God of the Sparrow 🌱 By Kathy Manis Findley

Beauty of Nature, God's Faithfulness, Light

Morning by Morning

September 28, 2016 Rev Kathy

“Morning by morning new mercies I see.”

What a beautiful thought from the hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” The hymn, one of my favorites, is filled with comforting images that describe the faithfulness of God. The words were written in 1923 by Thomas Obediah Chisholm, and the hymn continues to bless to this day.

A few weeks ago, I experienced a long night of fearfulness. In the early hours of the morning, I found myself still wide awake. Unable to sleep, my mind turned to concerns and worries that I could not shake. From out of nowhere, this hymn came to mind and I began singing silently in the night. A sense of comfort and protection swept over me, and I was again reminded of the deep comfort that this hymn brings. These words stilled my soul and sustained me until the light of morning.

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

How true is the thought, “morning by morning new mercies I see.” I am moved by the words of Bishop Steven Charleston who writes of the new beginning of every first light, how we are set free by the new light on more mornings than we can count. These are his words.

Here is the hand of morning, coming so quietly to part the curtain, letting in the first light, welcoming the wide-eyed day into the sleepy corners of our lives. A new beginning is the miracle that awaits each one of us. We are the people of new beginnings, each one of us, brought here by more mornings than we can count, fresh chances from an older life, a turn of events, a change of mind, an unexpected friend, how many different mornings have we seen? You and I are made of morning, set free by the new light, forever being welcomed into a life that is just beginning.

Life does bring dark nights, times that challenge our hearts and assault our spirits. But there is great comfort in knowing that the morning dawns, every time, bringing new hope and fresh beginnings. God is faithful to be present with us in the deep watches of hard nights. God also is the creator of new mornings and new mercies.

God's Faithfulness

Wilderness Wanderings

September 27, 2016 Rev Kathy

Do you ever feel that you are wandering aimlessly through a wilderness? There have been times when I could describe my life as wilderness wanderings . . . no direction, no sense of how to get past the desert, no way to escape. It is not a pleasant state of being. But it is not uncommon.

Generally wilderness wanderings follow the loss of a loved one, the ending of a relationship, a crisis in a career. When a person simply doesn’t see a clear path, the wandering begins. It can feel endless and lonely. It can raise fear and cause deep uncertainty.

While we may not be delivered from it right away, we can find comfort through it. Our faith can sustain us and remind us that God never leaves us or forsakes us. Many Biblical passages bring comfort and hope. One of my favorites is rather obscure, so I want to share it with you.

The Lord said, “Therefore, I will now persuade Israel, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. From there I will give her her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

– Hosea 2:14-23 (NRSV)

Friendship, Generosity

On Lovingkindness

September 26, 2016 Rev Kathy

Too often we use words of Scripture to prove a point. It can be a bad practice. Yet at times there are words that seem to speak clearly to our times. Such is this passage from the Book of Leviticus that is a clear call for lovingkindness.

When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

– Leviticus 19:33-34 New International Version (NIV)

This is what I hear clearly in this passage. The Lord is our God. And God commands us to treat foreign-born citizens with respect and love. It is as simple as that.

Juxtapose that command with the many voices calling for mass deportations, dividing immigrant families, and refusing to offer welcome to refugees fleeing from danger in their homeland. How can those who profess that they are people of faith advocate for unwelcoming national policy?

I cannot answer that question. I do not understand. What I do understand is this:

– 8.4 million Syrian children, inside and outside the country, are in need of humanitarian aid, and millions have borne witness to unrelenting violence from the brutal conflict that began more than five years ago.

– 2.6 million Syrian children are no longer in school and more than 2.5 million are living as refugees in neighboring countries or on the run in search of safety, helping to fuel a global migrant crisis.

– Syria is now the world’s biggest producer of both internally displaced people and refugees. Many children have spent several bitter winters living in makeshift shelters without adequate protection from the cold. (unicefusa.org)

On the brighter side the U.S. accepted more than 2,300 Syrian refugees in June of 2016 alone, sending the fiscal year total soaring past the 5,000 mark and putting the government on track to surpass President Obama’s goal of 10,000 by the end of September. (washingtontimes.com)

May God fill our hearts with compassion and lovingkindness. May our nation become a welcoming place of refuge. May we love others as we love ourselves.

