Face of God – Page 4 – A Quiet Walk

Mother’s Day – Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on May 6, 2014May 5, 2014 by a quiet walk

As you gaze at the picture take a deep breath and let it out slowly, take a second breath and let it out slowly, let your shoulders relax and your gaze soften.
Look deeply at the picture and let the colors and figures enter your imagination. What feelings does it bring to the surface? What memories? Do you see yourself in the picture? What does that feel like?
Respond to the image with prayer and if you would like to offer a prayer of thanksgiving or intercession.
Continue to gaze at the picture, breathe deeply and rest quietly. Let God pray in you in silence beyond words.

Blessings to all mothers, who give up so much for the love of their children.

Holy Mother God, thank you for the love of my mother, in her arms I always found shelter and comfort and now she rests in your arms. Tell her I am grateful for all her gifts, for they have made me the woman I am today. Amen

For the next 4 weeks my prayer offering will be Visio Divina. May is a month of mother hood, flowers, and flags. So my pictures will be representative of Mother’s Day, spring, and Memorial Day. May you find time to quietly contemplate each week on a mother’s love, God’s glorious spring, and those who have served and gave their all.
Ruth Jewell, ©May 6, 2014

Never Too Early – Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on April 15, 2014 by a quiet walk

I’m so sorry this post is late but life just seems to interfere at times, especially during Holy Week. But I did want to talk about “life.” No, not the meaning of life but rather how fragile life is. In the last two weeks two friends have passed on to next life. One was in his late 80’s and had lived a long, happy, and productive life. The second was in his early 50’s and had so much more life to live. I was unable to say good bye to these friends before died and a part of me is sad because I never had the chance to tell them face to face how much they meant to me.

I am blessed that I was able to visit a friend who has been ill for a long time and while he is doing quite well considering health concerns there is a fear I might not see him again. The chance to tell him how much he means to me and how much he has touched and influenced my life was very important to me. So often we don’t get that chance. One day someone we love is sitting next to and the next they are in the arms of God.

Love transcends death and my friends are still with me in my memories but they have moved on to a new life, one I will not know until I too pass those doors. I no longer can call upon them for advice, or companionship. They are beyond helping me problem solve or sitting with me when I am confused and lonely. What I feel is grief, a grief at the loss of the physical person and grief at my own inability to tell them how much I loved them when they were here beside me.

This week, this Holy Week, I would encourage you to reach out to those you love and draw them into your arms, hug them and tell them you love them. Tell them how much they mean to you. Let them know they have made a difference in your life. That too is a spiritual practice, letting others know the love for them and how much they mean to you. Don’t let a moment go by without saying “thank you” to those who touch your life. It is never too early in life to recognize our mentors, our role models, and those who care for us, who love us; however, it can be too late.

Ruth Jewell, ©April 15, 2014

Party with Prostitutes – Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on April 8, 2014April 4, 2014 by a quiet walk

Last week a friend posted this video of Dr. Tony Compolo and I thought I’d share it with you this morning. I really don’t need to add anything except the following two requests.

If you know someone who is in need of love give it to them.
Don’t let stereotypes get in the way of remembering what Jesus taught and love all with the same passion as Jesus did.

Enjoy the Video. http://www.youtube.com/embed/DRBM_YY_YX0?autoplay=1

Published on Jul 25, 2013

Throwing a party for a bunch of prostitutes…..
Tony Campolo shares with us what Jesus would do if he was among us once more.
In fact – he shares what Jesus instructed us to do… to love one another!

May God grace you with love, and may that love warm your heart as it passes through you to someone in need. Amen

Ruth Jewell, April 8, 2014

Less Than Perfect – Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on March 25, 2014March 31, 2014 by a quiet walk

John Bell is one of my favorite composers and lyricists. He writes music that reaches deep inside of me and calls to me. Most of his hymns are short chant type pieces that I am able to sing all day. On Sunday we sang one of my favorites “Take, O Take Me As I Am” and in the place I currently reside I needed to hear those words. You see I often wonder if I am worthy of the tasks God asks of me. Sometimes doubts just creep into the corners of my mind and mock me with all of the mistakes I’ve ever made.

