I'm in an odd space this morning (more about that in a post coming shortly), and these two reflections from Henri Nouwen (but particularly the second one) hit my heart deeply.
Empowered to Be
Who are we? Are we what we do? Are we what others say about us? Are we the power we have? It often seems that way in our society. But the Spirit of Jesus given to us reveals our true spiritual identities. The Spirit reveals that we belong not to a world of success, fame, or power but to God. The world enslaves us with fear; the Spirit frees us from that slavery and restores us to the true relationship. That is what Paul means when he says: "All who are guided by the Spirit of God are sons [daughters] of God, for what you received was not the spirit of slavery to bring you back into fear; you received the spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, 'Abba, Father!'" (Romans 8:15).
Who are we? We are God's beloved sons and daughters!
Empowered to Call God "Abba"
Calling God "Abba, Father" is different from giving God a familiar name. Calling God "Abba" is entering into the same intimate, fearless, trusting, and empowering relationship with God that Jesus had. That relationship is called Spirit, and that Spirit is given to us by Jesus and enables us to cry out with him, "Abba, Father."
Calling God "Abba, Father" (see Roman 8:15; Galatians 4:6) is a cry of the heart, a prayer welling up from our innermost beings. It has nothing do with naming God but everything to do with claiming God as the source of who we are. This claim does not come from any sudden insight or acquired conviction; it is the claim that the Spirit of Jesus makes in communion with our spirits. It is the claim of love.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Wedding Central Again
We're now officially in the last month before the roommate wedding.
And tonight our house has been taken over by bridesmaids needing their dresses fitted.
Lots of giggling, and comments about weight and shoes, and what bra is the right one to wear under the dress.
It's wedding central again, and for the moment, I'm more amused than stressed by it. Let's pray that it stays that way for the rest of the month, especially when the stress of the impeding move starts stacking up as well!
And tonight our house has been taken over by bridesmaids needing their dresses fitted.
Lots of giggling, and comments about weight and shoes, and what bra is the right one to wear under the dress.
It's wedding central again, and for the moment, I'm more amused than stressed by it. Let's pray that it stays that way for the rest of the month, especially when the stress of the impeding move starts stacking up as well!
Quoting Again...
From the calendar on my desk, which apparently has picked the month of June to deeply strike and convict my heart...
"Faith is a gift of God. It is a pure gift, and only he can bestow it. At the same time, he passionately desires to give it to us. He wants us to ask for it, because he can only give it to us when we ask for it." (Catherine de Hueck Doherty)
"Faith is a gift of God. It is a pure gift, and only he can bestow it. At the same time, he passionately desires to give it to us. He wants us to ask for it, because he can only give it to us when we ask for it." (Catherine de Hueck Doherty)
Musings...
I have some thoughts in process... my drive in to work this morning was full. Sometimes I wish you could all spend a day in my head, and see the way the thoughts carry me around, see the different connections. Sometimes the connections and directions surprise even me.
There are many places I could go this morning, but I think I want to write them out somewhere other than a public space first.
I'm thinking about imperfection. About friends traveling. About transition. About discerning character.
I'm thinking about the shallower things too. Like the fact that the skirt I wore today may perhaps be a bit higher waisted than I thought, and could cause some discomfort through the day thanks to my piercing adventures on the weekend. And the fact that I dress differently for work when I'm meeting outside clients or sales reps. And the fact that I'm really bored with this "eating 3 meals a day" concept, but am sticking to it anyway. And the fact that my house is going to be invaded by the "attack of the bridesmaids who need dresses altered" again tonight, which means it'll be loud and obnoxious (and our internet still isn't working properly, preventing me from hiding in my bedroom.) And the fact that it's Wednesday, which means this could be a total gong show of a day.
More later!!
There are many places I could go this morning, but I think I want to write them out somewhere other than a public space first.
I'm thinking about imperfection. About friends traveling. About transition. About discerning character.
