Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Tuesday Talk

Hey bloggers,

Thanks for starting without me (at the time of this writing there are 7 comments already posted here, and some comments posted today under yesterday's article)...

I love the fact that I can just open up a place for an article, along with the date, and you just start talking. It's kind of like the blog has a life of its own, in a sense, which, to me, is a sign of its health.

Also, I know that there are many texts and calls and e-mails that I haven't returned yet...please be patient...there are only so many hours in the day. When I got in last night, I spent some time responding to comments under June 14 and 16. You may want to check out the dialogue at the end of each day's writings to see where in cyberspace I've been.

No doubt I have overused the word "process" lately, but I don't know of a better word to describe what I'm having to do right now. Since the week of my birthday, the pace in my life hasn't slowed down a bit, and while I'm not in any way complaining about it, it does take some getting used to...

"Yes indeed, it won't be long now." God's Decree. "Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won't be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings! Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills."
(Amos 9:13 - The Message)

Let me put it this way...if you throw a party and you are really having a good time at the party...so good, in fact, that your head begins to "swim", and you need to go lay down...it's nice to know that the friends you have invited will keep the party going while you get it together, and will not trash the place, and will even clean up a little before they leave.

I didn't write anything yesterday (except on the comments pages), and I may not tomorrow, so I thank you all for being my friends and allowing me to be quiet and "process" all that is going on in my life right now...all the fun that I've been having at the party...

Make yourself at home.

And don't forget to turn out the lights before you go.

22 comments:

Lise said...

Hey gang,

Guess I'm early this AM... no post yet.

Looking forward to Sunday and finally being ITB. Gotta pack and load the artwork after service. Geez, it's been a while. SOTB2 to be exact. Where does the time go? Isn't it funny how the things that we thought were just silly notions when we were younger seem to prove true as we get older. Like how quickly time passes!

Oh well... hopefully Joe & I will roll out of here no later than 7 or 7:30, so as long as traffic is OK perhaps we won't be late.

See you all Sunday!

Anonymous said...

A belated Father's day thought;

I do not generally think of you in terms of Father but might as well because you have been that type of influence in my life. The example of tolerance that flows with you is greater than any that is allowed in my sphere of influence. I am not a tolerant person by nature and am not usually drawn to that approach so it is obedience to God for me to operate in it

Your Holy Spirit anointed action is keenly observed by many and none more so than by me. I am not looking for any quality of character to compare myself by but rather find that my life is improved by seeing the Jesus I love in you. That Jesus entered my life at an early age through the influence of my own Dad in our home.

All of the things that have been observable to me about you place you in a very dear and great place in my mind. The memory of my Dad is still there and is very compatible with the new memories that have come to reside with them from your influence.

I don’t think there has ever been a time that you have misunderstood any action on my part as being detrimental to you because you would have told me so and given me the opportunity to correct the offence.

Therefore be it known by all who read this that if you ever read or hear anything contrary to the kind of support one would see between a healthy father/son relationship coming from me that you have either misunderstood because of some incomplete thought communicated by me or a lack of understanding from your own paradigm of something that is understood and at least tolerated at the time by a kind father figure who is also doing the same for you.

Just as I am influenced by the Holy Spirit to grow in understanding of the God that was first recognized by me as Love because of the doctrine of salvation through the work of Jesus Christ so am I influenced by the many wonderful people that have contributed to my growth along the way but none to date more so that the wonderful father figure that is seen in Bishop Jim.

Thanks for sharing what the Lord is doing with you. I am sure that most all of us are as proud of you as anyone can be of a Dad who is a true hero.

Thanks for the slide show too, that was awesome.

JB

peacemaker said...

"On the throne of silent thoughts the God of peace is directing my actions today. I will usher my brothers into the temple of God through the door of my peace."
(Paramahansa Yogananda)

This wordless post is sacred.

Peace
PM

Anonymous said...

Bishop, thanks for the free for all today, the liberty of this day! Thank you Abba Father for this day.

So much to say...so little time...your teachings on reconciliation have been pricelss to the world...BITN causes me to walk in deeper water than ever interacting with global water walkers...BITN causes me to stretch and to strive to be better...to destroy the box...the believe the impossible...to dream when circumstances say to give up...to know that restoration is here...to trust and adore God more...to love his people and me more...to reach out to strangers in this land...to commune more with the horizontal beam...to fellowship because it is necessary for growth when I want to be isolated...to finally have a father and to know a fathers love!!!

I appreciate your life and I am honored to be part of this vision of world changers...

Water Walker!

Anonymous said...

Abba Father:
Thank You for peace within that now may be wisely poured out.

Bishop:
....greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in the city... for there is Sheber (i.e. corn...i.e. hope) in Egypt...

Abraham, Abraham
look and you'll see a lamb...