The words of John Bell speak to those doubts, telling me God isn’t looking for perfection. God is looking for real beings that try, fail, get up and try again. Well that fits me to a tee. How do I know this well? If you look at all the people God has ever called: Moses, Abraham, Noah, Jonah, Paul, all of them were less than perfect but they had something God needed, faithfulness, determination, grit. They didn’t give up when they started something that was what God was looking for, not perfection.

So this morning I offer these words of John Bells for you to chant during the week, to remind you that love, caring, compassion, justice, mercy don’t come with perfection they come in the packages they are in, you and I. We may be less than perfect, but we are who God Seeks.

Take, O Take Me As I Am
John Bell

Take, O take me as I am;
summon out what I shall be;
set your seal upon my heart
and live in me.

Vocal Ensemble Eljakim uit Bolsward olv Erwin de Ruijter tijdens
4 colour concert in Bolsward

Ruth Jewell, ©March 25, 2014

WHISPER – Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on March 18, 2014March 18, 2014 by a quiet walk

Visio Divina

sunrise, sunset
listen
do you hear
a whisper
calling.
heart open
spirit quiet
I listen
I hear
a whisper.

As you gaze at the picture what do you feel, what do you hear. Does the picture lead you somewhere quiet, inside where a whisper is a shout of joy.

Ruth Jewell, ©March 18, 2014

Writing Our Fears – Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on March 18, 2014March 18, 2014 by a quiet walk

Truly in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest (Quran 13.28)

In the last week I have begun reading the book Out of Darkness Into Light by Jamal Rahman, Kathleen Schmitt Elias and Ann Holmes Redding.[1] The book gives a wonderful introduction to spiritual guidance found in the Quran with reflections from the Jewish and Christian Faith provided by MS Elias and MS Redding respectfully. The three faiths Islam, Jewish, Christian are siblings and we share more than just a connection with Abraham, we share hearts.

As a Christian I am well versed in my own tradition, practices and beliefs but reading Jamal’s writings and MS Elias’ writings has opened up interesting doors into the shared space of our three faiths. One of those doors is called Spiritual Practice. I have always known many of our “Christian” spiritual practices have their roots in other faiths, yet as I read I am finding a second and third dimension in them. The practice I would like to highlight is a specific type of journaling Jamal calls “sacred writing.

I have practiced journaling for many years and have done something similar to the practice of sacred writing called “free writing or journaling where you write what comes to mind, letting my hand freely put on paper whatever comes from my heart. Sometimes there is an intention question sometimes not but always there is no planning of what I will write. Sacred writing is very similar but Jamal has beautifully paired it with the intention of going deeper into the heart of self when you’re sad, angry or in crisis, however, this is a good practice to use at anytime. Here is Jamal’s description:

“Start with the phrase, “Right now I am feeling” … and allow yourself to express your feelings and fears as fully as possible. After you finish, invoke the mercy of God and Make an intention to connect with your higher self. Start by writing. “I have heard your sighs, beloved one, and I want to tell you …” and continue writing, allowing your higher self to express itself fully.” (pg 55)

I have found that writing in this manner can produce insights to my own behavior and helps me find meaning in events or trials I could never have seen. One benefit to this method is by putting feelings onto paper gets them out of my body and I see clearer and become filled with an inner peace.

May the Great Spirit enter your heart as you pour out your fears and doubts onto a simple piece of paper. Amen

Ruth Jewell, ©March 4, 2014

[1] Rahman, Jamal, Kathleen Schmitt Elias, Ann Homes Redding; Out of Darkness Into Light, Spritual Guidance in the Quran with Reflections from Christian and Jewish Sources, Morehouse Publishing, New York, NY, 2009

Surrender – Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on March 11, 2014March 10, 2014 by a quiet walk

“. . . too often we resist the urge to turn our hearts to God, for this might entail some serious and inconvenient changes in our lives.” Jamal Rahman, Out of Darkness into Light

This past week has been interesting. You see I am coming to a place where I have to let go of some goals and turn my resulting life, that will be, over to God. Now I am a stubborn person, and I LIKE being in control of my journey, but, I am discovering I control nothing. Nothing in my life is predictable, except when I surrender my will to God.

The above words of Jamal Rahman really hit home for me, because surrendering to God does mean my life changes dramatically. The number one in my life can no longer be me, but God. It means everything I do take’s on a sacred attribute because I’m not doing it for myself; I am doing nothing, because you see everything is for and through God.

