A Prayer for 2009

A Franciscan Benediction:

May God bless you with discomfort,
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger,
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

My God bless you with tears,
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their
pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness,
to believe that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen.

About and With

I woke up this morning to a quiet house, which is a true sign that our children really are growing up!! We have gone from the "younger" years of them waking us up far too early on Christmas morning to now when we all wake up at relatively the same time. I am sure there will be a day when David and I will have to actually go into their rooms to wake them up and drag them out of bed!!

So, as I lay in bed, I was thinking about the past season of Advent and this new season of Christmas. I pondered how we are now shifting our focus from a time of listening and waiting into a time of jubilant celebration. I prayed that God would help me to celebrate all 12 days of this Christmas season with full joy and delight, and not move on too quickly into a working season.

As I lay there the Spirit brought to mind 2 words: ABOUT and WITH. He reminded me that during Advent I listened to a lot of stories "about" God and His interaction with the Israelites. I thought a lot "about" Him and wrote poems or created slideshows "about" Him. But in this season of celebration, He wants something different from me. He wants me to celebrate "with" Him. He wants me to practice His presence in each present moment - not looking back to the past nor moving into the future. He wants a "with-ness" with me.

So for the next 12 days, by the power (and reminder) of the Spirit, I want to practice that "with" in everything I do. After all, it is the very celebration of God-with-Us that we enter into.

Jesus, thank you for entering our world by the name "God-with-Us". Would You teach me what it is to celebrate that? Would you enter into all my daily activities - my time with my kids, friends, husband, and all I have to do - and remind me of Your immediate Presence there. And when I remember Your "with-ness", may it cause me to celebrate all the more!!

Advent Slideshow

Intentional Heart-work

I am feeling the Spirit's nudging. He is saying much about my heart and the work He wants to do in it. He is asking me to open my heart to Him in new ways and look at it with Him. He wants me to allow Him to transform those places - not me, in my own effort, trying to fix them.

So each day...really each time He nudges during the day...my prayer is

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any way of pain in me,
and lead me in the everlasting way .

Then I wait and listen.

My Heart

I have been meaning to sit down and write for quite a few days now, but something always seems to prevent me from having a few quite moments to get my thoughts out in words. So now, this morning, with tons of things on my desk and a task list full of details to take care of, I am choosing to ignore those things that would want to grab for my attention and instead deliberately give my attention to the thoughts floating around in my head. (This grabbing vs. giving is actually another string of thoughts I hope to blog about in the future...)

A few days ago I had a conversation with my son that went something like this: (I wanted him to do something he did not want to do at the moment.)

Me: Luc, I want you to turn off the TV and _____________________ (I can't even remember what it was)
Luc: Mom, I'll give you a dollar if I don't have to do it.
Me: Luc, I want you to turn off the TV and ____________________.
Luc: I'll give you all my money if I don't have to do it.
Me: Luc....
Luc: OK, I'll give you a million dollars if I don't have to do it!
Me: Luc, I don't want your money, I want your obedience.

That statement seemed to work fine for the moment, but then something (or Someone) started to make me feel uncomfortable about that statement. While I fully understand that as parents we need to teach children to obey, I also began to think that is not what I really want. What I really want is not rote obedience, but rather for his heart to trust me - to open his heart to someone outside of himself (me) and from that vantage point, out of trust and love, he would obey.

While I am FAR from this with my children and I know that it is easier written than done, God began to speak gently to me from this interaction. He, too, said to me, "Tara, I don't want your obedience...I want your heart. I want you to trust Me with your heart. I want you to trust My love and from there I want you to obey if I tell you something to do." He is also making it clear that He wants to go on a journey with me into my heart - to look at the hidden places, the sinful places - but equally has made it clear that this is a journey of love not condemnation. He is giving me an invitation not just to "obey" and do the "right" thing or to make myself better or try harder or be a "good little girl" (which I can't do anyway!), but to join Him on a journey and allow His Spirit to transform me by His power.

Lord, here is my heart. I will not try to slap on external obedience, but rather my obedience will be in continually opening my heart to Your Spirit, in trusting You to take me on a journey. Like when I first came to You, I declare once more that I cannot do it on my own - that me being good in my own power is not what You desire. You desire for it to be Your work and the transformative power of Your Spirit. I yield myself to that transforming Power...

