From Henri Nouwen

A Nonjudgmental Presence

To the degree that we accept that through Christ we ourselves have been reconciled with God we can be messengers of reconciliation for others. Essential to the work of reconciliation is a nonjudgmental presence. We are not sent to the world to judge, to condemn, to evaluate, to classify, or to label. When we walk around as if we have to make up our mind about people and tell them what is wrong with them and how they should change, we will only create more division. Jesus says it clearly: "Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge; ... do not condemn; ... forgive" (Luke 6:36-37).

In a world that constantly asks us to make up our minds about other people, a nonjudgmental presence seems nearly impossible. But it is one of the most beautiful fruits of a deep spiritual life and will be easily recognized by those who long for reconciliation.

---

Prayer - Believing, hoping, loving

Hello my sweet friends!

It's been awhile since I've posted. I have felt a bit lost without this mode of communication...

So, the other day I was reading and came across a quote that spoke to me. Lately our groups have been intimate and moving in the direction of understanding how God initiates prayer. I love the discussion, the pressing of my mind, and the loving presence I get from all of you as my heart is opened more and more.

"All things are possible to him who believes, they are less difficult to him who hopes, they are easier to him who loves, and still more easy to him who practices and perseveres in these three virtues." ~Brother Lawrence~

I've read the scripture which says, "All things are possible to him who believes", but what about hope and love? How often one prays with sincerity, but finds it difficult to have hope in circumstance and love others? What will it cost me to move into hoping and loving? I can't be the only who thinks these thoughts? Of course, I am considering all these questions with the background knowledge that God initiates prayer.

All these questions begin running through my head...pressing, pressing, pressing. And, well, just puttin' myself out there :)

Billboard video

I found this interview fascinating...I think there's change in the air and we are a big part of that! I'd like to read this guy's book.

Here's a link to the church that posted the billboard. They have podcasts of the series of teachings up on their website. I, for one, will be tuning in.

http://christcovenant.info/

Prayer

We are having an awesome -- though perhaps inorthodox! -- discussion on prayer. Primarily we are trying to see prayer as more the result of -- and resulting in -- a true and deep relationship with God and our Lord.

Some things we have addressed are -- once again-- authenticity, and how important that is in prayer (Mannin). We talked about "wrong" ways to pray, like out of self-centeredness and self-interest.

Another key thing to remember is that "God initiates prayer" -- not us! Wow! what a concept -- we are NOT in control and we can't even take credit for talking to Him!

Also, we cannot separate prayer and love. I realized in our discussion that I do not think often enough about the connection between love and prayer -- but how intrinsic it is to the RELATIONSHIP we have with God. After all, we love and pray because He first loved us . . .

Abbe Grou (13th century): "The voice of the heart is love, and the development and perfection of love are the development and perfection of prayer."

Further thoughts, anyone?

New Study on Prayer: It was great to resume our study time once again last Tuesday night, although we missed some of you.

We had a great discussion about prayer, how we feel about it, why it is such a challenge sometimes, and the like.

A couple of articles were handed out, and we will be using as reference a book by James Mulholland entitled "Praying Like Jesus."

Hopefully this study will be experiential as well as well giving us plenty to "chew on." Here's one for next week: "We are not here to prove God answers prayer; we are here to be living monuments of God's grace."

Thoughts?

So, what church do you attend?

I have been debating writing this post, but more and more I feel that someone would benefit from it. Ok, Lord....here I go.

So, a few months ago David and I started discussing leaving Phoenix First Assembly and finding a church closer to Casa Grande. I have brought this up a few times over the past few years and each time I have he has not been interested. I trust in God's timing and when I brought it up a few months ago and David was for it I knew God had me wait for a specific time. So, the next week we just went to a new church and all was well.....HA! Right! Why isn't it that easy? Instead of leaving with ease I went with nervousness, anxiety, some fear, and avoided telling anyone at PFA. We actually took about a month "off" from going to any church service. It was like we needed the space to regroup. I was concerned that the girls would have a rough transition, but I was given peace from the Lord through prayer and hearing that they had no problem visiting my parent's church (and going to the Sunday School Class!). I love things like that...I call them gifts from God...He knows just how to speak to me!
We decided that we would visit a church in Chandler the Sunday we returned from CA. That Saturday I told someone (who has known me for many years) that we were no longer attending Phoenix First and I kid you not this individual gasped! Yes, gasped! I have done a lot of thinking about church buildings over the past couple months and I have realized that Christians (for the most part) seem to define themselves by what church they attend. Think about it.....when two Christians meet for the first time what is usually the first question they ask one another? 'What church do you attend?'
I have really looked into God's Word for answers.....funny, there is no mention in Jesus's teachings about which church you attend.....Believers did not even meet in a building! So, why do we start to define ourselves by where we go to church?

