Sojourn........

Sojourn........to reside temporarily or stay for a time.......ahhhhhhhh....I did just that in Sedona, AZ last week!  It was absolutely wonderful......peaceful.......calm......harmonious.......exhilarating!!!  The energy there is amazing and the scenery was exquisite!  I would love to not only stay for a time there, but eventually move there!!!  I texted my son while I was there and said:  "Sell everything!  I am NEVER coming home!!!"  (He laughed, but little does he know, I really mean it!)

So, what would it mean for you to sojourn in your heart today???  Where would you go? What would you like to see?  What would you like to explore?  Where would you like to abide for a long while???

Sojourning is quiet an adventure - especially when you go to a place you have never been before or wanted to return to very much.  I drove past these incredible Red Rock Canyons 20 years ago and always wanted to return.  The pictures are stunning if you explore them on the internet and the pictures that I took while hiking the Cathedral Rock Canyon are incredible!!! 

Within the Red Rock Canyons are something they call Vortexes.  The Vortexes in Sedona are these places where a spiral flow of energy rotates, spirals and spins........it draws its visitors into an awareness that makes you wonder where does all this energy flows from?  I was not able take one of the tours to experience the Vortexes this trip or explore this energy field, but I drove into the canyon where they were and the energy was spellbinding!!!  A vortex is also described as a place where the Earth is exceptionally alive and healthy! And, yes, I felt healthy and alive each moment I was there!!!  Just to look upon the incomprehensible views that I saw one turn after another was breathtaking.........and made me feel "alive" like I have never before!!!

Have you ever measured the aliveness you feel in your body?  If not, now might be a good time to take your own temperature!  Where does your energy stem from? What makes you feel "alive?"  Go exploring............physciallyor by the internet - there are some incredible places to explore and learn about on our great Earth!  Take some time to feel alive and healthy.........it's worth the adventure!!! 

And, sojourn awhile........stay for a time.......abide.......

Lenten Prayer for you...

I Am Not Sure of Love
(by Kenneth G. Phifer, from A Book of Uncommon Prayer)


O Lord, I live in a world of angry men and women. I am often angry myself at threats to my values, at brutal disregard for the institutions I hold dear.
Where do I belong in such a world?
Where does the Lord Jesus belong?
Is love weak, too weak to be creative?
Is compassion sheer sentiment?
Is this a time to be hard and tough?
My emotions tell me so some of the time.
Then at other times I see Him moving amid the shadows of history.
I see Him angry, too, at evidences of injustice and mistreatment of His fellow men.
I hear Him lash out at self-righteousness and complacency.
I watch Him at last, when the anger is done and the sharp words said, stake His life on love and self-sacrifice.
I behold Him die and hear Him say,
"Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing."
And, somehow God, deep inside me I know love is not weak; it is I who am weak.
Love is indomitable and irresistible.
Hate is weakness.
Vengeance is futile, and violence is self-defeating.
Help me, for it is hard to stand by what I do know deep inside.
It is so much easier to curse than to bless.
It is easier to pronounce maledictions than to pronounce benedictions.
It is easier to shout others down than to sit down with others.
It is easier to be loud than to listen.
O God of all people, who does not separate us into good and bad but into loving and unloving.
I need your help lest I tear things up.
You have offered to help me, I know, and I hold back.
Can you push me a little harder?
I want to be more loving and I am afraid.

Hear my prayer.
Make my commitments to love more than good intentions.
Amen.