orleans, I am seeing signs of a different type of transformation. We toured the Lower Ninth Ward and saw many new homes, including several built by the Make It Right Foundation. They'll float if the waters rise again! Learn more here: http://www.archdaily.com/259629/make-it-right-house-morphosis-architects.
We visited the memorial, right next to the bridge that the residents could have left but were stopped from crossing the bridge. They went home and climbed on their roofs to wait. In the 1, 000 died in the lower ninth ward.
So much is going on here. It's wonderful and yet sad. So much was lost, so many people died.
One place we visited was Burrell's. Mr. Burrell has opened a barbershop and grocery store. He has plans to open a laundromat and an internet cafe. These are the only such services in his neighborhood. He told us that if he is the only one doing it, he'll build up the area on his own. We were overwhelmed by his story,
What examples of transformation have you seen lately?
CYC is an amazing experience of Christian community and discipleship training for high school youth. This year's theme is "Maximum Impact: Life Transformed by Christ." We meet two weeks in August on the southern coast of Maine. If you're 14-18 years old, join us!
Written by St. John of Damascus, a Greek church father, this ancient hymn joyfully describes the meaning of Easter. Enjoy it!
1 The day of resurrection! Earth, tell it out abroad; the passover of gladness, the passover of God. From death to life eternal, from earth unto the sky, our Christ hath brought us over, with hymns of victory.
2 Our hearts be pure from evil, that we may see aright the Lord in rays eternal of resurrection light; and listening to his accents, may hear, so calm and plain, his own "All hail!" and, hearing, may raise the victor strain.
3 Now let the heavens be joyful! Let earth the song begin! Let the round world keep triumph, and all that is therein! Let all things seen and unseen their notes in gladness blend, for Christ the Lord hath risen, our joy that hath no end.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you."
~Isaiah 60:1
I have always loved Isaiah 60:1. I titled a sunrise photograph after it once. It's an encouraging verse.
Graham Kendrick, contemporary Christian music writer and performer, wrote a song based on this verse. We sang it Sunday, the ninth day of Christmas, at our New Year's prayer meeting and the words struck me. Perhaps it's because I love that verse. Perhaps it's because sometimes it feels like the world really is shrouded in darkness with terrorist attacks, the takeover of government buildings, earthquakes in places where I know people, and a multiplicity of funerals. This song reminds us of hope and the light of Christ, which came at Christmas.
So, I offer it for this week's Song for Sunday. Here's a link:
Yes, it's Christmas. Usually, more a time to be singing about the manger and Bethlehem. About Jesus as a baby. But, you know, he didn't stay a baby. He isn't a baby now.
We commemmorate the incarnation every year because it's important. It's God with us. As we reflect on the birth of Jesus though, we need to remember we really are celebrating the anniversary (probably on the wrong date) of that birth. In human terms, Jesus is over 2000 years old; in spiritual terms, he's eternal.
He came to earth to live with us, to be with us, to experience mortal life and it's temptations and afflictions. He came to die for our sins, to allow for our forgiveness.
We need to remember that in the midst of cute pageants and carols.
We also need to remember he loves us and that is why "He made a way in a manger to make a way to the cross."
Enjoy this link to a beautiful reminder of this truth.
Words and music by Lee Black and Steve Merkel. Performed by Candi Pearson Shelton.
What Christmas song touches your heart?
I was introduced to this song when it was song by a young woman at the Christian Youth Conference. She sang it at the talent show. On her first attempt she was overwhelmed by stagefright. People surrounded her with support and a little while later she tried again. At the end the teen audience rose to their feet and cheered not only her beautiful singing voice but also her courage to try again. This song is special to me both because of this story and because of it's intrinsic meaning.
Billy Joel is an athiest. Reportedly, he woke up one morning with this song in his head and tried not to write it. He said to Howard Stern, "Who the hell was I to write this gospel song?"
