More of God

Have you ever wanted more of God? What does that mean? More of God. For most people it means they want to feel God’s presence more. They want to talk with God and have Him answer. In my own life I always want to know “how.” So I ask myself, “How can I have more of God? How do I feel His presence more in my life? How do I keep distractions away? How do I integrate in me both Mary and Martha? The active and the contemplative?”

I look to Jesus for the answers. What did He do when He wanted more of His father? He made time to be alone. It didn’t just happen. He had to do something. Matthew 14:23 says, “After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.” If He had simply waited for everyone to go away, it may never have happened.

In John 6:15 the verse says that Jesus “withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.” He must have slipped away, maybe while no one was looking. And yet He says throughout the Gospel of John that although He was alone God had not left Him. Jesus says in John 16:32, “...yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.” So if we want more of God with us, it would be good if we do what Jesus did and make time to be alone.

You are probably thinking, “Yes, but I have work and kids and church and a million other things!” Jesus did, too. At different times He was surrounded by crowds, assailed by accusations of religious leaders, teaching His disciples, dealing with family, attending synagogue, speaking in the temple. He, too, was a busy man. He had his own distractions from the world. So how did He stay focused on God and on His purpose? It seems obvious that He took advantage of opportunities during His day to slip away for solitude.

What if you don’t like being alone? I am convinced that one of the reasons Martha was upset with Mary was that she was left alone, and she didn’t like it. Read Luke 10:40 again from the New American Standard version, “...Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." (emphasis added)

At first you may not know what to do with yourself or your thoughts. You may sit alone for a minute or two and give up because you’re bored and think being alone is not interesting. Or all you can think about is all the other things you should be doing. But if you practice aloneness, it will soon focus your attention. The quiet will fine tune your spiritual ears to hear His voice. And after a while you will notice that you look forward to your solitude and your quiet time.

If we want more of God, we must be willing to give God more of us. In the quiet and in the solitude He will come to meet us there. Soon, like Jesus, we’ll be able to say, “I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

God's Little Pencil

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." --Mother Teresa of Calcutta

On Worry

"Pray, and let God worry.” --Martin Luther

What Is Our Song?

"Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song." -- Pope John Paul II

Precious Treasures

"Do not be dismayed daughters, at the number of things which you have to consider before setting out on this divine journey, which is the royal road to heaven. By taking this road we gain such precious treasures that it is no wonder if the cost seems to us a high one. The time will come when we shall realize that all we have paid has been nothing at all by comparison with the greatness of our prizes." --St. Teresa of Avila

A Spiritual Civilization

"The Church represents a complete spiritual civilization, a conserver of values, were it not for her, every new spiritual genius who arose would have to begin at the beginning, at the Stone Age of the soul. Instead of that, such geniuses find themselves placed within a social order enriched by all the contributions of their great predecessors. The bridges are built; the roads are made and named; their own experiences and discoveries are made more valid, less terrifying, more conprehensible to them, because others have been this way before." --Evelyn Underhill

Sacramental Expression

"...every Christian must work for a social order in which the outward would become ever more and more the true sacramental expression of the inward." -- Evelyn Underhill

In Thee

"If I am not in Thee, then I am not at all." -- St. Augustine

Home Life

"...the interior life is just the home life of those who inhabit the invisible City of God." --St. Augustine

Breathe by Michael W. Smith

Receiving What God Offers

In a local church I served as the leader of a healing group. Every Sunday morning after church I would stand at the back and pray for anyone who wanted prayers for healing. One morning a small elderly woman came for prayer. The Holy Spirit was present and strong, and I prayed with boldness. I expected to see her well and whole. Instead, she started to avoid me at church.

One Sunday morning we found ourselves alone at the refreshment table, and I asked her, "How are feeling these days?" And she looked at me sheepishly. "I guess you’re wondering why I don’t come back for prayers." I replied, "Well, I am hoping it is because you were healed." "No," she answered. "I’m not coming back for prayers because you prayed too strong for me. I don’t want that much healing! I wanted just a little healing. I won't be back." Her answer stopped me in my tracks. I had no reply for her.

In all my experience of praying for people I had never met someone who only wanted to be healed a little. And even now, as I’m writing this, I have to wonder: which little part did she want?

This encounter made me sad. And I’ve asked myself time and again, "Is our faith really too small for the power of God’s healing touch? Are we that afraid of God? Or are we afraid to be healed?"

In John 5 Jesus talked with a man in a similar situation. He was by the sheep gate in Jerusalem where there lay a lot of people who were sick, blind, and lame. And Jesus saw the man lying there, and He asked him, "Do you wish to get well?" To most of us, that might seem like a silly question...if we dare think Jesus was ever silly. Wouldn’t everyone want to get well? Wouldn’t everyone want a lot of healing? All the healing they could get?

Evidently, not everyone does. Maybe there comes a lot of responsibility with being well. Perhaps it’s easier to lie there. Some people might get attention for being sick. Others might receive alms or gifts or even compassion or love when they’re sick. Sadly to say, maybe it takes too much effort to stay healthy. It might be easier just to fall into bad habits and let yourself go. Sickness is a convenient excuse.

Whatever the reason it is a sad indictment when the Healer is present and willing and we say, "Sorry. I think I’ll pass." God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) If He loved us so much He would send His Son to us, why wouldn’t we want every benefit that He wishes to give us? Whether it is healing, an abundant life, success, children, or love, we should open our hearts and our spirits to receive His gifts and treasures. When God asks, "Do you want to get well?" Our answer should be an enthusiastic, "Yes!" When He asks, "Do you want abundance?" "Yes!" should be our reply. No more excuses. No more waiting. Be grateful and receive all God has for you!

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

Time For a Rest?

