Lord Have Mercy

"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  Luke 18:9-14

 There are times when you hear the same thing repeated in multiple places and you know that you need to slow down and pay attention. This has happened recently for me with what is known as "The Jesus Prayer". I first read it in the book "Sacred Rhythms" about a month ago and it resonated with me. Then, the other day, I heard it in a podcast I was listening to. My friend Leigh Ann posted on her blog (His Artist) about  a podcast she was listening to at a website called "UnQuiet Life". So, I decided to pop over and check the site out. I was so glad I did! The site is a place where two guys are in a continual conversation about what it is to live a contemplative life. I listened to a few of the podcasts the other day and one of them was called The Jesus Prayer. There is was again.

In addition to the example of prayer in the above passage in Luke 18, there are multiple places in the gospels where people who are in need of something from Jesus, cry out to Him to "have mercy".

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” Matthew 9:27

A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”  Matthew 15:22

“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. Matthew 17:15

Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Matthew 20:30-31

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:47-48

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Luke 18:38-39

In their podcast on "UnQuiet Life" they spoke of how this prayer has been used throughout the centuries by Christians to help them focus on their proper place before God; that this prayer helps us be present in the moment to God.

I'm not sure what is in this for me right now, but just as repeated words and phrases in Bible study should get us to pause and  slow down and pay attention, I think running across repeated things in life should make us pause and pay attention as well. So, I'm in the midst of pondering right now.

By the way, I encourage you to visit my friend Leigh Ann's blog. We've never met face-to-face but have begun a wonderful friendship through our blogs and through email conversations. Leigh Ann does wonderful collage work and shares her art on her blog as she ponders her life of faith. I used to feel it was not possible to build friendships and community online without physical presence, but have changed my feelings about this as I have gained great and deep friendships with many people through blogging and participating in online art groups... but that's a topic for another day's blog post.

30 Day Blogging Challenge day 9.

Quoting Books

One way I like to express myself in art journaling is to take quotes from the books I;m reading and put them on my art journal pages. In addition to keeping quotes from books in my Commonplace Books having them in my art journals is another way to keep them fresh and in front of me. I rarely read one book at a time - a bit of my A.D.D., I guess. Currently I am reading The Creative Call by Janice Elsheimer which we started back in May for the HKC book club but I got too busy and had to put it down. I am also reading Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton (one of my favorite authors). I am reading this book for the spiritual direction group I am in. The first book is about tapping into our creative self and developing those gifts, talents and passions.

From The Creative Call I began my habit of taking photo walks - my "breathing exercises" as the author calls them. Sacred Rhythms is about spiritual formation through the practice of spiritual disciplines. We have only just begun this book in our study group.

Quotes from books are a great way to get creative in my art journals as well as a way to ponder more fully what I am reading. 

*30 Day Blogging Challenge day 3.

Sanctuary

Do you ever experience times where information comes at you in multiple ways as though life were trying to give you a message? Times where it feels as though a billboard is repeatedly placed in the path of your journey at every turn? Over the many years I have been following Christ I have come to recognize these times - these billboard signs plopped down in my path - as ways God uses to try to get my attention to some message that He has deemed important and vital to my journey. You see, I am an independent, I-can-do-things-myself kind of a woman, and I trudge along thinking "I got this", when in reality I don't. And God must use billboards, repeatedly plopped down in my path, to get my attention so that I pay attention to what He is trying to tell me and to where He is trying to lead me. Is it any wonder that I deal with issues of burnout! Over the past few months God has been trying to get my attention.

So our Take Me Deeper theme for the month of May in the His Kingdom Come community is called Sanctuary. (This will all connect,I promise!) The content of this month's devotions are topics that have been ruminating in my heart and soul for the past few years in my journey of self-discovery and dealing with burnout. I have touched on many of these topics in my blog posts, as beginning this blog was one of the ways for me to formulate and organize my thoughts during this journey. Writing the devotions for May really helped me pull it all together in an organized manner. I tend to grasp at the many threads that float in my mind and the discipline of writing a month of themed devotions has become so beneficial for me in pulling all my loose threads together. The theme of Sanctuary is about finding the places in our lives where we experience refuge, rest and respite in God's presence and making habits of dwelling in our place of sanctuary so that we live holy and healthy lives - healthy emotionally, spiritually and physically. I have to admit, that for me, the physical part has taken longer for me to be convicted about. And in the month since I wrote those devotions I realize that I did not touch on that area much in those writings. It is in this area - physical health - that God has been placing billboards in my path. It is in my place of sanctuary and the times of dwelling in God's presence that the threads all come together.