Freedom

I Am Enough

September 25, 2016 Rev Kathy

Oh, the curse that taught us we have to be perfect! Many of us spent too many precious years of our lives striving for perfection, oblivious to the fact that perfection is simply not possible. What was it that made so many of us try to overcompensate and to convince ourselves that perfectionism is a quality?

Very late in life, I learned to embrace the phrase, “I am enough!” When I embraced that, I found freedom in my life. I found release from my own expectations. I found that I was liberated from an all-consuming desire to have the approval and admiration of other people.

It is, of course, worthwhile to teach our children to always strive to be the best they can be and to dream expansive dreams. But it is just as important to teach them, “You are enough just the way you are.”

Here’s what I see as I look back on my life: Everything did not have to be perfect. Every project did not have to be flawless. Every sermon did not have to be profound. The house did not have to be impeccably decorated and spotless. My child did not have to excel in all things. I did not have to give everyone the impression that I could not fail.

One does not walk into the forest and accuse the trees of being off-center. Nor do they visit the shore and call the waves imperfect. So why do we look at ourselves this way?

– Tao Te Ching

A blessing of older age is the honest belief — finally — that I am enough!

Courage, Faith, Life pathways

A Courageous Heart

September 24, 2016September 25, 2016 Rev Kathy

Sometimes things don’t work out as we hope they will. We have plans covered by faith, and we work hard to make our plans come to fruition. We have goals that we strive to achieve. We have dreams that we hope for. But dreams can be lost, and we are forced to dream new dreams and move forward.

The story of Moses tells how he led his people through the wilderness in hopes of reaching the land promised by God. Moses wandered the desert with a courageous heart. Along the way, he encountered all manner of experiences, the parting of the Red Sea, receiving the Ten Commandments, his experience with a bush that burned. Moses was honored by being appointed by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into Canaan.

But in spite of God’s anointing, Moses never went into the land of promise. This is what happened to Moses on Mount Nebo.

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.

Deuteronomy 34:1-4

It is true that Moses died without experiencing the promise, but oh, the miracles he saw along the journey! The lesson for us is to truly experience the sacred moments of our journeys, to savor the holy happenings, to take in the miracles that God shows us.

May God grant us eyes to see burning bushes and a heart courageous enough to cross Red Seas.

Friendship

Dear President Obama

September 23, 2016 Rev Kathy

Dear President Obama,

Remember the boy who was picked up by the ambulance in Syria? Can you please go get him and bring him to [my home]? Park in the driveway or on the street and we will be waiting for you guys with flags, flowers, and balloons. We will give him a family and he will be our brother. Catherine, my little sister, will be collecting butterflies and fireflies for him. In my school, I have a friend from Syria, Omar, and I will introduce him to Omar. We can all play together. We can invite him to birthday parties and he will teach us another language. We can teach him English too, just like my friend Aoto from Japan.

Please tell him that his brother will be Alex who is a very kind boy, just like him. Since he won’t bring toys and doesn’t have toys Catherine will share her big blue stripy white bunny. And I will share my bike and I will teach him how to ride it. I will teach him additions and subtractions in math. And he [can] smell Catherine’s lip gloss penguin which is green. She doesn’t let anyone touch it.

Thank you very much! I can’t wait for you to come!

Alex

6 years old

Last month, like people around the world, Alex was moved by the heartbreaking images of Omran Daqneesh, a five-year-old boy in Aleppo, Syria, sitting in an ambulance, in shock as he tried to wipe the blood from his hands.

In his letter, Alex told President Obama that he wanted Omran to come live with him and his family. He wanted to share his bike, and teach him how to ride. He said his little sister would collect butterflies for him. “We can all play together,” he wrote. “We will give him a family and he will be our brother.”

Those are the words of a six-year-old boy — a young child who has not learned to be cynical or suspicious or fearful of other people because of where they come from, how they look, or how they pray.

We’ll be waiting with flags, flowers and balloons.

With these words, we adults learn an important lesson from a six year old. Can we become as compassionate and welcoming to those who need a place to call home? Can we look at other humans as our brothers and sisters? Can we play together and work together to create a better world?

Can we?

Inspiration, Uncategorized

Without a Song

September 22, 2016 Rev Kathy

What a life is ours! Doesn’t anybody in the world anymore want to get up in the middle of the night and sing?

