Network

Below are Daily Words that I have just started receiving via a website and I am enjoying them so much I thought I would pass these two on to you. The second one made me realize that whether or not we realize it we are a powerful spiritual network.

Today's Daily Word - Saturday, June 14, 2008
Honor
I live a life of honor by honoring all life.
Our family traditions are precious whether they are newly formed or have been passed down for generations. As we observe holidays and occasions, we may join with those in our extended families: our neighbors and those in our spiritual communities.

Honoring the presence of God within us and all others, holding all that God has created in high esteem, we bring an integrity of spirit to each day. We go about doing this flowing in myriad ways from the diversity in our family units and our communities, a diversity that honors us all.
We pass forward, person to person, generation to generation, how we live lives of honor by honoring all life. We give expression to the qualities of Spirit within us that inspire and encourage us, that validate who we are as spiritual beings.

"Honor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place."-1 Chronicles 16:27

Today's Daily Word - Monday, June 16, 2008 Prayer Partner
The Christ Spirit inspires us as faith-filled prayer partners.
As we partner with others in life-affirming prayer, we contribute to a powerful spiritual network. Our network of prayer supports the well-being of a multitude: we are praying friends who believe-with one another and for others-that we have total well-being through the indwelling Christ Spirit.

Joined in prayer, affirming the Christ Presence within, we have a great strength and a powerful impact on one another. What we may seem unable to accomplish on our own, we do accomplish as praying friends.
If one of us calls Silent Unity for prayer support, each individual in our network of prayer partners is blessed. We go about our day and rest peacefully at night knowing that we are being held in continuous, faith-filled prayer.

"For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end."-Hebrews 3:14

These are from this website http://www.dailyword.com/?s=DW_Email

When I went to Lakeland, Florida I had printed out all the email addresses that I send my little emails to in the hopes that I would pray for all of you and the email list in general. On the first night there they said that the next night they were going to collect peoples prayer requests via email and direct submission and anoint them with oil and then burn them as we all prayed over them. I don't know how some of you might react to this idea but I thought it was awesome, it was like we were making a burnt offering to the Lord like I had read so much about in the Old testament. I had also previously printed out a list of people I wanted to pray about for specific reasons and many of you were on it (oh, yeah I pray for you whether you like it or not).

I was so excited that I already had these nicely printed requests to submit and not some suddenly scrawled out submissions to add to the fire. In seeing the large email list in black and white for the first time it really freaked me out and I struggled all over again with what am I doing, what am I thinking? I am not even a good writer or much of a proof reader-which is constantly pointed out to me by my parents.

The image of little baby fish came to me when I was thinking about my emails all swimming out to sea and not knowing where they go or what happens to them. I watched a nature show the other day in which these bright orange, land crabs all migrate across the island at the same time to release their eggs in the ocean. The female crabs release all their eggs and then crawl back to their homes on land all over the island. Their unprotected eggs which hatch immediately upon entry into the ocean are left swirling around in big white clouds vulnerable to many different hungry predators. I don't even know if my emails make it to in-boxes or to junk mail folders or just get deleted because they are to long.

http://www.christmas.net.au/parks/crabs/ -- I think these are the crabs.

In my house, we grew up with fish tanks and my dad meticulously took care of them as he does with everything. I remember when the colorful tailed guppies would have babies we had to keep them in a little square net enclosure that protected them from the other fish in the tank and from the babies parents. The parents would actually eat their young. (In retrospect I guess my parents aren't so bad) This particular picture came to mind when I thought about releasing all my little emails into the sea, sometimes I want to go and eat them before you read them because so many of them are embarrassing or show me in a bad light.

The truth of the matter is I have no idea who all my emails go out to as I have never really looked closely at the list since its conception with the first email. I have no idea who actually even reads the emails once I have sent them and try not to care. With these emails there has been created a spiritual network...an odd mishmash of people I know, barely know, met one time and or friends from forever. And whether or not we all realize it - we are a network.

Some of the definitions of network are:

1. any net-like combination of filaments, lines, veins, passages, or the like: a network of arteries
2. an association of individuals having a common interest, formed to provide mutual assistance, helpful information, or the like
3. system of interrelated buildings, offices, stations, etc., esp. over a large area or throughout a country, territory, region, etc

I am sure many of you have your own spiritual networks made up of various people in your lives, church, family, work etc. and now we are all connecting our networks to other networks all over the globe. For instance my friend from Canada poses the question to me, “What if Jesus had a laptop” and I tell his question to my friend in Kentucky. There is a network of sharing taking place here, a sharing of ideas, a sharing of experiences, a sharing of God's awesome affects/effects in our lives...God is soooooo BIG and His influence is BIG. You are experiencing a tiny, tiny piece of it right now, wherever you are.

You just reading this are a part of something, something in His plan. Okay, maybe this sounds crazy and maybe I am freaking out over nothing, but I don't think I am. What you do makes a difference, every word you say to the counter clerk at Walgreens can matter, so make it matter. Be a good influence in your network. Say words that heal not hurt. “Pray for one another so that we might be healed”....spiritually, mentally and physically...deep in your heart kind of healing. You matter, you are a part of something so much bigger than you can even imagine, be a positive part of that something!

Love Always,
A*
Heaven helped me, unfortunately it can't proof read for me... 6/16/08