I did some remodeling and am only moving next door.

"Being here" somewhere else

I've been setting up a new blog with a different title and new appearance. There's some tweaking that  could still be done on it, but I'm fighting any perfectionist tendencies I have, because I'm only in this for the joy of it. 

I hope you'll move with me to the new blog.  The "Being Here" blog will probably keep "being here" just as it is.  I may eventually pack and move its contents to the new home. Or I may save and recycle some of the writings in a new and improved way.  Meanwhile, you'll have access to it for a while.

But now, you're invited to come on over to  Exploring the Earthly Domain.

THE HOLY SEASON -- DAY 9

 

He is Risen!

 

 

Easter Sunday

An account of Christ's resurrection and the days to follow are found in Luke 24:1-53.

Christ is God's ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one.  Human wisdom is so tiny, so impotent next to the seeming absurdity of God.  Human strength can't begin to compete with God's 'weakness.'  Everything that we have--right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start--comes from God by way of Jesus Christ.

                                                                              1 Corinthians 1:22-25, 30 (The Message)


If ever there was a day to celebrate in community with all Christians, it is today!  Hear the story!  Share the joy!  The Resurrection is the promise fulfilled.  We can live in eternal joy and thanksgiving with our Creator, for the Risen Christ has defeated death and the separation from Him that humanity suffers.  God truly reigns.

 

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Prayer

Lord of all creation,

We praise you and give you thanks.  Teach us to be sensitive to your real presence and continue to guide us in your ways.  In the name of Jesus Christ,

                                                                                                    Amen 

THE HOLY SEASON -- DAY 8

 

Saturday - Before the Resurrection

...my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, O LORD, every day;
I spread out my hands to you...
Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?
Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

But I cry to you for help, O LORD;
In the morning my prayer comes before you.
                                                                                                      Psalm 88: 9-13 (NLV)

Followers of Jesus often shed many tears by the end of Holy Friday.  Through scripture, passion dramas, and sermons, we've experienced the death of God's example of mankind perfected--his Son, our Christ Jesus.  Alas, today our journey hasn't yet brought us to the resurrection.

Read the scripture above as though you were one of the heartbroken apostles, or his mother or one of the crowd of faithful followers on the day after Jesus died.  They couldn't grasp the truth that the story wasn't over.  Feel their intense pain of loss, fear, and even anger that Jesus is simply GONE!

We've never lived in a world where Christ is absent, but we can imagine a fraction of such bleakness, because:
           we have lost cherished ones...
                         we've been diminished and left to feel powerless...
                                                we've felt unloved, and have forgotten to love.

Do we pray with such honest passion as the psalmist?  Being aware of the Resurrection, do we trust that tomorrow we will be able to see and know that God's Love is here for us through all eternity?

Prayer

Dear Lord,
We are blessed by our bond with these heartbroken disciples, for we've suffered grief and anger over losses and betrayals.  Increase our patience when we cry out to you, unable to summon up visions of the glorious victories that lie ahead.  When we travel through days of darkness, help us use the emptiness as a space and time to seek, to heal.  Remind us of Easter morning.
                                                                                                Amen

THE HOLY SEASON -- DAY 7

GOOD (HOLY) FRIDAY

 

Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father.  He now showed the disciples the full extent of His love.

                                                                                            John 13:1 (NLT)

 

 

 

In the Gospel of John chapters 13-17, Jesus speaks to his disciples during his last hours before He went to Gethsemane:

"I have loved you even as the Father has loved me...

remain in my love...

Love each other as I have loved you..."

 

These words are among those spoken by Christ to his past (as well as his future disciples)  soon before He had to leave them.  They are a tender command to live as the Creator intended.

 

"Love each other in the same way I have loved you.  And here is how to measure it--the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends."

 

Jesus was literally laying down his life for us!  Is He saying we must daily, hourly, be ready to lay our lives aside when others need to receive God's love through us?  Earlier in his ministry, Jesus said we are to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27) -- does this mean they are beloved in the One Creator's eyes?  Must we set their need to receive God's love above our own needs?

