3 French Hens

to be free

2010-11-03T22:07:00.000-04:00

to be free means......to be free from ourselves,from our untruth,in which it seems as if I alone were the center of the world...to be free from myselfin orderto be free for others___Dietrich BonhoefferJuly 24, 1932

"Through Gates of Splendor" Ch 1

2010-01-25T21:41:00.007-05:00

Studying at Books-A-Million last night. I'm a bookstore studier - the smelling and sipping of coffee, a study break to peruse the books, the sound of blurred conversations and mellow music in the background - these little pleasures make studying a treat. During last night's study break perusal, I stumbled upon 'The Gates of Splendor' by Elisabeth Elliot. I read the first chapter and decided to

Live a Lover's Life

2010-01-23T10:23:00.004-05:00

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless...-the apostle Paul writing to the Philippians ch. 1, vs. 9-10_________________So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much, but well. Learn to love appropriately

'Faith My Eyes'

2010-01-02T14:52:00.005-05:00

So keep'em coming these lines on the roadAnd keep me responsible be it a light or heavy loadAnd keep me guessing with these blessings in disguiseAnd I'll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes

traveling wisdom

2009-12-21T08:02:00.002-05:00

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.Matthew 7:13-14

Thy Kingdom Come

2009-12-19T18:53:00.007-05:00

Psalm 65:9You visit the earth and cause it to overflow.________________A friend recently told me that in the Catholic church they practice novena. I'm not Catholic and didn't know what that was so I looked it up and found that it is nine days of prayer and devotion to obtain special graces. It has a long and diverse history that I didn't fully read about, but in the past it has been practiced at

Mansfield Park

2009-12-08T21:37:00.003-05:00

"I see more distinctly through the rain."___________ "Beware of fainting fits. Beware of swoons."___________"I do not trust him... his sole interest is in being loved, not in loving."___________“Are you certain?”“I have no talent for certainty.”__________"Run mad as long as you choose, but do not faint."__________"Its just that the temptation was too strong for a mind unused to making any sort of

but I'm just asking You tonight...

2009-12-03T21:41:00.015-05:00

I just got a new computer (well, >2 mos. ago), but still, I haven't gotten any music on it yet, so I put a cd in at the beginning of the week, and have just been listening to that same cd ("Can You Hear Us?") over and over. Currently my favorite song is track 5: "Elizabeth". I can't decided whether I find it encouraging or discouraging. __________________and You can save a whole nation at a time,

Sex Sells

2009-12-03T20:28:00.005-05:00

So, supposedly there's a clothes store in NYC where the window display consists of live models dressing and undressing. They were talking about it on the news, and two commentators were brought in to discuss whether this was morally ok. The commentator in favor of the window display argued the following: "Sex Sells!" Indeed it does. ..."What in the world kind of arguement is that!?!"

I like to argue

2009-11-22T10:00:00.005-05:00

Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.Nevertheless I will argue my ways before HimJob 13:15________________"Jacob wrestled the angel and the angel was overcome."U2_________________Oh, it's gonna take some blood to see the nations comecome now, let us gotrack 12 from the album "Can you Hear Us"____________________He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to

a living being

2009-11-22T09:58:00.007-05:00

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.Genesis 2:7 _______________Dust and breath. Not one or the other, but both. There is an animal nature in us...to protect ourselves, to feed ourselves, to reproduce ourselves...and all the chemical, physiological STUFF of our material bodies that make us that way.

