These articles caught my attention today...
HIV Travel Ban May End Soon
Homeless Population Jumps
Mental Illness Lacks Awareness
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Being Given - Henri Nouwen
Another thought from Henri Nouwen
Being Given
Jesus is given to the world. He was chosen, blessed, and broken to be given. Jesus' life and death were a life and death for others. The Beloved Son of God, chosen from all eternity, was broken on the cross so that this one life could multiply and become food for people of all places and all times.
As God's beloved children we have to believe that our little lives, when lived as God's chosen and blessed children, are broken to be given to others. We too have to become bread for the world. When we live our brokenness under the blessing, our lives will continue to bear fruit from generation to generation. That is the story of the saints - they died, but they continue to be alive in the hearts of those who live after them - and it can be our story too.
Being Given
Jesus is given to the world. He was chosen, blessed, and broken to be given. Jesus' life and death were a life and death for others. The Beloved Son of God, chosen from all eternity, was broken on the cross so that this one life could multiply and become food for people of all places and all times.
As God's beloved children we have to believe that our little lives, when lived as God's chosen and blessed children, are broken to be given to others. We too have to become bread for the world. When we live our brokenness under the blessing, our lives will continue to bear fruit from generation to generation. That is the story of the saints - they died, but they continue to be alive in the hearts of those who live after them - and it can be our story too.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Being Seen
I have a friend who often challenges me to allow myself to be "seen". To let those close, and those not so close see who I truly am, to live from the deep places of my life. It is never an easy request when she asks it of me.
Sometimes I allow myself to be seen, and it backfires. I remember then why it is a challenge, and why it is so easy to wear masks. I remember why self-protection has become an artform.
This photo is of an impossibly deep moment that happened a few weeks back. My roommate unexpectedly captured it on film. I'm not going to put words around this moment for you. I'm not going to tell you why there are many important things unspoken in this photo. The photo both makes me cringe, and makes me smile from a very deep place. It exposes the deep places in me, and lets me be seen.
I'm thankful for the friend who continues to encourage me to allow myself to be seen.
I'm reminding myself of the need to continue to do that.
And I'm reminding myself that it is okay to let Jesus see me too. (He does anyway.) But from Him there won't be judgement, and my bruised heart needs that today.
Sometimes I allow myself to be seen, and it backfires. I remember then why it is a challenge, and why it is so easy to wear masks. I remember why self-protection has become an artform.
This photo is of an impossibly deep moment that happened a few weeks back. My roommate unexpectedly captured it on film. I'm not going to put words around this moment for you. I'm not going to tell you why there are many important things unspoken in this photo. The photo both makes me cringe, and makes me smile from a very deep place. It exposes the deep places in me, and lets me be seen.
I'm thankful for the friend who continues to encourage me to allow myself to be seen.
I'm reminding myself of the need to continue to do that.
And I'm reminding myself that it is okay to let Jesus see me too. (He does anyway.) But from Him there won't be judgement, and my bruised heart needs that today.
Noah's Blog (and other thoughts)
I came across this link this morning to "Noah's Blog". It made me laugh. I needed a laugh today.
I'm in the midst of trying to sort through some heavy and deep stuff yet again. Feeling quiet, fearful, tired. You'll have to bear with me if the posts come less often, are less personal, and tend to direct you to read something else. I'll come around eventually. In the meantime, enjoy the things links to things that make me laugh, or make me think, or both.
I'm in the midst of trying to sort through some heavy and deep stuff yet again. Feeling quiet, fearful, tired. You'll have to bear with me if the posts come less often, are less personal, and tend to direct you to read something else. I'll come around eventually. In the meantime, enjoy the things links to things that make me laugh, or make me think, or both.
Being Broken - Henri Nouwen
another thought from the Henri Nouwen society...
Being Broken
Jesus was broken on the cross. He lived his suffering and death not as an evil to avoid at all costs, but as a mission to embrace. We too are broken. We live with broken bodies, broken hearts, broken minds or broken spirits. We suffer from broken relationships.
How can we live our brokenness? Jesus invites us to embrace our brokenness as he embraced the cross and live it as part of our mission. He asks us not to reject our brokenness as a curse from God that reminds us of our sinfulness but to accept it and put it under God's blessing for our purification and sanctification. Thus our brokenness can become a gateway to new life.
Being Broken
Jesus was broken on the cross. He lived his suffering and death not as an evil to avoid at all costs, but as a mission to embrace. We too are broken. We live with broken bodies, broken hearts, broken minds or broken spirits. We suffer from broken relationships.
How can we live our brokenness? Jesus invites us to embrace our brokenness as he embraced the cross and live it as part of our mission. He asks us not to reject our brokenness as a curse from God that reminds us of our sinfulness but to accept it and put it under God's blessing for our purification and sanctification. Thus our brokenness can become a gateway to new life.
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