Mary Oliver, Upstream

The truth is that singing is good for you. For thousands of years, in all cultures, in all parts of the world, people have been singing.

Singing is in our genes and in human nature. All types of singing have positive psychological effects. The act of singing releases endorphins, the brain’s “feel good” chemicals.

The urge to sing – and to hear others sing – is in all of us. Singing – like laughter, play, sunshine, countryside and exercise – helps underpin and maintain our well-being and happiness.

You don’t even have to be good at it!

“Without a Song” is a popular song with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu, published in 1929. The song holds a great message.
Without a song the day would never end.
Without a song the road would never bend.
When things go wrong a man ain’t got a friend,
Without a song.

That field of corn would never see a plow.
That field of corn would be deserted now.
A man is born but he’s no good no how,
Without a song.

I got my trouble and woe but, sure as I know, the Jordan will roll;
And I’ll get along as long as a song is strong in my soul.

I’ll never know what makes the rain to fall.
I’ll never know what makes that grass so tall.
I only know there ain’t no love at all
Without a song.

Enjoy your day. Try a little singing.

Prayer

The Lord Bless You and Keep You

September 21, 2016September 21, 2016 Rev Kathy

May you enjoy abundant blessings on this first day of Fall. This season always reminds me of homecomings, making me nostalgic about friends and family far away.

As I think of my friends and family today, scattered across the world, I am compelled to offer a prayer for each one. I long to offer God’s blessing to my grandchildren, to my far away family, to my dear friends. So across the miles, I ask God’s blessing to brighten your day.

One of the most moving blessings in all of scripture is found in the book of Numbers. This I send to you today.
The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

I invite you to listen to the moving anthem, “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” by John Rutter at this link.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PO17DIeI7Ec

Beauty of Nature, Prayer

A Prayer for Morning Mercies

September 20, 2016February 11, 2017 Rev Kathy

What morning mercies are found in common images of nature! Nature shows us the extraordinary beauty of ordinary places, places that can revive our spirits and enliven our souls. Such a place is captured in the photography of J.V. McKinney who graces us with a view of one of the lakes in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

And I share with you a morning prayer written by James Richard Lahman in his book, Prayers of the Hours.

Caring God who watches over, nourishes, and invites me into union,

As I begin this new day, I offer thanks for the sleep, the rest, and the restorative gifts to my body and mind.

Holy God, you have watched over me while I did not know it.

You have awakened me with wholeness of body and spirit.

As you have blessed me in the silent watches of the night, enable me to make this new day a gift to you.

Visit my energies, skills and talents with a touch of divine grace so that when night comes I may present my gift with joy and thanksgiving.

Great Companion of all people, Holy Spirit, Truth Divine, to you I pray. Amen

Hope

We Never Lose Hope

September 19, 2016 Rev Kathy

Hope is a human feeling, not something mysterious or ethereal. We hold it in our hearts, always. It revives us when hopelessness threatens us. It dwells in our heart of hearts through it all. It remains constant through every dark day.

It is a reality of this life that hopelessness sometimes threatens to overcome us. But hope remains. Where does it come from? I believe that it is planted deep within us by our Creator, protected by divine care. And I believe that hope emerges from a strong faith in the God who guides our lives.

Bishop Steven Charleston says that there are not “many human feelings as tough and resilient as hope.”

He continues:

Hope has gotten me through some very hard days. I am willing to bet the same is true for you. Gotten me through not with airy wishes, but with a determination to stand my ground until the next dawn sends the shadows running. Never underestimate hope. It is the lifeline. It is what your soul sees when your eyes are in darkness. Hope is the eternal light that no fear can overcome.

We have the ability to hold hope in our hearts no matter what we face. There is no threat stronger than hope, no fear greater than hope. Even in the worst of times, we don’t despair and we never lose hope.
My soul, wait silently for God,
for my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my refuge; I will not be moved.

– Psalm 62:5-6

Life pathways

A Way Out of No Way

September 18, 2016 Rev Kathy

I think of life as a journey, one pathway after another with mysteries on each route. Common it is to find obstacles along the path, obstacles that block the way. That is life’s way. Stones in the road, boulders on the path . . . at every turn stopping us in our tracks.

Certainly, life for us is no smooth journey, no easy route. But we move on, moving the obstacles out of the way and going forward as steady as we can. Now and then, the pathway is completely blocked, preventing even one more step.

