Since it has been a while since I have written, I thought I would start my re-connection and dialogue with God by praying the
prayer Jesus taught us to pray.  Here is what came to mind while I prayed the scripture, Matthew 6:9-13NIV

Our Mother Father Creator God in heaven, how awesome is your name.  Your all-encompassing presence is what I strive for and achieve by following your will, on earth until your full glory is known in heaven.  Just as manna fell from the skies, you gave me this day to honor you. Please forgive me when I fall short of your glory and help me to forgive those who are against me.  Protect me from temptations and help me during tests to stay on course, by guarding me from the evil one. In your many names, I am thankful.  In your many names, I praise.  In your many names, I strive.  Amen.

Reference: Matthew 6:9-13 New International Version (NIV)
9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have
forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”.

Forgiveness is such a simple, three syllable word and at times the most difficult word to
comprehend and even more difficult to actually execute the action; to forgive.
 
Yes, too often we sin.  Too often we are overcome by our own human condition and break a moral code, commitment, rule or law, either deliberately or get caught up into a whirlwind that feels good, then turns into misunderstandings and just
painful disbelief. And when we sin against God or each other, it hurts all parties involved where the only way out
is through forgiveness and reconciliation.
 
Our excuse, should we need one, is we are human and with the human condition comes sinning.  This is not to say it is an excuse, as we should morally, ethically and consciously avoid and run from sin.  Yet, we are human and which is why Jesus and God’s grace comes to our rescue. God’s Grace to protect us from the actions of our own and Jesus from the penalty of sin.
 
It is now a time to reconcile with God and then reconcile with those we have hurt, asking for forgiveness. This is not
easy; as it calls for opening the heart, mind and soul to become exposed and be raw.  We must reach out to God for
strength, forgiveness, compassion and love. 

And for those who have been hurt from sin, this is not a time for judging actions.  This is a time to reconcile with God, asking God for the courage, grace and love to forgive and reconcile with those who have sinned against you.
 
Now is also the time to take a step back and ask God, what is this test teaching me?  Am I going to forgive and ask
for forgiveness, enabling me to be a stronger person in order to help myself and others or will I allow this sin to eat at the core of my very existence?  

Dear Creator Mother Father Protector God, it is hard to thank you for this situation, yet I know there is not a testimony without a test.  Please Lord, let me learn from this situation and as your prayers say; “forgive me for my sins as I forgive those who have sinned against me.”  In your many names. Amen
 
The Lord’s Prayer:  Matthew 6:9-13(GNT) “…Our Creator* in heaven: May your holy name be honored; may your Kingdom come;
may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need. Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us. Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.”
 ----  If there are times when you find yourself in a forgiveness situation, reach out to God through prayer. Reach out to professional counselors for emotional and psychological help and reach out to Spiritual Councilors for growth and
healing.
 * Inclusive language changed from ‘Farther’ to ‘Creator’ 

In memory of Jane Taylor

Recently I had the desire to purge the house  Go through each room and clean, opening drawers and closets, to organize, throw away and donate items that could be more useful to others.  This feeling was strong and continued to get stronger towards the days of my vacation at home.  My time off finally arrived, I was off work for two weeks, with very little planned except to be as productive as I could be.  The first two days, a Saturday and Sunday, nothing was really accomplished except for the typical Saturday and Sunday activities.  Then Sunday night arrived and I was very set on waking up early to clean, purge and organize.  I awoke about an hour after I typically wake up on a Monday, around 7:00AM, got some coffee and sat on the couch.  Just sitting, looking out at the world through a fog, enjoying the peace and even the noise from the garbage trucks, as this was a sound I rarely hear. So yes, I was resting and rested until 3:30PM when I forced myself off the couch to take a shower, get dressed and start the day. It was nice.

A couple days later, Christmas Eve and Christmas day came and went, nothing big, nothing too cramped, simply nice with family and friends.  Then day after Christmas waking up at 4:00AM thinking about a major, external to the house project, and thinking about all the organizing and purging I wanted to accomplish.  Then it hit me, it was not the house I needed to purge, but my own internal house; me.  When was the last time I sat down with God and really truly asked for forgiveness to clean my heart, mind and soul?  It had been a while.

