I heard a comment about a recent blog. It filled me with so much hope and joy, It has to be shared with all of you. “my day was not going well and just reading the blog turned it all around. That never happened before.” I am so thrilled that these words could do that for him. The power of the Holy Spirit is at work in all of us. The words I am given that are shared here are an added declaration to the power that is moving in each of us. 
BUILDING SPIRITUAL BOUNDARIES
IS IMPORTANT IN OUR DEDICATION – to loving God without interference from the evil and selfish intentions around us. Once we are convinced of our need for spiritual boundaries, the next step is to figure out how to form them. This blog has often talked about how to do this. We can build these boundaries in all kinds of fun and inventive ways. It really works better if we have this attitude because it crowds out any fear that can get in the way of this working. Know that we will have the strength and inspiration of the Holy Spirit within and behind us in executing what we do.
We could start by just exploring what colors and shapes are appealing to us. Are there patterns or natural materials that often come into our minds. These should be images that delight us and feel comforting or even protective. A climbing rose, full of beautiful blossoms, comes to mind. This is just one example. It could be a glowing ring of light or a box made from an invisible lattice. There is no limit to the materials and shape it could be. There could be more than one that we choose. We might have different protection forms for different situations. Whatever we choose, play around with it. Picture it from different angles and decide just how we want it to look to us. It is completely for our use and benefit. It will not be visible to anyone else.
Once we have a structure we like, it is time to infuse it with energy, through prayer and intention. Our wishes from what we ask to be protected are primarily important. The Holy Spirit will be supporting us in this. However, we need to be intentional about wanting to be protected and aware of what we will do with distractions and evil intentions removed. Even as we have fun making our containers, what we intend to do with our lives needs to be focused. So, as we pray, let us keep that focus in mind. Have in mind what we are about to do and ask for our protection in light of what we intend to accomplish. Picture what things will be like when we have accomplished what we are seeking to do. This will bolster our focus. In a recent blog, we used the protection while driving as an example. We can picture some kind of impervious container around our car. We pray for a safe trip to our destination, for our vehicle and all around us. This process is very successful and has the effect of reducing our own stress in getting to our destination. It will also affect the other vehicles around us and any passengers involved. Remember this is energy we are employing here. And energy radiates out to our surroundings. Fear, which is also energy, has a way of dampening it. So when we can employ this method, it reduces our fear and is therefore more powerful in our lives and everyone surrounding us. The amazing result of employing spiritual protection will not only benefit us, it will also benefit everyone else around where we are. This is ministry and the work of love. Protective and loving Spirit, we are grateful that your generosity provides protection for everyone. Help us learn to use this gift to avoid evil and spread the energy of love in the world. Amen. PEACE 8 31 20
This is No. 3 in a series about Building and Using Spiritual Boundaries.
LEARNING TO BUILD
OUR PROTECTIVE BOUNDARIES – is for our Spiritual health and the welfare of the sacred work we do. Long ago in the history of the church, the idea developed that we are expected to be “nice” to everyone and at all costs to ourselves. The image of the suffering servant gets mixed up in this, confusing the purpose of being a loving disciple. We are called to love one another as we love ourselves. This is very different from the idea of never-ending niceness. In the various places in scripture where we are called to love, we find there is an end goal God has in mind. That goal is for all of us to have a loving relationship with God and each other. This is a relationship of choice and it takes the strength of mind and heart, born of our sacred connection, to come to that. This is not at all like an attitude of being nice with no point to it or having a goal in mind. Everything in the universe has purpose. To reject that is to be unengaged in the real life God offers. Being nice is a momentary expression that puts our own effectiveness at risk. The Christian life requires us to be intentional about the way we make decisions and treat one another. Part of learning to do all this involves developing ways to protect us from distractions, deliberate misdirection and the evil intention of the world.
