I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Mentoring
March 17, 2010
March 04, 2010
February 23, 2010
Book Review: The Liturgical Year
The latest book I have read for Thomas Nelson’s Booksneeze program is entitled: The Liturgical Year: the spiraling adventure of the spiritual life, by Joan Chittister.
The book takes us through the liturgical year, beginning on the first Sunday of Advent and carrying through the following November.
The premise of the book is to help us begin to fully understand that Christmas and Easter are our anchors to the Christian faith, and the in-between time a cause for reflection and anticipation of what is to come.
Joan is a Benedictine nun, and I have come to love her writing through other books of hers such as “Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope.” She has a connection with the heart of God that is evident. She loves Jesus, and it appears she has a passion to paint the picture of liturgy as a source of hope and life to those who call themselves Christians.
Being Liturgically clueless, this book was a bit confusing. There are many feasts and celebrations I had not heard of before. I chose this book hoping it would somehow connect me to the Liturgical practices I don’t really know about, but the book left me wanting for more understanding and desire for clarity on practical ways I can incorporate the Liturgical practices into my Evangelical life.
With that said, I think anyone who wants to explore the Liturgical life further should pick up this book. It certainly opened the door of curiosity a little wider for me, and I walked away understanding a bit more of what the Liturgical calendar is and why it is important.
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
February 15, 2010
Circles
Everyone lives in a circle. Their circle is their world.
Isabelle’s circle is her family. Her preschool. Her world.
Ellie the dog’s circle is her food. Her toys. Her treats.
There are these Circles around me. I find myself wandering around the outside edges, kicking the lines, trying to get out, while trying equally hard to be in the middle, a self-imposed tug-of-war that I am never quite comfortable with.
There’s the Granger Community Church Circle, the Christian blogging circle, the Mom Blogger circle, the Christian celebrity circle, the Blogger Celebrity circle, the Educated circle, the Missional circle, the Pastor’s Wife circle, and then the closer to home, Family, City, School circle, the Neighborhood circle…you get the idea.
Circles are fine. Everyone has a circle.
But what if your circle never touches another person’s circle? What if you don’t even know anything about that person’s circle, or that it even exists?
I’m not saying that it’s all bad, but it’s definitely not all good.
I think understanding other people’s circles help us understand the place we hold in our own.
I think if we don’t understand other people’s circles, we start to honestly believe we are the center of our own, and that our circle is the only one that’s really important.
As I said, there is a never-ending tug-of-war inside of me about this, but I try to do stuff outside of my circle frequently to keep perspective. I’ll be writing more about that later this week.
How about you? What circle are you in? What do you do to keep perspective?
February 08, 2010
Thin Places
In the past year and a half, I have become a huge Mary DeMuth fan. She has a gift for writing prose that brings color and life to any story she is telling. I admire her deeply as a writer, and after this past book I’ve read of hers, I admire her as a spiritual leader.
In her moving spiritual memoir, Mary DeMuth reflects on the “thin places” of her life—places where she was acutely aware of God’s presence.
What is so strikingly profound about Mary’s story is how she charges headlong into the dark places of her past, and sees now that they are really Thin Places, places where she can now see God reaching down to her, calling out to her, letting her know that He was there all along. The verse comes to mind:
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18
I would recommend this book to anyone who has anything but a perfect past. Instead of shaking our finger at God and asking Him "Where were you?” This book will challenge you to your core to really seek God and find that He was there all along. He was walking with you through the pain of your story, redeeming moments, and calling you His own, turning your pain into a cause, revealing Himself to you now in those Thin places.
“Thin places are snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners of our world, where we might just catch a glimpse of eternity. They are aha moments, beautiful realizations, when the Son of God bursts through the hazy fog of our monotony and shines on us afresh. He has come near to my life. I will tell you how.” –Mary DeMuth
You can buy Thin Places here…Or borrow my copy if you’d like! You can also download the 1st book in a trilogy series called Daisy Chain for a few more days if you have a Kindle, or Kindle app for your iPhone or home computer. It’s also a really great read.