Preparing for Advent and Christmas

(I have posted this at storyformed.wordpress.com along with a few more Advent and Christmas ideas!)

The calendar I made this year provides a cycle for telling the stories of God. It gives us a framework for listening, celebrating and doing – and provides natural opportunities for all of us (including our children) to grow in wisdom and faith.

So as we come to the end of a calendar year (at least using the Christian Season calendar), I want to be intentional about how we begin this next cycle of seasons – Advent and Christmas. I know if I do not prepare now, I will have many good intentions but few plans that come to fruition.

Here is some of what we plan to do to get ready and to enter the Advent and Christmas seasons:

Placing visual and symbolic elements on our kitchen table

Since our table is the gathering place of the family each evening, it seems the best venue to display our symbolic elements. We will spend time each evening reading, reflecting, and praying so I want there to be visual elements around us too.

I am going to use a long blue table runner (blue is the color of Advent). The Nativity will be placed at the center of the table but will not contain Mary, Joseph and the Baby until the last week. I will have 6 candles on the table as well representing 6 different names and stories we will tell over the 4 weeks of Advent (we will use the “O Antiphon” writings found in the blog).

Evening Prayer

I am writing some biblical study and prayer forms that we will use each evening. It includes different passages from the scriptures that point us toward Advent and the story of the coming of the Christ Child. We will read it together and engage certain stories on specific evenings. (I will give calendar dates for what we will do when.)

For those will little ones, I will put in an alternate form. Perhaps only one of the passages of scripture and then a short activity would suit certain families (and attention spans) better.

New Year’s Eve Party

We are inviting friends over on Saturday, November 29^th for a “New Year’s Eve Party” because for those of us following the calendar, November 30^th begins a new year and marks the beginning of Advent. We plan to use the colors from the each season in decorating the table and we will all share a meal together. We will probably talk a little about each season and its significance and the Story that we tell during that season that shapes us.

We may spend some time in the “Hallel” Psalms (Ps. 113-118) because those songs focus so much on thanking God and we’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving as a nation. We will most likely take from the Rosh Hashanah tradition of eating apples dipped in honey to remind us of God’s faithfulness in the year that has just past and looking forward to tasting His sweetness in the year to come.

(This is a new event for us, so it is a big adventure. We’ll let you know how it went and everything we did after it is over!)

Gathering Books for Christmas

During Advent, I will be pulling out my 12 favorite Christmas books and wrapping them up. Then, during each day of the 12 Days of Christmas, the kids will unwrap a book and we will read it together as a family.

And A Little Child Shall Lead Them....

I stood in the kitchen this morning, smiling from ear to ear and then almost being brought to tears.  My children found a World Vision catalogue full of gifts that can be given to children and people around the world.  As they read all the things that could be given to those in need around the world, they exclaimed "Oh let's do that!!  No, no, let's do that one because that gives goats AND chickens!"   Then when they came across a gift that was a lot of money, they began to come up with a plan to be able to purchase it in the next two years - scheming about how they could make the necessary money.  (In fact as I write this I can still hear them flipping pages and coming up with more ideas.)

I love how much they want to give!!  I love how much they don't calculate their "money portfolio" when it comes to giving to those in need.  I love that it is a World Vision catalogue that has caught their attention and not something enticing them to buy for themselves.  I love how much they want to and plan to do good in the world.

On the heels of an historic election, perhaps I have a different vote.  Maybe we should let the little children lead us....

In God we Trust

OK, so I'll add my two cents worth to the multitude of stuff that has been said about the political process.  I was home all day today suffering from a sinus infection so I had the privilege of watching politics from every angle and on every show I came across. 

First let me say that this is an amazing election to be a part of!  No matter which political party wins, history will be made and new doors will be opened in American politics (either to African Americans or to women)!  I was astounded by the amount of people getting out to vote, also.  In our area there were some polling places where people stood in line for almost 4 hours!!  I also heard of a couple in India waiting for their absentee ballots and when they did not come, they flew back to the States to vote today!  I love that the public has taken this privilege of voting seriously.  American democracy at work may not always get us what we want, but the process is always amazing to watch!

