A Desert Monk Speaks to Us Today

"Pay attention to what I tell you: 

whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes; 

whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the holy Scriptures; 

in whatever place you live, do not easily leave it.

Keep these three precepts and you will be saved."

~Desert father, Abba Anthony 

(taken from "Common Prayer/A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals")

The reading from Common Prayer on June 1 offers this prayer to follow up Abba Anthony's advice, "Grow us slowly, persistently, Lord, to be people who watch without distraction, listen without interruption, and stay put without inclination to flee. Amen."

It's the last part of Anthony's advice and of the prayer that strikes me this morning. There is an inclination to flee in me. When I've been someplace for a while, or a situation is not to my liking. But the tendency extends to jobs and projects. I'll work on something for a while, even feel God has called me to it, and then, after a while, I begin to wonder if I should really be doing something else instead. It feels like there must be something else more important that I'm neglecting. 

I've recognized this in myself before, but I haven't had the absolute assurance that the feeling is wrong. And if it is wrong, then which thing do I choose to do and not look back? 

Does this dilema make sense to anyone else?

Abba Anthony says, "Do not easily leave." 

Do not easily leave my house, my church, my state, my job, my calling, my current writing project, etc. 

Yes, Lord, please grow us slowly, persistently, to be people who watch without distraction, listen without interruption, and stay put without inclination to flee. Amen.

Faith = Lavender for the Soul

Nature reveals so much about God. The more we learn, the more we understand that God is trustworthy. Did you know that Jewel Weed is a natural antidote for Poison Ivy? Did you also know that it is almost always found growing near Poison Ivy? I just learned this recently on a hike with my critique partners (waving to all you, Sharpies). I suspect our heavenly Father created a plant for every need we would have, and placed it close to where it would be needed. Jehovah Jireh is one of his names, after all...The Lord our Provider.

Essential Oils are the lifeblood of a plant. The Bible mentions the usage of oils in healing. Lavender is one of those plants our Creator provided. It has a wide range of uses. It is antibiotic, antiseptic, antidepressant, sedative, and a detoxifier which promotes healing and prevents scarring. I keep a bottle of Lavender essential oil in the kitchen in case of burns and in my "medicine" cabinet in the bathroom with my other essential oils.  Lavender is one of the few oils that can be used as a relaxant as well as a stimulant.

Lavender helps ease stress, relax muscles and calm the mind. It also stimulates thoughts and increases energy, giving that little push we may need to get up and go.

God thinks relaxation and rest are important. He instituted the Sabbath, commanding us to rest one day a week. He knew how we'd be...thinking we're so important we can't rest for a whole day. He also made celebrations throughout the year that included rest from work. And He promised peaceful sleep to His people.

Hebrews 4 encourages us to enter God's rest. Chapter 3 gives an account of Israel's sin of unbelief and how they were prohibited from entering the rest God offered them.

"Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day...For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end." ~Hebrews 3:12-14

Hebrews 3 and 4 demonstrate how unbelief was the sin that caused Israel to strive in the wilderness for 40 years rather than entering into the rest God had hoped to provide for them.

Do you ever strive and worry, causing yourself stress while God patiently holds the door open for you to enter the rest He already provided? 

(Maybe that's only me).

"'Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me.' Who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief."

~Hebrews 3:15-19

When we're not convinced of what we beleive, we disobey because we don't trust God to do what's right and best. We think we know better, whether we admit it or not. That is the cause of sin.

Hebrews 11 tells us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.

So then faith is the key.

Faith is like Lavender for our soul. With it we can rest easy in God's hands entrusting all our worry to Him. And with it we have the motivation to actively obey His commands. 

Time: Friend or Foe

I'm learning the need to see time from a different perspective. So often time is my foe. I have plans for my life and there just doesn't seem to be enough time to accomplish them. Soon I realize a decade has gone by and I still haven't achieved my goal.

Since this is always the case, there must be a flaw in my perspective, my plan or my thinking in some way. Following the Movements of the Spirit, Henri Nouwen, teaches that we need to view time as kairos instead of chronos. Chronos is chronology, the events of our life connected by time over which we have no control. Kairos is an opportunity for a change of heart. Both are Greek words for time, but very different in concept. Kairos carries a more mystical sense, an awareness that defining, moments can break into the chronology of time at any point, or that every moment defines a life.