When I give up and let go of the reins I am clutching in my white knuckled hand my life focus changes from “it’s all about me” to it is all about what God wants of me; doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8). While Micah’s words sound simple they are not easy and I am consciously, continually, moving into them bit by painful bit.

One of my first steps in surrendering to God began with (or I should say begins with) a practice of examining the unease I have with my life and then holding it to as I find the root cause. I allow myself to kind to me as I acknowledge and hold the energy the cause has over me, offering it up in prayer for God’s mercy and forgiveness.

So I offer Surrender as our spiritual practice of the week. When you feel something is wrong in your life do not ignore or deny it. Instead sit quietly and hold the feeling in your heart, listen to it and search from where it comes. Then as you hold the feelings in your heart pray to God for strength and mercy, asking for God to walk with you as you go deeper into the feeling and surrender the cause to God in prayer. Over time as you repeat this practice you may discover your connection and relationship with God growing ever stronger.

Surrender may be difficult but not impossible when you remember the words of Jesus who said “do not be afraid, for I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:10).

Ruth Jewell, ©March 10, 2014

Thank You – Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on February 25, 2014February 24, 2014 by a quiet walk

³²Let the afflicted see it and be glad!
You who seek God—
let your hearts beat strong again — Psalm 69: 32 (CEB)

³⁰But I will give great thanks to the Lord with my mouth;
among a great crowd I will praise God! — Psalm 109:30 (CEB)

This past January John and I visited Boston to celebrate his and our youngest grandson’s birthdays , which fall on the same day. And, yes I know January is not the ideal time to visit historic Boston and yes we had snow. However, we just couldn’t miss this celebration of joint Birthdays.

Because the weather was anything but comfortable we all decided to visit the Boston Science Museum and spend the day where it was warm, dry and had lots of exciting things to do and see. The 2 grandchildren had a great time exploring the human body, looking at dinosaurs and exploring all kinds of interactive exhibits. For lunch we chose to take our packed lunch to the large busy café and supplement all of our goodies with a few treats.

After making our selections and paying for them I went to get the necessary napkins, forks, spoons and straws needed to eat our lunch. As I was picking up my things there was a young man restocking the bins as we took things out. It looked like such an endless job and more than a little boring but he was doing an excellent job of keeping up. Before I left I turned to him and said “thank you for keeping this area stocked, I’m sure it’s not an easy task.” Startled he turned and gave me a gruff “thank you.”

After we had finished our lunch and were preparing to leave the area the same young man pushed his way through the crowded exit area and called to me, “Miss, I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your thanks. No one has ever spoken to me that way before and I was afraid I might have offended you so I wanted to make sure you knew how happy I was.”

First of all, I really liked being called miss, no one has called me that in a very long time so he won me over just with that one word. Well I was happy to bring a little joy into his otherwise boring day with just a few words of thanks from me. But, what saddened me was his statement NO ONE HAD EVER COMPLIMENTED HIM for doing his job well! No one ever said thank you! That is one of the saddest things I have ever heard. It took me all of 2 seconds to express my thanks to the young man and those 2 seconds made his day. For 2 seconds he wasn’t invisible and unimportant. No he had been seen, he was important enough for someone to say thank you. As we were separated by the ever shifting crowd he waved and gives me the biggest, toothiest grin I have ever seen.

Two seconds out of my day added joy to someone else’s. Gratitude isn’t an emotion or attitude we are to keep to ourselves, no, gratitude is to be given away freely at every opportune moment, even when you yourself are not grateful. We hear so often we are to be grateful for what God has given us, to express gratitude by thanking God. Well being grateful for God’s grace comes in many forms. It was a grace of God that a young man did his boring job well, it was a grace of God that allowed me to see the face of God in the young man and his courage to continue performing a rather menial task even when no noticed how well he did it. Gratitude for the grace of God comes in many forms, big and small, all are important in the eyes of God.

The Psalms tell us to seek God’s face and to offer our thanks for God’s gifts. Each one of us is a gift, each one of us has a gift to give, each one of us is the reflection of God, and each one of us carries God within. So doesn’t it make sense to give thanks to those who reflect the grace of God?