And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while." --Mark 6:31

The Great Commission

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." --Matthew 28:19-20

Living Life By Colossians 3

If then you have been raised up with Christ,

1. Keep seeking the things above
2. Set your mind on the things above
3. Consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality
4. Put aside anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth
5. Do not lie to one another
6. Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility gentleness, and patience
7. Bear with one another
8. Forgive each other
9. Put on love
10. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...and be thankful
11. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you
12. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks

Colossians 3:1-17

What Does the Lord Require?

"He has told you, O man,
What is good;
And what does the LORD require of you?
But to do justice,
To love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God."
--Micah 6:8

Psalm 23

"The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil; for Thou art with me;
Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
Thou hast anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all
the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. "

--New American Standard Version

An Appointed Time For Everything

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven--
A time to give birth, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill, and a time to heal,
A time to tear down, and a time to build up.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance,
A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing.
A time to search, and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent, and a time to speak,
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace."
--Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Virtuous Wife

"An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She looks for wool and flax,
And works with her hands in delight.
She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.
She rises also while it is still night,
And gives food to her household,
And portions to her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it.
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength,
And makes her arms strong.
She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor;
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her saying:
'Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all.'
Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain.
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates."
--Proverbs 31:10-31

Light

"I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." --John 8:12

Here I Am, Lord

I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry,
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
All who dwell in dark and sin
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Refrain
Here I am Lord.
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord,
If you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people's pain,
I will break their hearts of stone,
Give them hearts for love alone.
I have wept for love of them.
I will speak my word to them.
Whom shall I send?

Refrain
Here I am, Lord.
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord,
If you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame,
Finest bread I will provide
Till their hearts be satisfied.
I will set a feast for them,
I will give my life to them.
Whom shall I send?

Refrain
Here I am, Lord.
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord,
If you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

Copyright 1981, 1983, 1989 Daniel L. Shutte and NALR

Bread of God

God loves us so much that He provides for our every need. Not only does He provide for our need. He goes beyond our need and provides for wants we don’t know we have. When the children of Israel left Egypt and were wandering in the wilderness, they grew hungry, and they grumbled against their leaders, Moses and Aaron. Did they ask God for food? Evidently not. They simply griped and complained. When God heard their complaints, He answered them and met their need by raining down a white substance from the sky that could be made into bread. Scripture says it was like coriander seed, and it tasted like wafers with honey. (Ex. 16:31) For forty years, because He loved them, God provided His bread (the manna) to meet their need for food in order to sustain their bodies in the wilderness. But He didn’t stop there.

God’s people also needed food that would feed their souls and their spirits. They may not have been aware they even had that need. But God knew it, and He provided for it. In the Gospel of John Jesus says, "...I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world." We know from Scripture and from Jesus’ own words that the manna that sustained the body was only a small part of what God had planned for His people. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life, he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) In other words God wanted to go beyond feeding our bodies. He wanted to feed our spirits so thoroughly that we would never hunger or thirst for anything again that wasn’t Him. And He did it without our ever asking. Indeed we didn’t even know we needed such a thing!

In John 6:41 Jesus says, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven." How much clearer could He say it? In other words I meet your need for food and for drink for your body, for your soul, and for your spirit. What more could God do for us? That seems like every need we could have is met! But because God loves us He wants to do even more than that!

In John 6:48 Jesus says again but in a slightly different way, "I am the bread of life." What more could God do for us? He goes on to say, "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread, which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die." Not die? Did we dare think that we needed that? Again Jesus says, "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven." Okay, we’re starting to understand that. But then He goes on, "...if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever..." Wait a minute! Now Jesus is telling us that God is going way past what we thought was possible. He’s surpassing any thought we might have about what we thought our need was by miles! He’s talking about eternal life.

Jesus says again in verse 48, "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever." It takes several times of Jesus saying this outrageous thing for it to sink in. He goes on to say, "Does this cause you to stumble?" In other words, is this too hard for you to believe? Did you not know that God loves you this much?

When Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus He tells him, "For God so loved the world..." And in John 10:10 Jesus says, "...I came that they might have life and might have it abundantly." Could it be that what Jesus has to say about the bread of God is only a small glimpse of what an abundant life is like. Could it be that we think so small we cannot get past only what we need? Could it be that God wants to give us infinitely more than what we need?

In 1983 I had a dream where Jesus said to me, "I offer you the whole loaf, but you only take crumbs." It was a surprising and eye-opening dream. But I doubt that it is all that unusual. Like the children of Israel we all tend to focus on our needs. Because our needs make us uncomfortable, and we don’t like to be uncomfortable. But I submit that God loves us so much He is holding out to us an abundant life that is beyond our wildest expectations. In fact His gifts to us are so beyond our imaginations we cannot comprehend the greatness of them. We must, however, stop being afraid of God and of what He might ask of us. We must fortify ourselves with His word so that our faith is strong enough to receive all that God wants to give.
God loves you so much, He wants to rain down on you an abundant life. He wants to give you more than your needs require. He wants to bless you beyond your dreams and imagination. Stand tall. Open your arms. And receive the whole loaf of the bread of God.

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

The Importance of Being Mary

"Thousands of devoted men and women today believe that the really good part is to keep busy, and they give themselves no time to take what is offered to those who abide quietly with Christ because there seems such a lot of urgent jobs for Martha to do. The result of this can only be a maiming of their human nature, exhaustion, loss of depth and of vision, and it is seen in the vagueness and ineffectuality of a great deal of the work that is done for God." --Evelyn Underhill, The Essentials of Mysticism

Hidden in the Secret Place

"One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

To behold the beauty of the Lord,

And to meditate in His temple.

For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;

In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;

He will lift me up on a rock."