We all need time to rest in God’s arms and presence.  We all need to connect and re-connect with God, asking to remove the things separating us from God and praising Jesus for being our connection to God.

Dear Creator Mother Father God, please forgive me for my humanness.  Please come into my heart, mind and soul, cleaning and clearing, ripping the veil of sin separating me from you.  Help me to put back on and fortify your full armor to take the “…stand against the devil’s schemes.”  Let me once again stand firm with the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness feet grounded holding the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith with the helmet of salvation.  Oh, Lord, pull me up from my bootstraps, forgiving my sins and those who I have sinned against.  Dear Lord, thank you for holding, protecting and keeping me always.  In your many names.  Amen.

Recently I saw a repost on reposted photo on Facebook with the phrase, “… when we pray, we need to listen, as He has a lot to
tell us”.  The first comment on the repost was “Yes She does”, and I so agree with this statement. 
 
Yes, I am one of the many who was taught God is male, a father figure and yet the more I learn about God and God’s Word the more I realize God cannot be male nor female as God is all things good; so by making God male and not female are we saying one is better than the other?  For factual content, at the time the bible was written and unfortunately still true in many parts of the world today, yes.
 
When we place God in a male only box, we are limiting God’s ability and reducing God to our own human influences, in the case
of the bible, limiting ourselves to our current societies teachings of those who are just and holy; men.
 
So just for grins, let’s say God is male.  What should this male form take?  Is He the artists rendition of a Caucasian, muscle bound, six pack abs male, such as Jesus is portrayed in some art pieces or of Asian descent and in the shape of Prosperity Buddha?  In the same case, if God is female, would She be in the form of a super model, such as Naomi Campbell, an African American, Heidi Klum, a Caucasian or how about Kirstie Alley who for years fights to become the size our society envisions and approves her to be? 

Now my point is not to talk about how current marketing tells us how we are supposed to look and not look, although that topic is important, the point is when we place our human influences upon God, we limit God and place God in a box, limited to male and or female… human form.
 
And why do we do this… we are humans and it is  easier to place and view others (even God), within our own image and since
 the bible was written by men, it is only reasonable to place God in a male body.

 I personally do not care how you view God, if you view God as female, male or a drop of rain, I do not care.  I personally feel that it is not the physical ‘image’ of God that is important, it is the knowing we have of God in our heart and soul that is important.  When we place God in a male or female body, we are limiting God to the physical human realm and God is so much more than we can comprehend.
 
God is the Alpha and Omega, The One and only and if this is the case, how can we limit God to a He or a She? Maybe I am unique
and different, but as long as I remember, even at the age of 4 or 5, God was always a mist of light, true light that I could not see with my eyes, but when I laid in bed, closed my eyes, this form of mist and light was there projecting love, safety and comfort, which protected me from the monsters under my bed (thanks to my brother) and I was able to sleep.
 
Dear Lord Mother Father Creator God, oh how I reach for you today, now, to hold and embrace me.  Help me to see you as
you are.  Help me to see you within the rich and famous.  Help me to see you within the homeless, Help me to see you within myself.  Help me, oh Lord, this day and moment to see you within and allow me to show the world YOU.  In your many names.  Amen.

  Thank you G.M. for the post!

Cresting an overpass can be discouraging; especially when we see red brake lights, as far as the eye can see.  Red is typically associated with danger and when driving, breaking and slowing down. Yet, what if these streams of red lights were streams of the Holy Spirit, forming ribbons before us to follow? Due to the flat terrain in Houston, our hills are called overpasses and a driver can typically only see a couple cars ahead, until they crest an overpass and then we can see for what seems like miles. It is at this cresting time, especially at night in heavy traffic, we can see two ribbons of light, red in front of us and white lights coming towards us. Instead of seeing the red lights as a warning for danger or slowing down, view each light as Pentecostal tongues of fire resting upon each driver, each passenger, lit with the Holy Spirit, connected to God and illuminating God’s Light to the world.  Coming towards us is a stream of bright white lights, angels proclaiming God’s peace that Christ had died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again!  With this in mind, maybe those heavy traffic days will become not a commute of stress, but a reminder of God’s love filling the freeways, our lives with hope, joy and love enough to fill this day and every day with God’s glory.

