Transparently Yours

August 10, 2012 by 2 Comments

I do what I can to walk by faith in Christ and seek his wisdom, yet I can not stand idly by while brethren (and sisters) behave with such immaturity and lack of understanding for others who are not just like them. So, when I write an article like this, know that this comes from a follower of Christ. I preface this article like that, because I can be harsh at times and I don’t want it to be said that I’m anti-Jesus. I just don’t appreciate the hypocrisy, lies, and manipulation taking place in the Christian community. Jesus was harsh at times too, like in Matthew 23 when he ‘ripped the lips off’ the self righteous pharisees.

Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” KJV

For the last year I have worked very diligently to understand the diversity of pagans in our world. Through patience and humility I have allowed myself to walk by faith in entering their world so I can learn to understand. I have come to respect them as fellow human beings in this global community called humanity. I have found so many that respect my path and they have never tried to convert me nor do they bash Jesus to me. In fact, it was in a Druid community that my faith in Christ was deepened.

2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” ESV

I have found that many of them do respect the Jesus they read about in the bible, they just don’t respect the abusive version that some denominations of Christianity are forcing on society.

I found an article written by a pagan that I found rather interesting and posted it on my Facebook wall. I wanted to encourage a conversation of understanding so my Christian friends can learn to understand paganism with a more educated basis than the popular paranoia perspective so many of them espouse to.

It’s sad to see those who immediately throw stones without taking the time to listen. How do these people even claim to be missionary minded if they approach people with such exclusion?

I believe myself to be an organic minister and I love people where they are. It is not my intent to manipulate people into choosing Jesus as a deity, savior, or otherwise. In my faith, I believe that if Jesus wanted to give people a revelation about him, he could do that without manipulation and terrorizing tactics. Furthermore, I’m also not interested in conning people with false kindness in hopes that they’ll recite some man made prayer and pledge allegiance to the Christian flag.

Many times over the years I have had intense experiences with the Lord that convinced me to follow his teachings and accept the love he has been giving to me. It grieves me greatly to see religious leaders portray God as an abusive tyrant who threaten people into choosing Jesus. It does matter to me what people think of Jesus and how the Holy Spirit works, because I have a beautiful connection with him and I do not want to have broken relationships with people who think I’m lumped in with such immaturity.

In my view of Christ, people matter to him. And it’s through this perspective that I find myself viewing people as worthy of love. This authentic love flows naturally, but I’ll be honest and say that there are times when it’s more difficult to let that love flow. It’s when abusive people intrude and disrupt in which case I struggle with showering love on them. I fall miserably short and grow impatient when I see people being abused. Or perhaps this is just how the love of Christ manifests in defense of victims.

Luke 23:24 “Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.” Meanwhile, the soldiers divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice.” GWT

image credit David Hayward

I believe God loves us all equally. The story of the prodigal son is really more about the father and how his relationships with his sons can teach us a powerful lesson. Both sons had an inheritance. One wanted to receive his right away then depart to go live life as he so desired. The other stayed home and close to his father’s side. Through this story we see the father freely give the first son all that he requested and allowed him to go free, leave the family, their community, and did not condemn him for doing so. Once the son had lost all he had, he decided to come back and serve his father as a slave. The other son was not happy with how their father welcomed him home, prepared the fatted calf, and threw his arms around his son. This son who stayed home is often portrayed as the faithful son who obeyed his father and didn’t ask for anything. Yet, many times Christians fail to see the real problem with the story.

The story is not about the first son living the party life (although we do learn a lesson from that), but rather we see the obedient son plagued with a toxicity we call self righteousness. He thought he was better than his brother and felt that he deserved the fatted calf more than his brother. Even with this view, there is a bigger picture here. The bigger picture is the father who loved both sons equally. Both sons had the freedom to do what they wanted, yet each brother learned different lessons. One learned his father loved him and was a man of grace, while the other learned his father was not legalistic as the son assumed he was. Two sons had different views of their father.

God gives us the freedom to decide for ourselves. He freely gives Pagans, Atheists, Unitarians, Trinitarians, Catholics, Fundamentalists and Pentecostals alike, the choice to make on their own. If we force someone to recite a prayer without having the opportunity to make an educated decision, then we aren’t really giving them freedom to choose. When Christians make choosing Jesus into a threat, then what kind of choice is that?

If Jesus wants someone to choose him, he can contact them on his own. The Spirit knows how to convince someone of love. At the same time I do believe we have a responsibility to represent him with love and compassion. Even if people never choose Jesus, our responsibility is to represent him with humility, grace, and love.

Maybe some folks should refrain from calling them Christians if they aren’t going to be committed to living out the Gospel with love. Perhaps they can simply say they are learning about Christ, rather than trying to speak on his behalf and putting both feet into their mouths.

My heart for my fellow pagan loved ones (and anyone else for that matter) is not a mission to convert them, but rather a desire to understand them and to love them. We are all a part of the global family of humanity. Let’s follow in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s inspiration by loving our fellow man equally. Even some of the most self centered, arrogant, and self righteous Christians are equally loved by God, it’s just more difficult for us to love them. Nonetheless, we’re all created in the image of God.

Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in our image” ~God

Some people are easier to love than others. While it has taken a journey of faith for me to learn to love others, it’s taking me a journey of strength and patience to love bullies.

Transparently yours.

Sisterlisa

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Yes, We Can Prosper and Enjoy It

July 12, 2012 by 1 Comment

I grew up in a home that was financially stable and while our family wasn’t rich, we had all our needs met. I had never seen anyone really live in poverty before. We lived in a four bedroom home with two bathrooms and a large backyard. It was in a nice neighborhood in Southern California among other homes similar to ours. I did have a few friends who lived in small apartments, but in my childhood mind I never saw that as poverty stricken. In my limited understanding I figured that if someone had a roof over their head and a little black and white television then they were living pretty good.

