Attraversiamo...

Attraversiamo- "Let's cross over."

"I understand the full weight of this for you."

How to put that weight into words?

Let's cross over... to where? how? with whom? And what happens when we get there? 

Bucket List

Publish the book

White Water Rafting

Volunteer at the hospital- premie wing

Fire a gun- Hit the target

Go to Italy for a month (or more) (learn Italian)

Take a pottery class- make something worthwhile

Forgive those I don’t want to forgive

Parasailing

Zipline

Rainforest

Learn to play an instrument- piano, mandolin or guitar

Long term mission trip

Egypt

Publish a book of poetry

Spend meaningful time in each state. (half way there) (Mt. Rushmore, 4 Corners, San Diego Zoo, Memphis)

Take a cruise

See the inside of a lighthouse- a pretty one

Rock climbing (not in the gym)

Archery

Advanced cooking class

Time on an archeological dig.

10 Guidelines from God

Found this interesting tidbit online. Enjoy!

Effective immediately, please be aware that there are changes YOU need to make in YOUR life. These changes need to be completed in order that I may fulfill My promises to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in this life. I apologize for any inconvenience, but after all that I am doing, this seems very little to ask of you. Please follow these 10 guidelines.

1. QUIT WORRYING: Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way?

2. PUT IT ON THE LIST: Something needs done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR list. Put it on MY to-do-list. Let ME be the one to take care of the problem. I can’t help you until you turn it over to Me. And although My to-do-list is long, I am after all…….God. I can take care of anything you put into My hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.

3. TRUST ME: Once you’ve given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in Me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. Problems with the kids? Put them on My list. Problem with finances? Put it on My list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster? For My sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.

4. LEAVE IT ALONE: Don’t wake up one morning and say, “Well, I’m feeling much stronger now, I think I can handle it from here.” Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It’s simple. You gave Me your burdens and I’m taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in my peace. Don’t you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with Me and forget about them. Just let Me do my job.

5. TALK TO ME: I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy. Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I’m in control. But there’s one thing I pray you never forget. Please, don’t forget to talk to Me – OFTEN! I love YOU! I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. I want to be your dearest friend.

6. HAVE FAITH: I see a lot of things from up here that you can’t see from where you are. Have faith in Me that I know what I’m doing. Trust Me; you wouldn’t want the view from My eyes. I will continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me. Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?

7. SHARE: You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joy with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who haven’t heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those who have none.

8. BE PATIENT: I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it takes Me a little longer than you expect to handle something on My to-do-list? Trust in My timing, for My timing is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in only six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.

9. BE KIND: Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical. Please, know I love each of your differences.

10. LOVE YOURSELF: As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me for fellowship — to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me. Love your neighbors. But also love yourself. It makes My heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to me. Don’t ever forget……

Think on Such Things

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!  Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7 New Living Translation)

Pastor Sue: 

Paul tells us to rejoice in everything and not to be anxious, but we think it means that if we do that, God will make everything "work out all right" for us- we'll be okay, bad things won't happen, everything will calm down and our worst fears will never come to pass. Wouldn't that be the point of "not being anxious?" After all- our anxiety usually comes from trying to control circumstances to keep "the worst" away! If we give up anxiety, doesn't the burden of making things work out all right then fall on God? 

But that's not what Paul says in the verses above. What he says is, rejoice. Be famously gentle. Don't be anxious. Pray, pray, pray and be thankful. And the result is, whatever the situation, the peace of God which transcends understanding, (in other word, given the situation it makes no sense!) will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. There is no guarantee that our hopes and dreams will come to pass; there are no promises that bad things, from the world's point of view, won't happen, even if- especially if- we have given our lives to Jesus. Instead we are promised that God knows us personally, has already guaranteed our ultimate safety in him...

I have things to say on this. It's all rattling around in my brain. Like the fact that that little phrase, "guard your hearts" keeps popping up in my life... like the fact that the Greek word used in this case is also used in 1 Peter 1:5 in a "guarding the garrison" context. Protection, safety, trust... peace. 

In many ways, I keep waiting for the days when the worst won't happen, when pieces won't need to be picked up, when the dreams do truly start to come true. And then, I'm reminded of kingdom things and that I need to get over myself and realize it's not about me. Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in the "what-ifs" that I forget to live for the real reason I'm here. It's hard to think about what ifs when there's rejoicing going on. Think about it. How hard is it to worry and be anxious when there's some serious singing going on Sunday morning? Or when you're holding a new baby? Or when you get incredible news about something positive in your life? 

I know I tend to lean toward the melancholy of life. I understand why. There's a lot in my life to be sad about. To struggle with. Some of it has been of my own making and some of it not so much. But as Pastor Sue points out, Paul had quite a bit of that in his life. He spent the entire first part of his career thinking he was some hot shot. He created a significant world for himself- only to have God come in and completely transform it. I understand to some small extent how he must have felt. He thought life was going to go one way and God had other plans. 

There is some uncertainty in that. If you were to tell someone who did not understand faith or God that you were going to just follow what God said instead of what you had created for yourself, that person would think you were crazy! And yet, that's what we do as Christians. We put our trust and faith in the unseen. God's plans are largely unknown to us. He sees the ultimate "big picture" and we don't always understand where we fit into it. So, we scramble to try and grasp control of something- anything. And what he asks of us is the complete opposite. He offers peace that is uncomprehensible when we give up the control. That's scary!!! It takes a huge amount of trust! It feels like standing on the edge of the cliff and taking a deep breath before plunging downward into what you are certain will be a tragic end. It's a series of that moment right before you leap when your heart is beating a million beats a minute, you've squeezed your eyes shut so tightly, and you're not sure you can breathe. But after you take the leap, and you can open your eyes, you realize you won't fall because Christ is beside you, holding you up and the sights you see with him by your side are greater than you could ever see standing on that cliff by yourself. 

I wonder if Paul was trying to remind himself of all that. That transformation in Christ is scary, but worth it. That rejoicing sometimes seems harder than floundering in the what ifs. But I think it's more that he reached that place where he was living more for Christ than the world. Think about that! I know my life is not at that place. Where a greater percentage of my thinking is about Christ and kingdom things, rather than me and my own personal stuff. The next verses in Philippians talk about things we should think on. ("whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy") Paul gives us those because he knows that if we think on these things, it's easier to rejoice. The what ifs, the lost dreams, the things of the world- they will seem distant if you're thinking on those other positive things. If we put into practice those positive things, Paul knows that those are the things we'll start to think about and then start to live out. And they are steps on the road to kingdom things.

There are more thoughts... More answers to be found...

Poetry

"Poetry spills from the cracks of a broken heart, but flows from one which is loved."

First Draft:

The art of crying

A burst of anguish

A tormented cry of agony

Raw, open and bleeding

Harsh, choking and terrible

A silent steady stream-

Flowing from eyes,

Overcome already,

From a lifetime of tears.

A stunned silence

A slowly engulfing numbness

Paralyzing, incapacitating and piercing

Weary, desperate and resigned

An uneasy realization-

Seeping from wounds,

Transgressed upon before,

That life must continue on. 

-S. Scholl

1 July 2011