February 01, 2010
What Lies Beneath
While we were gone last week, we thought we would take advantage of the opportunity of an empty house to have some much needed home repairs completed. Our bedroom floor carpet was a favorite “spot” for the cats that lived here before us, which quickly became our dog’s favorite “spot”. Ick. On top of all that, it was worn out, dusty, tread worn, etc. Our bathtub and bathroom were equally disgusting, as well as our kitchen floor. We decided to dive headlong, take the plunge, and get ‘er done all at once, since we are very close to done paying off our van and another small loan.
While we were in Florida, we got some surprising images sent to us of “what lies beneath” our bathtub and bathroom floor. Can you say mold? As in mold everywhere? Completely gross and disgusting. Needless to say, it took them longer than expected, but the guys got it taken care of, covered up and clean by the time we got home.
It really got me to thinking…what else is lying around that I don’t know about? Not so much around the house, but under the surface of me? What is living beneath the surface that is easier not to deal with… slowly and silently spreading? You can’t see it, but it’s there. Anger. Jealousy. Fear. Lots of stuff that needs to be cleaned up. Thank God for Jesus who makes it all possible.
It’s funny how these normal life incidences can really make you think. How about you? What lies beneath your walls?
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 1 Peter 1:5-9
January 19, 2010
Pencils and Pinky Fingers
Some people are good at counting. Some people are good at writing. Others dare to dream big dreams and color outside of the lines. Isabelle paints our world with color and our hearts with joy. She is energetic, clever, so, so funny…and I can’t go more than 45 minutes without pinching her cute little nose, or getting a kiss from her sweet little lips.
Belle is not the most brilliant of 6 year old scholars in the academic sense, but I would never wish that upon her(and I repeat…NEVER). I said to her the other day while holding up my 10 fingers, “Isabelle, we are all good at so many things. Numbers and letters are like my little pinky finger. You are so amazing and good at these other 9 fingers, the little one doesn’t matter so much, does it?” I asked her what the world would look like if there was no one like her who liked to draw and paint and make people smile, but everyone was only good at numbers and letters. Her answer? “It would look gray, like a pencil.” She’s so right. It made me stop and thank God that we are all not brilliant scholars. I shudder at the thought of a pencil gray world.
I am glad Belle and I had this conversation, since I am constantly focusing on my own itty-bitty-pinky finger full of weakness.
What are your 9 fingers strong at? Do you focus on the itty-bitty pinky finger that represents your weakness, or the 9 other fingers that make your weakness look like a strength?
January 07, 2010
Are You A Baby? Know Any?
I’ve changed my opinion about something. I was a very strong advocate of the “Christians need to feed themselves” theory. I do believe they need to-to a certain degree. I believe that no one can grow ones spirit except one’s own self. I have come from the far pendulum swing of “feed yourself you big baby”, to , “you don’t look so good…maybe you need some help.”
Something came into my mind this morning. Telling a newborn baby Christian to “go and feed yourself you baby” is like taking someone like me to the Notre Dame library entrance and saying, Ok, go learn Tamil. You can do it!, I am sure there is lots of information in there for you to be able to teach yourself. The vast array of what is available to us as Christians in the Western Hemisphere is both staggering and overwhelming. Where to start is sometimes the hardest part of beginning our own spiritual journey.
Ever since I decided to follow Jesus with my whole heart, I have had mentors in my life. I need someone to encourage me and shape me, challenge me and guide me. Not only do I have mentors, I also have been committed to helping others who are a few steps behind me in their spiritual lives.
I have been very grateful for the influence of others on my thoughts and actions. It’s hard to “let others in” so to speak, but nothing has done more for my spiritual life than to open up and let others in to see the good, the bad and the ugly. Moments of vulnerability with others we respect and admire are difficult, but the reward and pay off are far greater than the shame we feel for our shortcomings. I’m issuing a challenge to you to start looking and praying for someone to help you along your way. I am also challenging you to remember to look and pray for someone in your life that you can help. Are you up for it?
November 22, 2009
So, So Thankful
I literally gasped as I walked past the photo of Priya last week in the GCC children's hallway. This beautiful baby girl has been floating around in the corners of my mind since we visited Kalavai in June. Maddie got to play with her, I tried to make her smile.
