"Find My Church"

I'm counting down the days until I leave for a month's sojourn in France. I probably don't need to tell you that I'm excited about this trip. While in my heart, I shouted an immediate "YES!" to the opportunity to make the trip when it was presented in March, my mind had to think about it awhile. You know...figure out all the details, ponder the 'what ifs,' count the pennies, weigh the pros and cons. Yes, I wanted more than anything to have this adventure, and I also wanted some reassurance that it was the right thing to do as it could be (and I expect it will be!) a life-changing experience. Part of my spiritual practice is to spend some time every day in quiet time with God; time when I stop talking and instead listen for His direction. I do this on my drive into work. For several mornings I had talked with God about whether it really was the right thing to do, hoping that I would hear a big 'yes' from Him. Being in quiet time and merging onto I-35 from the St. Charles exit, this is what I heard..."Find my church." Loud and clear, not my words, but His. So I did. I will worship with the Anglican Community that I found in Cahors. I've emailed their church secretary; I'm told they welcome visitors. I have the schedule of services, and directions to the Catholic parish In Cahors where they meet. Their priest serves another parish as well, so Holy Eucharist is offered only every other Sunday. I have found God's church in the Lot.

"May I Live This Day...."

May I live this day


Compassionate of heart,

Gentle in word,

Gracious in awareness,

Courageous in thought,

Generous in love.


From Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections on Our Yearning to Belong, by John O'Donohue

The Right Door?

A door has opened in my life very unexpectedly. I blogged about it yesterday over at "Musings from Red Bell Farm." I've been praying quite a bit lately for God's will for my life to be made more clear. This door is not the answer I expected...or wanted. It's a bit disappointing and actually feels like it is taking me even further away from my dreams, entangling me even more in something that is neither fulfilling nor moving me toward what I really want to do. It's not something, however, that I have much choice about, so I accepted its challenge, graciously on the outside; not so graciously on the inside! I guess this is where the going gets tough, huh? It's easy to be faithful when life is going my way and much harder when it's not. I want to believe that God is leading me in the best direction, that He has glorious plans, that my dreams will come true. I want to believe... Like the father of the child possessed by the unclean spirit, I cry "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

A "Sign"

In yesterday's post I explored my need to see visual proof to bolster my faith. I'm not alone...the Disciples, the adoring crowds, Jesus' accusers...all asked repeatedly for signs of his divinity. I went to bed Friday evening with 'signs' on my mind. Early Saturday morning as I was rattling around in the kitchen gathering the essentials for that first cup of coffee, I glanced in the sink. Imagine my surprise when I saw a tiny green tree frog looking quite perplexed as he hunkered down on the cool porcelin. At first I was startled, then I began to chuckle to myself. God has quite a sense of humor. I could just see Him up there smiling..."You think you need a sign, huh? Well, here's a sign that even you can't miss, Evelyn!"

I borrowed this image from Google. I scooped my 'sign' up and had him safely returned to the marigold bed outside before I even thought about snapping his picture!

Show Me A Sign

I had lunch with Elizabeth today at La Mie. Food was good and the conversation was good as well. We chattered through lunch and beyond covering such diverse subjects as kids, college, sports, good books to read, cooking, Julia Child, travel, Alaska, France....never a lapse in in the conversation! We ended up talking about tomorrow evening's service, the readings, and the sermon. I laughed as Elizabeth confessed that she didn't have anything put together yet and we giggled at the idea that maybe she should just tell the congregation that she was fresh out of ideas and what did THEY think the readings meant? After all, what new can you say about Jesus being the 'bread of life?' That led to some discussion about both the apostles and the crowds of people who came to hear Jesus preach. They all wanted some sort of visible sign of his divinity. "Show us a sign!' they'd shout, 'heal someone, raise someone from the dead, restore sight to the blind!' Even today we're such visual people...we want to see Christ at work in the world. It can't be real or true if we can't see it, right? Then I confessed that my favorite song from the 70's rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar is Herod's Song. Herod wanted visual proof as well. Who knows what might have happened if Jesus had shown Herod a sign and had turned his water into wine.

How To Pray...

I received an email from a friend yesterday that contained a link to an online presentation about how to pray. If you're interested, you can click the link and watch the video. I have to admit that this is not the type of video I would normally watch. It feels a bit like those tele-evangelist programs you see on TV and yes, Dr. Price does ask for money to help him with his ministry. Once I got past that initial hesitancy, however, I found the presentation fascinating. Dr. Price preaches well; he teaches well. And his audience is obviously engaged...everyone has a Bible, is taking notes, and responds to Dr. Price's questions. I appreciated the lesson he taught and loved the energy he inspired. I also am a firm believer in occasionally moving outside my comfort zone in exploring faith. Dr. Price and his congregation are certainly not part of my normal routine. Whether I choose to pray as he instructed is not the point. The message he preached is important. You have to invite God into your life. You have to be grateful for His blessings. You have to 'speak' your faith whether you do that through words, song, creativity, actions or charity. You don't keep your faith inside...it has to be shared in some way; faith is you and God and community. And then when you ask God to answer your prayers, look out! For as Elizabeth said in last evening's homily: "Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21. Italics are mine) God will do more in your life than you could ever imagine and answer your prayers in ways more abundant than you dream.

Who's the Boss?

Elizabeth's homily last evening was taken from Mark 6:30-34. These are the verses that lead up to the 'feeding of the 5,000' story that we are so familiar with. Jesus has sent the apostles out to preach the Good News, to cast out demons, and to heal; they've returned, exhausted by their travels. As they begin to tell Jesus about their work, he stops them, saying "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." How kind and compassionate Jesus is to recognize their weariness and offer them time to replenish themselves! Asking each of us to think about our bosses at work, Elizabeth challenged us to decide if this is how our boss would treat us at the end of a big project or after a particularly busy time at work. Does your boss tell you take some time off? does he/she offer to take you to a place of rest and relaxation so you can recharge your batteries? would you even want to spend 'down' time with your boss? I know how I answered those questions. Who is your Boss? Is he important enough for you to spend quiet time with him? He asks you to do that....how do you respond to his kindness and compassion? I definitely know which Boss I want to work for; how about you?