The best news for us is that God is in the business of making a way out of no way. God clears the path when we cannot. God moves the obstacles when they are immovable for us.

This is what the Lord says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43:16-19

And so it is, we are graced with God’s new thing. We are blessed with a way in the wilderness. The boulders are moved aside, out of our way. Our pathway has been divinely cleared. We are given a way out of no way. Amen.

peace, Prayer, Serenity, Silence

A Syllable of God

September 17, 2016 Rev Kathy

I long for a space of deep listening, but in my humanity, I can’t get there. My mind is too busy with mundane things. I can’t seem to still my soul enough to truly hear God speaking to me. I could surmise that the reason I do not hear is because God is not speaking. I could settle for a silent God that is simply not communicating with me.

But my faith knows better than that. The years of my journey of faith have taught me that God is speaking far more than I am listening. It is my task to find a space of stillness, to put my heart into that good place of solitude and peace. It is my task to get to that place that allows me to hear God’s promptings.

Author and contemplative Macrina Wiederkehr describes this for me.

And don’t we all, with fierce hunger,
crave a cave of solitude,
a space of deep listening –
full of quiet darkness and stars,
until finally we hear a syllable of God
echoing in our hearts?

And so I continue, searching for that “space of deep listening full of quiet darkness and stars,” listening for that syllable of God.

Life pathways, Spiritual growth, Transformation

In Every Change

September 16, 2016 Rev Kathy

When leaves change their colors as the seasons pass, they do it effortlessly. Not so with human beings. We resist change most of the time. But changes happen. Life takes its toll on all of us. Because of life events — good and bad — we evolve and change. And I like to think we become closer to the persons we are meant to be. In every change, there is growth. There are lessons to be learned. There are challenges to our thoughts and beliefs. There are nudges to the soul. In every change, we change. Sometimes we are transformed.

As life changes happen to us, I often think of the words from the hymn “Be Still, My Soul.”

In every change, he faithful will remain.

What an encouraging promise about the faithfulness of God! While we may resist change because of fear, God stays close to comfort us, to encourage us, to guide us, to renew our faith.

Frederick Buechner shares with us the best news of all with these words:

There is something deep within us, in everybody, that gets buried and distorted and confused and corrupted by what happens to us. But it is there as a source of insight and healing and strength.

Thanks be to God for our seasons of change.

Hope

Strong Currents of Hope

September 15, 2016 Rev Kathy

I have felt ill and very weak for the last couple of weeks. Along with feeling bad physically, I was fearful that my health was plummeting. I wondered whether the way I felt was something that would pass or whether it was permanent. I invited fear into my world. I temporarily forgot that God cares for me and has been near me throughout my entire illness.

Once I began to feel stronger, I recalled these words of scripture.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. – Isaiah 40:28-29

The truth is that since 2014, I have been able to feel strong currents of hope and to find renewed energy in the bad times. As Bishop Steven Charleston has written, God has “breathed life into my heart.”

Read his words:

Rise up on the strong currents of hope, the sense of the Spirit that you feel moving around you, like a shift in the wind changing your direction, lifting you up with renewed energy. Do not stay planted in the sameness of your surroundings, the old assumptions and the old definitions, but rise up to create your own path, following the vision that breathes life into your heart. Take the risk of believing in who you are. Trust the Spirit to fly with you once more into the open skies of your imagination. Rise up and don’t look back, for how far we cast our faith is how far we travel toward forever, how far we grow, how far we reach to discover ourselves.

Adventures, Beauty of Nature, Child protection

Seeing the World, Loving the Earth

September 13, 2016 Rev Kathy

“The Earth is not barren, but alive!”

I don’t see it much. There is an enormous, beautiful world that I simply don’t take time to see. I admire those who take nature into their souls, who breathe in the freshness of the wind, who see pictures in the sky, who hear music in birdsong. I imagine that those who know how to do that are emotionally and spiritually healthy. I imagine that life for them is pure joy.

The closest I can get to their experience is to read about it, and then to practice it in the smallest ways. I love the words of Bishop Steven Charleston that describe such a love for the earth.

