So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ~ Colossians 3:1

Lectionary texts for the week appear to be focusing us on the challenges of an earthly life. The opportunity to “seek things that are above” is worthy. It’s mighty difficult at times, isn’t it?

We hear of families fighting over inheritances, people so caught up in making money they cannot help those in need and oh so many other cases of building up earthly wealth only to have Luke 12-like** situations arise. As we consider God’s love, may we share some of our many gifts – financial and other – with those all around us…

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

** But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” ~ Luke 12:20-21 

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, August 4, 2019:

• Hosea 11:1-11 and Psalm 107:1-9, 43
• Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23 and Psalm 49:1-12
• Colossians 3:1-11
• Luke 12:13-21

He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” ~ Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Angels on Wheels is what Edward Grinnan describes in this Guideposts article ; folks who brought his mom meals while she was dealing with Alzheimer’s issues at home. His mom wouldn’t eat, he says and “When we told the volunteers this, they were wonderfully wise and pretty soon they got Mom to eat.”

Our family has been blessed by our mom’s example in empowering others to be angels on wheels. She helped orchestrate the Bowling Green “Meals on Wheels” initial program over 40 years ago – – she still drives meals around today. What a wonderful example of the Matthew 13 mustard seed of an idea that is now a tree, continuing to thrive!

As we seek to do God’s work in this world today, may we help seed ways to “help bring others nourishment” – whether of a physical, spiritual or other nature!

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 28, 2019:

• Hosea 1:2-10 and Psalm 85
• Genesis 18:20-32 and Psalm 138
• Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)
• Luke 11:1-13

Sticking with songs and the joy theme…

HERE is a Michael Card tune called Joy in the Journey which includes these lines:

“There is a joy in the journey,

There’s a light we can love on the way.

There is a wonder and wildness to life

And freedom for those who obey”

– Michael Card’s Joy in the Journey

The lyrics go on to talk about the challenges and still the joy. A little like what we read in these verses from Matthew

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

– Matthew 11:28-30

May good perspective be with us, enabling us to be more Christ-like and providing more joy in the journey even when the traveling is hazardous…

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 28, 2019:

• Hosea 1:2-10 and Psalm 85
• Genesis 18:20-32 and Psalm 138
• Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)
• Luke 11:1-13

Songs can be powerful, whether singing, saying or mouthing along. Lillian Daniel makes great, quick points about music in this article Sing Once, Pray Twice, or Just Sing Already

Lillian closes with this prayer:

“How often making music we have found,

a new dimension in the world of sound,

which leads us to a more profound

Alleluia!”

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 21, 2019:

• Amos 8:1-12 and Psalm 52
• Genesis 18:1-10a and Psalm 15
• Colossians 1:15-28
• Luke 10:38-42

Whew. This month’s fast is about done – – the practice began as one way of sharing just a bit of solidarity with the children we visited in Haiti. They  relied on the school for their one meal a day and this fast enabled me to more closely understand how that lack of food can affect concentration, energy and more!

The Guideposts article HERE shares 5 spiritual gifts of fasting. The focus resulting from fasting is powerful.

POSSIBLE ACTIONS:

• Consider a fast – – from eating or another activity (more links with fasting ideas on the CP Love webpage HERE)
• Give your time and/or treasure to a local group working on childhood hunger. Whole Again is one such organization in the Cincinnati area

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 14, 2019:

• Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82
• Deuteronomy 30:9-14 and Psalm 25:1-10
• Colossians 1:1-14
• Luke 10:25-37

Joy is Like the Rain – – – This song title makes one wonder…exactly how is joy like the rain?

Rains are causing work stoppages and making fields into ponds. Not necessarily joy-inducing for outdoor laborers and farmers, for sure.

Yet, those same rains produce healthy crops, happy animals, radiant rainbows plus conversations while waiting out the storms.

Songwriter, Miriam Therese Winter, describes it this way: “Laughter runs across my pain, slips away and comes again” [full “Joy is Like the Rain” song HERE.]  Sometimes we need laughter to help ease the pain.

This certainly relates to our Christian lives. If we’re always trying to be “devout as a Pharisee,” where are the laughter and the joy? Finding the right balance is critical (and yet still worry-inducing for many of us “sparrows.”)

POSSIBLE ACTION: During the week ahead, may we continue to look for the rainbows amidst the downpours

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 14, 2019:

• Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82
• Deuteronomy 30:9-14 and Psalm 25:1-10
• Colossians 1:1-14
• Luke 10:25-37

“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.” ~ Deuteronomy 15:7-11

Too frequently we get soured by the stories of panhandlers sending their kids to college off their earnings or using the money for other unintended purposes. In this “Here for You” article by Kirsten Holmberg, she talks about other approaches we can take for those who have needs we can meet.

The commandment in Deuteronomy DOESN’T say “check their references to see if they are really in need.” At a certain point we just need to trust our instincts and allow ourselves to be openhanded toward our brothers and sisters in need in whatever way feels right to us. And, if that openhanded approach doesn’t feel right to you in this day and age for whatever reason, consider one of the other avenues to share love using ideas in our CP Love section (click HERE or on the mobius band below ).

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 7, 2019:

• 2 Kings 5:1-14 and Psalm 30
• Isaiah 66:10-14 and Psalm 66:1-9
• Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
• Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

NOTE: Many thanks to good friend Joan S. for writing the devotional below and for her thoughtful input on the questions and actions shared…

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When my husband and I purchased our first pieces of upholstered furniture back in the ’80s, “better” furniture was touted as having “8-way hand tied springs.” Advertisements pictured artisans securing the furniture’s springs by hand in eight directions for optimum support. That phrase has become for me an image of those times when I have felt securely tied into life through the love, caring, and friendship of those around me.

The thing about 8-way hand-tied springs is that we don’t always think of them, yet they provide continuous, quality support. It seems to me good relationships are similar. They meet us and accept us at a deep place, well below the surface veneer and fancy upholstery with which we mask and protect our vulnerable selves. And that support helps us weather the challenges and encourages us to grow into all we are meant to be. The wondrous thing is that not only are we held securely but we, too, provide that support for others. At their core these relationships, grounded in unconditional love or what Fr. Greg Boyles calls the “no-matter-whatness of God,” require us to risk vulnerability. In return we gain relationships that bind us securely to all of life and draw us to wholeness. What a source of joy and gratitude, this gift of true relationship!

QUESTIONS: Is vulnerability encouraged in our culture?  What does it mean to be vulnerable? How does it feel to be vulnerable? Is vulnerability an essential quality of true relationship?

ACTION: “If you’d like, spend a few minutes reflecting on one or more of the following:

1. who have been important artisans in your 8-way hand-tied support network?
   1. how did they effectively do that for you?
   2. what are the qualities in the relationship that allowed that to happen?
2. How can you pay it forward for your own 8-way hand-tied support network?
3. If trust and vulnerability are important qualities of supportive relationships, how are you called to respond in those situations?

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 7, 2019:

• 2 Kings 5:1-14 and Psalm 30
• Isaiah 66:10-14 and Psalm 66:1-9
• Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
• Luke 10:1-11, 16-20