Psalm 27:4-5

Hidden in Christ

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her." --Excerpt from Beautiful Christian Sister by Maya Angelou

The Prayer of St. Francis

"Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where they is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light, where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood
as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen." -- The Book of Common Prayer 1979

Choose What Is Elegant

"Holding to what is difficult is so very difficult. That's why we don't do it. We avoid it like the plague, orienting ourselves toward the easy. Yet almost anyone can hold on. Many people do. We can do it slowly, with the most minute and gradual of steps, first thinking about what it is we value and then moving toward that in spirit and attitude. Bit by bit, we move toward our good by choosing it. In the process, we transform ourselves, changing for the better every time we choose, in direct proportion to the quality of our choice. Elegant choice helps us raise the quality of our lives." -- Marsha Sinetar, Elegant Choices, Healing Choices

Joining Our Thoughts

"The reading of Scripture prunes us. A line here or there cuts to the quick of what we're about or need to do. Immersing ourselves in stillness, attending to selected, sacred texts of choice, we can become so intimate with God's thoughts that they become our thoughts." --Marsha Sinetar, Sometimes, Enough Is Enough

God Makes the Small Mighty

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Too little to be among the clans of Judah,

From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.

His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."

--Micah 5:2

Original watercolor copyright 1991 Gloria Fisher.

All rights reserved.

Learn To Be Quiet

"If hearing from God is a goal in our life, then we must start with the aim of becoming silent. This means shutting out the invading noises around us and the constant sounds within our minds. To become really silent we must become still and quiet both on the outside and on in the inside."

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher.

All rights reserved.

Meditation on The Way

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the Way and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me."

Today there is disagreement between some in mainline denominations, between evangelicals and liberals, and between Christians and other world religions about whether Jesus is the only way to salvation. Arguments fly because non-Christians cannot bring themselves to believe that God would not honor any other religion except Christianity. They say, "My Muslim friend is a really nice person. Surely, he is going to heaven!" When a Christian says, "No. I’m sorry but only believers and followers of Jesus Christ are saved," then the discussion usually deteriorates into either a heated argument or a silent stand off. The Christian may say, "This is not my opinion. It says so in the Bible. Jesus said it!" That answer doesn’t usually fix the problem.

Those people who don’t believe Jesus is the Way also don’t believe most of what the Bible says about Him or what He said Himself. Either Jesus was who he said He was or He was crazy. C. S. Lewis said in his book, Mere Christianity, "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

When Jesus said, "No one can come to the Father but through me," He meant it. But doubters say, "Well, surely that can’t be right. Surely, my Hindu neighbor can get to God! Surely, my Buddhist cousin is saved! He’s such a good person." Most Americans especially don’t study world religions and don’t know what Hindus, Buddhists, or Muslims really believe. They only "know" what they hear from television or from their family and friends. No other religion bases the salvation of its followers on a God who came to earth to die for them out of love. Or who rose from the dead to save them from their sinful lives.

When Jesus said, "I am the Way..." What did He mean? Perhaps He meant that He knows the way to the Father and is the only one who knows the way precisely because He is the only one who has ever come from God, lived as a man, and then gone back to God. He has traveled that way and He knows the way from heaven and back. He alone can possibility say, "I know the way, follow me. I’ll show you the way there. I am your way to get there. I am the way to God. I am the way to heaven. I am the way to eternal life."

And who else is? Did Buddha come from God? He never said he did. Did Mohammed come from God? Was he with God in the beginning? Not ever did Mohammed claim to be God in the flesh. No other world religious leader but Jesus said, "The Father and I are one." (John 10:30)

Even John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the way. He knew that Isaiah the prophet had seen the day coming when "the way" would arrive. John quotes Isaiah in Matthew 3:3 when he says about himself that he is, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord...’"

Evidently, the first followers of Jesus believed that He was the Way. Before they were called Christians, they were referred to as "men and women belonging to The Way." (Acts 9:3) In other words men and women belonging to Jesus.

In Hebrews 10:20 the writer says that believers have "confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way..." The living way is obviously Jesus. What other living way is there? None. No one else shed His blood for the lives of sinners.

The way in which you do something is "how you do it." Following that logic then Jesus is the How you get to heaven. The How you are saved. The How you are filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is How you have eternal life–the Way you have eternal life. The only Way.

Young Mary

I know not all of that which I contain.
I'm small; I'm young; I fear the pain
All is surprise: I am to be a mother.
That Holy Thing within me and no other
is Heaven's King whose lovely Love will reign.
My pain, his gaining my eternal gain
my fragile body holds Creation's Light;
its smallness shelters God's unbounded might.
The angel came and gave, did not explain.
I know not all of that which I contain.

Poem by Madeleine L'Engle from
The Ordering of Love

Abide in Me

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you." --John 15:7

Original watercolor copyright Gloria Fisher 1990. All rights reserved.

Authenticity

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

When I was a child and in the third grade, we had a project to do in class. Finger painting. What could be more fun! Bright colors on a slick white page of paper. The best part was the messiness of it all. Small hands squishing swirls of blue and green and red. It tickled my insides. Not looking at anyone else’s paper I focused on being creative in my own imagination. With the confidence of a nine year old I let my mind run wild.

It was only later at the end of class when my teacher looked at mine, and I saw the disappointment on her face that I realized I had not done well at all. Only when she said, "Well, dear, I don’t think you’re going to be an artist," did I look around to compare my artwork with anyone else’s. At that moment I believed her because, after all, she was the teacher, and she should know. It has taken decades to get past her negative opinion and nourish the artist within me.

How many of us lost our creativity and passion in our childhood because of a thoughtless comment thrown out there from someone in authority? Many of us, I submit. When we were children, we didn’t know we weren’t artistic or smart or cute until someone told us. Needing their love and approval we erased ourselves a little at a time and became whomever and whatever they said we were. Over time we forgot who we really were and what it was we once wanted.

For some the long road back to whom they really are is long and hard. But with God’s help, with prayer, or with spiritual direction it is possible to grow into whom you were truly meant to be. To become an authentic person takes courage, strength, faith, and persistence. Making honest self-assessments sheds light on what your true desires are. Not what someone else wants you to be. By answering questions about what you want and where you want to go in the future sheds light on your path. What are your gifts? What do you love to do with your time? Where would you like to live? What does God want you to do?