I can say now, after attending a new church this past Sunday, that yes I was still a bit nervous but the girls loved it and we were blessed by a message from Dr. Kevin Leman (actually I would call that another gift sent from God for us!). We look forward to attending this Sunday. Both David and I have watched a couple podcasts from the church...gotta love the internet!

Does this make you squirm or smile?

Check out this article...

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/07/my-take-jesus-loves-porn-stars/

What a great week-end! It was a joy to be with each of you in the mountains, listening to God speak in the wind, laughing, enjoying God's creation, shairng, opening ourselves to each other and thus to God.

One quote shared: "Beware of leakage, of the dividing up of your life by the influence of friends or of circumstances . . . of anything that is going to split up your oneness with Him and make you see yourself separately."
. . . oneness with Him . . .
. . . moving from a divided life to an undivided life . . .
. . . joy . . .
. . . your value is in HIM . . .

Love you all!

A good message-who is it about?

Take the 4 minutes to watch this.....awesome.

http://ltpalculict.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/tim-keller-what-is-the-bible-about/

A little reminder....

Below is the Henri Nouwen email I received this morning and it reminded me of an exercise we did this past year. Breathing in and out "Yahweh"....never in my life had I felt a calm like I did in those moments and I have since mediated on this word and I am blessed by the peace that it brings.

Focussing Our Minds and Hearts

How can we stay in solitude when we feel that deep urge to be distracted by people and events? The most simple way is to focus our minds and hearts on a word or picture that reminds us of God. By repeating quietly: "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want," or by gazing lovingly at an icon of Jesus, we can bring our restless minds to some rest and experience a gentle divine presence.

This doesn't happen overnight. It asks a faithful practice. But when we spend a few moments every day just being with God, our endless distractions will gradually disappear.

I agree with Julie -- this discussion is SO good! My questions are always to get us to think more about whatever we post -- and that includes myself! So it's great to see the depth we arrive at. I agree with Melissa and Jennifer-- to be "anti" anything goes against the first and greatest commandment. The only thing Jesus was "anti" was evil -- in any form. One of the things we must be aware of, then, is the varied forms evil takes -- and ostracism, oppression, exclusion, etc., are all very real forms of evil, in the true sense of the word, because it sets up one against the other -- and that is precisely what Christ came to heal. But taking a stand FOR "the other" often places us in the precarious position of being judged and attacked by someone who chooses to set himself or herself against inclusion, love, healing, etc.

Today I learned that one of the 10 people who were killed by the Taliban over the week-end was a Methodist missionary / missionary kid -- his parents used to visit us when I was little. He was only slightly older than me, and went to school with friends of mine in northern India. Where and how does this Gospel of peace and love fit with Muslims, extremist or not? What would Christ have said or done? After all, it wasn't the enemy that killed him -- it was his own people.

I'm just throwing out thoughts, because we have to see the global picture as well as the local one.

How do we love these "others"? Where do we draw the line?

Back to Anne Rice -- I do think we must remember that she is making a statement, and a good one, and that we should think about it -- but also remember that only God knows who we are, where we are, and what we need, need to do, etc.

Peace. . .

Left To Tell

I am behind everyone in finishing this book. . . it took me like a week to process and I just couldn't even talk about it. So wonderful reading about the healing and forgiveness part and the depth of her realationship with God, I'm still in the pain though. . . what a powerful story.

Whenever I am upset about something - a person place or thing - there is something going on with ME not whomever I am pointing my finger at ( remember when I point at anything 3 fingers point back at me)If she remains a follower of 'Christ' she is still a Christian, she sound to me like she is suffering a bit of terminal" uniqueness" that is always a symptom of separateness itself . . . . .the very thing she is trying to get herself away from. (Heavy sigh) and so we are all still in the world.. . . struggling to love others.

Boldness...Left To Tell

I've had so much fun reading all the discussion. I'm devoted to you all tonight! I love it, too!

I don't really have any questions this time around, mostly something to share. Today my pastor at church said something that struck me. I immediately thought of Immaculee. Here is what he said...

"True relationship (with God) builds faith and boldness that we might stand strong in the face of opposition."

