Dreams move the wind

The moon

Sometimes looking up at the stars I get depressed.

They seem to be in such a sad state, shining yes, but never really finding themselves in the vast void of black.

Yet when I look to the moon I find hope for the stars, hope for man.

The moon seems to set the stars in place, every one of us.

All so appropriate.

It sets the standard of beauty while extracting beauty out of this myriad of lesser lights.

This lesser light.

The moon tells us calmly, don't worry; you don't have to be great, im already everything for you.

The moon.

Like a big blue lighthouse, like a teacher; a friend.

The moon.

The moon.

The moon,

and me.

Sometimes it takes a rainy day

Just to let you know

Everything's gonna be all right

All right

When you open up your life to the living

All things come spilling in on you

And you're flowing like a river

The changer and the changed

You've got to spill some over, over all

Filling up and spilling over

It's an endless waterfall

Filling up and spilling over, over all

Like the rain falling on the ground

Like the rain falling all around.

- Cris Williamson

Stop pretending

------------There is no room for pretending in the spiritual life. Unfortunately, in many religious circles, there exists an unwritten rule. Pretend. Act like God is in control when you don't believe he is. Give the impression everything is okay in your life when it's not. Pretend you believe when you doubt; hide your imperfections; maintain the image of a perfect marriage with healthy and well-adjusted children when your family is like any other normal dysfunctional family. And whatever you do, don't admit that you sin.

------------Practically, pretending is efficient, uncomplicated, and quick. Answering "Fine" to the question "How are you doing?" is much easier and quicker than saying "Not very well, thank you; my back is bothering me, my teenage children are disappointing me, I'm unhappy with my body, my husband never speaks to me, and I'm wondering if Christianity is true." Honesty requires a huge investment of time and energy from the person asking the ques ion. (who would the wish they'd never asked).

------------Pretending is the grease of modern nonrelationships. Pretending perpetuates the illusion of relationships by connecting us on the basis of who we aren't. People who pretend have pretend relationships. But being real is a synonym for messy spirituality, because when we are real, our messiness is there for everyone to see.

------------Some people would consider the use of words like messy spirituality rude and audacious. "How dare you suggest that people are messy? What are you proposing? Are you suggesting that sin is okay, that we should condone less than a 100 percent effort to serve God? You are too negative. Its not helpful to emphasize our flaws."

------------But the truth is, we are a mess. None of us is who we appear to be. We all have secrets. We all have issues. We all struggle from time to time. No one is perfect. Not one. (I have just paraphrased Romans The essence of messy spirituality is the refusal to pretend, to lie, or to allow others to believe we are something we are not. Unfortunately, people can handle the most difficult issues more easily than they can handle the lack of pretending.

------------When you and I stop pretending, we expose the pretending of everyone else. The bubble of the perfect Christian life is burst, and we all must face the reality of our brokenness.

-messy spirituality, by Michael Yaconelli

oooo boy that is FIRE !!!!

I would add that in the face of human brokenness we are given an amazing gift of love, Jesus Christ. Figure it out yall!!

Pc and God bless

jhnylake@yahoo.com

We’re going to Kentucky, we’re going to the fair,
To see the senioritas with flowers in their hair,
So shake it baby, shake it! Shake it up and down,
Shake it like a milkshake and shake it like a clown.
Rumble to the bottom, rumble to the top,
Turn around, turn around, turn around and stop!