Imagery plays an important part in developing our boundaries. In many passages, the Bible uses the images of bulwark, armor and stone walls to help us think of the protection God offers us. These impenetrable objects are not helpful in thinking of the barriers we need to defend ourselves against the sophisticated and subtle ways the world has of trying to penetrate our boundaries. The barriers the Holy Spirit can help us develop are permeable to love, not solid like metal or stone. That means we are able to send love through these shields, while also receiving the unselfish love of those who have no agenda or selfish intent and still remain shielded from the world’s harmful intentions. Boundaries have intent and purpose behind them. As we grow, we can begin to trust in these protective shields until one day, all of a sudden, we know we have a strength and confidence we can stand in as we face challenges. This will feel different from the way we have faced difficult or unknown circumstances before. Temptations will come and we will find ourselves standing firmly in our confidence to resist their pull. It is both a glorious and a humbling feeling. This is the power of the Holy Spirit shining in us, giving us the strength to withstand what the world is throwing at us. As long as we stay rooted in our connection to the Spirit, that strength will remain in us, helping us withstand the pull of distractions and selfishness from others who do not have the same focus for their lives.
We can develop our own image of what our protection looks like. We might think of a ring or fence of iron or greenery that is our barrier between us and the world. Some think of a sphere or bubble that may be any color we choose. Have fun with this, as we rely on the strength it offers through the power and unconditional love of the Holy Spirit.
Strong Spirit, we are grateful that you have this system of protection we can tap into and use for our lives. Continue to show us how to build our defenses, while always remaining open to the give and take of unselfish love. Amen. PEACE
This is No. 2 in a series about Building and Using Spiritual Boundaries. No. 3 is tomorrow.
LEARNING TO EMBRACE
SPIRITUAL BOUNDARIES – will potentially protect us from harm and allow us to live a more confident life. I am speaking about a set of boundaries built in the unconditional love God gives us. These are limits we set as we live and encounter the actions of others. It really means embarking on an examined and directed life. Some of the decisions we then make may be the “I will not go there” kind and others are from the perspective of the kind of life we determine to live. This includes the activities we decide not to do, together with the people we spend our time around and the goals and activities we want to pursue.
The undisciplined life may hit some good experiences some of the time. There will also be many bad or unproductive times. One of the great blessings of living a directed life is the joy we are given through God’s grace, while facing each day with the assurance that we will be successful in most of what we do for God, as long as we are connected. An important part of that directed life is learning to set boundaries for ourselves, in order to protect the potential for loving and serving God. Many have been overwhelmed, burned out, led astray and become lost for lack of boundaries. These are developed as we grow spiritually, finding that we are not meant to be everything for everyone. We are not called to do for others as a way of being “nice”. This also acknowledges the personal responsibilities others need to take for their own lives. Boundaries are an important part of focusing on what we are called to do, while coming to terms with those things for which we have no interest or talent.
Jesus tells the disciples, in Luke 9, to shake the dust from their shoes when the people of a village didn’t receive them. Here, Jesus is helping them to learn boundaries. In Ephesians 4, we hear Paul recognize the results of becoming more mature in our understanding of our place in the work of the faith. “ 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love,” Learning to embrace our boundaries and then realizing that they will give clarity to what our life is about and the ability to recognize those who threaten our purpose are all gifts of growing, while learning to protect ourselves from selfish outside influences. There will always be those who would rather have someone else do things for them, instead of doing the harder things and taking responsibility for themselves. It is not acting in love to succumb to these folks. They are trying to tear down our boundaries. Selfish people are not real friends. The Holy Spirit will help us see this and move on to the work we are called to do. Jesus shows us how he was not distracted by provocative stories or behavior. We are not to fall for this either. Just because there are cries for help, they need to be examined through the guidance of the Spirit. This is an important discipline, lest we lose our way and become ineffective in our life’s work. We seek the boundaries we need, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, just as we seek truth in love. These are boundaries conceived in love and permeable to love. Guiding Spirit, teach us to set boundaries, so that we may discern the work we are called to do and learn the limits of ministry. Show us how the limits will strengthen our focus and the ability to bear fruit, in service to God. Amen. PEACE
This is No. 1 in a series about Building and Using Spiritual Boundaries. Nos. 2 & 3 to follow.