Over the next week begin the habit of saying thank you for the little graces of God. Offer thanks to the bus driver as you exit, say thank you to the young woman who hands you your morning coffee or say thank you to the washroom attended and see the smiles grow around you. Offering thanks is an easy spiritual practice and one that brings great joy to the receiver and the giver alike and it is free to give. It costs you no more than 2 to 5 seconds of your day, surly we can spend 5 seconds to bring hours of joy to someone who feels they are invisible to the rest of the world. Surly we can learn to do that every day, for every person we meet.

Thank you for reading my blog post. Your presence on my site has made my day and I am grateful for your interest.

Re-Membering our God Connection, Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on February 18, 2014February 17, 2014 by a quiet walk

Lighting our Fire reconnecting with God — Lighting our Fire
reconnecting with God

For the Celtic Christian their religious life and their everyday life were tightly bound together. They filled their days with prayer beginning with prayers of thanksgiving for waking up and continuing on to making the fire and milking the cow, all the way to prayers of thanks for the day as they went to their rest. Today we call their life style of acknowledging the Presence of the Divine the Spiritual Practice of Presence. This is probably one of the easiest of the spiritual practices because all you have to do is remember to pause when you begin and end a task and pay attention to your surroundings, letting your thoughts travel to God, breathing in grace and breathing out gratitude. The whole exercise may take no longer than one minute to re-member yourself to the Holy Spirit.

Here are a few examples of when you might mentally pause and turn your thoughts to God.

Before you even rise from your night’s sleep, thank God for a restful night and a new day to be in the presence of the Holy.
As you walk into your place of business, offer a prayer for the people you will meet and work with, asking God for patience and kindness when interact with others.
As you prepare breakfast give thanks for the abundance God has graced you with and offer gratitude for the opportunity to share it with your family or friends.
During your day occasionally pause, breathe deeply and extend gratitude toward God
Before you go to sleep offer a prayer of thanks for a day spent with the Spirit and if there are difficulties during the day (I mean who doesn’t have those rough spots) ask for guidance for the coming day.

Those are just a few of the times you might briefly stop and re-member your place alongside the creator. I am sure you could name many more.

One of the early prayers of the Celtic people was offered as they laid the morning fire to begin the day and the one below is one of my favorites for it has a double meaning. It prays not just for lighting the homes hearth, but also the lighting of the hearts’ fire. Today this is my prayer for each and everyone one of you.

Kindling the Morning Fire

This morning, as I kindle the fire upon my
hearth, I pray that the flame of God’s
love may burn in my heart, and the
heart of all I meet today.

I pray that no envy and malice, no hatred,
or fear, may smother the flame.

I pray that indifference and apathy,
contempt and pride, may no pour
like cold water on the fire.

Instead, may the spark of God’s love light
the love in my heart, that it may burn
brightly through the day.

And may I warm those that are lonely,
whose hearts are cold and lifeless,
so that all may know the comfort of God’s love.[1]

[1] Van De Weyer, Robert, Celtic Prayers, a book of Celtic devotion, daily prayers and blessings, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, 1997, pg 26

To Offend the Pharisees – Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on February 11, 2014February 10, 2014 by a quiet walk

Matthew 5;20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

For some reason one of the major meanings of Matt 5: 20 keeps popping up on FaceBook, newspapers, lots of places. I keep seeing cartoons and memes like these all over the place:

Do you think someone is trying to tell us something.

To exceed righteousness of the Pharisees was to be the mirror for the light of God, which meant you don’t see the mirror only the light it reflects. Living like Jesus is a spiritual practice. Doing kind and loving acts for others is a spiritual practice. We don’t have to be thanked for what we do, in fact it is best and most satisfying when such acts are not noticed by anyone other than the Divine.

I challenge each of you this week to do the random act of kindness for someone without letting them know it was you. Or stop and give a sandwich to a homeless person on the street and simply walk away without thanks. Give graciously of yourself without asking for anything in return. Little things, such as smiling to a busy checkout clerk, can make someone’s world a better place to live in. Starting with little acts gives us the courage to do larger acts of justice and kindness. They are one step on the road to a life lived like Jesus.

I have only one request, PLEASE, let me know what you have done and how it made you feel. I know that this sounds counterintuitive but it isn’t really. What you are doing will be witnessing to others that they too can change the world, maybe not the whole world but someone’s world. Think of it this way, if the Gospel writers hadn’t recorded what Jesus did we wouldn’t know how to live like Him. Pass on the gift so others can continue to move it forward.