Signs of Life


The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.
--Albert Einstein


My late husband owned a sign shop. He would always say, “Some people spend their whole lives searching for a sign. Me? I make ‘em!” Sometimes, the sign you’re searching for is right under your nose. Here are a few:

Impossible Whopper. Does it ever feel like the life of faith we profess is just too good (or too much) to possibly be true? If those burger guys can make a burger out of plants that actually does taste and chew like beef—suspend your disbelief. Have faith in the One who never grows discouraged.

Live Bait! When Jesus walked along the shores of Galilee, he was looking for folks who would be fishers of people. Ones whose lives were attractive, whether they even spoke a word. Ones whose presence makes folks want what they’re offering. Are we such people today? There are plenty of artificial lures out there, drawing people’s attention with their sparkle and dance. But there still ain’t nothing like the Real Thing.

Yes! We’re OPEN! I often wish I had more of “it” figured out. I like certainties in many areas of my life, faith and God included. But when I begin to actually believe I have it all figured out, that my answers are the only answers? That’s when I have ceased to be open and my mind and heart are officially closing early. Only God is God, and only God knows it all.

What about you? Where do you finds signs of Life that point the way to where you’re headed? God is in the big and the small-- and the silly.


Monday Believe in your power to transform indifference into love. How will you show the world you care? Deuteronomy 30:15-18

Tuesday Believe you have an amazing gift to keep hope alive in the face of despair. Offer a prayer today for someone who is struggling. Psalm 119:1-4

Wednesday Believe you have the remarkable skill of deleting bitterness from your life. Pray today for the courage to forgive someone who has hurt you. Thank God for the peace that will follow. Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Thursday Believe in your budding potential to live with a nonviolent heart. Is there a human rights issue about which you are passionate? Contact your congressional representative and make your passion known. Matthew 5:21-26

Friday Believe in your passion to speak the truth, even when it isn’t popular. Sometimes as Christians we fall silent. Today, pray for conviction to speak truth—in love. 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Saturday Believe you have the strength of will to be peace in a world of violence. Offer words of peace and a hug (after asking permission). Psalm 119:5-8

Sunday Believe in your miraculous capacity to give—and receive—unconditional love. Greet someone with reckless abandon this morning. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge
is the power of teaching. --Aristotle

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stepping back. . . .

Image
Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and with a calm spirit.  Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever,  even if your whole world seems upset.  –St. Francis de Sales This week, I invite you to simply sit in a quiet space with words of hope and promise, and to remember, as Julian of Norwich knew, that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well . It has been a long, difficult season. Advent and the coming of the Christ is just around the corner. Peace and comfort to your spirit. Monday   “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Matthew 11:28-30 Tuesday  “Is this not the kind of fast I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” Isaiah 58:6-9 Wednesday  “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the
Read more

It's that time again. . . .

When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised changed, I feel something stir inside me. Hopefulness? Gratitude? Openness?  Whatever it is,  it’s welcome. –Kristin Armstrong No matter what part of the world you call home, this time of year brings big changes. While my friends Down Under are watching sings of new growth emerge from the earth as temperatures rise, here in Ohio, the leaves are turning from green to gold and orange, red and brown. The winds have taken on a chill; clouds hang heavy, like soggy cotton, reminding us that soon and very soon, we are going to see the snow . Always different, yet somehow, the same. We depend on God’s eternal ways, and trust that again this year, winter will follow autumn, just like it should. So why is it, as we anticipate and appreciate changes like these, when it comes to so many things in life we pull up short, wrinkle our noses and say No! No change! I like things just the way they are! It’s t
Read more

Starting again

“This, then, is how you should pray:" --Matthew 6:9a I have been really sensing lately that there is another blog inside me, one focused on prayer.  Oh, I know-- those elephants are all about prayer. Heck, they  are  prayer. And I will continue there, as well. But what I've been feeling is that people-- maybe you--  have always been told, "You should pray," or "Pray about that." But maybe you feel your prayers aren't "good enough," or that it's just too hard, too embarrassing, too [fill in the blank] to pray. Maybe it feels like no one really talks about how  to pray-- except, of course, for Jesus, in Matthew 6 and a couple parallel passages where we are given what's come to be known as The Lord's Prayer. And it is a great prayer. And there are other great prayers, and other ways to pray that do not involve rote. So "my plan" here is to share, hopefully on a weekly or semi-regular basis, a lot of
Read more