Giving vs. Sharing

This morning I was reading in Shakti Gawain's book Awakening.  She said concerning our inability to let people give to us, "To be able to receive, you have to be in touch with your vulnerability and be comfortable with the part of you that needs. You have to be comfortable allowing another person to feel strong and powerful in your presence."  It made me stop to wonder if, sometimes, my motive in giving is SO THAT I can feel powerful?  We are told it is "better to give than receive"--that we will be happier in the long run.  But now I suspect  sometimes it's because it gives us a sense of power over the "needy" person.  I am sure this is not what God intends when He calls us to help others.  

So, how can we be sure we're giving out of a place of love and not from a place out of our own need to feel empowered?

Destiny

"Sow a thought, reap an act;

Sow an act, reap a habit;

Sow a habit, reap a character;

Sow a character, reap a destiny." 

-- Charles Reade/Ralph Waldo Emerson

Plans

♫In God's Hands♫

"Plans are useless, but planning is invaluable." --Winston Churchill

This is where we throw the sticks I pick up in the yard.  It makes great kindling for our camp fires.  There are several piles of sticks set aside waiting until they are needed. ...

 

Give It Up

"Give it all up and you get it all back." --Alan Cohen

Alan Cohen tells the story of the time he and a friend went to see a production of Godspell.  When they found their seats they discovered someone else in them.  Their seats had been sold twice.  Seeing that the other folks were getting upset about it Cohen remembered Jesus' teaching, "If someone wants your coat, give them your cloak as well." So he told his friend, "Let's let them have the seats," and went to the ticket office to explain the situation.  They were given two more tickets which turned out to be closer to the stage in a better location.  

My God, in Him I Will Trust

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." 

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 

5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 

7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 

8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

 9 If you make the Most High your dwelling-- even the LORD, who is my refuge-- 

10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 

12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 

16With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.

                   

Truth

"....pursue Truth with all the reverence and tenacity in your heart, and so you will find fulfillment, for the lessons of Truth are the lessons of God."  --Alan Cohen, "The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore"

Many people reject Christ because they believe that truth is relative.  There are those who cannot fathom the idea that there is only one way to God and therefore reject that there is a God at all.  I don't know enough about relativism or atheism to comment about these beliefs, but I do know about Truth because this is my belief.  According to the dictionary for something to be true it is genuine, real or actual, accurate or exact.  It is the opposite of insincere, false, or inaccurate. 

Be Still and Know That I Am God

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 

2 Therefore we will not fear,though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 

3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. "Selah" 

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 

5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 

7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. "Selah" 

8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 

9He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 

10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 

11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. "Selah"