Inscribing an iPad3

Which very short Bible verse or portion of a Bible verse would you inscribe on an iPad 3?  Yesterday it took me over an hour to pick one -  I think it was an hour and 15 minutes.  It was much easier to pick the color, memory, wi-fi over network, leather vs. vinyl, and the color of the cover.  I am a techie, but I am a frugal techie.  This is my first iPad. Yes I know it is a blessing to be able to buy one, and yes, I am thankful to God that I was able to buy one.

When I got to the inscription part, it was fairly quick jump to include a Bible verse.  It was easy to fit my name and phone number on the first line.  Using the second line to put my business name (LLC with one employee--me), which is very similar to my given name seemed redundant. Why not a verse?

First verse that entered my mind:

1 Corinthians 16:14 Do everything in love.

It was the perfect size.  The notation would not fit of course, but it was the right size.  Then I started thinking, it isn't enough.  It doesn't say why to do everything with love.  

So I started hitting the search prompts.  My searches included:

• Best Bible verses
• Bible verse to inscribe on iPad
• Jesus's favorite Bible verses
• Praise Jesus Bible verses

I was praying when I did this, "Holy Spirit, which verse do you want?  Jesus which verse do you want me to use?"  

All the searches pretty much gave the same few websites.  One link was to a Yahoo question "Which Bible Verse should I use in a tattoo?"  Of course that person ironically kept getting quoted Leviticus 19:28 to not get a tattoo, among other verses. Personally I prefer to inscribe my iPad over my arm, but I think if someone is going to get a tattoo, why not use that skin art to witness?  It isn't like the people quoting that verse to this person were also not eating bacon as prohibited in Leviticus 11:7-8 and several other places in Leviticus.  Of course Peter's dream in Acts 10:9-19 gives us license for the meat, but not sure about the tattoo.  It didn't come up in the dream . . . seems like really small, teeny, tiny, potatoes though.

John 3:16 is the most frequent hit, and of course I LOVE that verse.  As Fr. John Bartunek explains in this meditation that was sent to me twice by the Catholic Spiritual Direction website.  I am not sure if it was an intelligent emailing routine that sent another email because I didn't take the link, or if it was the Holy Spirit, or you know, a Holy Spirit inspired email campaign programmer?  My favorite quote from this meditation that I used when I shared it on Facebook,

 "In this conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus lays bare the heart of God."

It occurred to me, while John 3:16 is great, and used enough that I didn't need to pick it, the verse should be another one that was spoken by Jesus, a red-letter verse.  That narrowed it down to the Gospels and Revelation as the source books.

I ended up selecting "Seek first the Kingdom of God" a portion of Matthew 6:33:

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. 

I took out the "ye" because I've been helping my oldest son much with his Grammar homework and the ye is implied.  

I would have liked to include his righteousness, because especially here in Lent I've heard that teaching of Jesus renewed in my mind.  I am hearing the wake-up to leave the lukewarmness, the tendencies to seek a remedy for my existential loneliness behind, and strive more to turn to God.  To wait on the Lord, to immerse myself in scripture to hear his words for me.

Wake-up reminds me that if my older two kids won't get up for Church this coming Sunday on my first attempt, there is going to be a little dousing of water without warning.  Well, maybe I will warn them.  Actually I've been warning them since I got home from Liturgy last week, the one that they didn't make because they didn't get out of bed and get ready!  So, they are just going to get a bit wet if they don't get up.

God is more gentle with me.  No dousing.  

I do need to turn more often to God, inside and outside of Lent, to seek his Kingship, his Lordship, his righteousness.  

To follow the example of Jesus, who rose up after each fall carrying the cross, to complete his mission to be the sacrificial Lamb of God.

Passion of the Christ:  Jesus getting up after a fall

I also thought that if someone did find the iPad somewhere, this would be a good verse for them to Google too.  It would mean more without the notation than "Do everything with love."

Even though I love the following verse, I didn't choose it, because this verse came up twice during basketball season--you know how verses come up, could be the Klove "Encouraging word of the day", it could be on the opposing coach's website as her favorite verse.  Anyway, both times this verse came up, my team lost the next big game we played.  So, it has now slipped from being my favorite verse.  Yes I do realize that losing a game is a very minuscule amount of suffering to learn a lesson that is a remedy for my pride, self-love, and inconstant dependence on God.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23)

You can find other good verses the same way I did with the Google searches above, or here are the best sites I found:

http://www.ilovejesusonline.com/best-bible-verses-and-quotes.html

http://www.top10-best.com/b/top_10_best_bible_verses.html

http://www.topbibleverses.com/

http://christianpf.com/famous-bible-verses/

http://www.jollynotes.com/inspirational-verses/favorite-verses/

Have an awesome and blessed rest of Lent!  As of today, we are past the half-way point.  Hope the Lord will sustain you in the resolutions and help you retain the insights you have gained by fasting from the distractions that keep us from the healing power of His presence, His grace!

