Healing Effects of Nature

Some of the best therapy God has for us can be found by stepping outside and opening our eyes to receive it. These photos were taken on a hike this week and on a couple kayak trips down a river near my house.

Brennan Manning quote

"Faithfulness requires the courage to risk everything on Jesus, the willingness to keep growing, and the readiness to risk failure throughout our lives."

Story by Brother Dan Phillips

I read this several months ago on Brother Dan Phillips blog site. The sacredness of the story is worth posting here so more people can benefit from the message. It feels especially relevant to me today.
Dan Phillips
Follow Up to Empathy

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.
From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if you stop
your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing.

Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing.

If nearby and listening, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking
around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to her halter is a small bell. It lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can follow her.

As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see how she is always checking on him, and that he will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she will not lead him astray. When she returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, she stops occasionally and looks back, making sure her friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.

He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing
bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others see.

Good friends are like this..........You don't always see them, but you know they are always there. Please listen for my bell and I'll try to remember to listen for yours.

Bro. Dan

Struggling Within

I feel hope today in the midst of my struggle which means I am either in a better place or I am in a place of denial, :-).

This is part of a prayer I read today on Sacred Space :
"I ask for the grace to believe
in what I could be and do
if I only allowed God, my loving Creator,
to continue to create me, guide me and shape me."

Franciscan Benediction

FRANCISCAN BENEDICTION

May God bless you with DISCOMFORT...
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships.
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with ANGER...
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people.
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with TEARS...
To shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war.
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them
And to turn their pain into JOY...

And may God bless you with enough FOOLISHNESS...
To believe that you can make a difference in this world.
So that you can DO what others claim cannot be done.

Refining Silver

A friend shared this with me today. Sorry I don't know who to credit it to. If anyone knows, please pass it on to me so I can post the information here.

Refining Silver

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver". This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The silversmith answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed!

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Share this story with someone who needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end. "Life is a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you can only spend it once."

Stop the Genocide in Sudan!

It’s been two years since the Bush Administration declared the situation in Darfur, Sudan a genocide but people are still dying while countries like ours standby and watch it happen.

To mark this sad anniversary, groups from all over the Mid-Atlantic region headed down to Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. to hold a rally across from the White House.

Best-friend, Ellen, and I donned our “Stop Genocide in Sudan” shirts and took the Metro down to D.C. On the train a Sudanese woman, on her way to the airport, approached us, told us a little about herself, and then thanked us for our support of her country.

When we left for the event, we weren’t sure our presence would even make a difference out there. We won’t know if it did but on the train one woman was moved by our compassion for her country. Ellen and I too both felt moved to tears. Sudan may be across the Atlantic Ocean but today it became a face for us. We knew we belonged on that train today. It’s a simple reminder that we don’t have to have the means to make big changes in someone‘s life. Sometimes just walking beside someone is all it takes to make a difference.

In D.C. the rally began with a rapper named Com-Pleks. I’m not a fan of rap music but Com-Pleks’ poetry turned to rap was not like the rap music I’ve heard before. The lyrics of his first song filled our souls with the political truths of this country. I’ve never had truth hit me in quite that way before.

Protests such as “Two years, two many, break the deadlock now!” were shouted as the rally ended with some of the group participating in a civil disobedience act of lying in front of the White House, and holding up signs regarding the Darfur genocide before being arrested. Others who didn’t participate placed their hands in red paint and made their handprint on a large tarp that will be taken up to New York City later this month for another rally. The handprints are a way for us to be there and show our support.

A Darfurian woman, Fatima Haroun, said the most profound and truthful statement of the day when she announced we are all from Adam and Eve so race should not be an issue for us. Can it be said any simpler or more beautifully?
  
  
  
For more information on Darfur, Sudan go to: http://www.savedarfur.org/