Dear Mother Father Creator God, oh, Lord, help me to continually reach out beyond my physical surroundings and see with you in mind, that in times of trouble, I see your promise. In times of stress, I see over the crest and feel the Holy Spirit. In times of joy, more joy. In times, just like now, feel you are continually holding me in your arms, allowing myself to share your joy and your life with the world.  In your many names. Amen

Acts 2 NIV: The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

“ 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.”

After passing the homeless soul that morning, I was not able to get much accomplished at work, as I was consumed by the homeless soul.  I continued to pray about it, wrote about it, talked to a co-worker about it, hoping the co-worker would
come with me during lunch, but declined.  I prayed for strength, guidance and clarity as well as a way out of this situation.  By the time lunch was here, I again, grabbed my shoulder bag with the food snack and headed through the park, heart pumping, knees weak and the flood of emotions weighing me down.  Then just as I was nearing the bench with the man I see daily and
about to freak-out, no, already freaking-out, he was not there and a flood of relief swept over me.  Still shaken up, I proceeded to my car and just sat in silence while again, asking for the courage to approach, meet and give this man a little bag of food.
 
Round two, same scenario, I leave the parking garage and head to the office building, with just a little more courage and as I approached the bench, the homeless soul was not there, and this time the rush of relief was accompanied by a rush of
disappointment as I thought I was ready to reach out to him; then out of nowhere, the man appeared and my heart stopped.  Our eyes met, I said hi and asked if he would like something to eat. His eyes got big, his smile bigger as he said  “yes”.  His name is Al and has been homeless for most of his life.  He described the park where he lived and the dangers night fall brings.  He
also told me I did not know the blessing the little bag of food meant to him.
 
Am I still nervous passing a homeless soul?  Do I always have the money or still lie about having no money on me? Do I always have food or water for those in need?  No and this most likely will not change.  What has started to change is I see the homeless souls a little differently, in that they are real with real feelings and real needs.  They are children of God, just as you and I.

So my lesson is, the homeless souls will not bite me and no, I cannot help them all, but one smile, one bottle of water one portion of food will and does go a long way.
 
Dear Mother Creator Father God, Oh Lord, thank you for being with me, providing the courage and ability to reach out away from myself and Lord, please continue to keep and bless those in need and prompt those who are able to assist, to get out of themselves and assist where needed.  In your many names.  Amen
 
Philippians 4:13 NIV I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

It is a daily occurrence when I pass a homeless soul and almost daily am approached for food, money or both.  As with many people, this makes me feel uneasy, on edge and frightened while at the same time ashamed as if I am to be the hands and feet of Jesus and if I am really to treat “…the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me;” so now I am conflicted in addition to all the other feelings. 

Often I think, I will walk in the parks around the office building I work and hand out bottles of water or protein bars, and then actually ask the person’s name and chat a while.  However, each time I leave the comfort of my office, the security of the building and venture into the park, I again walk past the homeless souls without saying a word or seeing them.

Then recently, my pastor gave the congregation a challenge to carry a pre-made bag of food and hand it out to those in need.  The real challenge was to see them as a Child of God.  I was excited as this was in-line with what I had been thinking of doing adding accountability when I picked up the bags of food from church, I knew I could do this.

So there I was, a Tuesday morning, all equipped with a bag of food, I boldly walked from the parking garage to office building, ready to hand this little bag to the man I see every day.  However, the closer I walked, the more nervous I became and the flood of emotions started to run through my veins, only this time the fear was so strong and taking hold.  Then I see the man is talking with another and the feeling of ‘not enough,’ was added to my shoulder load of fear, as I only had one food bag and not two.  By the time I walked past them, I was so shaken I don’t think I even looked their way and yes, the feeling of shame swept over me as well.