Everyone...
Rest easy in peace and love,
mayam

Anonymous said...

Bishop,
Faith is the evidence of things not seen...
I won't forget the day you came up to me and said, "How's your ministry? Then you said, "We operate in faith around here! Get busy"! That's when I started sign language classes. Since then we've gone out wherever God opens a door-state prisons, nursing homes, youth detention centers, weddings, funerals, churches, rehabilataion centers...
This Thursday-Sunday, 7 AWESOME ladies of His Hands Ministries will be traveling to Virginia Beach to minister at a church, union mission and youth ralley interpreting the gospel..

Thanks everyone for your prayers

Jane- will you interpret Sunday while we are gone?? :)
Just kidding...I'm working on that

Ebony said...

1) I am so blessed to ave an awesome father (who praise be to God came through his surgery with flying colors. Be in agreement that his health springs forth) and a great spiritual father that I love like WHOA!

2) Just when I think things at church can't get any better they do, and when someone asks me how it was, all I can say is "You had to be there"

3) I SO wanna visit Israel now more since I saw your photos

4) Pastor Debye looks fabulous in a Hijab

5) Will the Lakers win the finals?

6) Love comes in different forms and ways, but no less valid in depth

7) Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me

vaughn said...

Good afternoon family,

6 & 7 from the most inspirational, phenomenal, prophetic devotional in the universe really ministered to me today - by Bishop Jim under inspiration the Holy Spirit - A Year in the Now...enjoy it and be blessed!

Today I will intercede for the lost, the hurting, the rejected, the disenfranchised and the broken. I will love with the agape of God and will fulfill my duties as an ambassador of Christ to my community.


Today I will speak the word of reconciliation in an effort to bring many sons to glory. I will not do or say anything that would make anyone feel alienated from God. I will be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in this area today, and today I will live in the now!


Father, love Your world through me today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

VaughEvan

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, Jane & sign language...that ain't right.

Abraham, I'm interested to hear more from you. I look forward to a larger place of understanding from another viewpoint (something Bishop seems to be naturally gifted at and a lot more of us are actively working on). Having said that, tho, I have to agree with Peacemaker on some level - I'm not sure how much peace can be attained on a natural human level simply by understanding the nature or origin of the conflict. I believe it starts there, but without the intervention of the One True God - whom we all serve - understanding is finite and limited to an intellectual acquiescence without any desire to collaborate for peace. But I'm praying for more of us to at least get started...

Jane

Friend4Life said...

Goodafternoon Bloggers!! I want to Welcome Abraham to blog. I agree with Jane...would love to hear more from all over the world!!

Bishop, we are in a "process" too. Some us don't even know what to blog here sometimes. Just putting pictures is enough for me. Love how you create a blog with just the date or pictures.

There's lots of love here to go around!! Peace 2 ALL!!

DoubleBack Alley said...

Sahib,

We officially have nothing else with which to concern ourselves. The AP has just announced that Obama smokes (one would assume that he inhales). There is now a poll that asks if that will make him a better or worse president. In other words, will he leave the presidency (assuming he wins) without the smell of smoke on him?

As I pondered the lint in my navel and allowed rumination to take its course, I was reminded of a conversation between Dizzy Dean and long time radio partner Buddy Blattner.

Blattner, the more studious of the two, was a facts and figures man. Statistics were his life. Paired with him was the immortal Dizzy Dean. Ol' Diz used to say players "slud into third", or "swang and missed", or pitchers "throwed" the ball with "spart" or runners returned to "their respectable bases." The St. Louis Board of Education once tried to have him banned.

A player of Catholic persuasion crossed himself during one of their broadcasts. The erudite Blattner wondered aloud if that bit of spiritual preparation helped the batter. "Not if caint hut a carve", was Dizzy's answer.

Now this. Does smoking make a better Obama presidency? "Not if he caint deal with the turrists or the 'conomy", would be Dizzy's answer. Honestly, do we need to know this much about our prospective leaders?

As you know, I want to know how he views us in the world. Does he need a cigarette at 3 AM? What does he plan to do about the economy? Should he even be involved with prosperity? FDR was the first to really postulate that and we have never been the same.

Not sure what to do with my vote this year, but it will be a fun ride. Here's to looking back in twenty years and saying we picked the right one.

Ain't God Good?

Larry Usher said...

gadPeacemaker- it's so funny you mention Paramahansa Yogananda because when I was studying yoga(for 6 years) his autobiography was one of my favorite books. It's where I got the sentence: "Nature must perforce admit her ineluctable quiddity." - which basically means nature is what nature is, there is no getting around it. Guy must have been a fan of William F. Buckley! LOL!
Have been to the Ashram at Thousand Island Park where we have a summer cottage in NY State on the St. Lawrence. I remember one of my yoga teachers telling me I was very old in the spirit- she probably had no idea!! (Eternal)

Peace,

Larry

Anonymous said...

