giving thanks for the light

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

We swam last night under a star-lit night in what is called the luminous lagoon.

Our local friend Sean had promised that it would be unlike anything we had experienced before and his words held true. This particular lagoon is inhabited by millions of microorganisms called dinoflagellate, which glow whenever the water is disturbed.

Wading in the water, we saw that when you move arm, twitch a finger, kick a leg or simple wiggle a toe, each movement creates a bright glow. From total darkness, movement creates light.

So on this day of thanksgiving, I hope you can join me in the two prayers:

One, that we all can keep our eyes open today to witness the amazing world God has created for us… a world filled with awe, wonder and mystery.

And second, that we can all move beyond the waters of a luminous lagoon to create light right where we are right now – through our words, our deeds, our action and movement – and take away the darkness in someone’s life.

O heavenly Father, we give you praise.
Thank you O Lord for the peace, joy and mysteries of life.
Thank you O Lord for the Word that enables us to become children of the light.

Amen.

just a little bit louder now...

You can join me in prayer today over at Daily Prayer.

working on a dream

There were no warm up acts.

From the very first note, he held nothing back.

He gritted his teeth and dug in immediately, his inner energy taking control. He grimaced and his voice strained. Then he dug even deeper… reached far… and touched those around him on an emotional level. It was still the first song.

I like to ease into my work day. Power up the laptop. A cup of coffee. Perhaps some surfing before even looking at the to-do list. After opening a file, maybe I’ll enjoy a banana.

But not this guy. From the first note, he was giving his all.

There were no breaks between songs. No wardrobe changes. No snacks. No intermissions. Just as the final notes of one song echoed off the ceiling, he turned and said “one, two, three, four” and he was off again, finding some way to push it even harder. Again. And again. He came onto the stage at 8:30 last night. He did not stop playing, singing, engaging, dancing, energizing, living, connecting for the next three hours. By 11:40, he had performed 32 emotionally draining songs. His work was done.

And as I stood there, I wondered what my life would be like if I came to work with that that same “give it everything you’ve got” attitude?

My clients would notice.

And then I looked into heaven, and wondered what the world would be like if I approached my walk with Christ with that same focus, that same drive, that same level of non-stop energy. That same sense of purpose. What if I dug deep and held nothing back.

It can be done. It really can.

Jesus did it. And all he asks is for us to follow.

It can be done. It really can. I even know people who have.

People who don’t need to ease into acts of love. People who don’t take breaks, people who are servants of Christ from the moment they wake up until the day ends. People who find ways to dig deeper. Engage. Energize. Live. Connect.

It can be done. It really can.

Follow.

follow

Many visitors here will be familiar with Kansas Bob.

He writes about his walk with Christ at An Eye for Redemption, and provides insights into the inane and insane at Kansas Bob. His third blog is called Daily Prayer.

His last post at Daily Prayer is republished here:

One year ago today I sat in a hospital room watching my wife Ann receive a chemotherapy treatment. Feeling a bit prayerful I started a new blog and called it Daily Prayer. Now 52 weeks and 187 posts later I find that I no longer post there every day. I still regularly pray but don't always feel like writing about what I pray.

So I thought that I would invite you to write a prayer or devotional thought on prayer to be posted there with a link back to your blog. I would also be open to making it a group authored site if anyone would commit to posting once a week. If you are interested please email me and let me know how you would like to be involved.

Tonight I joined Bob in his endeavor. I mention that here not so that you will offer kudos -- but that you will join me. You can contact Kansas Bob directly.