 

None of this is easy in our ego-driven and angry world.  Will it help us, as it did the Apostles, if we remember Jesus' promise, "I am with you always."?

 

Prayer

 

Loving God,

 

Thank you for your magnificent gift of tender and infinite love, shown through Christ.  Our words come easy and our intentions are often weak, so help us to live the way you intended when you created us.  May your will be our will, enabling us to lay down our lives for the sake of others.

                                                                                                                               Amen

 

 



THE HOLY SEASON -- DAY 6

Maundy Thursday

 

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord are you going to wash my feet?"

Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand...unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

 

"A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

 

                                                                                            John 13:6, 8b and John 13:34, 35

 

The Last Supper is usually our focus on this day.  It comforts us.  Let's remember Jesus' words spoken during that bittersweet gathering with his beloved friends--vitally important words about a spiritual washing, and a new commandment.

 

In John 13:7, Jesus says as He washes the disciples' feet, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."  Indicative of His divine genius, our Lord used this act to speak to them and to us long after his death and resurrection.  What a striking and indelible image for the Master to wash the feet of his servants!  Not one easily forgotten, but rather pondered, recorded, and read by generations to come.  The Bible is a living book, indeed!

 

Prayer

Dearest God,

 

Thank you for continually sending us your Word by way of the prophets, in the man Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit sent to abide in us.  It is continually revealed in the holy scriptures, and through tradition and experiences.  How wondrous of You and your love for us, so huge that you always have and always will call to us by so many means!  We pray for open hearts to receive You and for open ears to hear You.  Guide us along the path that begins with loving one another in community and winds it way throughout all the world's peoples.

 

                                                                                                             Amen



 



THE HOLY SEASON -- DAY 5

 

 

WEDNESDAY

 

 

Hasten, O God, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me.

 

                                                        Psalm 70:1

 

Everything done in the name of Jesus Christ, from the smallest of chores to the sacrifices we make, menial or great, will be blessed.  When our responsibilities as Christian servants become heavy and overly difficult, we must pray for Divine assistance as the Psalmist has done in today's scripture.

 

We often forget after such a prayer to participate with the Holy Spirit within us, through whom God's response will come.  It's good to release the tensions in our necks and shoulders. It's helpful to close our eyes and breathe deeply and slowly, yet remain alert and listen with our hearts and all our senses for inspiration.  We can expect the inflow of renewed energy and confidence.

 

Jesus didn't need the attendance of the apostles while he prayed in the garden, but He loved them and surely wanted each remaining moment they had together to matter. What if they had managed to remain awake and alert?  Perhaps they would have been bathed in the ripples of Holy Power that was magnified in Christ that night.  Would the grief and sense of abandonment they were soon to experience have been lessened?

 

 

Prayer

 

Ever-present God,

 

We breathe deeply now, drawing in strength to endure losses, and exhaling the pain that is part of this world.  We lean into you for reassurance.  Your embrace assures us of the Hope and Joy surrounding us even now in your kingdom.  Remind us always of the example your Son set for us, and to ask in his name for your help in everything.

 

                                                                                                          Amen

 

 



 

 

 





THE HOLY SEASON -- DAY 4

 

       

Tuesday  

Jesus replied, "the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified."

"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save me from this hour'? 

No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.  Father, glorify your name!"

 

John 12:23, 25-28 (NIV) 

 

 

Engaging with the scriptures can expand our thinking. Does thoughtfully reading verses such as these evoke a range of emotions in you such as:

 

Great admiration?  Jesus continues steadfastly toward the cross.

Awe?  Do you experience a shift toward seeing Jesus more clearly, not only as the man of God, but also as the Christ, Son of God?

Deep sorrow?  We know the cruel death He faces; we know the pain and depression those who love Him are going to suffer at his death.

Anger?  After all, "Even after Jesus had done all the miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him."  John 12:37

 

Would you say that Jesus became frustrated or disgusted with people?  Was He scared?  Did He worry?  What is a "troubled heart," and have you experienced it?  Do you think Jesus still carried all these emotions by the time he reached the Cross?            

