Tough questions from kids ~ Why do we have to thank God at every meal when he already knows we're thankful?

Tough Questions From Kids ~ Why do we have to thank God at every meal when He already knows we're thankful?

Thanking God for food reminds us to be thankful for all that God gives us. Sometimes we think we are thankful when we really aren't. Pausing to give thanks helps us renew our thankfulness. If we just sit down and eat without thanking God every time, we can easily forget to be thankful. We can forget that out food comes from God.

It is also nice thing to do. We give thanks to God because He is our friend and He has done something kind to us.

Tough questions from Kids~ Why do some peope find a subject hard, and others find it easy?

Tough questions from kids ~ Why do some people find a subject hard, and others find it easy?

Some people do better in math. Others do better in reading and writing. Still others do better because they work harder than most students. They listen in class, ask questions and do their homework. Some people may learn a certain subject right away because God gave them the ability to do so. People are good at different things. Isn't that great?

Tough questions from kids ~ Does God have things to do at nightime?

Touch questions from kids ~ Does God have things to do at nightime?

God does not have a body like ours, so He does not need to sleep. And because God is everywhere and lives in eternity there is no night or day for Him. (And when it is night here, it is day somewhere else.)  So God is always working when we are sleeping. When you go to sleep, you can be sure that God is awake, watching over you.

Love is forgiveness~

Tough questions from kids - How can God hear our prayers from heaven?

Tough questions from kids - How can God hear our prayers from heaven?

God can do everything. He is everywhere all the time. He also knows everything. He knows what we think as well as what we say. So God can hear everyone's prayers from all over the world at the same time. Sometimes people think that God is "out there in heaven," far away. But God is not far away; He is always right here with us.

O Brother, wisdom is pouring into you from the beloved saint of God. You've only borrowed it. Although the house of your heart is lit from the inside. That light is lent by a luminous neighbor. Give thanks; don;'t be arrogant or vain. Pay attention without self importance. It's sad that this borrowed state has put religious communities far from religious communion. ~ Rumi

Only God I Saw ~

Only God I Saw ~

In the market, in the cloister - only God I saw.
In the valley and on the mountain - only God I saw.

Him I have seen beside me oft in tribulation;
In favor and in fortune - only God I saw.

In prayer and fasting, in praise and contemplation,
In the religion of the Prophet - only God I saw.

Neither soul nor body, accident nor substance,
Qualities nor causes - only God I saw.

I opened mine eyes and by the light of his face around me
In all the eye discovered - only God I saw.

Like a candle I was melted in His fire;
Amidst the flames outflashing - only God I saw.

Myself with mine own eyes I saw most clearly,
But when I looked with God's eyes - only God I saw.

I passed away into nothingness, I vanished,
And lo, I was the All-living - only God I saw.

~Baba Kuhl of Shiraz

The Dhammapada - The Saint ~

She has completed her voyage; she had gone beyond sorrow, The fetters of life have fallen from her, and she lives in full freedom.

The thoughtful strive always. They have no fixed abode, but leave home like swans from their lake.

Like the flight of birds in the sky, it is hard to follow the path of the selfless. They have no possessions, but live on alms in a world of freedom. Like the flight of birds in the sky, it is hard to follow their path. With the senses under control, temperate in eating , they know the meaning of freedom.

 Even the gods envy the saints, whose senses obey them like well-trained horses and who are free from pride. Patient like the earth, they stand on the threshold. They are pure like a lake without mud, and free from the cycle of birth and death.

Wisdom has stilled their minds, and their thoughts, words, and deeds are filled with peace. Freed from illusion and from personal ties, they have renounced the world of appearance to find reality. Thus have they reached the highest.

They make holy wherever they dwell, in village or forest, on land or at sea. With their senses at peace and minds full of joy, they make the forests holy.

