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.

Light and Sight

Last month I shared about a journal I made to record what I saw when I was studying John 9 about Jesus healing the blind man. I recently wrote an article for our church blog about my study for John 9 and I thought I would share it here as well.

Our church is journeying through the Gospel of John. When we study and read and hear messages in the context of the whole book we gain a much deeper understanding of the author’s intent. We get the whole story and we are able to better grasp how those who were there would have understood what was said and done. When we simply pull out certain passages or verses on their own we often miss out on a greater significance found in the context. One theme that has appeared as we have journeyed through the Gospel of John has been how John records Jesus’ use of the Messianic passages from the Old Testament to make clear that he is the Messiah. The Jews of the first century would have understood the significance of both Jesus’ words and his actions because of their lifelong hearing and understanding of the prophecies and signs pointing to the Messiah’s arrival. They were steeped in a longing and waiting and watching posture for the appearance of a Savior who would bring them freedom. A few weeks ago two members of our study team each spoke from John 9:1-41 (here and here) which gives the details of Jesus healing the blind man and the response of this event from the Pharisees, his parents and others. This chapter in the book of John is full of references to the Messianic prophecies. As I studied for Creative Team (this team studies the passages for the message and helps plan the service) for this chapter in John I got “rabbit-trailed” by the references to “light and sight” and I trailed them throughout the Bible, especially in relationship to Christ. In the Old Testament the giving of sight to the blind – both physical sight and spiritual sight – was a sign of the Messiah and the Messianic reign. Light in the Old Testament was often used as a metaphor for God’s salvation.

 Do you see what I see? 

We use many “light” and “sight” sayings in our day to reflect our grasp or understanding of something: I see, see the light, shed light on, bring to light just to name a few. At times we have light bulb moments or see things in a new light. Read the following passages and “see” if you can hear Jesus’ words and view His actions in a “new Light”. Hear them as the first century Jews would have. Look for the signs of the Messiah – the Christ, our Savior. (Note: this is not an exhaustive list)

 “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them – he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.” Psalm 146:5-9 

 “The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1 

 “You, LORD, are my lamp, the Lord turns my darkness into light.” 2 Samuel 22:29 

Of the coming Messiah Isaiah says, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of darkness a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2 

 “In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 29:18-19

A song of the joy of the redeemed when the LORD brings the reign of the Messiah: “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “be strong, do not fear, your God will come, he will come with vengeance, with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy.” Isaiah 35:3-6 

Of His servant, the Messiah: “This is what God the LORD says – the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open the eyes that are blind, to free the captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness…I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.” Isaiah 42:5-7, 16 

 “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6 

And then Jesus is born. His parents take him to the temple to be dedicated to the LORD. In the temple was an elderly man named Simeon, to whom the Holy Spirit had revealed that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah. When Simeon saw the baby Jesus “he took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all nations: a light of revelation for the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” Luke 2:28-32 

Jesus, now an adult, stands in the temple and reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:17-21 (Jesus read from Isaiah 61)

John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who is to come or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Luke 7:20-22 

Now we come to the Gospel of John. Read with the previous verses in mind: 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind…The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” John 1:1,4,9 

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 

In John 9 (you can read the full chapter here) Jesus heals a man born blind. The Pharisees question the man about Jesus. “They said, “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”….”he opened my eyes.” John 9:24-25, 30. 

“Jesus said, “For judgement I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” John 9:39 

“Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” John 12:44-46 

For those of us who follow Christ on this side of His death and resurrection: 

  “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness”, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 

 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

Did you see what I saw? After reading these passages did you feel the impact of what Jesus’ words and actions would have had on the first century Jews? Doesn’t it make you wonder why the Pharisees, the very ones educated in the Scripture, couldn’t see clearly that the Messiah was right there among them? Yet all of their education and tradition did not enable them to see that Jesus was the Messiah. Seeing Jesus for who he really was took faith. The blind man grasped that. After reading these passages, and then reading that the Pharisees still could not see the Messiah right there among them, it makes me wonder: What am I blind to? What things does God put right in front of us and yet we fail to see them clearly? I encourage you to dig into Scripture and get “rabbit-trailed” from time to time and see where it takes you.

I'm starting to fill in the journal pages with my study notes and will share over the next few weeks. Taking what I study in God's Word and making art journal pages is a way of reflecting on the Word and taking it deep into my heart and mind. I love how Bible study is  a creative spark for me and how it gives me emotional and spiritual energy. 

My Light and Sight journal

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!

Something to Ponder

For a few weeks in August five ladies from my church got together with me to make art and listen to my ideas about being creative, our faith and identity in Christ, and self-care. It was fun introducing some of these ladies to art journaling. It was also a good exercise for me and testing my teaching voice. I have taught on various topics for different events at church, mainly in regards to Bible Study or mission, and I have used my voice here on this blog. But I have had a nudge in my heart and spirit to explore using my voice in other ways regarding faith and art. What I discovered over these weeks is that I have way too much inside me and it really needs more time to develop into something cohesive. But this time with these ladies also sparked some different creative ideas which I will share here on my blog in the months ahead as well as through some other projects I am going to be a part of in the near future.