However, as a follower of Jesus, I have been a little uncomfortable about all the excitement over one candidate or another; one party or another.  It seems to me that sometimes Christians fall into the trap of thinking a certain political party will bring about some sort of salvation and/or we vote for someone who makes some sort of obscure claim to godliness.  And truth be told, as much as I am fascinated by the democratic process, the Reality that I live as a Christian is that I don't get a vote.  My Leader is not a president chosen by popular vote, He is a King (who needs no votes to hold and maintain that position).

I like how Derek Webb puts it:

my first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
it’s to a king & a kingdom

Of course, I voted and I will pray for our leaders but it is in that King and His Kingdom that I put my trust and  my hope.

Out of Rhythm Confession

Wow!!  The last few weeks have sent me flying out of a rhythm that I know God wants me to live by.  I've been too busy, made too many commitments, had too much conflict, have neglected my time with God and in the word, have eaten poorly, haven't worked out and haven't carved out time to stop and play with my family.  And now I am fighting a cold!  (My body sure knows how to stop me when I'm out of whack!)

All this comes on the heels of creating a calendar that encourages us to live by a different rhythm - a different story.  And I've gotten away from that story and allowed time to consume me, rather than using time to live in God's ways.  Oh how I need to pay attention to God's rhythms or it all falls apart in a chaotic mess!

I can honestly say with the psalmist, "The nearness of God is my good".  So tonight I begin the difficult task of exchanging one way of living for another - choosing to not listen to one rhythm and actively pursuing the other.

That is my confession.

I just started reading a book called Jesus: Made in America. It is a cultural history from the puritans to The Passion of the Christ. Now, I am not recommending the book...yet...because I just started it. However, the introduction gave me some food for thought. This excerpt especially resonated with me because of my interest in Celtic Christianity and for the Rhythm of the Christian Seasons. (By the way, the calendar is hot off the press for anyone who wants it!! Check it out here!)

Here is the quote:  "American evangelicals reflexively harbor suspicions of tradition.  In fact, most tend to toward being (rabidly) antitradition.  Consequently, the past is overlooked as a significant source of direction.  This leaves American evangelicals more vulnerable than most when it comes to cultural pressures and influences.  In the absence of tradition, we tend to make up a new one, one not tested by time and more or less constructed by individuals or by a limited community.  This anti-tradition animus arises from what has been labeled as historylessness." 

That "historylessness" intrigues me.  As I am exploring the idea of being Story-Formed, the question arises, what story will we listen to?  Will it be a thin story - based on snipets and pieces from culture mixed with biblical principles - or will it me the thicker, much harder to navigate, stories that integrate tradition, history, the whole community of the people of God and the Bible?  (I am not even sure we have a good plan for doing the latter.)

Anyway, I find my heart stirring and churning for deeper connections to the Scriptures, the traditions of those gone before me and the stories (histories) of the faith.  I want my children to be rooted in a Christianity that is both deep and broad - not just one appendage of it.  I want them to hear about who God's people are - the good, bad and the ugly - and how this Great God has interacted with and redeemed this planet's history.  I want to be an intentional story-teller.

I came across this poem:

This path
Once another people
walked this way.
Tread softly.
Feel the press of history
against your feet.
Muriel Mork

That is what I want:  for me, for my children, for my community of faith - to feel the press of history against our feet and to know we walk a path that is not untrodden.

Invitation to come and ... pause

Life has been quite full here lately - kids to school, photography, calendar project, writing, subbing sometimes, exercise, being a mom, being a friend, being a wife.  Yesterday I was reminded of another busy time in my life when God asked me to begin a counter-intuitive practice.

See, my first reaction in the midst of busyness is to make a list, get efficient, and go into "task mode" - using every moment for doing and completing the tasks at hand.  However, at a previous point in my life, the Lord allowed me to be exposed to the daily offices (fixed times during the day when we stop to pray).  Phyllis Tickle writes "the offices open to me four times a day and call me to remember Who owns time and why.  All that means really is that four times a day the Watchmaker and I have conversation about the clock and my place as a nano-second in it."

So in the midst of my busyness, God was asking me to pause - to stop what I was doing, trust that He could keep the earth spinning without my help, and come have conversation with Him.  It is counter-intuitive because it makes me stop when I think I should keep moving, it waits when I think I should be efficient, and it says "no" for a few moments to all those things screaming for my attention.