When I got married, we lived in a small apartment in Reno, Nevada and I still didn’t think we were living in poverty. We didn’t have a car and couldn’t afford to go to the movies, but we had a roof over our heads and food in the fridge. We then moved to Northern California where our lives took a turn for the worse. We lived in a very tight budget and had to apply for welfare. I greatly disliked those years of our financial instability. If people tell you that living on welfare is a spoiled entitlement lifestyle let me tell you how our finances were. We had two small children and could barely cover the few bills we had, including rent. I often had to do all our laundry in the tub and hang the clothes and towels all over our apartment to let them dry. We had to ride the bus or walk everywhere we went until we made friends who had cars. I had to sign up for agencies that helped buy us food and baby formula. We would never have been able to afford diapers, wipes, and everything else a baby needs. Thankfully we had family help during those years. There were plenty of times I wished we could have given to the poor and during those years I realized that we were the poor. I grew to dislike asking for assistance and we had ran out of resources as agencies established rules that they could only help you once a year and some only once in a lifetime.

We had serious issues during the first six years of our marriage and battled with addictions that almost ripped our family apart. By the grace of God we began to work our way out of that pit and relied less on agencies and family as we grew more prosperous and practiced strict frugality. Eventually, we were able to be on our own financially and only needed help in emergency situations. One evening, we were out to dinner with a couple who asked why we lived so meagerly. The gentleman remarked that for a couple like us who were so smart and talented that we should be able to own our own home. We had invested a lot of our weekly paychecks into other people’s lives and not worried about owning a home. A large portion of our income was dedicated to our kids’ private school tuition as well as to the church.

We eventually found ourselves realizing how strict we had remained with our budget; to the point of going without basic needs just to be sure the church got that specific percentage of our gross income. Months would go by that we were wearing clothes with holes in them, worn out shoes, and no savings to help buy a new air conditioner (which is very important while living in a community where temperatures reach 115 degrees). There was no reason for us to be living that way.

We searched the bible diligently for financial principles to see if we had missed something along the way. Surely God would not want us to live so tight while the church building was lavished with crystal chandeliers, new décor every few months, and spoiling visiting preachers with brand new suits and vacations to Hawaii. It’s not that I wouldn’t want those preachers to be blessed and enjoy life, but in our minds we couldn’t figure out why God needed us to live like we were poor just so they could live off our money. It no longer made sense that the building ‘needed’ new carpet and fresh paint so often, while we desperately needed an air conditioner to survive the squelching summers.

We searched the bible diligently and discovered so much more than just the principle of sowing and reaping. We discovered the freedom that Christ gives us to choose where to invest our money. He fulfilled the Old Covenant of the tithe and we no longer have Levite priests to collect the tithes and offerings. Jesus is our First Fruit.

So we began to follow the Spirit’s guidance in how we believe Christ has freed us to give to others. This is when we started to really enjoy our giving more than ever before. We no longer felt bound in our giving, nor resentful. It’s too easy to become resentful about your giving when you don’t like how the leadership is spending your money. It’s even worse when the spending is lied about and the congregation is manipulated to give more than what they can even afford.

Now we make up our own minds who we want to invest in. Sometimes it’s a single mom, an elderly couple, or the children in our neighborhood. Our giving is our own business and we get to help people on the spur of the moment, because our money isn’t tied up in religious obligations to build yet another building with extravagant fixtures and debt inducing insurance policies.

We feel confident in our giving and in turn, we get to enjoy the spiritual reward of our giving as we enjoy our blessings with others. There are times when we bless a family intended for them to enjoy the gift and other times we join them in the blessing. We can have a family over to enjoy a meal with us instead of just giving them a gift certificate to the grocery store (even thought a gift certificate is a very good thing to give). For a family who doesn’t do a lot of cooking, a home cooked meal and fellowship is worth more than one bag of food. We enjoy giving in traumatic situations as well. It’s good to know that we have some available funds from time to time to speedily send some money to a family in crisis.

church by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

While all this kind of giving is good and people are thankful for the gifts and help, we do not have to go without just to fund their need. There certainly is a deep satisfying joy found in sacrificing our own luxuries in order to help people in need, but we cannot possibly meet every need our there. If we work ourselves into debt just to provide for all the poverty stricken families out there then the budget gets totally out of balance. We need to provide for our own needs first. I liken this principle to an analogy from an airline stewardess. She informs the parents on board that if the masks fall from the panel they are to put their oxygen masks on first before they put them on their children. If the parents were to put them on their children first, they could pass out and leave the children stranded without their parent’s assistance. If we give all that we have away to everyone else, we would need someone else to bail us out again. This is a dangerous cycle of unwise and irresponsible financial giving. God does not ask us to lose our own homes just to make sure the church building can buy new pews or pay the electric bill on a building nobody lives in. We should never be so strapped by our religious giving that our first financial priorities to our own families are neglected.

Now we are at a place in our lives where we can both give and enjoy the fruits of our own labor. We own a home and while it’s a modest home, we have chosen to have a small home so we can travel more. We want to share our travels with others so we can enjoy these blessings together. I don’t think God ever intended that we live in poverty out of obligation. If people choose to do so because their hearts are with the people they serve then bravo for them. At the same time its bravo for us to live as we see fit as well. In Jeremiah we see that God told him that he had plans for him was to prosper. Why would God (who is the same yesterday, today, and forever) not also offer us the same prosperity? Who said that God would decline us the opportunity to prosper in the physical world? He blessed Solomon with great physical wealth! He gives us opportunities to become educated, he gives us wisdom liberally (as much as we ask for), and why not use our education and wisdom to prosper financially?

wish I had more by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

I’m not saying that everyone can sign up for a “Get-rich-with-God-quick” scheme. I’m just saying: If we do become wealthy, why not enjoy it and help others to enjoy life too? We have the freedom to designate our giving by wisely investing into lives that we believe will benefit from it. It is at our discretion who we give to and why we give to them. I’m not boasting of our giving, for I believe we shouldn’t let our ‘right hand know what our let hand is doing’. I’m just exercising our freedom in Christ to spend our money the way we desire to.

This is what we believe about ‘giving’ in our journey through organic faith. No need to have a doctrinal chain of bondage to imprison us into obligations we can’t afford to live up to. In giving with this kind of freedom, we have come to enjoy the Kingdom so much more.

And no, this is not a ‘prosperity gospel’. I don’t believe that money saves a person’s soul. I just happen to believe that we have the freedom to enjoy what money can do for us.

