Tracy Hartman
“The struggle of life is one of our greatest blessings.
It makes us patient, sensitive and Godlike.
It teaches us that although the world is full of suffering,
it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
~ Helen Keller
Big Expense - January 28, 2018
"If you love Jesus Christ more than you fear human judgment, then you will not only speak of compassion, but act with it. Compassion means seeing your friend and your enemy in equal need, and helping both equally. It demands that you seek and find the stranger, the broken, the prisoner, and comfort him and offer him your help. Herein lies the holy compassion of God that causes the devil much distress."
~ Mechthild of Magdeburg (ca.1207-ca.1294)
Big Calling - January 21, 2018
“The first words about the Christian life are not
about what we as individuals can experience,
but about the kind of society God intends.
The gospel, or good news, is that in Christ,
God’s coming kingdom is breaking
into the here and now—
in the depths of the believer’s heart,
but also in the world itself.
This kingdom encompasses
economic, material,
psychological, political,
social and spiritual existence.”
~ Charles Moore
Big Prayer - January 14, 2018
Lord, I do not know what to ask of you;
only you know what I need.
I simply present myself to you;
I open my heart to you.
I have no other desire
than to accomplish your will.
Teach me to pray. Amen.
~ Francois Fenelon (Little Book of Prayers )
Big Light - January 7, 2018
Preparation for Worship
When the song of the angel is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers and sisters,
To make music in the heart.
~ Howard Thurman (1900-1981)
Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary - December 31, 2017
Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. ~ Teresa de Avila
This is it, don’t get scared now. ~ Kevin McAllister
How We Wait: Grounded - December 24, 2017
What the Donkey Saw
No room in the inn, of course,
And not that much in the stable,
What with the shepherds, Magi, Mary,
Joseph, the heavenly host—
Not to mention the baby
Using our manger as a cot.
You couldn’t have squeezed another cherub in
For love nor money.
Still, in spite of the overcrowding,
I did my best to make them feel wanted.
I could see the baby and I
Would be going places together.
~ U.A. Fanthorpe (1929-2009)
How We Wait: Believing - December 24, 2017 AM
Annunciation
This was the moment no one speaks of,
When she could still refuse.
A breath unbreathed,
Spirit,
suspended,
waiting.
She did not cry, “I cannot, I am not worthy,”
Nor, “I have not the strength.”
She did not submit with gritted teeth,
raging, coerced.
Bravest of all humans,
consent illuminated her.
The room filled with its light,
the lily glowed in it,
and the iridescent wings.
Consent,
courage unparalleled,
opened her utterly.
~ Denise Levertov
How We Wait: Surrounded - December 17, 2017
Text: Matthew 1:1-16
“Was there a moment, known only to God, when all the stars held their breath, when the galaxies paused in their dance for a fraction of a second, and the Word, who had called it all into being, went with all his love into the womb of a young girl, and the universe started to breathe again, and the ancient harmonies resumed their song, and the angels clapped their hands for joy?
Jesus was the firstborn of many brethren. I stand on the deck of my cottage, looking at the sky full of God's children, and know that I am one of them.”
~ Madeleine L'Engle (1918-2007)
How We Wait: Faltering - December 10, 2017
Text: Isaiah 40:1-11
“If everyone were holy and handsome, with "alter Christus" shining in neon lighting from them, it would be easy to see Christ in everyone. If Mary had appeared in Bethlehem clothed, as St. John says, with the sun, a crown of twelve stars on her head, and the moon under her feet, then people would have fought to make room for her. But that was not God's way for her, nor is it Christ's way for himself, now when he is disguised under every type of humanity that treads the earth.”
~ Dorothy Day (1897-1980)
How We Wait: Wide-Eyed - December 3, 2017
Belief isn't always easy.
But this much I have learned,
if not enough else—
to live with my eyes open.
~ Mary Oliver
Unscripted Praise - November 26, 2017
“… deliver it, early now, long before death.
Give beauty back,
beauty, beauty, beauty, back to
God, beauty’s self and beauty’s giver.”
~ Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)
Taking Risks- November 19, 2017
“And Christ still sends me roses. We try to be formed and held and kept by him, but instead he offers us freedom. And now when I try to know his will, his kindness floods me, his great love overwhelms me, and I hear him whisper, Surprise me.”
~ Ron Hansen, Mariette in Ecstasy
JOSEPH: A Life of Many Colors - Learning to Say Thanks and Yes - November 12, 2017
"Days pass and the years vanish and we walk sightless among miracles. Lord, fill our eyes with seeing and our minds with knowing. Let there be moments when your Presence, like lightning, illumines the darkness in which we walk. Help us to see, wherever we gaze, that the bush burns, unconsumed. And we, clay touched by God, will reach out for holiness and exclaim in wonder, 'How filled with awe is this place and we did not know it.'"
~ Jewish Sabbath Prayer
JOSEPH: A Life of Many Colors - Choosing Forgiveness - November 5, 2017
“The most characteristic feature of the humility of Jesus is his forgiveness and acceptance of others. By contrast, our non-acceptance and lack of forgiveness keep us in a state of agitation and unrest. Our resentments reveal that the signature of Jesus still is not written on our lives. The truest sign of union with the crucified Christ is our forgiveness of those who have perpetrated injustices against us. Without acceptance and forgiveness, the dark night will be only that. The bottom line will be a troubled heart.”
~ Brennan Manning
JOSEPH: A Life of Many Colors - Rising to Your Purpose - October 29, 2017
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and godo it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
~ Howard Thurman (1899-1981)
JOSEPH: A Life of Many Colors - The Other Side of “Splat” - October 22, 2017
October 22, 2017 Text: Genesis 39:1-23
JOSEPH: A Life of Many Colors - Dreams and Devastations - October 15, 2017
October 15, 2017 Text: Genesis 37:2-28
Jesus and the American Dream - October 8, 2017
October 8, 2017 Text: Matthew 21:33-43
The Table - October 1, 2017
October 1, 2017 Text: Luke 22:7-20