She is who goes round and round in my mind when I am all alone and the quiet leads me back. Priya and a half a billion baby girls in India like her.
I sucked air because in a split second I realized that my church is sharing the burden of caring for this beautiful girl, and many children like her in the tiny village of the Untouchable caste who catch rats and snakes as a job.
It made me realize there is hope for Priya. Hope and a future. For this, I am so, so thankful.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~Jeremiah 29:11
November 17, 2009
Spiritually Speaking…
How are you different today from 5 years ago? How about since last November? Have you changed some since then? In the past 6 months would your spouse, close friends or family say you are treating them more lovingly? What about this month…How are you different? Have you made up your mind to make some changes this past week?
These are all questions a group of friends and I have been discussing the past few weeks. It has been great discussion that has caused us to stop and reflect on not what we are DOING, but how we are CHANGING.
Am I more loving?
Do I give more of my money and time to others than I used to?
Do I easily get upset when things don’t go my way?
How do I handle disappointment?
How am I handling criticism compared to a year ago?
I am learning that these gauges as opposed to how many minutes of Bible reading and journaling I have done in a week are a better tool to judge the state of my heart than any other.
I challenge you to make up a graph similar to the one I made for our group. I challenge you to fill out the changes you have seen in yourself, then ask a spouse, family member, or close friend to note changes they have seen in you. Let me know how it goes! It was an awesome exercise to go through with a group of close friends.
November 02, 2009
October 26, 2009
No Benches At My Park
I just got done reading The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. I loved this book. The friendships that the women were able to make starting on a park bench on Wednesday mornings while their kids played were truly remarkable. The book is set in the late 1960’s which offers a lot of perspective on how they were able to formulate these friendships.
They saw each other through births, miscarriages, deaths, infidelities, cancer…all the hardships we as women are faced with regularly. What tied these women together was their love for one another and their love for writing. I really enjoyed the book, but have some thoughts about it that have been bubbling around in my head. Before I spew my guts out, you have to promise not to feel sorry for me, judge me, or try to be my best friend. Deal? OK. Here goes:
The reason I am cynical about this book is that I just don’t think these types of friendships are possible anymore without a ton of work and effort. Things have changed, and part of the problem is that we are living in a very transient society. People come and people go in and out of our lives on a regular basis, with not many feeling settled in their homes or communities. We are either coming or going with no deep roots immersing us into a place for very long.
We have sealed up ourselves in our neat little houses in our neat little neighborhoods and close the door so no one ever comes in and no one ever goes out. There is one park in my community where I take the girls to play. There aren’t any benches. A lot of the moms sit in their cars on their cell phones while they watch their kids play.
When Belle and I play outside by our house on a school/work day, you can hear our voices echo in our street. It is so quiet, you can even hear the echo of the crickets chirping. I am the only mom on my block that stays home during the day, so there is literally no one around to spark a friendship with, let alone even have a conversation with. When the other moms on the block get home from working hard all day, they are tired and want to rest awhile before they have to do all the regular mom duties no one else did while they were working.
I don’t have a relative or sibling that lives close enough that I can just drop my kids off so I can go run an important errand, or just have a few hours to myself. I have to pay a babysitter almost every single time. I can’t go to church mid-week because all my babysitters are at church, and the mom’s in my network of friends are too tired from long days to take on 3 more kids.
I am not alone in all of this, I know. I don’t know many women who have it all figured out. The whole women/friendship thing has always baffled me. I just don’t see how women have the time or energy to pour into lifelong, deep, solid friendships. I think times have changed, and it is much harder to make friendships than it was 30 years ago. It’s not impossible, just a lot harder.
September 27, 2009
Bucket Filling
This has been an extraordinary month for me. I’ve wallowed in the grasses of self pity, self preservation, nursing old hurts and rekindling old grudges. It’s funny how these thoughts and feelings pop out of my ordinary life in seemingly unnoticed ways. I really am a shove-it-under the rug kind of person, but that day is done. I am lifted out of the pit by the prayers of friends. They snatched some hurts that were down deep in me, brought them out, we looked at them, how ridiculous they were, then threw them out. I am amazingly free and light compared to a few weeks ago.