So yesterday, in the midst of my busyness, God offered the invitation again.  I looked up on my bulletin board above my computer and there was the Midday Prayer; an invitation to pause and give my work back over to the Creator.  It was not "magical" or emotional but it brought my heart back to be centered around a Person rather than a clock.

If you want to practice the rhythm of pausing, here is the midday prayer (from Northumbria Community in Ireland).  It is short, but it is a very much needed pause.

Midday Prayer –My Work

Take a moment to pause

Opening

Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.
Establish Thou the work of our hands;
establish Thou the work of our hands.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.  Forever and ever.  Amen

Declaration of faith

We believe and trust in God the Father Almighty.
We believe and trust in Jesus Christ His Son.
We believe and trust in the Holy Spirit.
We believe and trust in the Three in One.

Canticle

Teach us, dear Lord, to number our days;
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Oh, satisfy us early with Thy mercy,
that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us;
and establish Thou the work of our hands.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us;
and establish Thou the work of our hands, dear Lord.

Blessing

Let nothing disturb thee,
nothing affright thee;
all things are passing,
God never changeth!
Patient endurance attaineth to all things;
who God possesseth
in nothing is wanting;
alone God sufficeth.

+ In the name of the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen

My Children are Full of It!!

Evidently my kids have some great, funny things coming out of their mouths these days! Here is the latest:

(Mikaela speaking) Mom, I was reading my Bible the other night and I thought they made a mistake!
Me: What do you mean?
Mikaela: I was reading about Judas Iscariot but I always thought that his name was "Judas the scariest"!
Me: (on the floor laughing)!!!!

What can I say? The power of the written word...

Recently Heard or Seen at the Malouf Household...

Sometimes I just love the things my kids say!! They crack me up...and if you don't think it's funny, well, then I guess you just had to be there!


A good way to put shopping in perspective for competitive boys (by Luc):
"Are Nordstroms, Macy's and Sears all against each other?"

Just in case you thought the food pyramid wasn't having an impact (by Luc):
"Mom...dad forgot to buy the whole wheat eggs!!!" (On the occasion of David buying white eggs instead of brown)

Don't you just love email (recently forwarded by Mikaela):
"Friendship is like peeing your pants...everyone can see it, but only YOU can feel the true warmth."

Ahhh, life with children!

My Great Big Idea

OK, so I've realized how I am going to make my millions in this life....

I am going to write a book called "The Purpose Driven Cart"!

It will explore the basic principles and etiquette of using a shopping cart in busy shopping areas. It will transform lives and, as we apply the principles, we will make other shoppers so happy!

A sneak peak at a couple of chapters..."Keep movin', movin', movin," (resisting the urge to come to a complete stop in the middle of the isle when other shoppers are behind you), and "Be a Pacesetter" (learning to stay at a pace that is faster than molassas in January).

My favorite place for applying this book would be Costco, but you can pick the store of your choice - Ikea, Safeway, Sam's Club, really, the places are limitless.

Our Second Visitor

We just said goodbye to our second visitor to come for a rest and renewal time at our house. It was a wonderful time of quiet, friendship, conversation, exercise and fun! I hope our guest went home refreshed...I know we feel fully blessed to have had her here!

In the weeks leading up to her arrival, I feel like God gave me a picture and a rhythm for how the few days would unfold. It came to me on a walk down to our beach that the theme of our visitors time (for this year) would be "Gifts from the Sea". I feel so refreshed with every visit to our beach whatever season. I feel like God has met me there time and time again and taught me 4 things over and over (much like the faithfulness of the tides).

Those 4 topics became the focus of each day that our guest was with us.

Day 1 - Listen
The goal for this day was to rest, be quiet and listen. Our guest got to walk, sleep, write in a journal, read or anything else that involved no noise and was conducive to her ability to listen. We often arrive places so frantic from the chaos of packing and leaving that I though this was a great way to stop and really rest. The picture from the ocean is that of finding a shell, picking it up and putting it to our ear. We have to become quiet and still to listen for the sound of the ocean resonating inside.


