Praise and Prayer - Jan. 3, 2013

Today, my praise is for the way God meets us where we are.

A mean god, a dictatorial god, would stand on his holy hill and simply require his followers to climb up to his level. But Yahweh reaches down to pull us up to His level. Yahweh humbles Himself and comes to get us. He counteracts our weakness with His strength. What a good God!!

Last night, I was discussing with my best friend how I felt like something God gave me might not come to pass. I was telling her that I was tired of fighting for it. And a few hours later, the Lord sent me a sign that I should keep the faith. He didn’t have to do that.

Today, my prayer is for my teaching job.

I pray that the Lord would continue to decrease me and increase His presence in my life.  I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that if I stop walking with God, I will fail my students. I have accepted a position that is just outside my natural ability to persist. God has to make up the difference and He promised that He would. So I just pray that He would continue to focus me, continue to give me the grace, the power to lean on Him and therefore excel. I told my friend last night: “I can’t wait to tell people, ‘It was all God!’” I want God to do something miraculous in my classroom so I can brag on Him and His power.

Synergy

"The lotus symbolizes the gorgeous flower that rises out of the mud of this world. It is a symbol of purity and spontaneous Divine birth." - Joan Gattuso

"Buddhism promotes understanding, not belief. Christianity promotes belief, not understanding." - Dr. Robert Thurman

"Buddhism, I believe, can work in concert with Christianity to create an ever-growing spiritual synergy." - Joan Gattuso

This is what I am aiming for.

I'm going back to Christian church tomorrow morning. Let's see what happens.

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Quotes from Joan Gattuso's The Lotus Still Blooms

"With the very highest expression of Right View we relinquish our judgments, good or ill, about everything."

"We must learn to always remain calm at our depths."

"With every utterance, a vibration is sent forth...These vibrations, negative or positive, do not dissipate quickly."

Right Action is "being certain that our every action is in accord with our inner essence. It is consistency of being - as within, so without."

"What we focus on expands."

"The only sacrifice is to give up what has no reality."