In prep for our last get together to talk about self-care, I read a passage that is very familiar to me, and probably to many of you, but this time reading it brought to mind some different questions. Let me share:

The passage: "Jesus replied, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two verses." Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus had just been asked by one of the Pharisees in verse 36 which commandment is the greatest. The verse above give His answer. Not one, but two commandments are given as the greatest: loving God and loving your neighbor. Paul points to this last part, loving your neighbor, as a way of summing up all of the commandments in one (Romans 13:9) and as a way of fulfilling the entire Law (Galatians 5:14).

The part that brought about my questions was "Love your neighbor as yourself."

I think sometimes we view self-care as being selfish or self indulgent, but this verse makes an assumption: that you are already loving yourself in a manner that is healthy and good, and that out of that place you will love your neighbor/others in the same manner.To me loving yourself is about self-care. It's about taking care of yourself in ways that keep you healthy emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually so that you can be your best for others. Jesus modeled this when he withdrew and sought solitude, rest and time for prayer. He even did this at the expense of not serving others needs. He taught it and modeled it to His disciples. He was so in tune with His Father and the Father's will that he was able to discern when it was time for self-care and when it was time for caring for others.

So ponder these questions with me:

• How well are you doing at loving yourself?
• If you are not putting self-care/love practices into place that are healthy, then how well are you really loving others?
• Are you loving others out of something unhealthy? Such as co-dependency? Dysfunction? Facades? Trying to get your own needs met? Selfishness - to get something in return?
• Do you know yourself and your limits well enough to know how to fill your energy tank in the areas I listed above?
• Do you regularly take time to examine your emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental health?
• Do you regularly practice spiritual disciplines or habits that help shape you spiritually? Habits of rhythm such as rest, Sabbath, retreats that help energize you?
• Or are you spiritually thirsty? Worn out? Running on empty or burned out?

These are just some of the questions this passage brought about for me. 

For me, self-care is a way of loving myself that is healthy, not selfish. In fact, Cloud and Townsend in their book "Boundaries" call self-care stewardship of the gifts God has given us. The end goal of self-care is what determines whether it is selfishness or stewardship: Am I doing this to make me better for God and others or just to make me better. The answer definitely requires soul searching and listening to God in prayer.

I encourage you to make self-care a priority. Pray through the questions above. You may even want to use this as a topic to explore for art journaling! I do quite often!

Earlier this week I got a surprise in the mail. Elissa, who I know through the Documented Life Project sent me an envelope full of "Happy Mail". Thanks Elissa! Here's a small sampling of what was in the envelope.

Last weekend I spent some time painting papers for one of the exercises our group did. I noticed I  reach for The circle templates, stencils and stamps a lot!

And a recent non-Documented Life art journal page. 

My Sabbath Day and art are big parts of self-care for me. What practices are significant to your self-care?

Art Journaling

It is a busy season for me right now, but I have been faithful to taking a few minutes whenever I can to play in my art journal. These pages are a sampling from the past few weeks.

Contemplation...again

You know how it is; you start to study or read about something and it pops up everywhere. Everything I read now-a-days seems to have a thread about contemplation running through it. But then, I guess that the topics I've been reading about and the authors I've been reading have a bent toward the contemplative ~ solitude and Sabbath-keeping, rhythms of life, prayer, Henri Nouwen, Ruth Haley Barton, practicing being in God's presence, Greg Boyd, Richard Foster, hospitality ~ these all carry similar threads. So they weave together in my mind and in my heart and make their way onto the pages of my art journals.

I lean so much more toward solitude now than when I was younger. Sometimes too much so, and I have to be gently reminded by God that He made me to be in community also. Since learning that the way I have kept my written journals in the past is actually a known practice called "commonplacing", I find I want to put more and more of what I'm reading on the pages of my art journals. (See previous blog post here: Commonplace )

It's been a nice long weekend. I've spent good time in solitude, reading and making art. I've spent time with my husband watching movies. And later today and tomorrow I will enjoy time in community at a birthday party and then an adoption celebration. Overall a very good weekend. And also the perfect calm I need before the storm of crazy busyness over the next three weeks. You can't work in a church and with kids and partner in ministry to a school and not be busy at Christmastime! So, there will be limited art time and limited blog time in the weeks ahead, but I will make bits and pieces of time for solitude and contemplation to keep my heart and soul connected to Him who provides all that we need. :)

From the pages of the books I'm reading:

The books:

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton

Repenting of Religion by Gregory Boyd

Reaching Out by Henri Nouwen