Sisterlisa

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Being a Minister of Organic Faith

July 11, 2012 by 4 Comments

I recently changed a portion of my bio here on my blog and on my Facebook page to read, “Minister of Organic Faith”. Many may wonder exactly what that is so I’ll attempt to reveal my heart on the matter so you can understand. I am not a part of a particular denomination or religious organization. I do not believe a person has to be a part of one in order to love folks and nurture a positive and uplifting community. I think there is a time and place for belonging to such an organization, if that’s what you choose to do. I spent many years (half of my life) in such places and it is time for me to not be. I know from the depths of my heart that I am not to entangle myself with something that could become religious silly string. I am confident that one of the blessings Christ has given me is my freedom and I plan to fully enjoy that freedom from a place of love.

Paul, the one who was sent to the Gentiles, said he had no need for letters of recommendation. The credentials he had was first from the Lord and secondly, confirmed in his heart and the people whose lives he impacted. Paul certainly had spent many years as a good scribe, preparing himself for the Old Covenant ministry, yet it was the Spirit of the Lord who called him out into over a decade of private study and personal revelation before he hit the streets with the Gospel of grace. A minister is one who attends to the needs of others. No one is obligated to spend a fortune on a college degree in order to minister to (meet the needs of) people. I look at this word ‘minister’ as a verb before I observe it as a noun. It’s descriptive of what a person does. I attend to the needs of people and thus I become a minister. Now, there are people who go through the motions of meeting needs in order that they receive a title of ‘minister’, but their heart isn’t really in it. I don’t view people like that as true ministers. Not that I want to judge what’s in their heart, but rather what I am saying is that if any of us are simply doing the action in order to acquire some worldly title then we have missed the whole point of being a minister.

I have lived my life from the outpouring depth of my heart and in doing so others have told me that I minister to them. Whereas some folks may attend a seminary to get a degree called ‘Masters in Ministry’, then they went out to minister. I have received the confirmation of my gift of ministering from the very lives of the people that I touched with love and grace. For me, I put far more weight in the confirmation of those I have loved, than in a piece of paper that says I past some tests in a concrete building.

So here we get to the part of what kind of minister I am. I use the term ‘Organic Faith’, because it is something that flows from the heart with each step we make in this life’s journey. This organic approach can not be learned in a classroom setting and while I could speak at an event about how I minister, the teaching time in a room is nothing compared to what happens in my real life mission field.

A common conversation in my life resembles something like this:

Me: “Yes, I am a minister. I minister to people in my community.”
“How many people are members of your church?”
Me: ”The people are the church and it’s an unlimited number, world wide.”
“Where is your church?”
Me: ”Did you not hear me the first time? The people ARE the church.”
“Do you have a board of directors?”
Me: ”No need for a board, people stand up for themselves, I don’t lord over them.”
“Oh so you don’t really have an organization”
Me: ”I didn’t say I had an organization, I said I minister to people.”
“So you just walk around town and talk to people?”
Me: ”ummm yes, isn’t that what Jesus did?

I read throughout the New Testament that Jesus walked all over town, stopping at parks, rivers, and living rooms to lounge with people and love them. He had simple yet profound discussions with them and greatly influenced and impacted their lives. His simple words of grace inspired millions to live richer lives, while he sometimes shared pointed thoughts that challenged the self righteous folks to re-examine their motives. He didn’t go out of his way to seek out those arrogant citizens, but when they came near he had some astonishing things to say. The New Testament reveals that Jesus spent more time with people who wanted to be loved and less time with people who thought they had all their jots and tittles in perfect order. He even said he didn’t come for them, but for the others who had been cast away by the pastors of their communities.

So how does one minister organically? Well, I can tell you what I do and what I see of the writings of Christ, but ultimately you have to know for yourself and it must come from within where the Lord dwells. I visit folks in their homes and invite them to mine. I invite them to the beach, to go whale watching, to have breakfast at a diner with friends and enjoy live music together.

coast by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

We sit around a bonfire to chat about life and share experiences, both good and bad, as we roast marshmallows and help children with the sticky mess they get on their fingers. We laugh and we cry together. We are building community. I babysit for single moms who work long hours into the night and encourage them when they come get their children with these comforting and affirming words,

“You’re a good mom, your children must be so proud of you”.

To the surgical nurse who labors all night to save a drunk driver from dying I say,

“I bet your kids see you as a hero, I do.”

Yet these affirming words were never told to her by the Christian she works with. All she ever hears from her is condemning remarks about her tattoos and disgusted grunts when she shows compassion for a family whose gay son died on the emergency room table.

You see, as much as I would be honored to speak at a large event (and I would if asked to), I find so much more value in touching real lives right where they are as their paths cross mine.

Then there are times when the self righteous come near. At a table discussion among men and women, a man says that he doesn’t think women should be pastors (complete with all his jots and tittles to prove why). Yet he sits among women who are pastors to people who have confirmed them as ministers. It is then that I choose my words wisely as I unfold my thoughts about the many female leaders throughout the Bible, including prophetesses, teachers, and an apostle. My sister-in-Christ shares her story of God’s calling on her life when the community leaders (all men) legally approved for her to preach the gospel in her native country. Had this sweet elderly (female) soul not been here I most likely would have had some more jarring and colorful words for this brother. In some crowds you can be blunt, like when Rachel Held Evans uses the word vagina, and in other crowds more finesse is required and this was one of those times.

A minister is not disqualified because she has a vagina and is not approved because he has a penis. It’s what goes on in the soul of a person that matters and how the sparks of abundant life positively affects and frees the souls of those who are in bondage, in pain, and parched for living water .

So while my formal education is limited, my field experience is rich and full of spiritual community and relationships that are pure as gold. I am a minister who lives in a female body, yet has a genderless soul. God is a genderless Spirit and those who wish to worship must do so in spirit. Calling God a literal ‘he’ is a human tradition and can equally be referred to in the feminine form without violating the Truth of who God is, the Spirit of Love. Yet we live in this physical realm of both male and female, both of which are created in the image of God. We are equally loved and equally empowered to touch lives.

So I shall continue to live my life as a minister and will even call myself a Minister of Organic Faith and no one can disqualify me based on my physical gender, because it is the Lord who qualified me in the genderless Spirit. Some men (and some women) may not like that, but it’s not up to them who I reach out to and love. It is now that I’ll log off this blog for the day and go out into my community and lavish them with affirming love and remind them of how valuable they are. It’s just what I do in my path of organic faith. If you need a jot and a tittle to prove to you that a female can be a minister, then following organic faith may not be best suited for you.