I'm thinking about the shallower things too. Like the fact that the skirt I wore today may perhaps be a bit higher waisted than I thought, and could cause some discomfort through the day thanks to my piercing adventures on the weekend. And the fact that I dress differently for work when I'm meeting outside clients or sales reps. And the fact that I'm really bored with this "eating 3 meals a day" concept, but am sticking to it anyway. And the fact that my house is going to be invaded by the "attack of the bridesmaids who need dresses altered" again tonight, which means it'll be loud and obnoxious (and our internet still isn't working properly, preventing me from hiding in my bedroom.) And the fact that it's Wednesday, which means this could be a total gong show of a day.
More later!!
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Is it really only Tuesday?
This is the question I find myself asking nearly constantly, "Is it really only Tuesday?" The last two days in some ways feel like they've encompassed an entire week.
Both yesterday and today at work have been filled with the little snafus that add up to frustration. I have a very long list of things that need to be accomplished, and the vast majority of them are on hold, dependent on responses from other people, or work from other people. I've also run out of things to give to the morning receptionist to occupy her time as well (again, because I'm waiting for some things to come back to me.)
I'm still loving my job, but every so often you have those days that just seem to drag, and seem to be riddled with minor frustrations that add up to major headaches.
I'm looking forward to an evening at home tonight (and planning to enjoy the fact that my roommates, the fiancee who's a constant presence in our house, and the current houseguest will all be out for a while, and I'll get to enjoy the quiet.)
I've had a heat pack on my neck off and on all day, attempting to alleviate the muscle knots that seems to have developed from unwittingly tensing the muscles in my neck and back while I sleep to prevent rolling onto my stomach and causing pain at the site of my new navel piercing. The knots are in a spot that's a continual problem, and I could badly use a massage.
I did however, incite laughter at the office today when I commented that I could use a massage quite badly, but wouldn't be able to lay on my stomach long enough to get one! It would seem that there's not a whole lot of sympathy for my predicament! (Of course, if it was me on the other end, I wouldn't be offering sympathy either, and I'm actually finding the whole situation personally amusing as well!)
In any case, I'm looking forward to spending an evening reading, and maybe doing a bit of cleaning. To catching up on some emails, and hopefully heading for bed nice and early. And to the nice dinner of kabobs, salad, and bread that we've got planned. Light, and so easy to prepare!
(But I'm still wondering, "Is it really only Tuesday?")
Both yesterday and today at work have been filled with the little snafus that add up to frustration. I have a very long list of things that need to be accomplished, and the vast majority of them are on hold, dependent on responses from other people, or work from other people. I've also run out of things to give to the morning receptionist to occupy her time as well (again, because I'm waiting for some things to come back to me.)
I'm still loving my job, but every so often you have those days that just seem to drag, and seem to be riddled with minor frustrations that add up to major headaches.
I'm looking forward to an evening at home tonight (and planning to enjoy the fact that my roommates, the fiancee who's a constant presence in our house, and the current houseguest will all be out for a while, and I'll get to enjoy the quiet.)
I've had a heat pack on my neck off and on all day, attempting to alleviate the muscle knots that seems to have developed from unwittingly tensing the muscles in my neck and back while I sleep to prevent rolling onto my stomach and causing pain at the site of my new navel piercing. The knots are in a spot that's a continual problem, and I could badly use a massage.
I did however, incite laughter at the office today when I commented that I could use a massage quite badly, but wouldn't be able to lay on my stomach long enough to get one! It would seem that there's not a whole lot of sympathy for my predicament! (Of course, if it was me on the other end, I wouldn't be offering sympathy either, and I'm actually finding the whole situation personally amusing as well!)
In any case, I'm looking forward to spending an evening reading, and maybe doing a bit of cleaning. To catching up on some emails, and hopefully heading for bed nice and early. And to the nice dinner of kabobs, salad, and bread that we've got planned. Light, and so easy to prepare!
(But I'm still wondering, "Is it really only Tuesday?")
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