What I did not realize, that was most serious and deadening of all, was my own self-inflicted preservation doing damage to my soul. It’s funny what we choose to do in the name of self-preservation. We drink, we smoke, we take pills that make us fly until we will be with Jesus in the sweet by and by. Anything to make us not think or feel. I personally don’t drink, or smoke or take drugs, but, I do line my soul with a thick-ish skin that won’t let any feelings in or out.
We make excuses not be loved, we push people away.
I have found 99% of the population unqualified to love me. I receive only the purest unconditional love from those like my Grandma who aren’t around to give it anymore, or from my husband, who gives and gives and gives, and there I am at the end of every day waiting for him to fill my love bucket, when I should be the one filling his.
And so I sit beneath the fountain of my Father’s love, and wait for him to pour into me. Any who come to the water of his love are free to fill my bucket, no exclusions.
Psalm 40
I waited and waited and waited for God.
At last he looked; finally he listened. He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.
Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”
ignore what the world worships;
The world’s a huge stockpile
of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
comes close to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
account for you.
Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
that’s not what you’re after.
Being religious, acting pious—
that’s not what you’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears
so I can listen.
So I answered, “I’m coming.
I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I’m coming to the party
you’re throwing for me.”
That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
became part of my very being.
I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,
I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn’t keep the news of your ways
a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
let the congregation know the whole story.
Now God, don’t hold out on me,
don’t hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
are all that keeps me together.
When troubles ganged up on me,
a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
I couldn’t see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.
Soften up, God, and intervene;
hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin
will be booed and jeered without mercy.
But all who are hunting for you—
oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you’re all about
tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:
make something of me.
You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—
but God, don’t put it off.
August 25, 2009
March 30, 2009
Spotlight on Friends
Who better to shine the spotlight on this week than my friends? Better yet, how about Kathy Friend? Yep, that's really her name, and she's really my friend.
A few weeks ago she spent her afternoon at Goodwill. She was there to offer her services as a personal assistant/shopper to the customers at Goodwill. "Miss Kathy" as my girls call her is sincerely gifted in all things wardrobe. You've seen the show "What Not To Wear". That's what Kathy does, but she doesn't make you cry or make fun of your clothes.
Well, I saw something beautiful at Goodwill. Yep. Goodwill. No, I'm not talking about the clothes, although you wouldn't believe some of the stuff I have found there. What I did see was Kathy helping someone I once knew from a long time ago. She is a financially poor woman that I knew from my days of working at Ivy Tech college bookstore. The woman was alone and overwhelmed with her two kids, but I watched Kathy lead her around the store and hand her items. But, it wasn't just clothes. Kathy was giving this woman vision, hope, encouragement, self-confidence. It was amazing, and I was in awe. The smile that lit up this woman's face lit up the whole store.
I watched Kathy do this for over an hour with woman after woman. Not only is she to be commended for her help with the regular customers at Goodwill, but she put up with my kids who adore her, want to touch her, feel her clothes, her hair, play with her necklaces, etc.
I saw Jesus shining through Kathy that day.
And...my little mini-fashionistas found some pretty amazing deals at Goodwill.
March 19, 2009
Centered
I came home not needing anything or anyone. Something about walking in the quiet desert for a couple of days can do that to you I guess. I always like to take a step back and evaluate what God is teaching me through times like this. I think it hit me when I was sitting on Bell Rock, waiting for Rob to get down from the top (again.)
I think God wants to speak to me more than I take the time to listen. Sitting still and catching my breath for a few minutes I listened to the silence. I heard these words again and agian in my mind from Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Those few deep breaths on our trip away was worth every bit of work it took to get there and away from the chaos of our every
day lives. The peace of walking with God in the desert will carry me through a lot I think.
We can't magically transport ourselves to places like this...but it would be pretty cool, wouldn't it?
In my every day, walking around, coming and going life, I try to carve out a few quiet moments to be alone with my thoughts and alone with God. Usually this happens around the middle of the day when Belle is in her rest time and the girls are at school, or late at night when everyone is in bed. If I don't get this daily renewal, I find myself getting off-center, grumpy, stressed...you get the idea.