REMAIN IN PRAYER
WHEN THE WORDS WON’T COME – for the Spirit still hears and knows our hearts. When we are deep in despair, it can be hard to put our thoughts together coherently. The point of prayer is to open our hearts. It does not need words to communicate. That is a function of our brains. When we are feeling emotional, for any reason, it becomes difficult to put those feelings into words. Often, if we do try, they come out wrong or fail to come together at all. The Holy Spirit knows us intimately and does not need our words to understand us. When we attempt to pray and are not able to put despair into words, we can remain in a state of openness to the Spirit. What we cannot speak will still be heard. “As I sink in despair, my spirit ebbing away, you know how I’m feeling,” Psalm 142 The Message
In such a high emotional state, we become locked up and find it difficult to function. We may have the feeling of just wanting to hide. At such a time, we can always lay our burden before the Spirit. Imagery can become helpful at such times. When we cannot say the words, our minds and hearts can help by forming pictures in our heads. Our personal variations of how this plays out are limitless. Basically, we are laying our burden down. This means we are giving it over to the Spirit, who is able to lift it from us. It is gone and we can begin to live differently, because it has been taken away from our backs. It is not weighing down our souls. We can begin to heal. Psalm 144 brings us hope and direction. “9 I will sing a new song to you, O God! I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp. 10 For you grant victory to kings! You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword. 11 Save me! 15 Yes, joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord. ” Then we can start to ask for the help to move forward into a new and different way to approach our days, without the burdens we were carrying. Despite the painfulness the pandemic has brought, it has also presented us with an opportunity to view life as it is and then ask ourselves, “Is this the way I want to continue to live?” The Spirit is always present within us and willing to support us in any changes we feel we need to make. Through despair or joy, the Spirit remains in us with never-ending love. O Spirit, we are grateful that you are present in our lives and willing to support us in whatever happens. Guide us as we face the obstacles in our path each day, showing us how to go around or through them, for the benefit of us all. Amen. PEACE
OUR CREATOR’S LOVE FOR US
IS COMPLETE AND UNCONDITIONAL – never leaving us or deserting us.
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head. Psalm 139 NLT
Most of us live with a sKepticism of our prayers being heard, let alone answered. And yet this passage shows us the minute detail in which the Holy One knows us intimately and cares about what we do and say. So that even when circumstances seem to disconnect us from The Spirit’s presence, it is only we who feel that way. The connection is never really severed. It is always intact. We just need to become aware of it again or for the first time. This is evidence of how much we are loved. The Message tells us “Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight?” The Lord will not lose track of us or become distracted and forget about us. The Spirit is not like humans. The steadfastness and constancy of the Lord’s love ARE beyond our ability to measure it. As we are reminded in !st Corinthians 13, “Love never ends.” Love is energy and cannot be destroyed. By extension, that means the love the Spirit has for us is never-ending and cannot just stop or dwindle away. On our good days or bad, God is there and will not walk away or forget us. The support and guidance provided for us will be with us and bolster our lives always. O Lord, you know us now, in the past and into our future. We are grateful beyond expressing it fully. The world is such a hostile place and we need your presence more than ever. As we reach out to you, help us know you are there. Forgive our lack of trust and our doubt. Show us how deeply you know our hearts and direct us toward a deeper level of knowing you. We pray for your guidance as we navigate this hostile world. Show us where your love is found. Amen. PEACE
FACING TRAUMATIC SITUATIONS
FROM THE STRENGTH WE ARE GIVEN – is possible, when we are connected to our guidance. Chaos can happen so easily in these times. It can feel like trying to hold onto sand. You want to keep where it belongs, just when it starts slipping through your fingers. This could be a description of what happens when what we thought were our walls of protection start to crumble. The world is not a predictable place right now. Just when we begin to cope with the worst thing we can imagine happening, we have to hold on for the next event to shake our foundations. If we try to follow the advice the world give us, we try to keep a stiff upper lip, tough it out, or even get angry and take it out on our family.