Dear Mother Father Creator God, oh Lord, please help me to help others, help me to reach beyond my fear of meeting other people and the fear of seeing the souls living on the streets.  Help me to find solitude in you, that one day I will overcome.  One day, I can reach out and until then, you are blessing and continually caring for all your children.  In your many names. Amen

Matthew 25:40 NIV “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

There are times, more than I would like, when I either wake up an hour  after falling asleep or fully awake one or two hours before the alarm is set to  ring;  and to me, the latter  is more alarming as I do not consider myself a morning person and sleep is held
close to my heart.  However, after much frustration about being awoken before I wanted to become awake, I began to realize I was being awakened by God through the prayers of others.  When we are truly in a state of prayer, our energy and spirit do not know time as we know it.  Our spirit does not live by a 24 hour clock when the minutes and seconds tick past us, instead, prayer
transforms our time into God’s time and allows our energy to reach those for whom we pray and allow the Holy Spirit to intercede. 
Realizing this, my frustration from being awoken has turned to a true inner peace and vibrancy I cannot explain.  When I am awakened from someone praying for me, I feel alive, refreshed, more connected to God than if I had been meditating for days and I send prayers of praise for those praying for me and to God for our ultimate connection and source of life.

Dear Mother Creator Father God, oh Lord, I love my sleep and realize my rest also comes within prayer, being connected to you and connected to those praying for me.  Today, while I maybe sleep deprived, my heart and soul are fully alive, vibrant and full of joy; for you, oh Lord, are the  source of true love and joy.  Dear Lord, oh please, touch and bless those who are praying, have prayed and will pray for me.  Keep us all in your loving arms, enfolding and connecting us to you and each other within and
through your light.  In your many names.   Amen.

 Romans 12:5 NIV
 Romans 8:26-27 ESV


 

For close to 9 months I have been silenced, silenced by fear and silenced by
‘business,’ too fearful my words were no longer God’s and fearful of rejection.
Yet, once in a while, a small voice would become known within me, prompting me
to write and tell of God’s good news; yet I was frozen, keeping myself
distracted with any and everything I could to squelch the voice within.  I
am thankful, so very thankful God never gives up on any of us, God just keeps
prodding and hitting us aside the head with a proverbial two by four to get our
attention.

Today, while reading the scripture for a bible study, the words of Mark
became alive and I was able to relate to the scripture in a profound way. 
In Mark 9:25, Jesus rebukes a deaf and mute spirit out of a boy, the same spirit
which earlier his disciples were unable to rebuke; when his disciples asked
Jesus why they were unable to rebuke the spirit, Jesus’ reply was “this kind [of
spirit] can come out only by prayer.”  And so, this is my revelation, did I
stop praying the way I should? Did I cut myself off as not to confront my fears
or was I possessed by a ‘deaf and mute spirit’?

Perhaps today is the start of a new chapter in my life, perhaps I have been
in a cocoon for a reason and it is time to emerge stronger and fuller of life
than before.  Yes, I will claim it, today is the day the Lord hath made and
yes, I am emerging and shining brighter than ever before.

Dear Father Mother Creator God, oh Lord, thank you for sheltering me and
thank you for the constant reminders that you are always with me, even when I
have pushed you away.  Dear Lord, may you rebuke the mute and deaf spirit
which has taken over me and may it never return.  In your many names. 
Amen
Mark 9: 25 and 29 NIV

While reading about the 100th year celebration of New York’s Grand Central Terminal, mostly known by the incorrect name, Grand Central Station, one of the main tour directors, Daniel Brucker, describes the building as a temple, and a monument for its architectural grandeur in celebration of everyday commuting.  I whole heartedly agree as I have seen this magnificent terminal before and after the refurbishment and yes, it is grand and very opulent in celebration for the everyday commuter. 

What struck me with the article was the quote describing the building, ‘… the type that God would've built if he had the money."  How strange this sounds to my ears, as it appears the person making such statement is oblivious to whom God is;  all omnipresent whereas money has never been nor ever will be of any consequences.

Then I realized I too have used such a statement, when saying “oh, yes, they can do that because they have more money than God.”  Really, I ask myself.  How many other times I have said, thought and put out into the world, the knowledge of just how small my mind and being is and how belittling to God to use such thought forms and words.  I must hang my head and sigh and then repent for how large I think I am at times, when in reality, I am small and even if I were the richest materialistic man on earth, I will never, ever, come close to what God has, is and will do for myself and each and every one of God’s Children.

