St. Patrick’s Breastplate – Prayer

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today

Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

thankful

One of the things that the 60:60 think has been helping me do is to be more thankful.  To recall the things I have to be thankful for.  Now that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t freaking out with anxiety just the other day over money.  I did pray about and to be honest I felt just as bad after each prayer.

But back to thankful.  I write this down to help me remember it.  But last night Me and Eli (14) and Caleb (9) stayed up watching the Bulldogs try to topple Kentucky.  Kim was not home and I had already put the younger ones in bed.  After the game Eli made the effort to walk back to where I was and give me a hug and say good-night.  Pretty good for a 14 year old boy young man.  I am thankful for that.  If there were nothing else, that is worth being thankful for.

I’m also thankful for my friend and shepherd Newton, who each week meets and listens and guides me to be a better more Christ like person.  It is a blessing to have a man older than yourself that you can want to be more like.

60:60

We are doing a series at church called “Soul Revolution” which is based on the book of the same name.  The basic premise is that you take a 60 day challenge to orient yourself to God every 60 minutes.

This series had been kicked around for at least a year, maybe two.  I started off a bit skeptical (as always).  I started reading the book and was immediately just overcome with conviction.  I wrote about that in my last post.  I have decided that I have taught over and over about knowing God, about having a relationship and not just knowing about God.  I have had encounters with the Living God and feel certain that I have heard his voice in my life.   I have even tried to walk with God (asking him for guidance through the day).  But….  I’ve never felt connected for long.

So I decided to put it to a test.  I committed to try for 60 days and see what God can do. (that sounds all noble, it feels more like a desperate attempt to swim to shore)

I’ve had great success at praying hourly.  I’ve missed a 2 or 3 times because my watch was not loud enough.  So I have taken to setting my countdown timer on my phone.

The results have been surprising.  Fruits of the Spirit have come that I have never been able to achieve.  And maybe that is the secret.  Connect to the vine you don’t achieve, you just receive from Christ. Disciplines seem easier too.

I am hoping that I have reached the end of myself.  I was praying earlier that God would just take my body, my mind, my will and make it his let all my thoughts be his thoughts.  I have to admit that I am in moments overcome with sorrow that I have hurt people and that I wish I could have lived all my life in God’s will.

One of the early chapters (3 or 4)  I don’t remember which John writes about praying “The Lord’s prayer” and that is what I have already been doing.  If you haven’t tried this give it a try.

Idol – not american

I don’t really have any stories of working on a project with my father and how in the end the time spent together was what was so precious.  The only projects I ever remember having him involved in were ones he took to work and had someone that worked for him do/build.  That leaves me …well, unsure of spending too much time with God.  That really he doesn’t want to spend time with me.  Why would he?

yet

there is a promise of God that he wants us to live a life that fulfills our deepest desires and transforms us into a life giving person.  Streams of living water, really what being transformed into Christ likeness is about…not just being transformed into a more moral person but one who brings life to others.

We all have strategies for bringing life to ourselves.  Be independent- never ask for help.  Be successful – never want for more.  Really whatever your strategy it is about being fulfilled and happy.   Or at worst not being hurt.

Some of my strategies just don’t work.  What about you?  honestly they never did work.

I’ve been becoming more and more aware that I have sought after other gods.  What an awful statement, but its true.  I’ve chased after things some good and some bad and put God completely out of the picture at times.

I read this passage recently in Soul Revolution

All of us have strategies — mostly shallow ones — for quenching our deepest
thirsts. What’s yours? Identifying your main strategy can be tricky, like trying
to see your nose without a mirror. Often our plan to “find life” gets so woven
into our psyche that it becomes invisible. Even when we do identify that strategy,
it’s terrifying to imagine life without it.
Are you willing to reconsider your strategy? It may not be bad, but it
may also be far less than God intends for you. Ask yourself, are you open to
growth — to change?
One way to begin to uncover your current strategy is to fill in these blanks:
“If only ________________________________,
or if I just ______________________________,
then I will have the life I’ve always wanted.”

too many of my if only’s have involved other people.  If they would only do what I want them to do.

I am trying to gather up all my idols and destroy them as such.  To truly be honest with God and with others, and to see if he really does want to spend time with me.

Greg is my Friend!

