Lent 2009: Day 4

Lenten Journey through the Spiritual Alphabet
Psalm 119, Sustainable Love

Beth, (part 2)
With my lips I recite all the edicts you have spoken.
I find joy in the way of your decrees more than in all riches.
I will ponder your precepts and consider your paths.
In your laws I take delight; I will never forget your word.
***
When Your Word kisses my lips
and my lips shape the sounds You bring forth,
Your Spirit bursts forth in my heart!
I try hold it there in cautious wonder,
yet I have no choice but to follow its path!

The gift of the Word/Jesus is my vital elan, and yours.
It is free for all of us!

The Word can be taken from me, but cannot be taken out of me.

Lent 2009: Day 3

Lenten Journey through the Spiritual Alphabet
Psalm 119, Sustainable Love

Beth, (part 1)
How can the young walk without fault?
Only by keeping your words.
With all my heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commands.
In my heart I treasure your promise,
that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your laws.
*****
What did the Purest of Pure bring with him into desert?
How did He respond to his first temptation without fault?
Your Divine Word: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God!"

I cherish Your Word, Your promise to Love me forever,
Teach me to bring Your Word/Your Love with me wherever I go,
and to whomever or whatever I encounter.

Lent 2009: Day 2

Lenten Journey through the Spiritual Alphabet
Psalm 119, Sustainable Love

Aleph, (part two)
May my ways be firm in the observance of Your laws!
Then I will not be ashamed to ponder all Yur commands.
I will praise You with sincere heart as I study Your just edicts.
I will keep Your laws; do not leave me all alone.

*****
Would it please be Your will
that Your Love inside me should so increase,
that without shame,
I may admit all I am by Your virtue?

My delight will be pure, as will my heart!
I will closely study Your appearance
and bear Your ways of Loving

Oh, and…
Would it also please be Your will to never leave me all alone and to not put me to the test?

Lent 2009: Sustainable Love

Lenten Journey through the Spiritual Alphabet
Psalm 119

Aleph
Happy those whose way is perfect,
who walk by the teaching of the LORD.
Happy those who observe God's decrees,
who seek the LORD with all their heart.
They do no wrong;
they walk in God's ways.
You have given them the command
to keep your precepts with care.

*********
His Spirit drives you and me into the experiences we need to walk in His perfect way.
His teaching, His Word, is "Love".
His Decrees: Love God, Love Neighbor
Seek Him using your heart as your guide, and you will walk in Him.
Indeed, he has given you and me the ability to bear His Love tenderly in our hearts.

I love my Mom

I had a wonderful visit with my mother this weekend
She was in town for a seminar and spent the night
with us on Saturday and went to church with me on Sunday.

She loves going to my church, she has been with me 3-4 times now over the last few years.
She, like many people, had a lot of misconceptions (misunderstandings) of the Catholic Church. For example, our veneration of the blessed Mother.

Mom was inspired by the Mass, the prayers, and the music, but mainly by the love our parishioners have for each other.

You dont have to have to belong to a particular church or have a certain belief to recognise God/Love.

Churches do not have a lock on Love, but some, like mine, while certainly not perfect, seem to at least have a key :o)

Happy monday (bleccch)
Keren

Promise: Love will not destroy

Love will endure. Even if you cannot see touch or hold it. It is always there. Sometimes it takes a few storms to realize the promise.

***
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken...

excerpt from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116

His precious treasure: Us

[…With one arm gently wrapped around her, he reads from an oversized storybook propped up in her lap. Slumped over against his shoulder, she is turned toward him with the top of her precious head resting against the side of his face. She can't walk or sit up straight, and offers only an occasional groan. She's just sitting there unresponsive, seemingly oblivious, as dad dutifully reads her a story, alternating his voice to impersonate the different characters.

[…she sits spellbound gazing into his face with her mouth slightly open with a smile. He's glued to the book; she's glued to him. What does she see? What does she feel? She seems so content and peaceful, at home really, resting her head against daddy's face, receiving his love. Then again, that's all she can do. She's not even capable of reciprocating her father's love, and yet I can see she is his most precious treasure…]

...excerpts from the book Divine Nobodies by Jim Palmer.

It seems I hear God's word clearer when I have been in an extended slump...when I cant seem to do anything right, have let people down, acted like a prima dona, cant keep my dishes washed or laundry off the floor.. flopping on the couch and hiding undercover from the world...I somehow still feel the warmth of His cheek and the sound of His voice telling me stories, and the comforting beat of His heart.

I pray and wish this for you too.

We have a God who just wants to Love us, and if anything, what He wants from us is to take comfort from and trust in Him.

Peace
Keren