 Sisterlisa

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An Ageless Hope

January 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

There has been a continual debate about Pluralism, Inclusiveness, and Exclusivity among a variety of religions. These concepts seem to be found in several cultures and religions therefore are not argued exclusively among Christian camps. I will be using some terms in this article to explore a larger hope and I ask that you work hard to see the concept I am sharing in terms of how I am re-defining common words used in many religions.

I will be using the word ‘religion’ with the definition of  ’tangible ways in which we carry out traditions in our acts of worship’. It is commonly taught that these tangible traditions are a path to a person’s salvation. However in this perspective I present today, ‘religion’ is not the “road to Salvation”. I think this definition I share of “religion” is the outward manifestation of what is already taking place in the heart…Salvation is what is happening within.

I believe that whoever we consider the Creator/Deity/Divine etc can and does work that salvation within us in a spiritual way that best fits who we are and how we come upon the revelation of such salvation. Expounding upon that thought, I wish to emphasize that our Creator meets us “where we are” and “as we are”. If our Creator decides to use metaphors from childhood fables, Hollywood sci-fi, Science, or religious texts is up to that Creator. It doesn’t mean only one of these avenues is “the only road to salvation” for all people.

I believe that being a “Christian” is a mix of cultural and theological components gleaning from the bible as their text. Other religions follow a similar concept..cultural and theological components gleaning from their spiritual texts. I will use the terms ‘Theos’ and ‘Creator’ interchangeably as a non gender spiritual being outside of and yet within our realm of existence. For the sake of keeping Theos as a relatable being to us, I use ‘him’  as a non gender term as opposed to ‘it’ which seems to break the relational aspect off from us.

What we call Theos , just may be using all kinds of avenues to get his message across… reconciliation to our Creator. It is debatable on whether or not human-kind was ever broke off from Theos or if we were simply deceived into thinking we were. I will not get into that argument here. The angle I introduce today is that of a concept of universal reconciliation. This angle is what I believe to be the foundation of all that is going on between human-kind and Theos. So in this perspective, there is no such thing as “all religions lead to god” but rather.. Theos uses any means necessary to speak the evangel( good news of reconciliation) to his creation. The people Theos speaks to in all different cultures and paths will understandably follow a unique path based on their cultural and theological communities and with whatever spiritual texts have been handed down through their generations.

If we look at this relationship between Theos and human-kind, we can see how each culture of people have found a variety of ways to come to know this Theos, how to express their path of understanding, and what that looks like for each individual(and as groups) is manifested in diverse ways.

It may very well be that Theos wants each culture of peoples to follow in a traditional pattern. Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Pagans, etc have cultures that embody such traditional patterns that are unique to their people. It is entirely possible that Theos does not want Christians to weave their beliefs and traditions in with Muslims, nor Pagans with Jews. It is evident that each religions seem to hold to a varying degree of belief about that. Maybe instead of arguing over this, we might come to respect that this might be the way in which Theos has planned out humanity to be among one another. It could be that Theos wants us to learn about each path and find ways in which to live in harmony among one another while respecting our differences and celebrating our similarities. Whatever the case may be, each individual needs to decide for themselves what traditional teaching they believe Theos wants them to participate in.

This is not pluralism, inclusiveness, nor exclusiveness, but I do believe it is the basic foundation where all three perspectives grow from. I believe that many from human-kind has done their best to navigate their lives and carry on the heritage of their tribes the best they knew how. Sadly, this has manifested many religious and political wars over the ages in their quest for freedom to continue their spiritual paths.

There is another perspective on the word ‘salvation’ that is not the same as the cosmic reconciliation of human-kind to Theos, but can be viewed as an extension of it. This ‘salvation’ I am referring to is obtained through understanding truth that leads to clarity and healthy decision making. These healthy decisions grow the metaphorical fruit that is pleasant to the growth of our spiritual lives as well as nourishing to our human relationships. This kind of fruit grows from the tree of life which is deeply rooted within us all and is drinking from the living water that is an ongoing wellspring coming from within that cosmic spiritual revelation of our reconciliation and the larger hope for the reconciliation of all to Theos.

Some may never have this reconciliation journey for themselves in this life, but this larger hope is that Theos has a way of bringing all things and people into his balance, in whatever way is best for all.

This perspective is not a religion, just a neutral perspective on what just may be the greatest hope for all mankind. It is inclusive to all, yet exclusively experienced by those who have been awakened. In this belief, Theos sends his messengers to us in a variety of ways and people need to be free to listen and follow Theos as he guides them. He may or may not guide them to follow one path for a time then divert them to another path. That is between them and Theos.

The tradition I have been following is by respecting one another’s paths while extending the invitation to learn the evangel from our/your perspective, but remain humble and not insistent on our/your way being a better or a ‘more right’ way. In all of this the philosophy of the ‘golden rule’ holds true in all paths and has proven to be a healthy way in which to find peace among each other.

I don’t know if a term already exists for this perspective, and I hesitate on coining a term for it out of the concern for it becoming misrepresented or hijacked by another insistent religion that wants to own it or change it. I dislike the ideas of labels that box people up. All I can say is that I call it an Ageless Hope that is inclusive to all, yet exclusive to those experiencing it. It may very well be witnessed at the roots of various beliefs since the beginning of time. All are invited to this evangel and may observe it and participate in it.

In upcoming articles I will share how I have come to live my life within this perspective. In my opinion, there is no reason to leave the traditions you already observe in order to participate in the celebration of life among your fellow humans who do embrace this perspective. They might be within your existing churches, PTA meetings, clubs, frats or various other circles of friends and loved ones. Many fear confessing to this Ageless Hope out of fear of disassociation from their groups. Those of us who do embrace this perspective do not require that you convert or give up anything in your life to celebrate with us. Everyone is free to celebrate and even create their own ‘tangible ways in which you carry out traditions in your acts of worship’. Bless you.

crashing tide by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

Sisterlisa

Filed Under: Organic Faith Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kaleidoscope People

October 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I have had several friends ask me when I’m going to write a book about all of my various experiences, my journey, and how my faith has been transformed and where I’m headed next. I honestly don’t know. I don’t know how to organize my thoughts into an entire book. It may end up being several topics in several books and I don’t even know which topic to address first.

Just when I think I have an angle to begin with, someone pipes up with, “Have you read this book yet?” and the books they suggest are about the very thing I’m already experiencing. So what’s the point in writing about it when someone has already sold a million copies?