It includes some biblical imagery and is overall a lament that we haven't improved much since the year 0 -- the time of Christ.
To my mind, this song echos Christ's frustration with the disciples: "He said to them, 'Do you still not understand?'" We humans have a tendency to need to be taught the same things over and over. So we still go to war, we endure mass shootings, we forget to love our neighbor. Billy Joel is an athiest, but he seems to speak for Christ here.
Today's "Song for Sunday" -- 2000 years -- by Billy Joel. Here's the link:
I have used this prayer for shalom or wholeness as a Song for Sunday before, but we sang it in church today and it grabbed my attention. God has been challenging me to remember, even identify with, the poor. This time around it is these lyrics that caught me:
Graham Kendrick, author, talking about this song. And a link to the song itself:
What has God been calling your attention to lately?
How are you called to help the poor?
CYC (Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park) is a two week leadership development program for high school students. It meets August 2-15, 2015 on the beautiful southern coast of Maine and is open to all teens ages 14 and up who have completed at least eighth grade. Check it out!
There is an awful lot of snow here in the northeastern US.
The snow banks are over our heads.
Our lawn furniture is buried and our roofs carry so much weight that some have collapsed. (I raked the garage roof after this photo was taken -- but it's full again.
In fact, there is so much that some of us wonder if we'll ever see the ground again ... or at least if we'll see it before June. It feels like it will be a long hard road.. but summer will come sooner than we really expect.
And in the meantime there is beauty.. and sledding.
Lent can seem like that, too. From this vantage point of the beginning this season of fasting and focusing on spiritual disciplines, of voluntary depriviation and self-evaluation feels like it will be long and dull. It can be a difficult time...and the deepest comes at the end, when we commemmorate Christ's death on the Cross.
But the joyous season of Easter will be here before we really expect it...
and in the meantime there is the beauty of a deepening relationship with Jesus and the wonder of increased maturity.
May your Lent be blessed and productive and may you grow closer to the one who sacrificed for you.
"... parents from religious traditions that in
general promote greater commitment and encourage discussing faith
outside the sanctuary also were more likely to have children who
remained active in their faith as young adults."
Seems we parents are important to our kids faith... and that holding them accountable keeps them more interested. I wouldn't be surprised if that held true in other areas, like education and community service. If we do it, they'll do it. If we encourage effort and commitment they'll respond.
The Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park is very willing to help out parents by providing their teens with a two week experience of Christian community. It meets in August, on the beautiful southern coast of Maine. \Check it out... www.cycop.org
We sang this in church this morning and it struck a chord, especially the lines "The cup of water given for thee still holds the freshness of thy grace." Not sure why this is grabbing my attention at this time. I wonder what it is I should be doing. So here is today's Song for Sunday: "Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life" Where cross the crowded ways of life, where sound the cries of race and clan, above the noise of selfish strife, we hear thy voice, O Son of Man.
In haunts of wretchedness and need, on shadowed thresholds dark with fears, from paths where hide the lures of greed, we catch the vision of thy tears.
The cup of water given for thee still holds the freshness of thy grace; yet long these multitudes to see the sweet compassion of thy face.
O Master, from the mountain side, make haste to heal these hearts of pain; among these restless throngs abide, O tread the city's streets again;
Till all the world shall learn thy love, and follow where thy feet have trod; till glorious from thy heaven above, shall come the city of our God.
Yesterday at the Judson Celebrations in Myanmar the choir of Christ Church in Ahlone sang this song written by a Southern Baptist Missionary Carla Gonyo especially for the bicentennial anniversary. We were very touched by it.
Here are a few quotes and a link so you can listen to it sung...
"When Judson left America he said, 'This is my delight.
The will of the Father I do with all my might.
I will go to a nation who has never heard before.
I will sacrifice all that I am, no matter what's in store
I'll carry the light...."
"He suffered many hardships, his wife and children died.
But in prison the Word was a pillow for his head.
