Soul Care

Recently Keegan wrote his doctoral dissertation on soul care. Sounds simple, doesn't it? I learned so much reading his paper and now I am going back to read some of the books that he read in preparation for writing his paper. Soul care seems to be counter cultural to the US lifestyle because you have to actually stop, look, listen (sounds like crossing the street, doesn't it?) to God. Since most of us here in this country drive rapidly every where and rarely walk to our destinations (and live our lives in like speed), we seldom walk across streets and may have forgotten those three basic rules. It's true in our spiritual lives as well. Let me share some thought provoking quotes about soul care:

The meaning of earthly existence is not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prosperity, but in the development of the soul. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

...the great malady of this time in Western history is the "loss of soul." Without soul, we base our lives on doing, getting, achieving, and performing. When soul is neglected, it doesn't just go away; it appears symptomatically in obsessions, addictions, violence and loss of meaning. Thomas Moore

Forfeiting the soul looks from the inside like lingering emptiness, purposelessness, and futility. Looking at these prospects, we need to ask, "What am I losing by all of the gaining I am doing?" Soul care integrates all of a person, beginning with the inner being. Only God can peer into a soul to see perfectly what we cannot see. He says, " I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind" (Jer. 17:10a). Deep inside are desires, passions, longings, regrets, motives, and intuitions about God, family, work and other dimensions of life. All is revealed to him. Stephen W. Smith

Keegan would love to take his doctoral work and put feet to the work. He developed a conference on soul care as part of the paper and that is his passion. I pray God will provide the opportunity for him. All of us could benefit by learning more of soul care.

Breathing Grace

I saw this prayer today in a blog written by Peacemakers. The author is TaraBarthel. I thought it was a great way to start my day and I wanted to share it with you:

"Peacemakers are people who breathe grace," Ken reminds us. The peace of God transcends all understanding and it fills their hearts like fountains bubbling over with mercy, kindness, genuine care, and abiding love. They are so filled with God's grace that they splash it onto everyone around them. They could no more stop breathing grace than a person could stop breathing air-because grace is the air that they breathe. Their prayers sound something like this:
• Breathing grace in: The one true holy God sent his Son to die for me? I am saved from hell, from my sin; justified before this holy God; forgiven and adopted? What wondrous love is this! Thank you, God. Thank you for forgiving me all my sins and making the way for me to be at peace with you. I worship You!
• Breathing grace out: And now, dear Lord, as I head into my day-let the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ be the heartbeat of my life. Please, God, let every word I say, every action I take, the attitude of my heart, my desires and inclinations-let my life be used by You, for Your glory and the furtherance of Your Kingdom. Please help me to treat others not as they deserve-but as You treat me. May I be your image-bearer, your representative, your ambassador. Thank You, Lord.

Blessings

Yes, I know it's been quite a while since I last updated. There are no real excuses that would cover such a lengthy absence, and I won't bore you with any attempts. Even today I must be brief, but I want to share how good God has been lately.

Keegan did so well on his defense of his doctoral thesis, and I am so proud of him. He worked so hard on those 258 pages! Now we have to make all the formatting and content corrections and get the final copy returned by the 17th of November. That happening as it should, Keegan would officially graduate in December but wouldn't walk in a ceremony until June in Boston. Now Keegan is waiting on the Lord to show him just how He wants Keegan to use what's been given to him. We have many ideas and dreams, but we want only His dreams and ideas for us.

Bethany and Phillip sold their home here in Dallas in 10 days in September! To help them save money for this next year of internships and moving to three places, they are living with us. God gave us this big house to use and we are thrilled that we have the room and the physical set up to make it a good situation having them with us. Phillip continues to excel in school and loves practicing what he learns on us.

Erin got a new job at a large church in the area and loves it like no other! It employs all her talents and gifts and is teaching her so much. She works with a wonderful group of people who are strong Christians. Bryce also was blessed that he was not included in the large group of layoffs there at Time Warner this last month. He continues to do well in his manager's job there and is set to get some extra training this early spring that will enhance his abilities.

Holly and Greg continue to chase the 4 active little ones. Kylee and Ashlynn are now walking and there's no stopping them! Even Connor and Alyssa can't seem to keep up with them. Alyssa got her first stitches last month when she took a face dive off her chest of drawers, but the wound has healed well. Holly and Greg have been working on remodeling their kitchen to make more eating room and the end is in sight. If you want to keep up with this bunch (or any of our kids) check out their personal blogs. You'll find them listed here on this site. Just click on them and it will take you right there.

I am waiting on the Lord for some new direction. It looks like He is giving me some, but I don't want to be premature sharing those yet. Watch the next posting for updates.

God HAS BEEN good to us in this last month, but then that's not new. He's always good to us. May you find the blessings in your life today and rejoice in Him who bestows them.