Dear Creator Mother Father God, thank you.  Just a simple and heartfelt, thank you Lord, for making me who I am, protecting me, guiding me, nurturing me and being all for me.  Thank you.  In your many names.  Amen

Almost out of minutes - what!? I cannot believe it.  Recently our two cell phone accounts were merged; unlimited text, unlimited data and a whopping 1000 minutes of talk, shared between two people.  Actually, 1000 minutes of talk sounds pretty small for most, but based on the past year usage, we had more minutes than we could possibly need. Then, a week after the new service started, mother-in-law went into the hospital and then the phone usage skyrocketed between the hospital, insurance company, family, friends and then eventually short-term and long-term stay nursing homes.  Yes, we were on the phone a lot with a lot of extended hold time.  Our 1000 minutes of talk time, soon offered no “breathing room” and little comfort towards our managed budget.

Unlike the limitations of service and services concerning our phones and communication devices, God’s phone is always unlimited and the line is always open.  Yet, there are times when we call upon God and we feel that we have received a busy signal or dead line; however, in reality our receiver is not open or it is full of static and therefore unable to hear God’s answer.  Maybe it is time to up the ante and up our communication with God.  Open up the lines giving thanks for all your blessings of the past, present and those yet to come.  Blessings for guidance and blessings for assurance; you see, even when we think and sometimes feel the communications between us and God are closed, they are not,  they are only fuzzy or closed on our side.  It is times like this when quieting our mind, realigning ourselves with God and having a dialogue with God which is intentional, then the answers to our prayers become intentional. 

So the question now becomes are we communicating with God with pure intention or only fuzzy communication?  When we try to communicate with God with fuzziness, the answers will also be ‘fuzzy’ or we might not even hear God’s response.  On the flip side, when we communicate with God with pure intention, then our answers are intentional and clear.

Dear Lord, Mother Father God, help me hour by hour and day by day to be intentional with my prayers, requests and questions.  Allow me to find the space for you in my life, so that I may pray and have intentional dialogue with you.  Today and always, I thank you for never closing the lines of communication and help me to do the same.  In your many names. Amen.

Hebrews 13:5 NIV “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

Psalm 66:19 NLT (©2007) “But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer”.

Acts 8:22 ISV (©2012) “So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your heart's intent may be forgiven you”.

Dedicated to M.V. Olivier and V. Hopper

Does your mind sometimes just go blank, especially when it comes to talking to God?  Mine does, more times than I like to admit; especially when I have the desire and feel the need to pray.  There may be something going on at work, home or just in general that is troubling my mind.  Yet, when I stop to pray, my mind just goes blank and I don’t know what or how to prayer.  It is as if I am sitting in a class room and the teacher hands me a test and the paper just goes blank, or changes language!  All goes blank.

In times like this, there is one important verse that helps me and puts a smile on my face as I laugh at the simplicity of it all.  Psalm 46:10, guides us to “Be still and know that I am God…”  Just let go!  Allow God to speak in and through us.  Allow the Grace of God to engulf us.  Stop worrying, stop being frustrated, stop trying to be god and realize that we are finite and God is infinite.  It is within these times when we just let go, we are allowed to hear God.  So the next time your mind goes blank, just “Be still and know that I am God…” and listen for the presence of God to emerge.

Dear Mother Father Creator God, thank you for your guidance, your Word and the Holy Spirit.  I thank you for your caring presence.  I thank you for working within my life.  Be with me today, this week and always.  May I be open to your presence and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I am posing this question after reflecting on the many varieties of internet
advertisements I see come across my search engine pages.  To set the stage, my
work area has two main desktop computers and four monitors; so while one screen
will have one internet application using one search engine, the second and or
third and fourth screen will display a different search engine or at least page,
I find it entertaining to see just how these search engines and their respective
advertisers try to figure me out based on my input and their perception. For
instance, on one screen I get entertained by Spanish speaking advertisements
while at the same time, on another screen, I am prompted to meet women in their
fifties and while on a third screen, prompted to hook up with guys in their
twenty and thirties.  To clear things up, I am not a young female on the prowl
or 50+ male seeking a wife nor do I speak Spanish.  

