After Saturday morning Eucharist

The house is quiet. The taste of the consecrated bread and wine is still in my mouth. I have a large cup of black coffee next to me, ready to be enjoyed, but wait -- I want to enjoy the moment. I have just received Christ in a special, indescribable way, in the Eucharist. And the taste remains in my mouth to remind me, and to enjoy. Enjoy Him. I'm still habited, and haven't yet removed my stole.

The habit is a gentle reminder that I am not only a Franciscan, but I'm also a part of that universal order of monastics John Michael Talbot wrote of in his book "Hermitage" -- all who are drawn to be monastic in some way in their lives, vowed and joined to an order or not. I am reminded this moment that for me it was either be monastic, or dead. Either way, in a way I had to die to this world -- due to my own fault and that of others, the world had lost its charm. Yes, there is something of the world I still enjoy, mainly the Creation and the arts (people are interesting, too -- personalities made in the image of God), seeing God's hand at work, and a returning to those things that really matter -- family one of them, and love for my Shirley.

The stole and the taste in my mouth remind me that I've been ordained and set aside to the sacred order of priests. My hands were anointed and consecrated with oil and set aside for God's use. Not only was evil I had done with them forgiven, washed away and "thrown as far as the east is from the west" (the Psalmist wrote), and not counted against me by God (Paul wrote), but even better -- they are set aside to bring the Body and Blood, to bring comfort and healing. Only God can do that. The world cannot, neither does it want to -- it wants chains on those hands and wrists, and to keep us in bondage. I will have none of that. That is not what God wants for us -- He wants us set free from our chains and free to live anew in His mercy and love, to enjoy Him and serve Him as He wills. I have chosen to live in the true freedom Jesus gives, and what He gives no one can take away.

So I sit and enjoy Him this morning -- Him who loved me and died for me, so that I might live. And I live in that truth and in Him. My prayer is that you do, too.

Quiet morning

We enjoyed eggs and toast together for breakfast, and Shirley has left to go to her second job. This afternoon, we'll head over to Tulsa to lead the student service we do.

The house is quiet. A good cd of Benedictine monks praising our God in chant is on in the Bonny room, and I'm reflecting on what they do. We do Morning and Evening Prayer, and daily Communion, but these monks stop several times a day to praise and pray to our great God. I was reminded of that this morning as I listened to them, and I wondered yet again -- why do they do it?

Mercy. God's mercy. Mercy covers all. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them." I need that, more then anything in the world. Not becaue I'm a notorious sinner, or that I've sinned more then anyone else (I won't waste my time arguing that point -- I know it's true, I live with me). It's just because God loves me and made a way for me to be forgiven and reconciled to Him. And as I said, I need that, more than anything else in the world.

I love and need Shirley. Yes, I know, I've heard and read all the arguments about how when we "need" our spouses we set ourselves up for trouble. I've already HAD trouble -- I was married to an unfaithful spouse the first time around -- so I know what trouble is. Shirley is definitely NOT that -- she's not trouble, she's a wonderful woman. And yes, I need her. Not that I couldn't live single -- I did it after my divorce, and I lived fifteen years of my adult life single before I married the first time. (And please don't waste your time emailing and rebuking me for marrying a second time and then submitting for ordination -- go read Paul again, where he wrote that in the case of desertion, the believing spouse "is not under bondage." Yes, we interpret that to mean that the offended spouse may remarry, and be ordained, if he/she is so called.) But I'm not called to live single or celibate, and so I am married.

Yes, I need Shirley. As Tom said, "You complete me." Yet, as much as I need to be with her, that pales in comparison to how much I need God and His mercy. Without that, I would despair. I've seen and dealt with enough of the world to see the effects of sin on it -- how self comes first, and how it tramples over others to get what it wants. I've seen it from the time I was a kid in the 60's, and it's quite a bit worse now. Yeah, I see it. I have despaired of life without Him, when it seemed He was far away. But He never is, it just feels like it. So I call out to Him, and beg and plead to feel that Presemce again, and to enjoy His Presence again. God, take away my despair, and give me peace.

Shirley can't take away my depression, when I'm dealing with it. She helps me deal wih it by reminding me that she is here and that most of all that He is here. Same with despair -- only He can remove it.

God, without Your mercy, I despair. I need You, more than anything else in the world.

mercy covers all

It does. God's mercy covers all. I got the new Glory Defined: The Best of Building 429, and the song "You Carry Me" is on there. The phrase "'cause mercy covers all!" from the song is stuck in my head. And that's good, because I need to be reminded.

I guess you did, too, 'cause you're reading this. Don't forget it. No matter what we've done, in Christ we're forgiven and made new. His mercy covers all.

Friday morning thoughts

I was just thinking this morning abut how incredibly blessed I am. My beautiful wife Shirley is asleep across the hall (it's 5 am) and our bird Abbey Ruth is down the hall. Jesus is my Lord and Savior, I have the privilege of serving as a priest and playing drums in Fung-eye and Sanctus (our worship band). And I'm blessed with friends and a lot of other great things. I'm thankful.



