Be Still

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him-Psalm 37:7

“Be still, and know that I am God-Psalm 46:10

Many of us are so busy that we accomplish little of any real value.  We are so consumed by our many possessions that we never experience what it means to have much. Simplicity is God’s grand antidote to a culture of money and madness.  And properly understood and lived out, simplicity is God’s pruning shear, which cuts back the tangled branches of our lives, enabling us to begin living freely, sharing generously, and loving deeply. -unknown

 

 

 

Here I am Lord,  I’ve come to do Your will.  Here am I Lord, in Your presence I am still.

 

September 24, 2008September 24, 2008 by ryanmthurman Categories: Art Photography, Photography, prayer, Quotations, spiritual Leave a comment

Remember When You Leave This Earth

You have made my days few;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man’s life is but a breath.
Selah(pause and ponder this)—Psalm 39:5 

Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing you have received, fading symbols of honor, trappings of power, but only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage–Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

January 15, 2008January 15, 2008 by ryanmthurman Categories: Art Photography, devotion, Encouragement, Life, People, Photography, Quotations, spiritual, Thoughts 1 Comment

Children Are A Gift

Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a Gift from him.—Psalms 127:3 

We will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.—Psalm 78:4 

It is easy to love those who are far away. It isn’t always easy to love those who are right next to us. It is easier to offer food to the hungry than to answer the lonely suffering of someone who lacks love right in one’s own family.  The world today is upside down because there is so very little love in the home, and in family life. We have no time for each other. Everybody is in such a terrible rush, and so anxious…and in the home begins the disruption of the peace of the world.-Mother Theresa

January 12, 2008January 15, 2008 by ryanmthurman Categories: children, devotion, family, Life, love, People, Photography, spiritual, Thoughts Leave a comment

Let All Things Their Creator Bless

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!—Psalm 117

Let all things their creator bless,
and worship him in humbleness,
O praise him, Alleluia!
Praise God the Father, praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, Three in One:
O praise him, O praise him,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
-from All Creatures of Our God and King-words written by Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)

January 11, 2008January 11, 2008 by ryanmthurman Categories: Art Photography, Christianity, Life, Photography, Psalms, Quotations, Scritpure, songs, spiritual Leave a comment

By His Wounds We Are Healed

But He was pierced for our transgressions.He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishmentthat brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.—Isaiah 53:5  

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered
Was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But Yours the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior,
It is I who deserve Your place;
Look on me with Your favor,
Promise to me Your grace.
-from O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, written by Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153)

January 9, 2008October 13, 2008 by ryanmthurman Categories: Art Photography, Canaan in the Desert, Christianity, Church, Encouragement, Healing, Jesus, Life, love, Photography, Religion, Scritpure, songs, spiritual, suffering, Thoughts Leave a comment

What To Fill Your Minds With

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.—Philippians 4:8-9

Love is born of an earnest consideration of the object loved—Thomas Aquinas

January 8, 2008January 8, 2008 by ryanmthurman Categories: Christianity, Church, Encouragement, Life, Photography, Quotations, Religion, Scritpure, spiritual, Thoughts, Uncategorized Leave a comment

Write Me Into Your Story

 

Jesus,
They say You walked upon the water once
When you lived as all men do
Please teach me how to walk the way You did
Because I want to walk with You

Jesus,
They say you taught a lame man how to dance
When he had never stood without a crutch
Well, here am I Lord, holding out my withered hands
And I’m just waiting to be touched

Jesus,
Write me into Your story
Whisper it to me
And let me know I’m Yours

Jesus,
They say You spoke and calmed an angry wave
That was tossed across a stormy sea
Please teach me how to listen, how to obey
‘Cause there’s a storm inside of me

 

Jesus,
Write me into Your story
Whisper it to me
And let me know I’m Yours

Jesus,
They drove the cold nails through Your tired hands
And rolled a stone to seal Your grave
Feels like the devil’s rolled a stone onto my heart
Can You roll that stone away?
-(song lyrics from Rich Mullins’ Jesus)

January 7, 2008October 13, 2008 by ryanmthurman Categories: Christianity, Inspiration, Jesus, Photography, Religion, songs, spiritual 3 Comments

Hearing God

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me on a level path—Psalm 143:10 

As Christians we stand in a millennia-long tradition of humans who have been addressed by God.  The ancient Israelites heard the voice of their God speaking to them out of the midst of fire.  A regular place of communion and conversational interchange between the high priest and God was established in the mercy seat over the ark of God.           

The individual with faith among the Israelites also cried out expectantly to be taught by God.  Isaiah, who had first hand experience of conversing with God, described it this way:  “then you shall call, and the Lord will answer you; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am…The Lord will guide you continually”—Dallas Willard

January 3, 2008 by ryanmthurman Categories: Christianity, Encouragement, Life, People, Photography, prayer, Quotations, spiritual, Thoughts Leave a comment

The Importance of a Life of Prayer

O Lord, who brings us to the Father,
The Life, the Truth, the Way
The path of prayer You did walk;
Lord, teach us now to pray.  

“Before a word of petition is offered, we should have the definite and vivid consciousness that we are talking to God and should believe that He is listening to our petition and is going to grant the thing that we ask of Him. We should look to the Holy Spirit to really lead us into the presence of God and should not be hasty in words until He has actually brought us there.” –-R. A. Torrey 

“We can never expect to grow in the likeness of our Lord unless we follow His example and give more time to communion with the Father. A revival of real praying would produce a spiritual revolution.” –- E.M. Bounds 

“The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says “Amen” and runs away before God has a chance to reply.  Listening to God is far more important than giving Him your ideas.”—Frank Laubach 

“The value in persistent prayer is not that he will hear us…but that we will finally hear him.”—William McGill 

“Prayer means yearning for the simple presence of God, for a personal understanding of his word, for knowledge of his will and for capacity to hear and obey him.”—Thomas Merton

January 1, 2008 by ryanmthurman Categories: Art Photography, Church, Inspiration, Kingdom of God, Life, Photography, prayer, Quotations, spiritual Leave a comment

Simple Ministry Of Presence

More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them.  It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence.  Still, it is not as simple as it seems.  My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets.  It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress.  But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but you truly love them.”  -Henri Nouwen

December 29, 2007 by ryanmthurman Categories: Life, love, ministry, People, Photography, Quotations, spiritual Leave a comment