A Prayer by Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this

you will lead me by the right road

though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always

though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,

and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Behind

The story of my life.  :)

Sorry guys.  I've been doing a lot of work (for both church and work) and recovering from a few illnesses, so I apologize.  I've got photos to put up and videos and blah blah blah.

Though I am helping out with another blog at the moment.  It's the blog for our church's food ministries.  We've lost two-thirds of our grant money and so we're trying to find ways to fundraise.  Here's the start of our efforts:
http://adventlutheranchurchfoodministries.blogspot.com/

Thoughts For A Winter's Morning

I have been lazy.  Well, just when it comes to writing posts.  I can't help it.  It's been kind of a crazy week and the weekend will be just as crazy.  Tax season has started and I'm on my own and I've got things to do and things I would like to do.  But I thought that share some thoughts I had on the walk to the train today.

I wrote a post a long time ago about how I wanted to be me.  But I've found that I try and talk about God the way other people do.  I force it because I think that's what will make God happy.  But if He loves me for me, then I'm sure that He doesn't - why would He want me to try and speak the way that others do?  He didn't create me that way.  He created me this way.  So I'm going to try and talk about my Father in the way that I want, not the way I think others think I should talk about Him.

I also read a book about St. Therese of Lisieux.  In the Catholic Church, she's known as the Little Flower and she believed in scattering life with flowers for Jesus.  Her flowers were little acts of love because she knew that she would never be called to great acts - she considered herself a small child and looked to Jesus to carry her into heaven.  She died at the age of 24, having spent most of her life in a convent.

So why do I bring her up?  I have read a lot of things about being radical for God.  If I were to be honest, I don't know what that means.  Does it mean that I have to give up everything?  Of the people I know who speak of being radical for God, some have left their homes and become missionaries, some have not.  So obviously their definition of radical is different.  What I have found is that I am not destined for great things or great successes in my life.  I am but a small soul.  All I can ask is to spread flower petals at the feet of Jesus and sing a joyful song while I do so, no matter what.

To sit by those who drive me crazy, to smile at those who have hurt me and to sprinkle love on everything I do, no matter how small.  To come to Jesus empty-handed and to sing.

May you find your way to love today, in the way that is the most genuinely "you" and joyfully.

This is my prayer.  And my goal. 

A Lesson I Must Learn

There is something in humility that strangely exalts the heart.

~ St. Augustine of Hippo

Looking For Help In Africa

I have only been to Africa once and it was to visit a friend.  I met her when I decided to donate my wedding dress and it's been a wild ride since then.  She and her husband run a charity in The Valley of 1,000 Hills in South Africa called Project O.  They live by faith with their two children, Joe and Jesse.

One thing that they desperately need right now is a car.  At the moment, Vashti can't get her kids to school, go to church or get to the store.  But then there's something else...

This is Ronelle (with the smile).  She lives at a homeless shelter.  But homeless shelters in South Africa are different.  You have to pay for them.  She's been just scrapping by with her children, but she's extremely ill at the moment.  Vashti thinks that she may have TB.  What we do know is that she doesn't have a way to get to the hospital and she's terrified to go alone - Ronelle fears that social services will come and take her children away if she leaves them at the shelter.

Vashti's birthday is January 14th and I know that, more than anything, the best birthday gift for her would to be able to take Ronelle to the hospital so that her best friend would be all right.

If you could prayerfully consider donating, even $5 would help, please feel free to donate here.  It should take you to a PayPal page.  If you get an error message, please visit here and click on the "donate" button in the right hand corner. 

We are a big human family and the body of Christ.  I know that together we can change lives, one grace-filled step at a time.

“The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul” -G.K.Chesterton

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." --George Eliot, aka Mary Anne Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880)