The Sunrise Within

May today's sunrise be within your brave heart.
May the ecstasy of bird song be your very own voice.
May the riotous color of a spring garden be the energy of your mind.

May all the things of this earth which bring joy, delight and peace.
Remind you of all that God created in your world within.
And gives to you today, anew.

To lighten your world.
To sing it alive.
To color it bright.

~ inspired by "The Lost" by Jones Very ( 1813 - 1880).

What's On My Mind Today

What's on my mind?

1. Global warming.
2. Wall Street profits.
3. War.
4. Women's right.
5. Poverty.

Yes, I'm a positive person, and I believe in love and peace and all things good and wonderful.

And just because I'm positive, just because I believe in love and all the rest, I see clearly everything that threatens what's good and decent.

Ever so often, I try to hide ... in the love of my family, but when I see my granddaughter's laughing face, I want to give her a safe world.

Ever so often, I try hide ... in my faith, but when I see the face of Jesus, I see the face of the poor, the dispossessed, the excluded and the denied.

Ever so often, I try to hide ... in reading - history, novels, biographies, but there's no safe place to hide in any of it.

Try as I might, I can't hide anywhere.

So, here I am. In a world of troubles, with a giant positive hope that good people, and the LORD of heaven and earth, are hard at work. There will be losses and victories, there will be moments of utter despair and overwhelming joy. There will be days of dreariness and disgust and days of roses and wine.

And so it goes.

Some of what's on my mind.

Don't Be Too Sure

They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, “Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened (Luke 8).

How certain they all were, that it was all over with, hope gone, no way through, or out.

Have you ever been “certain” about something only to discover later on that life was moving in another direction, with possibilities and options galore? If only you had been a little more alert, a little less convinced of your own take on things, a little more open, you might have gotten on board a little sooner.

Paul the Apostle writes of God: Who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do no exist.

It says they laughed at Jesus.

Cynical … scornful … the laughter of the “knowing” – “Who does he think he is?”

The next time you hear yourself saying, “I know for certain,” remember this little story from Luke’s pen, and remember that God has plenty of things up the sleeve, more than we can ever imagine, for helping us through life.

Doing Good Today

Are you doing good today?

Questions like this intimidate us. We tend to think of everything we’re not doing. Or maybe we’re practicing some form of humility – “Oh no, I would never speak too highly of myself.”

But I like to think small on this question.

Think about it.

You let someone cut in front of you, and you didn’t explode.
You were patient in the checkout line.
You said your prayers today.
You were kind to a stranger.
You wrote out a check to a charity.
You read your Bible.
You read the newspaper and prayed for the poor and the sad.
You searched your heart and found God there.
You said a gentle word to an irritating co-worker.
You asked yourself some good questions.
You forgave someone.

To miss the good is to miss God!
Pay attention to the Spirit at work in your life.
Shaping you.
Forming you.
Expressing God’s love through you.

At the end of the day, make a mental list of the good you did.
And sleep well.

Psalm 147

1 Praise the LORD!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The LORD lifts up the downtrodden;
he casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives to the animals their food,
and to the young ravens when they cry.
10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
11 but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.


Fill your heart and mind with powerful thoughts of praise and thanksgiving, for the Evil One is determined to flood your spirit with complaint and disappointment. If there is anything good and beautiful, think on such things, and then look about you with eyes cleansed by faith, to behold the wonder and the joy of life - the greening of the trees, the budding of flowers, the face of a child with an ice cream cone, the sound of a rumbling V8 (if ya' like cars) and the simple wonder of a cloud in the sky.

Holy Week, 2008

Attitude is Everything

From Psalm 94:

When I thought, “My foot is slipping,”
your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.

Attitude is everything.

Every hour - a challenge to choose - is the glass half-empty or half-full?

My sinful instincts go with the half-empty stuff - that was the "original sin" - I'm missing something, something is lacking, and it's up to me to get it.

But Christ would have it otherwise for us. To live with thanksgiving and gratitude, to count blessings and trust our Father in Heaven whose eye is even upon the sparrow.

The glass is half-full ... and perhaps more, for the Psalmist writes elsewhere: "My cup overflows."

Attitude is everything.

Pastor Tom