Gentleness

from a prayer by Hassan Dehqani-Tafti:
'extinguish within me the feelings of self-importance, and the last stirrings of my ego, and make me gentle'

Last night I ran to my hearts content. I rid myself of the cares and worries of the day (it's been busy at work!) and was able to breathe deeply. Ego? Well, I am not sure if I was egotistic yesterday, but the desire to be self-important always knocks at my door. part of the running last night helped that subside. Also, knowing that at the foot of the Cross, all are equal and we are ONLY made righteous through Him, this helps free me to not strive for that self-importance.

Lord please help me to be gentle today. Pleae help me to remember that loving those around me is more important than getting things done. That smiling and laughter are good medicine for my own soul as well as showing love for others, and that relationships survive best with love, understanding and self-less care.

A prayer

'let my soul be detached, not grasping at anything in this world' - Arch Bichop Hassan Dehqani-Tafti

Pray today with hands open, sign of receiving, not grasping

Today is a new day....this is day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Gone are the cares from yesterday...here are the new chances to begin anew.

Morning bell

"Let my soul be listening, be given to the needs of others."

"Create in me a carefree tranquility, a place for every encounter."
- Iranian bishop Hassan Dehqani-Tafti

From morningbell:
"Hello morning bell pray-ers.
Wherever we are in the world, it is so important to remember that we are part of a world-wide Church, and that in some places our sisters and brothers trying to follow in the way of Jesus the Christ are under intense pressures.
So this week the morning bell takes inspiration from one of the Christian communities of the East. We'll work with a prayer by the Iranian bishop Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, who died earlier this year. He was the Anglican Bishop in Iran from 1961 to 1990. He had to spend the last 11 years of that time in exile following a shooting attempt on his life in 1979 in which his wife was wounded. The following year his only son, 24-year-old Bahram, was murdered.
This prayer by Hassan Dehqani-Tafti is a deeply personal prayer born out of struggle, and yet it has a real capacity to become a prayer for many, and something that may change us as we pray it.
pace bene!"
Ian

Weekend on the water

Spent the weekend on the water (at least some of it!) on our beautiful Hilton Head Island paddle surfing again...yeah! One of these days I will get the hang of it. Although I took some spills that left a few bumps and bruises, it was fun regardless. That's me in the background with the hat on...avoiding the "bigger" waves - ( I prefer cruising around at this point....like a standing kayak session.)

The water was actually fairly warm albeit the air temperature made it a little chilly. But thanks to Jamie I had a good wetsuit and was all set. It was actually nice, too, to watch Jamie, Glen and the others surf.

At this point it is equally as fun for me to watch as it is to ride. Also I got to know a few ladies watching with me. It is a nice camaraderie of gals on the beach.
On Sunday I also took a walk on the beach with a good friend...it was a gorgeous afternoon...very sparkly water and lots of sunshine. Calm glistening waters at low tide.
Rounded the weekend off with oysters and trout for dinner...couldn't get much better. I am a blessed gal.

National Spotlight for Signe

My stepmom, Signe, always gains the national spotlight. Here she is again...
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4546226n%3fsource=search_video

The Lord's Table - Today

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on thy own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. - Proverbs 3:5-6

For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:7

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. - James 3:17-18

Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. - Psalm 55:22

When you pass through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. - Isaiah 43:2

Cooler air

The temps are cooler today on the Island. I actually enjoy the cool down, because it signals that time for Fall and Winter activities are on their way. There's always plenty to do on Hilton Head Island, it is just a matter of getting out there and doing it. For instance, I am really looking forward to shrimping on Saturday night. Even though it might be chilly on the water, a good hat, fleece vest and maybe some gloves will probably do the trick to enjoy the outdoors. I have never done night shrimping, so am looking forward to being shown what it's all about. Also, one of these days I need to march over to Pinckney Island to see what fall colors can be seen there. I took some gorgeous photos a few years ago during the fall when the skies were bright royal blue, due to the dry air temps, and the foliage was a marvelous display of reds and golds.

Little kids dresssing up

Here is an adorable picture of my friend Sandy's kids dressing for school for Halloween week. I have lots of mixed thoughts about Halloween, but these girls are just too cute!!!

I love Hilton Head Island

Driving to and from work the past two days, I have been just thinking to myself how much I love Hilton Head. I love the beauty. I love the pace of life. I love the small-ness of it yet it isn't too small. I love the water. I love the beach. I love the marshes and birds. I love the live oaks and tall pines and the palmetto trees. I love the flowers - planted and wild. I love my family and friends. I love Elsie, my cat. I love the people and their love for the betterment of our community.
Life is very, very good here and I am really, really blessed. I could be living in places of the world with little food, little water to drink, no shoes on my feet and worn out clothes. But I am not, I am blessed to live here. I pray that I will always remember this and that I can be used by God in whatever capacity he chooses to serve him to His glory. I pray that I would remember God's blessings and would use what He has given me to serve others. --Amen.

Had a beautiful weekend

Already reminiscing about today and this weekend. It all was beautiful. I enjoyed so much, experienced so much, was welcomed, listened to and cherished so much. Today was just one of the highlights. Started off with an excellent service at church. Greg preached an awesome sermon - it was about servanthood to the Most High. What that means. What it means to be the Lord's own, purchased by His blood.