Opposition doesn't even begin to describe the immense struggles Immaculee faced. I have always appreciated the amazing boldness and the deep faith she writes about during her long suffering. And, of course I have also questioned whether I could actually have that. She even wrote about how there were times after her rescue in which she yearned to be back in that small bathroom so that she could be in deep communion with God again. I often wonder if, during that time in the bathroom, she felt God presence in the form of contemplative prayer??

Either way, his statement helps me see how one can have peace/joy/love and suffering at the same time. Of course, I'm not suggesting Immaculee experienced joy during that time but, I do believe she was in God's presence and experienced peace.

Wow! I was delighted to see your post, Melissa -- and yours too, Jennifer, about Anne Rice! The Casa Grande Dispatch printed an article about Rice, with her comments. I too was intrigued. Have been reading articles about "churchless Christianity" especially in non-Western countries -- that is, those who come to believe on / in Christ, but do not leave their cultural religion, be it Hinduism, Islam, etc. It's high time for this kind of dialogue, and Rice's declaration is also timely. But the discussion revolves around the question of whether one can remain a follower of Christ and separate oneself from a community of believers -- i.e., the church. But if you depart from Christianity, though not Christ, with whom do you worship, how do you maintain community, and how do you serve the Christ you follow?

However, I love the way it can open discussion about the church, and her failings, downfalls, weaknesses, etc. We do well to not take for granted what "church" is -- for after all, it is not a building, or an organization, or a corporation, or even a specific meeting place -- the church is, quite simply and profoundly, the body of Christ -- surely that is what Christ meant when he said that he would "build His church" on Peter, the rock -- that his followers would go into the world to call men to Him, and live in community.

Thanks for sharing this, Melissa -- this is exactly the kind of thing our blog does well to address, to get us out of our boxes, as Jennifer said -- and it's what we began when we studied our first book about taking GOD out of our box!! Yea!! Amen and amen!!!!

Other thoughts?

Anne Rice leaves Christianity

Hello from far away!

For those of you who don't know, Anne Rice, author of "Interview with a Vampire" and many other books, announced on her Facebook page last week that she is "leaving Christianity". Here are her words:

For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being "Christian" or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to "belong" to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

And here is a link to an interview she did with the LA Times after she posted her announcement. Please note that she said she is leaving "Christianity"... not Christ.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs-anne-rice-20100807,0,5152082.story

I'm curious as to how you all feel about this. I have been intrigued by this ever since I heard about it and would like to start some discussion about it. Ready, set, go....

Back to Julie's post about forgiveness, and the amazing fact of Immaculee's forgiveness of her family's killers -- and I would ask -- is that possibel without faith -- the kind of faith that is wrestled with in the pit of despair and blackness?

Well, I tried to post a comment, but it wouldn't let me -- again!!

So I'll try this . . .

I say "Amen!" to the posts and comments here. We are so accustomed, in the wester world, to define faith by what we can see and measure and understand, that we forget sometimes that it is faith by very definition of the fact that it cannot be seen or defined adequately with words. The writer of (thebook of) Hebrews says that "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" -- a little paradoxical, right? Or, The Message says "it's our handle on what we can't see." I like that. But the things is, we almost never grasp what our faith is -- let alone WHO it is in -- until we come the end of our rope, end of our self-sufficiency, or end up in a pit of some sort -- like Susie described in her post so succinctly. Until then, we can't truly grasp what faith is, can we? We can talk about it, use "Christianspeak" as well as the next person, but with little depth.

So Immaculee's story speaks to the very real pit of fear and terror she was in, in the midst of an unspeakable situation, but in the midst of which God met her, RIGHT THERE AND THEN. Prior to this she was certainly a "Christian" in the sense of believing in God, worshiping, etc. So we may also ask if there is any way to truly prepare for this kind of situation -- or if the situation (i.e., whatever pit we find ourselves in) -- is used by God to bring us to Him. I think this is one part of what she meant by saying there is a grave difference between "being spared" (as in her life was spared) and in being saved -- by God, to God.

Thoughts?

A little comparison (Left To Tell)

Tuesday has come and gone, and I miss you all so very much! I hope your summer has been relaxing and full of life. hugs.

So, this week I decided to go back and read some of the old posts written during the Forgiveness, Healing, Transformation study. I was truly blown away at how one of Kathy N's posts were SO fitting to this discussion about Immaculee's journey. I have listed some of them here again, along with some questions she asked us to think about. Look at how I have compared Kathy's posts to some of Immaculee's story. If you can think of other excerpts from the book that relate to her posts, please add them. Kathy's posts are in purple, Immaculee's story in red.