Search engines use various complex algorithms to figure out who we are, what
we like and what merchandise we desire and in the end, purchase.  As far as I
can tell, they have missed their mark with me.  What am I doing within these
search engines to cause a linguistically and gender bending differential?   I
propose that if the search engines were human, either I am not communicating
authentically or they are not listening.

Do I do this in real life? If my friends and family were asked to list the
first top ten things that describe, explain and define me, would it be correct? 
I am a different person towards different people?  Am I two faced, false, hiding
or a chameleon?  Do I tell it the way I see it, wearing my heart on my sleeve
and letting people know exactly where I stand?  In all honesty, yes and no to
all of the above as I am human; complex and simple at the same time. I am human
and while most of my personality remains the same while at home, play and or
work, there are aspects, of me, which do change as my environmental situation
changes.  Therefore, co-workers who only see me at work perceive me based upon
my work persona and friends see my out of work persona.  Then there are those
who are always near, always there and a constant in my life wherever I am.  Who
is that close to me?  Me and God and as hard as I may try to hide some aspects
of my life from God, God knows all too well and yet still loves and protects me.

Within 1 Thessalonians, we are advised, prodded, directed to pray all the
time, never ceasing and when we do keep a constant dialogue with God, then God
knows me, truly knows me and in return I learn more and more about God, while
receiving direction, affirmation and confirmation that I am a Child of God, "…
wonderfully made…"  and the more I pray and the more my dialogue is continually
progressive, the stronger I become as a man and the closer I am to God, as then
I am really expressing and sharing my whole being with God and unlike any
computer algorithm, God knows beyond what I need, but what I desire and then
directs me towards the goals we have set up together.

Dear Mother Father Creator God, thank you for continually being by my side,
my companion, confidant and defender.  Thank you for not turning away when I
fail and continually loving me for who you made me and who I am.  And, Lord, in
times when I fail, thank you for your guidance, protection and forgiveness to
make things right between you and me, myself and others.  Today and always,
remind me to keep an open and continual dialogue, ongoing, progressive and
responsive.  In your many names.  Amen

 Psalm 139:13-14
 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Dear Lord, Thank you for all the blessings today.  A day filled with love, peace, joy and excitement.  A day where those around respect, honor and support me.  A day where your love and grace are everywhere and I share your love and kindness freely with those I meet.  May the blessing continue throughout the day and my tasks are completed with efficiency and that I am productive.  Dear Lord, please continue to be with my friends, family and co-workers.  Be with those who are ill or out of touch.  Oh, Lord, thank you for this day and all the many blessings you have bestowed upon me and those I know and love.  And, Lord, as I continue to wake up and get out of bed, continue to guide each step, each thought and each word I speak.  In your many names. Amen.

 A good morning and a good day is a choice we each make, each and every morning.  When we arise, we can dread the traffic, dread the boss, dread the world or we can embrace and give thanks for all God has given to us all.  If your morning routine is filled with traffic jams, thank God that you have transportation.  If you have a horrible boss, pray for them and show them kindness (good always overcomes evil).  If you are experiencing illness or disease, thank God for the healing you are already experiencing and for God to hold and keep you.  Yes, I do know that at times, we really do not feel like giving thanks or even feeling good.  I too have those days and once had a job where I literally would cry while driving to work, yet it is within those times we can turn to God and know that God is always there, always near and always within us all.  And with God within and for us, then who can be against us.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
Romans 8:31

At Stanford University, there is an interdisciplinary study between neurobiological experts, radiologist and humanities scholars, concerning two different types of reading; casual and intense.  They are using literary classics by Jane Austen, who has characters described as being very distracted, which apparently adds more excitement within the story, much the same as a fast paced movie in modern times.  The researchers are using a functional magnetic resonance image machine to observe the blood flow in the brain while reading casually and intensely.  When a person reads casually or distracted, such as at a bus stop, coffee shop or similar, the brain shows normal activity; yet when the subjects read with more attentiveness or closed reading, the blood flow increased in all regions of the brain.  

This study made me first think about prayer and reading the bible.  My own nonprofessional hypothesis is that when we reading 1Chronicles, listing the family tree for generation after generation, there would be little blood flow as there is little to nothing to visualize. Whereas reading Lamentations, Psalms and most of the New Testament, the blood flow would be covering all regions of our brains as we are reading poetry, excitement and good news.

