Emergency Prayer Request -

I'm hesitant about blasting this out, but I feel it's urgent.

My neighbors close friend Ed went to the ER for what he thought was kidney stones over the weekend. Growths were apparently found on his liver. He is undergoing biopsy tomorrow or Thursday. Unless this is a problem with the scan, he was told "it did not look good". Please pray for Ed and keep him in your thoughts over the next few days. He's a nice guy and was just getting ready to retire. This is wrong.

BEN

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Overcoming Our Mood Swings Time;ly advice from Henri Nouwen....

My friends may simply ask me "Ya Think?" knowing me well.  Still how you start your day can determine how it goes.   Lady GaGa or something quiet.  You pick it....

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Overcoming Our Mood Swings

Are we condemned to be passive victims of our moods? Must we simply say: "I feel great today" or "I feel awful today," and require others to live with our moods?

Although it is very hard to control our moods, we can gradually overcome them by living a well-disciplined spiritual life. This can prevent us from acting out of our moods. We might not "feel" like getting up in the morning because we "feel" that life is not worth living, that nobody loves us, and that our work is boring. But if we get up anyhow, to spend some time reading the Gospels, praying the Psalms, and thanking God for a new day, our moods may lose their power over us.

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Share your thoughts on this reflection. These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

Visit HenriNouwen.org for more inspiration!

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[Fwd: July 23, 2010 - What We Feel Is Not Who We Are] Meditation By Henri Nouwen

With this weeks, this seems extremely appropriate!  BEN

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What We Feel Is Not Who We Are

Our emotional lives move up and down constantly. Sometimes we experience great mood swings: from excitement to depression, from joy to sorrow, from inner harmony to inner chaos. A little event, a word from someone, a disappointment in work, many things can trigger such mood swings. Mostly we have little control over these changes. It seems that they happen to us rather than being created by us.

Thus it is important to know that our emotional life is not the same as our spiritual life. Our spiritual life is the life of the Spirit of God within us. As we feel our emotions shift we must connect our spirits with the Spirit of God and remind ourselves that what we feel is not who we are. We are and remain, whatever our moods, God's beloved children.

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Share your thoughts on this reflection. These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

Visit HenriNouwen.org for more inspiration!

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July 21, 2010 - Crossing the Road for One Another Meditation by Henri Nouwen

In this news day of conflicts at all levels, Fr. Nouwen gives us a reminder of what we need to do in our own lives. BEN

http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001kRQllaBUV0fK5k5ChQZSqGobsQ5b1...

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An amazing song - Paula Cole and Peter Gabriel - Don't Give up

Paula's back!  Her amazing voice brings new depth to this song!

Don't give up!  I didn't!

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How Time Heals A thought from Henri Nouwen

Yesterday I was plunked back into a dark time in my life. I was being interviewed for a research study by Stanford University about the long term effects of surviving a Bone Marrow Transplant, such as I received almost a decade ago.

I had no idea of the old wounds this interview would dredge up, but I also saw how many of these were healed -- not by forgetting them but by working through them truthfully.

All in all it was a good experience and it will help others facing this aggressive cancer treatment protocol.

-------- Original Message --------

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How Time Heals

"Time heals," people often say. This is not true when it means that we will eventually forget the wounds inflicted on us and be able to live on as if nothing happened. That is not really healing; it is simply ignoring reality. But when the expression "time heals" means that faithfulness in a difficult relationship can lead us to a deeper understanding of the ways we have hurt each other, then there is much truth in it. "Time heals" implies not passively waiting but actively working with our pain and trusting in the possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation.

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Share your thoughts on this reflection. These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

Visit HenriNouwen.org for more inspiration!

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Words from the heart - Wednesday's Meditation from Henri Nouwen

This morning's email brought an unwelcome but not unexpected surprise.  The message, from one whom I think of as a friend, informed me of an administrative decision at a place where I volunteer.  Not unexpectedly it impacts me negatively.  One good thing about being home ill is that you get to process such emotional brickbats without providing either worry or entertainment to your co-workers.

I talked about it with a close friend and then stretched out on the couch for what turned intro a 3-hour medication fueled nap.  My thoughts were roiling.   I know that there are "steps of grief" etc., but not now!  I hadn't the time. 

Since my return from the Midwest a week ago, I've been processing a number of new ideas which came to me during the times of prayerful silence and joyful time with family.  I had made some initial plans, but this decision (and one other)  impact these plans one way or the other, and I could go no further without therm.

I looked at this morning's  email a second time.  The tone was dismissive, and it seemed somewhat accusatory.  I was so disappointed but I also know I should not take it personally right now.  I had asked for a sign, one was provided.  As the old story goes, I was trapped on the roof in a flood, and God sent me a helicopter.  Should I stay on the roof as the waters rise, waiting for a better "message"?

Imagine my delight when, in going back to my email, I went through the week's Nouwen mailings and found this:

"Words That Come From the Heart

Words that do not become flesh in us remain "just words." They have no power to affect our lives. If someone says, "I love you," without any deep emotion, the words do more harm than good. But if these same words are spoken from the heart, they can create new life.

It is important that we keep in touch with the source of our words. Our great temptation is to become "pleasers," people who say the right words to please others but whose words have no roots in their interior lives. We have to keep making sure our words are rooted in our hearts. The best way to do that is in prayerful silence."

I realized that in my initial responses to this matter, I had simply been saying to this other person what I thought he wanted to hear -- to be a "pleaser".  Most protege's wish to please a mentor.  My attempts to do so in my earlier responses to this matter had only made things worse.

Now I have the time for prayerful silence.  I'm home from work until at least Sunday, and daytime TV is awful.  I guess I FINALLY have the time to pray!

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