 

Jesus taught that God is Love, unconditional and selfless.  He told the apostles that He was in the Mind of God and the Mind of God was in Him. Do you suppose his fears became fully contained within a Peace greater than the world can ever understand?

 

It's good to taste the scriptures and let the words become food for inner thought!

 

Prayer

 

Holy God,

 

As we walk with Christ through the precious and important days of Holy Week, may our sorrow and concern for all those who suffer in this world, all those who are hated and persecuted, be channeled into prayer and peaceful actions for justice.  Let the power of your Spirit console us with the knowledge of your sheltering love as we take up crosses of our own.  May we always keep our eyes and hearts set upon You, just as your Son did.

 

                                                                                                        Amen

THE HOLY SEASON - DAY 3

                                                            

 

Monday

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there.  He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.  "It is written," he said to them, "'my house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.  But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and
the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.

                                                                                              Matthew 21:12-15 (NIV)

The prophecy in yesterday's scripture said that the King would come on a donkey and we would know him as a gentle ruler.  What is the image we see now, when we read about his cleansing of the temple which occurred after his arrival in Jerusalem?

There's no mention here of the Pharisees being upset with Jesus for clearing out the corruption which they had allowed in the temple.  However, they were very upset about his gentle acts of care and attention given to the poor and the sick.  They couldn't bear to see him perform tender healing and how the children adored him.  Here was Power the Pharisees would never possess through their laws and judgment--power to heal sorrow and sin, power to claim the hearts of the people.

Prayer

Most powerful God,
 
Sometimes when you're cleansing the space in our hearts by overturning our worldly desires for power and position, it causes us discomfort and unease.  We wonder if you might be a little more gentle.  Help us remember that such holiness as yours doesn't compromise in matters of truth and goodness.  Teach us to cling only to that which is rewarded in your kingdom, now and forever. Heal us with your gentle touch. Claim our hearts! 

                     

Amen

THE HOLY SEASON - DAY 2

 

Palm Sunday



Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!  Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!  See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the fool of a donkey.

                                                    Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)

                

 

 

 

These words from the Old Testament paint a vivid picture.  Can you see and smell the dust raised by the hooves of the donkey bearing our Lord?  Do you hear the shouts of "Hosanna!" and the laughter of children running alongside the road during Jesus' journey to Jerusalem?

 

 

We too can begin Holy Week with shouts of joy, despite knowing that his celebrated entry into Jerusalem was leading him to the cross.  For we know the "rest of the story":  this gentle king, righteous and humble, brought salvation to the world.  Incredible yet true--the Divine Son of God was willing to pay any price to come for us!  Rejoice!

 

 

Prayer

 

Loving God,

 

Teach us to be courageous enough to follow wherever you lead us, yet gentle like your son.  Thank you for coming to us through Jesus, and now through your Holy Spirit.  Help us follow his example and counsel as we continue to learn about courage, gentleness, humility, hope beyond this world, and love beyond limit. 

                                                                                   Amen

 

 

The story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is told in Matthew 21:1-11.

 

 

 

 

 

 

--bb



THE HOLY SEASON - DAY 1

                                  
I appreciate this tradition from the Orthodox Church.  Perhaps you will, too. 
                                                                                                                                    --Bonnie B.


    
                                                                                                 Lazarus Saturday                                                         
                                                                    
(The Saturday preceding Palm or Branch Sunday)

By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy passion Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God!  Like the children with the branches of victory, we cry out to Thee, O Vanquisher of Death:  Hosanna in the highest!  Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord! (Troparion)

Christ--the Joy, the Truth and the Light of All, the Life of the world and its Resurrection--has appeared in his goodness to those on earth.  (Kontakion)


Lazarus Saturday was once among the few great baptismal days in the Orthodox Church Year.  Because of the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, Christ was hailed by the masses as the long-expected Messiah--King of Israel. 

From the website of the Orthodox Church in America, OCA.org

(The Bible's 11th chapter of John tells the entire story of Lazarus.) 
 

 Tomorrow:  The Holy Season - Day 2, Palm Sunday

 

FIRST DAY OF SPRING- a photo album

 

Picture It

The fog was piled into opaque, fluffy blankets covering the low areas. 