Day 2 - Trust and Seek
This was a day of conversation, asking questions, talking about what we heard in our listening, and discerning where God is at work in our life. The picture is that of coming to the beach and finding treasures - shells, rocks, sea glass - there. We do not scramble and dig and greedily grab for these things; we look for them on the surface and pick them up. We are invited to trust that the ocean will deposit what it wishes for us and then we are to come and seek it out. In the same way, we trust that God will lay out His gifts for us but we are also to look for them - not trying to make something happen, but picking up what He chooses.


Day 3 - Delight
This was a day of, well....delight. We used all our senses in ways that brought delight to our bodies. Sometimes I think we get so efficiency minded that we forget to really delight and enjoy and take in life through our sense. We are sometimes, as CS Lewis says, "half-hearted creatures". So this day we moved and stretched our bodies, we savored good food, we walked on the warm sand, we swung on the swings with my kids, we laughed at a funny movie, and we went to be tired but smiling! We took it all in with our whole hearts and bodies.


Day 4 - Forget the Shell
Our guest left this day, so we did not get to fully participate in this day, but it would have been a day to worship. "Forget the Shell" is an Amy Carmichael poem that reminds us that when we go to the beach, the shells and trinkets are nice, but pale in comparison to the ocean. In the same way, all the gifts, conversations and even our own lives pale in comparison to the grandeur and majesty of our Creator.

I wrote some prayers for each day which I will post in the next few days. All in all, it was a wonderful time and I am hoping that God will bring many more pilgrims, guests and/or visitors through our doors.

A Tale of Two Walks

It was a talkative time, it was a silent time...that is the extent to which I will try to emulate Mr. Charles Dickens. However, like Dickens classic work which contrasts two cities within one city, so I feel compelled to tell the story of the juxtaposition of two walks I took this week.

Both were with friends - beautiful women; smart, strong, determined, spiritually curious, deep, wise, earthy. Both are reading common books which are catalysts for new questions in life and of the Spirit. I love both of them.

Although we walked the exact same path to the same destination, the walks could not have been more different!

In one, my role was that of listener (and counselor). There were many words - stories of life, a hard marriage coming to an end, children, grace, forgiveness, The Creator. I listened to words and gave encouragement with words.

The second walk contained no words except a prayer at the outset. Done in silence, my role was that of leader. Leading someone along a path toward listening to the Spirit; leading them to a physical place conducive to finding and hearing God. I gave no encouragement; just silent prayers that God would take my feeble act of leading and take over my job. I lead to eventually and hopefully be replaced by a much better Guide.

Although I enjoyed both walks, I realized I am more comfortable in the first position. I am trained in my world to have my ears filled with noise and my mouth filled with words. In that position, I am more in control and can manage more.

During the second walk, I had to relinquish all false pretenses of influence. I cannot conjure up an experience with God but can only hope that the Wildest Member of the Trinity shows up. I don't decide on the agenda of topics discussed nor can I keep anyone's mind focused and on subject. I must leave the one I lead completely in the hands of Jesus, who is not always as direct as I think He should be!

On the first walk, I am needed. I am wise; I am held in high esteem. On the second, I could be replaced by a map; I am not important. I am still probably wise though it is a counterintuitive wisdom that makes no claims to greatness. In the first walk I am mingling in the center; in the second I push my friend to the True Center and chose the periphery.

Lord, I know both walks are needed - listening and leading. Help me learn that ebb and flow. But in both, may my feet only move down paths on which You lead because my heart has first listened to You. Amen.

Listen

Coming home from my brother's wedding, I came across a photograph in a magazine. It was so simple - a spiral shell laying on a background of white. Under the picture, in black, was the word LISTEN. Stuck by its beauty and poignancy, I drew the picture into my journal. It reminded me of how children, when they see a shell, know to stop, hold their breath and listen.

LISTEN. It is not easy to do.

LISTEN. When my world seems overwhelmed by noise and activity.

LISTEN. When my mind seems filled with even more uproar and clamor.

LISTEN. When I feel the need to tell "my side of the story".

LISTEN. Beyond the words that are being spoken.

LISTEN. Choose moments of waiting instead of efficiency.

LISTEN. For His voice.

"Speak, Lord, for Thy servant is listening...."

