prayer in a time of crisis

I've been thinking about prayer lately, especially how we often use prayer as our fallback position in a crisis. I think we (all people, everywhere) are probably in crisis most of time, we just don't often realize it. Certainly it is easier to recognize in third world countries, where just trying to survive is an everyday reality. During our times of crisis, when danger has clearly crossed the boundaries of our comfort zone and after we've exercised our options of trying to keep things under control then finally, maybe, we'll turn it over to God. This can be a giant leap on our faith journey. Recognizing we're in crisis and that we're not going to be able to "fix" it, is the first step. But the crucial step is not simply crying "uncle" at all the crap the world can throw at us. It's not just giving up, but giving it up to God. To pray is to hope. To pray is to have faith that God is going to save the world.

Even though prayer has been around me all my life, I feel like a prayer newbie. It did take a crisis I could recognize to propel me along my faith journey and I find that more and more I want to be in prayer, but I still have difficulty finding the time and getting focused. I've found some online resources that I think will help me:

pray-as-you-go - daily audio-guided prayers
sacred space - daily web-guided prayers

link list

I've been working with images today and stumbled upon these somewhat related, yet cool sites.

• Rev. Billy & the Church of Stop Shopping


• don't buy a vowel, find it @ one letter group on flickr


• gallery of issues & icons


• flickr toys


• quick online tips

prayer

prayer
Originally uploaded by kimxtom.

image created for worship this weekend using flickr photos & flagrantdisregard.com/flickr

link list

• Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation - looks like a new book even I'll be able to relate to, I always knew I was a late bloomer (found on subversive influence)


• Serve! - new e-zine, love the t-shirt logo (found on emergesque)
  
  
  


• pp backgrounds from purple.pastor - can't beat good looking free stuff (found on the journey).

does anybody out there even care?

Probably not, so I'll continue to amuse myself with the instructions for women from the brick testament (NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN) and probably sacrilege, but this week I've been feeling like a women in a burning church and nobody's paying attention.

online communities

I've been surfing the web to find resources for my emerging women lens. On the way, I found lots of online communities that look interesting. They are not on my blogroll, because I'm not a regular reader or participant yet.

blogher - where the women bloggers are. They are divided into sections and you can link your blog to a section and find others of interest to you

CrossLeft - balancing the Christian voice

RevGalBlogPals - An Open Table set for a diverse group of people -- women pursuing or discerning a religious vocation -- and their friends -- all are welcome!

Note to self: Participation in an online community should not replace the time I could actually spend face to face building community.

the hidden power of electronic culture

Yet another book filled with many AH HA! moments. If you have anything to do with media or technology at your church, you need to read this.

Shane Hipps skillfully identifies and describes basic media inventions that have had enormous impacts upon Western civilization. So all consuming are the resulting cultural shifts that we often no longer recognize their birth was caused, in part, by technology we now take for granted. That is the hidden power behind the electronic culture that Shane wants to unveil for us.

Once we begin to grasp the concept that the medium is the message, we begin to understand that we should not reduce the use of media and technology as just a tool “useful for dispensing the gospel (pg. 38)… As we will see, these media forms have a profound effect on our faith – an effect that goes far beyond their content (pg. 39).”

lost writings from a failed revolution

I've been trying to write, but it's not happening right now. So, instead of getting totally frustrated, I thought I'd share with you some really good writing I've read recently. I guess this book has been out for awhile and I'm probably behind the times (or maybe the author was ahead of his time). I underlined a lot in this book. Here's one of my favorites:

After all, what takes more faith - to believe that God can save you and offer personal fulfillment and comfort, or to believe that God can reorient the whole world from one of hate, greed, fear and personal gain, to one ruled by peace and justice? A world where there is Good News for the poor, releases for the captives, the recovery of sight for the blind - where the oppressed are free, and all live according to God's good favor. What takes more faith - to believe that God can save you or that God is going to save the whole world and wants you to help? - pg. 86, Rev. Lamblove (aka russell rathbun)

The best line is on page 110, but don't skip ahead. You gotta read the whole thing, then the punchline will blow you away.

I hope it's not too late - I want to join the revolution!