The Art of Loving and Running

2009-11-21T15:12:00.008-05:00

It is week 12 of my training for the Gainesville marathon set for Valentine's Day 2010. I'm hoping not only to finish the race, but also to run fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon. It is a lofty goal for me... and one that I'm not so sure I am capable of attaining...I'm considering another goal for Valentine's Day as well. It is even loftier... and one that I'm quite positive I'll not

just being with it

2009-09-08T10:38:00.004-04:00

"not everything can be fixed or solved...feel the difference between trying to fix it and just being with it."-Ruth Haley Barton

a Sunday morning

2009-08-30T13:09:00.008-04:00

1. A reminder: God can salvage our mistakes: even the big mistakes. Didn't he raise the dead?, heal the paralytic?2. A challenge: God is powerful - do we only ask God for things that we can already take care of, or do we dare ask for the things that can only come about if He steps in - do we believe that He'll step in?3. A blessing at the altar: "thank you for the calling You have put in her

graceful posture

2009-08-08T13:14:00.009-04:00

I know I write the same things over and over, but I keep forgetting what I write, then the truth hits me again - hits me as if for the first time, and I can't help writing about it again. So here goes another song lyric and running narrative..._____In this posture let me liveand "hosannas" daily givein this temper let me dieand "hosannas" ever crythis is a favorite - it's the last verse from the

Ridiculous

2009-07-29T09:58:00.006-04:00

"The right to be ridiculous is something I hold dear"U2_____Everyone wants to be cool. I try to be cool, but its just so hard:) Its neither hot nor cold, just somewhere in the middle - apathetic. Its "cool" to be cool, "cool" to be apathetic, to not care, to be unaffected and without emotion - don't let any body or any situation rattle you. But its so hard because our little human heart is

just keep going

2009-07-19T14:22:00.006-04:00

Today I got to read the first lesson and psalm in church. I love to read aloud - so this task fits me well:) Today's reading was quite long though, and contained a list of OT names that weren't so easy to pronounce, so I wasn't totally feeling it and hurried my way through. Feelings are so unreliable I've discovered (again and again and again...). They were unreliable again today. This "long

travelling in Gainesville

2009-07-17T11:05:00.004-04:00

I've got this energy beneath my feetlike something underground's gonna come up and carry me.I love to travel. For the past two weeks I've been house and dog sitting for a family on the other side of town. They will return this afternoon, so this morning I packed up my stuff and drove back to my house in NW Gainesville. As soon as my body is put in motion, my mind takes off as well. I don't

another day

2009-07-17T10:41:00.005-04:00

Through another day, another trial, another chance to reconcile to one who sees past all I can seeAgain my perspective unravels, again my mind needs renewed. Always coming back, cause I'm always wandering off. Prone to wander...Lord, my will has deceived meplease come and free mecome rescue this childfor I long to be reconciled to yourefine meall I can do is give my heart and soul to youand

swing low!

2009-07-16T15:02:00.003-04:00

I'm waiting on the light to change...Oh, love won't let you goit bends and reaches lowand love alone is not enough to hold us upwe've got to touch your robeso swing your robe down lowSwing Low! Sweet Chariot!

too wonderful for me

2009-07-14T11:43:00.006-04:00

this morning's psalm:139O LORD, You have searched me and known me.You know when I sit down and when I rise up;You understand my thought from afar.You scrutinize my path and my lying down,And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.Even before there is a word on my tongue,Behold, O LORD, You know it all.You have enclosed me behind and before,And laid Your hand upon me.Such knowledge is too

the liturgy

2009-07-12T15:32:00.017-04:00

...Remake us and lead us by your spirit, the comforter......and blessed be His kingdom, now, and forever. Amen...Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known......You are seated at the right hand of the Father, receive our prayer......as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen....Through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation.....May we also come

long and slow

2009-07-03T12:33:00.007-04:00

Psalm 52Create in me a clean heart O Godand renew a steadfast spirit within meDo not cast me away from your presenceand do not take your Holy Spirit from meRestore to me the joy of your salvationand sustain me with a willing spirit._____________I am trying to teach my mindto bear the long, slow growthof the fields, and to singof its passing while it waits-Wendell Berry_____________In this posture

Growing Pains

2009-03-22T22:09:00.017-04:00

There is no growth without change; there is no change without fear or loss; and there is no loss without pain. Every change involves a loss of some kind: You must let go of old ways to experience the new. We fear these losses, even if our old ways were self-defeating, because like a worn out pair of shoes, they were at least comfortable and familiar.Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life________