And here is this blog's wordle!
Love it!!

Check out this cool website called Wordle.  I made this
from my blog "Story Formed" (at Wordpress)
Very fun for those of us who like words!!!

A Pilgrim's Song

Reading through the psalms of ascent, hearing from God, talking with people...I've been struck by the need to grow up, to leave old places (thoughts, attitudes, actions) and journey on with God. The following is my "psalm" - based loosely on the first few psalms of ascent and a lot on the theme of growing up.

Lord, I confess I need to grow up
I dwell in the land of whiners and complainers
Of those who like to gaze at their own reflections
who think so highly of their own estimation of themselves
The landscape around me is filled with gods and idols,
self-help and pop-psych
All whispering tantalizing promises of rescue

But it is You, O Lord, that I will fix my gaze upon
It is on Your words (or silence) I will place my trust
Upon You and only You will my gaze be fixed

So to You, Lord, I will bring worship
Though other voices call out for my allegiance,
I will bow my knees and heart before You and You alone
To worship during the day - in light and joy
To worship in darkness - in fear and despair
To give thanks to Your great name
-that is what it means to be one of Yours

I will trust Your judgments, Lord
For You are setting the world to right
You are establishing Your redemptive work for all creation
Nothing can stop You - even if it happens in ways I do not understand

To You will my eyes look
You are far above me and yet right next to me
You dwell in majesty and glory,
Yet You are the Potter who gets His hands dirty
as You carefully - creatively - shape our lives for Your glory

We will look to You and cry "mercy"
Give us mercy and not what we think we want
Give us mercy and not our petty whining and complaining choruses

We will look to You
trust in You
worship You
listen for You
and work with You in Your action.

Beyond Roman Roads

I am studying the lives of Celtic saints and Celtic Christianity in general this summer. I find in them a rhythm and resonance that is innate in me and yet opposite of so much of what I've been taught in Christiandom.

I read the other day of how, in most places, in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the great roads of the Roman Empire never made headway. They paved the landscape throughout the known and civilized world. They allowed for efficient travel of people, merchandise and ideas. They linked countries together in certain commonalities. But there came an end to the roads...

The Celts were beyond the Roman roads. They were "uncivilized" and had no knowledge of the common story shared between cultures. They didn't have the book we call the Bible, but they had another "book" called creation. The efficiency of an empire broke down in these lands. The terrain was rough and harsh and had not been conquered. Those who loved God came here not to conquer but to set up communities, to befriend, to find the story of God in the story of the people, to tell those who loved creation that there is a Creator.

It reminded me of a new group of people I find myself interacting with more and more. They are beyond the roads of Christiandom; they live in lands not paved with our roads of efficiency nor do they know the common stories. They don't want to go to church or have someone lead them through whatever quick and efficient way we have of sharing the gospel. They are rough on the edges - skeptical and cynical. They readily embrace a spirituality but have no idea of the Spirit.

How do we find these people? I think we must be willing to go beyond roman roads and pave new territory into the hills, valleys, forests, urban hubs, cities and all places of habitation. We walk new paths with these new friends - telling them an old Story in a new context. We renounce our inclination toward efficiency and choose relationship instead.

Tuesday Morning Prayer

Walking today was amazing!! I followed my same route through the trails in the forest to emerge onto the beach. But today, I was struck with the growth and fullness of the vegetation around me. Perhaps because summer was so late in arriving or perhaps because I enjoyed the barrenness of the forest in the winter, today the abundance of foliage just overwhelmed me. And as I walked, I thought of this: (taken from Celtic Benediction by J. Philip Newell)

In the beginning, O God,
when the firm earth emerged from the waters of life
You saw that it was good.
The fertile ground was moist
the seed was strong
and earth's profusion of colour and scent was born.
Awaken my senses this day
to the goodness that still stems from Eden.
Awaken my senses
to the goodness that can still spring forth
in me and in all that has life.


and this one:


The world is alive with Your goodness, O God,
it grows green from the ground
and ripens into the roundness of fruit.
Its taste and its touch
enliven my body and stir my soul.
Generously given
profusely displayed
Your graces of goodness pour forth from the earth.
As I have received
so free me to give.
As I have been granted
so may I give.