Having an honest friend who will hold up a mirror to you helps. Some people have several friends who form a small success group to meet on a regular schedule to encourage each other toward their goals. Others meet in prayer groups to pray for authenticity and the courage to stick by their decisions. Accepting criticism about weaknesses is difficult but necessary. Only with that knowledge is it possible to repair what damage has been done and move on. Prayer, quiet time, and reflection seem to buoy solutions to the surface where they can be available for usage in the formation of a new life.

Unfortunately, we have all had our authentic selves twisted and wounded by unthinking people. But there is a place of healing and new beginnings. With God’s help we can move past old hurts and step into what I call the Grace Groove where we are truly ourselves. In that place we move effortlessly, fully functioning, truly alive. We know exactly what we’re doing. We work wholeheartedly and also enjoy our leisure. We have balance in our lives. We know we are where we ought to be. Sure it takes work. But with God’s help it is possible to become what God intended us to be in the beginning, His creative and passionate children.

St. Augustine

"Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation."

--Ancient Faith Bible
Copyright 2007 Holman Christian Standard Bible

Our Conscience is Watching

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

While sitting in the car waiting on my husband in the grocery store a shiny SUV pulled into the handicapped parking space next to us, and a 20-something young man in a baseball cap hopped out and ran into the store. There was no handicapped license plate on his car. There was no handicapped card on his mirror. And he had no idea the trouble he was causing a handicapped person who might actually need the parking space close to the building. Nor did he have any idea of the damage he was doing to himself.

Some people might think that stealing a handicapped parking space from a truly handicapped person might be a small thing. After all it’s only a few minutes or so. What harm could it do? Yes, there’s a chance that no one else wanted or needed the spot. But what does it do to us when we deliberately choose the wrong behavior over and over again?

In my experience as a spiritual director I observe that there is an underlying thread that connects the events in our lives to create what becomes the fabric of our lives. That thread connects our past, runs through our present, and flows right into our future. Part of that thread is our conscience.

St. Paul talks about our conscience in 1 & 2 Corinthians, Timothy, Titus, and Hebrews. He talks about various states of our conscience: a good conscience, a clear conscience, a blameless conscience, a weak conscience, and an evil conscience. In 1 Corinthians Paul talks about a weak conscience in verse 8:7. What makes a weak conscience? I would submit that a conscience is made weak by continually choosing what is wrong behavior over what is right. What we fail to see is that our conscience is watching us. Our conscience is observing our behavior all the time. When we choose to do the right thing, we feel good about ourselves. Our conscience is clear. Our conscience is good. It doesn’t bother us.

However, if we choose to do the wrong thing, our conscience sees it. And it does bother us. It may even make us feel guilty when it knows that we have deliberately chosen to do what we know in our hearts and/or in our minds is the wrong thing to do. When our conscience feels guilty, we feel bad. If that bad feeling grows we may even start to feel depressed. Fortunately, God has given us confession as a way to ease our guilty feelings. We can talk to God. Tell Him how badly we feel and almost instantly we feel better. Not that God does not know what we did. He does know. But we need to say the words in order to ease our conscience.

If we ignore a guilty conscience. If we continue to make bad choices, our conscience could get weak. When it becomes weak, it stops feeling guilty. It sees us doing wrong and keeps quiet. It no longer functions in the way that God meant it to function as an alarm to warn us to do right. When our conscience is quiet, we no longer notice that what we do is wrong. But somewhere on a very deep level our conscience is recording our behavior and sending messages to our minds and hearts that we are becoming bad. Continual wrong behavior over time, ignoring messages from our consciences, eventually will convince us that we are bad people and not worthy of blessings, not worthy of prosperity, not worthy of God’s love. At that point we truly need a savior who will come and rescue us from ourselves. That savior is Jesus Christ.

These thoughts were going through my mind as I watched the young man stealing a handicapped parking space. Maybe that’s not a big deal to him now I thought. But his conscience is watching what he does. It records that decision to do wrong. Continued bad decisions will mount up until something has to break. Either he’ll make a very large wrong decision and hurt himself or someone else or hopefully, he’ll break down and ask forgiveness before much real damage is done. I prayed for him. Lord, forgive him. He doesn’t know what he’s doing or how it effects other people. Show him before it’s too late. May he come to know You and Your forgiveness very soon. Amen.

Awesome majesty

"Out of the north comes golden splendor;

Around God is awesome majesty." -- Job 37:22

Original photograph. Copyright Gloria Fisher 2005. All rights reserved.

The Importance of a Journal

In my experience as a spiritual director I have learned that the journal is an essential tool to bring about inner healing and spiritual redirectedness. I tell my directees that it is most important for them to get what is in their minds and hearts on paper so their eyes can see it. When they do that, components of their lives begin to fall into place. Patterns can be clearly seen. Tangles of ideas are unraveled. And fuzzy thinking becomes clear.

As a directee writes her thoughts and feelings on paper an amazing thing begins to happen. A picture begins to form. It becomes clear that there is a connective thread alive below the surface of her life that has been carrying meaning the whole way though she’s been unaware of it. That thread has woven together events, people, and activities in its effort to create the fabric of her life. This inner creativeness happens while we’re awake and while we’re asleep. As long as she only thinks about her life trying to figure it out in her head, it’s virtually impossible to see the pattern of the thread. It takes putting one’s life on paper before the picture takes shape.

Once she sees the full picture of where her life has been up until now, it is infinitely easier to see where her life is headed in the future. At that point new possibilities present themselves that were never dreamed of before. As the events of a life set themselves in order, giving perspective for the past and guidance for the future, something additional happens. It is as though previously untapped knowledge is activated so that a person is brought face to face with the meaning of her life.