Anonymous (6-15@7:37am) left this in the "Future Now" back room (btw--cool post anon). I wanted to set it on the mantle for this party:

"we are literally the "Church of what's HAPPENING now" - embrace the HAPPENING!"

When Kim said that, I thought of our "original name" too, anon. So very GOD to plan it--I can imagine Him grinning about it like a fun uncle! You're cool, God!

later.

Larry Usher said...

The Orchestrator:

So, I'm heading down to meet with Karl Cobos today for lunch when he calls me up to tell me his wife has had an alergic reaction to some meds and he has to take her to the emerg. room. Pray for her to have a quick and full recovery please. So I figure, I'm already in Conyers so I might as well not waste the gas, so I call Pastor Jum Muehlstein to see if he's free-but he is taking his wife to the doctor's to have her eye checked on- please pray for Jim's wife to have a favorable outcome.
I then drop by the place I'm going to be working at and my buddy Jeff Bowen at Slabjack. He needs a ride to have his truck picked up but it's not ready so turns out he needs a ride over and a ride back. We have a great time at lunch & after discussing some of the biz.
So, I'm heading back to the house and I realize I'm below E and I can't make it up to "my" gas station so I have to stop at the quickest one. As I'm pumping gas I see this lady who is asking for money and she is obviously on hard times. So I ask her how did you get to this point, how'd you get here. She starts telling me. Long story short several years ago she had gone to CITN but has gone through drug addiction and says she has lung cancer. I ask her if these have gotten her to the point of isolating herself & she says yes. I tell her she will only get devoured unless she can get to a place like CITN where she can come into the proximity of the Spirit of God in other believers and climb back to the top of the mountain. She says her name is Diane Christian which may or may not be her real name- please lift her up to our Father so that she may be pulled out of the teeth of the enemy. Pray that she will come to CITN by the Spirit of God.

The Orchestrator of our symphony, the Director of our paths.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. (Prov 3)

Love to all,

Larry

PS- you go Nancy!!
PPS- Agreed JB
PPPS- "Rest up Bishop, you're going to need it!" Kinda like Neo in Matrix! LOL!
PPPPS- Vaughn- your intercession for the above is coveted.
PPPPPS- Doubleback Alley- that's a hoot about Dizzy Dean!!

linda said...

Good afternoon Bishop and bloggers
been on vacation and just got back into town.
Enjoyed reading everyones posts

Love
Linda :0)

Sunshine said...

Hello blogers,

This is my second time bloging on this site. I really thought about what Bishop said about it being a process. The process is the thing that really makes you have to walk by faith. The process can sometimes take longer than we expected. But no matter how long the process in the end God knows what best. Whatever the process or stage that we're in bloggers take the time to smell the flowers along the way.

Bishop, we will keep the party going. There is nothing like a "Holy Ghost" party; it never stops.

peacemaker said...

DBA...
Good to hear from your pragmatic self. It's been such a long time...uh, I feel a song coming on.
Thanks for the reality check from yesterday's post, or today's comment on yesterday's post, or whatever...I'm so confused.
Anyway, I just went out and ripped out all the shag carpet and black light peace sign posters from my VW Microbus. Then I sprayed black paint on my "co-exist" and "Visualize World Peace" bumper stickers. I repainted my van camouflage and went to the local Army-Navy store and got me one of them “Kill um all, let God sort um out” bumper stickers instead.
If peace ain’t possible, then I say, By God, lets drop a bomb on um and turn the whole place into glass.
(Bloggers, you have to read DBA’s 6/16 comment for this to make sense)
Of course, you know, I’m being extremely facetious. Unfortunately, I know way too many folks who adhere to that opinion.
Personally, I despise war. All it solves are peoples quandaries about the afterlife.

Your comment was excellent and I agreed with most of it. You have a very realistic view of the peace process. Maybe you should consider running for public office of some kind. Do you smoke?

Great to read you again…stay close. I got a feeling things are going to get real interesting around here.

Peace in the Middle East…for real!
PM

peacemaker said...

Larry...
Six years of yoga. You sir, are the man. My daughter loves it and wants to instruct. She tries to involve me but I'm way too old and stiff for it now. I'll just stick to meditation.
Thats cool about your connection with Yogananda. I love his work(s). I currently have "The Yoga of Jesus", "Metaphysical Meditations". I don't have the one you have. I think it's "Autobiography of a Yogi". I'm already throwing hints around for someone in my fam to get me his two volumn work,"The Second Coming of Christ" for my birthday.

Maybe one day we can hook up in NY and visit the Ashram together.

Love your comments...
Peace
PM

Donald said...

