When Lent comes, since we post the writings of the Lenten Devotional on the Web site, I usually do not write any blogs.  The reason is that I do not want to interupt the flow of the Lenten Devotionals.
 But getting back into writing a Notion Devotion has been, well, it seems like no one reads them and I have been dealing with health things.  For those who have been praying, I want to thank you for your prayers.  It was so freeing to know I was being prayed over.
 Friday, July 22, Dr. Hurley's office called and told me there were no cancerous polyps, no masses, and no diverticulitis.  As a result, I do not have to have another colonoscopy until 2016 before my 61st birthday due to family history.
 But I wonder why not me?  Especially when we have a prayer request for a 2 year old full of untreatable tumors whose only hope is God.  I don't even want to imagine what the family is going through.  I remember the mourning and anguish of King David over his first child with Bathsheba...
 I remember God is LOVE and God is SOVEREIGN.  I admit these two attributes are hard for my mind to reconcile.  The US culture doesn't help.  They treat these virtues and qualities as irreconcilable in any being, putting them on a two dimensional line at opposing ends.  And let's not get into the myriad of other characteristics not even recognized in God.
 So I look to Jesus, not just in what he says and does, but in what he doesn't say or do.  And I am in awe.
 I leave you with this question:
Can you trust and obey someone you cannot describe or even understand? 

Rest Easy in Jesus, barbara 

How many of us wander around longing for God and fail to think of Him as already here? 
Author Gary Jansen suggests each one of us should ask the Holy Spirit to "rise up and give wisdom" that we acknowledge God in life and the gifts that are all around.  Then he suggests we take an inventory of our day… to learn from our actions and reactions… 

Where was God for you today?

Building on that, I ask where was Jesus Christ for you this day?

Cast iron steam radiators heat houses.  Maintenance on radiators  require different actions including bleeding out the bad air which could lead to clang, wild vibrations, explosions, and water damage.  In this book, author Gary Jansen compares prayer to the action of bleeding out the bad air in a radiator.  He writes, “Prayer is a lot like bleeding your pipes.  You are a powerful, wonderful creation and God wants you to run as smoothly as possible.  Sometimes things don’t function correctly.  Pockets of discontent and doubt can creep into your system and, once pressure is applied, it can make you buckle, shake, and sometimes pop.  Prayer allows you to open the valve, to let the air out so that the steam of the Holy Spirit can flow through you in a continuous stream.  The more you pray, the more efficient you become in your life.”

Let any bad air out lately? 

     Jansen, Gary. Exercising Your Soul Fifteen Minutes a Day to a Spiritual Life. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2010.