Milk and Wine

My sister in Christ asked me to join her in praying Isaiah 55 over our church.  I thought it was a wonderful idea!  So, I sat with my bible, each day, read a verse and then journaled what I heard the Lord saying to me.

For the next 13 weeks I'll be sharing the insights I was blessed with.

Maybe they're for your church too.

I hope they bless you.

Isaiah 55:1

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the water; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

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Lord, we, as a church are situated in a place surrounded by poverty.  Not just poverty of goods but also poverty of Spirit. We open our doors on Food Pantry morning and hundreds of people are fed.  But it’s not just food they receive.  They come and are bathed in kindness.  Joy, Brenda, now Dara Lee, Jack, Eddie, Don, so many others, make sure that the people who come see you.  Your shalom flows out of them to embrace each person.  So, it’s not just bread and water.  It’s not just mac and cheese and beans.  They begin to see that there are riches at Shore Vineyard that are available to them.

You want for them the milk and wine, the best of the land.  They come and some see that so much more is available!

Your peace and safety reside in each one of us.  They surround us like a protective bubble.  But we can expand that bubble to capture others.

Thank you for the privilege of serving others.  Thank you for the knowledge that we can offer the shalom you have given us to others.

Our Very Own Prophet

We have our very own prophet in our tiny church. When Anthony speaks most people pay attention. He will be 30 years old in a couple of weeks. It's not always easy to understand him, sometimes even listening really hard isn't enough.

Anthony was born with Down Syndrome. He lives in a Godly home with his mom and dad and attends church almost every week.

On any given Sunday you'll see him sitting up front and during our worship time he has a wonderful time! Almost every week there is a time of public speaking. Whether it'giving testemony about a healing, or reading from scripture and telling how that verse impacted their lives, people are free to give voice to how they feel God has blessed them. And most weeks, not all, Anthony hears God speak to him and he shares. Usually his words are in response to someone elses testemony. He will read a scripture verse that perfectly folds into what has been said. And sometimes he ever speaks openly the words that the Lord gives him personally. I likek to say he, " knocks my socks off!" the truer phrase is, "he blesses my bones!"

Painting the Corvette

Every other Tuesday I volunteer at our hospital. I paint pictures for oncology patients. I've painted everything from the cliffs in Spain, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea to the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen Harbor to a fondly remembered park in the city of Newark in New Jersey. I've also painted dogs, cats and horses. Today I painted my first Corvette. It was gold metalic with black trim.

The gentleman that I was visiting with had brought all his paper work and several magazines depicting his beloved car. It obvious that he loved his car! And he was a very pleasant and interesting person.

About halfway through the painting session a volunteer from Pastoral Care stopped in to give him a book of prayers and scriptures and to ask if she could do anything to "meet his spiritual needs" He acted embarrased as he explained that he really hadn't been involved in church for years now.

This is why.
He said that he was a Vietnam vet and that he had started having flash backs. He went to his church and told his priest, asking for help. The priest told him he couldn't help him. That was when he stopped attending church.

As I was finishing up the painting a housekeeper entered his room and I felt that what I had wanted to say should no be spoken in front of her. So I packed up, shook his hand, told him I would be praying for him and then I left.

But I had to go back! I wrote down the names of three different services that I have used in my trip through life. I walked back in to his room and handed him the list. I told him, "It's not the church you go to, or the priest you see. It's knowing that God loves you and that he cares enough to send someone like me to offer help. Feel however you want to about the priest, but don't forget that God loves you." And then I left.

I felt better, exhilarated! I'm so glad that I can be used by God to bless folks! That's what life is all about!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day
There is a blended family that attends my church. There's the handsome youngish husband, the pretty wife and the six teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, four boys and two girls. They all live together, most of the time.
Today is Mother's Day. This morning, as I parked my car I saw all eight of them disembarking from their two vehicles. Being a friendly person, I walked over to say hello. Halfway across the street it occured to me that Mom was crying. I take that back She was sobbing. Dad has his arm around her and the kids were grouped together several yards behind.
I decided it maybe was not the best time to go over and say," Happy Mother's Day!" Intead I veered back to my side of the street and started to pray.
Dad was trying his best to comfort her and get her to stop crying before they got to the church. She was pretty much too upset to say anything, but I did hear something like, "Does Mother's Day mean nothing?!!"
Later, as worship was beginning to wind up, I walked to the vestibule and found her there, still sobbing. Dad was greeting and handing out bulletins. I put my arms around her and said, "Mother's Day can be such a curse!" I truly did understand where she was coming from. I still don't know what exactly it was that the kids (or kid) did but I can remember when my own offspring totally blew it on the one day each year that I believed should and maybe would be perfect.
I think we moms set ourselves up for failure. A card is nice. A dinner that I don't have to cook is fine. (especially if I don't have to clean up either.) But it really does seem as if it's the one day that the kids will be most selfish, most nasty, most cutting. It's a lot like small children behaving the absolute worst on Christmas Eve.
I will continue to prayfor her. I cannot imagine what it must be like to live in that family situation. But they are a family of faith. Dad and Mom are solidly planted in their Christianitly. The kids attend church, Sunday School and youth group. Of course, I mean that I will be praying for all of them.
And tomorrow? It'll be so much easier to get through, just because it is not Mother's Day.