Check out my new 'World Reflections" Section
Interesting stories and anecdotes that reach into insights I have gained abroad.
Healing Grief, On-line Course, by Terry Douglas.
You are invited to participate in an 8-
week, on-line course, entitled
Healing Grief Page that captures a journey of healing following deep loss.
Meditation — May 19, 2012
Posted on Saturday, May 19th, 2012
Scripture:
“Until now you have not asked anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and so your joy will be complete.” John 16:24
Prayer:
In the quiet of the morning, observing the sun rise over a choppy sea, surely I must say that I have asked—though I must say my joy was not complete. Help my prayers be deeper and my joy recognizable even to me.
Response
The first step in experiencing this joy complete is to plead for union with the Father as the underlining basis for all prayer—such a ponderous answer, one might expect to emanate from a hallowed, theological institute with long darkened corridors, nestled in a deep forest! However, consider for a moment that asking in His name is another way to say see that one’s prayers manifest an all-encompassing yielding to the Lord’s will in all you pursue, cherish, and value.
What does this mean? For one’s health or for that of a loved one, first put oneself in the presence of the Lord, and open one’s heart in prayer and conclude one’s petition that His will be done. See with eyes that comprehend the Lord’s presence in the most dismal, desolate circumstances, and witness the power of prayer affecting those suffering, those observing and grieving; and, see with one’s soul-eyes the transformation that occurs, the peace that descends to comfort all in the Lord’s grace whatever the circumstances. Yielding to the Lord’s will stirs consciousness and speeds healing.
So why not today put the formula to work? Select an agony that lingers in the shadows of a broken or bruised heart; put oneself in the presence of the Lord; bring that agony into the light and ask the Lord for His healing grace; and finally let go of one’s former resistance to receive His grace and love. With that healing underway, it will be time to examine another dark corner of one’s heart that needs a similar blast of His light. Don’t worry that one will exhaust such examples, the world is full of [...]
Meditation–May 18, 2012
Posted on Friday, May 18th, 2012
Scripture:
Yahweh, my heart is not haughty, I do not set my sights too high. I have taken no part in great affairs, in wonders beyond my scope. No, I hold myself in quiet and silence, like a little child in its mother’s arms, like a little child, so I keep myself. Let Israel hope in Yahweh henceforth and for ever. Psalm 131:1-3
Prayer:
Lord, hold me in quiet and silence because I have at times been haughty, indeed set my sights too high, thought that I was taking part in great events, and so much more.
Response
Instead of castigating oneself, see if one can emphasize holding oneself in quiet and silence. Quiet the monkey chatter of the mind, dismiss the grand schemes that could distract one, simplify one’s devotion and prayer—and most of all pull back from the vain illusion of the future and be totally present in this moment and day.
In the present, quiet and still, one discovers an eternal wisdom—a rhythm of living—that was first introduced when one was held by a parent or a loved one—but was reinforced when one was the holder or comforter. At such times, the sound of time is stilled, the sunrise over the ocean pauses, and a gentle word spoken contributes to an endless musical score.
Listen in quiet and stillness for Yahweh to reach you at the deepest level of one’s heart and soul, and in all seasons of one’s life—yes, even when you could just as easily be haughty and proud, consumed by satisfying worldly desires and with clenched fists grasp possessions like flowers picked from a field only to wither later in the day. Release, let go, yield to Yahweh’s touch, embrace—especially when the cacophony surrounding becomes loud and shrill. Cultivate a quiet and still heart.
All for this morning.
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Wistful Pensive
Posted on Thursday, May 17th, 2012
Wistful Pensive
IRT train rumbles past our window,
Conversations cease until it passes;
While Mom employed as waitress,
Principal calls Grandma to school;
I am to blame for placing clay on chair—
Ruining pretty girl’s dress opposite.
Henry and I climb five stories to roof
With water balloons which we toss on
Unsuspecting comrades in our absence,
Wet torrents inundating them from sky,
Before rejoining them unsuspecting of
Our devilment—orchestrated mayhem.
Hanging gingerly from roof molding that yields,
Tumbling down across jagged fence to
Escape capture by New York police
Searching culprits in demolished saloon;
Fracturing an arm—sprinting home to
An irate parent lacking sympathy.
