Uphill idealist

Freedom image found at Flicker. Freedom is an interesting concept. There are many categories in life in which people seek or are seeking freedom. Speech, religion, press, thought, assembly, association and choice are the immediate freedoms that come to my mind. I suppose it's obvious to say that that my freedom pondering presently has been in the area of my thinking. In much of my reading this week in my Sacred Space devotion, freedom was the focus of the week. Much of it's emphasis was in the freedom to be oneself and to think upon how God delights in the creation of each and every person. Some of the thoughts of freedom led to a common ground of unity and love. All these connecting statements got me thinking. Can freedom truly be experienced without a foundation for living based on love and unity? Recently, I've had days that cause me to spend (probably) too much time pondering the dark corners of my own mind. I found in this last week that my struggle with freedom had m...

A Facebook friend tagged me in this meme and I couldn't resist. Here goes my effort to recall the first 15 books that have stuck with me. 1. Circle of Quiet by Madeline L'Engle. This book made me what to go to back to college. 2. Sacred Space - this devotional book is published every year and has been my most consistent companion in my prayer life. 3. The New Moosewood Cookbook - This cookbook offers incredibly tasty vegetarian dishes. Its always fun to cook out of. 4. The Message - Whenever I'm looking for a fresh way of looking at scripture I look in Eugene Peterson's paraphrase version of the Bible. 5. Bird by bird by Anne Lamott. I don't think this book is one a writer is ever "done" with. Just when you think there is no more to write about, Anne pushes you to dig deeper. 6. The Shack by William P. Young - I read this last summer when I had been laid off and was dealing with so many emotions. It helped me make my way through to the other side. 7...

Upon reading today's entry in Sacred Space , I was reminded about the eternal life of love. Just as love overcomes all opposition in Jesus resurrection on Easter morning, and love stands in the face of darkness in the book A wrinkle in time by Madeline L'Engle, and love continues to be expressed in this quote I discovered by Julian of Norwich... "... the love that made him (Jesus) suffer all this - it passes as far beyond all his pains as heaven is above earth. For the passion was a deed done in time by the working of love; but the love is without beginning and is, and ever shall be, without end." 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Where would I be if not for love? Jesus the Christ, who did no wrong , took my place, my sin, my failures that day and washed them away in his faithful sacrifice. Then to think it was not only for me, but for all of us. This love is what I hold fast to as I wait for the...

Lent is a season where out of devotion to God so many of us give something up. Some of the most popular things to give up are: Chocolate, junk food, TV, and Internet surfing. While letting go of habits that are not particularly healthy for us can be good and teach self-discipline, what if during lent we considered adding a habit or practice that would be helpful to our spiritual health and wellness? Last week I finished reading a book called, The Sacred Echo by Margaret Feinberg . The Sacred Echo discusses the challenge and promise of a life devoted to prayer. Margaret tells stories from her own life honestly shares her own challenges in pray and her relationship with God. She suggests that a chronically disrupted prayer life can be symptomatic of our own misdirected perspective and attitude towards God. If we subconsciously perceive God to be angry or vengeful or disinterested, we will not be very likely to pursue a relationship with God. Margaret says this in regard to times of sile...