The billboards:

• This past fall I started looking at  my personality type in relationship to the issues that are brought about by stress and crisis-like circumstances. In the Myers-Briggs personality type world how you respond to stress and crisis-like circumstances is referred to as "in the grip". Being in the grip causes you to respond in manners that are not compatible with your personality type. In other words you may respond in a manner that  doesn't feel like you are being yourself. I read a few articles that helped me see this and that gave suggestions, based  on your personality type, for getting balance back. I read that INFJ's benefit from engaging in regular exercise and that it can be effective for regulating mood, quieting the mind and calming emotions. In addition, being outside and engaging your senses are also helpful in regulating mood and calming emotions.
• About that time I also stumbled on a quote that is credited to Augustine: "Solvitur Ambuland = It is solved by walking."
• This winter I began reading "How to Beat Burnout" by Minirth & Meier. They advocate making changes in the physical areas of one's life first. "Just feeling better physically often begins to change a person's burned out emotions and gives them the strength to begin other changes - physical, emotional, and spiritual."
• Recently I picked up a book I had stopped reading, "Invitation to Solitude and Silence" by Ruth Haley Barton. She says that our "spiritual journey is taken in a physical body, and there is a very real connection between caring for our body and deepening our relationship with God." She goes on to say that, "Learning to rest into God in times of solitude begins with the body."

When I prayed about and chose my word for this year, renew, I know that one area of my life that needed to be renewed was my physical health. These different billboards are convincing me that the importance here is more than just simply losing some weight - that hasn't motivated me enough in the past. The importance is that physical health is beneficial to my emotional and spiritual health. Dealing with issues of burnout have made me look closely at the importance of my emotional health and energy. Much of what I have been reading indicates that good emotional health really benefits from good physical health. I have much to explore as I dig into Scripture and look at how God views our physical body in relationship to our spiritual life and growing in spiritual maturity. 

My first art journal page for May's theme:

I didn't post much last month, so here are my art journal pages from the last three weeks of April's theme, The Resurrection Life:

From Death to Life

Power For Living

Living Hope

We have quite a community growing at His Kingdom Come and it's great seeing how everyone expresses the devotions in so many different creative mediums. There is so much talent in this group! Check out our community at His Kingdom Come.

So, She Went On a Retreat

Yesterday on Maz Hawes' blog, Diving For Pearls, she made a statement that "creativity helps to boost well-being". I have found the opposite to be true also, well-being helps to boost creativity.

I have been long overdue for a personal retreat. I last went on one two years ago and came back with nothing...it was just the place I was in at the time. For months now I have been working through some issues of burnout, some character pruning, and some "in-the-grip" personality stuff. Not always fun stuff. All of this has led me to really feeling the need to get away and spend some time in solitude with God. I even unplugged from most of my technology in order to prevent distraction!

I stayed in a little cottage at Beulah Beach near Huron, Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie. For me, being near water makes my retreat much more relaxing.

I spent some time walking along the water each day.

I spent time enjoying nature and the colors of Autumn.

I spent a lot of time thinking, reading, studying God's Word, praying, and listening...lots of listening. I have started another book by Ruth Haley Barton about solitude. In it she talks about meeting with a spiritual director who told her, "you are like a jar of river water all shaken up. What you need is to sit still long enough that the sediment can settle and the water can become clear." She goes on, "The image of the jar of river water helped me identify where I was, but it also captured my longing and desire to go somewhere else.To be still long enough so the swirling sediment could settle, the waters of my soul could become clear, and I could see whatever it was that needed to be seen..In the desire this image stirred up, I recognized an invitation to be still and know beyond my addiction to noise, words, people and performance-oriented activity. It captured my desire for something more and different, something beyond the head knowledge that no longer sustained my soul."  ~Ruth Haley Barton, Invitation to Solitude and Silence

Ruth's description of the jar of river water as an image for her soul really resonated with me and going on retreat helped the waters of my soul start to clear. God met me in my time there and I came back refreshed. And the creative ideas have been jumping around in my head like sparks! When I get overly tired I begin to experience a dryness spiritually and creatively. Well-beings helps to boost my creativity!

I have a lot from this retreat to reflect on in the coming weeks.

And now, a little art I did on my retreat:

The beach there is covered with these black, flat rocks. I brought some home, covered them with matte gel medium and wrote some reminders from my retreat on them - a few things I don't want to lose track of.

Now to get back on track with my blog postings!

