Author Archives: Jackie

MAGA

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For everyone, or just about everyone, this has been a rough year. First, there’s been a global pandemic, the likes of which few have ever seen. Many have experienced severe economic upheaval. Then, there was a contentious election in the US, which, although it’s been called, still may not be over.

Given all that, it’s hard to find gratitude. Yet, there is still a lot to be thankful for, & I want to give a particular call out to a client with whom I’ve recently had the pleasure of working who pointed that out. His name is Rob Prater, and he works with and for the Desert Rose Bahai Institute here in AZ. He suggested that perhaps MAGA should stand for “Make America Grateful Again.” I think he’s right. Thanks, Rob, for the reminder.

You’re Acting Like An Idiot

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To many, the old Testament seems frought with images of blood and guts and war, and a wrathful God who takes vengance on helpless humans at any chance He gets. A lot of folks would therefore be surprised at this single verse penned by an obscure profit in a little-known book of the Bible called Zephaniah. It’s found in chapter 3, v. 17:
“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Any of you who have ever held children in your arms and sang over them as you rocked them, rejoicing, know precisely what this verse means. Have you ever thought about the fact that God loves you just exactly like that? Yeah–I know–it’s hard to fathom, but He does.

The Other side of that coin is that he loves others like that as well. And he loves us even when our behavior doesn’t warrant it, because He knows we are separate from our behavior. We might be acting like an idiot, but we ourselves aren’t one. We can change our behavior, but God created us in His image, and that will never change.

Again, that applies to others as well. I’m trying very hard during these extremely stressful times to understand that even when people act like idiots, God nonetheless sings over them just as He sings over me. They’re created in His image just as I am. And just because they (or I) act like idiots doesn’t mean we are one.

I pray we’ll all extend grace and prayers to one another during these extraordinarily frought times.

A Bird, A Girl and a Rescue–by J.A. Myhre

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Note: I received this book free for my unbiased review. The problem is, I’m not biased. My review is unaffected by the free book. However, I’m biased towards kids’ books. The constant sex, violence, & profanity found in so many adult secular books, or the insipid, predictable romances of most Christian fiction makes finding a good read, at least for me, difficult. So, with that disclaimer finished, my review follows.

Please also note that there is also a first book of the series, “A chameleon, a boy, and a quest”. Perhaps a good analogy for these books might be African Chronicles of Narnia, as they contain many of the symbolic & whimsical elements found in the Narnia series. This is definitively a book for older children, as one of the scenes, where the schoolchildren are locked in their dorm, which was subsequently set ablaze, is disturbing, even for some adults, although the end result was ultimately not as one might expect. It’s an action-packed book where Christian truths are taught without hitting readers over the head or shoving them down their throats. The book also provides a platform for families to discuss conditions that exist in various parts of the world, as well as actions that can be taken to ameliorate them. African words are sprinkled throughout, & I would’ve liked to see those defined at the bottom of the page instead of in the back of the book, as looking them up broke up the reading experience a little, but that’s a small criticism.

Lastly, please note that “the author donates half of her royalties to a fund that enables real children to emerge with resilience from childhoods threatened by poverty, rebel warfare, human trafficking, malnutrition, loss, and fear.”

“Your purchase of this book “enables orphans to receive an education, babies of HIV-positive mothers to receive food, children who have never held a book to receive a library, and much more. These small acts of justice and mercy have the power to bring hope and enable communities to write new endings to their own stories.

For more information, or to make a donation to the Rwendigo Fund, which supports the work described above, please visit serge.org/hope. ”

Despite the free book, I’ll definitively be visiting the site to do that, & I hope folks will purchase the book in order to donate as well. Thank you, Ms. Myhre, for a heartwarming read & your generosity toward the least of these who can’t defend themselves. Ultimately, the good read & the donation make the purchase a win-win for everyone. Buy it–you’ll like it.

Journey Through the Jesus Prayer–Part 1

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This past Sunday I stumbled across a book on a prayer that’s been prayed by the Easternn Orthodox church for centuries. They call it the “Jesus prayer”. The book was very much written in the context of the Eastern Orthodox faith & almost led one to believe that this prayer should not in fact be attempted outside that context. Being the rebel I am, however, I decided to politely put that suggestion aside and attempt it anyway

 

So What Is This “Jesus Prayer?”