I drove alongside and across the flood diversion canal known as The Big Ditch. The fog lay in the bottom of the Ditch, looking like cotton candy.  The sun was streaking the eastern sky with orange and lemon colors. I had my camera and was a bit frustrated that there was nowhere to stop. The traffic was picking up.  

Most of the fog had dissipated by the time I completed my errand and drove through the entrance to Sedgwick County Park.  The morning was still gorgeous, even more so next to the water with life all around.  

I can't think of a more joyful way to experience the first morning of Spring 2015.

 

                                                                             All photos by Bonnie Hamilton Beuning  copyright March 20, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I took the highway home, still enjoying the beauty that lay ahead.

 

May your springtime be breathtaking, wherever you are! 

Blessings!     bb

Expectations

 

Many of us have some wacky, pseudo expectations such as expecting rain after we wash the car or when we plan a picnic, or bad luck if we walk beneath a ladder. Fun, but this isn't about that.

At night when I fall asleep, I expect to awaken in the morning.  It hasn't always been so, nor will it always be.

I expect stars to burn in the night sky. (I expect them to burn in our daytime sky as well, but seldom think of it!)  I expect clouds may gather and interfere with my view, but not with the existence and presence of stars.  I expect clouds to eventually move on.

In so many circumstances, I expect great sorrow to come as inevitably as the seasons.

Elation. Happiness. Ah, these keep me balanced.  They come more as surprise than expectation. I do expect surprises of all sorts, though try not to navigate my life's course by  them.

Joy. This is something I've grown to know. More than an expectation, Joy IS. It's inner presence is so astonishing, I'm almost timid about claiming it will always remain with me.

Of course I could go on and on. My expectation is that I'd become tiresome, if not irrelevant.

                

 

 

                                                                         photo Bonnie Hamilton Beuning 2014 

Upon awakening

Morning topics come to me unplanned, from somewhere, anywhere. I welcome most of them and join in on the conversation already begun in my head.

Stirring my morning brain today (despite the extreme beauty of the sunshine streaming into the bedroom) were the tears, or worse, the blank expressions of oppressed women of the world, emotionally and often physically abused.

     Do they have expectations?

     Are they devoid of hope? 

     How can Hope and Expectation feel the same?

     How do they differ, and how might one effect the other?

     In the worst case scenarios, do the abused, neglected, oppressed lose the ability to
experience disappointment?  

     In the worst, worst case scenario, does one have even a memory of being     disappointed? Or did early disappointments soon become expectations?

     To be disappointed!  Is that ability a blessing in the sense of reminding us we haven't yet  lost hope?

Well, I'm sorry if I've brought you with me on a path too grim. It led to a scene vastly populated with children and men as well as women. I simply followed the path.

I'll close without giving my considered answers to the questions above.  Your answers, if you choose to meditate on these things, will likely outshine my own

This amazing Kansas day on the cusp of spring has dawned on a good and easy life for me. I'm so thankful! I'm drawn to pray specifically for the oppressed, abused, and neglected today. Even the grim path can lead to good things.

 

                                                                             photo Bonnie Hamilton Beuning
bb

The Eye and the Heart of the Beholder

 

Beauty

 

 

 

This first photograph below is accompanied by the photographer's haiku, both of which I love! The picture speaks to me of the splendor of so many of our winter days, illuminated by that magical light cast by the southern arc of the sun.. Some of our most brilliant sunrises and fieriest sunsets occur in the wintertime. In late afternoon, the exposed white skin of the sycamore trees and cottonwoods glows against the backdrop of a sapphire sky.  On clear nights, the stars are worth the show for those willing to brave the cold night air to gaze upon them.  I find the composition and colors of this photo quite striking.

 

 

                       

photo and haiku by Glenn Gunnels 2015

Evening Haiku



                                                      Will you walk with me

                                                      if I speak in whispered breaths

                                                      as warm as summer? 

                                                                                                       

 

The next photo is one that I took several days ago. It's a color shot, but looks almost black and white.  That's good, because I wanted to capture how color seems to drain away at  sunset in the winter when the entire sky is thick with clouds.  

