"Oh, Atlanta?....is it safe?"
"Really? Your spending a week Haiti, be careful"
"Mexico? And your DRIVING, be careful"
I'm not a very dangerous kid. I haven't fallen out of any trees, broken any bones or even got a single stitch. The most physically dangerous thing I've ever done was playing High School Women's Rugby. My position was hooker, and most likely to break her nose. I never even came close!
Let's face the reality; you could slip on a banana peel and die. Or trip over your own two feet into on coming traffic and get hit by a taxi. So being a missionary, with teenagers, in America seemed pretty safe.
BOY WAS I WRONG!
Everyday I put my life on the line to defend my faith. I have to admit that I am weak, let me guard down and let Jesus take over my heart. Now people THAT is dangerous yet so comforting. Remember the song Oceans? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8mZpGj29qw) Well the line "my soul will rest in your embrace" gives me great hope when I feel scared or nervous about the mission the LORD has me on. If I'm pursing the LORD with passion and zeal for souls then, I am safe and nothing can harm me....except maybe a banana peel.
"The safest place for us to be at any point in our lives is passionately pursing God and the purpose to which he has called us"-Bill Johnson in "Strengthen Yourself in the Lord"
PS- Read that book. It will radically change your life!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Prayer is not asking, it's a longing of the soul.
As a Life Teen Missionary we have a daily rhythm of prayer.
7:30am Daily Mass
8:30am Holy Hour
9:30am Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the Hours has been the hardest part of our morning prayer routine for me to enjoy. Liturgy of the Hours is the second highest form of prayer in our church. The first being the Eucharist! It is a four week cycle of Psalms, Antiphons and Canticles prayed by religious, consecrated and lay people throughout the word. Tradition tells us that someone, somewhere is praying these prayers every moment of every day. You can pray these prayers at seven different times of the day. As a Life Teen missionary we are committed to praying Morning Prayer and Night Prayer.
As I grew more and more in love with the Lord over the past year and a half I also have grown in discipline in my prayer life. With that discipline comes a deeper desire to really dive into Liturgy of the Hours and so instead of just reading the words actually PRAYING the words.
My favorite Week and Day to pray is Wednesday Week 4 Morning prayer. The antiphons are my favorite words to pray, and they really build on each other. This day seems to always come just when I need to be reminded of these simple words.
The first antiphon says "My heart is ready, o God, my heart is ready". For me I take this a true surrender to God's plan for me for that day. I don't always know what the day holds for me but if my heart is open then I can whole heartedly say YES to each of the way's the Lord calls me to love. The second antiphon says "The Lord has robed me with grace and salvation". This is the how for the me. If my heart is ready then I will go out and do what the Lord has asked me with HIS grace. The third antiphon says "I will praise my God all the days of my life". Because the Lord is so good, and because I have committed my heart to his plan and because he gives me the grace to do what he commands I MUST praise the Lord, and I WANT to praise the Lord.
Today I challenge you to dive deeper into your prayer. To actually pray the words you are speaking and don't let them just fall off of your tongue. Speak them from your heart and feel them resonate in your entire being. Put those words into action.
7:30am Daily Mass
8:30am Holy Hour
9:30am Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the Hours has been the hardest part of our morning prayer routine for me to enjoy. Liturgy of the Hours is the second highest form of prayer in our church. The first being the Eucharist! It is a four week cycle of Psalms, Antiphons and Canticles prayed by religious, consecrated and lay people throughout the word. Tradition tells us that someone, somewhere is praying these prayers every moment of every day. You can pray these prayers at seven different times of the day. As a Life Teen missionary we are committed to praying Morning Prayer and Night Prayer.
As I grew more and more in love with the Lord over the past year and a half I also have grown in discipline in my prayer life. With that discipline comes a deeper desire to really dive into Liturgy of the Hours and so instead of just reading the words actually PRAYING the words.
My favorite Week and Day to pray is Wednesday Week 4 Morning prayer. The antiphons are my favorite words to pray, and they really build on each other. This day seems to always come just when I need to be reminded of these simple words.
The first antiphon says "My heart is ready, o God, my heart is ready". For me I take this a true surrender to God's plan for me for that day. I don't always know what the day holds for me but if my heart is open then I can whole heartedly say YES to each of the way's the Lord calls me to love. The second antiphon says "The Lord has robed me with grace and salvation". This is the how for the me. If my heart is ready then I will go out and do what the Lord has asked me with HIS grace. The third antiphon says "I will praise my God all the days of my life". Because the Lord is so good, and because I have committed my heart to his plan and because he gives me the grace to do what he commands I MUST praise the Lord, and I WANT to praise the Lord.
Today I challenge you to dive deeper into your prayer. To actually pray the words you are speaking and don't let them just fall off of your tongue. Speak them from your heart and feel them resonate in your entire being. Put those words into action.
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