And so I just keep blogging.

Many people have questioned my faith in Christ and it’s usually with fear that I’ve rejected my Savior, when I haven’t. I haven’t forsaken my faith in Christ at all. I’ve simply grown into my faith a bit more. We are born in an immature state of being. As we learn, we grow. Maturity is is a life long process and I grow increasingly frustrated with 20-something year old men and women thinking they know it all. Their brains have not matured yet, although they are certainly in the process of maturing.

Our spiritual journey seems to take a similar path. When a person grows into their faith, others may view their path as ‘dangerous’, but have no practical evidence that there is any danger at all. Then there are people who really are following a dangerous path and there is plenty of evidence to prove their direction is dangerous…but they are in denial.

We can’t force people to grow up, but we can stop enabling them.

When a person is on a spiritual journey, the best way to keep growing is to keep questioning. If we cease to ask questions then we have settled and what kind of spiritual growth happens upon settling? When we settle, we become stagnant. Stagnant water breeds fungus and the water becomes toxic. The flow of Living Water is a continual flow of fresh water bringing us health, growth, and cleansing.

When we think we have summed up all the answers, we stop questioning and we stop growing. Sarah Napthali says this about children, “Little children are fully plugged into the present moment because of the natural enjoyment that flows from their curiosity.” (Buddhism for Mothers of Schoolchildren)

She goes on to say this, “If we lose our capacity for perplexity, for questioning and wondering, we start to freeze our perceptions of others, of ourselves and our children. We start perceiving those around us as permanent, unchanging, and separate.”

Sarah  uses a term in her book to describe her children, ‘kaleidoscope characters’. We are each our own kaleidoscope characters in our own stories of life. Our natural born desire to be curious creatures is what inspires us to wake up and face each day as an adventure.

In the bible, the apostle Paul said, “And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3 ESV)

We are a complexity of humanity that grows in various directions at any given moment depending on the present experience of each day. With each step we take, there are infinite possibilities to question and be curious about. The question that many parents get frustrated with answering for little children is, “Why?” Why do we have this curiosity so deeply infused into our core?

Each of us has a story, in fact… we each have several stories to tell. As we each share our stories, we offer the world more inspiration, more curiosity, and more growth. With this kind of growth, we find maturity. But a maturity that thinks it has an end to the story isn’t full maturity. Maturity is a process and is best when it can be both empty and full at the same time. Hungry, yet satisfied. We don’t have to know all the answers to every mystery and any mystery that can be fully solved is no mystery at all. When we cease to ask questions along this mysterious journey called life, we become enablers of stagnant minds and souls.

In my journey, I seek to be on a continual walkabout with love and grace. I want to be on an ongoing journey of maturity filled with lots of mystery and finding questions at every turn in the road. I want to remain a kaleidoscope character in my own story and you are welcome to follow along. Such beautiful things we shall discover!

kaleidocope by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

This article is being infused into the Organic Faith Tour.

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On Leaders and Movements

September 20, 2011 by 2 Comments

The term ‘leader’ has been viewed differently by various people so when someone says ‘leader’ it would do us well to simply ask what they mean. Sometimes we can tell the context by reading the full sentence, paragraph, or full article in which the term is referring. Sometimes we simply can’t tell and all we need to do is ask.

I referred to Frank Viola as a leader of a movement in my article about the Royal Priesthood and he contacted me to get some clarification. See, it’s that simple. Just ask. He doesn’t view himself as a leader who is leading a movement. I have no doubt he will be planning an article about that in the near future. I look forward to his views on what a leader and a movement is.

I think we all have different perspectives on what a leader is and what a movement is. Some movements are more controlled and highly organized, while other movements are started by simply opening the flood gate and keeping that gate open. The movement than moves forward on it’s own. This is an organic movement. Even rivers have a flow..a movement if you will, and it flows through mountains, valleys, and even trickles down through limestone, creating creeks. All natural water brings life.

Some ‘leaders’ dig a well and control how much a person can drink, other bust down the dam so the flow will go where it wants. People will view people as leaders and teachers from their own perspectives. Some critics think Frank is a ‘dangerous’ leader and have spread their disagreements with his books, while others view Frank’s writings as liberating them from bondage.

I’ve received criticism too. I’ve been both accused of being a false teacher and praised for being a good teacher. It’s all by each individual’s perspective. We’re not going to all agree on everything and that’s ok. Some are viewed as dangerous, some are not. I don’t think Frank’s writings are dangerous for a person’s soul, but perhaps his books might be viewed as dangerous to the Institutional Church since his views give people freedom to leave. Leaving an Organized Religion or ‘church’  is not ‘dangerous’. If a person is going to fall victim to their lusts then it’s going to happen sooner or later regardless of whether or not they’re in a church. Simply google, “Pastor arrested” for evidence of that.

But this topic of leaders and movements is not confined to the Christian circle, but also in Pagan circles as well. All faiths deal with this issue of leadership. While Pagans generally believe in their own soul liberty, or Priesthood of Believers, they do have more outspoken folks who tend to become natural leaders. But they hold firmly to their own individuality and priesthood. This is something that Christianity has not quite grasped yet, although we find Peter telling us that we are indeed a Royal Priesthood of Believers.

Pagans have their ways of gathering together for corporate ceremonies for their faith, but they affirm each person’s personal priesthood. They get it! We don’t. It’s time that we do.

It’s time that the Believers in Christ come to understand and exercise their personal Priesthood.

Maybe we need a coming out party.

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The Royal Priesthood is Growing Up

September 20, 2011 by 3 Comments

Writing about practical and logical faith was as a step of faith for me. It seems that every post I publish, is a test of whether or not I will get beamed with rotten tomatoes and banana peels. Christians should be encouraged and supported while sorting through all sorts of doctrines and teachings. They shouldn’t be made to feel like they can only question as far as what the current ‘pastor popular’ questions. They should be able to move forward with their own soul liberty, embrace their royal priesthood, and go beyond where those popular pastors are willing to go. Many times those pastors have a heap whole lot more to lose than the average congregant. We do not need to rely upon a pastor or pope to put their stamp of approval on our journey. While it’s nice to have community in our journey, chances are we just won’t get it if we go beyond that ‘slippery slope’, but we certainly have the freedom to do so. And for any Christ-like community to drop them like a hot potato for adventuring, then that’s not a real community of support and we’re better off walking on water with Jesus than staying in a ship with people who are still afraid.