So what about prayer?  I have a hunch that prayer would show perhaps the same results of casual and intense reading.  When we are praying to God while driving, walking, or doing other functions, we are continually distracted and not giving God 100% of our being and our brain’s activity would reflect this “distractibility.”  While when we are praying intensely with a prayerful mind and heart, we are then communicating with God with all our heart, all our mind and all our soul.  Who knows, maybe one day Stanford University will do a prayer study and we will know for sure.  In the meanwhile, keep prayer and your dialogue with God open, honest and often.

Rant and Rave: "PRAYER the world's greatest wireless connection"

Recently a friend sent me to the following email and just had to share as it a poignant example of the cynical and laxidasical idea in which prayer has become – for some, not all, not my friend and not me; I hope you agree.

The Rant:  I'm sure you get occasional e-mails to pass along a prayer and at the end of the text it states ‘you must forward to 10 people to avoid something catastrophic happening; or if you delete the email you hate Jesus’. (REALLY!)

I probably shouldn't feel this way as I really do believe in prayer and really dislike those emails as the love for my Savior is not dependent on whether or not I forward an email or else.  I know that there are a lot of nasty, indecent, and mean things being forwarded on email, Facebook, twitter, etc. etc.... and that forwarding a prayer to a friend, or in some cases a stranger through a friend, can be the best thing that happens to them that day.  There are many who do care, do pray and honestly pray.  Is it too much to ask to remove the missive about how many people you have to forward it to and heaven help you if you delete it!

Now the Rave:  Anyway, I think just letting a friend know that you are thinking of them and you feel compelled to pray for them would mean a lot more than receiving something written by someone else and forwarded to millions upon millions. Remember, when we forward a message, we take ownership for the contents and become responsible for the actions.  So the question is, are we sending a missive of condemnation (if not forwarded to… or if you delete this you…) or are we sending God’s Light into the world?

So when a missive is sent stating that “if you don’t forward this to 10 people, or else our bank account will drain or we don’t love Jesus”.  Just ask God first and yourself second – “REALLY” and if you want to send the message onward, delete the negative, add a positive and you will receive a miracle through prayer.

Dear Mother, Father, Creator God, let my words be impeccable to your ear.  May my prayers be real, genuine and honest.  May I pray for others and myself with urgency, honesty and regarding you and those I pray.  In your many names.  Amen.

** This article is dedicated to my dear friend, Kathryn M.  Thank you, Kathryn for being so honest and a great prayer partner

Can we see the Forest through the Trees or do we just see the Trees?  This statement reflects on how we get so focused on the details in life or perhaps just one detail that we miss out on God’s larger picture. The reality is God is all around and within us, no matter what the situation we find ourselves.  We have so many things to be thankful, yet too many times we focus on just one aspect of our life and usually an aspect that is not Godly or fortunate, turning our entire world up-side-down.   In Joshua 1:5, Jesus tells us point blank, “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you”.

Dear Creator Mother Father God, thank you for your promise.  Thank you that when I feel down, I can be assured you are with me.  Help me focus this week on your goodness and acknowledge the love of Christ and God’s grace protecting me. Amen.

How many times do I search for answers and bypass God?  I had a question, a pretty substantial question and not just concerning a local restaurant menu or what the weather is going to be later today, tomorrow or next week; a life changing question.  So I opened up the internet and promptly went to my favorite search engine and asked.  Sure, there were hundreds if not thousands of responses that gave advice from one end of the spectrum to the other.  Then it hit me.  Why did I immediately go to the internet for an answer to a life changing question and not turn off technology and turn to God?  When will I learn?  Well, I am human and in the technology age we live in, technology has the tendency to encroach upon our God filled being.

When I realized what was occurring, I turned off the technology and turned to God.  Asking God for divine intervention; asking for guidance, direction and signs of what my next steps should or should not be in resolution to my question.  Yes, I don’t think God gives us hundreds or even a thousand answers at once, which is good, as the answers from God, do not require further research to be sure the answer is correct and truthful. God is the ultimate search engine and ultimate fact checker, with assurance of authenticity.