13 or 14 years ago I met and began to get to know a guy as a fellow councelor at Sardis Lake Camp.  I had no idea at the time that person would become such a great friend of mine.  That he would become the person that I probably have shared more highs and lows with than anyone other than my wife.  We have layed in the floor and prayed more times than I can count.  We have laughed more times (often to the point of tears) than I can remember.

I knew yesterday was coming for a few months.  I guess I had more heads up about it than anyone.  But it caught me off guard all the same.  A few friends took Greg and family out to eat before they left.  As that U-haul truck left the parking lot and I followed it a short way down the road, I was reminded of a scene from a movie that I have not watched in years.  I need to go back and watch this to make sure I remember correctly.

In Dances with Wolves, Kevin Costner’s character is called by the Indians “Dances with Wolves”  He comes to live with them and the one most opposed to him over time becomes his great friend.  And for their safety Costner’s character deciedes he must leave them so that the army will stop chasing them.  As I remember his friend can’t or will not tell him goodbye.  As they are riding out he stands on a ridge above the camp and yells over and over that “Dances with Wolves is my friend, he will always be my friend” .

That is how I felt last night.  My fear is that distance has a way of dulling friendships.  You certainly in today’s technology keep in touch and even have true friendships at any distance.  But a best friend at times needs to present, in the flesh.  At least I think I am right about this.   And so it was a sad day for me.

But I certainly wish them the best in that God forsaken land of Texas where so many settlers gave up and decided to live. 🙂

As another friend said, “It’s a reminder that life is full of many chapters” .   This chapter was a great one.

Believing the Gospel

The problem with believing the gospel is that people who don’t deserve anything have all these wonderful things given to them.  The previous sentence is a paraphrase from Ted Haggard (from a talk last year at the Q conference)  This was in response to the criticism from some that he doesn’t deserve to be on a stage or to have a voice, due to his sexual addictions.

Last night I was getting our adopted daughter Rachel to bed.  Today is our one year anniversary of “gotcha day”.  The day we first saw her in person and she has been with us since that moment.  We had spent the night having “family game night”.  Rachel was sitting on her bed pouting.   I asked what was wrong and she was upset that she didn’t get to read books.  She had already asked Kim about this at least 2 times and was told both times that we played games and it was past bedtime.

I was suddenly furious at her.

The ungrateful little thing.  For about 15 seconds I had all these thoughts of what she should act like.  How she should be thankful, how she should realize how much she has been given, How she now has so much, How she has a family, For God’s sake a father that sits with her each night for a year so that she can go to sleep!  (I could go on and on)

And then I felt it.

That familiar hand on my shoulder.  Not condemning, but the flood of realization as Jesus reminds me.  I am not much any different than Rachel.

All the things that I can’t stand frustrate me (ok really it is can’t stand) about Rachel’s attitude at times are the very things in me that are not right.  She has in the past year brought out the worst demons in both Kim and I.  For me, I am reminded from time to time that if adoption is the personification of the Gospel of Christ then she is the personification of all in me that still needs healing and changing.  I could list so many things…

We talked for several minutes about the blessings in her life, this morning she greeted me as she does every morning.  When she first sees me she always comes and stands right in front of me with her arms stretched up and will not say anything as I teasingly ask what she wants, then I pick her up and she snuggles against my neck.  Maybe that is our appropriate response to our father.

All these people who don’t deserve anything(and surely I am at the top of the list) getting all these wonderful things…that is the Gospel.

Last year I gave up Blogging

Last year I didn’t blog, except to repost a few things I read and wanted to keep and to link to a few talks I gave.

2009 was not without a lot of things worth blogging about and a lot of things too difficult to blog about.

I don’t know if I will blog this year but I have been encouraged to write. So I plan to do that and see what happens.

I thought if I wrote this down, I might actually do it.

NT Wright on blogging and more.

I am thankful for the people I have met in cyber world.  But the ones I am most thankful for are ones that I have actually met and for the ones that have resulted in action in the “real” world.  I know some friends would disagree with this video, but I think it is right on.     So, Wright is right on.

Ur Video: NT Wright on Blogging | Out of Ur | Conversations for Ministry Leaders

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New – Old podcasts

I have posted three lessons from this past spring and summer that I gave.

Here- Mother’s Day- power of love.

Here- First in Reel to Real series – Forgiveness- Bella

Here – Reel to Real series – what it means to be human – Patch Adams

Do You Love Me

a message I gave from this past Easter. HERE