I guess I’m like most women.  I love getting flowers.  It’s kind of silly really.  It’s not like flowers are good for anything.  My grandmother told me that flowers are the most gracious of gifts because they don’t do anything except make you happy.   It’s true.  Flowers don’t have to do anything for me to love them.  I just love them because of what they are. 

It’s easy in our loving relationships to think of all the things our loved ones do for us.  You might say “I love them because…

 “They make me laugh.” 

“They’d do anything for me.” 

“They hold me together when I’m falling apart.” 

Aren’t we all thankful for the ways our loved ones show us their love?  But, do you love them like a bouquet of flowers?  Do you love them for who they are?  Would you find something to love if they sat in the middle of the dining room table, and did nothing like a bouquet of daisies?   Maybe as they sat on the table, you would love them for their strength, their gentleness or their courage.  When you love them like a bouquet of flowers, you know you love them more for who they are than what they do.

Did you know  that God wants you to love Him like a bouquet of flowers?  Most of us enjoy thanking God for the things He has done in our lives.  “Thank you Lord for my health, my family, my marriage, and my home.”   But what about prayers that are purely praise?  Do you praise God for who He is?  I call prayers of pure praise :you are” prayers because you begin by saying “your are.”  “Lord you are…merciful.  You are gracious, loving, kind, steadfast, powerful, abundant and couldn’t you go on and on? 

Does it sound like I am splitting hairs?  What’s the big deal?  Does it really matter if you only say prayers of thanksgiving and no prayers of pure praise?  The answer is it only matters on the days you don’t feel thankful.  We all have seasons when our blessings are overshadowed by the dark clouds in our lives.  Even under this cloud, you know you should be on your knees but it’s a tall order to sing God’s praises when you can’t see your blessings.   Sickness, divorce, grief, job loss or heart ache can be right in your face, blocking everything else out.    Maybe that’s why Hebrew 13:15 tells us to lift up praises all the time- on good days and bad.  The verse says “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.”

It’s harder to say prayers of pure praise than you might think.  But the reward for saying to God “you are…” prayers is seeing Him more clearly.  Each time you pray  “God you are…” -you will push your relationship with God past your love for what He does and deep into your love of who He is.  And believe me, there is no better place to be than standing in wonder of all the splendor of God.   Go ahead, give praise a try.

It’s great how popular the Narnia series has become- movies, books, cartons etc.  But typically, like hollywood, we start the narnia tale with CS Lewis’ book The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe.  Although I love that book, I find the entire Narnia series much more enjoyable having read the prequel The Magician’s Nephew.  Lewis wrote the prequel last so it has an amazing way of grounding so much of the imagery you’ve seen in the Narnia series.

Yet the thing I adore about the book is the way Lewis takes a story of two children oon a fantasy adventure to explain the story of Adam and Eve.  It really give you a feeling that you or I could have been walking around the beauty and perfection of the Garden of Eden and make the same screwy decisions adam and Eve made.

Take the time to give it a read.  It will make Hollywood’s renditions mean so much more…

Here’s a place to get more info:  http://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Nephew-Chronicles-Narnia/dp/0064471101

Jadon Lavik’s song What If  is a sweet and gentle song that can sneak up on you.  As you lay back into the acoustic guitar and mellow voice you realize he is singing about one of the most confusing questions about God.  Why does he continue to love us regardless of what we do?  Here’s my favorite part of His lyrics:

What if I were everyones last choice what if I mixed in with the rest
What if I failed what I passed before then would you love me less
lord would you would you love me less, oh no oh no oh no

You say I belong to you apart from the things I do
You say I belong to you I�m in awe of why you do
You do you do you do

I too am in awe of why he says I belong to him when I continuously do not measure up except in His eyes.  This leads me to the second question.  If what I do does not change His love for me, why do I get all freaked out about trying to do things right?  I guess the answer to that question is in another song.

Enjoy this very mellow, very special song.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thiufLprFas

“By our enemies Jesus means those who are quite intractable and utterly unresponsive to our love, who forgive us nothing when we forgive them all, who requite our love with hatred and our service with derision…Where is love more glorified than where she dwells in the midst of  her enemies?”

Karen will be presenting Coping with Cancer and the Holidays for Siteman Cancer Center at two different locations. The first will be given at their downtown campus on November 4th from

> 12:00 -12:35 PM – 13th Floor

> 12:40 -  1:20 PM – 7th Floor

>   1:25 -  2:00 PM – Radiation Oncology. 

Then again on Thursday Nov 11th, you can hear the same information at the West County campus from Noon-1:00PM.  This program is sponsored by The Cancer Support Community.