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

Walk in the Light

"For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God in the light of the living." --Psalm 56:13

Original photograph copyright 2007 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

Dressing Yourself in the Full Armor of God

A Prayer for Dressing Yourself in the Full Armor of God
According to Ephesians 6:10-17

"Finally, I will be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might:
I will put on the full armor of God, that I may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
For my struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, I take up the full armor of God, that I may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm.
I stand firm therefore, having girded my loins with Truth, and having put on the breastplate of Righteousness, and having shod my feet with the preparation of the gospel of Peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of Faith with which I will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And I take the helmet of Salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
With all prayer and petition I will pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, I will be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance will be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador, and that I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Savior, Amen."

A Prayer of Salvation

As Christians one of the greatest privileges we have is the opportunity to lead someone to Christ. If you or someone you know is ever in that blessed position and may need a prayer to help them get started, share with them this simple prayer. It is not a formula. It's a way to get started. From there let the Holy Spirit guide you in knowing what to say. Let the lost person repeat the prayer, a piece at a time, until the end. When you are finished, shout for joy! Because we know that the angels in heaven are rejoicing over even one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:7)

"Lord, I want to be saved, and I want to know you. I know that I have sinned in my life, and I ask that you forgive all my sins, the ones I know about, and the ones I don't know about. I confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. I now receive my forgiveness, and I invite Jesus into my heart and into my life. Thank you, Lord, for saving me. Amen."

Hallelujah!

Abide in the Peace That is Already Yours

"Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusts in Thee." --Isaiah 26:3

"Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace." --Psalm 37:37

"And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." --Romans 16:20

"Lord, Thou will establish peace for us since Thou hast also performed for us all our works..."--Isaiah 26:12

"The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you." --Philippians 4:9

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..." --Romans 5:1

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful." --Colossians 3:15

"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for Thou, Lord, only make me dwell in safety." --Psalm 4:8

"The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace." --Psalm 29:11

"Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." --John 14:27

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." --Philippians 4:6,7

He Only Is My Rock

"My soul waits in silence for God only;

From Him is my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation.

My stronghold;

I shall not be greatly shaken."

--Psalm 62:1,2 (NAS)

A Reordering of Your Life

"The action of those whose lives are given to the Spirit has in it something of the leisure of Eternity; and because of this, they achieve far more than those whose lives are enslaved by the rush and hurry, the unceasing tick-tick of the world. In the spiritual life it is very important to get our timing right. Otherwise we tend to forget that God, Who is greater than our heart, is greater than our job too."

"They all make the same answer: that what is asked of us is not necessarily a great deal of time devoted to what we regard as spiritual things, but the constant offering of our wills to God, so that the practical duties which fill most of our days can become part of His order and be given spiritual worth."

"It means discipline of thought and of feeling, a more careful use of such leisure as we have; and filling our minds with ideas that point the right way, instead of suggestions which distract us from God and spiritual things."

"We must use even the few minutes that we have in this way, and let the spirit of these few minutes spread through the busy hours. This will also involve expelling from our life those thoughts and acts which are inconsistent with these times of communion. For unless we are prepared to make this the centre of our life, setting the standard to which all the rest must conform we need not hope for results."

"Many people seem to think that the spiritual life necessarily requires a definite and exacting plan of study. It does not. But it does require a definite plan of life; and courage in sticking to the plan, not merely for days or weeks, but for years. New mental and emotional habits must be formed, all our interests re-arranged in new proportion round a new centre....that God alone matters...."

Excerpts from The Spiritual Life by Evelyn Underhill

A Prayer for Peace

"Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen." --Book of Common Prayer 1979

The Peace of God

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." --Philippians 4:6-8 (NAS)

Photograph courtesy of VortexImage

Perfection of Beauty

"The Mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken,

And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth."

--Psalm 50:1-2

Original photograph copyright Gloria Fisher 2005. All rights reserved.

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus

"For thus says the Lord, 'You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.'"
--Isaiah 52:3

"For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." --1 Corinthians 6:20

"This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood." --Luke 22:20

Original painting "Deposition" by Rubens, Lille.

A Rainbow Rose

"As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face..."

Ezekiel 1:28 (NAS)

Original photograph of a real rose 2009 Copyright Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

Day By Day

"Day by day, Dear Lord,
Of Thee three things I pray;
To see Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly,
Day by day.
Amen."

Hymn by Alfred E. Whitehead 1941.

Love At First Sight

"When God saw you, it was love at first sight." -- Author unknown

How Great a Love

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

Perhaps the most poignant and amazing scripture about love is John 3:16. It was written by the apostle John and given to a world longing to know the love of God. The words of Jesus tell us more about God’s love for us than we could ever imagine on our own. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

John’s gospel tells us what Jesus said about the Father, and the Father’s love for His creation and for His people. How would we know that God would abide in His people if John had not written Jesus’ words in chapter 14, verse 23, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." What other god makes such a claim? None.

What makes us both truly human and truly like God? Love for certain. It is love that unites us in a bond of fellowship with others. From the very beginning of creation God said: "It is not good that man should be alone." (Genesis 2:18) We were created in love for love -- to be a community of loving persons, just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united in love.

Jesus speaks to His disciples of the inseparable bond of love between Himself and the Father, and of Their love for humankind. In Jesus there is the fulness of God's love and how God's love is directed to our well-being. "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might have life through Him. (1 John 4:9) How do we know that God loves us? In the cross we see the proof of God's love for us and the incredible price God was willing to pay for our redemption. Jesus gave up his life that we might have life, a life of love and unity with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit forever.

During this Holy Week take time to think about how much God loves you, about what He was willing to do to give you eternal life, so that you might dwell with Him forever.

10 Kinds of Dreams

"To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds."
Daniel 1:17 (NIV)

The writer of the book of Daniel understood that there are "all kinds" of dreams. Just as Daniel could understand many different types of dreams, so can we. When you know what type of dream you’ve dreamed, you can use that knowledge to better understand the meaning of it. When you understand the meaning of your dream, you can use that knowledge to draw nearer to God.