Kathy's post - "After transformation, you seldom have the feeling you have found anything. It feels much more like Someone found you! You find yourself having been grabbed, held, and being Someone's beloved. . . "

pg. 84 from Left to Tell - "The mental anguish was even more intense. I was trapped alone with my thoughts, and the dark fears and doubts that had haunted me since my arrival became relentless - they wormed into my heart and undermined the foundation of my faith. When the killers were out of earshot, my thoughts drifted away from God, and the negative energy rushed in. Yet whenever I prayed, I immediately felt His love around me, and the anxiety eased."

Kathy's post - "Two paths to transformation are great love and great suffering. . ."

There are so many examples of Immaculee's immense suffering, I dare not try to quote them. If you read the book, you know how immense her suffering was and probably still is. But, I did choose an excerpt that I think really describes her Great love. Page 79 Left To Tell - "My head was burning, but I did hear the killers in the hall, screaming, 'Kill them! Kill them all!' No! God is love, I told the voice. He loves me and wouldn't fill me with fear. He will not abandon me. He will not let me die cowering on a bathroom floor. He will not let me die in shame!"

Kathy's post - "A simple definition of suffering = whenever you are not in control."

I don't have to list examples of how Immaculee was not in control...her ENTIRE story is about how much was out of her control and how deeply she depended on God (faith). Which is what brought be to Kathy's questions...

Kathy's post - "And a question to think about: What is faith? How do YOU define it? What does it mean to you?"

Forgiveness (Left To Tell)

Another thought that is running through my mind as I think about our study about forgiveness: How in the world could Immaculee possibly find in her heart to forgive the murderers who killed her family and sought after her as well? And here is what blows my mind the most...Not only did she forgive them, she forgave them before, during, and again after they killed her family!

Isn't this so much like the God, the Father, the Jesus we love and know??? To forgive us before we even sin....wow. She so knows God. I want to know Him like she does.

Just had to get that written down.

I don't know where to begin (Left To Tell)

I don't even know where to begin....

When I was thinking about how to begin this discussion, I thought I'd discuss it in the three parts it was written. Then it hit me this morning that Immaculee's story is so all-encompassing, I think I would only be sort of "trivializing" this story by trying to discuss it in sections. I don't want to try too hard...I want the Spirit to move. It's real, not fiction. This is someones life. This REALLY happened. Wow....THIS really happened. So, let's just go wherever God takes us.

After I finished reading this book, I was left with awe. Awe - the only way I can describe my state. Not only because of Immaculee's story, but also because of how many stories there are like hers. I could barely wrap my mind around the fact that this really happened to one person. And I knew it happened to hundreds of thousands. The thought made me weep.

I read the book what seems like a long time ago now. I read it during our forgiveness, healing, transformation study. But, I can still remember something very poignant and profound that Immaculee said in her Introduction, "I believe that God had spared my life, but I'd learn during the 91 days I spent trembling in fear with seven others in a closet-sized bathroom that being spared is much different from being saved...and this lesson forever changed me."

This statement has my wheels spinning.

Thoughts, anyone?

A opening prayer before our discussion.

Father,

First and foremost, thank you for this dynamic group of women who bring their open hearts to our gatherings. I am so grateful for all You have placed before us, within us, and after us. I am so grateful for all the outpourings of love, authenticity and honesty each woman brings to this group. I am so grateful to be part of this group.

Lord, please continue to plant seeds within our hearts, broaden our eyes, lengthen our persepectives as we move to the next discussion. I ask you to give Life to this avenue of communication via the blog, and that You help each of us to find the courage to contribute.

I love you.
In Jesus name I pray all of this...

Amen.

Sharing....

I wrote this today, inspired by this book I read:

What if there was no building?
No pews. No Altar.

He still IS.

What if the programs ended?
No songs. No worship.

He still IS.

What if the exterior were removed
and our core exposed?

What if it were only about Him
and not them?

He still IS....

Without the bricks,
without the pews,
without you.

He still IS.

What makes you come alive? From Richard Rohr

Click on the image to increase the size. This is from Kathy N. Much love....

You're home, Melissa! Hope your trip was good and uneventful. Miss you!! Can't wait until next summer!!
Kathy

Justice and forgiveness

I am already reading Immaculee's sequel to "Left to Tell"...it's aptly called "Led by Faith". It is a collection of her experiences following the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda. A question came to mind tonight as I was reading and I wanted to leave it open for discussion...