  

Psalm 139

O, Lord, you have searched me

and you know me

You know me when I sit and when I rise

you perceive my thoughts from afar

You comprehend my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways

for there is not a word on my tongue

but behold, O Lord, you know it altogether

You have hedged me behind and before

and laid your hand upon me

such knowledge is too wonderful for me

it is high, I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? 

or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend into heaven

You are there,

If I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell

in the uttermost parts of the sea.

Even there Your hand shall lead me

and Your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, surely the darkness shall fall on me

even the night shall be light about me

Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you

but the night shines as day

the darkness and the light are both alike to You

For you formed my inward parts; 

You covered me in my mothers womb

I will praise You, for I am

fearfully and wonderfully made; 

marvelous are Your works

and that my soul know very well

My frame was not hidden from you, 

when I was made in secret, and skillfully

wrought in the lowest parts of the earth

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet 

unformed

and in your book they all were written

the days fashioned for me,

when as yet there were none of them

How precious are you thought to me,

O God, How great is the sum of them

If I should count them, they

would be more in number than the sand

when I awake, I am still with you.

O that you should slay the wicked, 

O God, depart from me, therefore, you

blood thirsty men

for they speak against you wickedly,

your enemies take your name in vain

Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate you?

Do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

I hate them with perfect hatred

I count them my enemies

And see if there is any wicked way in me

and lead me in the way everlasting.

tough questions from kids - why should we go to God for help?

Asking why we should go to God for help is like asking, "why should I go to the gas station for gas?" we need God because He is the one who gives us life, for one who makes us able to walk; talk and move. He is the one who gives us knowledge and the one who give us all we need. In a sense, God is the only one who can help us.

La Honda, Christmas 2010

March in A Night

I know you're new
O, so new
to me
to you
New, in a way
of Ah
Of wonderment
to me
to you
A babe you call
A spark for a new fire
A different kind of heart beat
A different taste
generosity in trust
a respect, understood
To be new
Oh, forgiveness!
I watch the tress turn dark
with night
I fade with
lightness
guiding my way
in hope
in love
in thought of you...
I have never felt so loved
cared for
respected as me
So, new
Full of wonderment
excitement
of whole body, mind and soul
Love, so new
Does it hurt?
Does it feel good?
YES...
To you, to you
in time I travel..sometimes
all the time
in time to heal
from past, mistrust
hatred of you.
hated me too!
Let's just be here...now
smell..open arms...no past
Fly, Fly, fly, Freedom!
I feel now, so different...feel good
let freedom stay,
Breath, smell
Forgive, to stay
To you
To me...O, so new

~Trina Butler Gotschall

Hymn from the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer,

pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but thou art mighty

hold me with they powerful hand;

Bread of heaven

feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain

whence the healing stream doth flow;

let the fiery cloudy pillar

lead me all my journey through:

strong Deliverer,

be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,

bid my anxious fears subside,

Death of death, and hell's destruction,

land me safe on Canaan's side:

songs of praises

I will ever give to thee.

~William Williams

I pray that I may persevere in all good things. I pray that I may advance each day in spite of my stumbling

Each day is a day of progress, steady progress forward, if you make it so. You may not see it, but God does.  God does not judge by outward appearance. He judges by the heart. Let Him see in your heart a simple desire to always do His will.  Though you may feel that your work has been spoiled or tarnished, God sees it as an offering for Him. When climbing a steep hill, people are often more conscious of the weakness of their stumbling feet than of the view, the grandeur, or even of the upward progress.

Meditation for the day ~ I pray that I may choose to cross the bridge of faith; I pray that by crossing this bridge, I may receive the spiiritual power I need

Faith is the bridge between you and God. It is the bridge that God has ordained. If all were seen and known, there would be no merit in doing right. Therefore God has ordained that we do not see or know directly. But we can experience the power of His spirit through our faith. It is the bridge between us and Him,, which we can take or not, as we will.  There could be no morality without free will. We must make the choice ourselves. We must make the venture of belief.