Here are 10 different kinds of dreams (not the entire list of kinds):

Blessing dream
Warning dream
Instruction dream
Comforting dream
Teaching dream
Healing dream
Correcting dream
Encouraging dream
Problem-solving dream
Prophetic dream

Excerpt from Draw Nearer to God With Your Dreams
Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

Remembering Your Dreams

Excerpt from Draw Nearer To God With Your Dreams
Copyright Gloria Fisher 2009. All rights reserved.

Has this ever happened to you? The alarm clock buzzer jars you awake and about the time you reach over to kill it with a slap, you hear the baby crying from an adjoining bedroom. So you grab your robe and hit the floor running. Sadly, all the dreams you had fly right out the window. Or maybe the clock radio awakens you to the 7:00 a.m. drive-time disk jockey or the highway helicopter announcer describing the back up at the intersection of Such-’n-Such and So-’n-So Roads. Somewhere in the back of your mind the name of the street registers as being on your route to work. You grab the radio knob and twist it up to loud. And your dream is long gone.

How many dreams do you remember nightly? One? Two? Some people remember three or four dreams a night. Others only remember one. Some, however, feel very frustrated that they don’t remember any. Fully intending to remember their dreams, they may place a pad of paper on the night stand before retiring. But unfortunately, as soon as the buzz of the alarm clock goes off, the dreamer’s slate is wiped clean.

There are several reasons why people don’t remember their dreams. Maybe your medication is affecting your dream life. Maybe you don’t want to remember your dreams. But if you do, it is important to understand that remembering your dreams is a habit. A habit that takes practice to establish, much like playing the piano or riding a bicycle. So, first of all, make the commitment to remember your dreams, tell yourself before going to sleep, "Tonight I will remember my dreams." Try to wake up without any noise. Lie awake for a while when you first wake up and try to recall and replay any dream or part of a dream you can remember. This reinforces the dream on your consciousness.

After 30 nights of practice you should be remembering at least one dream a night. Of course, if you also commit to recording your dreams, you’ll probably start remembering multiple dreams per night. When you begin to take your dreams seriously, your dreams will begin to take your commitment seriously, and more and more dream material will present itself to you. Remember that dreams have a purpose. Their purpose is to heal your soul. The more dreams you recall and the more understanding you have of your dreams, the more inner healing you will enjoy.

My Favorite Parker J. Palmer Quotes

Quotes from Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer


"Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you."

"Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening."

"What a long time it can take to become the person one has always been."

Catching Fire With Love

An excerpt from The Life of Teresa of Jesus, The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila

"How is it that there are not many who are led by sermons to forsake open sin? Do you know what I think? That it is because preachers have too much worldly wisdom. They are not like the Apostles, flinging it all aside and catching fire with love for God, and so their flame gives little heat. I do not say that their flame is as great as the Apostles was, but I could wish it were stronger than I see it is. To hold our life in abhorence and to consider our reputation as quite unimportant. Provided we say what is true and maintain it to the glory of God, we ought to be indifferent whether we lose everything or gain everything. For he who in all things is truly bold in God's service will be as ready to do the one as the other. I do not say I am that kind of person, but I wish I were.

Oh, what great freedom we enjoy! It makes us look upon having to live and act according to the law of the world as captivity! It is a freedom which we obtain from the Lord, and there is not a slave who would not risk everything in order to get his ransom and return to his native country. And as this is the true road, there is no reason for lingering on it, for we shall never gain complete possession of that great treasure until our life is over. May the Lord give us His help to this end."

Splendor and Majesty

"Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place."
1 Chronicles 16:27


Original photograph Gloria Fisher 2005
All rights reserved.

Abiding in the Shadow

Abiding in the Shadow
Walking in the Light
Moving in a paradox
Believing without sight.

Captives all go free
In this bondage to the King
With noises that are pleasing
And silences that sing.

Turning other cheeks
Heaping coals upon their heads
Doing unto others
Exactly what He said.

Dressing in the armor
Laying burdens down
Listening for the Whisper
Not in the thunder found.

Abiding in the Shadow
Walking in the Light
Moving in a paradox
Believing without sight.

Copyright 1994 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

A Promise Straight From Jesus

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it." John 14:12-14

Apostle's Creed by John Michael Talbot

Your Goals for an Abundant Life

Jesus said in John 10:10: "I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly."
When contemplating your abundant life, it is important to include your "whole" life. Balance your life with goals for your body, soul, and spirit. The following may encourage some thought:


PHYSICAL/HEALTH GOALS:



SPIRITUAL GOALS:



PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP GOALS:



CAREER GOALS:



RECREATIONAL GOALS:



PERSONAL GROWTH GOALS:



FINANCIAL GOALS:



SOCIAL GOALS:



©Gloria Fisher 1997. All rights reserved.

Food for Thought - Pondering Your Destiny

Ten Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Destiny:

1. What desire will not release you?
2. What motivates you to produce?
3. What do you do that does not seem like work?
4. What do you do that gets a response from people?
5. What do you do that seems like doors open up for you?
6. How do your spiritual elders and leaders feel about your work?
7. What do you do that makes you feel good about yourself?
8. What do you do that makes you think creatively?
9. What are you doing that you’re willing to sacrifice for?
10. What work are you doing that you’d like to face God with?

Bishop Earl Paulk 1998

A Morning Prayer

"This is a another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and grant me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen."

Book of Common Prayer 1979

Abide in the Beauty of His Sanctuary

"Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary."

Psalm 96:6

Original photograph 2006 Gloria Fisher

All rights reserved.

Clothed in His Glory

"Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these."

Matthew 6:28-29

Original photograph 2006 Gloria Fisher

All rights reserved

Meditation on the Tree of Life

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

In the beginning God created a garden on the earth in the image of Paradise. And He called the garden Eden. It wasn’t exactly like Paradise, but it was very similar. In the garden He placed man and two special trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told the man that he could eat the fruit of any of the trees freely, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said, “...but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:16-17)

Therefore, in the Garden, there was the tree of life and the other tree, which might easily be called, the tree of death. God had set before man a choice, life or death. (Deut. 30:15) The first test, you might think.