God's soveriegnty afforded that by you it might be read.."
The great, great, great grandauther of the man who rescued the Burmese Bible from the prison trash heap.
"Judson was to you what another was to him.
Handed down, carried on and now it's yours to send.
Jesus is that light, the only way to get to Heaven.."
"Carry the light to Ka'chin, to the Wah, Shan and Chin
Carry the light to Danu, to Rakhine, Kayah, Lahu
Carry the light to Pa-O, to Palong, Karen and Mon
Carrry the light..."
Reconciliation between ethnic groups is a major theme of this conference, thus the listing of the groups in the song.
Knitting is, or can be, a very centering activity. When you focus
on the pattern it can bring a sense of tranquility. Being ordered and
repetitive, knitting can lead to a very relaxed state.
This can be true for those around as well as for the knitter. I
remember that a friend hired a “knitter sitter” for her ailing Mom. This person
sat next to her mother’s bed and knit. The regular clacking of the needles had
a quieting effect on the patient.
The peace that knitting brings is temporary. Jesus offers a peace
that is eternal. We are assured that if we fix our minds on God, He will keep
us in peace. The focus on God is key. C. S. Lewis reminds us that, “God cannot give
us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is
no such thing.”
Maintaining a steadfast focus on Christ is easier said than done,
certainly, but the rewards are great for those who succeed.
Earnestly pray for peace, for yourself and those around
you.
God
and King,grant
us your peace. Help us to focus constantly on you.In Jesus name, Amen.
You
will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust
in you.
~Isaiah 26:3
Peace
I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
~John 14:27 I am writing a knitters' devotional. Feedback on these posts is appreciated.
As we reach the end of a knitting project, we prepare to cut the
yarn by casting off the stitches and tying up loose ends. It is a time to look
back over the project, recognize our progress, give thanks that something is
nearly completed and fix anything that needs repair. Then we finish.
As we reach the end of our lives, we need to prepare for God to
call us home – for death—by separating ourselves from the things of earth and
readying ourselves for Heaven. We look back over our lives. We can see all that
we have learned and the many blessings we have experienced. We can try to right
any wrongs and reestablish broken relationships. Then we are ready for the
final stage.
Several of my family members have received hospice care at the end
of difficult illnesses. Hospice workers have taught us that there are
observable patterns that those who are preparing for death follow. Many begin
to forget the names of those around them but to remember those who have gone
before. Eating becomes less important to them. Many, shortly before the end,
have a final spurt of energy during which they say their good-byes.
There is also a spiritual dimension to this preparation. Those
around the dying can help with prayer and reading scripture aloud. We can offer
help to people who wish to confess sins, repair relationships or make amends.
Many knitters make beautiful prayer shawls for hospice patients so that those
patients can feel surrounded by love and faith.
May God bless you as you prepare for the end of life and help
others to do so.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.
~Psalm 116:15
I am in the process of writing a knitters' devotional and would love your thoughts on this post. Thanks!
I have no idea why this song is in my head. It arrived two days ago and stuck. I haven't heard it or thought about in years, probably decades.
It's a calypso-style song written and performed by gospel singer Randy Stonehill sometime in the '70s or '80s. Websites disagree about the date. I remembered it being performed by gospel choirs when I was in college.
It is a song about keeping Satan at bay. Shut the door on sin, shut the door on the devil. It's a fun song about making right choices.
I have been meditating on light and dark, so maybe that is why this came up.