Heard Recently at the Malouf House

Well, we've officially entered a new season in our household. I now have a member of "generation text" living under my roof! Mikaela got her first cell phone...and my life will never be the same again.

She has been playing with it non-stop since she got it on Thursday and has had to recharge it twice! Plus, she and her friends have figured out the text messaging so well that we decided to upgrade her plan to include 250 text messages a month or else she would have been broke within 5 days! (She has to pay for her monthly charges.)

So here is the conversation I recently heard in the backseat of my car:

Mikaela: My phone has megapixels!!

Luc: What are those??

Mikaela: I don't know.

Luc: Well....if it uses the word "mega", it has to be good!!!

Love...

"Art is love creating the new world
and justice is love rolling up its
sleeves to heal the old one."
-NT Wright @ Emory University 2008

Slideshow of Beijing

So forgive me for not putting these to music...all the selections were obnoxious after 121 photos! Also, the old film effect was the best one they had! Enjoy some of the photos! For a better look at the pictures, click on "view all images".

On to Guangzhou

Evidently, Western wedding photography is big here. There is a company that the bride and groom can go into their shop, the bride can pick out any dress she likes (and the groom, his tux), get makeup and hair done, and go out for a photoshoot! It doesn't matter if the dress doesn't fit, they just pin it. AND you can do this any day of the week! We saw pictures like this being taken all through the weedkdays as well as the weekend.
We stayed on Shamain Island. It was the only British outpost on mainland China during the 19th century. It was beautiful, but very British colonial. It didn't feel totally like China.

A boat on the Pearl River.

Tai Chi in the morning.

This is a pagoda and waterfall at the White Swan. By the way, if you are ever in Guangzhou, that is the place to stay. It is beautiful!

Bridges link Shamien Island with the city of Guangzhou. Cross the bridge and you feel like you are back in China.

Now we are back in China...

We used a laundry service while we were in Guangzhou. Then, as we walked down the street, we'd see all the clothes drying like this. I half expected to look up and recognize the pants, shirt, or underwear!!

Mao's Little Red Book

We visited the pearl market on one of our last days...



This is ONE store...these bags are FULL of pearls...there are a dozen or so more stores like this!

MMM...octopus on a stick! Can't beat that snack. It's almost as good as chicken feet!

Near the pearl market

Working hard...always!

What Will Become of This Child??

$1, 600, 137.23. This is how much Mikaela helped raise for different causes this weekend.

OK, so the 1.6 million was from an event that she went and served at for Medical Teams International...but she got her first taste of being a champion of causes and she loved it!!

I think we've always know that Mikaela was always good with money in a Kingdom sort-of-way. The minute she would get money, it would be given away to the person, event, cause that God had placed on her heart. Many a homeless person has been the beneficiary of her generosity (in money and food), victims of hurricane Katrina have received from her, the church, African and Chinese children, and even her brother have been gifted with "her" money (which she doesn't really see as hers!).

On Friday at a school carnival, Mikaela almost singlehandedly raised $137.23 in an hour and a half for new trees to be planted at the school. I watched her from a distance as she promoted the cause, talked to people, and persuaded them to give. She wasn't a "salesman" nor a manipulator, but it came out of a genuineness in her heart and people responded! It was really amazing to watch! (And of course, she was excited because none of it was for her...it was all for something else!)

At the Medical Teams International fundraiser, she got to see it on a much grander scale and to only be a small part, but it fed her desire to do good around the world and to keep finding ways to give away money. (Of course, it also confirmed to her that she "really wants to travel around the world now and serve others" in the name of Jesus.)

So, all I can say is a repeat of what Elizabeth said about her son, John..."What will become of this child? Clearly, God has His hand in this." (Luke 1)

More Pictures from Chongqing

A woman practicing a sword "dance"

Gotta love those noodles!! We ate lots of them in China

Dancing on the plaza

Always working...

OK, so Starbucks is not really Chinese...but it was a lovely place for me. The coffee at the hotel in Chongqing was awful and trying to find coffee to "take away" was really difficult. And then came Starbucks. It looked a little like home, it smelled right, and the lady understood what a "tall non-fat latte" was with no other explanation or charades. It was a little bit of "home" in a foreign land!

...and working some more..

A dad with his daughter - checking out the fish