Biggest blessing is that I can feel His Presence right now.

Moving Church

Shirley and I, for the first time in the year-and-a-half we've lived here, have re-arranged our living room. You may question that, but I'm honestly kind of reluctant to move furniture. Part of the reason, at least for the living room, is that Chapel of St. Francis parish worships there. So we have to have the furniture arranged in such a way that everyone can face the altar, with its Celtic cross and the icons above it.

So yep, the altar was moved. We drove over to Home Depot last night, and bought a wooden shelf and some hollow wall anchors for the cross. I'm actually amazed at myself -- hanging the shelf and icons was much easier than last time. No frustration, which really is a miracle.

I think it looks pretty good. We're looking forward at our worshipping community's reaction tonight. No, we haven't told them. So it'll be fun. If you're in the OKC area, come worship with us in Eucharist (Communion) tonight at 7. I'm the Celebrant (worship leader), and we welcome you. Come as you are, 5901 NW 62nd St. at MacArthur, brick house nw corner. You'll see the vehicles.

Why did I title this 'moving church'? Because this is only temporary -- our Sunday morning worship will be moved to a more "public" place -- I'm working on that right now. As a matter of fact, I'm headed out the door right now to meet with someone at another church to tour and discuss meeting in their facilities.

God's blessings be yours in abundance.

Things to think about if you're a christian

What is a christian? A person who believes in and has received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior into his/her life. It does NOT mean a person who doesn't struggle with our faith, or how to live it out in our lives. Remember that our salvation is not dependent on us, but on God -- we are saved by His grace through our faith. So if we've received Jesus into our lives, we have salvation and forgiveness in Him, and a relationship with Him -- and, just like any other relationship, we have to spend time with Him for that relationship to be good.



How are some ways to spend time with Him? Well, if you know me, you know where I'm going for the answer to that question: the Bible and the practices of the early christians.


1) Pray -- talk to God, any time and everywhere (prayers are our own words, Psalms, other written prayers that we like and are comfortable praying). Our houses should be houses of prayer, places where we welcome Jesus in our midst.


2) Read the Bible -- chose a version (a few versions) that is easy for you to read. Either read a small book or a few verses at a time, or even just a verse or two and meditate, think about, what it is saying. The Holy Spirit qill teach you and change you when you do this. (A good study Bible is helpful, and if you'd like recommendations for one, email me.)

3) Church -- the early christians gathered on Sunday morning and different times during the week to worship together. They sang, prayed, had Bible readings and a sermon, and Communion together. So, of course I would find a church that does these things (email if you'd like recommendations). The early christians had Communion often, because Communion draws us closer to Christ and deepens our relationship with Him (yes, the early church taught this). It was common for christians in the early church to gather in homes for prayer and teaching, and a meal and Communion during the week in homes, and then a larger gathering on Saturday night and/or Sunday morning for the same.

Chapel of St. Francis

Chapel of St. Fancis (CSF hereafter) is our church. Last Sunday we began a new chaper in the life of this ten year-old parish. I am now the celebrant on Sundays, and we began with some music and liturgy changes this past Sunday. Until we get some more folks for our worship band, a lot of what we're singing will be on cd. My friend Paul from New Jersey is to move here and be a part of our church. He plays guitar, and the plan is for him to be our music director (whatever we decide to call that!) So for now, I'm the pastor, the outreach pastor (I'm developing a strategy to grow our church -- more on that in a bit!), and the music pastor. Whew! So, we all agreed -- the music was great last Sunday. Yeah!! Our worship was enhanced and was wonderful.

Strategy? When Shirley and I married and moved here a year and a half ago, CSF met in the bishop/abbot's home, then moved to ours a few months later. I am now beginning a search to find us a public place to worship -- a storefront, an abandoned church, an earlier (9am?) service in somebody else's sanctuary, or a larger church's chapel. Once we get moved into the new worship space, the fliers will go out on people's doors. We'll take out an add in the paper ($120 a month, which is why we don't have one now!!) Of course, our first strategy is prayer: that God would be glorified, be in our midst, lead, and bring the people HE wants to us.

As I said a moment ago, it's a new chapter in the life of CSF. I, for one, am very excited. We've begun to see the Spirit move, and my plan is to be right in the middle of the movement.

Cool morning

It's been hot and humid lately here in OK City. Nice thing is, it's not always humid the whole Summer, like it is in Houston where we came from -- we get a break sometimes.

A front came through this weekend, and after the rain, the humidity and the temperature dropped. Shirley and I did Evening Prayer Sun evening by the lighthouse at Lake Hefner. And we had a nice walk together, except for the gnats. But the weather was nice.

I walked out the door this morning to go to work, and it felt so much better -- a lot cooler and the humidity was low. It was very refreshing, and a surprise, and nice to begin the day with. Our great God comes to us like that -- with His refreshing peace and Presence, and it changes everything.