Shut de do, keep out de debil
You shut de do, keep de debil in de ni-eet
Shut de do, keep out de debil
Light de candle everything's alright
Light de candle everything's alright
When I was a baby child
(Shut de do, keep out the debil)
Good and bad was just a game
(Shut de do, keep the debil in de ni-eet)
Many years and many trials
(Shut de do, keep out the debil)
They proved to me they not the same
(Shut de do, keep the debil in de ni-eet)
I say shut de do, keep out de debil
Shut de do, keep de debil in de ni-eet
Shut de do, keep out de debil
Light de candle everything's alright
Light de candle everything's alright
Oh, Satan is an evil charmer
(Shut de do, keep out the debil)
He's hungry for a soul to hurt
(Shut de do, keep the debil in de ni-eet)
And without your holy armor
(Shut de do, keep out the debil)
He will eat you for dessert
(Shut de do, keep the debil in de ni-eet)
Shut de do, keep out de debil
You shut de do, keep de debil in de ni-eet
Shut de do, keep out de debil
Light de candle everything's alright
Light de candle everything's alright
Hey, hey, hey shut de do
Hey, hey, hey shut de do
Hey, hey, hey, you gotta shut de do
Say a prayer he will be back no more
My mama used to sing this song
(Shut de do, keep out the debil)
Oh poppa used to sing it too
(Shut de do, keep the debil in de ni-eet)
Jesus called and took them home
(Shut de do, keep out the debil)
And so I sing the song for you
(Shut de do, keep the debil in de ni-eet)
Shut de do, keep out de debil
You shut de do, keep de debil in de ni-eet
Shut de do, keep out de debil
Light de candle everything's alright
Light de candle everything's alright
I said you shut de do, keep out de debil
You shut de do, keep de debil in de ni-eet
Shut de do, keep out de debil
Light de candle everything's alright
Light de candle everything's alright
Light de candle everything's alright
Light de candle everything's alright
~Randy Stonehill
May you all be blessed and have success at keeping the devil in the night! Do you have a Song for Sunday?
A friend of mine recently put out a call for respect. He felt the need to ask people to be courteous on some things he will be posting in the near future. I am actually on the opposite "side" of the "debate" that was the subject of my friend's call, but I back him on the idea of respect. Sadly, some Christians actually need that reminder and, even more sadly, there are some who wouldn't heed it, though I hope my friend doesn't run into any of those.
I Peter 3:14-16 tells us:
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."
Peter is talking about the central message of the gospel, which is understood by Christians to be the most important thing that can be brought up in conversation. Eternal salvation depends on Jesus. Even when we are talking about that we are supposed to be gentle and respectful. If we are not we run the risk of giving Jesus a bad name.
It seems to me that this means we should do the same in any lesser debates. Nastiness, rudeness and pettiness should have no place. I admit that there have been times I haven't been perfect in this area especially when I have felt strongly about something, but I am trying to improve.
Remember, we don't always have to be right. God is, and that's what matters.
There are times when we need to enter the cultural debate and do our best to make changes. When there is hunger, slavery, injustice, exploitation of the poor or harm to the innocent we are called to speak up. Other times, we can focus on keeping ourselves and the Church on the right track and not worry about the secular world. We are only called to hold our brothers and sisters accountable, not non-Christians. We also must remember that even within the Church there are "disputable things" and we need to approach all conversations with humility.
May God guide us in all our conversations, debates and disputes.
"Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone."
Let me remember that, you have said:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Help me to know that I am far from perfect and that by your yardstick, if I call someone a fool, I am in danger of hell.
Help me to know your grace as well, for myself and for others. Remind me that you do not condemn me (or any who follow you) but you do require that we leave sin behind.
There were booths with dozens of churches represented and people from places like Bhutan, Nagaland, Burma, Zambia, Haiti and Costa Rica. There was ethnic food, clothes and jewelry for sale, and singing in many languages.
The highlight of the day was a baptism service. Candidates from four churches (and four countries) were immersed by their own pastors as we all participated in the liturgy. The prayer was in Karen. No one translated, we knew God understood.
It was a beautiful testimony to the universality of the gospel message and I am glad my son and I got to be a part of it.
When have you seen God at work among people who are different from each other?
I was at the Multi-Cultural Festival reperesenting the Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park a fabulous two week conference for high school teens that begins August 5 on the beautiful southern coast of Maine.