Humility and Undivided Heart

" . . . He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness, and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:7-8)

Extreme Humility

I've read that many times, and had my Confessor point out to me at Christmas and during Lent the humility of Christ, but somehow I am seeming to learn this lesson fresh and new this morning.

I went to confession this past Sunday, one of the things I love about my church is that Confession is available during the Divine Liturgy most Sundays.  I try to go at least once a month, since that is what Our Mother told us to do in messages from Medjugorje.  (It's important to do what Our Mother tells us!)

When I go, I usually wait to go after the readings and the homily, so I can hear what the Holy Spirit wants me to hear and learn before going for a good soul-scrubbing before receiving Communion.

This past Sunday what I remember most was how the priest started.  "No matter how long we have been in the spiritual life, there is always opportunity for improvement, for growth.  What I mean by that is there is always opportunity for us to have more joy in the Lord!"

On rare occasions, the priest who is most often my Confessor, who at one time did attend Charismatic prayer groups, will place his hand on my head after the granting of absolution and will say a short prayer for me.  Either the first time I went or the second time, it was close to Pentecost and he prayed that I would receive the Holy Spirit along with some specific gifts.  Looking back, that was a key turning point in the way I live my faith.

On Sunday he did place his hands on my head and prayed simply for God's blessings and peace.

I have not been at peace lately, and I think I have received the grace these past few days in my meditations, some of which he gave me as penance, to learn why I have not been at peace.

I had prayed during the Novena to the Sacred Heart to have what St. Faustina had, when Jesus told her, "I delight in your soul."  I prayed that Jesus would find his delight in me, and that I would find my delight in Him.  I also prayed for the gift of understanding, wisdom, and counsel because I seem to have understanding of the outlines of things, but not a penetrating understanding.

I am thanking God for answering my prayers.  I learned that I do have a divided heart.  My heart has the priority of loving God first and foremost, but not the follow-through during the passing moments of the day.

We attended a parade on the 4th of July and my three younger kids would position themselves when they saw floats or marchers throwing candy.  Then they would as politely as possible swoop down to get the goodies.

In The Better Part this was exactly the example that Fr. John Bartunek used to explain how I am when I am looking for attention, whether it is checking my emails, or blog stats, or for a card in the mailbox, or at work, when I am striving to be perceived as success, and soaking in whatever compliments or recognition that I can come by.

None of this is "Seeking First the Kingdom of God".  What is?

I am learning that it is to break from the tendency to slip into self-destructive thirst for recognition and success, and attention.  I realize this tendency is deep.

I also realize that if I am loving God "with my whole heart, my whole soul, and my whole mind (Matthew 22:37)" then this shouldn't be in my thoughts, and certainly should not affect how I feel emotionally.  Something is broken in my make-up when this is the case, and this is why I don't have peace.  I know with my mind how things are supposed to be ordered, and I am not at peace because my heart is not ordered like Christ's undivided, and humble heart.

I need to seek only to be pleasing in the sight of God.  I need to turn to him first thing in the morning, and throughout the day. If I don't feel like it for some reason, I need to ask him for his grace, because, he always answers the prayer for grace, with grace--his presence.  Either in my knowledge that he is there, or in the sense that he is there.

If God is pleased with me, what do I care about the opinion of others?  Now for the practical, how do I build the habit of not caring about the opinion of others, and seeking first for his will and to please him?

"My help comes from Yahweh who made heaven and earth."  Psalm 121:2

Not sure I have that figured out, but as we are going on vacation, and as blogging has been feeding rather than being the antidote for my vanity, I'll be fasting from reading or writing in the blogosphere for the next week and a half.  I hope when I return to have some better habits of loving and seeking God as primary to my living, and I have confidence "If You seek him, he will let you find him (1 Chronicles 28:9b)".  Maybe I'll actually be able to do a "Sabbath Moment" post for Colleen's MEME?

Then I hope to do as Jesus did with his undivided heart.  To love with self-forgetful love in love of God, and to please Him, and not to receive attention or recognition from others because of my efforts.  Still to truly love others for who they are, and in gratitude for what goodness God has brought to light in them.