What do you do to center yourself? Do you need quiet? Noise? What is your place and space to "get away" daily? Just curious.
February 24, 2009
Eve and Cassandra
In my small group, we are studying about the lives of women in the Bible that are painted as Bad characters. So far we have looked at Eve and Potiphar's wife, you know, the one who seduced Joseph-not the Technicolor Dream Coat guy, but the real Joseph, as in the Bible. 
The thing that has really gotten to me and suprised me is how much alike these two women are to yours truly. Eve's curiosity got her in trouble. She was good at blaming others. But, she was naieve, and thought she could possibly be smarter than God and Adam. Ahem... I do relate.
And Mrs. Potiphar. Poor Mrs. Potiphar. She didn't even get a name. Our small group decided to name her Cassandra, or Cassie for short. We think she was in the midst of an identity crisis. No one knew her, not even well enough to figure out that she had a name.
I do relate.
I am Rob's Wife, The Pastor's wife, Whitney, Maddie, and Isabelle's Mom, RobinMichelle (a character created in people's minds that have heard of Rob and Michelle and think they are one person, which I guess is true, but we really do each have our own identity)
I have been called worse, but I won't write about that here.
These women were human. They were like us. They each believed a lie the enemy of their soul told them, and they entertained that lie for a while, then believed it, then acted on it.
How close are we to believing the lie? Could we act on it? Would we?
These are terrifying thoughts, but important ones to consider.
Who or what is keeping you from believing the lies the enemy of your soul is telling you? or...Have you already done the deed? How are you going to get back? It's not too late you know.
Eve turned her life around. Cassie didn't . What are you gonna do?
February 04, 2009
Transitions
Being a mommy for the past 11 years, I feel like my life is in a constant state of fluctuations and transitions. Once we get through one phase with one girl, a completely different unknown phase starts with another. This is stuff you don't find in books or on the Internet. Its all about discovering each child for their uniqueness and abilities, strengths and weaknesses.
We're in major transition right now with the girls on either end of the spectrum. Sometimes Rob and I just look at each other in wonder and talk and pray about what to do next. Sometimes we are completely at a loss as to how to help our children through a certain phase we have absolutely no handle on.
Its at those times when we ask for help. We're not perfect. We're not all-wise or all-knowing. Just because Rob is a pastor doesn't mean that he has been given a magic bag of Pastor dust to solve any and all problems that might rise up in our path.
Our kids are fine. I don't want you to worry about them. As their Mommy I am constantly trying to help them be the best little person they can be at each age and stage, that's all. Sometimes I just don't know how to do it.
I am so, so thankful for people that know more than me. The mentors I have are my life-lines in times like this.
Do you have a mentor? I'd love to hear about who it is and how they help you.
August 09, 2008
Gifted to Lead part 3
I realize this is the third post I have written about the Gifted to Lead conference I went to last week. Nancy Beach and Nancy Ortberg blew me out of the water, and I've been mulling over what they had to say, as well as trying to take in everything all the speakers from the Leadership Summit had to say the past two days.
One thing that struck me particularly was the pain that both Nancy's endured as leaders early on. Nancy Beach talked about having a recognizable leadership gift in high school. Her youth leaders paired her up with a guy who was a fairly new believer and kind of "rough around the edges". They did this so Nancy could "lead through him." She was called the "secretary"...and pretty much everything the guy said to the group, Nancy had written out ahead for him. Women were not to be leaders in the church back then.
I was thinking about the pain they both talked about. I was thinking that I am so glad that strong women like them paved the way for this generation and the next and the next generation of women leaders. They were not trying to be "one of the guys". They were (and still are) uniquely feminine women, just doing the things God has gifted them to do. They are not trying to take the place of men in the church. They just do what they are called to do.
Because of women like them who serve God and the Church with a humble, yet strong spirit, many other women will be able to follow after them.
I know I probably will never meet either Nancy. I would hope I could express my profound gratitude to them for paving the way for me, my three daughters, and countless other young women who are watching them and modeling their own leadership after their humble, yet courageous leadership.
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