40 Days

Next Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. Never being much of a believer in "giving up" things for Lent, my goal is, as it has been for several dozen years now, to DO something special during this holy season. I think that I have conceived something really unusual, for this year.
Friends and family members are very important to me. So, for each of the 40 days of Lent, I am going to pray for a different person, near and dear to me. Next year, I might pray for 40 people that I don't know. Give me a break. This plan seems a little easier.
My prayers will be for health and happiness. They will be prayers of peace and acceptance. Each and every one of my "prayer people" will be dealt with sincerely and thoughtfully.
I believe in the power of prayer.
If you would like to be included in my list of forty, just let me know. You don't have to ask me to pray for a specific thing. I don't need to know your business. God knows what you are in need of, and he answers every prayer.
And, don't worry. You won't be listed in a future addition of this blog.
Hope to hear from some of you soon. Ash Wednesday is less than a week away.

Good and Holy Lord: Your powers are awesome. Your mercy is abundant. We pray that you will guide us to be the best we can be. You love us. We are blessed with friends and family who love us. Show us how to love, unconditionally.

I Don't Think So.

I experienced a bit of a theological break through yesterday. In the midst of listening to a  sincerely heart-felt sermon on "God's Plan", I realized that I didn't believe most of what I was hearing.
Bad stuff happens to everyone. Heart attacks kill. Snipers wreck havoc on innocent children. Whole populations are wiped out by typhoons and disease. It happens. And, I don't believe any of those things are "God's Plan."
My God doesn't want his children to suffer. Most of us are responsible for our own health. We make poor judgements in our exercise, habits and food. We, and sometimes our descendants, pay dearly for our choices. God does not force us smoke, drink or eat chili cheese fries, in order to follow "His Plan" for us.
There are some really bad and confused folks on this planet. My God does not "allow" crazy people to gun down shoppers, in a mall. Don't blame that on God, or Satan or anyone but the person with the AK47.
And, weather happens. God does not destroy His beautiful Earth, in order to teach people a lesson (no, I don't buy the Flood story, either) or make things work into his "Plan". If the conditions are right, look out and move to higher ground.
My God doesn't want me to try to second guess Him. What He offers is not a mystery. He wants me to know that He will be there to comfort  me, when the inevitable tragedies of life occur. Life happens and I refuse to believe it's His plan. He loves me and He does not want me to suffer.

All Powerful and Knowing God. I put my trust in you. You will be my strength and my shield in time of need. I know that you will be there for me, always.

Just wait a minute.

Most of us are never satisfied. We all complain about something. Even the most "Pollyanna-ish" of us has a gripe, every once in a while.
For example, the weather. For those of us in the Midwest, the ever changing weather conditions give us great fodder for complaint. Too much snow. It's too dry. Will it ever be Spring? It's too whatever, and on and on. Bottom line.......there is nothing we can do about the weather. Well, maybe we can. We could all move to San Diego.
We fuss about the inside temperature. If two people are in a room, chances are one will be too hot and the other too cold. Most of the time we can do something about the temperature. That's why God made sweaters, for Pete's sake. Put one on or take one off.
Our health is another subject. Our this or that is acting up today. We didn't get much sleep last night. My feet are killing me. Uh....we woke up this morning. We're breathing. Our names are not in the morning's obituaries.
It's a great day.

Kind and all knowing God. We are such complainers. Show us how to focus on the greatness of our lives. Your blessings are many. We know we should be grateful and thankful with each breath. We glorify your power and your name.

What was that?

Looking out from our kitchen window this morning, I saw that we had a newly-fallen tree, lying in our backyard. The event may have taken place last night, or perhaps it had happened days ago. But this morning, because of a two inch snowfall overnight, I could see the tree and its prone position, very clearly.
We have a large backyard which measures over half of an acre. Our house sits in the middle of an acre lot, so our neighbors' homes are fairly distant. It's very possible that the folks, on either side of us, haven't even noticed the fallen tree.
So the obvious question is..... did the falling tree make a sound during its demise? We certainly didn't hear anything and I doubt if our neighbors did, either. So, who knows? Yet another missed opportunity to explain one of the great mysteries of life.

Great God: Life is full of mysteries. When will we realize that we can't explain everything? You are the creator of our Universe. You make the plans. Help us to be more patient and accepting. Faith is "the assurane of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  Help us to become more Faith Filled. Take away our doubt. Fill us with wonder. We praise your power.