Ecclesiastes 11:5 (The Message)

5 Just as you'll never understand
the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,
So you'll never understand
the mystery at work in all that God does.

Let's just leave it at that.

Love,
Mary-Martha

Dear Cafe Clientele,

Today's words of hope come from my friend Lisa Whittle and her fantastic blog. Check her out at www.LisaWhittle.com . Meantime, here's a taste of her faith and the wisdom God pours onto me through her:

"[Here] are my spiritual silver linings, and they are in no particular order or clarity.

1) Don’t take daily time with God out of the equation, just because it seems like it would, at times, be easier to. {I need Him, not the other way around.}

2) Do what I can do and acknowledge what I can’t. {Which happens to be a lot these days.}

3) Be ok with sacrificing things and even, people, for the most important relationship in my life. {Admittedly, this is a tough one for me.}

4) Remember what this whole life thing is really all about. {Temporary highs and lows with a steady and sure eternal end.}

5) Please God and let everyone else think what they want. {Another tough one for me, but I'm slowly getting it.}

6) Cry, if needed. {There’s a reason that lump in my throat is there.}

7) Know that I won’t ever go anywhere or go through anything that will take me off His radar screen for even a second. {I still can’t fathom the fact that I am always on His mind. So are you, by the way.}

8) Look for things to get rid of that don’t facilitate growth in my relationship with God and keep me from personal health and wellness. {This requires wisdom, friends. It also requires courage.}

9) Appreciate people who love me. {Honestly, sometimes I’m not sure why anyone would want to hang out with me.}

10) Pray like crazy. {Period.} And yes, there are more. But because I am trying to exercise numbers 2, 8, and 9, I simply must make that all for now.

For I am convinced that sometimes it takes all the madness life offers to bring us to the point where we have no other choice but to start looking up."

“Blessed be the Lord— day after day he carries us along. He's our Savior, our God, oh yes! He's God-for-us, he's God-who-saves-us.” (Psalm 68:19 The Msg)

Romans 8:1-2 (The Message)

The Solution Is Life on God's Terms

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

I can remember waking from a deep sleep in a dark room. The waking agent was my mother pulling up the window shade, allowing into my cocoon a blast of sunlight so fierce my eyelids felt transparent.

I pulled the quilt over my face as a shield until my eyes adjusted to the light. Coming to life from such a deep sleep in such a dark room took transition time. The eyes had to adjust to the brightness of day before my brain could process what was seen. As that sleepy grogginess wore off, my mind began to process sights, sounds, and smells (mmmm, bacon cooking).

In the unconscious state of sleep, involuntary reflexes and systems kept my body alive and functioning. I did not have to be awake, for example, to continue to breathe. Since my mother was ready to interact with me, however, she dispelled the darkness of my room with a fierce light to call me into that state where I was able to make conscious decisions about sustaining myself. How many pieces of bacon, for example, did I choose for breakfast? Would I present myself as grouchy or cheerful?

Once awake, our eyes adjusted to the light, we are able to make choices about how we want to live and interact with our siblings here on Earth, as well as with the One Who woke us with the Light.

Will you come out from under the covers? There's no breakfast there.

A friend of Vivian Beauchamp's sent her the following prayer. We don't know the original author, but it is lovely and to the point. (If it is from The Book of Common Prayer, please let us know.)

"Jesus, let us be willing to take the necessary risks to be a healing, compassionate presence in our violent world, especially with women, children, and those who have no voice.

Show us how to make Your merciful life visible; show us how to move others by our own Christian faith, and stay focused on the spiritual life even when we feel content to stay in our my own little rut of paralysis.

Encourage each of us and use us to be a friend to others, as it is a unique grace to be able to support and pray for another's health and wholeness.

We give thanks for all who have brought us to you Lord Jesus, and we pray that we all will have the opportunity to be that same kind of friend for others."

Vivian's friend added that heroic lives are built upon each small kindness done in Jesus' name.
If you can, try to find a song by Randy Stonehill (from Lazarus Man) entitled "In Jesus' Name."