 

As with so many things of great antiquity, the Jesus Prayer actually has several versions. The short one is: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” It’s the one I’ll be teaching my grandson Jaden.

 

Another is “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

 

A 3rd version is: “Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me.” My version is: “Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

 

I like to say it in conjunction with my breathing. I start by inhaling “Lord Jesus Christ,” and exhale on “son of the living God,”. I again inhale on “Have mercy on me”, & exhale on the words “a sinner.”

 

That’s just me, and others will want to use a different version or vary the breathing pattern, if they use it at all. I rather think it’s kind of like a Reese’ss–there’s no right way to eat one, & there’s no right way to do the “Jesus Prayer”, either, except the one that works for yu.

 

It goes without saying that sincerity is a requirement, and if this isn’t something you really believe, i.e., you don’t believe that Jesus is the son of God, etc., then don’t do this. This is so much more than just some sort of mantra.

 

So Why Do I like It?

 

I like saying the Jesus prayer for a number of reasons. Here are just a few:

  • It gives me something good to think about when I’m doing mindless things.
  • It’s a great cure for feelings of entitlement.
  • It’s also a wonderful cure for self-righteousness.
  • It’s great for minimizing anger–I mean, it’s pretty tough to get angry at another’s imperfections when you’re begging for mercy because you’re a sinner yourself.
  • It helps me relax throughout the day.
  • It helps keep God uppermost in my consciousness.
  • I’m starting to see Bible stories in an entirely new light.

 

As this journey continues, I’ll likely come up with even more reasons, and I’ll cover the ones I’ve listed in more detail in separate posts.

 

Meanwhile, I think this is a prayer from which all Christians can benefit greatly. Perhaps my thoughts on the matter will inspire you to try it as well. I’m looking forward to any comments you might have.

Welcome!

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My name is Jackie McBride, & this is my personal blog. It will contain reflections on my faith journey as well as any other items I might wish to include. Though I do not proselytize or disparage any faith traditions, & my views are often distinctly not those primarily associated with right-wing American Christianity, the reader should understand clearly that this is nonetheless an overtly Christian blog. If that’s not your cup, then I really would encourage you to find something you’d enjoy reading more & send you on your way with wishes for many blessings. If, however, for whatever reason my reflections interest you, then please accept my warmest welcome. I’d love to hear your comments, but please only leave those if they’re civil & relevant to the topic at hand. I do not accept advertisements of any sort here, and any attempt to try to sell products of any kind will result in the comment being marked as spam & the commenter banned. Racist, sexist, vulgarity, or hate language will also not be tolerated & the results will be identical to those in the previous sentence. Those things really should go without saying, but in today’s climate, unfortunately, it seems they can’t.

 

The blog’s name is derived from the account in Acts 16:25-36.

“22  The crowd joined in attacking them, (Paul and Silas) and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods.

23  After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely.

24  Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

26  Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

27  When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.

28  But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”

29  The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

30  Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31  They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

32  They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

33  At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.

34  He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
35 ¶  When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.”

36  And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, “The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.”

 

The theme of being able to praise God despite adversity is clear. Midnight is also a reference to my blindness. I’ve been contemplating doing this for years now, as husband Karl will attest, and I’ve finally gotten off square 1.

 

I’ll also be recommending other bloggers whom I particularly like, so if you have a blog you think might interest me, please let me know that.

I’ve been engaged in a series regarding praying for the nation(s). Some will undoubtedly notice that many of the scriptures I put forward to meditate & pray on have to do with conduct. That’s because I believe a nation is only as good as the people that live there. I feel if we can find things to unite for and agree on, even if we don’t necessarily agree how to implement them, it becomes a common ground for consensus building.

If you’d like to sign up to the blog, please do so using the ‘Registration’ menu item. Screen reader users, please use your arrow keys to navigate the form. To log in, please go to the site, then use the appropriate menu item. I’ve been forced to make these changes because of a large amount of spam traffic absolutely hammering the site.

I wish you abundant blessings, and I hope that perhaps something I write here might prove helpful or inspiring.