Next up for the day was an unplanned lunch with my friend Corrie. She's so great...she makes my heart happy. I love her friendship and company.

Then, if the day hadn't started out well enough, it moved onto the glorious afternoon in the sunshine and on the water. Jamie and I went kayaking in Jarvis Creek at the north end of the island, meandering through sanctuaries of marsh grass and flowing tides. Saw lot of birds - sandpipers, egrets, herons. Scurried with the kayaks beneath the boughs of the live oaks along the creek 's edges. Got blown back and forth by the wind...finally I got the hang of paddling with Jamie's helpful and knowledgeable instruction. It became even more fun at that point when I figured out how to do it correctly!

But not only did we kayak along the creek, but we also fished at the same time! I haven't fished like that in years and years and it was so fun. Although I didn't catch anything, I had fun trying. But Jamie caught a beautiful trout! A nice sized one! And I was so proud and so pleased for him. It was a fun 'win' for the day. (Picture tells it all.)

I ended the day by joining my parents for dinner, which I am thankful for. Signe offered to cook and I was able to enjoy their company and also enjoy time with my sister Silja, Eric and my nephew Kaleb.

Thank you Lord for a great day.

Marathon Pics

Just in from the official marathon photographer... thumbnail versions

Concert on Saturday Night for Justice

This Saturday night in Bluffton at Church of the Cross off of Buckwalter Parkway there is going to be a concert at 7pm, that highlights some Christian artists signing music for justice to support Food for the Hungry and the International justice Mission (IJM). If you have never heard of IJM, they are an amazing organization that is rescuing children and women from prostitution around the world, amongst doing other amazing things. Here is the link for the concert - it's $10 to go...http://www.saragroves.com/concerts/artmusicjusticetour/.

Here is the link for IJM...http://www.ijm.org/

Also, just found out about another cool blog spot where you can have daily Christian insights sent to you from a minister (?) in England...here is his description of his "morning bell" - I just signed up myself.

morning bell is a daily resource from Ian helping you to....
find a way into the monastic rhythm of prayer, create still space at the beginning of your day, pray with others around the world, discover the true ground of your being
morning bell is a txt message or email sent to you early each day with some wisdom from the Christian tradition, a prayer practise and meditation ---in tough times we can tend to become inward looking.
This week the morning bell call to prayer is a call to remain generous. I hope you find it helpful. Peace and generosity be yours....
if you want to receive morning bell direct to your phone or email please contact Ian at ian@maybe.org.uk.

Moonlight

Last night was great on the beach ..watching the moon rise was restful and fun.
This morning a friend sent me a link to the following blog...I am looking forward to checking it out... http://www.inthebellyofthebigfish.blogspot.com/

I finished!

"Congratulations from Bank of America for finishing the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon! Your recorded finish time was 5:22:57 and you placed 23746 out of 31,401 finishers." I received this email in my inbox today. Yeah! I have completed what I set out to do and I survived to the end. I am so thankful for all the love and encouragement from family and friends. I am thankful for everyone's generosity with the fundraising and for the other forms of generosity. Thank you to Jesus for carrying me through. Thank you to Jamie for being there for me the whole way. Thank you to Laura for her hospitality. Thank you to Melinda for her care package and moral support. And today, I will celebrate with a massage and good food and a day off at home on Hilton Head, this beautiful place that we live, green from all the rain and with cool, mild temps. Praise to the Lord for He is good, his love endures forever.

Rain on Hilton Head

This afternoon it rained an rained on Hilton Head Island. Last night it was nice to listen to the rain outside the window. It is nice enough weather now on the island to have the windows open at night. Rain is a restful thing. I appreciate the overcast skies and the beckoning to relax. It is so easy these days to be uptight and busy, that God's call to relax, via rain, is very needed.

Family pic...

At my older sister's house this summer...great photo.

Sonshine and more sunshine

A quick note about spending a beautiful day in the sun... and with both a son and the Son. Spent the day enjoying walking on the beach, enjoying a good morning church service, enjoying good food, sharing experiences and watching Jamie kite surf. It turned out to be a splendid afternoon. So glad I didn't work all day.

The water sparkled yet was also a turquoisy blue. Jamie did great on his kiteboard...I am very proud of him. He did it. He conquered his fears, hopefully the Lord helped with that, and he had a blast. He was also fun to watch. So powerful and yet so graceful.

Now sitting back in my office (yes working on a Sunday night) I still feel the sun's glow on my face and its warmth on my forehead. I am thankful for the Lord's creation, the sun and God's Love through the Son. And, I am thankful for spending the day with Jamie.

Waves of energy

I am in the final count down to my marathon. A little more than a week to go. I am trained, I am ready. I just need to coast to the starting line. I am blessed by those who have comforted me and taken care of me along the way. I am thankful to my God. I am prayerful for the race and for the children in Zambia who will have clean water because of this run.

In the next week, I will breathe, relax, eat right, enjoy as much as possible the outdoors without over exertion, relish good company, sleep well and let the stress of work go. I will be on a wave of good energy. Praise be to the Lord. Amen.

(And when I get home from the race I can paddle surf again - yeah!)