March 1, 2012

F2F - Day 4 Dave Williams Notes Journaling Exercise: "As the dust settles from all that we have read and discussed this morning, what rises to the surface of your soul?" Here are a few things that I underlined from the reading this morning: These are from Julian of Norwich. "God is as homey as a favorite quilt." "I only wanted to have the compassion I thought a loving soul would have for Jesus by witnessing His suffering." "Jesus, both God and man, who suffered for me." "I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second is that God loves it, the third is that God preserves it." These are from John Woolman. "The fear of man brings a snare." "The Lord's tender mercies are over all His works, and His ear is open to the cries and groans of the oppressed." - A few things rise to my soul out of these. Seeing the love of God as a quilt, that it wraps and enfolds me and feels warm and secure no matter how cold it is outside. Also, seeing that Christ suffered for me, why should I not suffer for Him? How convicting is that statement when I whine about my circumstances. And not being afraid to dive into something that God has called me to do because of the fear of man, or what they might think or say. "How is God speaking to you, and what is He calling you to do about it?" I guess in my mind it is continually coming to the realization that God loves me, loves me, loves me, loves me. Always. In my falling God's love is not diminished. It is heightened. And the second thing is looking for needs in my immediate community where I can engage in "social justice." And what my passions and convictions are within the social justice stream. How can I help people with what my passions and gifts are. Example: Audrey helping Christina for free. I love that about her. "What's the one thing that you will do from hearing from God this morning?" - With this I'm not sure of yet.... He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." (Luke 11:28 NIV)