Author: debanncuster

https://youtu.be/lKw6uqtGFfo?si=ss-FH6oTCC7cFBS2 “Any kind of leadership will involve opposition.The greater the responsibility,the more your troubles will multiply and your critics increase.”~Nicky Gumble~ Much Madness is divinest Sense -To a discerning Eye -Much Sense – the starkest Madness -‘Tis the MajorityIn this, as all, prevail -Assent – and you are sane -Demur – you’re straightway dangerous -And… Continue reading Lent

https://youtu.be/uBjnNF7rbJY?si=DLDDAQcyyN5rN4BO   “Ephphatha!”(Which means “Be opened!)~Mark 7:34~ “Jesus not only opens ears—he releases and opens up your whole being—your heart, mind, emotions, finances and every other part of your life.”~Nicky Gumble~ The last time I was outside of North America was over thirteen years ago. The day before we were set to fly out for… Continue reading Open

https://youtu.be/-TwkcXZsvTo?si=juUePezy24YXQW4j “If thou indeed derive thy light from Heaven,then, to the measure of that heaven-born light,Shine, Poet! In thy place, and be content…”~William Wordsworth~ “And now in age I bud again…Thou hast a garden for us where to bide.”~George Herbert~ In Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, Mary Lennox initially hates the moors of the… Continue reading Bloom

https://youtu.be/lgAjwZ5G-Pw?si=NLDldGdPDoC8agbZ work:  1. activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result. wonder:  1. desire to be curious to know something. “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”~Nehemiah 6:3~ “When they saw… Continue reading Work

https://youtu.be/EMXUiMA0IIE?si=lwcqAhyB1Aqstgix “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”~Matthew 9:36~ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,and you… Continue reading Rest

https://youtu.be/LpXMnY_t03M?si=rj2BnTCEObvtpAoh   “The wind is moving but I am standing stillA life of pages waiting to be filled.”~Michael W. Smith~ “Forget the former things;Do not dwell on the past.See, I am doing a new thing!Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?I am making a way in the wildernessAnd streams in the wasteland.”~Isaiah 43:18-19~… Continue reading Solstice

“In the Bleak Midwinter,” rendition by Julia Bloom https://open.spotify.com/track/4Zsq1ULPQoX3vVuM3DHyuu?si=frCQXUMnQ0-X9g4vGCjYwg&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A3BBucEuF6lhWhzsq9djuZs   “In the bleak mid-winterFrosty wind made moanThe earth stood hard as ironWater like a stoneHow snow had fallenSnow on snow on snowIn the bleak mid-winterLong, long agoWhat can I give himPoor as I am?If I were a shepherd I would bring a lambAnd if I… Continue reading An Unhurried Hallow: Love

“Darkness was cheap,and Scrooge liked it.”Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol “The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.”~Psalms 18:28~ Traditionally, our third candle is pink, the liturgical color that represents joy. The third Sunday in Advent has been referred to as Gaudete Sunday. As Philippians 4:1 admonishes us: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will… Continue reading An Unhurried Hallow: Joy

An Unhurried Hallow:  Peace “Peace I leave with you; my peace I given you.I do not give to you as the world gives.Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”~John 14:27~ “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without… Continue reading An Unhurried Hallow: Peace

“We are so attached to…our fast, experiential, adrenaline-addicted culturethat we confidently call physical spikes energy and spiritual spikes inspiration.”~ABC, The Sacred Slow, p. 3~ And in the early morning,while it was still dark,He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place,and was praying there.~James 4:8~ What am I looking for? I thought, as… Continue reading An Unhurried Hallow: Hope