So how does one embrace their royal priesthood? How do we exercise our own faith when the community around us will shun us for doing so? This is a tricky part about being a Christian. You’re usually told that you are welcome, they smile and flip their hair to attract us to their community, but as soon as we disagree with their pastor and their theology, we’re reprimanded..oh so sweetly of course. Their goal is to get you in line, not lose you (or your wallet). But eventually your royal priesthood is rejected and you wont get the community’s stamp of approval on your freedom.

I can understand if a congregant has been robbing the other church members, slipping their hands into their purses and swiping their credit cards, but for having different theological perspectives?

First it was the Catholic Church, but persecution came with the Protestants realized they had soul liberty. Then the Protestants split up into Baptists (and a few others) and then eventually we had the Pentecostals. Who remembers the days when they were ‘excommunicated’ from the Protestant circles? Then we have the Emergent Church, Post-Modern Church, and the more recently controversial, Organic Church. Each time there is an emerging school of thought, persecution arises and over time the heated debates settle down. Now we have the ever growing Christian Universal Reconciliation camp that has been at the front lines of onslaught from many Evangelical Fundamentalists.

People are quick to try and label people a Universalist, while the Universalists are clearly saying that this camp is NOT part of the Universalist school of thought. Another increasing group of Believers have suffered some backlash, the Free Believers. But the Free Believers is not a church, they’re simply an online group of people who have a lot of questions and although their beliefs vary greatly, they have created themselves a community without even really trying.

For some churches, the whole point of gathering and evangelizing has to do with getting people to believe just like them. Their whole authority really has nothing to do with the Bible being their authority, it has to do with their pastor’s interpretation being the authority on their understanding of the bible. The office of the pope, that the Protestants refuted, has been resurrected into the position of the traditional Protestant Pastor. Now we’re having another Reformation, but it’s not about getting everyone to believe in the Reformed Movement. The current Reformed Movement is just as new as the Emerging Church is. This new Reformed Movement is a hybrid of Calvinism and Baptist and some of the more popular writers of the Organic Church are leaning into that side of theology.

Many house churches began as a desire to be more organic, but many of them have taken the traditional church model and fit it in between the front doors of a house. I’m not going to say they’re wrong for doing this, it is certainly within their realm of freedom as royal priests in the family of God. The reason I’m bringing all this up is to lead into this idea of Organic Faith. Frank Viola is leading a movement called ‘Beyond Evangelical‘ and I’m here to say you can go beyond that and venture into Organic Faith that is not confined to a ‘pastor popular’ putting his stamp of approval on your community and studies.

This idea of the Royal Priesthood of Believers really hasn’t come into it’s prime yet. As Christians, we’re very much still in our adolescence of ‘rebellious teen’, but too afraid to really go too far from the parents. In Christ we are free. We have soul liberty and are a Royal Priesthood. That means you answer directly to God, not Pastor Popular. Now if you hurt Pastor Popular, then certainly you need to answer for your actions, but I’m talking about the spiritual growth of each individual believer.

The apostle Paul said to let each man (and woman) be convinced in their OWN mind. If you find in your studies that women CAN be spiritual teachers, then believe that and find a way to do so wisely, lovingly, and compassionately. If you believe that head coverings and skirts-only on women are a part of the past and women can wear pants and wear their hair short, then do so!

What happens if you happen to disagree with some of the advice Paul gave to some of the churches? An apostle was someone who lead people to freedom. An apostle is a messenger that tells you that you’re free. They help connect you with other people who are free. They diligently looked after the people to help them protect their freedom so they wouldn’t be pulled back into traditions of men and laws they didn’t need to live up to in order to ‘please God’. The idea of apostles needing to have performed miracles before becoming an apostle is not accurate. Paul was an apostle before he ever performed any miracles. He even told one church that even though some did not consider him an apostle, that he was an apostle to them because the people had confirmed he was… to them! But more about this later.

It’s high time the Royal Priesthood of Believers started growing up. There’s nothing wrong with gathering together for food, fellowship, worship, or even to watch a football game. Go ahead! Get together, do so as often as you want. Be free! It’s good to gather together. People like to be a part of a community that has common interests. This is a normal healthy part of being humans.

It won’t be easy to find other people who are willing to go against the grain, to gather organically without a ‘fearless leader’. This is why it’s called, faith. An organic faith that grows naturally. The seed was planted and is emerging from the earth, growing in the wild, and is provided for by the ‘sun’ and the waters of life. Bloom where you’re planted.

sunflower by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

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Practical and Logical Living

September 18, 2011 by 3 Comments

When I wrote about the 1st Church of the Dolphins, I mentioned that I would begin to write about living a life of organic faith…not realizing how much would take place in my heart between then and today as I sit at my desk. It was a silly title to a blog post, but it was that humorous title that Terre Woodhead shared with me in a discussion on Facebook. Terre is a former institutional church pastor and one of the coolest guys on Facebook. Over the past couple of years that I have begun adding diverse friends to my private Facebook account, I have come to learn a lot about people, their faiths, and how their beliefs manifest in their lives.

full moon by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

I’ve been able to have lengthy discussions with Jews, Christians of all sorts, Mystics, New Agers, Muslims, Pagans, Atheists, and more. Even though they all have differences, they actually have more in common than they realize. They all have problems with pride, they all wrestle with their beliefs, question their leaders, yet have an in depth desire to live peaceably among human kind. One thing that seems to divide them most, is when they only rely upon their own sacred books to understand themselves, each other, and the world we all live in. They become one sided, kind of lop-sided in fact. It’s not conducive to society as a whole to all think the exact same way. Without annoying people, we wouldn’t increase our growth in patience. Without tragedy, we would lack compassion.

The old thought of “this is how it worked for my ancestors”, just doesn’t always work for everyone all the time.

The idea of sending missionaries to get everyone to believe the exact same way would put our society in a very lop-sided world, not to mention they would then be under a one world religion, which many seem to be opposed to.

If we all filled our cars with a lot of weight all on one side, the tires and the roads would wear out on just that side. When we rely only upon one book to base our beliefs in, we run the risk of being lop-sided…but more on that another time.