Is it possible to forgive someone and still be concerned with seeking justice for the wrongdoing at the same time?

Left to Tell, Starting some discussion

I am only 79 pages into this book and I have felt so many emotions toward every page I have read.

On page 79 I read the same sentence 3 times....it spoke to me.

After 2 days in the bathroom and hearing the rallying of the killers outside the window, " In all my years of praying, I'd never focused so completely on God, or been so keenly aware of the presence of darkness."

How does this statement Immaculee made speak to you? Have you ever felt this way before?

(I surely will be back to write more about this, but wanted to throw it out to you, my dear friends, first)

Let's keep the discussion going!!!

Melissa already beat me to the punch in telling you about our next book! And I'm glad she did, because I think she introduced the book so well!

Let me tell you how this book was presented to me because I think the story is worth noting...

During the part of our study on 'healing', it happened to be that a dear friend of mine, Lisa, was visiting from Pensacola, Florida. So, since she was here, I invited her to come join us that Tuesday night. She was amazed at our 'community' of women and told of how lucky we are to have each other. Lisa was the person who suggested we read the book, Left To Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza as a beaming example of the power of forgiveness, healing and transformation. She had just read the book herself! Talk about God's timing!!!!!

And so, I picked up the book and had the opportunity to make so many parallels of Immaculee's life story during our discussion! It changed the way I see the process of forgiveness, healing and transformation.

This brings me to our next focus/study...

We are going to read this book during the rest of the summer break and try to continue the dialogue via the blog! This way we can still 'see' each other! I have posted the link to the book on the right side of the page and below you can watch a short video with background about the Rwandan genocide and Immaculee Ilibagazia. Kathy also suggested that we may want to take some time to watch Hotel Rwanda, which is another very good movie about the genocide.

I will give you some time to get your hands on the book and begin reading. Some of us are passing the book around, Jennifer got it from the library, or you can just purchase one. The paperback is not too expensive. I will begin the discussion in mid-July, which gives you time to at least begin reading the first sections of the book. Or, if someone else feels compelled...feel free to begin the discussion!

A background video about the Immaculee Ilibagiza:

"Night" by Elie Wiesel

Ok...I know it's been an AGE since I posted on here. It helps that I've been in AZ for a month and have been able to reconnect with all of you. I've DEEPLY missed our time together. It is a treasure that none of you should ever take for granted. Trust me on that one...

Anyway, I wanted to share with you something that has touched me. We are all supposed to be reading "Left To Tell" right now. I hope you will...it will leave you changed. I believe that God brought this book to our group right when we needed it. It fits so well with the 'forgiveness, healing, and transformation' that we have been studying.

So, I've been in Flagstaff this week and needed to do some reading. I found myself browsing at Barnes and Noble this week and stumbled upon a book that I have long wanted to read, but often found myself procrastinating on because of the subject. It is called "Night" by Elie Wiesel. In it, he recounts his experience surviving the Holocaust in Auschwitz...not an easy thing to read about. However, while reading it something happened to me. I found myself comparing it to Immaculee's "Left To Tell". And God pierced my heart.

Before Auschwitz, Wiesel was a devout and zealous Jew...and after Auschwitz, he doubted and hated God for His perceived indifference to the suffering going on there. Contrast that to the 'transformation' that took place in Immaculee during her months in that bathroom. She was drawn closer to the heart of God during her experience and was able to FORGIVE her tormentors.

I would highly recommend you all read "Night" following your read of "Left To Tell". It will open your eyes to the POWER that forgiveness, healing and transformation offers.

I love you all.

Email from Henri Nouwen Society

Words That Create Community

The word is always a word for others. Words need to be heard. When we give words to what we are living, these words need to be received and responded to. A speaker needs a listener. A writer needs a reader.

When the flesh - the lived human experience - becomes word, community can develop. When we say, "Let me tell you what we saw. Come and listen to what we did. Sit down and let me explain to you what happened to us. Wait until you hear whom we met," we call people together and make our lives into lives for others. The word brings us together and calls us into community. When the flesh becomes word, our bodies become part of a body of people.

Prayers please

I just got news my sister has passed away- she was older than me but not the oldest sister. Please hold her and my family in your prayers- I will be back in Jersey till Sunday. Thanks for all of you !

Prayer / Suffering / Transformation

Dear ones: The last couple of posts lead us directly and perfectly into what we will be talking about come tomorrow night: transformation. We started this segment with forgiveness, then moved into healing -- and now will move into transformation. So chew on what you read, and come with your questions and thoughts.