It seems, from God’s behavior, that He is very much like a parent, a father. A father says don’t do this and don’t do that in order to discipline his children. Hardly ever does a father say do that! For instance, your father probably said, “Don’t play in the street. You’ll get hit by a car.” What he doesn’t say is “Go play in the yard. The grass feels great between your toes.” Or he might say, “Don’t touch that. You’ll get burned!” What he doesn’t say is, “Touch this! Doesn’t it feel wonderful?”

Sometimes what a parent says is negative in order to teach a lesson. What they don’t say would probably tempt you most of all, but somehow they never do that. In the Garden God acts like a parent--like a father. He says to the man, “Don’t go eat the fruit off that tree. If you do, you’ll die!” What he didn’t say was, “Go eat the fruit off that other tree. If you do, you’ll live forever!”

You would think the man would have gotten it, that he would not have eaten what his father said not to eat. But he didn’t. He did like we all do, he did the very thing his father told him not to do. Why would he do that?

Mostly, he did it to please the woman. He listened to her, instead of his father, God. What did she say that made him eat it? Evidently nothing. She simply handed it to him, and he took it. But he knew what she meant. He was there with her when she was tempted, and he said nothing. He simply went along.

The serpent, lying in wait on a branch in the tree of death, seduced the woman with lies, and she believed him. Why did he lie? It is his nature to lie. By now we all know that the serpent was evil. We know that the serpent was really Satan or the devil in disguise. He tempted the humans in order to kill them. Later in John 8:44 Jesus said, about the devil, “whenever he speaks a lie he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.” So the serpent was lying because it was and is his nature to do so.

But why was he in that tree and not the other? Because the devil, by his nature, is a killer of human beings. According to Jesus, he “comes to steal, and kill, and destroy.”(John 10:10) Therefore, according to his nature, he was hanging around in the tree of death. It was his home. He could not have lived in the tree of life. It was not his territory.

If this event was a test, then man failed it miserably. Given the choice between life and death, man chose death. He ate the fruit of the tree of death. With that choice came a multitude of negative consequences. But because God is the loving father He is, He devised a plan to fix the problem.

His plan was to redeem man from his disastrous choices. How could God do that? Would we choose better the second time around? And perhaps, the most important question of all, would we remember how we had chosen wrong the first time in order not to make the same mistake again? Would we remember the two trees? Would we even recognize the true tree of life, if we saw it?

God’s plan consisted of many facets. First of all, He would come down Himself in the form of his Son in order to make a point. He would walk among man and tell man who He is, just as He had done in the Garden–walking in the cool of the day. (Gen. 3:8)

Another facet and necessary part of the plan, in order to redeem man back from sin and death, was that He would die on a cross, a cross made of wood cut from a tree. Maybe if man saw Him hanging on a tree, man would finally understand! His plan was to hang there in open view, our Creator, our Father, and say to each of us, “Here I am. Choose me! I am the tree of life.”

Paul says in I Corinthians, “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive...”

Over and over again in Holy Scripture, Jesus said openly and emphatically that He is the life. He said, “I am the bread of life...” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life... And “I am the resurrection and the life...” (John 6:35, John 14:6, John 11:25) He also said, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.” (John 5:21)

Yes, God has set before us life and death. And we must choose. The first time man made a grave error in the Garden by choosing death. Let us remember the two trees in the Garden, and this time choose the true Tree of Life...Jesus Christ, the Son.

The Garden Beyond the Veil

Copyright 1981 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.



She tapped my shoulder in my sleep
Awakening me to pools of sky-blue loving eyes,
Silver hair 'round her head like a halo
And her hand reaching for mine.

In this life we'd never met before,
But I loved her in an instant
And emotion choked my words as I tried to tell her
How happy I was she'd finally come for me.

We floated through my bedroom doorway
And through a veil beyond
Where I saw my bare feet leave carpet and step onto
emerald grass,
But I never felt its touch.

There in the emerald garden green among
A sea of other unknown loving eyes,
Love poured forth from them
And I knew each one and loved them all.

Time stood still in that place of peace
And we shared our love within.
We spoke of the Master and the World To Come,
But we never said a word.

A cloud passed over those sky-blue eyes
As she led me back to bed,
And I cried to think I could not stay
In the peace of that heavenly Eden.

But before she left she promised me
That she'll come back one day
And take me again where the saints await
To the garden beyond the veil.

Creativity

Copyright Gloria Fisher 1983. All rights reserved.


The carpenter knows his wood
Every nail and every mark.
He'd know each grain and knothole
If he felt it in the dark.

The sculptor knows his figure
Every curve and every bump.
He sees what no one else could see
Emerging from the lump.

The artist knows his painting
Every stroke and every line,
The sweet perfume of color
And the rich bouquet of wine.

The Maker knows His creature
Every flaw and every sin,
But reaches forth to love us
To create us once again.

G. K. Chesterton Quote

"To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless."

My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His Righteouness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

Hymn by Edward Mote and Wm. B. Bradbury

Knowing Your Source

Original artwork, graphite on paper.
Copyright 1995 Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

"Contemplation is the highest expression of man's intellectual and spiritual life. It is that life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that is alive. It is spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life, for awareness, and for being. It is a vivid realization of the fact that life and being in us proceed from an invisible, transcendent...Source... It is, above all, awareness of the reality of that Source. It knows the Source, obscurely, inexplicably, but with a certitude that goes both beyond reason and beyond simple faith."

--Thomas Merton, Seeds

Laying a Cornerstone

Copyright 1997 Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

As a writer and an artist I've learned some valuable lessons about laying life’s foundations. One of those lessons taught me that every good foundation starts with a cornerstone. The lessons I’ve learned about foundations and cornerstones translate easily and naturally into my Christian life and into my personal lifestyle.