Many world religions believe in a dualisitic nature. Good and bad. Yin and Yang. Sin and Righteousness.  Even nature itself teaches us that there is always a hot and cold as well as a light and darkness. The seasons reveal that we have times of growth and times of death, followed by new birth and renewal. Without this, we would have a lop-sided earth. Without death, the population would be incredible. With death, comes new life.  It’s a part of the process of this world we live in.

We can better understand the cold, when we understand the heat. We can come to understand why we have an Autumn and Winter, when we see the Spring emerge. We understand why Autumn comes, after a long hot summer with very little rain. Each season explains the next.

We certainly can favor one season over another. I enjoy Spring and Autumn, and tolerate Summer heat and Winter cold. I respect the role that each season plays in the natural order of this earth that is in need of all four of them.

Autumn Town by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

We may not always agree with how other folks worship, or even how they worship (or if they don’t believe in a deity at all), but learning to live on this earth among them is an important part of maintaining a balance.

Some believe that they can adequately avoid folks who believe differently, but the motion of life around us is not that controllable. People who don’t believe in furthering the income of a certain type of lifestyle, has no control at all over an employer that is paid to work in the mail room of a business they frequent. Thus, one bigoted person’s money is supporting the income of their ‘enemy’ without them even realizing it. You can try to keep Summer around all you want, but you have no control over the Autumn season coming. You certainly could migrate like the wild life does, if you can afford it.

You can either live life in fear and hostility all the time, or you can choose to understand one another and find respectful diplomatic ways to live in community with each other.

One will never understand a Muslim, if they only read the Bible. One will never understand a Christian, if they only read a public school History book. If you want to understand Science, you read a Science book. By the time you’re done with reading it, you may decide you’ll never want to be a Scientist, but at least you’ve read about it and come to have a working knowledge of it.  I don’t have to understand how a light bulb works, but I sure am glad to have electricity in my home.

But here’s the thing, people of faith are not quite like Science.

Even when you come to understand about someone’s faith, they can change at any time. People convert to other religions all the time, but there’s one thing that remains constant in people no matter what faith they follow.

Feelings. Those emotions that organically spring up and manifest outwardly. We all have feelings. Some are more introvert while others are extrovert. Some anger easily, some don’t. We’re all so unique in our own ways. So how do we live in this world and maintain a balance? How can we help mankind to survive and succeed in life?

Maybe we can at least start by growing up. The days of playground bullies, sand box cliques, and elitist clubs begin to fizzle out and we realize that although it’s fun to belong, it’s never fun to be excluded.

Oh people will continue to form their activities around people with like interests. This is normal and healthy! If you want to become a Seasonal Pass holder at Disneyland, then you pay the price. If you become dissatisfied with the park, stop going and find another place to play. But why make fun of people who enjoy the Disney theme parks? Ok, so it is probably a little odd to see people begin to dress like Peter Pan at work, try to fly, and sprinkle pixie dust on everyone at work. So lets all do what we can to respect other people’s spaces while enjoying our own. And if Tinkerbell gets cantankerous, certainly ask her to leave until she can calm down.

Sure that was all metaphorical, but I think you get the picture.

If you  are a person of faith, you probably don’t want to go to an Atheist get-together. But when you have to work alongside an Atheist, it would do you well to understand what they believe and why. There’s no need to agree with them, but at least come to understand them so you can work together as a team in business.

We really can learn to get along even when we don’t agree. We all represent a different ‘season’, yet all seasons are equally needed in this world. Which ever season you are, we need you. We really can learn to live practical and logical lives regardless of which faith we follow.

{photos from Pix-O-Sphere}

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1st Church of the Dolphins

September 17, 2011 by 3 Comments

While my family was on vacation to Southern California, we visited Huntington Beach with the children. We ran along the shore, splashing sea foam with our toes and jumping in the waves. We were having a blast! Just off the shore about a hundred yards or so we sighted wild dolphins frolicking together. They were playing with the pelicans and seemed to be having a grand time and I stood there..listening to the Spirit as the wind caressed my face with salty kisses from above and in that stillness of the moment it dawned on me that I would never want to force those dolphins into an aquarium. How could I possibly bring myself to force them into captivity when they were already enjoying the home they were born into?

Ironically, we also visited Sea World in San Diego while we were down in Southern California. We got to see many animals in captivity, although these were animals who had once been injured and were safest with professionals who could care for them at the park.

dolphins sea world by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

I thought deeply about this and realized how ridiculous it would be of anyone to tell the wild dolphins that they must join the aquarium in order to be the safest. While the dolphins in captivity certainly are safe, that doesn’t mean the aquarium is the best place for a healthy, wild dolphin.

Some may think the wild dolphins are in danger since they do have some natural predators, add to that the fishing nets they get tangled in, but that doesn’t mean they should leave their natural habitat. With all this in mind I began thinking about us, as spiritual people. I was thinking about how many times people in churches are so fearful for those outside of church. Especially believers who do not belong to a specific church family. This doesn’t mean that those outside of church are at fault for not going to church. They are no more prone to dangers than those who do attend a church.

Folks who attend church have their routine set in stone, they have their activities, get together opportunities, support, and more..yet there are those who find the church system sorely lacking..for them. They desire something fresh, new, alive for their journey..and so what do they do? Where do they gather? How do they worship?

Although the book of Hebrews says not to forsake the gathering together, it does not specify how they gathered and what they did while they gathered. For anyone to dictate that we ought to gather in the hierarchy structure we see in churches today, would be quite a stretch of the imagination. There is nothing in the Bible to indicate they gather wrongly, just as there is nothing written that says gathering in another way would be wrong.

It has often been said by many theologians that we can learn about God through nature. While many clergy today might refute that in favor of their structured traditions, it is still true that we can hear teaching directly from God without a clergy telling us what God says to us.

Over the last couple of years a new movement has been growing called, the Organic Church. While at first the idea caught my attention, I’ve been keeping my eye on it and discovering that the very thing they claimed we had the freedom to depart from is forming within their own house gatherings. I’m not going to criticize them, as we all have the freedom to gather as we so desire, but for those who are interested in not getting back into such a routine, I will begin to share more about living an organic life of faith.

