communication breakdown

tonight our journey team focuses in on our prayer life. we are utilizing the nooma video 019 "open" which centers on prayer. my prayer life is need of help and i wonder if others in our group might have the same affliction. sometimes my prayer time is full of life and sometimes it feels dead. sometimes i have those thoughts that God has enough on His plate and my stuff does not matter. that's foolish thinking. how do i know what is on God's plate and how much He can handle? the problem with me is that i have that "conditional love" thing going on in my head. i don't stop to think about how "unconditional love" works. no matter how distant i might feel from Him, that distance is on me - not Him. He is constant - i am inconsistent. that is why i need this message - i need the input of others and the way they pray. after all, this is our communication with God - that's big!

oh, wow!

our daughter jessica and grandson jay came to visit last weekend for mother's day. one afternoon after jay went down for a nap the girls went out shopping (imagine that!) and i stayed home with jay. he woke up not feeling well and just cried for his momma but momma wasn't home. so i walked around with him in my arms trying to substitute something for his need for his momma. nothing seemed to change things as he continued to cry. but as we were walking by a wreath on the front door, jay spots an artificial butterfly and all of a sudden without a hint of tears he exclaims "oh, wow!" and he is amazed at the beautiful butterfly. it has taken all of his focus from wanting his momma to sheer beauty. i think that is why Jesus says we must be like little children - to be able to find the beauty of God when all of our focus is on ourselves. oh, wow! - how i love the way this little guy teaches me new things. last night at journey team we talked about the ways we see God in our everyday lives. mostly we see Him through the nature that only He can create - the birds that sing, the flowers that bloom, the beauty of sunrise and sunset. some see Him through the melody of our favorite songs. i think those ways are our opportunity to become childlike and marvel at His creation. the deal is that we don't stop enough to smell His roses - to feel the wind upon our face. "be still and know that I am God", psalm 46:10.

education

i was a disaster as a student. from early childhood i was a rebellious, mischievous punk that disrupted classrooms making a general pita of myself. i could not see the reason for education. later in life i was diagnosed with add, adhd and dyslexia which are now treatable. i have been married to an educator for twenty five years and now have a profound understanding of how education shapes your life. therefore, i have added my name to the one campaign petition "the big read" aimed at helping all children with basic literacy. i hope you will watch the video and join the campaign.