Wes Roberts

...idols:

...working out this afternoon on the elyptical and treadmill at Fitness19 here in Parker, I was listening to N.T. Wright, absorbed in his exceptional teaching, and the time on the machines flew by

...one of the sentences and potent thoughts, among many, that were knocking on and informing my soul was:

"One of the laws of spirituality is that you become what you idolize...you become what you worship."

...idols...........

...we have more than we may want to admit, if honest with ourselves

...what/who/where/when/how do you idolize?

...what do you worship?

...I'm eager to hear this talk again from the good Bishop, for there was so much I sense I need to slowly absorb as I enter these last days of the Lenten season

...an important word:

...from a good friend

...a welcome and needed word as I take some time on this Monday to reflect

...to ponder the past two weeks of disturbing and amazing moments within God's world, and within my own soul

...we woke up to a snow storm this morning, and now the sun's coming out and melting the mess, which makes for a perfect metaphor for just this day

...what a journey...what opportunity!!!

(...this picture {as we journeyed to see some ruins in Antigua} is borrowed from my new friend, Josh Bennett, from our time in Guatemala where we worked with CI LDP leaders from four continents on the the continuing development of the Leadership Development Program for Compassion International's significant emphasis of helping kids raised in poverty gain a university education...a humbling and insightful week for all of us...)

...from Guatemala:

. . . . . . . Prayer to the Holy Spirit . . . . . . .

     Come Holy Spirit, breathe down upon our troubled world.  Shake the tired foundations of our crumbling institutions.  Break the rules that keep you out of all our sacred spaces, and from the dust and rubble, gather up the seedlings of a new creation.

     Come Holy Spirit, enflame once more the dying embers of our weariness.  Shake us out of our complacency. Whisper our names once more, and scatter your gifts of grace with wild abandon.  Break open the prisons of our inner being, and let your raging justice be our sign of liberty.

     Come Holy Spirit and lead us to places we would rather not go.  Expand the horizons of our limited imaginations.  Awaken in our souls dangerous dreams for new tomorrow, and rekindle in our hearts the fire of prophetic enthusiasm.

     Come Holy Spirit, whose justice outwits international conspiracy, whose light outshines religious bigotry, whose peace can halt our patriarchal hunger for dominance and control, whose promise invigorates our every effort: to create a new heaven and a new earth, now and forever. 

     Amen.

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

…by Diarmuid O'Murchu
...an Irish poet I've just found out about
...important words as I traverse a land filled with poverty and injustice
...and as we all travel a world that is now sliding into chaos that cannot be denied
...what opportunity.....................

...summing up the weekend just past:

...I'll let my traveling companion's summation count for now

...it was a time none of us present will forget very soon

...and I'm extra thankful I did this with these three good men

...April 9-11, 2010 are the dates for next year's gathering

...do all you can to be there

...sign up here for continuing information

...and now, I'm off on a journey with Compassion International through this Sunday

...indeed!

The real problem with details is there's so many of them.

...Brian Andreas

...Patrick's Prayer:

...this is for any day

...but today, 17 Mar '9, in our world, it is especially fitting.......

...zowie--goosebumps then...and now:

...one of my more vivid early adolescent memories

...way back in the "darker ages" of the last century

...was stretched out on a blanket in our front yard at our ranch house in rural Oregon when the Russian Sputnik was scheduled to fly over

...'twas me and my dog, and the certain sense that the Russians were finally invading after all (if one could believe the radio) and we were all going to be taken off and shot somewhere, probably the next day

...a star-studded night...looking up...and zowie...one of those "stars" gracefully made an arc across the sky, and I had seen Sputnik...even one more time with one more pass that night

...the fine movie, October Sky, was about that era

...then tonight...more goosebumps.......

...computer screen need cleaning?

...now ours does via this warm gift

...thanks to the generosity of our good friend, Mike Todd

...who arrives tomorrow for a week

...he, his bride and the rest of their crew are always welcome!!!

...now, excuse me, I have to go and finish the job

...as you slow down:

...to get ready for the week to come

...and to enter more fully into the Lenten season

...maybe even the challenge I share

...may this help as you listen and breathe deeply of what the song is all about in your own unique life

...'tis truly amazing.......!

...'09 Lenten Challenge--Part Five:

...try this one on for thoughtful size