You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February, 2009.
Okay, here is the thumbnail sketch:
Patricia is at an out of town job organizing near Siloam Springs.
She notices the car is shaking, and chooses to continue to driving, but cautiously.
She senses something is wrong–pulls over to a miraculously wide shoulder on a country road.
She has a very bad blow out–the tire is destroyed.
She is able to call on her cell phone one a road where there is rarely reception.
Robert makes it in record time all the way from Kingston.
She also gets help from Leigh, who calls Dodie, who calls Geanette, who gets the help of her neighbor–in case Robert takes very much longer to rescue her (it is dark)
Robert rescues her and they spend a wonderful valentine’s day evening and weekend together with Mahriyanna and Chris. They dream that the car is safe and they know they will go back to get it.
Robert and Patricia go back three days later to repair tire. Car is not there.
They call sheriff–car is impounded. Need to come up with $300 to get it out.
Money is in bank, but because of out of state check just deposited, the cash that towing company demands is not available. $30 a day towing fee plus more time and energy results each day we don’t pick it up–as well as no vehicle for Patricia to work.
Friend shows up out of nowhere at Patricia’s cleaning–willing to give cash for a check.
Friend calls at last minute desperately needing Patricia to babysit. Mahriyanna is able to do it so Patricia can go to towing place to get car.
Robert and Patricia get to towing company. Get car out. Get flat tire fixed. Get car jump started.
Patricia gets to work late, but client is not upset.
With lots of prayer, some grieving, a little bit of anger resulting in crying out to God, much introspection, taking responsibility—Patricia and Robert get through this victorious.
They do not fight at all.
They are positive.
They get closer to each other, God, and Jesus.
They find comfort and help in their circle of friends.
They feel grateful for all their blessings in the midst of the crises.
They almost lose it at time, but encourage each other and trust in God.
They are determined to rise above the challenges and continue to pursue their goals to be the hands and feet of Jesus, helping to bring the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen! Thanks be to God. Thanks be to Jesus.
I have spent many fulfilling hours helping Joan Pharr, a volunteer for Mission Honduras, organize her office and household so that she can be even more effective in her efforts to support Mission Honduras. The purpose of Mission Honduras is: To Break the cycle of poverty…one child at a time.
I have felt so grateful for the time I spend with Joan. When I see her tireless dedication and commitment to help children and support the founder of Mission Honduras to help children, I feel very inspired. From what she tells me–from her first hand experience–my sense is that Father Emil Cook, founder of the mission, is very similar to Mother Theresa. I am glad to use my organizational skills to support such a worthy cause.
I also feel very grateful that Father Emil will be here in Fayetteville sharing his experiences on Wednesday, Feb. 25. There is more information below. I am going to do my best to attend, for I think it will be beneficial to meet both Father and other supporters for fellowship, inspiration, and a reassurance that there is much good happening in the world. Here is the invitation I received from Joan:
YOU are invited to attend a private reception for Father Emil Cook, the founder of Mission Honduras International, on Wednesday, February 25, 2009, beginning at 7:00 P.M. at 40 North Crossover Road in Fayetteville. You can talk with him, see the mission’s newest accomplishments on video, and meet new friends.
It has been a year of good and bad for the efforts of the mission. Expansion is continuing with new locations being added. Each year more graduates take on a productive role in their countries. But floods in Honduras destroyed our food supply and cash crops, and fewer donations reflected the economic conditions.
The enclosed information is about our part in a Denton shipment of humanitarian aid. The collection point is at St. Bernard’s Church Hall in Bella Vista on Sunday mornings until mid March. Mary Marks at 479-586-6235 has more information.
The highlight of my year with the mission was attending the graduation of my second sponsored student. Alícia received her M.D. in September and is now doing a residency in Internal Medicine at the leading hospital in Honduras. In all of her academic career she consistently made top grades. She is also a caring and compassionate person who will be a good doctor in Honduras for the rest of her life. Personally I want to think this will do more good overall than can be accomplished in a one week visit by a team of medical people from the states.
Without Mission Honduras and your help, she might never have made it past early grade school. Her family just could not afford it. How many other children in Honduras today could grow up to be good doctors if only they had the chance to go to school? How many lives could they save and improve? What can you sacrifice to make a difference? How will you help improve our world one person at a time and break the cycle of poverty?
Ash Wednesday night come to The North Forty located at 40 N. Crossover Road in southeast Fayetteville. From the corner of Joyce and College at the Mall go east on Joyce, then south on Crossover. The North Forty is on the east side shortly before you reach Highway 16. You will meet some really nice people!!!
Love, joy and peace,
Joan Pharr
Volunteer for Mission Honduras International ~ jpharr@missionhonduras.com
The essence of Jesus teachings is: He came to show us how to bring the kingdom of God on earth as god had originally intended before man and woman fell. (They stopped trusting God)
Jesus demonstrated through stories, concrete actions, and direct, clear words how to bring the kingdom of God on earth: Love God. Love everyone.
Jesus made God more easy to love because we could now see God clothed in flesh. It is hard to love an abstract creator. But if we imagine or believe Jesus is still alive and actively learn about and experience his presence in our lives, we can experience the same kind of love for him that naturally feel for peoploe who nurture us. Also, Jesus said, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.” I hear from that loud and clear that when we love everyone, we are loving God.