Sitting quiet in wordless prayer—seized by
A presence missed earlier it seems as
I wrought excitement—mindless chaos;
Now—caught still by dazzling light—
A presence enfolds and speaks above
Clattering jumble of careless soul.
Accompanying ten thousand Greeks in retreat,
Viewing Persian naval disaster at Salamis,
Reading Caesar’s Gallic wars penetrating north,
Exploring Troy—its defeat—while Odysseus
Wanders wide far dangerously before
He finds safe steadfast patient Penelope.
Carved rough by miles and miles rowed on
Rivers—lagoons—undulating water,
Scuffed oars hold steady in chill climes,
As well when heat bursts off sun and
At dawn or in north breeze at dusk,
Smiling inward at beguiling spirit strength.
Bold adventure in colorless East behind
Behind curtain iron of intrigue – suspicion,
Carefree—careful—studied—measured,
Observant—intense—crafty—quick,
Pleasure each time success achieved
Snaring closely guarded secrets.
Now I sit—reflective of life lived loud,
Love measured in intimacy—family—friends,
Assuming mantle of conquest in discovery,
Encouraging all to pursue beyond
Limits of human experience to bring peace to
Those troubled by phantoms of their own invention
Who among them will be first to plaster clay,
Climb furtive surprising those below,
Leap from a height without fear,
Become embroiled in ancient battles,
Embrace discipline—thus discover inner self,
Be caught still in prayerful rapture?
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Meditation — May 17, 2012
Posted on Thursday, May 17th, 2012
Scripture:
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met a Jew call Aquila whose family came from Pontus. He and his wife Priscilla had recently left Italy because an edict of Claudius had expelled all the Jews from Rome. Paul went to visit them, and when he found they were tentmakers of the same trade as himself, he lodged with them, and they worked together. Every Sabbath he used to hold debates in the synagogues, trying to convert Jews as well as Greeks. Acts 18:1-4
Prayer:
These verses took me back over thirty-five years, when my family was evacuated to Greece from worn-torn Beirut. On a visit to Athens, I had hoped to join my spouse on a pilgrimage to Corinth that was to be conducted by the local priest, but a travel scheduled prevented it. Lord, bring your message to me in the places that I visit—and still long to visit—and in the fellow tentmakers I encounter on my daily pilgrimage.
Response
Not sure there would be many who would rush into a tent of your design and craftsmanship—but who knows? More important is to discover the common threads one shares, the challenges faced, the joys and sorrows, the deeply held beliefs as well as questions lingering with those encountered on one’s daily pilgrimage. How else to establish a common language with which to share who one is or who one aspires to become. There is no age limit to aspirations and dreams. In fact, one might have more success in pursuing the young and uninitiated just preparing to reveal their dreams, and those weathered in years who due perhaps to lack of mobility often stir aflame dreams long neglected when they ran swift.
It is in such encounters that one uncovers another’s dreams and passions, but more importantly it prods from one’s interior dreams and passions that might have lain neglected since youth. See how Paul in discovering a kindred spirit in Aquila is fired up in declaring the Good News in the synagogues of [...]
Meditation — May 16, 2012
Posted on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
Scripture:
“I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you to bear now. However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the things to come.” John 16:12-13
Prayer:
The alarm startled me this morning as if announcing a truth I didn’t want to hear. And it was—it was time to rise. On another plane, I am not sure that I am ready to hear about the things to come. Maybe, it is because I associate such things to the setbacks and tragedies that took me unaware. Deepen my faith so I am ready to accept the truths from the Holy Spirit that are not tied to this mortal body.
Response
Would you accept that as one becomes more conscious to the Spirit’s truth, the alarm will announce that what you are hearing at a soul level is indeed leading you to the complete truth? The alarm is like an a-hah moment that transports one to another realm—spirits one to a truth of which one was totally unaware previously; it’s like being on the beach and seeing a cloud formation that hints of a design causing further reflection; or connecting with a loved one at the deepest level where outside noise is silenced.
The process in revealing the complete truth is already underway. If one needs confirmation of this—without looking at the wrinkles on one’s hand or in the mirror at one’s face—please ask oneself what is one’s age; and don’t answer in earth years. If silence descends as one searches for the answer, or if one’s quandary is caused by trying to estimate the age of a smile, an embrace, a gesture of forgiveness, the depth of a tear—then one is beginning, just beginning to gather in the complete truth that is clearly not being held hostage to one’s aging body.
And [...]