Dear Creator Mother Father God, thank you for helping me turn off technology and turn to you.  Please continue to guide, direct and nurture me in order to make correct, life giving and life prosperous decisions.  Continually remind me you are the Divine who has the divine answers to any internet search question.  Oh, Lord, help me, day by day, moment by moment to continually turn to you for all my questions and may I remain in continual prayer and continually showing your love to the world around me.  In your many names.  Amen

It was very eloquent.  Classical music wafted above the din of the crowd.  The fragrant smells of fresh flowers were everywhere and the audience dressed to the nines; so why among this splendor so many pursed lips, eyes full of life and vitality, yet puffy with grief?  Yes, I was attending a life celebration, a celebration where as Christians our internal core belief in Christ clashes with the love of our earthly bodies.  The death of a human being is hard, especially when we are close to the person.  And yet within this time of grief, we can find solitude within the spiritual life of the deceased.  The spiritual life, now eternal with Christ, is the same filling us with memories, feelings and love.  Yes, our beloved deceased’s physical body is gone, but their life continues within the deeds they accomplished and the lives they touched.  As Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, “… that Jesus died and rose again and will come back for all who believe…”  So let us rejoice in our being now.  Let us celebrate Christ with each other now.  Let us love, show love and be Christ’s love now, so when the days of now are no more, our life does continue with Christ in heaven and in the memories of those we have touched and will continue to touch until we meet again.

Recently I was physically and emotionally drained - on second thought, spiritually as well.  It really hit me in the mid-afternoon at work; exhausted, not concentrating and just wanting to lay my head down and sleep.  On the way home, I thought “when was the last time I really rested?”  Sure I had just come back from a vacation a couple weeks before, but did I rest and more importantly, “did I rest in the Lord?”  The answer was no.  So I put on some meditative music and drew myself a bath to soak and soak up God around me and begin to let God inside me. 

Yes, every day and constantly, I remind myself that I am a child of God, but have a really ‘felt’ it lately. Have I taken the time to relax and be?  Just to be me, a true Child of God, a vessel whom God lives within and a child of God who listens and responds?  Today, my physical body awoke my soul and inner being by shutting down, allowing me to rest and rest in the Lord.  Take heed to those who read this and share your similar experience with others. Take time for God and take time for yourself so that your mind, body and soul are ready to serve the Lord whenever called.

Dear Mother, Father, Creator God, help remind me to listen to you.  Help me to ask you the pertinent and not-so pertinent questions that come up during the day.  Help and remind me to rest in your arms and Word, taking heed to remember that when I do not, and as proclaimed in Hebrews 13:5-6(NIV)  “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”, sending reminders to return to you and you will take me back. In your many names. Amen

Overooking a Miracle
A Dialogue with God, By Ron Reeser

For a Wednesday morning, the traffic was light and when I  reached the parking garage my favorite spot empty!
  Upon grabbing my  coffee mug and lunch bag, I started off on my three block trek to the  office.  No wait at the first light to cross and soon I walking through  the park reroute.  At around 7:00AM, the sky was starting to show its  wonderful blue, birds were singing and the leaves on the tree and grass  seemed greener; I just kept thinking and starting sing in my heart; yes,  this is the
day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Then I made the second cross walk without a wait! This is a wonderful  day!  Then entering my building about to go through security, it hit  me.  My badge was still in my truck!  So back to the garage I went.  At  first I started to grumble, disappointed in myself for being so absent  minded and uncollected. Then when I
found myself in the same park I  praised God minutes before I paused.  I paused as maybe this was and is a  gift from God. Not only was I able to walk with God’s wonderful  creations of the park around me once, but 4 times!  Yes, this was a day  created by God and yes, I am rejoicing in it!

How many times do  we overlook the miracle we are experiencing?  How many times to strange  or seeming bad things happen and think only bad, when it only takes a  breath to realize the reality we create is the reality we are in.  Maybe  it was my absent
mindedness that made me forget my badge or maybe it  was God wanting me to enjoy and enjoy more of God’s creation on that  Wednesday morning.  I chose to believe it was God’s divine guidance.

Dear  Ever Loving and Creator God, thank you for moments of lessons.  Thank  you for your nature around me and thank you
for continually guiding and  sustaining me.  In your many names. Amen.