When we find we can no longer hold it all together and feel ourselves crumbling, we can turn to the love that will hold us up. Isaiah 41 helps us. “10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. 13 For I hold you by your right hand – I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.” There is a light shining for us, that will illuminate the darkness around us. The Holy One will not leave us unprotected and directionless.When we pray for help, it will come. “2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!” [Psalm 121] Practically speaking, the first thing to do is meditate and connect to the Creator, however we choose. This will have a stabilizing effect. We will not feel so adrift. If we can remain in a prayerfully meditative state, we will be led to the next steps. If we are not able to connect, we can read the Bible, specifically reassuring passages from the Psalms, to hear how God loves and connects to us. At some point in this process, we will be able to begin to lay our burdens at the feet of the One who loves us without question, no matter what we feel may separate us from this love. When we ask for the walls of fear to be smashed, it will be the beginning of a journey of learning how to get up every day and get something done, even in this world of chaos. We can learn to live through the fear, guided by the Spirit who is always there. We will learn to replace our attempts of trusting in the world to put our trust in what will never let us go. This is the unfailing love and mercy the Holy One offers us. O Lord, pull us from the depths of our despair. Show us a different view of a world lived in love. Help us see the others who are already living in the light of your love and are being strengthened by it. Extend your right hand and lift us up. We are grateful that you offer us a different way to live. Amen. PEACE
BEING GOD’S PEOPLE
IN THE WORLD – is a tricky path to follow. I can remember how frustrated I was when I was young. It seemed as though I was always either getting in trouble with someone or disappointing them. Then I began to learn that there were times when things went right, and I determined to figure out why this happened. It wasn’t something obvious, and it took a while to come to a partial understanding. The most disheartening part of it all was that I never intended anything but love for everyone I encountered. It tore me up inside when others couldn’t see that, especially when it was “church people.” How could they think I would want to do things that hurt others? I didn’t realize until later that it said more about them than it did about me. We all have similar struggles of learning to live with God. I assumed, being older, that they knew more about this than I did.
As I got older, I knew that some of what I went through was just suffering, to learn that the world is not always a hospitable place, and not even all those in local churches are loving or following the kind of life we are called to live. Even though I grew up in the church, it took me a long while to learn that when things went right, through no doing of my own, it was God, doing something powerful and loving. I had learned before that, that when I worked with God, I got better results than I did on my own. Two short passages, that occur together in Luke, chapter 9 meant a lot to me then. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” I felt Jesus reaching out to me through these words. It gave me the courage to follow the path God had set before me. Then earlier in that same chapter, this helped me come to terms with the folks in local churches who are not always intending to follow Jesus: 5 “If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” Knowing Jesus said this helped to take the sting out of the hurt. It helped me forgive them, knowing we are only perfected as we live our lives out with guidance, and as we live each day seeking the light. Then this verse from John 12: 26 follows up on verse 24 from Luke: “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” For me, this really spells out how connected we can be to God, as we do what God has asked us to do. The world is a tricky place to live in while doing the work of God, but we are never alone in that work. We are loved, given God’s power and tools, and supported in every way we need it. When we are open to God and finally learn how to access all this, the path is less tricky, and life is much more joyful. Loving and supportive God, thank you for all the love and care you offer us. We never need to be alone in what we do. Guide us so that we may see you with us, as we walk the difficult paths in this world. Amen. PEACE
LEARNING TO DRIVE
AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE – to reduce stress and even save your life. Driving our vehicles can either be a frustrating experience, a mundane trip of here to there or a beneficial spiritual practice. It can also be a means of love and mercy. Which experience would you choose? We could choose to simply start out driving or go through a short process to engage the power of love and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This method can be applied to all sorts of situations in our lives, not only driving. This will also work when we are preparing for and going through a challenging meeting or getting through a long repetitive set of tasks. Whatever we may face in a day, this method will support our experience and add to our understanding of how the Spirit remains with us throughout our day. This builds on methods and disciplines we have already been discussing here. These include the practice of meditation to start our day, establishing a prayerful connection to our Creator, then relying on the trust we place in that connection, while allowing love to become the lens through which we see others around us.