A Rhythm of Life

I am very intrigued by rhythms in life. Maybe it's because routine is so important to my well-being on so many levels. When my routine is messed up my whole world seems out of whack. Routine keeps me grounded and focused and keeps a handle on my sanity.

Rhythm: from Greek "rhythmos", any regular recurring motion, symmetry.
Dictionary definitions: 1.) Recurring at regular intervals. 2.) An interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs. 3.) A strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound.

We have started a study group at church to develop a theology of Sabbath. Sabbath seems very foreign in our modern church culture. It seems very Jewish, something left behind with Old Testament traditions and laws. But in our staff book study (Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton) it became a topic of conversation as we read the author's encouragement to establish spiritual rhythms for the health and growth of our soul.

"Sabbath keeping is the linchpin of a life lived in sync with the rhythms that God himself built into our world, and yet it is the discipline that seems hardest for us to live. Sabbath keeping honors the body's need for rest, the spirit's need for replenishment and the soul's need to delight itself in God for God's own sake. It begins with willingness to acknowledge the limits of our humanness and then to take steps to live more graciously within the order of things." Ruth Haley Barton, pg. 122

Our first occasion of seeing Sabbath in the Bible is in Genesis 2:2-3 where God patterns the Sabbath for us. He  models a life rhythm of work and rest. "By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done." God set this day apart from the other days because on it He rested. The day is holy, set apart, because on it we do what is different than the other days. We cease working.

"Sabbath provides for us now the rhythm for an entire reorientation of our lives around the living God. On Sabbaths we imitate God by stopping our work and resting." Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

So, here in this first occasion in Scripture, before the Law was given, before God commanded us to observe the Sabbath, we see Sabbath as our opportunity and invitation  to imitate our Creator, in whose image we have been created.

This is just the beginning. It will be exciting to see where this study leads us over the next few months and how it impacts our rhythm of life individually and as a church community.

Over the past few years I have developed a rhythm of rest that provides time daily each morning to rest in God's presence ~ to spend time in contemplation, prayer, Bible reading and journaling. I set aside a day each week to rest from work and, as an introvert, to have a "no people day"; a day filled with the things that re-energize my body, soul, and mind. And I set aside Sundays after church to have a day with my husband, a day where we try to keep busyness and events off the calendar and simply rest together. I think that when we have completed this study even the rhythms I do have in place will change some, will become more holy and set aside for the Lord.

Today we had a break in the routine, but one that has become a much needed rest...yet one more snow storm in this never-ending winter. I'm enjoying the unexpected break at home.

Out With the Old..

I have been absent from this blog for almost a month. I finished up the busy Christmas season at work, got ready for the holiday and the week of Christmas recovering my energy and my soul. Downtime is so good for the soul. :)

For the past few weeks I have had a sense of anticipation for the new year ~ fresh starts, new beginnings - a new year always brings with it a sense of being able to start over and this year I just feel like I want to move beyond some things and get on with life. But more on that in a future post (hopefully this weekend). Before I get too much into looking ahead at the new year I want to finish the old.

I didn't get to participate in Advent creatively as I have done over the past few years. I just didn't have the creative energy this year. I followed an Advent devotional online and participated in the planning and conversation at church, even giving the 4th Sunday Advent message and candle lighting (it can be found here: http://gracetoledo.org/2013/12/advent-peace/). But Advent art journaling just didn't come easily this year. This is the only page I made:

The cry of Advent is my desire for the year ahead. The past few years have been rough for me on a number of levels and I'm ready to move out of that place of feeling down and stuck. I need a fresh dose of hope and it is only through the God of hope that it can be found. Again, more on that in future posts.

My current altered book art journal is so close to being complete. I have only 3 or 4 pages left to journal on and it is done. This is a great accomplishment for me. I am such a great starter, but I have numerous unfinished art journals on my shelf. Most of the time I'm okay with this. I think it goes along with just letting myself flow creatively and being okay with that. But I have also discovered a clue to my finishing a journal: no theme. For some reason I can't connect with now, when I first began art journaling I felt I needed to have themed journals. But the problem is that I carry so many things in my head that I would need too many themed journals to keep up with and that may be why they don't always get finished. I move on to the next thing that has captured my attention. (Wow, that sounds rather A.D.D.) With my current journal I didn't care about theme. It contains everything from this past year and therein lies my secret to completing journals! So as I wrap up my current journal here are some of the pages I've completed in the past month:

That pretty much wraps up 2013 for me. I am so ready for 2014 and am glad it is here! Hopefully you will hear from me again in the next few days and we can begin the next chapter!