 

 

 

                    

photo and poem by Bonnie Hamilton Beuning 2015 

 

The February trees are bare, offering no resistance to the chill wind.

No winter flowers grace this portion of the gardeners' "zone 6."
I'd hoped for the consolation of a starry, black sky tonight,
but no, all is grim and gray and cold.
I'm sure a television meteorologist is apologizing on the air, 
pretending to have created the weather without God. BB

 

 

I recognize the contrast between Glenn's engaging and lovely photo, and then mine, which at first glance (and maybe 2nd and 3rd as well!) seems to be more about the absence of beauty. But, I'm beginning to believe beauty dwells within every natural thing, sometimes all but hidden, yet still present in its design or movement, light, or shadow.

 

Undeniably, there are special places that stir us, comfort us, fill us with peace, and cause us to call them sacred. I wonder if the tangled and dark woods to which we're not drawn, could sometimes offer a holy refuge that our broken selves would connect with, possibly heal in...a wilderness overlooked due to our love of stars and grandeur.                                                     

 

Terry Hershey had this quote in his "Sabbath Moments" this week, and I liked it: 

        

 "Each of us possesses five fundamental, enthralling maps to the natural world:  sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell.  As we unravel the threads that bind us to nature, as denizens of data and artifice, amid crowds and clutter, we become miserly with these loyal and exquisite guides, we numb our sensory intelligence.  This failure of attention will make orphans of us all."     -- Ellen Meloy



 

[Thanks to Glenn Gunnels for permission to use his photo...I knew I wanted to post it, but had no idea what the blog would be about when I asked] 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just Another Sacred Day

 

 

 

Ash Wednesday.  It was good. 

 

In the morning, I was heard, informed, encouraged, and supported at a supervision meeting with my Stephen Ministry group.

 

In the afternoon, I met with my spiritual director from whom I received affirmation and clarity on some issues often encountered in the growth process.

 

Midafternoon, after taking care of a couple of errands and tasks, I built a slow-burning fire in the fireplace.  I pulled a chair close to it, held my dog, and read a while. 

 

Ash Wednesday didn't beckon me to a church service this year, but I observed it in my own way at home. The ashes stayed among the burnt pieces of firewood and I felt fine with that.  

 

Here are some photos I took while thinking about the first day of Lent.

 

The sun was shining, and bathed everything in a simple light.

 

BB

  

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to change my profile picture on Facebook this morning. To do this, I scanned a picture, which is printed on a blank greeting card I bought years ago.  The picture, a reproduction of a painting by Lori Preusch, more than captured my imagination.  It illustrates something that I feel about my own sense of "being here." 

In it I somehow recognize the person I am, and see glimpses of my past, present, and possible future. It speaks to me of the region of our country where I was born and raised and now live. I see the overriding joy of my life journey, regardless of what I confront and gather along the way.

This is the beauty of art, isn't it?  As in nature, we can study it and connect with so many things. Learning to see with our hearts, I believe we can gain an understanding that's at a higher level than the reality we've constructed or had constructed for us. At times, though, we intuitively know that what we are seeing speaks to our innermost selves.

When I posted this image on Facebook, I received a response that surprised me.  A cousin  simply commented, "Embrace." (I'm assuming she read my last post.)

How strange that I never saw the essence of my word-of-the-year in this painting until she mentioned it!  But there it is.  Like the prairie dragon, I feel the word clinging to me, and I've come to be happy about carrying it, fire and all. 

May your life be a Spirit-filled quest, undeterred by the ways of the world. 
May you be of light heart and deep thoughts.
May we all become conscious of what we carry, and why, discarding that which serves no honorable purpose.

Till next time, I'm heading out into the wind with my hoop and ever-present dragon.  

Blessings,
bb

Note:  I temporarily removed the photo from my FB page until I received written permission from the author to use it, which she immediately gave. I don't know if that's required, but it seemed like the right thing to do.  (Thanks again, Lori.)

Look here for more of her work:    www.dandelionpress.com