For more information go to http://ktripp.com/?m=20101111&cat=98 and http://ktripp.com/coping-with-cancer-and-the-holidays

 Too often the holidays come and go and the most important reason for the season is lost in the hectic chaos of our lives.  Here is a low stress, high fun way to begin to get your heart prepared for the joy the Christ Child has planned for you this December. Join Karen for In Search of the Christ Child.  A four week indepth look at the prophets, the kings, the shepherds and Herod’s search for the Messiah.

 We will meet on Tuesdays begining November 2 from 9:15-10:45 AM at St John Church in Ellisville.  The best part? There’s no homework and no book.  Karen will prepare a lesson each week to complete together during the time.  It’s promised to be lots of great fellowship and fun.   For more information, http://ktripp.com/women%e2%80%99s-bible-study-in-search-of-the-christ-child-by-karen-tripp

Ipods are amazing devices.  In the palm of your hand, you can hold thousands of songs, organized into playlists for your listening enjoyment.  But it’s not the technology that impresses me.  It’s the ability of an Ipod to completely shut out the outside world.  A person puts those ear buds on and nothing can burst through the flow but the voice on their current playlist. 

Wouldn’t it be great if you could record your own voice sharing words of advice and make it the favorite playlist of all the people in your life?  Think of it!  Your kids, your spouse, your boss, your friends all walking around listening to your voice tell them what they should do.  You can say stuff like “Do you think that was a good idea?”  “Maybe you should try harder next time.”  “Why put it off?  Do it now.”  “That wasn’t very nice.  You should say you are sorry.”  Do you think the sound of your voice in their heads all day long would help them change?  Maybe, but maybe not.

Unfortunately, this is the way some relationships work.  One person explains, guides, reprimands, lectures, persuades and even at times pontificates in hope that the other person will change.  Typically, all the noise in the other person’s ears does not help.  Dirty socks do not disappear from the floor, bank accounts do not stop being overdrawn, and tardiness does not miraculously become a thing of the past.  The result of all the talk?  More struggles, less change.

But what if there was another voice?  What if there was a voice that could look deep within a person, see their pain and show them their need to change in a way that was healing?  Wouldn’t that be fantastic?
GREAT NEWS!  There is such a Voice.  It’s the Holy Spirit.  Jesus told the disciples in John 16:8 that when the Holy Spirit comes He will “convict the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment.”   Are you thinking, I want to get the Holy Spirit’s play list for all my loved ones and pipe it into their ears”?  Well, here’s the deal.  They already have the Voice of the Holy Spirit in their lives, all believers do.

My question is -can they hear the Holy Spirit over the sound of you correcting them?  If you are in their ears all the time, can they hear the voice of God?  Maybe instead of your loved one struggling with you, it’s better for them to struggle with God.

The more you love someone, the harder it is to say less. The only way I know to do it is to trust that in your silence, God’s Spirit is saying just what they need to hear.  From someone who spends most days saying too much, believe me when I say this is not easy.  Pray for God’s voice to be first in your loved ones playlist.  His melodies are so clear and true they won’t be able to resist.  AMEN!

In White Smoke, Andrew Greeley combines two of my favorite characteristics in a novel: reconciliation and world changing events.  Instead of setting this novel in a historic event, Greeley has greated a world where the Pope has died and a new Pope will be chosen. 

The story is based on a divorced couple, -one works for CNN, the other the New York Times- arrives in Rome to cover the papal election.  Suspense, politics and an unlikely romance fills the pages.   As a protestant, I’m intrigued by Greeley’s liberal perceptions as well as his historic input of past papal elections.  Yet the thing which draws me back to Greeley’s novels time and again is his belief that God is intrically involved in marital love. 

Enjoy the depth of the characters, and the richness of the setting as you unknowingly get a dose of one man’s view of the Catholic church.

For More Info: http://italian-mysteries.com/AMG01.html

Some songs are prayers.  I Don’t Want to Go by Avalon is a song I sing to the Lord from a very deep place inside me.  If you have ever recognized when you have wandered away to places without the Lord, you’ll know exactly what these lyrics mean. 

I don’t want to go somewhere
If I know that You’re not there
‘Cause I know that me without You is a lie
And I don’t want to walk that road
Be a million miles from home
‘Cause my heart needs to be where You are
So I don’t want to go

Avalon has such a rich , beautiful sound that I am easily caught up in this very heart felt song.  As you watch the video, take a minute to lift this song up in prayer…

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nP0AtqMV0U&feature=related

“I have been told that I need to believe in Jesus.  Which is a good thing.  But what I am learning is that Jesus believes in me.”