"After transformation, you seldom have the feeling you have found anything. It feels much more like Someone found you! You find yourself having been grabbed, held, and being Someone's beloved. . ."

"Two paths to transformation are great love and great suffering. . ."

"A simple definition of suffering = whenever you are not in control."

And a question to think about: What is faith? How do YOU define it? What does it mean to you?

Love you all so much --
Kathy

June Prayer Requests/Praise Reports

From Henri Nouwem

This really spoke to me this morning.....full honor goes with full pain.

Joint Heirs with Christ

We continue to put ourselves down as less than Christ. Thus, we avoid the full honour as well as the full pain of the Christian life. But the Spirit that guided Jesus guides us. Paul says: "The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:16-17).

When we start living according to this truth, our lives will be radically transformed. We will not only come to know the full freedom of the children of God but also the full rejection of the world. It is understandable that we hesitate to claim the honor so as to avoid the pain. But, provided we are willing to share in Christ's suffering, we also will share in his glory (see Romans 8:17).

From a Friend of Mine

A great friend of mine wrote this today and I wanted to share it with you:
Topic was Unanswered Prayers

I just read something that said "Jesus NEVER mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the boundless certainty that prayer is always answered. 'Everyone that asks...receives.' God answers prayer in the best way, not sometimes, but every time, although the immediate manifestation of the answer in the domain in which we want it may not always... See More follow.

If we think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts, we think rightly. God wants us to be as intimately acquainted with Himself as Jesus was. Prayer is not in order to get answers from God, it is perfect and complete oneness with God. If we pray because we want answers, we will get huffed with God. Prayer is to get greater understanding of who He is.

Was the last thing you prayed about devoted to your desire or to God? Determined to get some gift or to get God? He knows what we need before we ask. The point of asking is that you may get to know God better.

Am I always in contact with Him or do I only pray when things have gone wrong, when there is a disturbance in the moments of my life? Too often we hurl our own petitions at God's throne and dictate to Him as to what we wish Him to do. We do not worship God, nor do we seek to form the mind of Christ." Therefore we have what we deem to be "unanswered prayer".

Sanera's Arriving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Ladies,

I am BEYOND excited that Melissa and the kids will be here tonight. As I was thinking and praying for them I wanted to extend a pray request. Please pray that all three of them stay healthy while they are here. I know it can be difficult to be in a "new" environment and the travel alone can wear one out.

I am so excited to see you ALL again next Tuesday evening.

Much Love,
D'Amato

Whole = Heal??

So Tuesday has come and gone...I kept wondering, 'why am I in such a funk today?' Well, I finally realized what was missing...you and our Lively discussion!!!

This week I was reading my Daily Bread devotional and read something I'd never heard before. The words whole and heal are used synonymously in scripture. Hmmm...whole = heal. It makes me think differently after so many of our discussions about what healing is. What do you think? Of course, I'm no scholar when it comes to scripture...just found it interesting and profound.

The following passages compared are very good examples of this. Check it out.

John 5:1-15 KJV
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%205:1-15&version=KJV

John 5:1-15 NLT
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%205:1-15&version=NLT

Mister Rogers...you gotta love him.

I was drinking my yummy coffee this morning and reading something a little light-hearted -Mister Rogers' quotes. You gotta love that guy! I'd like to share, as it pertains to forgiveness.

One summer, midway through Seminary, I was on a weekend vacation in a little town in New England. I decided on Sunday to go hear a visiting preacher in the little town's chapel. I heard the worst sermon I could have ever imagined. I sat in the pew thinking, "He's going against every rule they're teaching us about preaching. What a waste of time!" That's what I thought until the very end of the sermon when I happened to see the person beside me with tears in her eyes whispering, "He said exactly what I needed to hear." It was then that I knew something very important had happened in that service. The woman beside me had come in need. Somehow the words of that poorly crafted sermon had been translated into a message that spoke to her heart. On the other hand, I had come in judgment, and I heard nothing but the faults.

It was a long time before I realized it, but that sermon's effect on the person beside me turned out to be one of the great lessons of my life. Thanks to that preacher and the listener-in-need, I now know that the space between a person doing his or her best to deliver a message of good news and the needy listener is holy ground. Recognizing that seems to have allowed me to forgive myself for being the accuser that day. In fact, that New England Sunday experience has fueled my desire to be a better advocate, a better "neighbor," wherever I am.

~Excerpt from The World According To Mister Rogers~