Today it rained and the freshness aroma entering the room is so sweet, so much God. I like the rain. It permits emotions to invade my thoughts and they in turn saturate my life, for a short time. I think of where I have been and the events or actions that have prodded me to this moment. The faithfulness of God, my friend, has always been part of the discovery and He has always been present in the good, the bad, and the ugly.
He said that He knows the plans for me. I am waiting; not near as patiently as I should. I guess I don't know how to get beyond here. I have thoughts of starting a Christian Coffee House in Bellevue. I do not know the way. I am seeking employment; no response. I am trying to secure clients in my Drafting business; no response. What is next? What does tomorrow have in store for my life? It is frightening to not know but comforting that God does.
I have been absent from this space for awhile. I just needed to let you know where I am. Not sure who is reading but I ask for your prayers.
God Bless your Journey!

Mary and Martha

Our BMCF (Bellevue Men's Christian Fellowship), Monday mornings at McDonalds (6:45 am), is continuing a study on "Spiritual Detours" and our text is Luke 10 and 11. I was reading a commentary by Warren Wiersbe and he define s the passage better than the others:

"The family at Bethany was especially dear to Jesus (John 11:1–5), and the Gospel record gives us three glimpses of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (Luke 10:38–42; John 11; John 12:1–11). Each time you find Mary in the Gospels, she is in the same place: at the feet of Jesus. Most Jewish rabbis would not accept a woman for a student, but Jesus delighted in teaching Mary the Word. It was not wrong for Martha to prepare a meal, because people have to eat if they are to live; but it was wrong for her to be so preoccupied with work and her own “burdens” that she ignored her guest and was rude to her sister. She was “anxious and troubled” as she tried to serve the Lord, and yet she was missing the greatest and the most lasting blessing. Mary was occupied with Jesus; Martha was preoccupied with herself. What we do with Christ is far more important than what we do for Christ, for submission leads to obedience and service."

We are working through the word Activism with these studies (the good Samaritan, Mary and Martha and the exxample of how to pray): a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action esp. in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue — ac•tiv•ist \-vist\ n or adj — ac•tiv•is•tic \ˌak-ti-ˈvis-tik\ adj

One of the most deeply ingrained human notions is that a person must do something to merit God’s favor. We accept gifts from other people. But we seem to want to say of what we receive from God, “I earned it!”

There is a chill in the air today!

Our Neighbor

Monday morning the men at McDonalds are beginning a new study entitled "Spiritual Detours". Our study takes us to the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 where the "expert in the law" asked Jesus "what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He answered his own question by quoting a passage from Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” I think this explains it all but there is one question that arises; who is my neighbor?

What we learn from this story is that being a neighbor has nothing to do with how near we live to others, or how similar our religion or race. Being a neighbor depends simply on our humanity-- and our need.

Anyone you or I come in contact with who has a need is our neighbor. And to love our neighbor means to care enough to reach out, and help in any way we can.

Mother Teresa said this: "Because we cannot see Christ we cannot express our love to Him; but our neighbors we can always see, and we can do to them what, if we saw Him, we would like to do to Christ."

So, what have we done for our neighbor? Shame on us if we are like the "priest" and the "Levite".

It rained today!

Ragdoll

We took our new Ragdoll kitten to Ann Arbor, Michigan this past weekend for his first cat show. His name is Moe and he did really well for his first introduction to the show ring. What happens in a cat show is: The cat is in a cage at the owner's station in the show hall. There he is groomed and made presentable for the judging. At the time of the judging the number that is given to the cat is indicated at the "Ring" where the cat is placed in a cage in the judging area. When it comes time for the cat to be judged a judge will take him out of the cage and place him on the judging table where he is judged for color, markings, and size of each particular breed. He is then awarded a place for color in division and overall breed based on the number of conpeting cats in his breed.

Moe placed last in five of the six judging rings. One ring he made second in breed. However, he was competing with 7 month old kittens and he is only 4. So he has not matured in color and markings like the other kittens. Eight months they are classified as an adult and will compete for championship ribbons. The main purpose for taking kittens to the shows is to acclimate them to the showhall and the judges and presence of other cats. By the time he is an adult he will do very well I am sure.

We had fun and it was a very relaxing get-away trip. Stay tuned for the journey of Moe as he competes with other Ragdolls in the months to come.

Mother's Day

Today is Mother's day and I have missed 31 of these days to spend with my mother. I often take unscheduled moments of my day and this emotion enters my thought. I miss the talks, the wisdom messages that she excelled at giving. I miss her spiritual insights into life and I miss her presence. I am angered that for 12 years prior to 1978 I didn't take enough time to spend with her, to talk to her, to here her wisdom and experience her presence. I ask myself why!

Thank you, mom, for raising me, for sheltering me, for your discipline and for love. I was blessed and I am blessed to have had a mother and father who showed me the contrast between the world and God.

Happy 61 Mother's days!

National Day of Prayer

Have a cup of coffee with me this morning.

Did you start your day with God? More than ever we as a collective body of believers in this nation must get on our knees and seek God in the morning, commune with Him during the day and thank Him as we close our eyes in the evening to begin our rest. We are a broken and hurting nation and not unlike the days of the Older Testament "everyone did what was right in his own eyes". We have removed God from the equation and it doesn't add up.

In 1775 the Continental Congress allocated a time for prayer in forming a new nation. Over the years, there have been calls for a day of prayer, including from President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. On April 17, 1952, President Harry Truman signed a bill proclaiming the National Day of Prayer into law in the United States. President Reagan amended the law in 1988, designating the first Thursday of May each year as the National Day of Prayer.

PRAY today for God to heal our land! Pray for our leaders to not hide God under a bushel so that His light will shine into this world. The evening news paints a dark picture.

Now on a different subject, I dug dandelions the past two days. I just glanced out the window and there are 7 that I seemed to have missed. Just like my faith journey, it is a continual work in progress. Sometimes it appears that the difficulties we face are gone and suddenly they reappear in another area; more digging, more pruning. That is why we must pray without ceasing.

Have a great and blessed day with God.

Mondays

For some, Mondays are depressing because they have to return to work after a restful/ active weekend. The song says "Mondays always get me down". I will attempt to explain the scene in my valley.
This mornings men's bible study went great because of the the presence of God and because of the hearts of the men present. My mind was awol and I struggled with focus all morning as I often do in my life. I have felt of late that satan is on major attack mode, knowing my struggles with maintaining a consistent focus. I have no logic or reasoning to deal with this attack but I guess that is the mentality that comes with this feeling. Its something I can't do alone. I just have to get out of the way and let God renew my mind and feed me like the ravens fed Elijah. I wish there were answers for all of life's hiccups but this one elludes me.
Those who are following this journey with me I ask for prayers. I can't tell you any specifics because I have none. God knows.
Today's lesson in Ephesians began in 5:1. "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children..." Today, in my journey, I will work on imitating. Maybe I will get out of this funk that I am in.