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Archive for June, 2009

Simple Things

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

I’m in the Northwest for a week visiting my son and daughter-in-law. The temperatures are in the 70’s here and 90’s back in Memphis. The break from the stifling heat is welcome.

Besides the pleasant temperature and the joy of being with my family, I have no responsibilities (other than writing a blog). The things I enjoy here are simple ones: sitting in the gorgeous garden my daughter-in-law created, drinking a cup of cappuccino while reading a book, taking a walk and noticing the lush vegetation of the area, drawing for fun and for prayer…. I do similar things at home in Memphis, but not without guilt or the press of time on an overbooked agenda.

For the moment I won’t try to analyze why I don’t create more space for the things that nourish me or why I “store up treasures” that require so much maintenance and “where moth and rust corrupt.” (Matthew 6:20) Besides a vacation from my stuff, I’m taking a sabbatical from endless analysis.

For today, God, please help me to enjoy the sense of ease I experience during this time away and to be grateful for it. When I get home maybe we can have a God to Sybil analysis session about what needs to change in my life. Thanks.

Photos: Sybil MacBeth

Tags: cappuccino, garden, prayer
Posted in Praying in Color | Permalink

Mornings–Straw Crucifix

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Several bedrooms ago, the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes in the morning was my husband’s wallet sitting on the dresser in front of our bed. It brought up all sorts of worries for me–money, finances, work, career. A wallet seemed like the wrong symbol for the rest of my day. So I replaced it. I bought an inexpensive crucifix, woven from straw and made in Central America.

The crucifix now hangs on the wall in our bedroom. It’s the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning. It reminds me of who I am: a loved child of God, a follower of Jesus. ”You cannot serve both God and Money,” says Jesus. (Luke 16:13 NIV) Today I will try to serve God. My straw crucifix encourages me to do just that.

My days are bookended by crucifixes–straw crucifix in the morning, glow-in-the-dark rosary at night. This is a little ironic for a lifetime Protestant chick. I’m grateful I live in a time when denominational lines are blurry and I can borrow the practices of my Christian cousins to enhance my spiritual life.

Photo: Sybil MacBeth

Tags: Christian practice, crucifix, glow-in-the-dark rosary, prayer
Posted in Praying in Color | Permalink

Listen Lord–A Prayer by James Weldon Johnson

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

From Listen Lord–A Prayer by James Weldon Johnson

O Lord, we come this morning
Knee-bowed and body-bent
Before thy throne of grace.
O Lord—this morning—
Bow our hearts beneath our knees,
And our knees in the lonesome valley.
We come this morning—
Like empty pitchers to a full fountain,
With no merits of our own.
O Lord—open up a new window of heaven,
And lean out far over the battlements of glory,
And listen this morning.

Excerpt: Johnson, James Weldon, God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse , Penguin classics, 2008, p.11.

Tags: James Weldon Johnson, Listen Lord--A Prayer, prayer
Posted in Praying in Color | Permalink

Friends in Honduras

Friday, June 26th, 2009

On Wednesday, six teenagers and three adults from my church headed to Tegucigalpa, Honduras for a week of painting a school building and teaching Vacation Bible School for more than sixty children at the Lamb Institute. A couple of the teenagers went on this journey before; several are new to mission work. The ones who have been say it was a life-changing experience. They couldn’t wait to return to Honduras this year and to take new recruits with them. I think they understand that not only do the rich minister to the poor, but the poor minister to the rich. They met Jesus in a new way–through serving and being served, through offering love but receiving much more in return.

Here is my prayer for the nine mission workers. ”iVaya con Dios, mis amigos!” May God bless your labor and your play!

Drawing: Sybil MacBeth
Scripture on drawing: Numbers 6:24

Tags: Honduras, Lamb Institute, mission trip, prayer
Posted in Praying in Color | Permalink

Black and White Prayer Revisited

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

I use my prayer drawings as a way to focus my prayer time and to help me concentrate while I pray. I also use them to remind myself to pray often for the people on my prayer list. The same drawing can prompt my prayers for several days or a week.

I wanted to spend some additional quiet time praying for each of the people from Monday’s Black and White Prayer. So I added color to it. Adding color creates a new visual image on my brain reminding me to pray. Besides color, I can add words or passages of Scripture near the names for specific prayer intentions or requests. There are also two new names on the prayer drawing.

When I take the time to go back to the drawing and add to it, I get quiet enough on the inside to remember God’s promise in Joshua 1:9: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (NIV)