Surrender to what is.Let go of what was.Have faith in what will be.
02226 – Past, Present, Future
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02194 – Our Present Shapes Our Future
What you do in the present--by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself--will last into God's future. from Surprised by...
02031 – God is Present with Creation
Look at the animals roaming the forest: God’s spirit dwells within them. Look at the birds flying across the sky: God’s spirit dwells within them. Look at the tiny insects crawling in the grass: God’s spirit dwells within them. . . . Look too at the great trees of the...
01848 – Past, Present, & Future
No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. ANY amount of gratitude changes the present.
01747 – The Opposite of Despair is Hope
If God doesn't give up on us, we had better not despair of ourselves. We can always do better--especially if we remember the opposite of despair is not optimism but hope. Hope criticizes what is, hopelessness rationalizes it. Hope resists, hopelessness adapts. But...
01641 – Stories Challenge Us
One thing healthy religion does is challenge us. I don’t mean the strident castigations of the street preacher or even the social justice rally-er. Great traditions excel at the soft challenge, the friendly nudge, issued predominantly through the mode of story....
01503 – Trusting God
It is absurd to trust God for the future, and not trust Him for the present. from The Seaboard Parish----------------------------------------------------Gender-neutral version: It is absurd to trust God for the future, and not trust God for the present. from The...
01462 – Not “Fixing Things” is Hard
One of the hardest things we must do sometimes is to be present to another person's pain without trying to 'fix' it, to simply stand respectfully at the edge of that person's mystery and misery.
01413 – Be Gentle with Yourself
You can't heal the people you love.You can't rescue them.You can promise that they won't journey alone.You can loan them your map.But this trip is theirs. Be gentle with yourself--it's hard work to be present to the freedom of the Other.
01400 – The “Ostrich Movement”
Some people grew up in the Charismatic Movement. I grew up in the Ostrich Movement--stick your head in the sand and ignore the Holy Spirit. Out of sight, out of mind. If you do this long enough maybe he'll go away and you won't have to deal with it. The only problem...