I looked up, and as if in a dream I saw them, ancient spirits from the mesas, gliding on rain clouds above the desert, flashing lightning as they passed, primal spirits from the forest deep, rising up to dance on the trees, mountain spirits trailing snow white capes in the wind, and the spirits of the sea, moving like a storm toward the land. The Earth is not barren, but alive, filled with the spirits of life, the forces of nature around us, old powers from the time of beginning. God is not constricted to our temple walls, but roams the wild places calling to all who will look up, see the dream, and follow.

Faith

Mountains Sometimes Shake

September 12, 2016 Rev Kathy

Earthquakes occur every day somewhere in the world. Yesterday there were 86 . . . and

624 earthquakes in the past 7 days,
2,970 earthquakes in the past month,
43,584 earthquakes in the past year.

In like manner, our world is sometimes shaken by earthquakes of the soul. A serious illness, the loss of a loved one, a shattered career, the betrayal of a friend. Our mountains sometimes shake and we are left with a life in shambles.

Yet there is always hope. We can take heart in the promise of scripture.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor will my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” – Isaiah 54:10

healing

Heal the World

September 11, 2016 Rev Kathy

In times like these — the divisive days of a presidential election — we would do well to remember all that brought us together after the tragedy of 9/11. We were devastated, but not destroyed. We pulled together as a nation, along with the prayers of allies all over the world, to heal from our horrific national wounds. In our time of greatest loss, we healed.

Yet, today we still face the demons of terror and violence. We still feel fear. We are still in need of healing.

One calling that we all share is our work as healers. Each one of us, in our own way, in our own circle of life, is given moments when we can heal what is before us. It is not hard for us to recognize these moments. We see them clearly. The hurt between human hearts, the pain of past memories, the conflict between friends, the need of our Earth to be respected: there are a steady stream of chances for you and I to be active in mending what is broken around us. From the greatest need to the smallest, we are the work crew of the holy. We repair the world, one blessing at a time. – Bishop Steven Charleston

In memory of 9/11 and in honor of those who lost their lives, let us join hands and heal the world.

Adventures, Joy

Whimsy

September 10, 2016 Rev Kathy

Sometimes life needs a little whimsy. Too much seriousness is bad for the soul. Try blowing a dandelion into the wind. Watch celestial pictures form in the moving clouds. Paint colors randomly on a blank sheet of paper.

It’s a good thing to break up a serious life with some whimsical experiences. It lifts the spirits and makes magical things seem more possible. Plan diversions on a whim. Try some playful things. Do those fun things that are so hard to do for such serious-minded folk.

I love the words of Robert A. Heineken in “The Cat Who Walks Through Walls.”

For millennia philosophers and saints have tried to reason out a logical scheme for the universe… until Hilda came along and demonstrated that the universe is not logical but whimsical, its structure depending solely on the dreams and nightmares of non-logical dreamers.

I think I’ll just drop the logical for a day or two. A little mirth and whimsy will do me good!

Self care, Serenity

My New Normal

September 9, 2016 Rev Kathy

Do you ever wear an “I feel good” mask? I certainly do, trying to convince everyone that I feel,physically strong. Keeping up that image can be exhausting.

Maybe it’s time to admit that trying to appear to feel good all the time is a burden. It’s even a burden to pretend I feel good. The reality is that I have end stage kidney disease and, because of that, I push and push to feel normal again, to have the energy I used to have. I seldom admit the feelings of deep-down fatigue I experience. I struggle to keep a pace that makes me feel as strong as I used to be. I simply have not embraced or admitted my “new normal.”

Even with my family, I often try to present a good front. And sometimes, I just long to be honest about how I feel with them, and with myself. The truth is that I’m afraid if I give in to my real feelings, my strength will go down even further. So I am compelled to push myself, sometimes at my own peril. I think my husband, in fact, is the only one who knows how weak I really feel.

Still, I rest in my faith in God, who knows me better than I know myself, and who gives me strength when I am weary. One of my favorite Scripture passages never fails to bring me hope.

He gives strength to the weary,
And to them who lack might He increases strength.
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble and fall:
Yet those who wait for the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not faint.

– Isaiah 40:29-31

On my harder days, I will lean on the promise of that Scripture. But I also want to make peace with my “new normal” and be honest enough with myself to determine what it really feels like. My life is far from over, but it is different, and I need to embrace that.

	Maren on When the Earth Quakes
	Maren on “I Can’t Pray That!”
	Maren on When Important Things Bre…
	Maren on Not Without a Song
	Maren on A Sacred and Holy Easter