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Network For Pilgrims is "Creating a loving community on the web."

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What are Friends For? 

"When Jesus saw their faith...." 

by Dean K. Thompson

In Mark’s gospel we find the story of the four friends letting down their paralyzed friend in front of Jesus. We hear Jesus tell the paralytic "your sins are forgiven." Then, he heals the immobilized man. And what amazes the crowd is the healing. "We have never seen anything like this," they gush.

Many of you remember Mark’s story from your own childhood Sunday School days. I once did a finger painting of this scene in Vacation Bible School. A "mobile unit," comprised of four caring friends, transports an immobilized friend, as someone has described, "into the transforming presence and healing power of Christ." The crowd is so thick, the four friends dig a hole. They dig a hole in the roof and lower their comrade through the hole and into the presence and power of Jesus.

Then, amazingly, Mark records these words about the incident: "When Jesus saw their faith," he forgave the paralytic and healed him. Their faith, not necessarily the paralyzed man's own faith; their faith prompted the forgiveness and the miracle of new life and new health.

Why? Because we who follow Jesus are supposed to carry other people who can't follow on their own. Indeed, we who follow Jesus are meant even to believe for other people who can't believe or won't believe or are too broken down to believe. I mean, carrying others and even believing for others is a curious part of what it means to follow Jesus as disciples.

To be sure, Mark's theology in this passage breaks up all predictable theology. Thus, Mark wants to help us to break up the soil of our own predictable theology.

Click here to read more about faith and friendship.

What is Your Passion? 

"By God's choice,
you are beloved."
 

by Lucy Marsden Hottle

When I ask "What is Your Passion?" I am asking you to look within yourself and discover the driving force in your life-being. Everyone has this "passion" within: this motivating force, this idea which draws one’s attention and focuses the mind.

In my years of ministry I have seen this "passion" take as many shapes as the variety of people possessing them. There is a man in Chicago who felt the need of the scores of people who were forced to drive damaged and unreliable cars because they couldn’t afford to repair them. He had a gift for automotives, so he, with the help of his church, formed a Car Repair Ministry. It is active today.

To read the complete article, 
click here.

Special Gifts Given

Sound Story:

Heard through a skylight--
Sound of chain saw...
Men shouting advice...
Sound of chain saw...
CRASH ! ! ! 
Silence...
"Who let go of the rope?

  
  

Mountain Berries

Click here for more inspirational thoughts.   

Nature Lovers

I am like a waterfall,
Magic, effervescent, 
unbounded and free,
Cascading wildly 
down the side of a mountain
That understands 
the capriciousness of time.
Endlessly caressing the one 
I call my lover.
Our bond is secure – 
secure and ever changing,
Fresh as the new buds of spring.

Mountain majesty, my lover,
Standing in royal splendor 
over the plain
Veiled in clouds and mystery
Producing vibrant new growth
From things deeply rooted within,
Holding jeweled treasures in your inner heart: Beauty, challenge, otherness, hope.
Hold me in your arms.
Shelter me in your mystery.

from Season of Lovers by Mary Carol Lewis

An image from Season of Lovers...
Click here for more delightful images of nature's beauty.

"Such beauty! Such art in words! So smooth to read and savor. Hope many others experience the joy, the struggle and the comfort of your words--written from your heart. Thank you for including us in your journey."
-- F Bradley

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the earth shows forth 
the majesty of the Holy one.

 

Yes, "when Jesus saw their faith," he forgave the paralytic and healed him. 

 

Yes, sometimes the only way we can possibly make it is through the love, care and support of others who carry us, touch us, even catch us, and lift us to Christ in prayer and in actions.

Click here to read more about faith and friendship.

 

A Future and a Hope

"Pursue the healing of the city, 
for in its healing will be your healing."

by Johanna Bos

Though not in exile, not yet, not driven from our homes, not yet, we are as an institution, as a community, as a country in enough disarray and the rumors of war are not so far removed from us, as we remember the rubble of the World Trade Towers, as we stare daily at the names of the fallen in Iraq and see behind them the shadows of the unnamed, uncounted, victims of violence in the same region where ancient Judah was exiled. Babylon has taken on echoes of its own in our time.

In our nation and our churches we face fierce disagreements over who is in and who is out, who will make it and who will be "left behind," who has the right interpretation of God’s word and who is wrong. There is clamor and disturbance and violence among us. In our own Seminary we have gone through a period of destabilization and trauma. Though not a group in exile, not as a country, or institutions, or a school, we are in disarray, engaged in a profound struggle for the soul of our most beloved institutions.

In the midst of the chaos and despair, voices raise themselves. Such voices are always ready to sound in the midst of the community; they are voices of sage advice, of counsel, of wisdom, of promise. They may say that "God is with us," that it may seem bad but we just need to stay the course and all will be well. The voices preach comfort and restoration, peace in disaster, victory in conflict, and in general the human community is usually ready to listen to them. They were ready to do so in Jeremiah’s day and we are ready to do so today. We are ready to have everything we mismanaged set to rights soon, preferably by a mysterious power we call God, preferably without much of our participation or input. We will stand on the promises, lean on the everlasting arms and all will be well.

Click here to read the complete message.

Today' Promise

 

Pilgrim Journal

Evening in the mountain valley

 

Something new on the block:

New Nature Tales

  Animals brush our lives and bring joy and surprise where we least expect it.