Perhaps the wild dolphins are their own church..the 1st Church of the Dolphins? Yes, it’s humorous, but think about it. Dolphins are in their own pods, usually the ones they are born into. They don’t all gather in the same pods, nor do they swim the same oceans. They aren’t out to try and make sharks into dolphins or put a suit and tie on the lead dolphin and worship him. They simply enjoy life together. You may also find them helping mankind or other animals from time to time. Dolphins have been known to circle swimmers to keep them safe as sharks approach. They simply respond as needed at the appointed times.

Isn’t that what living an organic life of faith all about? Responding as we can at just the right time, as the need arises?

But who teaches the dolphins how to be good dolphins?

How does a Christian learn to be a good Christian? Is there such a thing as a good Christian? What makes one a good Christian as opposed to a bad Christian?

Aren’t we all equally sinful yet equally redeemed?

In the wild, the lead dolphins are the ones who can protect the pods the best. It has nothing to do with teaching out of a book or who wears the most ‘goldy’ clothing. It also has nothing to do with who gets to tell all the other dolphins what to do. They live life as a team, a family…and in the wild. May we take a lesson or two, …or three… from the 1st Church of the Dolphins.

dolphins by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

This article has been added to the Organic Faith Tour

Also from the Tour:
Coffee, Love, and Grace from Hillary McFarland
To Love Simply by Sisterlisa

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Guilty Prayers

August 22, 2011 by 2 Comments

In all my years of sitting in a fundamental church I can say without hesitation that the majority of the times I caught a glimpse of the Spirit of God was not during the preaching. Sitting there, facing forward, seeing the preacher running all over the platform trying to keep the attention of the people and my mind was wandering back through the lightened path of my memory of that third stanza of the choir special. “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…the fragrance of rain..” and I ponder that for a moment…

He smacks the puplit and shouts, “Look up here! All of you,..look up here when I’m talking to you!” As he goes on to belittle those not keeping their eyes precisely on him. Next, a few jabs about being backslidden and in rebellion.

Sigh*

But I was mid thought on hearing God speaking to me in an area to grow my faith.

A few more minutes into the preaching and a cell phone chimes.

“Please turn off all cell phones. You’re interrupting the preaching!”

(Oh, but his screaming was interrupting God speaking to me as an individual.)

Sometimes the inward growing was from the Spirit bringing to my remembrance … that moment when I snapped at my toddler as we were rushing off to Sunday School and all she wanted to do was show me the butterfly that had landed on her nose. But in my hurried and frantic pace, I shew the insect away and command her to get to the car. God was telling me to take it slower, to enjoy the moment of being a mommy as my children get caught up in the beauty of this creative world He gave us. He reminds me that it was a wonderful opportunity to talk about creation and the beauty of each unique butterfly. I could have told her how she is divinely unique as well.

But the preacher thought keeping my eyes on him was more important.

I watch a movie with my husband that makes me think about sacrifice and compassion. A man who gives away his eyes so a blind man can see. Seven pounds of sacrificial love, but the woman teaching bible study says all PG-13 movies are from “the devil” and would seduce  me to forsake God.

I observe a pagan ceremony that gives honor to my ancestors, but other Christian bloggers rebuke me as going down a slippery slope…but it’s ok *if* I have pushed the pagans to recite “the sinner’s prayer”. But the ceremony reminded me of the love of my Savior and solidifies my faith in Christ…and Jesus never said anything about “a sinner’s prayer”.

Boxes seek to define us, but we’re already defined as beautiful..created-in-His-image-kind of beauty.

I see and hear my soul-love in everything…because when you’re looking and listening… he moves and speaks.

But he doesn’t look down his nose at me from the platform, he sees me as equal. He walks side by side with me and holds my soul-hand. He doesn’t scream at me to keep my eyes on him, he speaks in a still small voice. He whispers.. “I love you”.

In all the noise, I tune my auditory attention inward..the noise seems to fade..it becomes distant..like the sound of children playing on the grass when I’m under water. Do you ever hold yourself under water long enough to really listen to under water sounds?

Sometimes the outer noise is religious, but the inward working in the heart is not heard audibly by those around me. Maybe this is what it was like for Paul on the road to Damascus.

Could that rushing river beating against the rocks be the voice of God? Is that the Spirit I see dancing on the pollen on that flower? What am I seeing and hearing?

river side bench by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere


Tears roll down my cheeks and drop off my chin and pat the dry earth beneath my knees. The tear causes dust to puff above my ankles.

I’m listening and I’m hearing..deep in my heart.

I hear my inner most desires coming to surface and I gulp hard to catch my breath.

Yes, Lord.. that’s what I really want.

But I’m afraid to speak about it out loud.

I have been told on numerous occasions that asking for what we want is wrong and that God is not a geenie in a bottle to be commanded.

I wrestle, I gulp harder.

Listening to the wind pushing through the pine needles above me…I sigh.

He brings the desires to the surface again and I find myself daydreaming about my hopes and my dreams…wishing they would come true..believing it’s the right thing for us…I choke up again.

I breathe deep and sigh..slowly allowing my exhale to escape my lungs.

Yes, this is what I really want.. I dare to speak the words out loud.

Why does prayer feel so wrong sometimes and yet so right?

Why do I feel guilt at communing with him about my desires? Does he not give us the desires of our hearts?

If it’s wrong to expect he’d give me what I wish for, I can at least tell him anyway. I don’t think he’d fault me for asking. I just don’t want to be rude, I don’t want to ask too much, dare I ask for simple things? I’m not asking for a yacht or a Porsche, just a relocation to live in a neighborhood where we are loved instead of hated and gossiped about.

I shout out into the wind that day, “Please help us move!”

Inside my heart is longing to be with those who are beckoning us to come. Is it simple enough? Nothing extravagant.

My heart pounds in my chest..tears streaming again.

I sigh deeply..inhaling the pine scented breeze deep into my lungs.

I close my eyes and the tears mingle with my lashes.

I can no longer follow recited prayers. The bullet point day planner type prayer lists… I throw them away.

He has shown me how to communicate with him.

Spontaneous, life giving breath.

Sharing pain and my tears being caught in his bottle.

Maybe he’ll use those tears to water me when the land seems dry.

No one can tell me what to ask for, how to pray, they don’t know the mind of God.

And God gives me freedom to commune with him and allows me to be honest with myself and with him..about what I’d like to have.

Even if he doesn’t bring me to the place in which I pray for…I know I can still tell him what I desire. I know he listens.

This post has been contributed to the Organic Faith Tour.

You can read about it here.

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