Hey folks, still running around like a chicken with his head cut off around here and haven't had much time to blog. When I have had some spare time I've been drawing up some plans for an addition on the house in AutoCAD.
DBA that was some cool stuff about Dizzy Dean. There is a memorial to him in Wiggins, Mississippi which is not far from where he was raised and not far from where I live. There's no doubt about it, he was as country as a brown chicken egg.
Larry that was cool about the meeting as the gas station. Although I had almost started thinking that everybody was avoiding you at first, but I guess everything worked out as it was planned.
Peacemaker, you a nut!
Abraham, I never really know what to believe on the news we get over here. I certainly believe that the different news organizations attempt to sway opinion many times rather than just present the news and I suspect that there is more censoring of what we are allowed to hear than what people realize. But I did go to the news link you mentioned on one of your blogs, but didn't have time to really dig into it the way I wanted to or the way that I will once I get some of these fires put out around here.
Elle, I'm just a tad jealous about you getting to be ITB this weekend. I look forward to getting back up that way soon.
Dennis, I need to hear some stuff about your trip. Post something about it. Those pictures you have posted now make me shudder everytime I see them.
Bishop as always I look forward to hearing the word from you. Even now I am thinking about how good it will be tomorrow night to tune in and watch and listen.

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Hey, Elle…looking forward to you guys being here…

Wow, JB…I don’t know what to say…I am very humbled and deeply touched by your words…

Peacemaker…appreciate all of your contributions here today…

Water Walker…your thoughts and expressions are always uplifting…thanks…

Thanks, Mayam…interesting how much Egypt has been mentioned here in the last few hours…

I’m very proud of you and your ministry team, P. Nancy…have a blessed trip…

Thanks, Ebony…always enjoy a seven-point list…

Thanks for the AYITN shout-out, Vaughn…

Very well said, Jane…thanks…

Thanks for interpreting the pics, Friend4life…

Ah yes, DBA…now I remember you…

Larry, I would never have assumed that you would have taken yoga…can’t even picture it…an “anonymous” who was offended at your exchange with Peacemaker about it wrote “yoga and meditation…a Ouija board would be fitting…how about a few gargoyles on the buildings at your church?”…Praise the Lord, Anonymous! Thanks for the love!

Welcome back, Linda…

Nice to have you here, Sunshine…

Thanks Donald…you’re still funny, and I do have a good word for tomorrow night…

Larry Usher said...

Hilarious Bishop!

Yah, I studied & practiced yoga for 6 years and during those 6 yrs was also a vegetarian, ate mostly uncooked food, drank no soda and had little to no body odor! Ha! (But true!) Drank water from a spring that bubbled up & my hometown of Clinton, NY & stayed in a tent for 9 months straight one year- ate lots of wild edibles that I searched for in season.

The funny thing about yoga was to me it was a total spiritual thing, the exercises were simply a part of trying to get to "god", but even in my deepest meditation I would have a vision of a stairway and reaching a door only to find Jesus standing there saying- "I am the only door-don't enter here!" No joke!

Along with Yogananda I also loved the Carlos Castaneda books...it was all about the "mystery" to use a phrase by P. Kim Clement which I found captivating. Sartre, Nietzsche, Sri Chinmoy, Velikovsky, Ken Kesey's works on the Pyramids & Zen were some other interests.

Looking at the sky after midnight tonight I was struck at the Mystery of the Heavens and what a beautiful creation He has made- dazzling!!!
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder...

...The Long and Winding Road...(that leads to Your door...

How great is our God!

Blessings,

Larry

lhollow27 said...

Ok, so I admit to have been out of the loop for a little bit. I have been reading AYITN but have not had much time to blog.Creme Brulee brought me to the airport early so I could catch up on whats happening. Thanks sis!
I'm sitting in the airport waiting to board and trying to catch up....WOW! Literally, my endorphines (or the Holy Spirit) are reacting to the blog in such a way, I don't know where to start.
Jane- I think you have the voice of an angel of all of us peace seekers in your comments below.Well said you great servant! What a strong WOMAN role model!

Could the revelation of the Holy Spirit travel via WWW? What else can you pray for NOW that could be more applicable to Abraham's situation and his heart felt reality that he shared? I am very interested in learning about different cultures, different religions, and different view points. One thing that God has prepared us...THIS BODY....for is sharing the light of the Holy Spirit. Accepting others as one body representing THE body and loving/praising God our Father with all of our hearts. What an amazing time to be alive and to share this experience.
Lord help me to meditate and grasp hold of what your spirit is saying to the people that are sharing this experience. Help me to come to the people I encounter through the gracious hands of your Holy Spirit and deliver the love message of Jesus Christ. Let everyone who has breath Praise the Lord- Let everyone who has breath Praise the Lord! About to board...love to all and safe travels to everyone in the sky today!
---peace, lhollow