"Time needs to be converted from chronos to kairos...The spiritual life is a formation process in which time slowly loses its opaqueness and becomes transparent. To start seeing that the many events of our day, week, or year are not obstacles to a full and meaningful life, but the way to it, is a real experience of conversion. Once we discover that writing letters, attending classes, visiting friends, cooking food, and even doing the dishes are not a series of random activities but contain within themselves the transforming power of re-creation, we move from time lived as chronos to time lived as kairos (right time, the real moment, the opportunity for change, the chance of a lifetime). When our time becomes kairos, endless new possibilities and opportunities open up to our vision." ~Following the Movements of the Spirit.

I'm reminded again of the words by John Lenin, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

Year after year we could be missing our real life by planning for another one that will never exist.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't have goals or make plans. We must. But, let us rethink the plans, make sure they're simple, doable, and embrace interruptions as opportunities to grow, change, even remold our plans. A good example is writing a novel. The author comes up with a good plot summary (chronological time line of events to happen in the character's life), but part way through the book, the author realizes that the character's life is going a different direction. Time to adjust the plot summary.

Lord, let me embrace time as a friend, welcoming the interruptions You allow, rather than fighting time as my arch enemy. Thank You for the gift of time that You've allotted for my life, may I live each moment pleasing you no matter what arises.

The Story Nature Tells

Jackson's Tree, photo by Joshua Thompson

 "We could do an immense service to our world if we would let nature heal, counsel, and teach again."

~Christensen and Laird (Henri Nouwen), "Spiritual Formation: following the Movements of the Spirit"

When we see nature as only something to be used, we miss the story it was created to tell. Even environmentalists can take nature for grantit when they hurry by a city park to get to their recycling rally. They may not notice the beauty and lessons of the old trees swaying above the playground equipment or the wildflowers trampled below the feet of dozens of children on a field day.

Spiritual Formation, based on Nouwen's teaching, goes on to say, "When we contemplate creation rather than manipulating it, we are able to see nature as a gift of God to be cherished and cared for." And I would add, "...to be learned from".

God created the plants for our nourishment and for our enjoyment (beauty). "Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food..." Genesis 2:9. We also learn that the leaves and other plants are for healing. We see the use of oil for healing in scripture again and again. By example, we learn from scripture that we can take life lessons and lessons about God from nature. 

God is referred to as our rock, our light and His voice is compared to thunder. Examples abound. But how did the psalmists and other writers come up with these comparisons?

They took time to meditate on aspects of nature.

I recently received a lesson from an old tree at a retreat center where our church leaders met for prayer. This is what I wrote:

Looking out the window at a very old tree, I notice deep grooves in the trunk, thick chunks of bark protruding and a deep hole in the bark at one place. It has been through so much history. I wonder about all the changes and things it has seen. I sense God say, "It's amazing what one can see or experience when he/she just stays in one place. Stay. Wait. Pray. Watch."

When Mary Must Learn from Martha

Most of the time Martha gets a bad rap. She was the one busy in the kitchen while Jesus imparted nuggets of wisdom and love. Mary sat at His feet and drank it in. When Martha asked Jesus to tell her sister, Mary, to help her, He responded that Mary had chosen the better part.

It's true we have a tendency as Westerners, especially Americans, to do-do-do. We appreciate action, so we'd rather jump up and act than sit and learn. Often we don't even prepare for our actions. We might skip the research or the practice needed to make our actions valuable. There are great lessons for us to glean from Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus, putting aside the daily chores for a time to sit in His presence. We should never forget that lesson.

But there are those of us who enjoy meditation and Bible Reading more than action. We pride ourselves on being the ones who choose the best part. But we should beware because even as our heads are inflating due to our wise choice, we may become lazy and find we have produced nothing.

There is a time to get up and move into action. I don't know if Mary in the Bible had all that in the right balance or not, but I realize I don't. I'd much rather pray than do. It's so much easier. I can do it from the comfort of my soft couch.

