Mother God

It never ceases to amaze me the number of times in scripture that God is referred to in the feminine. Yet, how little we pass that image on to others. In our Gospel reading for this Sunday, Jesus refers to God as "a hen who gathers her brood under her wings."
What a beautiful image of God's loving, protecting arms encompassing us.

Too often these days we chose to live in isolation. I do not mean that we live as a hermit out in the wilderness alone from all inhabitance. What I am referring to is that you and I can be in a crowd and yet we choose not to interact with the people around us.  Instead we choose to plug our ears or focus our eyes on Ipods, Iphones or other technological gadgits and thereby isolate ourselves from making connections with each other. We choose to shut out the world around us. A world that is suffering and hurting. A world that so longs for the human touch.

Being a Christian is about relationships. Relationships with God and each other. It is about being the body of Christ and our willingness to embrace our suffering and hurting world. If we choose to ignore and isolate ourselves, God's Spirit is hindered in healing our world. If we choose to connect with God's creation, then healing will come.

During this Lenten Season, let your hearts choose to connect with God's heart and allow the Spirit to guide you to someone who's heart is hurting.  Then be prepared to see the world transform.

Prayer - A Lenten Practice

Lent is a good time to develop or strengthen our rule of life through prayer. Prayer is essential if one is to grow spiritually. Communicating and communing with God through prayer is how we build and nurture a deep, meaningful relationship with our Creator.

Jesus gives us simple instructions on how to pray:

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

Prayer is an important element of the Lenten Season. Begin to set aside a time each day to meet with God. God is so eager to hear our prayers, so pray, and meet with God today.

Some ways of praying include:

Mindful Prayer is holding little conversations with the Lord within our head, its visualizing God as Father, Creator, Lover, Provider, as a Beloved Son or as Friend. It's reading a passage from Scripture, meditating on it then imagining the scene and placing ourselves in it.
Vocal Prayer is said out loud alone or in groups.
Contemplative Prayer is 'being lost' in the beauty and wonder of God and His creation, acknowledging His greatness in all things.
Silent Prayer is closing out the world from distraction and in silence 'opening the door of the heart' to the Lord.
Reading Prayer is with Scriptures or meditating upon the writings of recognized Christian writers.
Singing Prayer is in the joy of song and music through hymns and spiritual songs. Today there are many spiritual songs that draw us deeper into our love for God because many of them are based on scripture. What a great way to memorize the scriptures through song.
Working Prayer is dedicating our day's work joyfully and honestly to the Lord.
Vernacular Prayer is bringing God's name back into everyday language - 'Thank God' or 'Thanks be to God' during conversation.
Thanksgiving Prayer is praising and thanking God in all things, even in the difficult situations.

There are many excellent prayers found in Scripture to pray. Praying the Psalms is an excellent place to start. Using the Anglican Rosary can also be a wonderful tool that helps us in our prayers. The Liturgy of the Hours, an ancient practice of praying throughout the day: Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Noonday Prayer, and Compline is an wonderful goal for Lent. Our liturgy should always be prayer, so a good discipline for Lent would be to make an effort to attend worship services on a regular basis whenever possible.

In the beginning.....

Well, I have taken the plunge and started a blog. I thought this might be one way to keep everyone up to date about what is happening at Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church in Valdosta. I hope that this will become a tool to inspire, encourage, and challenge everyone who visits. So keep checking to see what is happening at St. B's