By loving Jesus, he canmore effectively guide us and have a relationship where he can help us more. As I ask, listen, obey, surrender and thereby partner with Jesus to lovingly bring God’s kingdom on earth, I have life more abundantly.
what Jesus wants for all of us is to TRULY love. I believe that love means that we sincerely, without out any doubt or even effort want the best for people. Everyone. Even our perceived enemies and people we have issues with. I think that we are trying to love people, we are not really loving them. Trying means that there are conscious or subconscious issues, often from our childhood wounding, that are preventing us from loving. If we love because we should or because Jesus wants us to…I think this is not true and powerful love.
In order to love, then I believe we need to clear our childhood woundings through various techniques, including prayer, journaling, counseling, and introspection. In order to clear our childhood woundings, I believe we need to be in safe relationships, including our marriage partner if we have one.
But I also think we need to be in community with other who are passionately wanting to love as Jesus would have us love. We have more opportunity to heal our past if we are interacting with others who understand that when they act out of distress that they need healing. Not just prayer or covering up actions with scripture or trying to be nice.
by living with other in community, we also can live a life where our spiritual, emotional, physical health is optimized. We can help each other by:
1. encouraging each other in spiritual disciplines such as prayer, meditation, bible study and journaling.
2. Helping each other to live simply so that there is more time and resources available to serve
3. Encourage each other when we are discouraged from the challenges of being in the world.
4. Co-create projects such as neighborhood outreach that can help bring God’s kingdom on earth
5. Eat healthy food so that we can have more energy and have less or no disease, thus being a positive role model for others.
6. Share child-raising so parents are not drained and children have a wide array of support which contribute to children having more security, nurturing, and less childhood wounding to deal with.
7.Practice transformation of uncomfortable feelings into positive actions and pure love by using such techniques as non-violent communication and re-evaluation counseling that have an added Christ centered focus. Practice conflict resolution methods which contribute to a harmonious household.
8. Create a space of such sincere, unconditional love that residents feel safe and can heal on deep levels.
I believe that the whole church which often looks like a club scene has deeply hurt people because people have not focused enough on deep healing. People think that if they would just pray enough, sing enough, cry enough, and study their bible enough, then all will be well. Sadly, these actions do not usually get us to a point where we can do the most important things that Jesus clearly tells us to do–love God, love people.
And so, in conclusion, my yearning is to live in a household where the focus is about how we can bring the kingdom of God on earth by loving God and loving people. By living cooperatively in such an environment, I believe we will be blessed even as the early Christians were blessed. Everyone had what they needed to live. And the numbers of believers increased in amazing numbers because people felt the pure love
Maybe the early Christians could have made it in their communities if they had the tools that we have now Maybe they were weakened because they were unable to even be aware of the childhood hurts that they suffered that kept them from loving as purely and as powerfully as Jesus called us to do.
Our relationship with Jesus is about hearing his voice moment to moment, and co-creating with him the kingdom of God on earth. If we can’t hear his voice clearly beause of subconscious “stuff” that we have, then we are not able to be in a position to truly love–to see what we need to do to be love to others.
I hope and pray that I can find a community of believers who want to live in a household together learning how to truly love God and each other.
If anyone is out there who might be interested in this, I hope you will contact me.
Here is an excerpt from the book, BECOME THE ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS by Shane Claiborne and Jonathon Wilson- Hartgrove
And yet so much in the world tries to rob us of this divine
gift, seducing us to settle for in-
dependence over interdependence
—security over sacrifice—
to the point that community
looks idealistic and spectacular.
We express our deep hunger for
belonging through such forms of
community as nationalism, bio-
logical family, marriage or small
group Bible study. And there is
some good in all of these. Like
appetizers, they give us little glimpses of community. But we
often don’t make it to the feast. We stop short of the great
community that God has invited us into.
This book is an invitation to join the feast already taking
place at the table of our Lord—by becoming the answer to
the prayers Scripture teaches us to pray. Jesus established a
community in his resurrected body. “This is my body, broken
for you” is a physical reminder that we have been baptized
into Christ’s body. As living members of that body, we speak
Christ’s words. Praying the Lord’s Prayer as members of the
church is inviting God to make us what we already are—the
beloved community of a new humanity….
We don’t have to give into greed or work as
everything depends on us. When the options are “get rich”
or “save the world,” we can respond with, “I want to become
part of the people who ask for God’s kingdom to come in their
life together.” We can find our identity not in our work or our
causes, but in “Our Father in heaven.”
End of excerpt…
My conclusion from reading the whole first chapter of this book is that when we try to be the answer to ours and other prayers–in other words–be the hands and feet of Jesus bringing the Kingdom of God on earth–we get burned out unless we have a good support system.
I believe we need a bigger support system than a nuclear family, a church family, a small group family. Living communally with others saves so much time, and prevents burn out. My 35 years of research into community living demonstrates that it is very possible to live in cooperative living arrangements very harmoniously. Unfortunately, I have not found the ideal living arrangement–mostly because my husband and I had different needs.
But now I am ready. I can still be married, and temporarily live apart from my husband. He realizes that this community living is the most important thing in my life. He realizes that he can not and isn’t required to fulfill all my needs. He is my best and dearest friend. I know that without a doubt. And, he is not in a space right now where he is willing to live with others in community. My dream is that he will get to that place.
I look forward to writing more about my vision. You can find out more about what I envision in community www.newmonasticism.org