Join us soon for these wild adventures.

 

You might also like to read Bonnie's Ministry adventures. Click here to read more from her spiritual journal. 

 

Country Roads... 

"In returning and rest shall be your salvation;
In quietness and in trust shall be your strength." 

Isaiah 30:15

Network for Pilgrims: 
Special Messages Created for You!

Nature's Valentine
Click here for more images.
Heard Something Funny Lately?

Season of Lovers: Discover the joy 
of developing your sensual self 
from the verbal and visual images of Mary Carol Lewis

An Image from Season of Lovers 

 

 

 

Spring Surprises

 

Singles Network

  Click on the link above for more about the book that has singles talking. It was published especially for you.   Purchase an autographed copy of  Season of Lovers through this web site. New edition available now!

SeasonCover.jpg (12343 bytes)

Special Book for Singles!

 

Season of Lovers
Absorb yourself in nature and the beauty of your sensual being by taking the journey through aloneness with Mary Carol Lewis. Her visual and verbal images will delight you and bring a sense of harmony to your experience.

www.eHarmony.com

provides a free personality profile and lots of fun opportunities to meet nice folks. Check them out by clicking on the hyperlink above!

 

Would you like to send a free electronic celebration card to someone special? Go to www.dayspring.com

Visit the Network4Singles Humor page.

More articles for singles are found on the "Articles for Inspiration" pages. These include the following topics:

Romance and Relationships

  * Fishing & Hitchhiking
  * Dating the Second Time Around
  * Vision
  * 8 Dates to True Love
  *  Red Chips Playing
  * What are You Looking For?
  * 10 Ideas for Ending a Relationship

Intimacy and Personal Growth

  *  Learning to Love 
  * What Makes Love Last?
  * Living with Loss
  *  Physics of God
 

Inspirational

  * Insight
  * Living in a Gift
  * Of Time and Scheduling
  * Princess Was a Nuisance
  * Jenny Wrens
  * Eight Priceless Gifts
  * Fighting Words
  * When we do not Know How to Pray
  

Spiritual

  * What are Friends For?
     When Jesus saw Their Faith
  *  A Future and a Hope
  *  What is Your Passion?
  *  Control Myth
  *  Awakening
 
* Creative Potential
   

Health

  *Massage

 

Seasonal

  * Singles Survival Guide for Holidays
   * What Can You Do for Your Country? 
  *  The World is New!
  *  Easter Thoughts
  *  Giving Thanks
  *  Special Christmas Parents
  *  Becoming Christmas Parents
  * The Day I Touched the Manger
  * The Man Nobody Knows

 

Exciting Work is being done in
Abigail's Name!

The Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs encourages the wider compassionate use of experimental drugs to save the lives of patients with life threatening illnesses. 

 Since 2001 Frank Burroughs, president of the Abigail Alliance has spoken at FDA meetings, Congressional hearings,  met with pharmaceutical companies, and appeared in many newspaper articles and television interviews regarding the issue of making life-saving medications available sooner to patients who need them. The mission of the Abigail Alliance is part of the cover story for the January 18, 2004 edition of the Washington Post Magazine. 

Abigail's Special Story 

Readers Comment ~

"Mary Carol Lewis has given an authentic voice to the single life. Her willingness to search honestly, remain open and find hope are written on every page. You witness and experience the coming into the fullness of the self. A tribute to a life of all kinds of loving."
— Ginger Sullivan Schneider, MA,  CGP

More Readers Comments about Season of Lovers:

"I applaud you for your efforts in addressing the needs of single adults. Keep up the good work. Congratulations. The more the merrier."
— Terry Hershey, author of the best-selling book, Beginning Again and
Intimacy

 

"Season of Lovers tells us that relationships change like the seasons, and that we must change: by becoming more forgiving, discovering that we can trust God, and coming to know ourselves more completely." 
-- Jim Ellingsworth

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Welcome to Network 4 Pilgrims!

 We have been looking forward to your visit. At this site you will find plenty of ideas on how to live a happier life and develop your potential to its fullest. We feature articles and information on several inspiring topics. There are resources and links to other sites for activities where you live. Click the beautiful picture at the top of the page to visit a Quiet Corner where you can always come to rest. (Do you have any suggestions?)  Enjoy your visit, we are glad you came by!

  
Bonnie Meadows, 
Director of Network for Pilgrims 

Bonnie Meadows, penname for our director, who recently graduated from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, preparing to become a Presbyterian pastor. She is now in the west, awaiting a call from a church somewhere in America. To read her updates for friends, use the Spiritual Journal button at the top of the page or click here.

 

Note to speakers: The articles that appear on this web site are gifts from the writers. Do not use any part of the articles, humor or stories without the author's written permission. You may contact them through this web site. A web site filled with ideas for speakers is www.desperatepreachers.com     

"Using four simple steps participants learn to love themselves and others, escape from fear, overcome anger and hurt,  make positive changes in their lives, live in peace and become the person they have always wanted to be. Many say that the concepts taught in the seminar changed their lives forever." Click on the seminar link for more information.

Send us your thoughts or a picture  so we can post it on this site. We would be interested in publishing something you have written on this site.

Bonnie Meadows
P. O. Box 4616
Rancho Cucamonga, California 91730
email: talk2bonnie at network4pilgrims.org
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