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Bill's Blog - Monthly Summary
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Hello! Here's a summary of my posts from the past month. I'm glad you're with me on the journey. My goal for this journey through life is to "wake up, remember and come alive," and help others do the same. So to that end, take what's helpful here and leave the rest! (Looking forward to reading some of your post comments as well.) |
Anonymous Survey...Can I ask for a favor? Please fill out this short ANONYMOUS survey about some online courses I'm creating. I'd love to get your feedback! Thanks! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CK89JPM |
For a Friend Lying in Intensive Care Waiting for Her White Blood Cells to Rejuvenate After a Bone Marrow Transplant (by Barbara Crooker) The jonquils. They come back. They split the earth with their green swords, bearing cups of light. The forsythia comes back, spraying its thin whips with blossom, one loud yellow shout. The robins. They come back. They …
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"All shall be well. For there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go." Julian of Norwich Beautiful words by a mystic from the 14th century. In other words for all mystics today - trust. Because God is love, perfect love casts out fear and nothing shall be able …
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Maybe. A Chinese proverb tells the story is told of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "Maybe," the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How …
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Love Story (by Wesley McNair) What was opening the door Those years ago to let our four kids One by one followed by the dog Into the backseat of the old compact car We’d parked in the driveway Next to the down hill road because The battery went dead the day before – What, but a prayer? What were our …
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Pastoral Humor. Some humor, jokes and stories about pastors - that, as a pastor, make me laugh and give me perspective. I think Jesus must laugh at a lot of the things that pastors do too. Going to Heaven The preacher said to his congregation, "I want everyone who wants to go to heaven to stand up." Everyone stood up, except …
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The Avowal (by Denise Levertov) As swimmers dare to lie face to the sky and water bears them, as hawks rest upon air and air sustains them, so would I learn to attain freefall, and float into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace, knowing no effort earns that all-surrounding grace. Change me, O God, into one who trusts. So much of Christianity …
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"My heart is at ease knowing that what was meant for me will never miss me, and that what misses me was never meant for me." Sufi Prayer This beautiful prayer reminds me of Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge God, and he will …
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Mindful (by Mary Oliver) Every day I see or I hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. It is what I was born for - to look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world - to instruct myself over and over in joy, and …
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Eustace Scrubb the Dragon Meets Alsan (In the book, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis, Eustace Scrubb comes upon a dragon's lair and in trying to take the treasure, turns into a dragon himself. He eventually is able to communicate his predicament to his shipmates but realizes he is stuck like this forever - miserable and lonely. At …
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I'd Pick More Daisies (by Nadine Stair) If I had my life to live over, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax, I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I …
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Prime the Pump First. There was a man who got lost in the desert. After wandering around for a long time his throat became very dry, about that time he saw a little shack in the distance. He made his way over to the shack and found a water pump with a small jug of water and a note. The …
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When a Dog Runs Up (by Hafiz) Start seeing everything as God, but keep it a secret. Become like the man and woman who are awestruck and nourished listening to a golden nightingale sing in a beautiful foreign language while God, invisible to most, nests upon its tongue. Hafiz, who can tell in this world that when a dog runs …
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Just Coincidence? "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." Albert Einstein The more I trust God, the more coincidences, synchronicities, serendipities and divine surprises seem to happen in my life. Things that I never could plan or imagine or figure out myself seem to happen. Life becomes an adventure of discovery. As Proverbs 3:5-6 says, It's an invitation to trust …
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Enough: A Prayer of Abundance (by Janet Conner) Dear God of the universe, creator of all life, hear me. This one prays. In the mirror. In the reflection that bounces from me to the world and back again, there is a circle, a circle of sadness. I am not enough. They see “not enough.” Therefore, I am not enough, not …
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Miracles (by Walt Whitman) Why, who makes much of a miracle? As to me I know of nothing else but miracles, Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan, Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky, Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water, Or stand under trees in …
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A Tandem Bike Ride With God I used to think of God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn't really know …
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