Jeremiah 15 – The Lord tells Jeremiah that things have gotten so bad, even Moses and Samuel would not be able to convince Him to take these people back.  “I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem” (15:4).

In 2 Kings 21, Manasseh was 12 when he become king and reigned 55 years.  He rebuilt the high places his father had destroyed; he erected altars to Baal and…

Almost safe inside my sanctuary -

it's not that I'm afraid of solitude.

Yes, there is loneliness, but why delude

myself?  In my heart, I must stay wary.

People will hurt you once your guard is down.

Hurt upon hurt - it gets hard to repair.

Still, I find that, in the end, I do care.

With no lifebelt, I fear that I might drown.

I just don't know the answers anymore -

as if I ever did.  Does…

Hope sometimes comes to us

in pastel shades.

It isn't always

either

black or white,

or even grey.

I feel that hope,

when needed most,

will often be

revealed in

pastel shades.

 QuakerQuaker This Week, 2/26/12

On the blogs, Robin Mohr wrote about Friends leadership and vision and the "Nakedness/You're Not a Quaker" responses continue with two more follow-up's among this week's Editor Picks. Elsewhere,…

Jeremiah 14 – Judah suffers a terrible drought: “The wild asses stand on the bare heights, gasping for breath like jackals; Their eyes grow dim, because there is no vegetation to be seen” (14:6).  Jeremiah tries the same kind of intercession Moses successfully used with the Lord, trying to get His help by pointing out that Judah’s difficulties involve YHWH’s honor and reputation in some way. 

There is a poignant sense here of God’s very real…

Listen to this post: http://www.turtleboxstories.com/audio/themomentbetween.mp3

My week has been full of opposites, reminding me how I vacillate and that we all are works in progress.…

I do not like to criticize such good people as the Quakers. The trick is to fulfill the law, not to destroy it.

With all that said I do feel that modern liberal Quakers have given up Holiness in exchange for service. It also seems that conservative Friends have given up Holiness in exchange for Scripture.

Holiness is for me the complete embodiment of Christ/Spirit. It is through Holiness that the…

Ten years ago, I printed up business cards with the title Writer under my name thinking that if that’s what the card says, that’s what I am.  Now, I don't have to read that card to know that writing is my job, but some days, at the end of a writing session, I’ll leave my desk with doubts about whether I’m called to this work. Well aware of the needs and problems crying…

Quakers have the same struggles as the rest of society and that includes a time of realizing we may have feelings contrary to what we know is true of all people. It is never acceptable to allow such feelings to influence us into actively denying the inherent equality of another person because of his or her race, gender or sexual orientation. However, at such a time, rather than being ashamed, it is better to honestly acknowledge our negative feelings and consider if they have…

Jeremiah 13 - The Lord compares the linen loincloth, which he instructs Jeremiah to get, with his people. He is to get it, then hide and neglect it, then fetch it again—it is close to him, then distant, then spoiled and useless to him. This is definitely a very curious image—sexual to a degree, like the spouse-image in some ways, very personal.  A last warning is given.  It is hard to tell if the words are meant to be Jeremiah’s or the Lord’s: “Give glory to the Lord,…

Jeremiah 12 - Jeremiah puts on the hat of an attorney here and argues his case at the dock, even knowing that he cannot win: “Yet I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed? You plant them, and they take root; they grow and bear fruit. They always speak well of you, yet they do not really care about you. But, Lord, you know me; you see what I do and how I love you” (12:1-3). Jeremiah doesn’t berate God…

I try to write myself a query, each week, usually addressing something I am peeved about.  I tried to write one on my Quakerquaker profile and discovered I am limited to 143 characters.  As a Friend, somewhat long in the tooth, I find it hard to write a query in less than 143 words, much less characters.

Take for instance the following query:  Do Friends just tolerate or do they welcome and embrace seekers and members that are functionally challenged by disability, developmental…

Jeremiah 11 – A curse lies over the heads of those who do not observe the terms of God’s covenant, the Lord says to Jeremiah.  “Urgently and constantly I warned your fathers to obey my voice, from the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt even to this day” (11: 7). He tells Jeremiah not to try to intercede for them.  It is too late.  Outward observance alone is not enough: “Can vows and sacred meat turn away your misfortune from you?” (11:15). Jeremiah then learns that…

One of our members (actually an elder) brought the message this week, focusing on joy and happiness in the present moment.

Jeremiah 10 - People’s idols are not worth worshipping. The natural phenomena they are fascinated with, “unusual sights in the sky” and such-like things, these are not things they should fear or worship. The idols they craft are “like scarecrows.”  They cannot speak; they must be carried about. They “can do no harm, neither is it in their power to do good” (10:5).  “The Lord is true God, he is the living God, the eternal King. . .He who made the earth by his power,…

A few months ago, I put up a post on my blog called "Why I Call Myself a Christian." It was the most widely read and discussed post I've put up so far. I still get comments on it. 

But I knew at the time it was incomplete. Now, I've put up another post which tells another side of the story. You  might call it "Why it's hard to call myself a Christian."

Here's the link: http://wp.me/p1OXtI-19

As before, if you…

QuakerQuaker This Week, 2/16/2012

The most interesting conversations this week have been generated by Maggie Harrison's controversial broadside “…

Jeremiah 7:21-34 - Jeremiah tells them that God’s message to him is that when He brought them out of Egypt, He did not give them any commands concerning “holocausts or sacrifices” (7:22). But what about Leviticus? There were incredibly detailed rules there for the various offerings and sacrifices they were instructed to make. I think what Jeremiah is trying to convey is that at the HEART of all God laid out for them was the command to…

Jeremiah 7:1-20 - Jeremiah goes to the Temple to urge the people entering to truly reform and not to put their trust in ancient mantras of God’s favor: “Stop believing those deceitful words, ‘We are safe! This is the Lord’s Temple, this is the Lord’s Temple, this is the Lord’s Temple’” (7:4) The promises of the Lord are not meant to make the people feel that their behavior doesn’t matter, that they can always be sure of the Lord’s favor no matter what they do. The…