Breathe Now

2009-03-22T09:18:00.013-04:00

What does the future hold? So far I've not predicted it, but I keep trying. It is a life long question. I hold my breath in anticipation of the answers - tense and unsettled. Relax, just breathe!______________If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers - most of which are never even seen - don't you think He'll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you? What I'm

Doubt

2009-03-14T11:44:00.004-04:00

I am participating in an Alpha class at the church where I regularly attend - Alpha is a 10 week program in which Christians and non-Christians fellowship over a meal, before listening to a presentation about a basic belief of the Christian faith, and then break up into smaller groups to discuss that issue. This past Wednesday we discussed the topic of evil and how the primary vice of the devil

Marching Orders

2009-03-14T10:59:00.001-04:00

"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want"-my graduate adviser____________________This tidbit of wisdom was given to me in response to a pretty time consuming and money consuming mistake I made in the lab last week. The mistake was definitely not "what I wanted" - so I guess I got "experience". The whole of one day was spent collecting almost 200 leaf samples, which I then

Fasting

2009-02-15T15:36:00.018-05:00

"In fasting, we learn how to suffer happily as we feast on God. And it is a good lesson, because in our lives we will suffer, no matter what else happens to us."Dallas WillardThe Spirit of the Disciplines___________________________________I like food. This makes fasting one of the more difficult spiritual disciplines to follow. Silence and solitude, celebration, simplicity - these other

Silence & Solitude

2009-02-15T00:56:00.010-05:00

Spring time (or late winter in Florida's case) is when breeders get busy - busy as bees. I am studying genetics/plant breeding at the University of Florida (GO GATORS!), and my adviser is a stone-fruit (peach, apricot, plum, cherry - but mostly peach) breeder. Currently we are making crosses in the field, which means that when a peach tree begins to bloom, we remove the petals and anthers of

What kind of fisherman are you?

2009-02-08T22:13:00.007-05:00

I prefer studying in coffee shops. The activity and dull noise there keeps me alert, but doesn't distract me from what I'm reading. The best is studying in coffee shops with a good friend - one with whom you can take a short study break to discuss what you're learning - or any other topic that pops into your head when you're supposed to be learning:) Anyways, last week I was studying in a

Frozen Blueberries

2009-02-04T08:00:00.012-05:00

February 2 is "Chandeleur" as French Catholics call it, or "The Presentation of Christ in the Temple" as Anglicans have named this feast day, which celebrates the event recorded in Luke 2 when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple - some history from wikipedia. Simeon, who was promised that he'd not die before seeing the messiah, was in the temple, and when he saw Jesus he prayed to God in

Spiritual Discipline

2009-02-02T20:30:00.009-05:00

There's not a list of spiritual disciplines in Scripture, but there are certain practices that Scripture identifies as good and profitable for spiritual formation (forming our spirits and character to the image of Christ). These practices have been being performed by Christian men and women throughout history. Some of them include, but are not limited to... meditation (journaling, scripture

Defiance

2009-02-01T22:29:00.006-05:00

I went to see the movie Defiance the other day, and recommend it to you. Its the true story of Russian Jews led by 4 brothers who all (1200 of them!) survived the Holocaust by hiding in the forest. The people endured multiple winters, sickness, and starvation. In one scene a Jewish rabbii led a prayer asking God to depart from them because they no longer wanted to be His special people - they

La Faute de Fidel

2009-01-30T17:40:00.003-05:00

The other night I went with some friends to the first in a series of french films being shown for free at the Hippodrome. It was quite a multicultural (and food filled) event... tapas at a cuban restaurant with a new friend from England, a taste of Italian gelato on the way to coffee at Starbucks (yes, Starbucks is a culture of its own), and a french film about revolution in Chile, followed by

Called to Minister

2009-01-29T23:00:00.003-05:00

Just recently I was talking with my little sister about a leadership program that she had attended, in which at one point she was asked to make a list of individuals who have had a positive impact on her life. My name made the list. Can't you just picture me now...big 'ole fat head glowing, and a proud smile across my face?