Whenever I begin writing an article or a chapter in a book, I create an outline. The outline shows me the beginning, the middle, and the ending of whatever I’m writing. During the writing process that outline keeps me focused on my purpose by always reminding me what the subject matter truly is, in case my mind starts to wander. My outline tells me when to stop in the event I get caught up in the sheer pleasure of writing and keep on long after the story has been told. In other words, the outline sets up the structure of the story, sets up the road marks along the way, and sets my inner clock that chimes, "It is finished."

The same holds true when I wear my artist hat. Whether I am drawing or painting, I start with a sketch. The sketch is vitally important and requires perfection. Because if the sketch is off in any area, if the perspective is wrong, then no matter how many lines I add, no matter how many shadows I paint in, the final effect is never right–a body of water floats in the air, a road goes off to nowhere. When that happens, the only solution is to begin again.

Over and over I find those lessons also apply to my life. "Why didn’t that marriage work out?" I ask myself. I worked so hard on it! What happened to that job I wanted so badly? Nothing seemed to work out there. I thought I had it nailed. Maybe you’ve asked these same questions. But when I take time to pray and listen to God, sooner or later I’ll discover there was a time at the beginning of the process when I was trying to do it by sheer will power and had started the whole endeavor just because it was something I wanted. I had forgotten to get God involved from the very beginning.

If I had taken the time to stop before starting a new stage of my life and asked Christ to be the cornerstone, then the foundations I built would not have later crumbled and fallen. Do you ever wonder why your life seems a "little off?" Or maybe off a lot, and you still don’t know why. We wonder why things continue to go wrong for us. And that leads to a lot of frustration, of tearing down and rebuilding which wastes time and energy. We think, "I should be further down this road at my age." A lot of us keep learning the same lessons over and over again, whether they involve marriages, careers, or relationships. But when we build foundations on ourselves, our talents, or even on our knowledge, it’s just never enough.

Those kinds of foundations will never support our hopes and dreams. For me, every word that is added to a faulty outline, every line drawn on a crooked sketch, ends up in the trash. Similarly, any weak foundation will sooner or later fall. In the face of life's problems, it takes a strong structure built on a rock-solid foundation to withstand hard times. What does it take to build a rock-solid foundation? There is only one thing. A perfect cornerstone on which to build our lives. That rock is Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 28:16 says, "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone, for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.’" If God, who is the Creator, lays a cornerstone for His foundation, then we can trust without a doubt that God’s pattern of building will also work for us.

What was this costly cornerstone Isaiah was prophesying about? It was God’s own son, Jesus Christ. He was the cornerstone for the foundation on whom God would build holy temples in which to house His Holy Spirit. Paul, the apostle, wrote to the saints in Ephesus saying, (Ephesians 2:20-22), "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone; In whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord: In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."

What exactly is a cornerstone? The dictionary defines it as, "a stone uniting two walls and forming a corner of a building which will determine how true the angles will be that rise from the one stone. The cornerstone is most important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure."

How is your structure? Is your life full of strife and anger? Or does peace reign supreme? Now might be a good time to look back and ask yourself, "What is the cornerstone of my foundation? What are all my hopes and dreams built upon?" If your answer is, "Me" or if your answer is "Tom, Dick, or Harry," then, more than likely, the cornerstone of your foundation is not true and sure. So how can you expect the framework of your life to stand erect and strong?
You may say, "If everything crumbles and falls, I can always start over. I’ve done it before. I can do it again." Yes, you can. But how much time and energy are you willing to waste starting over time and time again? And how will the next time be any different from this time? How many times are you willing to start over?

Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate the foundations of your life. Give yourself some time alone, commit, maybe for the first time, or recommit your life to Christ. Give Him your life, your children, your work, and ask Him to be the cornerstone of your life. Reassure yourself and Him that everything from this moment on will be built on Him. Turn loose and give Him your whole life. Let Him be your cornerstone. When He is, everything you build in your life will be measured from a new viewpoint.

Before you make a life decision you’ll want to know what God says about it. You’ll measure your life according to God’s word. You’ll be praying before you commit to a marriage. You’ll pray before you decide to take that new job. Before, and not after, you start a new business you’ll ask God’s opinion. Every decision will be weighed and measured starting from the cornerstone. Soon you’ll find that you’re making fewer mistakes in your personal decisions. You’ll be walking away from fewer disasters. You’ll be starting over less and less. Success will chase you down. Everything you set your hand to will prosper. Blessings will flow into every area of your life. When Jesus Christ is your cornerstone, everything you build will stand strong, true, and fortified. Your life will be a mighty fortress.

Join in Life's Dance

Original artwork. Graphite on paper.
Copyright 1995 Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced in the Moon & the Stars & the Sun
I came down from Heaven & I danced on Earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth:


Dance then, wherever you may be
"I am the Lord of the Dance," said He.
"And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the Dance," said He.



"Lord of the Dance." Lyrics by Sydney Carter 1963
Music 19th Century Shaker tune

Renewing Your Mind

"Take time to get away from the world and study God's Word. Meditate on it and let it change you from the inside out. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind and release the beautiful spiritual butterfly that's living in you! (Romans 12:2) --Gloria Copeland, Faith to Faith

God's Handiwork

Original photograph.
Copyright 2006 Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

"And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good."

Genesis 1:31

Moving Day

Copyright 1983 Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

As good friends often do,
My friend is moving away.
So here I stand a-cryin'
On this his moving day.

Cryin' for the stayers
Missing friends who move along,
Movers to that other home,
Where all of us belong.

I have more friends a-movin' now
Than those who stay behind,
If I should move tomorrow,
I really wouldn't mind.

I'll see you there, dear friend,
In that other home away,
When I'll leave others cryin'
And it's my Moving Day.