I have great excuses like, "The Lord hasn't given me a burden yet," or "I don't feel the passion needed to sustain action. I'll wait until I feel it." Or maybe I just don't know what to do, so I do nothing.

Recently I've been gleaning from my good friend and boss, Becky. She is creative, always coming up with fun ideas to motivate and achieve. She can make a party out of anything. I'm learning from Becky that you don't have to feel something in order to do it. "You have to make your own passion," she said last week.

Take one step and then another and pretty soon momentum builds and you feel the passion for what you're doing, and others will too.

Becky also helped me realize that you don't have to wait until you know the exact thing that should be done. Just pick one need and begin to do something about it. Anything is better than nothing.

This advice may seem matter-of-fact to you, but it's a revelation to me.

Thank you Becky. We will miss you in S.A.

True Freedom

"The spiritual life is a life in which we are set free by the Spirit of God to enjoy life in all its fullness. By this Spirit we can indeed 'be in the world without being of it'; we can move freely without being bound by false attachments; we can speak freely without fear of human rejection; and we can live with peace and joy even when surrounded by conflict and sadness." 

 ~ Henri Nouwen, Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit

This is probably the best description of "freedom in Christ" I've ever heard. Maybe it's just not articulated to us that often. What does it mean to be free in Christ? 

I might answer, free from the bondage of sin, which is true. We are no longer bound by sin, we now choose it freely. Well, hopefully not, or at least not very often. 

Take a look at Nouwen's descriptions:

1. We can be in the world, not of it. We don't look like the world. Our character is different, our motivations are different. 

2. We can move freely without being bound by false attachments. 

3. We can speak freely without fear of human rejection. It no longer matters, because we are sure of acceptance from the One who does matter!

4. We can live with peace and joy even when surrounded by conflict and sadness. Praise God!! Next time you see a Christian who has totally lost their joy because of uncontrollable circumstances, remind them of their ...

FREEDOM IN CHRIST

What freedom we have. What grace that unbelievers can never understand. 

Photo by Joshua Thompson

Lycopene & Spring Soup Recipe

Lycopene comes from tomatoes and some other red vegetables. It is what gives the red color. It is considered an antioxidant and numerous studies indicate that it helps the body fight against cancer.

An article from the Mayo Clinic reports studies on lycopene as treatment for cancer are inconclusive because the studies were done using tomatoes which also contain vitamin C and other nutrients as well. They're saying that it's not certain that lycopene, taken from its natural environment and used as a medicine for cancer, would produce the same results.

My suggestion, therefore, is to use lycopene the way God intended when He created it in its natural form, combined with all those other wonderful nutrients in tomatoes, red peppers, etc.

Here's a new recipe I made for Easter dinner to accompany brisket, asparagus and salad. It's a great soup to serve warm or cold and is chocked full of lycopene in its natural environment of others nutrients.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup with Orange, Black Olive, and Orange "Salsa"

Recipe from Lunds and Byerly's Real Food, Spring 2012
Makes 4 servings

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 C chopped onion
1 strip orange zest (3in by 1/2 in)
2 cloves chapped garlic
1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained, rinsed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 med. leaves basil, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp coarse salt, or more to taste
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
3 C water (or half water and half chicken or vegetable broth)

Garnish
8 pitted Kalamata olives
1 strip orange zest (2-inches by 1/2 inch)
1 leaf basil

1. Heat oil in a saucepan until hot enough to sizzle a piece of onion. Add onion and orange zest. Cook, stirring, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
2. Add red peppers, tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and cook, covered, over medium-low heat, 5 minutes. Cool slightly.
3. Ladle soup (include orange zest and basil leaves) into a blender, working in batches if necessary, and puree until smooth. If preferred, puree with an immersion blender in saucepan. Season to taste. Keep warm over low heat.
4. Garnish: Gather olives, orange zest, and basil in a pile and chop finely until blended.
5. Ladle hot soup into bowls and sprinkle each with a tablespoonful of garnish before serving.

It's light, fresh and makes your mouth come alive.

Also try it cold, just allow to cool in refrigerator before serving.  Yum.