This spiritual practice of driving begins with the way we start our day. We start with a grounding meditation, where we connect to the core of the earth, the center of the energy in our world. We can think of ourselves as trees with deep roots, connecting us to the core of creation. Then, through prayer and meditation, we establish our spiritual connection to whatever we rely on outside of ourselves. I say it this way because we need not be Christian to use this method. This can be as short or long a process as we need it to be. As we repeat this practice, it may become possible to begin in quiet concentration and then continue as we go about our routine, in a prayerful way. One important aspect of all this is to make sure we leave our home in a bubble of protection. We can pray to get help in setting this up. It requires us to visualize this protection and ask for help in maintaining it until we return home later. This is not something we do. It is what we allow to be done in us. This is a cocoon of loving energy that protects us from negativity and harm. I have a friend who thinks of his as a green sphere of energy, that is permeable only to love. So with our protection in place, we are ready to drive. We take with us our trust in the love of the universe, which for Christians is embodied in Christ.
As we begin our journey, we are watchful for the unexpected. When another driver does something untoward, we employ forgiveness and mercy for whatever may be on their minds that causes erratic behavior. We send them love and wishes for their day to improve. We may send out prayers to other drivers for better thinking as they interact in traffic. As I back out of my driveway, I always begin with a prayer for all I encounter on the road to arrive safely at our destinations. This is all done in an attitude of trusting a power greater than we can imagine. If at any point in our trip we begin to feel anxious, we only need to pray to renew our trust in this powerful love. This is employing power beyond ourselves. When we arrive in safety, we can express our gratitude that we have once again been sustained by this unconditional love, or at least are learning to rely on the guidance we have available to us. As we use this practice, it will become more a part of who we are and will feel natural to us to send love to others. Hopefully, the lessons of driving with a loving attitude will spill over into learning to do our jobs with love as well. Loving Spirit, we are grateful for the ways in which you show us how to live a life of love. May allowing your love to permeate our driving experiences lead to other arenas where we can show loving reactions to less than ideal situations. Support our acts of mercy by showing us the ways to love others. Amen. PEACE
SHOW GOD’S CREATIVE LOVE
BY THE WAYS WE HELP OTHERS – serving unselfishly. I saw a man in Home Depot with a service dog, and it got me curious. He did not look blind and my DH and I had just been talking about all the ways service dogs are being helpful to people in need of support. In doing some research I found many organizations that are working in service dog training, to support many disorders. The one that most interested me was the work being done for soldiers with PTSD and traumatic brain injury. There is a group of volunteers who have put together “Operation Delta Dog”, exclusively for veterans with PTSD and TBI, that involves rescue dogs. I am very impressed with the work they have already done and are doing to improve the lives of both the vets and the dogs. Centered in northeastern Massachusetts, they network with dog rescue groups, even at a distance, to find good candidates for training. These dogs are fostered, given an assessment for readiness, and then introduced to a veteran. They then go through training together for about a year. The dogs learn to assist the vet in the individual ways they need support. It does wonders for both vet and dog. The site has vignettes of each dog in training and the ones that have graduated from the program. Most of the dogs have been in a kennel for a long time, and may have been mistreated. One had even been shot and was overcoming his own dog form of PTSD. It gives the veterans a sense of helping the dog, as well as receiving help. What a great reciprocal relationship between the two partners, and it is all about love. If you are interested in supporting such a wonderful enterprise, see the link below. It takes more than $20,000 including all expenses to complete the training for one veteran/dog team. I intend to support them, and I am spreading the word, of the kind of love God wants us to show to one another, even our animal companions. Our support can include positive energy prayers for all involved.
This group is an example of taking something we love and turning it into a huge benefit for others. This group has taken loves and interests that coincided into a real ministry, even though it isn’t called one. God works through those who are unaware of the reason they are doing good, knowing it is the right thing to do. They are following God’s grace working in them to bring love and healing to others. God of all creation, we thank you for those who do your work unawares. Help us to recognize and support this and other instances you help us discover. We ask a special blessing for this group, who are giving new life to traumatized veterans and their canine helpers. They are surely spreading your love in the world. Amen. PEACE
Bethlehem, PA - August 17, 2019
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Join us daily to explore prayer in its broadest expression, linking us to a relationship with a present and loving God of promise and possibilities, instead of expectations. Possibilities offer us choice and expectations are full of shoulds. God offers us unconditional love and acceptance, that may grow through prayer. I hope this blog may assist you toward prayer becoming part of your life everyday. Prayer can help us in specific situations or become the basic building block of a closer relationship with God. Welcome to love.
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